A Season of Peace

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, December 11, 2011

Luke 2:1-20, “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

There’s a commodity that is in short supply today; and yet is in great demand.  It’s a possession, a priceless treasure that people the world over are seeking and yet are hardly finding.  With all their dollars and credit lines, and the hard work that it takes to earn them, they are pursuing it to no avail.  Many would even give all that they own to claim it and to enjoy it in their lives, but – sad to say – they are looking for it in all the wrong places.  Wal-mart doesn’t carry it.  Best Buy never has it in stock.  The quaint, Mom and Pop stores around the square in Downtown McKinney don’t have it in their inventory, nor can you obtain it through Amazon, Ebay or any other web-based store.  What am I talking about?  A priceless gem?  A rare antique?  A one-of-a-kind handmade craft? 

No.  I’m talking about peace.  Peace.  The very season that, as we learned last time, is meant to be a season of joy, the very season that, as I hope to lead you in discovering next time, is intended by God to be a season of hope – real, lasting hope – the very season that is all of these things because, as we will come to find out on Christmas morning, is THE season of love, this season, Christmas season, is, for way too many people anything but a season of peace. 

A season of joy -  we looked at that wonderful truth about the Christmas season last time, didn’t we?  And do you remember what we learned?  We found out that joy, real joy, wonderful joy, is ours, it is!  How?  Why?  Because of this one bit of good, good news.  “For unto you – unto you – is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  Christmas is a season of joy because of those good tidings of great joy. 

But, where are we to go to find peace?  What is the reason why someone like me would call the Christmas season a season of peace?  The angel of the Lord, shining with the dazzling brilliance of God’s glory, brought the joyful report to the shepherds that night outside Bethlehem: a Savior has been born, Christ the Lord.  It is a season of joy!  But take note, in verses 13 & 14 that it was the numberless host of heaven’s angelic messengers that praised God with these words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” 

Peace…  Where are people like you and me to find it?  Peace.  This precious commodity, this priceless, tirelessly sought after possession, where are we to go to obtain it? 

I witnessed a sad and heart-breaking scene just a few weeks ago, when a friend of mine came stumbling out the door of his home, head in his hands, weeping almost uncontrollably.  I knew the reason for his tears, the turmoil and turbulence in his life due to many factors out of sync with God’s plan for his life.  But what he said, what my friend said, has stuck with me ever since.  “I just want some peace, David, I just want to have peace!” 

Interestingly, this man and his girlfriend live in a rundown, rent house with a 40 foot high, 30 foot wide bill board, one of those big ones like you see out along the highway, there is the huge billboard, planted right there, on one end of my friend’s front yard!  And how I wish I could put this simply message up there on that billboard: Peace?  Where is it to be found?  “And this shall be a sign unto you: yes shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger!” 

A Baby?  In a manger? Who would ever have thought to look there for peace?  Speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Zacharias, the joy-filled father of John the Baptist, has this to say about that Baby.  Take a look.  Right across the page, in Luke 1:78-79, he prophesies that the “Dayspring from on high”, that’s a reference to that Baby, Zacharias says that the “Dayspring from on high has visited us…”  God, by means of, because of His tender mercies poured out upon peace-seekers like my friend, in His Son, Jesus Christ, in this Baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed so lovingly in that manger bed, through His Son, our Savior, Christ the Lord, has made a way for those who ‘sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” to be enlightened, and - and – in and through that Baby He has made it possible for our feet, my friend’s feet, all people’s feet, to be guided “into the way of peace!” 

Christmas, it is a season of peace, at least, that’s what God’s intention is for it.  But, why is it that so many, who are so desperately searching for this rich blessing, not finding it, not experiencing and enjoying it? 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find that many of life’s most complex problems, issues like “where can I go to get, how will I ever enjoy true peace?” I have come to realize, and maybe you have also, that many of life’s most complicated problems have a solution that is, in fact, quite simple.  I’d like to suggest to you that such is the case when it comes to our quest for peace.

