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Peace in the Heart of Christmas
13 Plays11 days ago
Series: The Heart of Christmas
Luke 2:8-14/Col. 1:19-22//Matt. 5:9
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Transcript
The Origin of a Family Tradition
00:00:01
Speaker
Not quite certain where this tradition actually got started in our family, but one Christmas, about two weeks before Christmas started, my lovely wife, Kim, ah decided to give each one of our kids $1. And so we have four kids, and so she gave each one of them $1, and then she gave them each $1 for both Kim and I. So $6 for each kid.
00:00:27
Speaker
and And we went off to the dollar store and the instructions were simple. She said, you will use that one dollar that you had and go purchase a Christmas ornament for each one of your siblings and one for both Kim and I. And the goal was that you would pick an ornament that made you remind you of something that that person either meant
A Memorable Ornament Story
00:00:49
Speaker
to you. And if you ever been at the dollar store during Christmas, there's hundreds upon hundreds of ornaments that you could possibly choose from.
00:00:57
Speaker
um I won't mention which kit it was, but I received one ornament that was about 16 inches long, and it was a plastic golden guitar.
00:01:12
Speaker
And it was huge, and it was heavy, and you couldn't hang it on the tree. It would just bend betting the limb right down. and So we ended up just shoving it like down in the middle of the tree. And and we laughed to this day because it was the most odd decoration to pick. I mean, there's joy to the world. There was Christmas.
00:01:34
Speaker
There was the reindeers with the little noses that lit up. I remember there was a center display right in the middle of all the ornaments that just said, a peace on Earth. And they it was silver, and it was shiny, and there were thousands of them. And I thought, surely, that's the ornament I'm going to get. No, what do I get? This big,
00:01:54
Speaker
hunk of plastic that weighed about 10 pounds.
Reflecting on Peace on Earth
00:01:58
Speaker
And and I tell you this story because we laugh even to this day as we bring down the decorations, right, and we unpack them from the boxes. When I see that ornament, I don't see the guitar. I i see peace on earth. that's That's just kind of what, in my mind, that's what what I'm reminded of. But I'm also reminded that that that ornament means something to me, that that that kid of mine thought so much of me that this is somehow I needed a big plastic guitar.
00:02:34
Speaker
Peace on earth for you and I means two things today for us. It reminds us of God's desire that there is indeed peace on earth at some point. And second, it reminds us that we often look for that peace in all the wrong places.
00:02:51
Speaker
So I don't know if you're here today and you think my life is a little in turmoil, and maybe I've been searching for peace in everywhere but Jesus, but we're gonna see today that there's only one place that you're gonna find that peace. And that's in the birth of Jesus.
The Divine Plan for Peace
00:03:08
Speaker
The reason Jesus' birth is God's deep desire to see not only you and I and our relationships healed, but all of creation itself to be restored so that there won't be conflict, there won't be brokenness, but there will be indeed peace. And that peace, the path to get to that divine peace starts in the most unlikeliest of places with the most unlikeliest of people And it's this place I want to look at this morning, and we're going to look in the Gospel of Luke. If you have your Bibles with you, please turn Gospel of Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. So now you know in the Gospels where we're at.
Grace for All: Shepherds' Role
00:03:49
Speaker
Luke chapter 2 is the very first announcement of the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem, which was given to us by this multitude of angels to a very
00:04:03
Speaker
lowly group of shepherds, the most unlikely of characters who are out in the field watching their flocks, trying to keep them safe in the middle of the night. I just want you to picture this in your mind before we read the beginning of chapter two here. Picture, if you will, it's dark outside.
00:04:26
Speaker
The stars are out. They're out at night and it's bright.
00:04:35
Speaker
deep in the heart of Texas. Okay, I just wanna make sure you're paying attention. Indeed, it's dark out in the field, if you imagine where these shepherds are out, watching over their sheep. And chapter two, verse eight starts this way, it says, that night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep, when suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them, and they were terrified.
00:05:03
Speaker
But the angel assured them, saying, do not but do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. And you will recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a major.
00:05:29
Speaker
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest of heaven and peace on earth to those whom God is pleased." Can you imagine the scene folks out there on this field? I think quite often we we get to Christmastime. We read a passage like this from Luke and we and we don't really fully grasp what's happening out there.
00:05:58
Speaker
It's the most unlikeliest of people. When you think of a shepherd, you think of the nativity scene that we have right out here, don't you? Dressed in a long garment with the staff, with the hook on the top, right? He's got Tiva sandals on. Friends, first century Israel would have heard this story and thought, ooh, shepherds?
