Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, December 16, 2018 (A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE) Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Christmas, Peace, Christian Living Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men! Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV) Our scripture text comes to us this morning from the Gospel of Luke, chapter two. We will be reading verses 8-14. Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV) 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 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. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! ****************************************************
Introduction Illustration: In the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, a very girlish looking Judy Garland sang one of the classic songs of all time called Somewhere Over The Rainbow. In that song, her character Dorothy, was expressing her heartfelt longing to escape to some far-away place where all of her problems would just melt away like lemon drops. She envied the blue birds who could fly over the rainbow to the land she longed for and lamented, Why oh why can't I? Years after The Wizard of Oz was filmed, it became widely known that in Judy Garland's personal life she desperately sought for peace. Tormented by fear and insecurity and five failed marriages, Judy Garland turned to prescription drugs to ease her pain. Tragically, on June 22, 1969, Judy Garland was found dead of an overdose on the bathroom floor of her home in London, England. She never found the peace on earth she so desperately wanted. ************************************************************ One of the greatest desires of the human heart and deepest needs of the human soul is to find peace...true peace...lasting peace. Like Judy Garland, who among us here today has not longed for a place where we could just get away from all of our problems and all of the stresses of life? But as we are going to see in today's message, true, genuine peace is not found in a PLACE, but rather in A PERSON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
On the night Jesus was born the heavenly hosts of angels delivered the most wonderful news ever given to man... For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the LORD... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! When we look at the situation of the world around us it just doesn't seem to mesh with the message of the angels. Instead of peace on earth we see conflict everywhere we turn. Paul writes in Romans 3:17 (NKJV) And the way of peace have they not known. The late Billy Graham once said... We are given to violence. It fills our screens, fills our novels and our books. As we look around, we find that there is little personal, domestic, social, economic or political peace anywhere. Look at marriages that are breaking up, the tensions in the home, the fighting among members of the home. I see absolutely no hope for us having permanent peace in spite of all the work and the efforts of the United Nations. Why? Because something is wrong with the human heart. We all have the seeds of hatred and violence within us. Where is this peace on earth the angels proclaimed the night of Jesus' birth? We talk about world peace. Many people pray for world peace. But Jesus plainly tells us in the Gospels that there is going to be war in the world clear up until the time He comes again. In fact He has warned us that we will see an escalation of wars and conflicts as the time of His return draws near.
We must understand that the Biblical meaning of peace doesn't refer to the absence of conflict or the absence of trouble. Nor does it refer to world peace. The peace the Bible teaches us about is something we can have even in the midst of great trials and troubles. How is that possible? It is only possible through Jesus Christ. Isaiah 9:6 tells us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. On the night before Jesus was crucified He said to His disciples, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled neither be afraid. You see, JESUS DID NOT COME TO BRING WORLD PEACE...HE CAME TO BRING PERSONAL PEACE. And when you look closely at what the angels said the night Jesus was born you can clearly see this truth. Listen to verse 14 again from the New International Version... Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests. (Luke 2:14 NIV) Notice the angels say absolutely nothing about peace to the nations. They are speaking of peace to individuals. And on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests. As we think about this Message of Peace spoken by the angels that very first Christmas, let me share with you a couple of very important truths.
TRUTH #1: Our PEACE Came At A Great PRICE We certainly understand that truth as American citizens don't we? We enjoy freedom in this country unlike any other country in the world. But we know our freedom isn't free. Our freedom came at a great price! It cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the battlefields who paid the supreme sacrifice for our freedom. This is especially true when it comes to our spiritual freedom. Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet... Isaiah 53:4,5 (NKJV) 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. The natural man lacks peace with God. In fact everyone of us came into this world fighting against God, because we were all part of the rebellion that started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Colossians 1:21-23 (NIV) 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Do you understand what Paul is saying. At one time we were alienated from GOD. At one time we were the enemies of God. At one time we did not have peace with God...but when we received Christ as our Lord and Savior we ceased to be God's enemies. We made a truce with God. We came over to God's side. The hostility ended. And Jesus wrote the peace treaty with His very own blood He shed on the cross of Calvary! Apart from JESUS CHRIST we can do nothing to make peace with God. We can't make peace with God by being good. We can't make peace with God by being nice. We can't make peace with God by being charitable. We can only make peace with GOD through JESUS CHRIST. Christ was willing to pay for our peace by giving Himself as a sacrifice for us on the cross of Calvary. And only those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can know peace on earth! Those who reject Jesus do not have and cannot know true peace on earth so long as they remain alienated from God. It is impossible to be an enemy of God and have peace on earth. Isaiah 57:20,21 (NKJV) But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. You see, when the angels proclaimed peace on earth that night Christ was born, we must remember OUR PEACE CAME AT A GREAT PRICE!
The second truth is this... TRUTH #2: Jesus Christ Is The Only SOURCE of PEACE People look for peace in all sorts of places. -Some look for peace by going to their favorite fishin' hole or by climbing up in a deer stand deep in the woods. -Some look for peace by slipping away to some remote cabin in the mountains or going to their favorite beach. -Some look for peace by turning off the TV and the telephone and curling up on the couch with a good book. But we must understand that these things are NOT the source of true, lasting, eternal peace. There is only one source for true peace and that is JESUS CHRIST... THE PRINCE OF PEACE. Isaiah 32:16,17 (NIV) The Lord s justice will dwell in the desert, His righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
John Gill, one of the great preachers and Bible expositors of the 1800's once wrote: Inward peace for the soul now, and eternal peace hereafter; the righteousness of Christ applied removes the guilt of sin from our conscience. It, being perfect justifies all things, and yields a tranquility and serenity of mind which gives us peace in this life and everlasting peace in the life to come. (edited for clarity) Perhaps at some time or another you have seen this simple statement: NO CHRIST, NO PEACE KNOW CHRIST, KNOW PEACE That is so true. If you have NO ROOM FOR CHRIST in your life, you will have NO PEACE ON EARTH. But if you come to the source! If you come to KNOW CHRIST, you will come to KNOW THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING.
C O N C L U S I O N Illustration: If you ever watched the old Western TV shows and movies it was a familiar scene. Two cowboys get in a gun fight. Both fire shots...one is hit and goes down in the street. As he lays dying in the street, some people gather around and someone says to the dying man, its time to make your peace with God. As we come to our time of decision today if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior I want to remind you, its time to make your peace with God. And the only way you can make your peace with GOD is to come to Christ, the Prince of Peace. Come by FAITH believing in CHRIST as the only One who can save your soul. And REPENT of your sins and CONFESS Jesus Christ as your LORD and SAVIOR, and be IMMERSED in the waters of baptism for the remission of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Make peace with GOD...come to JESUS...come to THE PRINCE OF PEACE...and today you will discover what it really means to have PEACE ON EARTH!