This Christmas we want you to make the connection. The connection is that in Jesus we find everything our souls are looking for. That’s why Jesus is the greatest gift. Because in Jesus we find hope, peace, joy, grace, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. Sam opened the series last week and helped us understand how to live with hope. He gave us a verse that was ferocious.
Job 8:11 Those who forget God have no hope. TLB
We see this in the world we live in, don’t we? Sam explained this verse describes the human condition and the times we live in. We forget God and put our hope in other things. And because of that, people today struggle. They lose hope and feel empty inside.
Then Sam turned to the story of Mary. Do you remember how she responded to the news that she was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit?
Luke 1:38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.” NLT
In the impossible, Mary had hope. Such a great talk that gave practical handles to hope.
Today, we will talk about peace. For some, Christmas is the best time and it brings them peace. The songs, the tree, family, gifts, all of it. For some, Christmas can be a painful reminder of a hurt or wound so it’s not so peaceful. And as amazing as Christmas is for one person, it is equally painful for another. So, today’s topic of peace couldn’t come at a better time.
As I put this talk together, I have to admit, I love Christmas, and it brings me peace. But as I was thinking about my Christmas last year. It was less than peaceful for me and our family. My biopsy showed I had prostate cancer, and I needed to do further tests. We needed to sit down with the girls and talk about what was happening. We needed to announce it to everyone in our spiritual family. Then I needed to have a scan to verify more details. It wasn’t 100% peaceful.
We are entering the end of the year. We are past Covid, and the elections, so I want to ask you, how peaceful are you? Let’s take a quick test. I’m going to give you ten statements, and I want you to see how many statements you agree with. If a statement is true about you, give yourself a point. Ready?
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I need validation from others to feel fulfilled and feel good about myself.
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When hard times hit, I fall apart inside.
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I struggle to be grateful; I am too aware of what others have and what I don’t have.
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I am not comfortable with times of solitude.
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I struggle with enjoying today because of the regrets of my past or fear of tomorrow.
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I struggle to think of others and what they are going through.
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It’s easy for me to hold onto hurt and unforgiveness.
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I am a different person at work, at home, in the community, and in church.
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It’s easy for me to be negative and critical of others.
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When it comes to spiritual things, I believe God likes others more than me.
How did you do? If you scored between a six and a ten, you may be struggling with peace this Holiday Season. You may appear to have it together, but inside, you may be struggling.
Here is what is interesting. 700 years before Jesus was born, there was a prophecy, a promise, that God was going to send peace into our world. Jesus was going to be born.
Isaiah 9:6 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. NIV
When Jesus walked with us, He said this to the disciples.
John 14:27 I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. NLT
What makes the peace of Jesus different from what the world offers?
The source of peace is found in a person, Jesus.
When Jesus offers us peace, He is offering us Himself, the Holy Spirit, who will live inside us and settle our minds and hearts.
Peace isn’t the absence of trouble, it’s bigger than that.
Jesus is giving us Himself to live in us as we walk through trouble.
That’s completely different from what the world offers. The peace the world offers us is a cheap version of peace. It’s like eating Twinkies when you need a healthy meal. Here’s why. The world only offers us a way to escape or ignore our troubles. That could be social media, alcohol, me days, entertainment, being constantly on the go, or whatever else helps us escape or ignore our troubles head-on.
Do you see the difference? Jesus is the source of peace. The world can only offer Twinkies, an escape from our troubles.
Today, I want to share with you the story of Joseph. We don’t know a lot about Joseph, but we do know this, Joseph’s life was wildly turned upside down and inside out. Let’s start from the beginning.
Matthew 1:18a This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. NIV
Joseph’s story begins and everything is the way it should be. He is a carpenter. He has a fiancée. He’s getting married. The future looks good. There is peace. Everything is normal.
Do you remember those days? The days when everything was the way you wanted it to be. Maybe you are living in those days now. Maybe those days for you were a long time ago – right?
Let’s see what happens.
18b But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. NIV
Joseph’s world was just shattered. His peace has been stolen. Mary, apparently, slept with someone else. This is a huge scandal. A scandal that would rip through the community. It would lead to public humiliation and maybe even death. Who is to blame? Mary. Mary has ruined their relationship. Mary has ruined his plans for the future. The obvious next step is to end everything with Mary.
Have you experienced something shattering your peace? It could be one big thing, or it could be many little things that are adding up. Whatever the reason, life or someone has stolen your peace. When that happens, what do we tend to do? We want to blame someone for ruining our peace. We blame them for ruining our lives. And we see them as a problem we need to get away from.
Joseph is thinking about getting a divorce, let’s see what he does.
20 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. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” NIV
God, through an angel and a dream, interrupts Joseph’s dreams. “What you see happening Joseph, isn’t what you think. This is my plan, and I am inviting you into what I am doing. You’re not the center of the story, Jesus is.”
This is huge. Joseph now sees his shattered life from God’s point of view, and it changes everything. He was challenged to understand that something bigger was going on. He isn’t the center of the story, Jesus is. And because God was inviting Joseph into what God was doing, Joseph had to move from blaming Mary to loving and caring for Mary.
