COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER 2024 – MR KEITH WILSON
ISAIAH 9 VERSES 1 – 7
The Swedish inventor Albert Nobel
created 5 prizes for chemistry, physics, mathematics, literature and peace. We have heard of the last one – the Nobel
Peace Prize. It was invented in 1901 and
presented to those who have done the most in promoting peace. We live in a world that seems to have lost the
peace that it once had. There seems to
be an absence of peace, globally and economically. Family problems are all are on a higher scale
than ever. To find peace we have to go
back to when the world was first created in the garden of Eden. Many people are frightened and live in fear
today. Families and friendships are involved
in rows over money and land. Many of
them end up in the courts. Even
Christians are taking each other to court over wills. War after war, terrorism is rife in this
world. They are doing it because their
god will give them peace – that is what is stated in the religion of
Islam. There is no peace in sin. There is an absence of peace in our
land. There seems to be an absence in
individual lives. We read that in Isaiah
9 the latter part “the Prince of Peace.”
Verse 7 part of this prophecy has been fulfilled in the birth of Christ
but some is still to be fulfilled.
Isaiah talks of the lion that shall lie down with the lamb (Isaiah 11
verse 6). There will be peace one day on
this earth. “Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this.” One of Jesus’
titles is Prince of Peace. The bible
talks a lot about peace. The word
“peace” occurs 429 times in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament it also speaks a lot about peace. The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. In this passage we read of the Prince of
Peace. We read that he was to come into the
world to die for the sin and ultimately to bring peace to people lost in
sin. Sin brings bondage. Sin takes away peace. The enemy, the devil himself will try to come
with a lot of thing to try and fulfil that longing of peace. He will do it through many ways. Think of famous people worth billions in the
bank. They could literally go into the
town centre and buy whatever they need yet end up talking their own lives –
because they have no peace. Many choose
satisfaction in others ways – alcohol and drugs and other vices. The devil is trying to bring people into
bondage. The Prince of Peace is the only
one who can bring peace. Luke 2 verse 14
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Do you have peace today? I am very careful when telling people that if
they come to Christ, it doesn’t mean you will have no more troubles – actually
you might see them increase because there is an enemy and he is trying to get
and in and discourage and get your eyes of Christ. There is joy that God gives in the midst of
our circumstances. Jesus himself said “I
have not come to take you out of the world.” (John 17 verse 15) He
has come to give us peace, the peace that passeth all understanding. Could you imagine the shepherds, the lowest
of the low, not allowed to go into the temple as they were considered dirty,
unclean, yet it was to them the angels declared peace and goodwill to men. Maybe you feel you are insignificant, of no
importance. Those shepherds felt like
that. The angel did not appear to kings
or priests, they came not into the temple to declare this peace – they came to
a hillside, to the lowest of the low, to shepherds minding their sheep. Jesus himself said “I have come to call not the
righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Have you got peace this morning? The peace that only comes from
God? You can only get peace in the Lord
Jesus, the one of whom it was said he was the “Prince of Peace”. There will be a day when Jesus Christ shall
reign on this earth. We will be kings
and priests on this earth with him. One
day Christ will bring perfect peace on this earth. He shall be on the throne of his son
David. We shall be like him for we shall
see him as he is. It puts into
significance the problems we have, not that I am undermining anyone’s problems
– they may be family problems, medical problems, there may be children growing
away from God, there may be psychological, mental problems or problems of loneliness. There could be isolated problems no-one knows
anything about. We live in a world where
there are all sorts of problems. The
Lord wants us to know he shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.
God may come down and take your problems away but more likely he will
not. He can come in and give you peace
in the midst of your problems. When we
get our eyes on him and realise, he is Wonderful, the Mighty God, the Prince of
Peace. One day it is he who will sit on
the throne of his son David. He is the
Prince of Peace. One of the most quoted
bible passages is Isaiah 53. Verse 5
tells us “But he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed.” Christmas is a special time
because we are reminded of the peace God gives.