Two things, two glorious facts that you simply must know, about Jesus, about that precious Baby, if you want to enjoy real peace.  Number one, Ephesians 2:14 – Jesus Christ IS our peace – He is – because of what He has done for sinners, for people like you and me and my friend, who, without Him, are sitting, living, enduring, a place, so filled with darkness, so terribly overshadowed by death.  Jesus Christ IS our peace, because of what He has done for sinners!  Praise God! 

And, then, fact number two that I’d like for us to explore this morning is this: Jesus Christ is our peace, He is!  Because of what He gives to saints…

The manger, we love it, don’t we?  As we come to grips with the awesome reality of God becoming man, this unusual baby bed, this rustic cradle, we love it, because of what it stands for, what it declares to us about this Baby.  The Word HAS become flesh and dwelt among us, the Only Begotten Son of the Father, full, as He is, of grace and truth, in this marvelous way we have been given the privilege to behold His glory!  Wow!  Yes, we love the manger, that crude cradle.  But listen, don’t forget.  This would be no season of peace, if, following the cradle, there had been no cross!  He is our peace, Ephesians 2:14 – Jesus Christ is our peace!  How do we know that?  Because of what He has done for sinners, for the powerless, the ungodly, for His enemies!  For people just like you and me!  The prophet Isaiah, who in the ninth chapter of his prophecy, spoke of a “Child to be born, a Son to be given”, One upon whose shoulders the government would be placed.  Do you remember how Isaiah depicted Him, what he called Him? 

Isaiah 9:6, “And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”  Jesus Christ is our peace… Our Prince of Peace…  And here’s how we know that.  Isaiah 53 – The Child to be born would be “wounded, literally pierced through for our transgressions, the Son to be given, He would be bruised – literally – crushed, for our iniquities.  And, then – catch this – Isaiah 53:5, He is our peace, how do we know that?  Because of what He has done for sinners!  Look at what Isaiah says about Him there in chapter 53, verse 5.  “He was wounded – pierced through – for our transgressions, He was bruised – crushed – for our iniquities.”  And then it tells us that the “chastisement of our peace” the ripping, tearing, cutting blows intended to supply us with peace were upon Him – why?  So that by those stripes, as a result of all that pain and suffering and agony – for us – we might be healed! He is our peace, this Baby, yes, because He came to be born in a manger.  But much more, because He bled and died, in our place, for us, on a cross! 

Christmas, it really is a season of peace, because of what Jesus has done for sinners!  We don’t have time to look at the rest of this powerful 53^rd chapter of Isaiah, but here’s your assignment: read and study the rest of it, in light of Ephesians chapter 2 and 1 Peter chapter 2.  Christmas, it is a season of peace because of what Jesus Christ has done for sinners! 

But, then, there’s fact number two, remember it?  Jesus Christ, He is our peace – He is!  If you are a Christian… How do I know that?  Because of what He gives to His saints!  Quickly move with me to John chapters 14 & 16.  Peace, peace with God, what Jesus Christ has done at Calvary, for sinners, for the powerless, for the ungodly, yes, for us who in our sinful rebellion against God are no less than God’s enemies!  That peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, has an incredible by-product, the one that my friend so yearns for – what is it?  It is the gift that Jesus Christ, our peace, gives to His saints: peace within!  Peace in our hearts!  John 14:27 and John 16:33 - The scene is the upper room, Jesus’ final hours with His closest men, before He must go to Gethsemane and Calvary.  It is a troubling scene for Him, because He knew what was ahead.  It was perhaps even more distressing for the disciples because they didn’t know fully nor understand completely, what was about to take place.  Ever been there?  A place of ominous uncertainty?  A place of impending doom and dread?  Flip on the news, look at our society and you’ll feel it, won’t you?  I mean, even with the lights and the tinsel, the music and the ornaments, the tree and the packages under it, for most of us, it’s there.  This sense of foreboding anxiety, and fear. 

