Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?
Main Points
In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on VOICES - ADVENT 2018: Finding God's Peace in Your Life, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.
Faith and Obedience
So we've been doing an Advent series at this church for the last couple weeks we're gonna do another message on this and the. Theme of this series has really been we're looking at the message pointing people to the coming of Christ it is a message of.
- Waiting is it a message of pointing people to what God is going to do we started this by looking at the message given.
- To us through the prophets to say there's hope Isaiah chapter 9 there was great darkness in the land but now there is a.
- Light that has shine and we look for that day when the light shines again and then we looked at the message of joy.
- That comes to us through the Angels as they come there is great joy and they visit and they say you were gonna have.
A child and he will be the great joy of many and you can rejoice now and that was the message that we looked. At last week and this week we will look at the message of peace it follows joy and we will do that by studying.
Faith and Obedience
Swaddling cloths lying in a manger and then suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts pray insane the message. Of your waiting the fulfillment has come and this is what will follow the fulfillment of God in your life for this day and.
- For the day we wait for glory to God on the highest and on earth peace and goodwill towards men you cannot have a.
- Message of waiting on God with expecting hope of his goodness that is going to come without also a message to say that when.
- God fulfills what he's going to do you'll know because it will be covering you with peace there will be peace on earth there.
- Will be peace between men there will be peace with men and God and it will encapsulate their life the peace of God is.
The message of your waiting now here's the challenge of this just like the other messages hope and joy and now peace you can. Find examples of this all sorts of ways in our culture in our world that have nothing to do with coming and listening to.
Hope in Suffering
You're about to raise your voice if you already have it and then you pull up to the place that you were supposed to. Go and then you approach the door and you're still steaming you're still mad you lack peace and you ring the doorbell and you're. Gritting your teeth and as soon as that doorbell opens you say Merry Christmas feels so good to be here we're happily married we. Love each other and the whole time that we are at this party we are gonna be people of peace and what that represents. Is the season because how many of you know that when you get to that moment your time to turn off the tension and. Turn on the smiles the peace that is there in the season because now you're at the party or now students among us now. You're at Christmas break the tension and the trauma from all of that semesters long homework and assignments and then finals it's over and. Now you finally have peace except that's not really peace because what happens when the party ends or dare I say this early on. In the break what happens when the break ends what happens when the break ends is that really what you're experiencing is your putting. A hold on conflict you're not necessarily deeply experiencing the peace of God you have put conflict on hold and you're bearing with things. Until the party ends or til the break ends and when the party ends of the break ends you got to settle some stuff. Because it's still in there now you've all experienced something like that it is a temporary ceasefire it is not peace and there are. Times that you will experience what we're doing now you will come into this setting and we will preach peace and will preach joy. And will preach the gospel which is good news hope for anyone who believes and you will believe it on Sunday morning and then. What happens you leave Sunday and the sanctuary turns into the streets or the gathering of the church turns into the watercooler at the. Office and all of a sudden the ceasefire has ended and real life starts again have you ever noticed that is the seasonal the. Temporary peace and joy and hope that we all get because you just smile and say Merry Christmas or you just come to church. And it's time to hate raise your hands and worship and.
Faith and Obedience
Pass the basket and we're enjoying our ceasefire until we go back into the streets and all chaos breaks loose again that's not the. Peace we're talking about and yet so often for believers and non-believers alike for people who don't believe that peace is found in God. And for even people who do we come we taste it and then we leave and we lose it why well we're gonna get. To the answer of that why is our peace so fleeting why is it that we are people that even though we believe it. We don't always live it that is the message that we are supposed to be a different kind of messenger of Jesus says in. John chapter 14 I have come to give you peace my peace I leave with you but it's a different piece it's a different. Piece than what the world offers this is the peace that comes into all areas of our of our life and overwhelms us not. Just for the season of Christmas but as we wait on God from glory to glory to glory we are people with incredible peace. Why first let's define what we're actually talking about what is the peace that is given to these Shepherds in this field with the. Glory of God peace on earth goodwill towards men this is the peace that believers are being called into and it looks different so. Let's define what they're talking about to do that Philippians chapter 4 turn there we study this the week after Thanksgiving because this happens. To be may be the most helpful passage of scripture to give us the clarity of how real our peace needs to be and. It also tells us some of the mechanics of our peace in Philippians chapter 4 if you lack peace if you come here and. This message is already speaking to you and you're on the edge of sea waiting to get the answer this is a verse that. You should meditate on this week because it gives you mechanics of peace it will be the verse that we use to define the. Peace that we're the messengers of it says in Philippians chapter 4 starting in verse 6 be anxious for nothing but in everything by. Prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God now when you do the first half of this verse here's. What follows when you aren't anxious but when you take all of.
