Good morning!
Today my message is entitled “Jesus said ‘My Peace I Give You!’”
This is the second Advent Sunday and we just watched the video, and Molly and Deloris lighting the candle of Peace. Look behind me and see the Peace banner. Last week we looked at the candle of hope. A verse that moves us from hope to peace is:
Romans 15:13a NIV
13a May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can place our hope in Jesus Christ because He alone is the bridge to being with God almighty for eternity. Over the past few months as we looked at the Ten Commandments, we saw how God loves us and why Jesus came to earth to restore our relationship with God, which had been destroyed by mankind’s going astray from God’s plan for man.
In a booklet called “Finding the Hope”, I found this statement:
Jesus is not a dead figure from ancient history. He is alive! He is there for anyone who turns to Him, and He offers the gift of eternal life to everyone who believes in Him. We cannot save ourselves, but He can. We cannot give ourselves hope, but He can, for He is the hope. The hope of eternal life. The hope of meaningful, abundant life this very day. And the assurance that in Him alone – the Prince of Peace – we can experience true and enduring peace. 1
Today’s title comes from a verse from the Book of John where Jesus is talking with His disciples about what is coming soon with His death and resurrection. Judas asks Him a question, to which Jesus replies with a promise and encouragement.
John 14:27 NIV
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jesus is promising peace in our souls, not in the world arena. World peace is a hope we have but there is a peace far greater to be had. Jesus tells us not to be afraid because He will give us a peace that is beyond understanding, and it will protect us from the onslaught of Satan in this world.
Philippians 4:7 NIV
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A long time ago, I read a book called “Peace Child” by Don Richardson.
In this book, Don, accompanied by his wife Carol and 17-month-old child, tells of going to Sawi, a headhunting tribe in the Netherland’s New Guinea. There savagery was a way of life. The tribesmen considered headhunting, cannibalism, and treachery as virtues. As these savages heard the story of the Gospel, they considered Judas – not Jesus – the hero, and Don almost despaired of ever reaching them.
At last, the warfare and barbarism between the Sawi and the neighbour tribes grew so intense that the Richardsons decided to pack their bags and leave. But when the Sawi heard of it, they were deeply disturbed. They had come to love and trust the Richardsons. To prevent their leaving, the Sawi met in a special session and decided to make peace.
The next day as Don watched with mounting curiosity, the peace ritual began. Young children from the warring villages were to be exchanged, and as long as any of those children were alive, the peace would continue.
It was an anguishing ritual, for every mother feared her child would be taken. But after a period of emotional indecision, the chief himself grabbed his only son and rushed toward the enemy tribe, literally giving the tribe to his enemies. In return, he received a son from the other side. Peace descended across the mountains.
As Don pondered the significance of the ceremony, he realized there was a powerful Redemptive Analogy. Shortly afterward, gathering the elders together, he told them how God the Heavenly Father had sent Jesus to earth as His Peace Child to make peace between God and man.
It was a lesson they understood and embraced at last. 2
We can learn a lot from this story! God wants us to be peacemakers in this world of turmoil and injustice. With all the differences in people’s understanding, it is a world of chaos. Just like at the time of that first Christmas, when God gave His Son to us as a man.
Colossians 1:19-20 NIV
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
God came to us as a baby, grew into a man and died for us, and then arose to show us the way back to God.
In the Book of Luke, we find a very special verse that points us in the direction we need to go.
Luke 2:14 NIV
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
God wants us to be His peacemakers! Not to try to stop all the violence in this world but to bring people back to God, to make peace in their souls. That in turn will lead to peace in the world.
Matthew 5:9 NIV
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
And as sons of God, we will show the fruit of the Spirit to the world and each other.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
In a CBWC bulletin insert a few years ago, I found this statement:
Jesus honors us with a ministry of reconciliation. He asks us, filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit, to restore people to right relationships with God and with each other. We are called to resolve conflicts among ourselves and among others. We are asked to make peace actively, to not just passively keep peace, or pretend conflicts and disagreements don’t exist. We do as God has done: loving others, forgiving them as God forgave us and inviting them into God’s grace and wholeness.3
I want to close with a verse that is used as a benediction in many churches. It shows that promise God made to all of us, God’s peace in many different ways. Let’s be peacemakers so that we can show the world the wonderful peace that God gives us.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
Hebrew word for ‘Peace’ is ‘Shalom.” So I say Shalom, go with God! Amen!
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