The Missing Peace - Prince of Peace

Well, we're gonna Change gear real quick, and we're going to jump into our series

that we're, we actually started it last week with the kids They were trying to

find a name for their What do you call it?

Their Play, and it landed on the missing piece, and so we're continuing

that theme And so I wanted to remind us about the idea of Advent.

Everyone say Advent Advent.

Advent is about anticipating, the birth, the first coming of Jesus.

And so when many, what many people don't understand about Advent, is

there's actually an additional aspect to it, because it's anticipating

also today, the return of Jesus.

There's a sense of the waiting, the coming of Jesus.

He is coming again, because scripture tells us.

That Jesus, even told us that He would come again.

He'd come back for us.

He said, hey, don't let your hearts be troubled.

Yes, I'm going away, but I'm going to prepare a place for you.

But I will come back.

And here's something that is really good news.

When Jesus comes back, He, He's not going to be coming back as a baby in a manger.

He's going to be coming back as a king on a horse.

And when he comes back, tattooed on his thigh is going to be the name,

King of all Kings, Lord of all Lords.

When he comes back, he won't be making peace.

He'll be made here to make justice.

He'll be making all things that are wrong right.

He will come back to rule and reign forever.

This day is coming.

It's coming.

I don't know when.

I know you're waiting for me to give my prediction.

But no, I won't be doing that because no one knows.

Only the father knows, never works out.

But, today, in the midst of our advent waiting for his return, Actually, His

Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus is still making peace for those who will hear,

for those who will respond to the grace that He offers, for those who will

follow Jesus both as Lord and Savior.

You'll know you'll have made peace with God through Jesus work

on the cross because you'll have the peace of God on the interior.

On your, in your soul.

It's actually a fruit of the Spirit.

See, Jesus stepped into human history to be the missing piece.

A piece that we all desperately need.

Jesus is our missing piece.

Everyone say missing piece.

Jesus is our missing piece.

So much so that Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace.

You may be missing piece on the inside of your soul, maybe today.

And maybe it's because The Prince of Peace actually hasn't taken up

residence on the inside of your soul.

Christmas is a reminder of the arrival of Jesus, but this arrival of Jesus

historically actually points to a question for all of us to consider.

Just as Jesus arrived in our world history, has he

arrived in your world history?

Has he arrived in you?

That arrival moment, Luke chapter 2, verses 14, 11 to 14, which you all know.

Luke 2:14

Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.

He is the Messiah, the Lord.

This will be a sign to you.

You will find a baby wrapped in clothes, lying in a manger.

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the

angel praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest heaven.

The highest heaven.

Where's the highest heaven?

Not quite sure how many levels that means there actually is, but all I

know is that it's the highest heaven.

And we're not there.

We're on the lowest low because we're on earth.

So it's the place that's the furthest distance from us.

The glory to God in the highest heaven.

And peace to those on whom His favour rests.

On whom His favours rests.

You'll know His favour rests upon you by the peace you experience in you.

You'll know that your favour, the favour of God rests upon you.

Amen.

By the peace you experience in you.

Now in this moment, peace is probably twofold because the shepherds are

probably freaking out because the angels, the hosts, they've arrived,

they've shown up, they're here.

What is this?

So there's probably this, this instantaneous, Hey, peace be with you.

But it's also a declaration of the one who is to come, who is the prince

of peace that some 600 to 700 years before that first Christmas, The

prophet Isaiah announced it in Isaiah chapter nine, verses six and seven.

For to us, a child is born to us.

The son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be

called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace.

And sometimes we just stop there, but let's go on.

Let's go on.

And the greatness of his government and what that's interesting, isn't it?

The greatness of his government and peace, there will be, oh it'll last

two weeks, no, there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding

it with justice and righteousness from the time, from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

There's always a lot more.

of emphasis placed on the script reading of this scripture using

the word government, like Jesus is going to take over the existing

government and bring about peace.

That's not what Jesus is going to do.

