Sermon
delivered on December 25th, 2016
Morning Service
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: Isaiah 9:1-7
Introduction
We
come now to the last sermon in our series "The Name Above All Names."
We have looked at the first three names Isaiah ascribed to our Lord, namely the
names - Wonderful Consellor, the Mighty God, and the
Everlasting Father.
This
morning, consider with me the fourth and last name in our text, which is
the "Prince of Peace".
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7:22 Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this.
When
we think of Christmas we often think of peace. It is one of the repeated phrases
of the season.
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will toward men.
What
a wonderful announcement! Specially now in the world we live in. We all
know, we live in a world filled with
terror, war and violence. Since the beginning of recorded
history, the world has been at peace less than 8% of the time!
In
the past 3,550 years, only 286 years saw peace. During that time, more
than 8,000 peace treaties have been madeand broken.
(Moody
Bible Institute, Today In The Word, June 1988, p.33 date adjusted for 2008)
So
every day we read or watch the news we wonder, Where is the peace announced by
the angels to the shepherds? If the Messiah came to bring peace, why isn't
there peace?
First
of all, we need to understand that Jesus Christ did not come to bring global or domestic
peace. He did not come to bring universal peace. That is not the primary
and immediate consequence of His coming.
Listen
to what our Lord said in ...
Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I
came not to send peace, but a sword.
Jesus
knew that the kind of peace that He will bring about would be misunderstood. He
said, He did not come to bring peace like many of us understand peace. He
did not come to bring that kind of peace where everybody gets along at all
cost, for He said, He came to bring a sword.
And
seven-hundred years before Christ was born Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would
be called the "Prince of Peace". This is one of the most familiar
titles of Jesus Christ but it is also one of His most misunderstood and
misapplied titles .
It
is true that when Jesus was born, angels sang, "On earth peace, good will toward men." If you read the announcement
carefully, the message of angels is not "Peace on Earth!" But rather, "On
Earth Peace!" You ask, what is the difference?
On
earth, Peace. Christ, the Prince of Peace, was on earth. The angels were
singing because at that time the peace of God in the person of Jesus Christ was
on earth. It is true He came to bring peace, but not the kind of peace that
some people think He meant to bring.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The
peace that Jesus Christ gives is not like the peace that the world gives.
The peace that the world gives is not real. It is temporary. It is imperfect.
It is always unstable and uneasy. The peace that Jesus Christ brings is
particular and permanent. It is His peace!
Let
us look at this two basic peace that the Prince of Peace, the great Peacemaker
came to give.
I - Peace with God
This
is the true message of Christmas. This is why we celebrate the birth of Jesus,
first and foremost, because He has brought us peace with God.
A
man close to death was in the hospital. His minister came to see him and asked:
"Have you made your peace with God?" The man responded, "I didn't know God and I had
ever been enemies."
Many
people in the world today feel exactly this way. They don't think that they had
ever quarreled with God. But the Bible is clear, that without
Christ we are not at peace with God at all. In fact, the reality is without the
Prince of Peace in our lives, we are enemies of God.
This
is exactly what the Apostle Paul says in ...
Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past
Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision
by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12: That
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world:
Paul
reminds his readers that at that time they were without Christ, they were
excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world.
I
understand that many people do not want to be told that without Christ, they
are enemies of God. The problem is they do not understand that their sins
have created a great separation between the Creator and created. Those sins
serve as a barrier, like a wall, signifying war.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and
your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Each
of us because of the sinfulness in our lives has a problem with God. Our sin
separates us from God. And we were all born with a sin nature that
separates us from God. And what this means is, we do not have peace with God.
In fact, because of this sinfulness that is a part of who we are - enemies of
God. This truth is difficult to shallow and so many people would not receive
this truth. But this is the path to reconciliation with God starts, by
humbling ourselves and acknowledging that we have been enemies of God, we have
not been at peace with God....
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Our
sin separates us from God. So before we can have peace with God something
must be done about that sin. And guess what? Something has been done!
But
now! Don't you love these words, "But
now!" In Christ Jesus, those who once were far away have been brought near
through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 4:14 For he is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
For
He, Himself, is our peace! God the Father sent Jesus, the Prince of Peace,
to remedy the problem. He sent the Prince of Peace give us peace with God, to
reconcile us to God.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him. 10: For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
The
Prince of Peace came as a baby and when He grew up, this Prince of Life
suffered and died on the cross. He made it possible for that peace to be
realized.
