Prince of Peace

1. Jesus Prince of Peace  

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)  For to 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.

Peace: shaòloòm[shaw-lome']

BDB Definition: 1) completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

1a) Completeness (in number)

1b) Safety, soundness (in body)

1c) Welfare, health, prosperity

1d) Peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment

1e) Peace, friendship

1e1) of human relationships

1e2) with God especially in covenant relationship

1f) Peace (from war)

1g) Peace (as adjective)

                 

Luke 2:14 (NIV)  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 19:30 (NIV)  “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”³²Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”³⁴They replied, “The Lord needs it.”³⁵They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. ³⁶As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.³⁷When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:³⁸“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)  Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“I am much struck with the contrast between Christ’s mode of gathering people to himself and the way practiced by Alexander the Great, by Julius Caesar, and by myself. The people have been gathered to us by fear; they were gathered to Christ by love. Alexander, Caesar, and I have been men of war, but Christ was the Prince of Peace. The people have been driven to us; they were drawn to him. In our case there has been forced conscription; in his there was free obedience.”

—Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)

2. Jesus gives us His peace

Romans 5:1 (NIV)  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

John 14:27 (NIV)  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33 (NIV)  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 20:19-20 (NIV)  On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

3.  The Prince of Peace breaks down the dividing walls and unites us in peace as one.

Ephesians 2:11-22 (NASB)  Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. ¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, ²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, ²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

4.  Jesus sends us as peacemakers

John 20:21 (NIV)  Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Matthew 5:9 (NASB)  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9 (AMP)  Blessed (enjoying  enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!

Romans 12:18 (NIV)  ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 14:19 (NIV)  Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 

1 Peter 3:9 (NIV)  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.¹¹He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:11 (AMP)  Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]

CHRISTMAS: A time of remembrance & celebration

A time of remembrance & celebration

 

For the Christian holidays featuring Christmas and Easter, are annual reminders of all God has done for us in Christ. We can help our children appreciate the significance of these occasions’ best by using them as God used the festivals in Israel, as opportunities for individuals to relive, to participate in the sacred events.

·     The Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13). Like Passover this feast taught family members of all ages about God’s nature and what he had done for them and was a time of renewed commitment to God.

·     The Festival of Hanukkah originated as the festival of the dedication or cleansing of the Temple. It reminds us of the victory won by the Maccabees in 165 B.C.E. to insure the purity of the worship of God and to preserve the distinctiveness of Israel and Jewish identity.

"Hanukkah looks back to a victory and the preservation of the Jewish people when they were in the land. For us it also looks forward to a time when our Jewish people will be preserved despite intense suffering. This preservation, again while Jewish people are in the land, will culminate in the victory won by the Great Shepherd, Yeshua." Messianic Services,  by Dr. John Fischer

In the congregation and at home we can let children act out different roles: let them be Mary or Joseph or a shepherd or be a disciple of Jesus when He is crucified, or one of the women who finds the empty tomb.

While Herod refused to worship Jesus, many welcomed Him and came to offer the Christ child their love, their worship, and their gifts. How good it is this Christmas season to offer Jesus our love, our worship, and to express our thanks with tangible gifts.

It’s important to know that God does not intend for our relationship with him to be only meditation, reflection and confession of sin. We are also to praise Him for who He is and for what He has done for us. Christmas is a time of celebration to renew our faith and to commemorate God’s goodness.

I want to share with you a devotional I discovered many years ago from the “365 Day Devotional Commentary” by Lawrence O. Richards 

December 25 - Revelation 9:12-21

“Every now and then Sarah crawls up in her mother’s lap and says, “Give me love.” They hug and pat each other, coo and smile, and feel especially close, Mom and daughter.

Christmas is just such a time for us. “Give me love,” is Jesus’ way. We gather around Him, eager to hug and be hugged. Eager to be reminded of His love, and eager to affirm ours as well.

There’s something about love that draws us. And there’s something about punishment that repels. We see that in our home too. Even when punishment is well deserved, and Sarah knows it, her lower lip sullenly protrudes. She looks accusingly out of angry eyes, and sometimes even shouts out her feelings that it’s all unfair.

This is a contrast we need to see this Christmas time, as we read of God’s terrible judgments on a sinful human race—and feel shocked that Revelation reports, they “still did not repent.” They did not change their minds or change their ways.

That’s why Christmas is such an appropriate expression of our faith. It’s God reminding us that He has heard our cry of “give me love.” And He has given love in the Christ Child whose birth we celebrate.

As long as the world has Christmas, God reaches out to give us love, and the door of salvation is open wide. Oh, let us speak to others of this love, before the judgment comes, and hardened hearts are frozen in a rebellion that will lock them away from love for all eternity.”

Christmas is where we celebrate the love that we have received through Jesus, God’s gift to us, not the judgment that we deserve.

Immanuel—God With Us: The Reason For The Season

In just a few days people all over the world will be celebrating Christmas. To some it is simply a time for gathering with family and friends. For others it is a “High Holy Day” celebrated with great pomp and circumstance. Others look for Santa and the gifts that will soon be received.

For our family it is the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. There will be the traditional Christmas tree beautifully decorated, colored lights, the children’s play depicting the manger scene with all the traditional characters, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, angels and of course, the baby Jesus. And yes, we will gather with family and friends enjoying fellowship, feasting and the exchange of gifts. But we will do all of this in remembrance of why He came and who He is, the reason for the season!

1.) Who he is, God with us

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:20-23 (NIV)  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

2.) The priceless gift of eternal Life

As we continue to celebrate the birth of Christ it is important to remember “The reason for the season” . . . he will save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21b).

John 6:32-33 (NIV)  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

John 6:41-42 (NIV)  At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴²They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

John 6:47-51 (NIV)  I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

3.) What should our response be to God’s magnificent gift?

As we continue to look at the scripture we cannot help but see that Jesus was calling his followers to wholehearted commitment not just a casual acquaintance. Likewise we are being called to be partakers of Christ, exhibiting wholehearted committed to Him.

John 6:52-69 (NLT) “52Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.53So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many Disciples Desert Jesus 60Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”61Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”66At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

While we celebrate His birth we also remember that He is no longer a baby in a manger. He is the King of Kings, the Lords of Lords. He is Immanuel—God with us, our Lord and Savior! Christmas is not just the celebration of His birth; it is also the celebration of His life. It should also be a time of self-examination and renewed commitment of our lives. While many may fall away, we humbly declare we will not leave you. This is our gift back to God.