Peace: The Father of God's Promise

Advent 2021: The Preparation for Christmas  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  23:20
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Introduction

This mornings message is on the advent theme of Peace.
As I pondered what direction to take this theme and keeping with the idea of stories that lead up to
or prepare us for the Christmas story,
I was taken no farther than that of Joseph
Joseph was asked to be the earthly father of God’s Promise.
He was asked to raise a boy that would be perfect. What correction or direction would be needed for this son?
Then I think of the concept of peace and wonder what makes a person to be at peace. Even this time we are living through.
Folks, these last three weeks, it has been that long right?
Three weeks of anything but peaceful.
All of our lives have some how been affected and turned around.
For some of us, we are now facing a different Christmas than we would have hoped for this season.
So how can we be at peace?
When you hear the words peace, what comes to mind?
Are you at peace or is your anxiety level at an all time high?
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What drives our peace? What gives you peace.
I went to the authority on Peace, you guessed it Wikipedia
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.
Peace is not a concept but a reality.
Think for a moment about the Angels,
the angels were part of the advent of the messiah because they were the agents God used to usher in His Peace.
His Son. We can only truly find Peace in God.
With that in mind, let’s look through this morning passage of Scripture that describe the preparation for the Messiah, The Peace that the messiah will usher into our lives.
It is my desire this morning that as we look at God’s Word this morning and discover the life that Joseph the story will bring us a greater knowledge of God and peace in our lives.
Answers to live our lives and prepare for the Christmas story with Peace.
To begin, open up your Word with me and we begin by reading the story in Matthew 1
Matthew 1:18–25 ESV
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
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Peace

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Peace was brought into the world with the coming of the messiah, the coming of the savior was for all of us.
matt 1:18 “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”
Now the birth took place in this way.
If you look on the surface of the text you will see that Matthew begins to highlight the couple. Remember he is writing this in a past tense. This has taken place.
Last Sunday as we focused on Hope and the Mother’s of the Promised One,
this passage, a document from the evangelist, Matthew, makes the mention of the birth from a different perspective.
It is from the perspective of the earthly father of the chosen one.
Matthew points out that they were engaged. A social engagement that was different than we know of engagement today. They were, in the Jewish culture a couple.
There was an agreement, an understanding between the two.
Life was going along normal for Joseph.
I saw a funny caption the other day that so appropriately fits with what we have all be experiencing
Before I agree to 2022, I would like to see some terms and conditions
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Peace

For Joseph the terms and conditions quickly changed.
Look at the scripture,
But wait she was with child. A quick simple statement that asks the readers many questions.
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To begin to understand peace, let’s take a few moments to look at Joseph himself.
This passage will give you an idea of the man himself as there is not a lot said throughout scripture about this man. How he was able to live in peace when all around him there wasn’t.
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Man of Justice

To start off with, he was a man of justice
Look at verse 18
Matt 1:18-19 “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”
The theme of peace begins with a very awkward moment in the life of Joseph.
What we are experiencing right now and these past three weeks will show people’s true character.
Disaster will bring out the worst and the best of people.
Being at peace with all that is going on, does not come from what is within ourselves.
Our sinful nature, in not at peace, but rather peace comes with handling our situation leaving the the situation in the hands of the one who can bring peace.
Some may wonder, why me? Why them?
In Joseph’s case, this first step in their early life of a couple brought their first trial.
It’s been said, that

Confronted with the problem of his betrothed being pregnant, he contemplated how to end the betrothal in a divorce. He sought ways to do it privately rather than to expose her publicly. In his careful contemplation, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph with a message from God.

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Man of Discretion

He was a man of discretion.
I wonder what his social media account would have been showing during this time.
They had just posted the pictures of the lovely couple. Family beaming with delight, the young couple are entering their year of being promised to one another. Life is exciting. Plans are being prepared.
Mary then heads off for a trip to visit a family member and comes home with the biggest news of Joseph’s life.
I’m sure at this stage in the story, Peace wasn’t the top words that would describe Joseph.

Man of Piety

He was also a man of piety.
Doing the right things.
Does piety or being a good follower of Christ bring about Peace?
Matthew is quick to point out,
as Matthew himself was a good jew,
writing to an audience of Jewish people, the “right thing to do!”
Are we helping people in our community because it is the right thing to do, or is there something more.
Are we stepping forward to fill the needs of the people, and for some, their needs are many, or is there something more.
It is nothing wrong with being the hands and feet of Jesus, but is that all that we can bring.
How effective are we at bringing peace, true peace in their lives.

Man of Obedience

Another character of this man, that prepared him to be the father of the chosen one was his obedience.
Following God’s Word, will bring about peace.
How was he obedient, we hear news of an angel.
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Matthew 1:19–21 (ESV)
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

What was the need for this Angel?

What was the need for the angel? Think about that for a moment. I had to this week.
You see I have heard this story for many years. Maybe you have heard this story before and hearing so many times we seem to gloss over the facts
or in some cases focus on some points.
Here are some of the facts I have been taught over the years:
Joseph had every right to “divorce” her
Joseph was a such a godly man because he didn’t want to bring harm to Mary
Joseph was an honorable man for thinking of all these things.
Now don’t get me wrong. These statements are true. But think of it this way.
How did Joseph find out that his engaged to be wife was pregnant?
The bible doesn’t specifically say, but we can assume Mary told him.
As I said last week and the timeline, she returned home after being at Elizabeth’s for 3 months.
I can only conclude that Mary told him when she came back.
It wasn’t through a phone call, text or tweet, or private message, but a face to face conversation.
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Mary would have also told him about the angel’s visit.
God’s messenger had spoken, Joseph heard the story and was trying to distance himself from the story.
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One commentary states it this way

1. Because Joseph, knowing about the virginal conception, was a just man and had no desire to bring the matter out in the open (i.e., to divulge this miraculous conception), he felt unworthy to continue his plans to marry one so highly favored and planned to withdraw (so Gundry, Matthew; McHugh, pp. 164–72; Schlatter).