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Jesus
sacrificed Himself for our sin problem. And because of that, if we placed our
trust in Him and His sacrifice, we can now have peace with God.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
God
in His love reaches out to us in our sins in order to call us to this upward
peace this peace is peace with God. He loved us so much He sent His Son into
this world to redeem us. Christmas reminds us that God sent His Son into this
world to open the door of peace. When a person accepts Christ, the
conflict with God is over. To put your faith in Christ, is to lay down
the sword of sin and turn in faith to surrender to Him. Rather than subjecting
you to humiliation and deprivation for your sins, God adopts you into His
family. He gives you the peace you have been looking for everywhere else. He
forgives your sins. He prepares a place for you in Heaven. Your guilt is gone.
Your crimes are forgiven. You have peace with God!
II - Peace of God
Once
we have peace with God, we can now experience peace within. A peace that is a
by-product of having made peace with God. God wants us to know and
experience His peace. But it is impossible to have the peace of God without
peace with God. That is the reason we started with the peace with God. If you
and I are to experience the peace of God, we must be reconciled to God; we must
make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Going
back to what the Prince of Peace said in ...
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The
peace that Jesus Christ promises to give is a state of tranquility or quietness
of spirit. A peace that passes all understanding. A peace that is beyond
comprehension. A peace that cannot be explained but can be enjoyed. It
is also a peace that transcends circumstances.
Billy
Graham tells the story of a little bird. The sea was beating against the rocks
in huge dashing waves, the lightning was flashing, the thunder was rolling, the
wind was blowing; but the little bird was asleep in the crevice of the rock,
its head serenely under its wing it was sound asleep. That is peace to be
able to sleep in the storm!
In
Christ, we are at peace in the midst of the confusions and storms of this life.
The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest. When Christ comes in, He stands
against the winds and the storms and cries out: "Peace,
be still!" If Christ is here in our hearts, then we can be at peace. We find
peace when we find Him. He is our peace!
Ephesians 4:14 For he is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Jesus
Christ is our peace! If
Christ is peace, then to know Christ is to enjoy and take comfort in His peace.
The closer we draw to Him, the more of His peace we can enjoy (James 4:8).
The
Bible promises that when we set our minds and actions upon the things of God, then
and only then will the "peace of God which surpasses all
comprehension guard our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians
4:7).
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God. 7: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4: Trust
ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Some
may say, "How can I be at peace when all of life is crashing down on
me?"
This
verse states that God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are
steadfastly trusting in Him. The word "keep" literally means to guard,
protect, hide and conceal. Understand that the promise here is not to
keep us from storms of life, but to keep us in perfect peace in the midst
of storms of life. Jesus did not keep the disciples from the storm, but He
was with them in the storm and kept and protected them from harm by
the storm.
In
our lives as Christians, no one are kept from trouble, but we are hidden in the
One who walks with us through trouble.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4: Trust
ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
What
a wonderful verse! What a precious promise!
Closing Thoughts
The
message of Christmas is a wonderful message. It is a hope-filled message. The
only hope we have in this world of terror, fear and anxiety is first of all the
be reconciled to God through our Lord Jesus Christ and then to keep our minds
stayed on Him. Do you have that peace that Jesus promised? You cannot have
peace unless you know the Prince of Peace. You cannot have peace unless
you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You cannot have peace if your dealing with Jesus Christ is only on Christmas Day or
a "Sunday-morning-religion". You must have a vital living
relationship with the Prince of Peace, if yo are to
experience the peace with God and the peace of God.
Dwight
L. Moody once said, "A great many people are trying to make
peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we
have to do is to enter into it."
Have
you entered into personal relationship and peace with Jesus Christ? Have you
allowed Him to change your heart? This is the only hope of the world which
longs for peace, the only hope for our communities, the only hope for our lives
- to allow Prince of Peace to give them a new heart.
An
old proverb says: "If there is righteousness in the
heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the
character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation. And when there is order in the nation, there
will be peace in the world." But not
unless the Prince of Peace reigns in the hearts!
AMEN!