Celebrate the True Meaning of Christmas with Us

Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,

where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.

My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to

this podcast.

I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen

you in the word of God.

Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has

for us here today.

Welcome to Middletown Baptist Church.

We're so glad that you're here to worship the Lord together with

us on this special Sunday that we are going to be celebrating Christmas

here.

And this is our special service where we're going to have

music from all different ages.

We're going to have our young people singing to you and our adult

choir, and we're so excited to hear from them.

We're also excited to hear from the Word of God at Christmastime.

One of the most popular passages, the most popular passage

is Luke chapter two.

And I want to go ahead and read a portion of Luke Chapter two

here this morning as we get started.

All of you know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger.

And that's what we celebrated last night at our live Nativity scene.

And verse number seven says in Luke 2, and she brought forth her

firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him

in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the

field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of

the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, fear not.

For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall

be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which

is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you.

You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying

in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly

hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on

earth.

Peace, goodwill toward men.

I want you to think about that last phrase there.

Peace, goodwill toward men.

Today we're going to be talking about the gift of peace.

We're going to go ahead and open up with a word of prayer.

And then after that, we're going to sing some congregational

songs praising our Savior.

Then we'll go ahead and start our program here today.

Let's pray.

Lord, we do thank you for this opportunity today to worship you

to celebrate this season of Christmas.

Lord, we know that it's more than just receiving presents from

our loved ones and getting around the dinner table and just

having a great time.

Lord, it's about celebrating the love that you showed us through

your son, Jesus Christ.

Or the fact that we know that we have an issue and that issue is

the issue of sin, Lord.

And you, out of love for us, sent your only begotten son so that

we might have life through him.

So, Lord, I pray that we can understand what that means to have

that gift of peace here.

Lord, I pray that you be with all the folks that are going to be

singing, conducting, playing instruments.

Lord, I pray that you calm their nerves, allow them to be able

to glorify you through these ways.

And I pray that everyone here today can leave with the understanding

of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

Lord, I pray that you bless us in this time.

We thank you and we love you in Jesus name, Amen.

Well, good morning.

This morning, if you're all able, will you please stand and worship

the Lord together with us as we sing.

Hark.

The herald angels sing Hark.

The herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth

and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled Joyful all ye nations

rise Join the triumph of the skies with angelic hosts proclaim

Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark.

The herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Christ by highest

heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord in time behold him

come Offspring of a virgin's womb Veiled in flesh the godhead

see Hail the incarnate deity Pleased as man with men to dwell

Jesus our Emmanuel Hark, the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn

king Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of righteousness

Light and life to all he brings Risen with healing in his

wings Mild he lays his glory by Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the Son of earth Born to give them second birth Hark,

the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King let's continue

worshiping as we sing.

O come all ye faithful O come O all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant

O come ye O come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold him Born

the King of angels O come let us adore him O come let us adore

him Adore him O come let us adore him Praise the Lord Sing choirs

of angels Sing in exaltation O sing all ye bride in the highest

O come let us adore him O come let us adore him O come let us adore

him Christ the Lord Yea, Lord, we Greet thee for this happy morning

Jesus to thee be all glory again.

Word of of the Father now in flesh appearing.

O come let us adore him.

O come let us adore him.

O come let us adore him.

Christ the Lord.

And bring the good news so that all can I hear the bell song?

The time has come, the people are gathered.

We welcome everyone.

The Christmas bells are shining.

The chases are shining.

As the excitement is growing as the killers are going.

Christ the Lord is here.

He's done.

Can you hear the bell?

He's done.

Earth, can you hear the mouth?

You are king.

Hail the Heaven Prince of Peace.

Hail the son of righteousness.

Light and light to all degrees.

Prison healing in his wings how he raises glory high.

For that man no more may die for to raise the sons of earth born

to give a second birth for their old angels sing glory to the

new Lord day.

Sing choirs of angels sing in exultation.

O sing all ye bright of heaven above.

Glory to God.

O glory in the highest.

O come let us adore you.

Oh come let us adore him.

O come let us adore him.

Christ alone.

Rejoice, rejoice.

Reach through the darkness.

Shine across the earth.

Send the shadows to flood.

Light of the world from the beginning the tragedies of time were

no match for your love.

From great heights of glory you saw my story, God you entered

in and became one of us.

Sing hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah for the things he has done.

Come and adore him.

Bow down before him.

Sing hallelujah to the light of the world.

Crowning an angel torn for the clock.

To suffer to say our king of heaven that is the forever we are

the river for the price that he paid.

