string(7) "m-66998" Burnt Hickory Baptist Church

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Dec 26, 2021

Prince of Peace

Prince of Peace

Passage: Isaiah 9:6

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: And He Will Be Called

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: worship, faith, christmas, jesus, sunday, god, sermon, bible, gospel, hope, peace, word of god, believe, jesus christ, holy, bible study, christmas eve, names of jesus, everlasting father, prince of peace, christmas sermon, live music, hebrew bible, livestream, burnt hickory baptist church, inner peace, abide in jesus, burnt hickory worship, isiah 9, find true peace, finding true peace

We conclude our study of Isiah 9:6 with the final description of the coming King Jesus with Him fulfilling the prophecy of being the Prince of Peace. Sar in Hebrew means Jesus is the Lord, the chief, the general, and the one in charge of everything. Shalom means rest, tranquility, wholeness and completeness. The peace that Christ brings to us is a peace with God the Father, within ourselves, and with others. Real peace that we encounter in scripture is not absent of pain or problems, it’s when we abide with Jesus that we find true peace. This sermon series has not only covered the prophecy of Jesus being the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and prince of peace; but we hope that you have encountered how Jesus can be each of these in your life right now. If you’ve got questions about who Jesus is, or how to find peace, please reach out – burnthickory.com/next, we’d love to answer any questions and pray with you today.

Well, good morning, church, it seems like we were just here yesterday. Welcome back to church today. Before we jump in the message, I want to say just a couple of things just about the heartbreak of this week. A couple of things that I just want to share with you, and just to give you some ways to pray for the Holloway family. We have been with them all week. Then just trying to be a part of their lives as much as we can this week and just want to tell you guys, just restate what Chip said earlier, man, you guys have been incredible. Thank you. It's moments like this when you realize how special church is. You know, it's not about even a Sunday. It's not about a particular message. It's the people and it's the people under the banner of Jesus. And you guys have lived that for the Holloway family this week. And I just want to say thank you on behalf of all of us. Thank you for being that. Number two, I just want to answer some questions in the room.

Number one, we're going to take care of them. All right. I know that a lot of you that that's the first thing that's in mind and that's you’re a doer, right? Those of us in the room that are doers just want you to know we're going. They're part of the family. We're going to take care of them. Tina is going to be OK in a in a physical sense. We're going to take care of them physically, and we're going to take care of them emotionally. So, know that also know that next weekend, we're inviting in a specialist that deals with loss, specifically children's in the children's world, to be here for the weekend for them and then be here on Monday for the children's ministry team, as well as be here on next Monday night for any people that need just to process, need to hear, need to walk with a pro. We're inviting them in next week. And then thirdly, we have established a fund that we want people to be involved with being able to bless the family. It's going to be a fund that's going to go towards the education of the girls.

Education was a huge thing in Aaron's life and Tina's life. And we want you just to have a tangible way, right? Sometimes we just need something with handles on it, a way to be a part of who they are. And so, you'll be seeing some more things that come out on that here and a little bit, as well as just the church in general. We're going to take care as well. So, I want to invite you to be praying, praying, praying for the family. This week is going to be particularly tough on them Tuesday night, as well as Wednesday for services. In fact, before we move any farther. Let's just do that. Let's pray over them. Let's pray on their behalf. Let's go to the father and just ask him to do that. You know, we're not in the days of like reaching out and holding a bunch of hands that's like, that's like ancient stuff that used to happen. But if you came with somebody, would you just kind of lean in with them in unity? And let's just go to the father on behalf of the Holloways. Lord Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for having the words that we don't, and speaking on behalf. God, today, we pray for comfort for the Holloway girls. We pray for peace; we pray for hope. We pray God, the great physician, the counselor, God, heal them. Show them that you're there. Lord, we don't pray for Aaron anymore, because he's in a glorified body with you. In your presence, but God, for those that who are left heart breaks for them today, Jesus, touch them. Show him that you're present and there. And God, hold them when they feel like they have nothing else, Jesus. And it's in your holy, holy name, Amen, amen.

You know, I got into so many conversations this week that reminded me of a truth that we don't really forget it, but it just kind of gets pressed into the back of our mind a little bit. And it's that truth that this season of the year, right, the holiday season with Christmas and New Year's and Thanksgiving, all of that rolled into about a month and a half period that this season of the year on one side of the coin is a really, really, really good time. It's a really joyous time. We look forward to it. We plan all year for it. We get ready for it. We clear our schedules for it. We save up our vacations for it. We do all of that because of the joy on this side. But I've been reminded this week about the other side, the side that a lot of us walked through this year and it's the side of we really weren't even sure if we wanted it to happen. Does that make sense? Because of a pain or maybe because of a loss, because of things aren't the same. Things are not there. There's a difference of opinion on how to deal with something. Do you know what I'm saying? There is a I'm not sure I want to be around people, or I want to be around people.

There there's this other side that there was really. We're not really even sure this heavy time of year what to do with it. You know, a lot of you and you're just facing some big stuff and you and you didn't want to even walk into the season you planned for Christmas. But this just wasn't the Christmas right that you really wanted to walk into. Some of you got some health issues right now and you're walking in them and through them. Some of you even worse, you've got a loved one because it is really worse, right? This got some of those things for some of you during this time of year, your crazy schedule, you don't even know which end is up because of end of year stuff. You're going and you're going and you're going. For some of you, it's financial. This is kind of dragging on you a little bit. You're watching everybody open the presence in everybody, but you in the room is glorious because you know, January's coming, right? You've got to pay for those things.

For some of you, it's relational. It's between you and your spouse is just not there, and it used to be. And it used to feel right, but now it's just heavy and it's not if this you're like, Oh, is supposed to be good, but it's just not. Some of you, since you got a crazy family. Just be honest. You got that family. It's supposed to be a merry Christmas turned into a Jerry Springer Christmas at some point in the day. I mean, it's true. So, the question I just want to look at this morning is, what do we do in those moments? How do we answer those questions? How do we deal with this tension in us? That on this side, I'm supposed to feel this way, but I feel this way. Supposed to be a Christmas card, but it isn’t in our house.

You know, the good news is in the sovereignty of the Lord that we've already began to answer this question. We've been looking at this ancient prophecy over these last couple of weeks from our friend named Isaiah, in the book that he has given us through the Holy Spirit. And he has already started answering these questions of what I do in these moments where Christmas is supposed to feel this way, but it doesn't. To which Isaiah would say trust in who Jesus is. You see, we've walked over the last little bit through these names are these ideals or these character traits of who Jesus is. And Isaiah speaking into the life of a group of people that actually looked a lot like us. If you think about it, they are in a time of turmoil. They are in a time of pain. They're in a time of question.

They're in a time of not knowing what tomorrow looks like. They were in a time of loss. They were really in a time of not even knowing that their nation was going to exist in one more generation. Isaiah steps up from a message from God and says, Hey, pause for a minute because God is sending a messiah and his name is Jesus. And if that wasn't enough, he began to move into some things that Jesus was going to be. He was going to be the wonderful counselor, the one that has a plan, the one, when everybody else is scrambling and everybody else is looking is sitting in the velvet jacket in the high back chair with the legal pad saying, Let me tell you what to do. Let me tell you how to get out of this.

But he's not just the wonderful counselor, he's the mighty God. And that's important because a counselor without the means to move this in your life is good. But listen, we have a counselor that has the means to live the plan out. Wonderful counselor, mighty God. He has the power to do it. He has the prestige to do it. He has the resources to do it. He has the glory to do it. And he doesn't just give us a plan. He sets us on to the plan and sets himself behind us to walk the plan. But then he's also the Heavenly Father. He has this father like qualities, which is incredible when you put that with the fact that he knows the plan. He has the power to work out the plan. And then he continues to reach down, pick us up when we skinned our knees, put us back on the path. Because why? Because fathers have a perspective of knowing what is coming and wanting what is best for us.