That really stuck out for me.
Your new wife is about to be the mother of the messiah, and you are planning on how you can get out of the scene.
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I wonder if Joseph felt unworthy as Mary was the one who was favored.
Have you ever felt that way about your life.
Unworthy that God would use you for something of his plan.
I mean you look at another
and you see that God has apparently blessed them and wonder, I could never meet up to that expectation.
I could never ..... be at peace with my life.
It is at that moment of Joseph’s life, God sent an angel to reassure him.
Reassure him that God was in control, and following God brings about peace.

The Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the lord.
Matthew 1:20 ESV
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, Don’t worry, God is in control
Joseph, Keep moving on your plans, I have your back
Joseph, Do not fear, God is in control.
Joseph be at peace because I am here.
Are you sitting here this morning feeling out of sort. Are you wondering if God is real and has left you on the edge of your life. Can I repeat the words of the angel
Friend, Don’t worry, God is in control
Friend, Keep moving on your plans that God has ordained, I have your back.
Friend, Do not fear, God is in control
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True Peace

I have been pondering these past few weeks, our lives have been turned upside down once again.
How can one find true peace in all of what is happening.
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The Angel’s Purpose

The Angel’s purpose in the Advent of the Messiah was not to bring peace to one another, but rather to direct people to the prince of Peace.
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You see Joseph’s encounter with the angel re-focused his purpose and it brought about peace.
His character was helpful, but it was the promise of peace that would truly sustain him.
In a few short months, in both Joseph’s and Mary’s life, the world around them, their situation was anything but peaceful.
Think about this, Joseph’s first part of his Married life, one that should be of settling down and setting up the house, was filled with displacement.
They would find themselves displaced out of their home.
Travel by foot and donkey to another town only to arrive and find there was no room and no ESS to assist
Leaving his hometown to travel to register and finding no room, but still at peace because God had a plan.
They would deliver their firstborn in a place reserved for spotless lambs.
Joseph was at peace through all of this and was prepared to usher in and be the father of God’s chosen.
Mary treasured all the events, and I can assume Joseph was at peace with the events knowing that the son, his adopted earthly son
was the true Prince of Peace.
The Angel told him that he would be able to hold the Emmanuel
God dwelling among us and Joseph was holding Him.
That would give anyone the greatest peace in the world.

Our Peace

Finally, we need to address our peace.
In all that is happening, where do you get your peace?
You see your peace, comes from God.
Christ came, his Advent of the messiah brought in a way of peace with God.
We were once alienated and separated from God through our sin. Christ’s work on the cross made a way to once again have peace with God.
To receive full peace, God’s peace, one must come to the father and accept God’s redemptive work on the cross,
through this child, Christ,
Come to receive the forgiveness of our sins.
It’s a free gift, but we have to accept this gift. To give our lives over to Christ. To allow Him rule in our lives and usher in the true peace.
If you haven’t accepted Christ as your personal saviour for your sins, and Confessed Him to be your lord, your striving for peace will fall short.
You may strive and strive to find peace, filling your life with many things, but the true peace, one that cannot be replaced by anything other than God’s peace will come when you accept the Advent of the messiah in your life.

Because of the world’s chaos through man’s sin, and because peace comes only as God’s gift, the Messianic hope was of an age of peace (Is. 2:2–4; 11:1–9; Hg. 2:7–9), or of the advent of the Prince of peace (Is. 9:6f.; cf. Je. 33:15f.; Ezk. 34:23ff.; Mi. 5:5; Zc. 9:9f.). The NT shows the fulfilment of this hope. In Christ peace has come (Lk. 1:79; 2:14, 29f.). By him it is bestowed (Mk. 5:34; Lk. 7:50; Jn. 20:19, 21, 26), and his disciples are its messengers (Lk. 10:5f.; Acts 10:36).

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If you have accepted God’s forgiveness, and your still struggling with peace, you are wrestling with what the future will look like as we begin to rebuild, to walk through this crisis we all have faced.
Don’t worry, you are not alone, but there is peace, it is available for all.
Joseph believed and lived the early life of chaos because of being the father of the chosen one, we too can have peace but it comes when we place our burdens, worries and cares, at the one who will bring us Peace.
Are you finding yourself like Joseph who was considering dealing with the matter in his own way because he felt he couldn’t possibly measure up, turn it over to God. His redemptive plan will usher in peace.
It’s this type of peace.
I do not understand why all of this has happened. I can’t even be happy it did, it’s sad.
But I can have peace. Because God is working, he hasn’t stopped and will continue to work.
I have peace that God will and is sustaining us through this time as we move forward and we can offer anyone who is without peace, a peace that is everlasting.

In Summary

As the worship team comes up and leads us through a song of response, may I encourage you this morning. If you haven’t given your life over to the Prince of Peace. Do it today. Christmas for you will never be the same.
Philippians 4:7 ESV
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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