My Loved Ones, what season is this?  “For unto you a Child is born, unto you a Son is given, and the government, the final ruling authority over all these things, will be upon His shoulders, upon the shoulders of the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  What season is it?  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth – in McKinney and Sherman and Wylie and Princeton, and The Colony – on earth peace, good will toward men…”

My Loved Ones, this is the season of peace…  And how do we know that?  Because Jesus Christ, who is every Christian’s peace, has given a marvelous gift to His saints, and what is that gift?  John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Christmas, what season is it?  God has written it not on a billboard, but in manger, and on a cross!  Jesus Christ, our peace-MAKER, our Intercessor, our Mediator, our Sacrificial Peace Offering, God’s Marvelous Gift to us, Jesus Christ, our Peace-Giver, our Comforter, in these times of turmoil and uncertainty, our Ever-Present Help in trouble.  Christmas IS the season of peace.  Why?  You know why, because Jesus Christ has come. 

Peace in the Risen Christ

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Resurrection Morning Worship Service, April 4, 2010.

Joy, hope – and now, Resurrection word number three: peace. Peace. I pointed out in the early morning service that the word “Rejoice!” was the first word Jesus spoke to anyone, following His resurrection. He spoke it, as we discovered, to the women who came to the tomb to embalm His body! In this text, however, the Apostle John focuses his attention – switches on his 'microphone' to record a different word coming from Jesus' lips. A word He uttered at least 3 times – the word 'peace'. Now that word, 'peace' or 'Shalom' as the Jews would have said it, was the sort of their normal way of greeting each other. Kind of like our 'Hello.” But, here in these verses we read, there seems to be something more to Jesus' use of this word than simply a greeting. First of all, notice the element of fear at work in the hearts of Jesus' disciples. Verse 19 – they had fastened their door shut, they were afraid the Jewish leaders might come after them, seeing that the dead body of their prized prisoner was missing. The disciples were fearful, and they needed something, someONE to calm them. Jesus was that someone with the word they needed to hear – Shalom – “peace be to you!” The same someone, by the way, with the same simple, yet powerful word, as when they had been in the storm out on the Galilean Sea – 'Peace'. It's surely a timely word, a needed word, when you're afraid. But, the scene is different now, wouldn't you say? The One Who had been telling them all along about Calvary, and a tomb, and a rising from the dead – the One Who had let them in on all of this while ou in the boat – all of the things He had predicted and come true. Thus what He had said about Himself, about His identity must be true, too! But, what does all of this mean?

Peace... Writing several years later, what we know now as his first letter, the Apostle Peter explained it this way. He said that peace, soundness, wholeness, and the tranquility of heart that goes with all of that, is to be found, not in a greeting, but in a person. In a relationship with the Living One. 1 Peter 5:14 - “Peace to all of you, who are in Christ Jesus!”

In other words, peace - not simply the absence of conflict - but peace in this deepest and fullest of senses begins with what we might call a vertical dimension. It begins by being in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Peace, do you know that peace?

Now, maybe you're wondering, “What does Jesus Christ have to do with my being at peace with God?” My friends, He has everything to do with it! Everything – the Apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 2:14, that Jesus IS our peace! And that is true – verse 16 – Paul says, because Jesus Christ has reconciled us, made peace with God for us, through His death on the Cross! In other words, Jesus Christ is not merely our peace Negotiator, He is our peace Offering. Or, as the Apostle John drives home in his first letter, Jesus' death on the cross, His propitiating death and cleansing, shed blood makes it impossible for us to have what we CANNOT have otherwise – fellowship with God!