That's what we looked at last week that he has that in us. These central truths, these central things that we love about Jesus has laid the foundation to answer this question. What do we do? What do we do? We lean on that one. But that's not where it stops. Today's message comes from the last words in this Isaiah passage when it comes to describing the attributes of God. And we thank the Lord from it. For us, our focus today is on where is peace? In fact, let me just read you what it looks like in Isaiah, nine, it says this. So, our key text for the last month says for us, a child is born. To us, a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and here's where we pull up today in the sovereignty of the Lord. And the prince of peace. And the Prince of Peace. Now flip with me to the New Testament because I want you to see in the incarnation story and the birth story of Jesus the mirror text of when the Angels brought this exact message to the Shepherds Luke Chapter two, verse ten. We looked at it really quickly and the Christmas Eve service, it says but the angel said to them. Verse ten - do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people today in the town of David a savior has been born to you. He is the messiah. He is the Lord, and this will be a sign to you. You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God, saying Glory to God in the highest heaven, Now watch this. And on Earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. Now, look, when you look at these two passages, when you look at these two passages from a worldly sense, when you look at them from a carnal sense or when you look at them from the sense that of no context or even just an earthly perspective of peace, these two passages I'm just going to be really honest with you will never make sense to you. You will never be able to reconcile peace in your mind. If you look at these two passages outside of the context of the peace that God offers and not the peace that the world has to offer.

You say Matt, what are you talking about? Well, when you think about it just through the worldly lens, right? These two passages, what did the first one tell us? The first one told us that this person named Jesus was going to be born one day and Jesus was going to be the Prince of Peace. I'm not really sure the last time you spent time in any of the Gospels, but when you start looking at who Jesus is, it did not seem like the peace was what followed him through most of his conversations. If you think about it, it seems like every time you turn around, somebody is running him out of a town. Somebody is trying to stone him or he's on a boat trying to get away from someone else. In fact, it was the chaos of the cross right that he ended up on because of the lack of peace that he brought to the Earth. Why? Because the worldly peace and heavenly peace don't look like the same thing. The second passage we read, what did it say? It says that when he is born, the angel said that this guy Jesus, the Prince of Peace, would bring peace.

Now let's talk about that one for a minute, right? I'm not really sure. But on the surface level, there's a rub here, because why? Because when you see Jesus being born, no matter which texture looking at it, Matthew or Luke's right, there is anything but a silent night happening. There is no worldly peace. In fact, it is incredibly chaotic around the birth of Jesus. Now what are you talking about? What about our old friend Zachariah, right? John the Baptist's dad. It was so chaotic in his life he thought, OK, I'll talk back to God for a minute and what did God do? He shut his mouth for about ten months, didn't he? He couldn't even talk. What about our poor girl, Mary? You think there was a lot of peace in this little girl's life at this time? I mean, how would you, students?

How would you like to sit around your LifeGroup table and go, Hey, I need you guys to pray for me? God impregnated me. That doesn't go well, right? That that's not. There's no earthly peace in that. No, it's not. And then she had to go home, right? She couldn't go home. They sent her off to somebody else's house. She couldn't even live in a normal spot. What about poor Joseph, man? You want to talk about some non-peace from that guy? I mean, he's doing anything but sitting around sipping cider, singing joy to the world. No, he's freaking out. He's like, My girl has gone away. She has done something. And I've got to figure these things out. What about Mary and Joseph together? There's no worldly peace in their minds, right? I mean, she's nine months pregnant. They're ending up on a donkey. They're having to ride those hundred miles to their Bethlehem to register. There isn’t no peace in that conversation, I promise you. Zero. What about the fact there's no epidural? No peace, right? None. What about when they have the baby? There's no peace and where the baby was born? There's no worldly peace. And the fact that they ended up in an animal stall in a trough. I mean, think about when mama, all that was prior to Jesus being born. That that's the angel said that there would be peace when he was born. OK, we'll go with that game. What about after Jesus was born? There's no peace. Think about King Herod for a minute. In the Christmas story, King Herod was so upset, so threatened over this, he said, Hey, I've heard rumors about this person coming. I've heard rumors about this king coming. Not in my town. Send a search party out to kill Jesus. Couldn't find him at first, so began to circulate the idea and the promise that he did fulfill in killing all the baby boys younger than two years old in the whole area.

