| The Peace of Christmas 12-14-08 A man once was having trouble sleeping and went to see a psychologist to see what could be the problem. He said to the doctor, I have no peace and thus at night I find myself staying awake. The psychologist said the way to achieve inner peace is that you must finish each day all the things you’ ve started. And so the man went home that night and before going to bed, ate all of the cheese cake, all of the ice cream and half of a pizza and sure enough outside of having a stomach ache he slept like a baby. As believers, we know that real inner peace comes from knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace. Today we are going to be looking at the Peace of Christmas. The shepherds which we read about this morning were your below average, ordinary, everyday working people. But it was the shepherds, not the upper class that were invited to witness the birth of our Lord and Savior. The announcement was super-natural, and no doubt took the shepherds by surprise. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder. They had a lowly occupation, one which did not require much education; one which isolated them from others; one which could be dangerous at times and also one which caused them to be treated with contempt and mistrust. Still, it is to these shepherds and not to King Herod that the birth of the Savior of the World was announced. It is strange who we will attempt to share the good news with, isn’t it? Most people never think about sharing the good news with those who are down and out. Those who are looked down upon by society. And still we must KNOW that they need to hear the good news as much as any one. Can you imagine having an angel to speak to you? Now angels are spiritual beings, created to serve God and to sometimes serve as His messengers. These shepherds no doubt were terrified when the angels appeared, but their fear was soon relieved. The angel not only told them not to fear, but gave them a reason for not being afraid. Everyone enjoys hearing good news and truly this was some of the best news that would ever be given. And thus in the place of fear, they are able to experience joy, hope, and peace. Now there are some reasons for people to be fearful today. Those who have never accepted Jesus as Savior have the most to be fearful of. But for the child of God there is no good reason to be fearful, other than not doing His will, and living as one of His children. The Bible says, "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." And in truth nothing is going to happen that God cannot take care of. Once the announcement was made, we read that there appeared a heavenly host, that’s an army of angels, singing, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men. You know the angels are going to be singing again one day soon? When we sing the Latin, Gloria in excelcius deo, we are singing the song of the angels. Today we are living in a world bound by fear, people are fearful of nuclear warfare, of diseases, of losing their jobs and homes and many other things. The answer for fear is still the same. Peace does not come from winning wars, or overcoming some hardship, but from looking to God, and having peace with God. It is only when one finds peace with God that he can live at peace with himself and with others. The good news that the angels proclaimed was that the promised Savior had been born. It is only the Savior that can unite fallen men with God. The repeating atonement of the blood of animals could not bring forgiveness and reconciliation that was lasting. It was necessary for the high priest to enter into the Holy of Holies and to make a sin offering every year. The blood of Christ could accomplish once and for all what man could not. And since He is our high priest, we can go to Him at any time, and at any place. I think the shepherds having found the Messiah, found peace. And it was peace with God that gave them the faith to believe that they were important to God. And thus they were consumed with a newness of life. Consumed to the point that they could not keep the news to themselves. Someone said that faith is doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences. We can learn several things from looking at the shepherds. First, like the shepherds, we can learn that everyone is important to God. We lose sight of that sometimes. We see the homeless, the drug addict, the alcoholic, the person who is down and out, and we forget that they are important to God, that HE loves them as much as He loves anyone. The invitation of God is given to all. Like the shepherds, everyone can be used by God. God used these lowly shepherds and He can and will use each one of us, if we are willing to be used by Him. The shepherds learned that God had some wonderful news for everyone. The news was for all people. It was not for a select few. One of the things that bothers me about some denominations is that they think they are better than others. The truth is all believers are part of the same church, the family of God, and God doesn’t have any favorites. The angels told the shepherds where they would find the Christ Child. He would be found lying in a manger. God’s word tells us today, that He’s seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us. And for some for some of us, we need for Him to do that each and every day. He can also be found in the hearts and lives of those who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior. The shepherds also learned that when you respond to the invitation of God, it makes all the difference. Someone said, "If the angels had appeared in the temple, no doubt they would had debated it, perhaps prayed about it, perhaps appointed a committee to look into it, and most likely came up with a good excuse for not going." Now the shepherds could have talked themselves out of going. We do that sometimes, don’t we? Sometimes people will say, "Pastor, I’m thinking about doing this or that." Friends, there are some things we don’t need to think about, we just need to do it. Oh, the faith of the shepherds is indeed something for us to look at. It is not enough for God to speak to us. It is not enough to hear about the Lord and His wondrous birth. We must respond to the good news. Today, Christ through the Holy Spirit is born not in a manger in Bethlehem, but in our hearts. The birth of a Redeemer is the outcome and revelation of the glory of God. It is the receiving of Christ within our hearts that is able to bring to us, inner peace, lasting peace. In John 14:27 Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." This was in a sense was the message that the angels gave to the shepherds so long ago. The lives of these shepherds were never the same. Friends, if we have met Jesus Christ, the Messiah, our lives are never the same. There is one other thing that I would like you to notice about the shepherds. They did not receive a command form God to go to Bethlehem, but they knew within their hearts that it was the right thing to do. Sometimes, if we listen to our hearts, we will do the right thing. I sometimes tell those who are sick to listen to their bodies, but as children of God, we need sometimes to just listen to our hearts. How wonderful our homes could be, how wonderful our lives could be, if we really did experience each and every day the peace that comes from walking with the Prince of Peace. And so, I invite you today to allow the Holy Spirit to search your hearts and to reveal to you whether or not you are experiencing on a day to day basis the peace that God intended for you to have. Sometimes, we become weary. There are times perhaps when we wonder how we are going to make it, but the Lord has promised that one day He will come again, and friends, when we see HIM, we will confess that it has been worth it all. And in the meantime, we can experience the peace that only the King of Peace, the King of Kings, the Savior of the World can give. He said, "In the world you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." So once again, I invite you to receive the Peace of Christmas, the Peace of Christ. |
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