Oh, sing hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah for the things he has done.

Come and adore him.

Bow down before him.

Sing hallelujah to the light of the world.

You are the light of the world.

Light of the world.

Soon we come again.

With fire in his eyes he will ransom his own through clouds he

will lead us straight into glory and day we shall reign forevermore

Forever more.

Sing Hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah.

Sing hallelujah for the things he has done.

Come and adore him.

Bow down before him.

Sing hallelujah for the things of the world.

Hear the light of the world.

World.

Light of the world.

Traded a crown for a cross.

Laid down your life for a stranger and forever you are broken

and lost.

You came down from the heavens so we would know how deep, how high

how long and how wide and how far love goes.

You went through the darkest of places, Walked down the loneliest

throes.

You looked into lost empty faces and told us we're never alone.

You who came down from the heavens so we would know how deep,

how high, how long and how wide and how far love goes.

To the end of the earth you have been, you have searched for

the ones so far from home.

Jesus, you paid the price.

What a great satisfice you have made to call us your own.

You came down from the heavens so we would know how deep, how high,

how long and how wide and how, how far love goes.

You came down from the heavens so we would know how deep, how high,

how long and how wide and how far love grows.

How deep, how high, how long and.

How won.

And how far love.

Go.

Glided, breaking in a stable for a throne.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

Unto us a child is born, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

If I were a wise man, I would travel far.

If I were a shepherd I would do my part.

But poor as I am, I will give to him my heart.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

Unto us a child is born, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And he shall reign forever more, forever more.

Here within a manger lies the one who made the starry skies.

The baby born for sacrifice Christ the Messiah.

Into our hopes, into our fears the Savior of the world appears the

promise of eternal years Christ the Messiah.

He shall reign forever more, Forever more.

And he shall reign forever more, forever more.

He shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

And he shall reign forevermore, Forevermore.

Unto us a child is born, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And he shall reign forevermore, forevermore.

He shall reign, he shall reign and he shall reign forevermore forevermore.

Lord is home.

Let us receive our and heaven and nature sing.

And heaven and nature sing.

And heaven and nature sing.

He rules the world with truth and praise and makes the nation's

growth the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his

love and wonders of his love and wonders, wonders of Worthy of

all our praises.

Amen.

You will Amen.

You will.

Come, have your way among us.

We welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

Come, have your way among us.

We welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

God is with us even now.

His love is here.

Come and worship.

Worship Christ the newborn King.

God is with us even now.

His love is here.

His love is here.

Emmanuel.

Emanuel.

And you will.

You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises.

Amen.

You will.

Amen.

You will.

Come have your way among us.

We welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

Come have your way among us.

We welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

Amen.

You well.

Amen.

You out.

Amen.

You well?

Joy to the world.

As you've been hearing these songs about our Savior who came to

this earth to live that perfect life for us and to give his

life for us so that we might have life, we've been given a lot

of gifts as believers in Jesus Christ.

And the Bible tells us that one of those amazing gifts is the

gift of peace.

The Bible said there in Luke chapter two, when the angels are

giving their praise to the Lord as we read this morning, that

God is a God of love, but he's also a God of peace.

And I think that's important for us to understand when we live

in this world that is seeking after peace.

Certainly there are people that want peace in their life.

But you know what?

The truth is that many people are looking for peace in all of the

wrong places.

They're looking for some peace and quiet in the midst of circumstances

in our world that, you know, certainly we can't get rid of.

There are a lot of things in our world that we wish we could get

rid of.

But the truth is that it's out of our control.

And Luke chapter two tells us that Jesus comes to be that tiding

or that news of peace, says in verse 13.

And suddenly there was with an angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts

praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth,

peace, goodwill toward men.

The Bible tells us that Jesus brings peace.

But if we look out into this world today, we might say, well,

what's Jesus doing?

Why isn't there peace?

And I want to challenge you today with the understanding that

there is peace to be found in Jesus Christ.

Maybe not the peace that we're expecting here and now, but what

we can know is that the Bible tells us that he is the Prince of

Peace.

Centuries before Jesus came to this earth and was born in a manger.

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 describes who the Messiah would be.

Isaiah 9:6

It describes his character, it describes his work.

And it says, for unto us a child is born, and unto us a son

is given.

And the government shall be upon his shoulder.

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God,

the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

We know that when we refer to Jesus, we can refer to him in many

names because of his character.

We know that Jesus is wonderful.

We know that he is the counselor.

But what we see here is that he is the Prince of peace.

Now, you that are sitting out there today, me as I'm up here, anyone

in this world can understand this peace.

The Bible actually says that.

Can we as human beings can be at peace with now, with that being

said, the Bible actually says that when we are born into this world,

we are born into sin and we are enemies with God.

So.

So we're not at peace with God until we come to him in faith.

A wonderful passage of scripture that describes that is

Romans, chapter five.

We're going to spend our time, the rest of our time in the New Testament.

We're going to look at Romans chapter five, and we're going to

look at Philippians, chapter four.

We're going to look at two different elements of the peace of

God that's extended to all mankind.

Number one, we're gonna talk about the peace with God, which is

the most important peace that we could ever have.

Because before that, we are not at peace.

We are not at one with God.

We are enemies of God.

But there is a result that comes after the peace with God, and

that is the peace of God.

I want you to think about those two things here this morning.

The peace with God and the peace of God.

In Romans chapter 5, verse 1, it says, Therefore, being justified

Romans 5:1

by faith, that word justify means to be declared righteous.

We as Christians are saved by faith.

When we put our faith and trust in, as it's going to say here,

Jesus Christ, we are justified, we are declared righteous.

And the result of that is this, we have peace with God.

Now, I don't know about you, but if there's one person in this

world that we want to have peace with, that is the creator of

this universe, the Bible says that that is the most important decision

that we could ever make to have peace with God.

And so I want you to see the necessity of this gift of peace that

is this.

We need God for salvation.

We need God for everlasting life.

It's not just something that we add on to our lives.

It's not just something that we sing about at Christmastime.

It's not just something that we do on Sunday mornings.

We need peace with God.

We are in desperate need of that.

The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory

of God.

The Bible says that we cannot have access to God outside of a relationship

with Jesus Christ.

So it says, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's why we celebrate Christmas.

That's why we celebrate that baby in the manger.

Because we know that baby didn't stay in the manger.

We know that baby grew up.

We know that baby grew in the knowledge and in physical nature.

But we know that Jesus didn't just stop there in Bethlehem.

We know that he continued on to live that perfect life.

As the Bible says, the one who knew no sin became sin for us.

He did not sin.

And that is why he was able to offer that peace of God to a lost

and dying world.

So I hope that that's something that you first and foremost

can understand as a person here today, that you have peace.

And the only way that you can find peace with God is by what John

John 14:6

14:6 says.

Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.

No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Folks, the greatest decision that we can make in our lives is

to come to the understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done

for us so that we might have peace with God.

Now the peace with God stems out into other elements of peace

in our life.

And so we have the peace with God.

And it says in verse number two, by whom also we have access

by faith into this grace.

So the Bible says that when we have peace with God, we now have

access to him as our Heavenly Father.

What an amazing truth that is.

Hebrews chapter four tells us that we can come to him boldly or

confidently.

We can come before the throne of grace.

You know what?

Before we were saved, before we came to know Christ and have a

relationship with him, we did not have that access.

We did not have that way to find peace and to find comfort and

to find hope.

And the Bible says that through this relationship with Christ,

through this reconciliation of God and man, we can now have access

to him by faith into this grace wherein we stand.

Folks, if you are a believer this morning, we can stand in the

truth that you have access to the Father because of the peace with

God.

And then what can we do from that?

Well, we can rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The Bible says that that peace with God brings joy.

So it brings us access to God, but it brings us joy.

Folks, there's many reasons for us to complain in this world.

There's a lot of reasons for us to be upset.

But there's one reason for us to have joy, and that is the fact

that we can have access to the Father we can know what it means

to have everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ and

so we can have peace with God.

That brings access, grace and joy.

And it says that that joy brings hope, that that hope is an

important thing to have in our lives.

Folks, if we lose hope, we lose everything.

What is hope?

Biblical hope is this confidence in knowing that God is

going to keep his word.

Confidence in knowing that when God says something, he is truthful.

He says he loves us.

He proves his love.

Romans chapter 5 tells us just in a few verses in verse 8.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

But God commendeth or demonstrated his love towards us

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God says, I love you.

He proves his love.

God says he's going to hold us fast.

He's going to be with us.

He's never going to leave us nor forsake us.

He means that his presence is with us, even if we don't feel that.

I know that sometimes in the Christmas season, it can be a time

of joy.

But for others, it could be a time of pain because of a lost loved

one or maybe because of difficulty in your life that you're

facing.

You know what?

The truth is that we are going to face difficult circumstances.

There are going to be some things in our life that are going

to tempt us not to have joy, not to have peace, not to have that

comfort and hope in Jesus Christ.

But what we have to do is we have to go back to what we know about

him, that he is a God who loves us.

And it says that we have access and we can have joy and we

can have hope in knowing that he is good, knowing that he is with

us, knowing that we have Emmanuel.

The word Emmanuel means God with us.

We have a God who wants a personal relationship with us.

There's gonna be a lot of people that teach you that God, he

might be real, but he is personal.

He's not gonna want to be in your life.

Folks, God wants to have that personal relationship with you.

And that's where it starts.

But where does it go?

I want you to turn over to Philippians chapter four.

Because we have the peace with God, which is exciting.

That's.

That's our salvation.

Salvation brings us peace with God.

We are no longer partners with the enemy.

We are now on the side of victory.

And so the Bible says that that is an amazing thing.

From darkness to light, from hopelessness to hope, from death

to life.

And so we are saved.

And we are equipped with good works so that we can serve our Savior.

But then Philippians chapter four tells us the product of this

peace with God.

And folks, I want to challenge you this morning if you have experienced

the peace with God in salvation, the challenge sometimes

is to live with the peace of God in your life.

Philippians chapter four.

We're going to start.

In verse number four, Paul reminds us the importance of rejoicing.

We just sing joy to the world and sometimes we sing joy to the

world and mean it.

When things are going well, yes, we've got joy in this world.

Yes, we're excited for what God's doing for us.

But the challenge is, are we going to rejoice when things are

not the way that we expect them to be?

By the way, most of you know in context what's going on with Paul.

Paul is in prison for doing right.

And he says, rejoice in the Lord alway.

And again, I say rejoice.

Folks, I don't know about you, but in this Christmas season we have

a reason to be joyful.

We have a reason to praise him.

I'm going to say, even after Christmas, when it gets to the doldrums

of February and January and it's cold outside and you might have,

you know, a lot of difficulties going on in your life,

you have a reason to rejoice.

When you're in the summertime, you have a reason to rejoice.

It's not just Christmas that we need to celebrate the joy of the

Lord.

It's year round, 24, 7, 365.

The Bible says that we have a reason to rejoice.

And Paul says, you have a reason to rejoice.

Verse 5, Let your moderation be known unto all men.

The Lord is at hand.

Allow yourself to live in such a way that people can see what the

Lord has done in your life.

Folks, Christmas time is a wonderful time to point people to

Christ.

You hear Christmas carols, Most of the Christmas carols, at

least the traditional Christmas carols, have the message

of the gospel right in them.

It's an opportunity to point people to Jesus Christ.

It was an amazing thing to see last night.

As we were having the live nativity scene, the cars would come

and Blair was out there in her angel costume and she says, follow

the star to see baby Jesus.

And then, you know, some of the other kids were calling out and

it just warmed my heart to see the young people, not, they were

unashamed.

Some of us adults are probably like, oh, we don't want to offend

these people.

You know, the truth is these children were so Excited to let people

know about baby Jesus.

And the truth is, as Christians, we should be excited

to tell people about what Jesus does for our life.

He doesn't just make our life better, he saves our life.

He gives us hope.

He gives us peace with God.

And so the Bible says here, let your moderation be known unto

all men.

The Lord is at hand.

And then it says, be careful or anxious for nothing.

Some of us, including myself, if we're not careful, can be plagued

by anxiety in our life.

We can be plagued with the concerns of this world.

And the Bible says, don't allow that anxiety, don't allow that

anxiousness.

Don't allow the cares of this world to weigh you down.

Says, this is what you do when you feel that coming on, when you

can recognize that pressure.

But in everything, everything in prayer and supplication, with

thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God.

What is it saying here?

Says this, turn your cares over to God first.

Peter, chapter five tells us, cast your care upon him, for he cares

for you, he loves you.

He wants to hear your burdens.

He wants to take those burdens from you.

And what happens is, there's so much, at least in my life, it's

the selfishness and the ego that says, you know what?

I'm going to handle this myself.

I'm going to try to deal with this on my own.

I want to have control.

And the Bible says the more we do that, the more we fall into that

first category there in verse six, being anxious for everything,

being burdened with everything.

And the Bible says, yes, we can have burdens as Christians, but

we take those burdens.

We take those anxieties, we take those care, and we lay them

at the foot of the cross and say, lord, you've got this.

We believe in thanksgiving.

We know that you're going to handle this for us.

And then the product of that, the product of the prayer, the product

of the casting of our cares to him, is this in verse number seven.

And the peace of God.

So we've had the peace with God, but the peace with God brings

the peace of God.

Folks, as Christians, we should be living with the peace of

God all over our lives, by the way that we deal with other people,

by the way that we deal with our family, by the way that we deal

with all of the things at work and all the things at home and all

the things in between.

Folks, we should be living a life characterized by the peace of

God.

But yet, so many times in our life, we live in conflict, we live

in anger, we live in bitterness, we live in anxiety.

And the Bible says, if you have peace with God, the natural

outpouring of that should be the peace of God in your life.

And it says this and the peace of God which passeth all understanding,

meaning the world does not understand this type of peace.

The world who is not at peace with God cannot understand this type

of peace that isn't predicated upon my circumstances, my income,

my health.

Folks, the Bible says that all those things can fail us and will

fail us.

But the one thing that will not fail you is that relationship

with Jesus Christ.

That is the one thing that cannot be taken away from you.

And I would encourage you to think about that from the concept

of, hey, you know what?

I might have some issues in my life, I might have some struggles

in my life, but what do I do?

I turn that over to the Lord and allow the peace of God that passeth

all understanding to rule in my life.

And so I want you to see that progression from the peace with God

when you come to him in faith, and then that peace of God that lives

out in your life, life.

What does it say there?

Says it shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ, Jesus.

The idea there is this.

As a believer, we don't allow.

We don't allow the circumstances, our emotions, our

pain, our suffering to dictate to us what we think or what we feel

about God.

It's so very easy to allow what's going on on the external side

of things to dictate what we believe about God, what we think

about God.

And the Bible says, no, no, no.

Allow yourself to believe and to think and to live in the truth

of the peace of God in your life.

So what does that look like?

That looks like this.

When I wake up in the morning and I don't feel like a million bucks,

and I get out and I get into my vehicle and it's cold, and my

vehicle's not the vehicle that I think I should have.

I think I should have a nicer vehicle.

Then I drive to work and there's traffic, and then I get to

work and someone says something negatively about me.

And then by the end of the day, I'm worn out and I say, you

know what?

Does God even love me?

Because it doesn't seem like that.

What I have to do is I have to go back and say, it's not about what

the outside is telling me, it's about what the inside is telling

me in the truth of Jesus Christ.

The peace of God which passes all Understanding.

What does it say there?

It says, rules your hearts and your minds.

And so I want you to think about that in your idea of hope,

your idea of peace.

For me, a lot of times I'm just seeking some peace and quiet.

I've got a house with a nine year old, a six year old and a ten

month old.

Okay.

I'm sometimes just looking for some peace and quiet.

I'm not gonna lie.

And Alicia's like, well, I would like that too.

Okay, you need to get here and get these kids.

I said, I understand that there's a lot of times in our life

that we're looking for circumstantial peace, and that's

good.

We should have those times.

Get to a place in your life where you can get away.

I'm all for that.

But there are going to be times when we can't get away from

the struggle.

For me, sometimes I want to just wiggle out of the struggle.

I want to get out of there.

I want to say, you know what?

I don't know any of you men have ever done this.

Ladies, I know you don't do this, but sometimes us men, we get

through struggles and we're like, I'm just going to get away.

I'm going to go do this.

I'm going to.

I got to go do my hobby because that's my me time, folks.

There's a time and a place for that.

But when sometimes that pressure comes, we've got to embrace

that and say, lord, Lord, get me through this.

Allow me to be able to lead and to guide and to think biblically

about this issue that's at hand.

And the Bible says that is the peace of God that he promises us.

Here in this passage, it goes on to talk about thinking about those

things which are true.

Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever

things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things

are of good report.

If there be any virtue, which there is, that's a rhetorical thing.

And if there be any praise, think on these things.

And so the Bible says that this is the way to live a life.

With the knowledge of the peace with God that God has given

us in salvation.

But then living with the peace of God in our lives, then he says,

those things which ye both have learned and received and heard

and seen in me do.

And the peace of God shall be with you.

He says, live this way and the peace of God will be with you.

It will guide you.

You.

It's the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit convicts us.

The Holy Spirit comforts us.

The Holy Spirit teaches us.

The Holy Spirit leads us to a place in our life where we can have

perfect peace in God without having all the things aligned what

we want to happen in our lives.

I know that there's a lot of people in this world that are speaking

of, hey, if we just do xyz, we'll have world peace.

Now, I need to explain a little bit more about this, because

the Bible does say that there will be peace, one ultimate peace.

Right now.

Jesus extends peace through salvation.

But we do know that one day we are longing for that day where Jesus

is going to come and rule and reign on this earth, and he's going

to be the prince of peace.

