December 7, 2014
Experience Peace
Isaiah 23; Luke 2 NOTES NOT EDITED
SIS—Peace is a struggle.
The Nativity—or Birth of
Christ Story—did not happen in a vacuum.
It is neither the beginning of the story of redemption nor the end. It is a strategic part of the whole.
The foundations for the
Nativity stretch back into eternity when the Bible describes Jesus as “the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). The story
continues to build through the Scriptures reaching a mountain peak in the
Prophets. From a lofty height of inspiration the prophets could see the coming
of the Messiah. Isaiah, as with many prophets, outlines the anticipation of the
Birth of Jesus as the Messiah—One Sent from God. Isaiah describes this “anticipated coming”
(advent) in this manner:
Isaiah announced the advent
(coming) of the Lord like this:
9:6 For a child will be born for us, a son
will be given to us,
and
the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the many aspects of His
virtue Jesus gives us “peace.” That
peace does not come without a great struggle, though. Isaiah later describes the price Jesus paid
for our peace.
Isaiah
53 4 Yet He Himself bore
our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But
He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed
because of our iniquities; punishment
for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.
One of the key elements in
the promise of the Messiah is that He would be the “Prince of Peace.” This idea was misinterpreted by the Jews of
Jesus’ day, and most people today, to mean:
political peace, or existence without struggle. That peace will come one day in the second
“advent,” but the peace described by Isaiah in regard to the “first advent” has
a totally different significance and is birthed in struggle.
The doctrine of peace in
the Bible can be easily misunderstood.
The kind of peace most people wish for this side of heaven is largely an
illusion—an illusion easily and often shattered by the harsh realities of
life. History has many examples.
On this December 7th,
2014 we memorialize the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack literally and figuratively
demonstrates how peace as it is commonly understood this side of heaven is an
illusion.
VIDEO
The attack on Pearl Harbor
reminds us how easily peace can be shattered and we can be drawn into a bloody
struggle. Over 2400 sailors, soldiers,
marines and civilians were killed in a few hours. The Navy took the heaviest casualties at
2008. Four battleships were sunk but all
but the Arizona were later raised and returned to service in the war. A memorial stretches across the sunken haul
of the Arizona that serves as a tomb for the 948 crewmen whose bodies were not
removed. Now, one of the most solemn memorials of WWII stretches across the
sunken hulk of the Arizona—a lasting reminder that “peace as we usually
understand it” is mostly an illusion.
The Nativity story reminds
us that “peace is a struggle.” As we read the Nativity Story we quickly
realize that the kind of peace Isaiah spoke about in chapter 53 in regard to
the coming of the Messiah is a different kind of peace—a broader, deeper, more
lasting peace. In the Nativity scene
peace, as determined by blissful circumstances is greatly lacking.
Mary is a teenage,
unmarried Jewish girl travelling on a donkey (or so our Christian tradition
leads us to believe) and will deliver her baby in a cattle stall. Nothing about this story shouts “peace” as we
normally picture it. “Biblical peace is a feeling of well-being
wrenched from the grip of difficult circumstances.”
Biblically peace is not so
much a “condition” as it is a relationship—a relationship with God, through
Christ, the Prince of Peace. The
announcement of the heavenly host that first Christmas declares that peace is
not “good circumstances” but a godly relationship.
Let’s Read that Story
Together: Luke 2:1-14
So, what peace comes from
“the favor of God?” It is peace that rises
up in the midst of difficult circumstances. So many Christians fall into
despair because they do not understand what “real peace” is.
Real
peace is a feeling of good will even during times of great struggle. Peace simply stated, is a struggle.
In fact, this passage in
Luke, as well as the two from Isaiah, demonstrates three distinct areas of our
lives that require a struggle in order to obtain peace.
1. Most obvious is a
struggle with difficult CIRCUMSTANCES
The Bible is a “real”
book. By that I mean it presents real
people in real situations—sometimes even putting people of God in a less than
admirable light. The Bible tells of Noah
getting drunk, Moses getting angry, Abraham lying, David committing adultery,
and Peter cussing to mention just a few examples. The Bible is “raw, unscripted life.”
The same is true of the
Nativity story. The language is simple
and raw. Take for example, Luke 2, verse
5. In the King James we read that Mary
was, “great with child.” Modern translations simply say, “she was
pregnant.” It is amazing to me how
difficult it is to describe linguistically a woman in the state of
pregnancy. We might say a woman is
“expecting,” or “carrying a child,” or “with child.” We might use an idiomatic expression like, “In
the pudding club,” or “bun in the oven,” or “in a family way.” What seems so obvious seems so difficult to
describe adequately.
The original Greek writers
had a similar problem. Several different
expressions were used to describe pregnancy.
The word used hear is only used one time in the entire Bible. It literally means, “in a state of
swelling.” In other words, “she was
about to burst.” Hence, the King James
captures this very well saying, “great with child.”
The point that becomes
“painfully” obvious to me—and I’m sure also to Mary—is that she was at the very
end of her pregnancy and her child could come at any minute. Where do we find her? We find her on a winding road a 80 miles from
Bethlehem, their destination, on the back of a donkey. The Bible doesn’t say, but the usual mode of
travel would have been on a donkey.
