The Prepositions of Peace
Advent • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsThe second message in our series on Advent. Pastor Jordan did the first on on Hope.
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
This week we will have our advent reflection conversation on Tuesday evening since we have our Christmas party on Wednesday evening. I hope you all have enjoyed the reflections as much as we have!
We will be having our Christmas party on Wednesday at 6:30PM here at Abide Coffee House. Please make sure to see Charity after service with any questions you may have and we look forward to seeing everyone!
Santas workshop update from Charity
Caroling update from Charity
Worship:
Sing to the King
Here I Am To Worship
He Shall Reign Forevermore
4. Agnes Dei
Introduction:
Video Introduction for Advent
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.
9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
We live in a world where everyone is looking for peace.
And, just like the popular song from back in the day (with a slight twist), they are looking for peace in all the wrong places.
Places like:
Money,
Equality,
Sex,
Relationships,
Drugs,
Alcohol,
Gender identity,
Government bills,
Job security, etc.
Or even in temporary places that aren’t necessarily bad like:
Parks/gardens
Beaches
Nature
Retreats
Apps
Art galleries/museums,
Libraries/bookstores,
Cafes
Spas
Cultural and historical sites, etc.
In either way, they are trying to find permanent peace in temporary solutions.
No matter how hard we try, there is only one way we can find, experience, and offer peace.
Transition: So, this morning we will be discussing the prepositions of peace as we continue with our advent series.
Body:
So what is peace? I will use the same definition I used in a previous message.
Peace defined:
Dr. Warren Wiersbe says:
The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) means much more than a cessation of war. It includes blessings such as wholeness, health, quietness of the soul, preservation, and completion.”
It not just the absence of war/conflict. But it is a completeness and wholeness of the person; it touches/effects every area of their life.
Transition: So, if that is what peace is, we are going to look at three prepositions of peace and figure out how this affects us and what this looks like in our daily life. The first preposition is:
I. With - The Peace with God
Before we found the Lord none of us were at peace! This is why God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to the earth!
We were born into sin and separated from God because of being guilty of breaking God’s law. And no one is good enough!
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
Sin always separates men from God, but Jesus went to the cross so we could have the opportunity to be at peace with God!
Illustration:
Picture this. You’ve been accused of a crime, and you’re guilty.
You know you’re guilty, and so does everyone in the courtroom. You stand before the judge and the sentence is read.
Just before they take you out the door in handcuffs, your defense attorney steps up and offers to take your punishment. Even though he’s innocent, the judge affirms him as an acceptable substitute to pay your debt to society. He goes to jail, and you go free.
That illustration only goes so far, because while you might have received a “get out of jail free” card, the guilt of your crime still burdens your heart.
But, Jesus doesn’t just take your punishment, however; He takes away the guilt and shame that came along with your sin.
We are justified in Christ – we are truly, literally, made righteous as God placed our sin on the shoulders of His own Son.
Our account is settled.
The balance is zero.
We have peace with God.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh,
15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.
16 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death.
In other words, Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, destroyed the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, making peace between both groups. And not only were they reconciled back to God, but He made them into one group called Christians.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only did He paid the penalty for our sins and joined Jews and Gentiles together, but He also took away the guilt and shame because He justified us which means it is just as I had never sinned!
13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.
14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
Questions to ask:
Are you at peace with God? Are you living for or against Him?
Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sins, bad choices, mistakes, etc.? (Things that are contrary to God and His Word)
Have you surrendered your life/way to Him and are trying to live the way He wasn’t you to live (according to His Word)?
Are still living in the guilt and shame of your past?
Still looking over your shoulder waiting for someone to catch you because of what you have done?
Transition: As we discuss the topic of peace during this advent season, we need to make sure we have accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior - been made at peace WITH God. Once we are made at peace WITH God, we can experience the next preposition of peace:
II. Of - The Peace of God
Remember: You can’t have the “peace OF God” if you’re not yet “at peace WITH God”!
Let’s look at what having the peace of God can be in our life by following Jesus’ example:
35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.”
36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him.
