During the four Sundays prior to Christmas many churches will celebrate Advent …a season of expectation…by lighting five candles.
The first four Advent candles are lit one candle a week on the four Sundays prior to Christmas…with the last one…the center candle…being lit during our Christmas Eve service.
Today is the second Sunday of the Advent season. Advent stands between the already but not yet…it’s about expectations…when the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day.
But our focus should not be limited to just the celebration of the birth of Christ… because Advent also means “coming” …that is the ‘not yet’ part …the time we are living in now…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…because He is coming back.
Each advent candle has a special meaning behind it and presents an opportunity for us to think about the Christmas season.
The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope…it is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
The second candle, also purple, is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem…the second week of advent takes us from thinking about hope to a related idea – peace.
One of the prophecies about Jesus calls him “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7) which is a hallmark of the Christmas story…when the angels appeared to the shepherds they proclaimed, “Peace on earth,” in Luke 2:14.
What Does Peace Really Mean?
“Peace on earth” …a phrase you hear everywhere around Christmas time…but it’s so elusive…even in our own lives we struggle to find peace with ourselves…for peace in our relationships with others…and especially in finding peace with God.
The Bible has a lot to say about peace…various forms of the word peace are found over 400 times in the Bible…Jesus talked about peace on several occasions.
…During the Sermon on the Mount, He taught that peacemakers are blessed and will be called God’s sons (Matthew 5:9).
…He warned His disciples that He had not come to bring peace to the world, that in fact, He would divide people (Matthew 10:34-36).
…At the Last Supper He comforted His disciples by saying, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you” (John 14:27).
Peace is one of those words that people use a lot but they don’t always explain it very well and understand it even less.
It’s like the word ‘hope’ which symbolized the first Advent candle we lit last Sunday.
Some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s worldly hope…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen…it’s a desire for something to happen.
Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen …Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.
Like ‘hope’ depending on which religion or philosophy people follow, their definitions of peace may be different as well…even among Christians the words of the angels:
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to
those on whom his favor rests [Luke 2;14]
conjures up different ideas of what peace is depending on who you talk to, it’s important as Christians to understand how the Bible describes peace.
Something I’ve mentioned before and am going to mention it again because it has eternal implications.
Although this good news delivered by the angels is open to ALL who believe on the Lord Jesus nowhere in Scripture is it taught that peace on earth is for all men.
Some translate Luke 2;14 as ‘Good will toward men’ implying a universal application… BUT…in the Greek the angels’ pronouncement is restricted specifically to “those on whom God’s favor rests,” that is the most correct translation of Luke 2:14.
Peace with God and the favor of God is not directed at all people…only those that trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God are identified in this verse and are described as “those on whom his favor rests.”
To have peace in the world everything must line up…the circumstances must align…everyone must be in agreement…only then can peace be had.
Worldly peace is much like worldly hope…there’s not a whole lot of substance in either…worldly peace is the absence of conflict…something not likely to happen …and worldly hope is a way of expressing wishful thinking.
BUT…Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict or a state of rest…it’s taking action to restore a broken situation…it’s more than a state of inner tranquility; it’s a state of wholeness and completeness.
How Does Jesus Bring Peace?
There are different types of peace…the peace Jesus is referring to is the peace that is reserved for “those on whom God’s favor rests,” He gives us peace in three ways.
Peace within Ourselves
FIRST…is inner peace…that begins when God removes your fears and worries and replaces it with His peace…inner peace hinges on your trust in God.
In [John 14:27] Jesus defines the importance of having Godly inner peace…He tells the disciples:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. [John 14:27]
See…again a clear contrast between Godly peace and worldly peace…my peace I give you…(not) as the world gives…to get the true meaning of this verse you need to go back to the beginning of chapter 13.
Knowing the events that were about to happen…His arrest…His trial…His crucifixion…and His death…Jesus realized His disciples would be on the verge of falling apart.
He wanted them to have not only assurance…but peace and comfort as well… He understood that it was about to get rough for them and he wanted them to not be worried or troubled.
God’s peace pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you…it doesn’t eliminate them…it gives you the ability to endure them…giving you an inner confidence that God is aware of every situation in your life.
True peace comes when the God of peace takes over our lives.
Having God in control of your life makes Him the source of your strength to alter matters within your control and to accept matters which you have no control over.
God’s peace is a state of tranquility or quietness that transcends circumstances… it’s the calm assurance that what God is doing is best…there’s no mistakes …no errors…or miscalculation with God.
Jesus is our peace within…peace comes from knowing that He is in control causing all things to always work together for His good despite the ugly circumstances and situations that are occurring…to those who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).
Peace with Others
SECOND…we have peace with others…peace with others begins as we understand that God has called us to be peacemakers.
Peacemakers reconcile people with God and with each other.
…is there someone in your life today that you need to extend an invitation of apology to?
…is there a fractured family relationship you need to smooth over?
…is there a silence that needs to be broken that has stood as a barrier between you and someone else for far too long?
As believers we should put aside our differences (Galatians 3:28), because we belong to the same family.
BUT…being a godly peacemaker doesn’t end there…peacemakers are called to be Christ’s ambassadors.
Christmas is not just about hope for us as believers… it’s about reaching the entire world with the hope of the Gospel by urging others to know about the peace of Christ through repentance and by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Peace with God
THIRD…is the peace that comes from our assurance of salvation.
What a terrible …horrible way to go through life not knowing what awaits you after death…fortunately the Bible does tell us what awaits us after death.
We must recognize that human beings in our natural state are enemies of God… we are born with a disposition to please ourselves and be our own god…so in our rebellious sinful state we cannot have peace with God no matter how hard we try.
In an effort to obtain peace with God…all religions other than true Christianity have one thing in common…they try to achieve peace with God by doing things: by following rules…by taking communion…by baptism…by church membership.
As a result, they never have the calm assurance of salvation because they’re always working towards something they can never attain…somehow believing this is pleasing to God.
God’s peace rests on those whom God’s favor rests…it is only then that we can have peace with God because Peace with God means:
…our sins have been paid for…[1Peter 3:18 / John 1:12; 3:16]
…that we are no longer enemies of God [Rom 5:10]
…that God sees us as righteous (Col. 2:14; Rom. 3:22)
…that we are His beloved children (1 John 3:2)
…that we no longer need to fear death (Rom 6:5 / Phil. 3:20)
But there’s also a warning associated with the peace of God…attitudes that can destroy God’s peace in our lives.
…When we equate God’s peace with the assumption that God will give us whatever we want…we set up a conflict between our wants and God’s desire for our lives.
…When we insist on being in control of our lives, we set up a conflict between us and God by sabotaging God’s will for our lives.
…When we choose to worry rather than live by faith, we cannot live in peace… worry is the enemy of peace…God invites us to cast our care on Him.
…When we chose to be at peace with the world…live by its standards…we will never be at peace with a world that is not at peace with God.
If you want to begin experiencing more peace this Christmas season and into next year…there is only one way…it was God who took the initiative in pursuing that peace by sending His Son to earth.
Peace with God is through Jesus…being at peace with God comes by grace alone …through faith alone…in Christ alone…by coming into a relationship with Jesus.
When we develop a lifestyle of making Jesus the Lord of lives then the peace of God becomes a permanent part of our character because peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit…since God’s Spirit lives in you then His peace should dwell in you as well.