00:06:28
Speaker
right Shepherds were on the outside. They were ostracized. They were the people on the fringe of society. They would spend long amounts of time out by themselves. I like Warren Wiersby. He says these three words would describe a typical shepherd. Stinky, dirty, and untrustworthy.
00:06:54
Speaker
stinky, dirty, and untrustworthy. They lived out on months on end traveling with their dirty flocks, trying to keep them safe. And as first century readers would hear this story being told of this magnificent birth of the Messiah, the Lord of Lord, the King of Kings, surely would have been announced to kings and royalty, somebody important.
00:07:23
Speaker
But friends, God chose to entrust such an important message with the poor and the lowly.
00:07:32
Speaker
The 2019 Pew Research Survey was given and among a third of the people polled said that of all the people that are mentioned in the Christmas story, they most identified with the shepherds. Isn't that interesting? Of all the people in the Christmas story, most of us would recognize ourselves or identify ourselves with the shepherds. They were average ordinary people, but yet they were the ones who were chosen by God, hand-picked, specially invited to see the birth of the King of Kings. Have you ever thought about that of all the people he could have chosen? He chose the poor and the lowly. It just kind of blows my mind sometimes.
God's Favor to the Lowly
00:08:20
Speaker
When I wanted to ah to announce the arrival of his only begotten son, the one who is to come, who is to restore everything that is broken, he says, you know what? I'm gonna pick the most unlikeliest of people to announce this to. The shepherds, the poor, the forgotten. And friends, the reason why this is such good news Because if God's favor was offered to the poor and the lowly, the shepherds, then surely His grace and His favor and His peace is offered to you and I today.
00:09:00
Speaker
You'll notice I like this, and I'm gonna point this out, because somebody pointed out to me quite a long time ago, and this is an interesting fact. It really has very little to do with our story, but I thought, I'm not gonna skip over this, because I wanna point out something that hopefully as you continue to read your Bible, and you continue to study your Bible, you'll remember this and go, oh yeah, the pastor said this at one time. Any time that the divine comes in an interaction with humanity, somebody's always afraid.
00:09:29
Speaker
and it's always the humans, do you realize that? That when the divine comes, the angels come in contact with humanity, humans are afraid, they're in awe, they're in fear, they're in reverence, they bow, and it's no different here. It says that they were literally terrified to which the angels had to say, hey, it's okay, be careful, it's okay, calm down.
00:09:57
Speaker
There's good news today that a baby has been born, the long-awaited Messiah, the one who was promised long ago who will come and rescue God's people. And they told him exactly where to find Jesus, didn't they? Here's the sign, it says, that you're gonna see. It says, before they left on their search, the heavenly hosts spoke over these shepherds in verse 14. Look with me here.
Sin, Conflict, and Reconciliation
00:10:27
Speaker
Peace to those on whom God's favor rests. And friends, I'm here to tell you today, this is the world's greatest need. From the time sin entered into the world and affected all creation, we have been at odds with God. The Bible says that we were enemies of God in rebellion against his rule and his reign.
00:10:51
Speaker
And sin did not just simply stop there. It's caused us to not only be in conflict with God himself, but to be in conflict with ourselves and to be in conflict with others. And this is why, friends, that Jesus' birth is and was and still will be good news for those who accept what he has to offer. It is the ultimate answer to the brokenness that exists because of sin, the brokenness between us and God, us and ourselves, and us and others.
00:11:20
Speaker
And this announcement here in verse 14 by this heavenly host, not even like my translation, the armies of heaven, in the darkness of night, not only does the angel appear and say, here's the good news, but then it says this whole vast army of angels opens up and they proclaim this message of peace on earth, that Jesus would usher in this peace. This is the way the apostle Paul put it as he wrote in ah Colossians. As he wrote to this Colossian church, he expressed the role that Jesus plays. Look at me here, Colossians. Let's flip back a couple. Colossians chapter 1.
00:12:03
Speaker
Colossians 1.19 says this, it says, For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. And through him God reconciled everything to himself.
00:12:16
Speaker
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. This includes you. You can put yourself in this.
Peace Through Jesus' Sacrifice
00:12:27
Speaker
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemy, separated from him by your evil thoughts and your evil actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body and as a result he has brought you into his own presence and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
00:12:55
Speaker
Jesus' a sacrifice on the cross pays for the sin that you and I have committed, making peace possible between us and God. To understand that the peace that is ushered in here in Christmastime, we must remember that we talk about Jesus in the cradle here in just a few weeks, but His life ultimately would lead to the cross.