Not just in what we believe here now, in faith, that it's going

to happen one day, but we're going to see it, it's going to be

real.

And the Bible says that he's going to make all things right.

And that's the day that we're longing for.

But until that day, what we have to understand is that the only

way for peace in this world is that people come to Jesus Christ

for people to see the truth of God and to live the truth of God

out in their own life.

And so the peace of God is a gift.

It's a gift that we all need.

You know, growing up, I used to think I needed gifts.

I tell my parents, guys, I need this this year.

I need this basketball hoop.

You don't understand.

All of my friends have this basketball hoop.

I have to have this basketball hoop.

My parents would say, okay, we're gonna go to get this for you.

You need it.

Okay?

Okay.

And I would get it and it would be like, great.

Now, next year, guys, all of my friends have PlayStation.

I need a PlayStation.

I need this gift, right?

It's a video game console.

I need this.

And I thought I needed a lot.

But the truth is, we sometimes want.

We want and we still receive.

But I'm gonna tell you that the one gift, the one gift this Christmas

season that you need, that I need, that all of us need, that the

world needs, is the peace of God.

And the peace of God comes through the peace with God.

And so what do we do as a church?

Well, we say, you know what?

This world is terrible.

We're going to shut the doors.

We're going to, you know, lock in.

No, the Bible says for us to go.

The Bible says for us, as it said in Philippians chapter four,

to live with that peace at hand so that people can see that

hope, so that People can see that we're different.

Folks, you know what?

One of the things that challenges me the most is that if

I was to ask people that I came across on a daily basis, do

they see anything different in me, you know, there might be someone

that says, I didn't see anything different.

He was just like everybody else that came through the drive

through.

He was just like everybody else that came through Wawa.

He was just like everybody else.

Folks, we should strive and ask the Lord to give us the strength

and the wisdom.

And really what I would say is the motivation to live differently

in this world, live so much that.

That peace of God is so clear.

You know what?

I've been able to sit with families that have lost loved ones,

and, you know, certainly that is a difficult, difficult place to

be.

But to hear someone's testimony, to say, you know what?

I don't understand this.

I don't like this.

It hurts.

But I still love the Lord.

I still know that he is good.

I still know that he is my Savior.

Folks, that is what the Bible is talking about there.

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding.

Because the world doesn't understand that.

Because for the world, that is it.

You've lost everything.

God's taken it away.

So why do you still love Him?

That's a good question.

I still love him because he's good.

And because he gave me peace with God.

He gave me the opportunity to know him and be a part of his family.

I don't know about you, but there's been times in my life where

someone's invited me.

Right there was the cool crowd in high school or college, wherever

you were at.

And when they said, hey, do you want to come with us?

I was like, wow, I'm privileged.

I get to sit at the table.

I get to be a part of this.

And that's silly.

We go through that.

But really what's happened is that we have the Creator of the universe,

the One who has control over everything, the One who is all powerful,

the One who is all knowing, the One who is all present.

And now he extends a gift to us.

The gift of grace, the gift of mercy, the gift of peace, so that

we can, when we believe in him, come sit at his table to be

part of his family.

That is the greatest privilege that we could ever ask for.

And it is a privilege and an honor to be part of that family.

But as a Christian, so many times we live with excitement, with

the peace with God.

But we don't always live in excitement for the peace of God in

our lives.

And I would challenge you to think about that.

Is this something that I'm longing for?

Is this something that I'm striving for, as Paul says there

in Philippians chapter four, if you follow these things, this

is the idea of the peace will be with you.

It will continue on with you.

It will live within you.

And so that is the understanding of the peace of God.

And so here this morning, there's really, really basic message.

The basic message is this.

Number one, are you in the understanding that you have trusted

in God as your savior so that you can have peace with God?

God.

The worst place to be is as an enemy of God.

Now, now, that might sound like strong language to you.

You might say, what does that mean?

If I'm not a Christian, I'm an enemy of God.

The Bible actually says that is the case whether you know it or

not.

And that's a hard thing for me to say because there are some really,

really good people, people that I love that, you know, they

say I don't need Jesus.

Right.

The truth is, is that in their minds, they don't.

But what we have to understand is that everybody who is not in Jesus

Christ, meaning they have not trusted in him as sav.

The Bible says, are not at peace with God.

And the Bible says that there will be judgment.

There will be judgment.

And so the case for us this morning is, have we come to the place

in our life where we have trusted in him and him alone, as

the Bible says.

Romans, chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

By Jesus Christ through faith.