37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
As we read in Mark 4 about the storm and Jesus in the back of the boat asleep, we learn not how to “speak to the wind” but “sleep through the storm”!
If God doesn’t calm the storm “around us” He’ll calm the storm “in us”!
Have you been in a similar situation as the disciples’? Maybe you are in one right now?
You are in a storm (financial, emotional, relational, spiritual) and you are crying out to God because you don’t think He knows what you are going through. Like God lost track of you somehow, some way.
Whether we find ourself in a storm of our own making, or one that came out of nowhere (like the disciples did), we can have the peace of God in our lives as well.
Instead of focusing ON the storm or trying to speak TO the storm, we can sleep THROUGH the storm. How?
33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
A “world full of trials, troubles, and chaos,” is viewed differently by the Christ- follower.
Because we have peace WITH God, we have the peace OF God available in all circumstances.
We can face scary and impromptu situations because we know that Jesus has overcome the world, and that our future is secure.
It doesn’t make it easier or hurt less, but we have an anchor to hold tightly to in order to get us through.
When anxious thoughts come, scripture gives us the antidote: prayer.
We take our fears, worries and heartaches to Jesus, the only One who can do anything about what is weighing and affecting us.
God promises to give us peace that “surpasses all comprehension” in exchange, and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
And the peace we experience is beyond what the world can even imagine!
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.
8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.
Times of uncertainty are opportunities for us to learn to be obedient in the difficult times and the times we don’t understand.
Question to ask and thoughts to ponder:
Are you in a storm right now? Are you so focused on the storm or trying to fix the storm that your peace is gone?
We need to stop trying to get our own peace by making things happen or trying to fix things, and focus on the peace that Jesus gives.
The peace Jesus gives is the realization that He is in control and knew what was going to happen before it did. We may not understand it, but we can trust that God has everything under control (like what Pastor Jordan referenced last week in Job’s life).
Transition: Jesus didn’t die on the cross just for us to be made at peace WITH God and to experience the peace OF God, but also to do the last preposition:
III. To - The Peace of God to Others
We are to be agents of peace to those we interact. We cannot give them what we do not have which is why we have to be at peace with God and experience the peace of God before we can give the peace of God to others.
How do we give peace to others?
By building them up and working together as one:
19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Peace is a fruit of the Spirit as well.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
How can we stay in this peace and model it for others?
A reminder from a previous message I did is important to repeat:
3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.
A. It is God’s job to daily provide you with a double portion of peace.
1. The word “keep” is written as not being done but being done continually (it is an on-going giving of peace so you never run out!)
2. The words “perfect peace” is actually translated as “shalom shalom” which literally reads “peace peace”
a. it’s a double portion of peace which means all you would need and then some!
b. The same can be true to what God did for us by sending Jesus to die for our sins because the price was paid and then some!
We need to hold onto the peace that only God can give us!
How? Keeping our mind on God (not our situation) and our trust in God (not in what we can try to do or someone else can do)
And it is going through those difficult times that help us to be the ambassadors of peace to this world:
8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.
Obedience to staying the course and doing what God wants us to do in spite of our circumstance or feelings. This will preach more loudly than any sermon because actions speak louder than words.
When others see us living for God in spite of how our circumstances are or what life throws at us, it will preach loudly!
Conclusion:
Where are you this morning?
Have you experienced the peace with God by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Have you experienced the peace of God when you are in expected and unexpected storms and trials of life?
Have you shared the peace of God to others by how you treat others and build others up?
Are you staying in the peace of God by keeping your focus on Him and your trust in Him no matter how bad your storm/trial is?
Second Week: Peace
1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears,
4 but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips.
5 Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.
6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle.
8 An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.
9 They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.
10 On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will look to him for guidance, and his resting place will be glorious.
Prayer:
God of peace, during this Advent season, keep us from getting caught up in the busyness and chaos of the world around us. Help us to slow down, so that we may find rest in the Prince of Peace, your son, Jesus Christ. As we prepare for his coming, make us instruments of your peace in our homes, in our schools, in our work and in our world. Amen.
(Light two purple candles).