There is no peace when you look at it from an earthly sense. So, this whole account looking from the outside, looking in when the Prince of Peace was born, there's really no peace. If your definition of peace is wrong. Think about today, let's fast forward to today, not even just the birth story. Our past week has been anything but peace. It's been no peace for a lot of people this week. I meet with families and counsel people all the time that don't have peace. Believers are stressed out. Anxiety is to the max tension on all fronts. There is no peace. What about Christian marriages? There's a ton of those things should be two people in peace coming together to make a peaceful relationship. But we know how a lot of those are going right now. There just doesn't seem to be peace. What about financial pain and relationship pain? What about Barrett Parkway during Christmas, for goodness’s sake? There is no peace, right? There's just not. What about the news? They're not bringing us peace.

I mean, all they're giving us is that our nation's leadership is fighting each other. We don't know what to do with this COVID deal that's out there. We got school shootings and threats and countries at war all over. So, listen, when you put all of that together, here's what the world is asking. And here's probably what we're asking, just to be really honest with you. Man, if Jesus is the prince of peace, did he fail? Did he fail? Did he fail at his job? Is he letting us down right now? That's the question. To which the honest answer to that, and the Bible says absolutely not. He did not fail. And he's not going to fail. He never will fail. And here is how we can answer that question. The reality is, is that earthly peace and the biblical heavenly peace that Jesus offers do not match all the time. They just don't. You see, earthly peace is really and truly just an absence of conflict.

That's really what it is, right? As long as everything's going, OK, as long as I got enough money, as long as my bellies full and as long as my family's not crazy, we're all good. We're all good. Everybody has peace. But that's not the definition of biblical peace. You see, the definition of biblical peace is not just in a thing, it's in a person, and his name is Jesus. In fact, I want you to look at the name that Isaiah stamps on Jesus, who he's going to be, right? We've done this almost every single week. Isiah 9:6 for unto us a child is born, a son is given, the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called, here they are. We've looked at him. Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of Peace. I love this name, Prince of Peace, because it gives us two things It not only gives us what does it mean in saying the Prince of Peace, but it also tells us, what is it that the Prince of Peace is going to do. What he's going to do. This is a Hebrew phrase if you kind of look at it in the Hebrew, it kind of clears it up for us and gives it a little bit stronger of a meaning. The Hebrew phrase is two words it's not three, and it's the word Sar and the word shalom.

They smash them together, and it's where we get this idea of Prince of Peace. The word Sar literally means the chief, Literally means the one that is in charge or the Lord over or the general over. The Lord over a manor during this time would have been the one that is in charge that is sufficient, that is providing for the rest of the people. And the one that is left there, that is in the prominent seat. And that's where Jesus gets his name, Sar. That is where the Romans actually took this name and they changed it to Greek and called it Caesar or Julius Caesar. It's where we get the idea of the one in whom we look to that is above all else in charge of all else and in control of all else. This is why the Romans even elevated their Caesar's to a lot of God like manner, right?

The first word is Sar. When we look to Jesus, he is our Sar. And then couples it with the word Shalom. You've heard this word before. It's the word shalom. This is an incredibly robust word. I wish we had a better word in English for this, or we would just use shalom. I really do, because here's what it means it really carries this idea of wholeness. Of at one tranquility or contentment and rest. But you got to put all those together because when you say the word peace, it just seems so shallow. Seems so fleeting. Seems like you can have it one day and not the next day. But when you look at the fact that the Prince of Peace is the one in charge of giving rest, tranquility, wholeness and completeness that carries a little bit more weight that carries a little bit more substance for us.

So, when you put it together, you see that that Jesus here, and Jesus for you and Jesus for me is the Lord of Wholeness and Contentment. He's the Lord that puts things into us, even when we don't even know what to ask. He's the one that comes beside us and picks us up and makes us whole again. I guarantee you there's not a person in this room that at some point in your life hasn't felt whole. Hasn't felt all there hasn't felt like they had anything to offer, and that's what the Sar Shalom brings. You see, peace is more than just a tranquil feeling. It's more than that. Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Church, it's the presence of the one who can make you whole. That's the point of Isiah's passage here.

That's the point of this name here. Peace is only found in resting with and in the Sar Shalom, the giver of wholeness. And does that not bring so much more clarity to the Christmas story? That in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the despair, in the midst of the question, in the midst of the accusations, in the midst of the murder, in the midst of what is happening in Bethlehem. Wholeness is born. The Sar Shalom is present. Do you know what that means for you and me? That means it's not only has he been born, but he is now reigning in heaven on our behalf. And he is the one that supplies the wholeness that listen to me, you will never find anywhere else. You won't. You can try it, but it's not going to work. But what does it mean when it says that Jesus is the Sar Shalom? I want to give you four practical applications that you can just chew on throughout this week as you struggle in the middle of the chaotic world, we're in. I want to give you four things that the Prince of Peace brings in. Number one is this The Prince of Peace brings peace with God.

He brings peace with God. This is emphatically this is the message of the gospel. Is it not the fact that the Prince of Peace is the one who brings peace with God throughout all of humanity, right from Genesis Chapter three, we have seen that we are not natural peace with God? You are not born in natural peace with God. Nor will you ever gravitate toward peace with God. In fact, left to your own devices, left to your own senses, you will always drift away from God. You won't naturally drift to God. Why? Because we are deprived beings. We are sinful beings. Genesis Chapter three You can spend time there this week, but I just want to point something out because here's what happened in Genesis Chapter three The peace of God that was given to Adam and Eve was traded for their own desires, their own heart, their own wants. And in that moment, in Genesis Chapter three, sin entered the Earth. And the first thing that God did, watch this, was to describe the chaos that they invited into the Earth. So, the first thing you did right when you go back and read that text this week, somebody, I know, I know you'll do it. When you go back and read that this week you will see that the next thing that God does after sin hit this earth was that God describes the chaos between us and Satan between us and saying that we are always going to be battling.

We're always going to be fighting. In fact, it's the first prophecy of who Jesus was going to be. It's given to us right there. In Genesis Chapter three, you will see that not only that he describes, it was the chaos that we're going to have between us and the world. There's always going to be a rub. There's always going to be a tension, there's always going to be a divisiveness. He describes the tension we're going to have between us and God. There's always going to be a rub between us being a tension with God and us trying to work our way back into the presence of God. And then he describes the tension between us and death. Did he not? Between us and death, do you know that's why death does not feel natural? That's why no matter when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, no matter who it is in your life, it never feels like that was supposed to happen.

Why? Because that's stolen from us. We weren't supposed to do that. It's not how the plan was, but Genesis Chapter three, we see. From that point forward, when sin entered the Earth, we have historically mankind has been in conflict trying to get our way back to God and trying to find peace, to try and find fulfillment, trying to find wholeness, trying to find ourselves. And even when we fast forward all the way to Bethlehem, first century Palestine, what do we see? We see God sending peace, did he not? The Sar Shalom. Just saw it, and Isiah just named it. See, God sending peace, Jesus to bring a permanent solution for our lack of peace between us and God. It's the gospel right Romans 5:1 says. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, here's the deal. Try what you want to, but you'll never find peace outside of what Jesus gives you to get back to God. You will never find a way to fulfill what C.S. Lewis calls that hole in your heart. You will never find the key. You will never find a plug. You will never find anything that fulfills it other than the gospel of Jesus Christ stepping into your life. He is peace and his name is Jesus. He brings peace between Holy God, sinful man. I love our boy, Zachariah. I know I've mentioned him a lot. But he's so good. He's an underrated Christmas performance, right? Zakariya, prior to Jesus being born, was the father of John the Baptist and listen to what Zachariah said about peace and how we have it.