Ephesians, chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

By grace through faith.

The Bible says in John 14, verse 6, in him he is the way, the

John 14:6

truth, and the life.

If you have not come to Jesus Christ in salvation, the Bible says.

Says you need to find peace with God through Jesus by trusting

in him, by calling upon the name of the Lord.

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

How many of you don't raise your hand?

How many of you told your kids, if you're not good this year,

you're not gonna get any presents?

Okay?

How many of you have never.

Don't raise your hand, please.

How many of you said, okay, you guys weren't good this year,

so you're not getting any presents?

Most of us would say, even though they've messed up, we're gonna

extend grace to them and give them presents this year.

That's what happens with us.

It doesn't mean that when we get saved, all of our sin goes away.

I wish that was the case, I wish I no longer had that sin nature.

But the Bible says that even as we're wrestling with that sin,

it's not though now our strength that's saving us.

It's now the strength of Jesus Christ.

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is the grace of Jesus Christ upon our account.

And so when we're sin and we're broken, God extends that grace

to you.

He extends that forgiveness to.

He extends that peace to you.

So this isn't about living a life of perfection.

This is about living a life of humility and receiving the grace

of God in faith and saying, lord, I trust in you for my salvation

and not in what I'm doing.

That is salvation.

Trusting in God and not yourself, believing that he is the

only way and that there is no other way, no religion, no path,

no any other route can save you other than Jesus Christ.

And so I hope that that is something that all of you, you can

think about here this morning.

But I would say, number two, most of you have a profession of

faith.

The second question would be this.

Am I allowing the peace of God to rule my life?

Am I allowing the peace of God to characterize the way that I deal

with my family, the way that I deal with my workplace, the way that

I deal with my enemies, the way that I deal with my own struggles,

my own issues, my own physical ailments, my emotional struggles,

my spiritual struggles?

Am I allowing the peace of God to rule that in my life?

Am I thinking the right things about God?

Or am I allowing these issues in my life to dictate my truth?

That's a phrase that you'll hear a lot in this world, right?

My truth.

My truth about this is this, and my truth is about this.

You can say whatever your truth is if your truth is not what's

seen in the word of God.

It's not truth.

It's contrary to truth.

And so the Bible says, it's not about how I feel today.

It's not about what I believe.

It's about what the Bible says about God, what the Bible says about

his love, about his peace and about his grace and his truth.

And folks, I would encourage you to base everything that you do,

your joy, your peace, your hope, your comfort, your passion,

your love, everything must be wrapped around what's told to us

in this Word about the Lord.

Because if we start allowing anything, the media, people that

we know, our own agendas, if we allow those things to take over,

what's the truth, then we've allowed ourselves to open Up a gateway

to lies.

And those lies will lead us away from the peace of God.

Satan is the accuser of the brethren.

He is the father of lies.

And what the whole purpose of his mission is, is to make us think

bad things about the Lord, to think untrue thoughts, to allow ourselves

to think things that are not aligned with Scripture.

And what I would challenge you to do this Christmas season is to

think about the scriptures.

Think about what the Bible says about this.

And the Bible says that you can have peace with God and the peace

of God ruling and reigning in your life.

And that is why I believe Jesus initially is the prince of

peace.

He's extending peace here today.

But just know that when all things come to pass, and we know

that Jesus came to this earth as a baby, but he's not going to

come back the second time as a baby.

You guys realize that he's coming back as a conqueror.

He's coming back as the one who is going to rule and to reign.

And so let us be those ones that are on the side of victory so

that when Jesus comes back as the conqueror, we can celebrate with

him in victory.

That's what we're longing for.

That's what we're excited for.

That's what we are looking toward.

The Bible says to keep our eyes fixed on those things which

are above.

The Bible says that we should look upon those things of his kingdom,

of his purpose, of his eternal plan.

And so I would encourage you to think not about the struggles

that we're facing now.

Okay?

These are the struggles that are happening today.

But guess what?

If you live long enough, your struggles are going to be different

next year.

I had struggles two or three years ago that I thought I was never

going to get through.

You know what?

God got me through those.

But you know what's happening now?

I'm on the new struggles.

And those new struggles just keep coming.

And that's.

That's life.

But the good news is that God is walking with us through that.

He's giving us that peace of God in our lives.

And we.

And we look, what do we do?

We don't look to the struggle today.

We look to the hope that we have in Jesus Christ that he is going

to come back and we are going to be with him.

And that's that eternal life.

That's that eternal purpose.

So that's why the angels were saying, this is good tidings of great

joy which shall be to all people.