I don’t know what lies ahead in 2025, whether I will end the year or not
and neither do you but I have a peace that he gives. He knows the future. I am in his hands. Do you have that peace? Do you have the peace of God? Do you realise he was bruised for your iniquities,
the chastisement of your peace was on him?
Do you realise that you can have peace with God? It is only possible through the Prince of Peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose
mind is stayed on thee.” That is the
secret to perfect peace – keeping our eyes on God. When circumstances are against us, when we
wonder why a family member shuns us, when a work colleague mocks us or laughs
at us or lies about us - how do I respond?
The peace of God is for those times.
Jesus is the key. “Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” Our mind could be on other people – family
members, work colleagues, a way ward son or daughter. When we have our minds focused on those things
peace goes. For the child of God when
our minds are stayed on God, we can know peace.
The mind is a wonderful thing. We
could never fathom out how fully and wonderfully we are made. We see each other today but don’t know what
we are thinking. You see the exterior of
me but God knows what is going on inside.
He has promised to keep our hearts in perfect peace whose mind is stayed
on God. Our minds store interesting
facts. We can remember things we did as
children. How do you remember
things? Because the mind is a wonderful
thing. People are worried or sad at this
time of the year because they have lost loved ones in their family. It is a hard time of the year for them. The enemy wants us to focus on those things,
to get our minds off the Prince of Peace.
If you are here today and you are in trouble, distressed, downcast,
defeated, whatever your case may be those problems may or may not be troubling
you. The peace you will receive this
morning comes from the Prince of Peace who says “thou shalt keep him in perfect
peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” I
wonder as we do think back in our minds, do we remember a definite time when we
heard the voice of God? When we were
convicted of our sin and we were brought to a place of repentance and we
trusted Christ as Saviour? We repented of
our sin and started to follow after God.
We received peace into our lives.
Do you remember that time? The
enemy will try and throw everything at you but there is only one name that can
bring peace. There is no other way, no
other name, no other religion, no other person living in this world today who
can bring us into a relationship with Christ.
The Lord can give you peace with God.
I wonder do you have peace with God today? If you don’t have peace, let me tell you how
to get peace today? Colossians 1 verse
20 “and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and
on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” There was a time when the Son was born into
this world but there was also a time when he was eternal, with his Father in
heaven. John 1 verse 1 says “and the
word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.”
He was not coming into the world to be stoned to death. He was not going to have a heart attack like
some us might one day. Jesus was not
going to die that day. He was destined for
the cross. That is how you get
peace. If we need that peace and want it
in our life it is only through the blood of Christ. God is satisfied with the blood of Jesus on
the cross. How many will say today, “this
is not for me. I am not a sinner before
God.” They are robbing themselves of
being reconciled with God. They believe
there is another way but there is no other way.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government
shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” How do you find peace with God at this
Christmas time? I love this time of the
year because of the focus on Christ, the focus is on one born in Bethlehem’s
stable. If we just stayed in the manger
where the baby Jesus is and never get to the cross we miss the point of
Christmas and why he came into the world.
He came into the world that we might be reconciled, have peace with God
through his cross. You must receive
Christ into your life, you must be born again.
The flesh you and I are born in will die one day. We cannot do anything about that. This child born so long ago can do something
for you today. The angels first came to
the shepherds and later Jesus himself said “I am the good shepherd.” He is the one who can give peace. Have you got peace with God today? So many don’t have that peace. If you are a child of God and don’t have
peace then maybe your eyes are on the circumstances. God wants us to remember that perfect peace
we can have in him today. If you are not
a Christian today, it doesn’t matter what you say, you don’t have peace. You might have a false peace. That happened in Jeremiah’s day. God said through his prophet that he would
send them into Babylon and false prophets told the people not to listen to
Jeremiah. God did send judgment and they
didn’t know the peace offered to them.
Peace is only through the cross of Jesus today
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