Luke, Chapter one, verse 76, says In you, my child is talking about John. The Baptist will be called a prophet of the most high. You will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him and give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Right? That's the gospel. We just talked about this but watch this to guide our feet. Into the path of peace. You know what he just said? John the Baptist's role was to point us in a direction to meet that one and whom we call peace. That's Jesus in our life. The path to peace is in the person of peace. And his name is Jesus. So how did Jesus bring peace? Conquered sin and death. And he's offered us eternal life through trusting him. That's the peace that he offers, right, Isaiah, 53:5 for he was pierced for transgressions, was crushed for our iniquity. His punishment? They brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds were healed. So, here's just an honest question I'm just going to be straight and honest as possible. Could your lack of soul level peace be coming from the fact that you don't know the one in whom we call peace?

Could it be that you have never paused, realized who Christ is, invited him to take control of your life, to come in to forgive you of your sins, to set you free from those and come into your life as your savior and as your Sar Shalom? Has there been a point in your life where you've given your life to Jesus, I'm not talking about, have you gone to church? That's great. We love that. So, we're here. But have you met Jesus because he came to bring peace between us and God?

But number two, I want you to see this. He came to bring peace with ourselves. He came to bring peace with ourselves. Matt, that sounds kind of out there, but hang on, wait. Isn't it true, that most of the time we're our own worst enemy? Man, isn't that true? I can't tell you how many times I deal with people, they just know that they are their worst enemies, that everybody can say whatever they want to about them, but they have already crushed themselves. Can I tell you why? It's because sin not only separates us from God. Sin also brings chaos into our souls. Sin brings chaos into our beings. It brings and makes us a conflicted being to where we're constantly fighting anxiety, fighting stress, fighting inner turmoil, and we desperately need an inner peace, that listen to me church, can only come from the one who gives wholeness, and his name is Jesus. We can never conjure it up on our own. No matter how good we are and how strong we are, no matter how affluent we are, you will not find peace outside of the person of Jesus Christ placing eternal peace into your life. This is not going to happen. You can try whatever you want. We see it right. We see the results of this piece in the Christmas story. We're tying everything back right to the incarnation.

We see this in Mary's life. We mentioned it earlier, just kind of tongue in cheek, but the reality is Mary only could find peace in her soul because God put it there. A 14-year-old that found out she was pregnant with a child that she had never been with a man. There's no earthly peace in that. But listen to what happened when God got a hold of Luke Chapter one verse 46, listen to what Mary said. My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my savior. He is mindful of me.

Remember Luke chapter two, verse 19? We looked at it on the Christmas Eve services. Mary, what does she do? She treasured these things in her heart. She treasured, you see, when you put your faith in Christ, he not only brings peace with God, but he brings peace of God in our heart. No matter what the circumstance is, it's not happiness. It's not fleeting. It's not just out there. It is a giving peace to us that, listen, it doesn't even make sense to us sometimes. It doesn't. Do you know the peace of God when it is in your life, you will cross hurdles in your life and people will look at you and not understand how you're doing? So, what do you mean? Well, remember what Paul said in Philippians 4:6? Paul says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Thank you, Matt. Use that all the time. That is a great prayer message. We use that on our prayer board a lot. Yeah, here it is. But keep going. Watch this, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Do you know what that means? That means when God puts peace in your heart, sometimes you don't even know how you're doing it. Can I tell you there's a whole lot of that going on this week, isn't there?

There's a whole lot of peace that passes all of our understandings, and thanks be to God. We don't have to understand it. We just got to know the one who gives it. That's what he's saying to us. See, Jesus brings us this peace that we can stand in the midst of times where other people are falling. We can stand in the midst of times that would crush a mere mortal. And we can stand in the worst of the worst of the worst of the worst circumstances. And we're not even unapologetic about it. We're like, I don't know how I'm doing it.

