The Advent of Christ: Then & Now-Peace Promised, Given and Yet to Come.

Today we continue our trek on the Advent train with peace. In my own personal opinion, peace is so very hard to achieve. The reason it is so hard to achieve is because we always have some form of chaos in our lives. It seems that when one thing goes wrong, they all do! Chaos can come in many different forms: job, government, family, vehicles, pets, friends, schools…you name it, it can be chaotic. But in the midst of the chaos, we can have peace.

But what is peace? Why is it important? How do we achieve it? Webster’s defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet.” However, it can also mean “freedom from civil disturbances, a state of security, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions or even harmony in personal relations.” Peace is truly all of these. But it still leaves the question…what is peace? I mean true, real, lasting peace? This time of year, we talk about “Peace on Earth, good will toward men.” The word peace or the root of the word peace appears in the Greek and Hebrew texts a total of 367 times in the entire Bible. It is an important subject apparently. Today we are going to attempt to find out what and how to achieve this peace.

If you would, turn with me first to Isaiah 9:2. Let’s read.

2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of darkness,
a light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.
[The people] have rejoiced before You
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.

4 For You have shattered their burdensome yoke
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as [You did] on the day of Midian.

5 For the trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.

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.

7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.


Isaiah 9:6-7 is one of the most popular prophecies of Jesus. What we normally miss is the first 4 verses before 6 and 7. Verses 2-5 talk about Jesus ministry and the lack of need for war. Verse 6 comes and talks about Jesus’ birth, naming all of the names that he will be called. Then in verse 7, the first sentence there describes how Jesus dominion will be vast and the prosperity will never end. Then, it talks about how his kingdom will never end.

* This image will be explained in the next paragraph. Refer here to see the picture.

Here is the issue. For those who were in Sunday School in the first week of November, you’ve already seen this rendering, courtesy of my professor at school. It is a primitive drawing, primarily because I don’t do people. I draw and paint landscapes. But anyway, at the beginning here, we see the prophet. As he is receiving the vision from God, his line of sight only views the journey up and one point. To him, there aren’t three points, just one. But in the actual line of time which runs along the bottom, there are prophecies of Israel, prophecies about Christ’s 1st advent, or arrival, and prophecies about Christ’s 2nd advent. We are viewing this from in the middle of the 1st and 2nd advent. To us, there are plainly in view, three different points. We can see the past because it is history that has been passed down. We see the 2nd coming of Christ because it hasn’t happened yet. However, from the prophet’s view, he can only see one point…not three separate ones. This is why the prophecy of Chapter 9 appears to have elements of all three combined into one. That is what makes prophecy so hard to determine…we have trouble seeing it from their point of view.

My friends, this is why the Pharisees crucified Christ. They honestly thought that the true Messiah was going to come, be born and institute his kingdom all in one fell swoop. They didn’t see that he was coming 2 different times. We clearly can see it from our vantage point because we are between the two advents. We question them for doing what they did and criticize them for not being able to see it. They couldn’t. They didn’t have the correct vantage point.
This aura of peace that they thought the Messiah was going to bring would be an Earthly kingdom that would not have to fight any wars or deal with any unsettling things. Unfortunately, the peace they thought was coming was actually the peace coming after Christ’s final judgment.

So now, we have this hope of an eternal peace, prophesied long ago. We are expecting it to come with Christ again, in which it will have no end. Everlasting and eternal peace.

So what do we do now? Wallow in the chaotic ramifications of a fallen world? Absolutely not! Proverbs 14:30 says, “30 A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.” Peace gives us life…chaos, jealousy or envy rots us to the core.

I love peace and quiet. Chaos makes me grumpy…very grumpy. I actually love going to my Dad and step-mom’s house…they live peaceful lives. When we are there, they always tell the grandkids, “Grandma and Grandpa’s house is a place of peace and quiet, so that means quiet voices, no yelling or fighting.” And for the most part, it is a very peaceful time. However, when we get home it’s the usual fighting and arguing. Oh how I love peace and quiet. Let’s take a moment to read Colossians 3:12-17.

12 Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must [forgive]. 14 Above all, [put on] love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

This particular Scripture in Colossians is about the Christian Life. Heck, verses 12-15 is a sermon or two on their own! There are 8 things Paul says are included in the Christian life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace. These are similar to the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, give and take a few qualities. Whereas Galatians is addressing the battle of the Spirit vs. the Flesh, Colossians is tackling the issue of the Christian Life and what that looks like.

What I want to focus on now, is verse 15-17. Let the peace of Jesus control our hearts; because we were called to do such as one unit. For this, I’d like to refer to John 14:27. Jesus left us with his peace; but he doesn’t give like the world does…he gives without taking it back. We indeed have the peace of the Savior. But what does that look like?

Well, conveniently, Paul has outlined 4 things (and one sub-category) that help develop the 8 qualities of the Christian Life from earlier.

1. Be thankful.
2. Let the Message of the Messiah dwell among us.
a. Teaching and admonishing (or give advice) in wisdom.
3. Worship God (sing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs with gratitude).
4. Do everything you do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ-giving thanks again to God the Father.

We don’t have to always be waiting for the peace of God to get here. We can actually have it now.

On the note of having peace now, I want to share a true story with you…one that could have turned out much differently.
Two years ago, I was working with a friend of mine on my mother-in-law’s roof because it was in bad need of repair. While we were working on this, another project came up in the back bedroom of the house. The ceiling in the far right corner of the room all the way to the door was dethatched from the ceiling and falling down. It hadn’t fallen yet because it was built in the 70’s when they had the wires running through the house in the ceilings for heat. Those wires were all that was holding it together. So, after we got the roof done, we went into the back bedroom to start working on this ceiling. It was going to be a complete renovation job. We were taking it from a 70’s red room to a modern day room. First task however, was to pull the entire ceiling down so we could redo it. As we were contemplating this, my buddy goes, “I think we’d better start by cutting a 4x4 hole in the ceiling. It’s always the first move.” So, naturally, having never done this before I agreed. I stood across the room watching as he cut this section out and then subsequently put his ladder in that space. He proceeded to explain that they do this so that if the entire ceiling falls, there is a space where it is clear and they won’t get taken out by the falling drywall. He then started to cut down the line where the ceiling was coming undone. I was still across the room watching and he cut and pulled on the ceiling and it budged a little, but when it did, the whole ceiling jerked. Immediately, I started wondering if I needed to move out from under the remaining ceiling. No sooner than I thought that, than he said to me, “I think you need to come stand behind me just in case.” So, I moved over and he put his hands back up where they had been on the ceiling and no sooner than I got under the open space than the entire ceiling came crashing down to the floor. He had barely moved it and it was all over. Sherri, being in the next room, heard the collapse and was yelling for us because she thought we’d been killed in the process. Neither one of us dared to open our mouths yet because the insulation in the ceiling was the old ground up newspapers and I am not kidding when I say it looked like 9/11 in that room. You couldn’t see anything, and my buddy was standing literally right in front of my face. After it had cleared a bit, we told Sherri we were ok and dug ourselves out from under the blocked door. When we got out, we both went outside and took a break and let sink in what had just happened. We both knew we had been protected by God and were nearly killed. Talk about peace…

I know there are some in the room today who could tell of a story like mine. No, probably not exactly the same, but an instance nonetheless of where God protected you from something. Peace is a gift of God, not just for our enjoyment in eternity, but right now too.

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