00:13:20
Speaker
but So it's kind of a dual remembrance at this time of season. We remember his birth, but we also know where that leads. And it's to the cross where he intentionally lived a sinless life and he willingly offered his life on the cross for your sin and for my sin. And Paul said that it is the blood of Jesus that makes peace between us and God. His sacrifice on the cross pays for the sin that was committed.
00:13:48
Speaker
It appeases God's anger towards sin, and it destroys the power of evil in your life and in my life. Being reconciled to God is the key to experience peace in your life and in my life. Chuck Swindoll simply says this, you can't have the peace of God unless you're a friend of God. I don't know if you're taking notes today, but that would probably be something you want to write down.
00:14:17
Speaker
You cannot have the peace of God unless you're a friend of God. And when we receive that gift of forgiveness that is offered to us by faith, we become friends of God. And He offers us His power to help us navigate the difficulties of life. But I want you to pay attention real quick with me. God's peace doesn't mean everything is gonna go hunky-dory in your life. You'll know that if you spend any amount of time following Jesus.
00:14:48
Speaker
Peace means that the problems you have won't have you. Does that make sense? His peace in your life demonstrates it saying that while there is circumstances that may not very well go our way, we have God with us, Emmanuel with us.
00:15:11
Speaker
And he is there to promise that his presence will remain with us. And if his presence stays with us, it tells us that we should not have fear.
00:15:22
Speaker
We can go to him with full confidence and full assurance that he will guide us and strengthen us. And Kim and I love the way God works. So we were over here last night at the end of this wedding and they were cleaning up and we had this opportunity to talk to some lady from San Antonio and she was super sweet and she was telling us how she had a oh tire issue out here in Rockdale. She was driving through and she said and she goes with the car started leaning and I could tell that you know one tire was really bad and then the second tire was getting bad and she said and we called
00:15:57
Speaker
it Kind of in the middle of the night, a guy in Rockdale who fixed his tires, and he didn't have that particular tire, but he brought another tire that he found that fit just right and pumped it all up $50. She goes, that guy saved the day for me. She goes, I was at his mercy. He could have charged me three times that.
00:16:16
Speaker
And I simply said, you know what? That's God's favor. God's favor was on you in that moment. And just a simple comment like that opened up a conversation that Kim and I had with her for probably 25 minutes. And she went into how she had ah an elective surgery, that while they were in there, they recognized that there was some cancer that wouldn't have been found. And she says, oh, we're walking demonstration of God's favor in our lives. And I just thought, isn't that fantastic?
00:16:43
Speaker
that you just spend just a you what you would think would be an an odd conversation with somebody and off the cuff conversation with somebody, and it's two Christians relating exactly how great God is and how His favor is shown. She she said something that rang true with me, and she just said, you know, ah I could completely choose to be beaten down and weary and tired because of all the things that have happened to me over the last four or five months. She goes, but I'm choosing not to be that way. She said, because I know God's with me and God's looking out for me. And I thought, what a great testament that is for you and I today. So I don't know if you're here today and you're weary or you're heavy burden to buy something. maybe Maybe it's some decision you've made that you're beating yourself up over today.
00:17:32
Speaker
Might I just suggest that you hand that over to God and you lean on him? Because that's that was the message that she she gave me last night. She said, I just lean on God for guidance and strength in those times of uncertainty. I thought, can you come tomorrow and preach for me? Friends, being reconciled with God is the key to peace in your life and in my life. It's the only way that we're gonna experience that.
00:18:00
Speaker
He has a real desire to restore our relationship, not only with Him, ah in effectively erasing any past mistake, any past personal struggle, any any issue that you're currently dealing with, and any future problem that you can possibly imagine. This is what reconciling with God looks like. He offers us not only His love, His grace, but also His peace.
00:18:29
Speaker
I talked to somebody just a few days ago, and I and i revealed what I'm gonna reveal with you today. When I find myself in a season of being unloving or uncaring um or unforgiving, and you and you experience this too, when I get that way, it's because I tend to forget all that God has done for me. I forget the forgiveness that he's given me.
00:18:58
Speaker
because when we, friends, when we hold that close, knowing knowing the forgiveness that God has given us, knowing that we' we're reconciled to Him, we almost can't help but share that with other people. And I and i believe that's by design. So we become reconciled with God. hey he He helps us then to become reconciled with one another.
00:19:24
Speaker
It's, I put down here, it's it's mandatory, it's not optional. So I don't know if you have a strained relationship with somebody right now, somebody that you need to reconcile with. Maybe it's a family member. What a better season, right? We're known as peacekeepers, peacemakers. And I'll talk about that here in just a few minutes. but But perhaps that's where you're at this morning, that you need to reconcile with somebody in your family. As we get closer and closer to Christmas, we move through this season that we now call Advent.