All I know is the one who's giving me strength. That's the Sar Shalom. That's the one that steps into our hearts, brings peace within ourselves. And number three, he brings peace with others. He's going to be quick. He brings peace with others. The Sar Shalom brings us peace with other people. So, Matt, how does he do it? Really simple. He changes our affection and our attention. So, Matt, how in the world would God change my affection and my attention and that bring me peace? Here's why. Because he takes your focus off yourself and he puts it on Jesus, and that's where all of our troubles are. That's it. I mean, the reality is 99% of our relationship conflicts come because I think I'm better than you and I want my way.

But when my affection and my attention is pointed on to the Sar Shalom, the one that gives me life and gives me hope and brings me back to God and makes me whole in God, it really doesn't matter what you say about me anymore, because I'm not seeking your devotion. I'm seeking those Sar Shalom. That gives me the devotion. That's how he brings us peace. So, where's that the Christmas story? Easy, Joseph. Joseph, you remember Old Joe didn't have a whole lot to do with the pregnancy, but now he's got a kid. Let's talk about that one later. You remember what he wanted to do at first? He wanted to divorce her. He wanted to put her out. He wanted the lever. Why? Because where was his attention? It was on him.

Oh, man, what are these people going to say about me? What are these people going to do about me? How are these people going to treat me? Am I ever going to make it my career? Am I ever going to get past this moment in my life? But remember what happened, Matthew chapter one verse 20? Watch what happened after he had considered this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid. Now there's an understatement. Take Mary home as your wife. Because what is conceived in her from the Holy Spirit. What did the angel do? Changed his attention off of himself. Put it on Mary and put it on the child. Listen to me, that's how he brings peace in our relationships.

He changes my attention, changes my devotion. That's what we need Jesus Christ to do in our lives. If he is first in my life, the things that come at me, the people that come at me, the comments that come at me, the people who hate on me, the people who talk about me, those things become strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. And they just go away, look at what Paul says. Ephesians 2:14, for he himself is our peace, who has made the two become one has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. That's what Jesus does. He breaks down walls, bridges gaps, brings people together and Colossians 3:15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since it's one, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. Quite simply, when our affections change, peace come into our life, in our relationships.

Here's number four. It's probably my favorite one. Not only does he bring peace with God and all he does, he brings peace within myself not only to bring peace with others, but number four. He brings peace that lasts eternally. He brings peace that last eternally. And listen, I can't say this strongly enough. There is no earthly peace that lasts eternally. There's not. I promise you, no matter what else we chase, it's not going to last. It's not going to fulfill. It's not going to be enough. It's always going to be a fool's journey to try to find something else. But listen, this is my favorite one because one day we will not only have the peace of God and a faith posture. But one day we will have it in a reality posture. Think of it like this, thought about this this morning. Maybe it's weird, I don't. Maybe it's not. The peace that we have in our lives right now is like a bucket with holes in it.

It's like a bucket with holes in it, right? You're pouring water in and it's just leaking out. You're poor and water in, it's leaking out. That's why our sanctification, that's why we seek God. That's why we follow God. It's why we pray. That's why we seek the scriptures, why we have worship. But listen to me, there's going to be a day where God comes back. We're Jesus, the Sar Shalom returns this time, not as a baby, this time as a warrior that is going to give eternal life and no longer will there be a hole in your bucket. He will fill it, and it will be full forever and ever and ever and no longer will faith be a faith posture. It will be a reality posture in our life because the Sar Shalom will rule in eternity one day.

