24th December 2006 AM

JESUS THE PRICE OF PEACE! Pastor Colin Meadows

Micah 5:2-5, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:8-14

Christmas 2006: The time has arrived! After all the waiting now just one more sleep, and then it will be time to open the presents. Reading about gifts that you should not give at Christmas time:

For men don’t give them the Special Edition of Anne of Green Gables DVD with the 74 mins of extra footage. Avoid teddy bear pyjamas, a vacuum cleaner or a nose and ear hair trimmer.

For women – Don’t please give your special lady a chain saw or whipper snipper for the garden, an iron, a five-year subscription to Sports Illustrated magazine or free vouchers to a Weight Watchers Clinic. Such gifts are not deemed appropriate. Christmas is a time of giving, of families, of food and friends.

But Christmas is much more. The familiar story of the Savior’s birth, the child born to Mary and Joseph, Jesus whose coming split history. Jesus, who was given such wonderful names and titles in God’s Word.

The name Jesus means ‘God who saves”, his name Immanuel, ‘God who is with us’, he was called the King of the Jews, the God who rules, the Christ, the anointed one, the Lord, the God who is master of all. Each of these titles has great significance and is packed with meaning.

This morning we wish to reflect on a title of Jesus found in our readings, a title that seems to jar with much of what we see in our world today. The title of Jesus - the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a child is born, to us a 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.”

People hunger for peace. There are different ways that the word peace is used – referring to the absence of war, an agreement or treaty, of harmonious relationships, of public security (one can be arrested for disturbing the peace), reconciliation, of inner contentment, or serenity. The word is further used as a greeting or farewell phrase in many cultures. Shalom in Israel or kagiso in Botswana.

I did a Google search for the word ‘peace’ and came back with 211 million responses, highlighting the heart aspirations of so many people around the world who long for peace. There is a ‘Declaration of World Peace’ petition that one can sign, the Nobel Peace Prizes, movements for peace, Carter Centre for Peace in the US, the road map for peace in the Middle East. People yearning for peace. Our world would just love to have some peace.

Dwight Eisenhower, the former US president, said many years ago “I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”

Yet as much as we long for peace, world events seem to move in the very opposite direction. There was not one recorded day around the world during the 20^th century when there was not a war going on somewhere. Sometimes there were nine or more at the one time in various countries. A little girl wrote concerning WW1 and Armistice Day, “Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and since then we have had two minutes of peace every year.” Very true unfortunately!

On the global scene in recent years we have had Sept 11^th, Afghanistan, the Bali bombing, Iraq, the Middle East, and conflicts in parts of Africa to name just a few. Even locally we find home invasions, nightclub fights, road rage incidents, domestic violence, the list is very long.

This could then prompt a further question: Jesus came as the Prince of Peace yet there has been continued war and violence. Does this mean that his mission of peace failed? Is there any chance of peace in our world? Can there be peace in our times?

The peace that Jesus brings: Yes, we can find peace. Jesus mission of peace did not fail. He accomplished the task his Father had given him, to bring reconciliation between people and their God, to open the way for peace amongst us all. At his birth the heavenly host proclaimed:

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Yes, there can be peace in our time but it comes only on God’s terms, not ours. What then is this peace that Christ brought?

Peace, as spoken of in God’s Word, is not the absence of war, but the presence of Christ in our lives. This is the peace that we will focus on this morning. In sending Jesus on that Christmas Day long ago, God acted to bring peace, but this peace will come one heart at a time as we submit to his rule in our lives.

It is a peace that comes as we acknowledge Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. It is a peace that comes as we realize that we can be forgiven and can stand upright before God, not because of our own efforts, but because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Peace that comes on God’s terms, not ours.

The word peace on the OT had the meaning of wholeness, of that which is made complete. When the OT was translated into Greek, the language of the NT, the word used for peace is the same word used for salvation. As we enter into a relationship with God through Christ so we find his salvation and his peace, we find wholeness in our lives. We will have that wonderful peace with God. From that will flow restored relationships with others as we submit to Jesus as our Lord. How can we receive this peace?

Receive the peace of Christ by faith. Through a simple act of saying yes to Jesus, each of us can find peace with Jesus. It is not a matter of what we need to do but of who we need to know - Jesus. The baby Jesus grew up to become a man who lived a life of service and love. He was crucified on a cross but rose from the dead on the third day. Through his death he purchased salvation or peace for all who will put their trust in Him. This morning you can say yes to Jesus and receive his peace. In the quietness of this morning why not allow his peace to flood your heart?

Stop striving and start trusting, stop arguing with God and instead submit to Jesus as Lord and Master of your life. Allow the peace of Christ which is beyond understanding to wash over you. Let this Christmas be time when you find peace, real peace!

As you receive his peace then you will become an island of peace for others to experience. In prayer, hand over your life to Christ and allow his peace to be yours.

Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Where do we find such peace? Only as we submit to Jesus as Lord and Master of our lives. Only as we acknowledge that we cannot find this peace through our own efforts but rather by trusting in what Christ has done for us. Submit to Jesus today!

Christmas Day 1914 Towards the end of the first year of World War I, something quite amazing happened. The sounds of men singing carols in various languages could be heard in the trenches. German, British, and French soldiers disobeying their superiors and fraternizing with "the enemy" along two-thirds of the Western Front. German troops held up Christmas trees from their trenches and called out "You no shoot, we no shoot." Thousands of troops streamed across a no-man's land strewn with rotting corpses. They sang Christmas carols, exchanged photographs of loved ones back home, shared rations, played football, even roasted some pigs.

Soldiers embraced men they had been trying to kill a few short hours before. They agreed to warn each other if the top brass forced them to fire their weapons, and to aim high.

A shudder ran through the high command on either side. Here was a disaster in the making: soldiers declaring their brotherhood with each other and refusing to fight. Generals on both sides declared this spontaneous peacemaking to be treasonous and subject to court martial.

By March, 1915 the peace movement had been eradicated and the military killing machine put back in full operation. By the time WW1 ended in 1918, fifteen million people would be slaughtered and another sixteen million injured or missing.

Receive the peace of Christ this Christmas! If only that time of Christmas peace in 1914 had lasted! Yet peace can come to your heart this Christmas. Why not make this Christmas the time when you accept God’s peace into your life. Yes, peace is not the absence of war in the world but the presence of Jesus in our hearts. Let us make this Christmas a time of personal peace as we submit to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ the Lord.

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