00:19:59
Speaker
and And if I may just take one small pause, Advent is not a Catholic term. It's not a Methodist term. They don't own trademarks on Advent. Advent, it literally in the Latin means to what? To arrive, yeah, thank you. Yeah, it's it's the season of anticipation of the arrival.
00:20:24
Speaker
the arrival of of Jesus in the manger, the one who is to come, who's going to provide peace, who's going to reconcile us. And it's it's in this season that we remember that birth, that first advent. But it's also a time when we remember the advent to come, the next coming, right the next arrival, when when he will come back and restore it all.
00:20:51
Speaker
And I don't know about you, but i I almost can't wait for that. I almost find myself in ah in in this season, not just anticipation of all that Christmas involves with the decorating and the gifts and the family events and all that kind of stuff, but it is not just that, but it's this, my goodness, umm I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus, but I can't wait for him to come back. I can't wait for him to come back and to restore everything to the way it should be.
00:21:27
Speaker
I just put, there is an expectation in this season, and there rightly should be. should be it that You should be fully expecting Jesus to show up in a big way this season for you.
Advent: Expectation of Peace
00:21:43
Speaker
He meets us exactly where we're at today, and he promises peace for future.
00:21:50
Speaker
and And I just put, I think it's our purpose in being reconciled to God that we are to reconcile with one another and we are to share that peace. People ought to see you out and about and say there's something different about you. You have a certain peace about yourself. Your life's not in turboils, not up and down, these huge highs and these huge lows.
00:22:17
Speaker
And I had a Bible teacher a long time ago. He responded this way at every holiday. I'd say, well, his name was Gavin. I'd say, ah Professor Gavin, like, how was how was Thanksgiving? The same. He would just say that to everything. He was the same as it was last year. And I like it that way. right it's ah it's a It's a sign that his life didn't have these huge highs and these huge lows. He just had this steady, constant peace about himself.
Jesus on Peace and Peacemakers
00:22:48
Speaker
Jesus speaks about this type of peace in the most famous sermon called the Beatitudes. Look at me here, flip back Matthew, Matthew chapter five. If I can get there, you can get there. Matthew chapter five, verse nine, look with me here.
00:23:10
Speaker
Verse nine says, God blesses those who work for, everybody say it, peace. For they will be called the children of God." Are you a peacemaker? That's what I put down as a question today. Brothers and sisters today at First Baptist Church, are you a peacemaker? Are you someone who fights for harmony? Or are you someone who just fights?
00:23:41
Speaker
We all know people like this, don't we? Seems like I just get a kick out of fighting. disunity, arguing, stirring the pot, gossiping. We know these people. It's almost like they're second nature, but it says here,
00:24:04
Speaker
blessed are those who aren't that way, who aren't divisive. It says blessed are those who actually strive for, work for peace, unity,
00:24:17
Speaker
For those people will be called the children of God." So notice that if you are a child of God, how are you to be? Peacemaker. See how that works? If you are truly a child of God, you are somebody who lies aside divisiveness and rather picks up unity. And I thought to myself, what illustration better captures this idea?
00:24:48
Speaker
Charlie Brown Christmas.
00:24:53
Speaker
Linus says to Charlie Brown in the Charlie Brown Christmas way, Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who could take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Don't you know people like that? They could take the best of a situation, turn it into a problem. And unfortunately, the outcome for these people
00:25:19
Speaker
is disunity, not harmony. And I think it's because they believe Christmas means something else other than the hope, the peace, the joy, the love that's found in Jesus. I think they're searching in all the wrong places.
00:25:40
Speaker
I'll simply close with this.
Becoming Peacemakers Like Jesus
00:25:44
Speaker
When we're willing to seek peace with others and fight for harmony rather than sowing dissension, we are identified with the heart of God who longs to reconcile the world to himself. When we act as peacemakers, we are blessed. Blessed are the people who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
00:26:07
Speaker
When we act as peacemakers, we're not only blessed, but we experience God's peace in our lives. And when we act to as peacemakers, you and I look more and more like Jesus does on every single day as we encounter those people who are broke and fallen in our world. We have a choice of how we respond to those people this season. Many of those people who are lost and broken and searching in all the wrong places are people in your family.
00:26:34
Speaker
And as you sit and talk with them this Christmas season, what a better chance, instead of getting an argument at the dinner table, be a peacemaker and show them that you belong in God's family. This Christmas, may we be a people who embrace the gift of peace.
00:26:56
Speaker
offered to us through Jesus who died upon the cross, who paid the penalty for sin, the penalty that you and I could not pay so that we might live in a right relationship with him and with others and with ourselves. Amen.