Jesus is going to bring peace, not through an earthly government, but

Jesus is going to establish his own government, his own government of peace.

I like the context of that thought.

What is his government?

It's a government of peace.

What?

It's not left, it's not right.

No, it's above, and it's a government of peace.

It's a government of peace.

Primarily the peace that will never end in this government of

peace that Jesus established.

He is establishing this governmental rule and reign primarily on

the inside of our hearts.

Souls, primarily.

These are the words that Isaiah wrote about the coming of Jesus, that he is the

Prince of Peace, the Prince of Shalom.

Everyone say Shalom.

Shalom.

If you've read other translations, it will say the Prince of Shalom.

The word Shalom, it can be a simple greeting.

But it could also be a declaration of peace over someone's life.

At its essence, shalom, this piece means wholeness.

In a world where there is so many missing pieces, so many broken

humans, shattered humans, this shalom is completeness, nothing missing,

complete peace, no gaps, no holes.

This is the peace that Jesus promises to bring to the world.

The world Shalom is just not limited to this idea of peace in our sense.

It's also this kind of layering, this layering of peace to

completeness, to wholeness, but also a layering of interconnection.

The world Shalom assumes that we are to be connected.

Shalom is relational at its core.

We're all connected through peace.

Ephesians four says make every effort to maintain the unity, the

connectedness of the spirit through the bond of peace, the peace of God.

Please don't miss this in this Christmas season, this moment

that you're in right now.

your anxiety, your stress, your fear, your worries, your doubts, all that which

haunts you, your shame, everything that is stealing your peace, all of that is

powerless to the peace that Jesus brings.

It's not even a competition.

Soon as the peace of God rolls up on the interior of your world, That

governmental rule and reign of him on the interior of your life, everything that

is trying to steal your peace, holds no competition to his arrival on the scene.

He is the prince of peace.

How is this possible, you may ask?

It's possible because Jesus doesn't just give peace.

He is peace.

He is.

It's who he is.

1 John 16 33 begins to point to this fact for us.

It says, I've told you these things so that in me, everyone say in me, in

me, you may have peace in this world.

You're going to have trouble.

Yeah.

Thanks for acknowledging that.

But take heart, I have overcome the world.

We keep looking for peace by looking for our peace to come

from that trouble to be fixed.

But Jesus is saying stop looking for peace that is based on

favorable external circumstances.

Look for me, dive into me, abide with me, be with me, dwell with me, and you'll have

peace because He is the Prince of Peace.

Ephesians,

chapter two, verses 14 to 18.

It, it begins with this fantastic statement.

I'm glad this is extra clear.

Thank you, Paul.

For he himself is our peace.

So in case you were wondering or not clear, that's pretty clear.

Do you agree?

He is our peace.

Now, please realize that the human heart really doesn't want a prince of peace.

What we want is a consultant of peace, because that keeps us in control.

I'm like, yeah, show me how to acquire, learn, adapt, overcome,

so I can be my consultant.

Give me some advice, you know, self betterment.

Let me be consulted by the expert of peace, so that now I can attain peace.

on my terms.

See, I don't want a Prince of Peace because a Prince of Peace means, Ah,

Prince of Peace actually means kingship, means submission, it means, Ah, he's in

control, I'm not, and we don't like that.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

He's the Prince of Peace, not the consultant of peace.

Maybe you've got a better word for it.

Oh, that's what I had.

Consultant.

Maybe you've got one.

So let's just continue.

Features Chapter 2, 14 to 18.

It says, He Himself is our peace.

Now we're getting into a little bit of, whoa!

Heavy, heaviness.

Here we go.

You ready?

Are you okay?

Good.

He himself is our peace.

We got that.

Cool.

Now this gets a little bit more confusing.

Who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the

dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with

all its commands and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out

of the two, thus making peace.

And in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by

which he put to death their hostility.

He came and preached peace to you who are far away and peace to those who were near.

Don't miss that.

He's preaching peace to people who are far away and he's preaching

peace to people who are close.

For through him, peace was made.