And those of us who know him will spend eternity with him. That's why when all of the stuff that comes on this Earth, we know that there are momentary trials. We know there are small things. They feel like big things right now. But when we look back at them in eternity. We'll see that we were moving and marching and walking in the direction to let the Sar Shalom redeem us for history in eternity. That's what he offers. That's what we see in Isaiah nine, verse seven, it says of the increase of his government and peace. There will be no end. That means there's no end on this planet and there will surely be no end in eternity. The Prince of Peace is our hope. Colossians 1:19, for God, was pleased to have all the fullness trial in him and threw him. To reconcile himself, all things weather things on Earth, things in heaven by, watch this, making peace through his blood shed on the cross. So, listen to me, guys. For those of you that know Jesus, there will be a day that we no longer have to pray for peace. We'll walk in the peace. We'll experience the peace. We'll sit beside the peace. Why? Because Jesus is the peace. The Sar Shalom. Let me see if I can tie this all together with four walkaway statements. Number one. Peace is not the absence of pain. It's just not.

Number two peace is not the absence of problems. It's not. Why? Matthew 16:33 right? In this world, Jesus says you will have troubles they're coming. But take heart, Jesus says. I've overcome the world. Number three. Peace is a person. Here's number four. Peace is only found in abiding in Jesus. It's the only place, church. That's it. That's it. I know sometimes it just sounds so trite. It's Jesus, but literally peace is Jesus. That's it. If you're looking for somebody else to give it to you, it isn’t going to get there. Married couples listen. Don't put that on your spouse. That isn’t their job. They are not the prince of peace, they're not the wonderful counselor. They're not the mighty God or the everlasting father. They're your spouse. Don't put that on your counselor. Don't put that on your kids. Don't put that on your best friend. Don't put that on culture. Don't put that on the society. Don't put that on your retirement. Peace is Jesus, and he's the only place we find it. He's the only place we can get to it. And he's the only one that will give it to us eternally.

Question is this, though? Do you know peace? Have you met peace? Have you made peace with peace? Has there been a moment in your life where you have said Lord Jesus, I'm yours? I need you to come into my life and forgive me. I need you to set me free. And I need you to rule as the Prince of Peace. The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Listen to me if you've never made that decision. I hate to be frank with you, but you're not going to find peace until you do. There's going to be some momentary things that pop up on the radar. But there's always going to be the hole. But you are looking for peace. Here's the good news. You can meet him right now. You can meet him by simply saying, Lord Jesus, I'm yours.

You know, in just a minute, we're going to have a time of invitation. And we're just going to spend some time before the Lord laying our burdens, laying hurts, laying our pains in front of the Prince of Peace, the wonderful counselor, mighty God, the everlasting father. But listen, during this time, I'm going to be down here on the front. Can I invite some other pastors and deacons to come down here with me, and we're just going to stand across this front just in a posture of that we are available to you? We're available. If you just need somebody to pray with you, to pray over you. Matt, I don't know what to say. That that's why you're coming. Honestly, to say, Hey, would you, would you pray over me?

Maybe today you need to give your life to Jesus, and you just need to look at one of us and go, Hey, I need Jesus. And we love to walk you down that path. Maybe today you might just need to sit where you're at and just spend a moment with the Lord, or you just need to stand in honor of who the Lord is. Just want to invite us just for a few minutes today to be able to say, Thank you, Lord, move in my heart. Lord, we know that we're really good at filling our hearts with things that don't last. But today, Jesus, we invite you as the Prince of Peace to move. God, we're a bunch of hurting people. With a whole bunch of desires. Let us fix our devotion and attention on you. We welcome your peace. It's in your name.

Follow Along with the Message

Prince of Peace

December 26, 2021

Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Luke 2:10–14
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

“Prince of Peace” - 2 words in Hebrew

Sar: the one in charge, , chief, general

Shalom: rest, tranquility, , completeness

Prince of Peace Brings:

1. Peace with .

Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 1:28–30
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
Luke 1:76–79
“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins… to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Isaiah 53:5
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

2. Peace within .

Luke 1:46–47
My soul glorifies the Lord… my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… he is mindful of me.
Philippians 4:6–7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

3. Peace with .

Matthew 1:20
After he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ”Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

4. Peace that exists .

Luke 2:13–14
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
Colossians 1:19–20
13 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Peace Walkaways for the Season

1. Peace is not the absence of .

2. Peace is not the absence of .

3. Peace is a .

4. Peace is only found in with Jesus.

Additional Notes