This child is going to be a child of peace, the Prince of Peace.

That's the message of Jesus Christ.

That's the message of the gospel.

That's the message of Christmas.

Christmas is more than just, you know, wise men, shepherds, donkeys.

We had a real donkey here last night.

I'm not against real donkeys.

They're pretty neat.

Okay?

But that's not what Christmas is all about.

Christmas is not about your favorite cartoon or your favorite

Christmas movie.

That's fun.

Okay?

We're not against watching Christmas movies in my house.

It's not about the Christmas tree.

It's not about the meal that you're gonna eat.

It's not about, you know, even the gifts that you will receive.

That's not the main purpose.

Right?

We have all of those things because of what Jesus Christ did

for us.

And so I would challenge you as a family, as an individual, to

think about Christmas differently this year, to think about

the why behind it.

You've seen that, the reason for the season, right?

But to really think about that, to really allow yourself to

be the gospel message through the Christmas season.

And for me, that's always a challenge.

It's always a challenge because there's fear there.

But the Bible says that that perfect love casts out fear.

So the more you rest in the love of Christ, the more you're willing

to share that love with other people around you.

And so this Christmas season, may we all be like those little kids

out there at the live nativity scene.

Point people to Jesus Christ.

Point people to the one who came in the manger but didn't stay

in that manger.

He went to the cross.

That's why the live nativity scene.

We didn't stop at the manger.

We put up a cross and we put up an empty tomb.

Because he didn't stay there.

He went for that, for his love for us.

He went to that cross, but that cross didn't defeat him.

That cross was just a conduit to our salvation.

And then he goes in the tomb.

That tomb did not hold him.

That tomb is empty.

And we have victory because of his victory.

So Christmas is a story of victory.

And that victory is the victory that we can all be a part

of here this morning.

Well, I'm going to ask if you're able to stand with me, every

head bowed, every head closed.

As the music plays, you have an opportunity to respond this morning.

The peace of God, does it rule and reign in your life?

Peace, comfort, joy.

That's all.

What should describe a Christian?

The true question here this morning is this.

Are you, number one, a believer in Jesus Christ, are you

at peace with God?

That's the first thing we have to handle here this morning.

Is that something that you said?

You know what?

I have trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that I'm not trusting in anything

else other than him for my salvation.

If that is the case, fantastic.

If that is not the case, I encourage you this morning to take

care of that.

But if that is the case, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ

as your Savior, I would say this.

Are you living a life characterized by the peace of God?

Are you living a life characterized by thinking and believing

and resting in his truth?

Are you thinking about other things?

Could your life as a Christian.

Could my life as a Christian be characterized by joy, by strength,

by comfort, by peace, by prayer?

Or would it be characterized by other things?

Anxiety, chaos, pain, suffering, hopelessness?

Folks, if you are a believer today, that should not be the case.

Take all of those burdens, take all of that pain and lay those

at the foot of the cross.

The Bible says in Philippians, chapter four, cast your cares, take

away those anxieties from your account and give them over to the

Lord, because the Lord is willing and ready and desiring to

take those cares from you.

Ask him with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known unto God.

Maybe it's been a while since you've had a real conversation with

Jesus Christ, this Christian.

This Christmas season is a wonderful time for Christians to

come back and have that renewed relationship restored in

the truth of Jesus Christ.

Are you at peace with God?

Are you at peace with his truth?

Are you at peace with His Word?

Or do you feel that inner conflict?

If you feel that inner conflict this morning, go to him.

Allow him to take that conflict away.

Allow yourself to be fully surrendered to him today so that

you can rest in that peace that passeth all understanding.

How different will we be as a church?

How more effective would we be as a church if we were willing to

say, lord, let your peace rule and reign in my life life.

Don't allow those inner conflicts and those and those outward

conflicts dictate my life, but allow the peace of God to rule and

reign so that I can be a joyful Christian, a prayerful Christian,

a Christian characterized by comfort and strength in the truth

of Jesus Christ.

That's what you want here this morning.

I encourage you to come forward or you can kneel in your

pew and you can turn it over to him and have that peace with God

here today.

Lord, we thank you for this time.

We thank you for this opportunity to respond to your Word.

We thank you for the peace with God, and we thank you for the

peace of God in our lives.

I ask that you work in hearts and lives here this morning.

In Jesus name, Amen.

As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads today.

Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church

Podcast.

I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.

If you would like to find out more information about our church

or this sermon, you can find us at middletown baptist church.org

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Thank you so much.

God Bless.

Have a wonderful day.