We both have access to the Father by the one Spirit.

He is the Prince of Peace who makes peace.

How?

Now, the peace we are talking about here, if it's merely just an application of a

teaching to acquire the peace He offers, that's not what's being described here.

But Jesus, Has made peace.

It is not that he tells me to do something, even though he will, but I can

only do whatever he calls me to do because of what God has first done himself.

He has made peace.

He is our peace.

He is the prince of peace.

It's the God of peace who makes peace.

It's not people applying a certain teaching.

No, it's something fundamental to what God has done himself that

creates an entirely new situation.

This piece is not something we create or manufacture by our actions.

We are merely responding to the actions of His character and being

transformed it to become people of God.

Peace.

Did you track there with me?

So it's God who initiated this.

It's not something he's telling me to teach me, to, to, to, to

give me more new information in order that I can better myself.

No, he is initiated.

Martin Lloyd Jones says that you cannot have peace among community

until people are made Christian.

Oh, hang on a sec.

You saying that peace is only attainable unless the Prince of Peace takes up

residence on the inside of a human being.

This is the piece that we're describing.

Every other piece is external circumstantial piece.

You can have peace that way, but your circumstances, you will find trouble.

We're talking about a piece that no matter the external circumstances, you are

standing on a rock and it is unshakable, it is unmovable, you are Solid.

Make sense?

That's what Martin Lloyd Jones saying here, he says you must become a Christian.

It's impossible to have the peace that we're talking about here,

the Prince of Peace type of peace.

That's why Christianity is necessary and why Christ came in the first place.

So what was done in the first place?

Well, first place, he came to earth, he died.

He took the penalty of our sin on himself.

He rose from the grave.

And for you and I, as followers of Jesus, accepting, trusting, and

believing this fact for yourself is how we are reconciled to God.

We have been made, we are being given peace with God.

We are, we have peace with God, but man, men must be first be reconciled

with God before they can be truly reconciled with one another.

But what's interesting, what Dale was talking about, this idea of taking

communion and then also that picture of, hey, look at the log in your own eye.

It's almost like before, we're going to actually go and

reconcile with one another.

Man, do, must, we must be reconciled to God first and foremostly.

You're having trouble to forgive others?

Ah, probably means that you need to get the Prince of Peace on the

inside of you a little bit more.

You need to reconcile with the vertical before you can reconcile the horizontal.

This is the point I'm trying to make.

Yep.

So how can these two different groups of people be made one?

And so the context what we read here is the context of the Jews and the Gentiles.

The dividing wall in the reading in Ephesians is the law that was

originally given to the people of God, the Israelites, who would

bear witness to God Himself.

By their lifestyle, by their actions, but because of sin and selfishness, this law

was interpreted as We, the Jewish people, we and we alone are the people of God.

And these Gentiles are scarcely human beings at all.

They turned the commandment of God into a middle wall of division.

They turned the into a matter of hatred and hostility, sinful man turns a gift

of God into the cause of division.

The law originally was a gift of God, and a man took it, because

of his selfishness and sin, and used it for a divisive purpose.

And you might be thinking, oh, so glad we're not in ancient Israel anymore.

No, human beings still do this to this very day.

Let me explain.

So a person with ability despises a person without.

The man without ability, the person without ability looks and

says, who does he think he is?

And all of this is because of the gifts of God.

Wouldn't it be great to be so liberated That when you see the

gifts operating in someone else, you're like, praise be to God!

Look at that gift!

Rather than allowing the sinful selfishness of the human nature to go, oh,

he thinks he's pretty good, doesn't he?

What does that do?

It creates a division.

Do you see this?

There's this division, this wall of hostility.

The gifts of God were given to bring glory to God.

But because of our selfishness and sin, these gifts lead to jealousy,

bitterness and malice and division.

And it's still going on today.

And so the antidote Newsflash, is the gospel.

You see, Jews and Gentiles need to both repent.

We need to repent for unrighteousness, and we need to repent for righteousness.

Both!

Do you see that?