Donkeys were expensive so Joseph probably walked and let his
soon-to-be-wife ride. The trip would
have been a grueling five to seven days, at least. Mary would sleep on the ground, under the
stars. How many of you women envy Mary
who is “bursting with child” on a week long hike through rough terrain?
The circumstances were not
good for Mary, and they don’t get much better when they finally reach
Bethlehem. Here we have the entrance of the
much maligned and annually scorned innkeeper.
Verse 7 says,
Then
she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and
laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging
place.
I’ve been the consultant on
three pregnancies: my daughter Amanda,
my daughter Natalie, and my son Jonathan.
In each case Shari and I opted for “natural” child-birth. Let me say, “I don’t see anything NATURAL
about the birth of a child!” I’ve heard
talk of a “beautiful experience.” I love
my kids and they were all beautiful babies—but the experience was
“horrible.” The pain was more than I
could bear, and the sights and sounds were quite frankly, frightening.
And . . . that’s in a
hospital with a whole staff to help things along! I cannot imagine being “born at home,” much
less being born in a cattle stall! The
circumstances were simply NOT peaceful.
The circumstances were, to put it mildly, less than ideal. Yet, we know Mary was at peace. Look at verse 19:
But
Mary treasured up all these things
and
pondered them in her heart.
I could give similar
examples of difficult circumstances in the life of Joseph—he was facing a “tax
audit,” or the shepherds living as societal outcasts in the field. Peace
is a struggle against circumstances.
2. Peace is a
struggle with RELATIONSHIPS
Look back again at verse
5: “He went there to register with Mary, who
was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.”
Joseph was a devout
Christian man. The Bible presents him as
righteous and honorable. After all, he
was chosen as the step-father for God.
That is pretty phenomenal in and of itself. As a devout Jew he would be very careful in
his selection of the one he would marry.
She would have to be a virtuous, virginal lover of God. Joseph sought for such a woman and found
Mary. They were “pledged” in marriage to
each other. All was well until, “Mary
turned up pregnant.”
Now, we know from Matthew’s
account that this meant the marriage was off.
As a pious Jew, Joseph could not even consider marrying Mary no matter
how much he loved her. So Matthew tells
us:
1:19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous
man, and not wanting to disgrace her
publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
Jewish engagement was
actually considered the first step of marriage so the only way to break off an
engagement was formal divorce. Mary
would be labeled and adulterer and subject to a life of scorn.
Of all the struggles one
can face in life, struggling for good relationships or struggling in a bad
relationship are perhaps the most stressful.
Years ago while studying pastoral counseling the professor introduced a
scale rating different stressful events.
As I recall, the death of a spouse was the highest rated stressful event
with divorce following second. Either
one of these life events plus just one other stressful event would put a person
in the category of serious physical and emotional risk.
The greatest relationship
between two people is marriage, but we have other significant relationships as
well. We have relationships with
siblings, friends, co-workers, and other various associations. There are many pressures that come to bare on
these relationships. The closer and more
significant the relationship, the more devastating the stress is that comes
when these relationships are “out of whack,” to use a psychological term. Stressful relationships can actually make us
sick physically according to most psychologists. Bad relationships can haunt us all our lives,
such as a bad relationship with a parent, or both parents.
A person cannot be at war
with others and at peace with oneself.
That’s so profound it surprised me when I wrote it, so I’ll say it
again. A person cannot be at war with others and be at peace with oneself.
The Holy Spirit understands
the nature of man and so the Spirit directed Paul to write (Romans 12:18-19):
18 If possible, on your part, live at peace
with everyone. 19 Friends,
do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs
to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.
Relationships suffer from
both external and internal pressures, just like the relationship between Joseph
and Mary. Difficult issues arise and
must be faced. Each person brings a
personal perspective to the matter that may or may not be helpful. There are external pressures that come to
bear such as views of others, or even financial pressures.
Joseph obviously had trust
issues with Mary. He knew he was not the
father. Trust issues are not easy to
overcome. Forgiveness, even from such a
devout and loving man like Joseph, cannot always overcome the internal
pressures that arise within a relationship.
In fact, Joseph’s issues could only be resolved by a word from God,
Himself. Matthew 1 says:
20 But after he had considered these things,
an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son
of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been
conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, brokenness in a
relationship is so severe that nothing short of the miraculous intervention of
God in our lives will give us the strength to overcome. Sometimes, the relationship can be
restored. Sometimes, we must walk
away. But, we can have “peace” if we
“struggle to hear God speak.” I think it
is at the point of broken relationships that we can learn a lot from the recent
mega-hit, “Frozen.” You all have heard
the message a thousand times:
[CLEAR YOUR THROAT] “Let it go // Let it go!”
Ago, now you have heard it
1000 and 1 times! If you want to have
peace in your life, you must struggle to find peace in your relationships. You will suffer just like Elsa and be
isolated in a frozen castle of bitterness if you don’t. The key to peace is not so much your
relationships with others as it is your relationship to Almighty God through
Jesus Christ.