Let’s think about this, what would change if we saw things from God’s point of view? Our lives might still be flipped upside down and inside out, but it would begin to change our understanding of life. When we make our story about us without God in it, we will always struggle to see life from God’s point of view. And when that happens, we will struggle to find peace. When we see life from God’s point of view, we may still have a shattered life, but with God, we can begin to find healing, hope, and peace. And we may begin to see others differently.
Joseph now has a choice. How will he respond to his shattered life? How will he treat Mary? What will he do with God’s challenge? Is he going to escape or ignore God’s message or is Joseph going to face life head-on? Let’s read.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. NIV
What does Joseph do? Joseph faces life head-on. Joseph obeys and joins God in what God is doing.
What do we learn from Joseph? To join God in what God is doing may mean that our lives are turned upside down. We learned that peace isn’t the absence of troubles. Joseph’s plan for his life was shattered. He had every right to blame Mary and end the relationship but what changed Joseph? He saw the situation from God’s point of view. When Joseph saw the situation from God’s point of view, Joseph faced the situation head-on and obeyed God. Remember, the situation didn’t change. Mary was still pregnant. There still would be a possible scandal. Joseph’s plans were wildly changed. But Joseph faced life head-on.
Please hear me, peace isn’t the absence of troubles. Peace is a person, Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, He walks with us as we walk through troubles. And be warned, the peace the world offers, escaping or ignoring our troubles, is like eating Twinkies when you need a healthy meal.
So how do we tap into the peace Jesus offers us? Scripture gives us a formula. It’s a three-part formula and if you do this every day, you will tap into the Peace Jesus offers you. Jesus taught us the following.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light. GNT
Jesus taught when life steals your peace when you are tired, worn out, and defeated, step 1, come to me. That means slow down, read your Bible, pray, and focus on Jesus. I want you to connect with this. The source of peace is Jesus, a person. Don’t ever think that peace will come from anything else other than Jesus. To find peace, you meet with a person, Jesus.
Jesus said, first come to me, then step 2, take my yoke and put it on you. A yoke is an old-school way farmers used to plow a field. It’s a wooden frame or bar that joins two animals together to plow a field together. Why is that important? If one animal tried to plow the field on its own strength, it would be worn out, it would be too much. Jesus says, allow me to join you so I can make your life easier. Quite trying to do everything yourself. Ask for help and I will walk with you.
Here is what is amazing. Even when Jesus offers us peace when we go to Jesus and ask for His help, many people still believe, I don’t need to do that, I can find peace on my own. No, you can’t because the source of peace is a person, it’s Jesus. When we don’t go to Jesus and ask for His help, we are plowing the field by ourselves. We will just wear ourselves out, every time. Why? We don’t have the strength to take life on by ourselves.
What do we do if we want lasting peace? Go to Jesus. Put on His yoke, which means ask for His help. Lastly, Jesus said learn from me because I am gentle and humble. In The Message Version, it says, learn the unforced rhythms of grace. We would call it discipleship. Learn how to become like Jesus. Learn how to surrender your life each day and live the way Jesus taught. Learn that you don’t have to control everything. Learn that you don’t need everything now. Learn to surrender.
The greatest thing to learn when you walk with God is this. You need God to save your soul, and every day after that, you will need God. Many people believe that when I become a Christian, that’s the finish line. I can rest and Jesus will do everything for me. I don’t have to do anything; I can keep living the way I have always lived, and Jesus will fix everything for me. And that’s not true. Becoming a Christian isn’t the finish line, it’s the starting line. You see, you need God to save your soul, and every day after that, you will need God.
Becoming a Christian is the starting line to a new life where you intentionally make choices to put away the old life for a new life.
Ephesians 4:22-24 Everything – and I do mean everything – connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life – a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. MSG
What does it look like when we coast and don’t intentionally make choices to put away our old life for the new? Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi and told them this.
Philippians 3:15-16 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision – you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
17-19 Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. MSG
God placing His character in us takes time and intentional choices. It’s called discipleship or learning the unforced rhythms of grace. You will need to wrestle with every area of your life. Things like: Does my faith disrupt my life? Do I forgive? Am I better at loving others? Do I fully experience God’s love? If heaven is my home, how do I live on earth? Is my church my spiritual family or a place where others serve me? Do I believe that on judgment day I will be accountable for how I lived in this life? Do I give my time, money, and energy to advance God’s kingdom? You see, faith, real faith disrupts our lives.
To find peace, lasting peace, we go to Jesus. We put on His yoke, which means we ask Him for help. And learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I want you to think through this with me. How many people do you know who are following this formula? How many people do you know who are walking with a deep sense of peace?
I love this quote Ready Heart Ministries gave us.
“Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” – C.S. Lewis
What is common, what is normal, is living out our years trying to find happiness and peace without God. That’s why we live in a world that doesn’t have peace. Our world is chasing Twinkies. They aren’t chasing the source of peace, Jesus.
How about you? How are you doing? Do you have that deep sense of peace? When your life is turned upside down and inside out, what do you turn to, to find peace? Remember, Jesus is the only real source of peace because peace is a person. And everything else this world has to offer you is only Twinkies. A way to escape or ignore your troubles.