The idea there, that when we fall short and we make error, we are asking,

we're repenting for unrighteousness.

But on the other hand, what do you mean Adam talking about

repenting for righteousness?

I'm talking about repenting for all the ways you think your good

deeds get you right with God.

That also needs to be repented for as well.

So therefore, if all of us need to, man, the gospel destroys this

comparison, the pecking order.

We stand equally together because the cross of Jesus is meant to

humble the pride out of you.

The cross of Jesus is meant to humble the pride out of you,

therefore making the two, one.

Peace.

Christ is our peace.

He is the Prince of Peace.

Jesus is desperately trying to get peace to you.

He's desperately trying to get peace.

It's like the greatest commodity ever, and he's trying to get it into your doorstep.

He's trying to get it into your letterbox.

He's trying to get it into your heart, and he's desperate for it.

How do I know Luke?

1921.

Here we go.

21, 19 41 to 42.

As he approached Jerusalem, Jesus, here's this is he saw the city and he wept.

He bitterly sobbed.

He wailed over this city and said, if you even, you had only known.

On this day that would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.

The question here is, why did Jesus weep so bitterly?

Oh, it must have been because he was going for the, going to the cross.

He was, but it wasn't exactly that.

It's because he knew what he had to offer.

offer the city of Jerusalem, namely peace, but they would reject

it, they would not accept it.

Ironically, Jerusalem means city of peace.

So he enters the city of peace, and they're not going to experience the

peace because they will reject him.

How often are you and I Jerusalem?

How often are we

Sitting, observing, that Jesus is drawing near the Prince of

Peace into the City of Peace.

Well no, I'm more like the City of Anxiety.

Is anyone with me?

I'm more the city of fear.

I'm more to the city of chaos.

I'm, man, but how often do I see Jesus approaching the holy city, Jerusalem?

He's approaching me and he's like, I've got peace right there for you.

Ah, no, no.

I only want the consultant.

Thanks very much.

Please don't come up and take residence on the inside of my heart.

How often do we do that?

Or will you recognize, Oh!

Here comes the missing piece!

I surrender, I give my heart, come.

Come Lord Jesus and take up residence, kingship, lordship

on the interior of my soul.

I surrender.

Oh Jesus, help me be that way.

Do you know how desperately Jesus is trying to get you to, to his peace?

I surrender.

He desperately wants to get, to get peace to you.

John chapter 20, verse 19.

John 20:19

Interesting picture of how desperate is Jesus is trying to get peace to us.

This is post resurrection, right?

So he's risen from the grave.

He sort of revealed himself to a few.

Women so far, and he says, go, I'm gonna meet you there, go back to the city.

He says, on the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples

were together, the doors were locked.

Everyone say locked.

So they were locked.

I think that's pretty clear, yeah?

Also known as no other way in.

For fear of the Jewish leaders.

Jesus came and stood among them and said, Come here!

The first thing he says is, Peace be with you.

Now again, you might think, oh, it's because he just walked through the wall.

Well, who is this Houdini man?

You know, and he says, his first words are, Peace be with you.

He will walk through locked doors to get you to find his peace.

Jesus is the missing piece.

Jesus came to bring peace to the inner government of our lives and once we

know his peace, you can't help but be filled by the spirit to be empowered

to be peacemakers in the world around us seeing justice and righteousness.

In that same John chapter 20 it goes again, it says Jesus It's like,

John 20 · chapter mention

because they're a bit thick, right?

As we are.

So again, Jesus says, Are you listening?

Peace be with you.

Oh, as the Father has sent me, actually now this peace that you have,

because you have me, I'm sending you.

Do you see the connection?

Do you see the, the sending nature of going and being peacemakers

to be a secondary matter to this first experience of, get me peace,

get it on the inside, receive it.

Do you see that?

You can't be a peacemaker unless you've got the peace of God.

You gotta have his peace.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

The question is, is he your Prince of Peace?