Faith and Obedience
Those things in your life that feel like burdens or they feel like anxiety and they're really just reminders that your life is not. Fully in peace when you bring those to God and you begin to ask him to solve the problem to bring the peace and. You do it with Thanksgiving look what follows you do that and the second half of the verse the peace of God which surpasses. All understanding will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus here's a very important part of this two things I'm going to. Pull out for the mechanics of our piece one our piece always follows Thanksgiving to God why does Thanksgiving have to be a part. Of your request why is it that when you feel anxious or worried or fearful why is it that you come to God and. You given those things with Thanksgiving the answer is the definition of the peace of God the answer is this we pray we take. Our worry and our anxiety and we give it to God with Thanksgiving because our definition of peace is simply this peace that we're. Talking about not seasonal but your life the born-again peace of the Spirit it is not something that you don't trust God with but. It is it is simply this it is the absolute confidence in the goodness of God peace in your soul is that you believe. No matter what the circumstances that all of those anxious feelings and all of those frustrations and all those burdens can be given to. The gut Lord with Thanksgiving because you are so confident you are radically confident in the goodness of God peace on earth goodwill towards. Men which means God is good and he has good plans for the men that will receive his peace believe it with confidence peace. Of God is the belief and confidence that he has good will for your life why do I say that because of Thanksgiving because. What does Thanksgiving tell us it says we so believe that we're bringing those anxious feelings to the Lord with Thanksgiving to say this. We're thankful for however you answer we have so much peace because we have so much confidence in your goodness that we bring you. Our requests and we are so confident your goodness that no matter how you answer no matter how you deal with the anxieties the. Things that we don't understand we thank you in advanced because.
Sin and Salvation
We know that your good piece comes on the other side of Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving is your way to say god I have extreme. Confidence in your goodness peace is the extreme and radical confidence that God has good will towards you that you have a father in. Heaven that desires to care for you that's the working definition the second thing we can draw from Philippians 4 is very important as. Well because it gives us the opposite it gives us that thing that we can actually start to identify that is robbing us from. Peace the opposite of peace is worry fear and anxiety don't be anxious but be so confident the goodness of God that you thank. Him for the requests that you don't even know the answers to and then you'll have peace the opposite of peace is worry anxiety. And fear and this is the message that greets the angel the Angels greet the shepherds with because it says that behold an angel. Stood before them and their light is shining all around the Shepherd's and what is the first reaction and it says they were greatly. Afraid the message of peace has to come in not just as a ceasefire a removing of conflict or a ceasing of conflict it. Actually becomes and replaces fear with confidence in God it replaces anxiety with the belief the radical understanding that God has a good plan. For your life so the opposite of fear is worried the shepherds are worried at the greatness in the glory of God Zechariah says. He interacts with the Shepherd about the future of his child John the Baptist it says he's deeply troubled Mary interaction with the glory. Of God the angel messenger they are afraid and for all three of them it says don't be afraid have peace don't be afraid. Rejoice the anxiety and the worry and the fear are the problems and the answer is that God wants to take them not just. A ceasefire and replace it with peace replace it with confidence in him three things three things are the challenge to our peace there. Are three things that are the of your worry that as a theme are unfolded throughout the scriptures to say this is you placing. Your confidence in the we look and study the story of the angel and we see that the reason that the shepherds were able. To receive the message of peace and if you skip down to.
Sin and Salvation
Verse 20 it says not only they receive it they're living it out the Shepherd's returned glorifying and praising God for all the things. They had heard and seen as it was told them they hear the message of peace they see the Christ and it says now. Their life is marked by glory and praise the piece landed why because these three things that are the of the worry are found. Nowhere in the story of the angel and the Shepherd's here they are and if you have a lack of peace if you find. Yourself going from the sanctuary to the streets and running straight into anxiety and worry the word says there are three problems that you've. Probably ran into one of them is the world one of them is this idea that instead of having confidence in God you can. Place your confidence in something apart from God the scripture calls that the world the second root of your worry anxiety and fear is. Your flesh the flesh will come in and tell you all sorts of things you should put your confidence in apart from confidence in. God's good will and finally it is the devil these three things it is the world the flesh the devil the word says are. The of the opposite of peace which is the present anxiety worry and fear and I've probably already lost some of you in one. Of those categories some of you may have come here and said okay I understand I need peace and I'm looking for and I. Didn't expect to hear a message about the devil that seems a little bit elementary for me some of you said okay I understand. Peace is the message I didn't under I didn't expect to hear a message about watching out for the ways of the world or. Some of you said hey we're here to live as Christ to die his gain I don't need to hear a message of the. Flesh it is one of these three that is the of worry anxiety and fear in all of our hearts when we actually define. And mark the measurement of our peace by the peace of God surpassing understanding and in this story we will find the world the. Flesh and the devil will find the answers to why those things that whisper in your ear and tell you that you don't have. Peace for all the wrong reasons are actually lies because we.
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.