Maybe you've never looked at it this way before, but listen, Jesus' words to the repentant thief - the one who, as he hung on a cross next to Jesus, asked Him to remember him when He entered into His kingdom – what did Jesus say to this man? Do you remember? He said, “Truly, assuredly, today you will be with Me in paradise...” How could Jesus make such a statement, such a promise? He could make a promise like that because He, the One hanging from the cross in the middle, came to make a way for repentant thieves, and humble prostitutes and brokenhearted liars and adulterers – and homosexuals – and, yes Jesus came to make a way for even church members – to be forgiven! He is our peace vertically! He is the One who endured God's righteous wrath and judgment against us and against our sins – upon Himself! He is our peace!

Oh, but there's more! I can't tell you how many times, as a minister I have had people tell me the sad and painful stories of their lives with their families – broken marriages due to jealousy and selfishness and infidelity; children abused, neglected, sometimes even abandoned all together; brothers and sisters at war with each other; long-held grudges and bitterness over past sins and failures - where's the peace in all of this? To put it bluntly, there isn't any – at least, not if He is absent!

I'm not sure why Jesus said, “Peace to you” each time He suddenly showed up in the disciples' midst those first few hours and days following His resurrection. Perhaps one reason was to bring some wholeness and even some tranquility to the disciples' relationships – who knows? Maybe these men in that brief period between Jesus' death and the confirmation that He really was alive again – who knows? Maybe they were blaming themselves – perhaps even blaming each other for the sad outcome of it all. But, then suddenly, unexpectedly He shows up among them and says, “Peace!”

Ever have any arguments under your roof? You say you had one on your way here this morning? Doesn't make for a very good mood with which to worship, does it? “Shalom,” Jesus says, “Peace to you!” You see, not only is Jesus our peace, our peace maker – our peace-making sacrifice – vertically, He also came – look at the direction toward which His arms were out stretched. Jesus also came to be our peace horizontally – on a person-to-person, husband-to-wife, parent-to-child, brother-to-sister, basis! Do you need His peace in this way, in your life? Many do. How about you?

Finally, maybe you're like everyone else in this room – you have 10 fingers and 10 toes, 2 eyes, 2 ears and one nose. But, what you don't have is what you yearn for the most: peace within, internal harmony, peace of mind. Did you notice the signboard message out on the lawn? There are two restaurants back over this way, they're advertising to provide you with that peace of mind. “Come on in, we'll show you a good time! Have a few cold ones, watch the Big Screen, sing along with the live band – we'll get you there!” That's quite a promise, if you asked me... Do you believe them? From what I can tell, a lot of folks do! But, do you?

Are you fearful? Fear has a powerful way of robbing one's peace, doesn't it? The disciples of Jesus were fearful – so afraid in fact, that they locked the doors. Oh, but Jesus, the Peace Makers, He didn't need a key! He could walk through walls! More to the point, He could breathe His Spirit of peace upon someone, and he or she would become willing to stare down even the fiercest enemy!

Do you have doubts? Questions? Uncertainties? Ever heard of Thomas, before – doubting Thomas? What was Jesus' initial exhortation to this fellow who as wavering between faith and un-belief? “Peace to you!” The word peace is a Resurrection word, too. Do you see it? Because doubters like Thomas, and like you and me, need it – need the certainty that the Living One offers, here (hands), here (side) and here (in the Bible).

Peace – Hope – Joy. 3 powerful Resurrection words found and summed up, not in anything Hank's or Hooter's offers, but in Jesus – in Jesus! But, why is that so? JOY – HOPE – PEACE. Those powerful Resurrection words are powerful – why? Because of these Good Friday words:

“Father, forgive them... for they know not what they do...” “Assuredly, this day you will be with Me in paradise...” “Eloi, Eloi, Laman Sabbachthani – My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and, “It – is – finished!”

If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.. If you want hope, living hope, certain hope, let Jesus come into your heart. If you want peace, true peace, lasting peace, let Jesus come into your heart...

All hope, all peace, all joy was gone – GONE! Until Easter's dawn. But we are free, FREE, because God's love found a way!

Psalm 30:4-5, 11-12 - “Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”