In 1962, Canadians Don and Carol Richardson and their baby son went

to Irian Jaya, western part of New Guinea, as missionaries to a

primitive cannibalistic Sawi tribe.

This tribe had some very unusual beliefs.

Their belief was that they held deceit in the highest virtue.

A person gained the greatest honour by making friends with an enemy, inviting

them into their home for a meal, or maybe several meals, being very good

friends to them, and when the visitor expected at least, the new friend

would run him through with a spear.

When Don Richardson told them of the story of Jesus arrest and

the trial, The Sawi tribe clapped and cheered for Judas, not Jesus.

Judas was their hero.

They admired his shrewd penetration of Jesus inner circle, and his

cunning in betraying his leader.

Jesus was the sucker who fell into Judas trap.

Interesting.

The missionary, Don and Carol Richardson searched for every possible

means to explain the greatness of God's amazing love to a people

whose values were based on deceit.

But with every failed attempt, bloody and violent battles were fought in

front of the Richardson's home between the Sawi tribe and neighboring tribes.

The missionaries finally decided they needed to move away because it was

their presence that bought the warring tribes into contact with each other.

Then just before they were about to leave, they witnessed a solemn.

ceremony between the Sawi tribe and their enemy in front of their very own home.

The entire village gathered to watch an event.

Everyone was silent.

A man who had only one child, he took his six month year old son from his

wife's arms, and held him in the air.

He took the child to the enemy chief and handed the child over.

One by one, each member of the tribe touched the small child.

They were clearly moved that the father should make such a painful

sacrifice to bring about peace.

peace between the two tribes.

This sacrifice would be honored and there would be no more war

between these two child, tribes.

The child was known as the peace child.

This small child, the peace child did, was fought to be the impossible in a culture

where violence, treachery, and bloodshed.

The sacrifice of the father to give up his one and only son and the

recognition of how great was this sacrifice brought enemies together,

things were never the same again.

This one event in amongst the bloody battles and treachery of cannibalism

gave the Richardsons the one example they needed to explain God's love

and cause them to give his own son to make peace with all the world.

When Don Richard explained to the Sawi that Jesus is the peace child, they were

able to understand that Jesus wasn't the sucker who had been tricked by Judas.

In fact, the popularity of Judas waned very quickly.

That's good news.

Jesus is the one whose father made the ultimate sacrifice and brought

peace between God and humanity.

Peace between one person and the next.

Finally, the Sahui were able to appreciate how much God's loved

them and gave his son for them.

As they reflected on the pain that must have filled the Sahui's father's heart

to give away his only son to bring about peace, they were transformed.

Jesus is the peace child.

Yes, he's the bringer of peace, but not just between

two tribes, between all tribes.

He is not just the peace child.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

I want you to close your eyes just for a minute.

And I want you to take a moment of silence just to reflect

two thoughts.

First thought is how's your heart today?

Is there peace?

Is there peace in the midst of the storm?

Is there peace because

the storm seems to have passed?

For a bit,

do you have peace?

If you have peace, look on the inside and

do you see the Prince of Peace on the throne of your soul?

Is he there?

Can you see him?

Father, we thank you that you initiated for us

the giving of yourself.

And today we, we verbalize, we consciously say,

come Lord Jesus, come.

Enter our hearts afresh.

Breathe the Prince of Peace.

If you looked inside and there's something else there,

say, God forgive me that I've looked for peace.

Real peace.

I've looked for peace in the wrong places.

I've looked for peace because of the, wanting the trouble to go away.

Forgive me for looking in the wrong place.

And Holy Spirit, please come

and make manifest the Prince of Peace.

That the government of peace

will have no end on the interior of our souls

for all eternity.

We say thank you today.

We receive that today.

Holy Spirit, for those in the middle of the storm, it seems so great.

Holy Spirit, we ask you to remind us that we're not asking for your peace to come

inside our boat, but we recognize that.

We are inside your boat.

It's your boat that we're in.

It's your boat.

It's your storm.

It's your universe.

And we are safe in your arms today.

In Jesus name, Amen.