Peace
is a struggle. It is a precious gem that must be blasted
out of the solid rock of human experience.
Like a precious diamond, you are not likely to find peace lying on top
of the ground. You must dig for it in
the hard soil of human experience.
We must struggle to find
peace amidst difficult circumstances. We
must struggle to find peace in the shadow of difficult relationships. Most of
all we must find peace through a daily
3. Struggle against
SIN
Two passages in the
Nativity Story serve as the hub around which the entire story of redemption
turns. Verse 11 tells us:
Today
a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord,
was
born for you in the city of David.
Then, look at what the
Heavenly Host declares in verse 14:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and
peace on earth to people He favors!
The only way to have peace
is to “have God’s favor” upon your life and the only way to have God’s favor
upon your life is to be “saved.” To be
“saved” means to accept the sacrifice Jesus made available on the cross by
dying on your behalf. The only path to
“peace with God” is to receive the “grace, or favor of God through Jesus Christ.”
You see, Christmas really
isn’t about the “birth” of Jesus Christ.
I know it seems that way with the manger, the star, the wise men the
“cattle lowing” and such. But, we do not
even know the date of Jesus’ birth. We
DO know the date of His death.
I have mentioned before
that people like to talk about their “Zodiac Sign” that marks the date of their
birth. There is “Aquarius” if you are
born in January or February. As an
Aquarius you “set trends, you are innovative, admired, and eccentric.” Or, you may be a Taurus, like myself. Born in April or May you “have good taste,
you are senual, down to earth, pleasure-seeking, and stubborn.” Everybody has a Zodiac Sign they were born
under. Astrologists tell us that the
sign you were born under directs your life.
Scientists have a term for the power of the Zodiac. It is “nonsense.” That is, except for one person.
The Bible tells us that
Jesus was born under a unique sign and His birth was attended by a unique
star. The sign Jesus was born under was
the “sign of the cross.” Jesus was born
to die and become the Savior of the world.
The cross was his destiny.
Jesus was not born a
healer, because sickness is not a biggest problem, though He did heal
many. Jesus was not born a “teacher,”
because ignorance is not our biggest problem, though His teachings are sublime
and indispensable. Jesus was not born a
philosopher because the lack of answers to life’s deepest questions is not our
biggest problem, though the Bible gives us much to help us navigate the vast
possibilities and puzzling paradoxes of our existence.
Jesus was born the
“Savior,” because our biggest problem is our “sin.” We cannot be at peace with life until we are
at peace with God and we cannot be at peace with God until our “sin problem”
has been dealt with.
Theoretically one can have
all their circumstances in order. One
can have all their relationships running smoothly and any peace they have is
simply an illusion if one is not dealing daily with the problem of sin. Sin lurks in our life like the Japanese
lurking in the Pacific planning the devastating raid on Pearl Harbor. In a matter of seconds the illusion of a
self-made peace in life can be shattered.
One must daily struggle against the sin nature or lasting peace will not
come.
11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord,
was
born for you in the city of David.
Sin interrupts the flow of
peace into one’s life like a “tripped circuit breaker” interrupts the flow of
electricity into our house. Sin
short-circuits the “flow of God’s favor.”
When we accept the gift of salvation provided by Jesus, the Savior, then
we “reset the breaker” on our relationship with God. We are now connected to Him and His peace
will flow in and through our lives. A
real peace. A lasting peace.
During the course of
writing a sermon, I read a large volume of text. An overwhelming majority of the material I
read never makes it into my sermon, even though much of it is really great
stuff. I don’t use a lot of direct
quotes, because I try to tell you what God has spoken to me, not what God may
have spoken to others. But, one quote is
so simple, and yet so sublime, I feel it begs to be shared. The source is a Baptist preacher by the name
of John Baggett. He was sharing how he
felt that the cross was the original “Christmas TREE.” He described how this original Christmas tree
was decorated with only one light, “The Light of the World.” Now that is profound but this is the
statement that really stuck with me: “God did not put our Christmas gift UNDER
the tree, but ON the tree.”
We put so much emphasis on
the “gifts UNDER the tree.” These gifts
represent “good things in life.” There
is nothing at all wrong with giving and receiving gifts, in moderation of
course. But, there is only one gift that
will give us lasting peace, and it is the gift of salvation.
As I said earlier, the
common idea of peace is an illusion. The
common idea of peace is based upon getting all the circumstances and all the
relationships in one’s life in perfect order.
Even if one were able to do that for the moment, it will not last. The worldly idea of peace is as much an
illusion as the “peace on Pearl Harbor” December 7, 1941. That piece was shattered and devastation
followed.
You CAN have peace-lasting
peace, eternal peace. You will need to
struggle to be at peace. It will require
work and effort but you can claim it as your own. You can have peace though you struggle with
circumstances. You can have peace though
you are struggling in relationships. You
can have peace as you struggle against your sin nature.
I will leave you with a
beautiful passage of peace, once again from the prophet Isaiah:
26:3 You will keep the mind that is dependent
on
You
in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.
<<end>>
