MINISTER, Rev. Thomas O. Scarborough.
Christmas Message.
Well this past Sunday, we had our Service of Nine Lessons and Carols - and one of the purposes of that service was to show us how God revealed a plan for man's salvation long before it actually came to pass. A lot of people are unaware of the power of those prophecies, and just how astonishing they are.
God says through the prophet Isaiah: "Therefore I told you these things long ago - before they happened, I announced them to you, so that you could not say, 'My idols did them.'" (Isaiah 48:5). Or chance did them. Or human insight did them.
It is only God who has any knowledge of the future - or has any power over the future - so one way that we can know that something is of God is if a prophet accurately predicts the future.
What I am saying is that the Christmas prophecies, and the events surrounding Christ's birth, are not just quaint stories - but if you look at them carefully, you will see that they are prophecies of God - things that were foretold through the prophets - which were fulfilled in the birth of Christ.
It was the fulfilment of God's plan of salvation. And this is a plan not only for the world. It is a plan for you. God sent His Saviour so that you should be saved.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now one of the things that God foretold, through His prophets - and this is something I spoke about in my Christmas Message to the ladies a few weeks ago - one of the things God foretold was that Jesus Christ would be the Prince of Peace.
It has been said that the Christian faith may be summed up in the word "peace". In fact on two occasions in the New Testament, the gospel is described as the gospel of peace.
Romans 10 verse 15 says: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace."
And my sermon this morning is based upon the words of the angels in Luke chapter 2 verse 14, which we heard a moment ago. When the angels announced the birth of Jesus Christ, they sang: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men, on whom His favour rests."
Now there are three ways - if not more than three ways - in which Jesus Christ came to give "peace on earth". And I am not going to preach as long as I usually do - I shall just briefly go into these three ways in which Christ came to bring peace, as the Bible says.
* * * * * * * * * *
Firstly, Jesus Christ came to give us peace with God.
There is the very well known Christian teaching of justification, that every Christian should know well. It is best expressed in Romans chapter 5 verse 1: "Therefore, having been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Before you are saved, you are in conflict with God. Your whole attitude and way of life are opposed to God. You are on the throne of your life, and God must stand aside. His will for you must stand aside.
It's not enough to say, "Or but I love God." or "I meditate on God." The question is, have you kept His will for you? That is what matters to Him. And not even the best of us have done that. And the Bible shows us that to ignore God's will for you is far more serious than most people think - it separates us from God for eternity - and the Bible is very clear about that.
But the Bible also says that we may be justified - or made just - in God's sight - our whole lives may be set at peace with God again - when we humble ourselves, and put our trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.
And when we do that, we are able to have a personal relationship with God. Because God no longer sees our sin, we are able to come into fellowship with God, and experience the peace of a personal relationship with God from day to day. We can walk with God.
If people had a wish list - what they would like more than anything else - I think that most people would say - if I can really know God - come to know God personally - that is what I would like at the top of the list. And that is the core of the gospel message - that you really can know God personally, through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came to give us peace with God - to bring us near to Him again - to make it possible to know Him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Secondly, if we have peace with God, then we will also be able to find peace in every situation of life.
Many people do not have peace over the events of their life - some people even say, "I think that God is causing me trouble" - and that might well be true, if they are not at peace with Him.
Many people are miserable over the events of their life, or anxious over the events of their life. And you know what that results in - it results in unhappy, bullying people - in marriage, or at work, or wherever they may be. And that destroys peace all round.
But when we know Christ, we may have peace over the events of our life - we may have peace over the purpose of our life - because we know that when we have peace with God - then His hand of blessing is upon us in every situation of life. We can live with a tranquility in our lives.
The Bible says, "He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
No matter what your circumstances may be, you may have complete peace as a Christian believer, because the Lord God is now lovingly involved in your life, to bless you in every way.
That doesn't mean that you'll be free from all trouble- but even in hard circumstances, you may know that God is with you - you may experience that God is with you - and have peace.
King David said, "Though an army beliege me - my heart will not fear... I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord." (Psalm 27:3, 13).
And Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." (John 14:27).
The Bible promises that when we come to know Christ, we will have a peace that the world does not know - and that is the truth - I have seen it so many times in my ministry.
* * * * * * * * * *
Then thirdly - a point that is very similar to the last one - our hearts within us may be at peace towards every person and every incident of our lives, when we know Christ.
That doesn't necessarily mean that we will be at peace with everyone - the two are not quite the same, and I think I need to make that clear. Some Christians think they have to be at peace with everyone, no matter what the cost - just make peace on all sides.
Jesus didn't have peace with everyone. The apostles didn't have peace with everyone - and when they died - most of them were put to death by people who had come to hate them with a passion.
But when Jesus died, He died with complete peace - over God's purpose for His life - knowing that He was doing the Father's will. And when the apostles died, we know that they died with peace.
As Christians, our hearts should be at peace, and we should be at peace in our feelings towards every brother or sis ter, towards every person - towards every thing that has happened in our lives in the recent past or even the distant past.
If we do not have such peace, then there is something important missing in our Christian walk.
You can be the kind of person who is not at peace - you are unsettled - and by being unsettled, you unsettle everybody else - you sow un-peace and discord and unhappiness around you. Or you can be the kind of person who is at peace in his or her heart.
* * * * * * * * *
There is the marvellous example of Isaac in Genesis chapter 26 - where he is persecuted by the Philistines. And every time they do him an injustice - and they were serious injustices - Isaac just leaves his own land and his own wells, and moves on.
And you wonder why on earth he does that - but at the end of the story, you discover that he as an unshakeable conviction that God's love is over him - God will prosper him in His own good time - so why should he think twice about those pesky Philistines? He has peace in his heart towards them. In fact the story ends with Isaac making a feast for them, and sending them on their way in peace.
* * * * * * * * * *
So the whole aim of the Christian life - the whole promise of the Christian life - is peace - a deep, eternal sense of peace with God the Father - a peace of heart in every circumstance of life - and peace in our feelings over all the people and all the things that come our way.
The purpose of Christ's coming was to bring "on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."
You may sense in your heart this morning, "I don't have that peace in my heart. I don't have that eternal sense of peace with God. I don't have that peace with my situation. Or I don't have peace in my heart." Many people don't.
That may be because you have not yet come into a personal relationship with God - maybe you need to come to know God, through Jesus Christ - or maybe you need to come to a new place of trust in God, as a Christian.
The apostle Paul said that the peace of God passes all understanding - that was his experience - and that is what is available to every Christian through Jesus Christ - that is what He came to bring.
Or if you feel you want to come to know God personally - which is the whole message of the Bible - that you can come to know God - please take a booklet at you leave - I have put some today on the counter at the back of the Church...
And last but not least, have a very happy Christmas.
AMEN.
RECITED BY A CHILD.
PEACE ON EARTH.
Peace on earth, with a world at war?
O what were the angels singing for
That far-away night when the Star shone down
With a glorious light on Bethlehem town?
Peace on earth! they were singing of Him
Who was born that night to redeem from sin;
Who still has the power to cleanse and to heal
The contrite heart who is willing to kneel.
Peace on earth, amid sorrow and loss?
Yes, peace indeed, at the foot of the cross!
Peace in a world that is troubled and torn,
Peace in each heart where the Saviour is born.
Peace on earth, while the nations rage?
And history is making its darkest page?
Yes, peace on earth, for its steadfast light
Is burning in thousands of hearts tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment