While I failed to get Sunday’s sermon recorded, a written version of the sermon is provided below.
The Way of Peace
Luke 1:76-79
A Prophecy Spoken – Jesus will offer ‘The Way of Peace’
In the time leading up to the birth of Jesus, prophecies were offered, coupled with signs from the heavens. One such moment was Zachariah’s encounter with the Herald, Gabriel, who told Zachariah he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son.
Zachariah found this truth hard to believe, thereby questioning the words of Gabriel. Therefore, he was stricken mute throughout his wife’s pregnancy. Upon John’s birth, he was given back his ability to speak, declaring, rightfully so, the child’s name to be John. Zachariah then prophesied:
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79). This statement “the way of peace” lays the roadway for our message today.
His Presence Brings The Way of Peace
Peace is among the most deeply-rooted longings of our hearts. Knowing the sin-ridden condition of this world, Jesus comes. Born, by way of the Holy Spirit, He enters into the messiness of this world, revealing the majesty of the Lord Almighty in such approachable humility; while, at the same time, imparting mercy to repentant-sinners. The result – in Christ, the wrath of God due us is satisfied, putting our anxious hearts at peace with the Almighty.
A further look at prophecies about the coming Child, born of a virgin, highlights His purpose being, in part, that there will be no end to His peace (Isaiah 7:17). In the gospel of Luke, the night of Jesus’ birth, the angel declares that Jesus affords ‘peace on earth; goodwill toward men.’
Those who encounter the Lord’s might, rejecting His majesty revealed by His Son, remain under His wrath. Those, however, who yield to the Lordship of Jesus, receive mercy – forgiveness of sin.
Not only does the Lord forgive us of sin, but we receive the spirit-of-adoption by way of the Holy Spirit, becoming sons and daughters of the Most High – coheirs with Chrst.
The conviction and the perfecting love of the Holy Spirit teaches our hearts how to live. By way of His Spirit, we walk through this messy world in stride with His nature. In so doing, we walk according to the one and only ‘way of peace’ – the very presence of the Lord residing in our hearts.
His Peace Felt Far Off
Ephesians 2:13-18
In my time with the Lord, I often reflect upon my life. Though growing up in church, hearing the Bible preached, I knew about God. Yet, I can vividly recall the loud and ongoing chaos that reigned in my mind and spirit. Knowing about God and actually knowing Him are two totally different things. As often as I would encounter God’s Word, I did not know peace, which Scripture continually describes Jesus as affording.
In coming to know Christ, my heart continued to wrestle with how to trust the Lord to afford me peace - chaos felt common to me. As I read God’s Word, yielding more and more to its authority, I began understanding that it was not as if God was going to take away all of my chaos, exchanging it for peaceful, easy feelings. Rather, the Lord wanted me to walk through the chaos, entrusting Him to renew my desires, allowing Him to establish my steps. Doing so led me to know His peace through the chaos; Christ’s peace began to rule in my heart amid the chaos!
Until then, strongholds within my heart had reigned. Peace felt far off. As Paul writes – the peace of Christ is to rule in our hearts. Rather, in my heart, fear ruled. Anxiety ruled. Yielding to His power, Christ was beginning to coquet the garrisons within my heart that had ruled for a very long time.
Peace of Christ Conquers and Reigns
Colossians 3:15
Let’s now consider practical, relatable ways in which the Lord renews our hearts, where the peace of Christ must conquer and reign in our hearts:
Fear
The renewal of the Holy Spirit teaches our hearts how to relate to fear. To fear the Lord above all else frees our hearts from fearing others.
We no longer fear the opinion of others, we learn to value their considerations properly. Fear of the future is washed away in an evergrowing trust of the Lord’s rock-solid faithfulness.
His eternal love affords a sense of belonging. His love shapes every relationship in our lives! In being secure in relationship to the Lord, we are held in His power and in His love through every season of our lives, even to our last breath.
Grief & Suffering
In a season of suffering, when we draw near to the Lord, humbling our hearts to His holiness, He comforts us – guiding our hearts toward ‘peace that endureth’, as we often sing about His faithfulness.
When we grieve, the name of Jesus is an enduring hope, which sustains us through our pain. We often turn to other sources to be comforted, but these sources typically become part of our own demise.
Rather, the Lord is able to comfort in a life-giving way. Though we do feel the sharpness of painful-grief, we learn how to rest in His presence through the pain - secure, held, feeling safe. The result – a faith in the Lord with ever-deepening roots.
Anxiety
When our hearts are troubled, unsettled, the Lord calms us with powerful love when we look to Him. He disciplines us with self-control, perfecting His strength in our weakness.
In our most vulnerable moments, sensing the weight of our weaknesses, admitting to the Lord that we cannot control ourselves, asking Him to take control of our emotions! The result – we come to know His strength in our weakness.
As we continue to walk, hand-in-hand with the counsel of the Lord, He teaches our hearts to trust, thereby establishing His peaceful reign of our hearts, throughout every season of our lives. Isaiah writes about this when speaks of the Lord in chapter twenty-six:
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever,for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”
This is the way to peace – keeping our minds ‘stayed upon Him.’ As we do so, His securing-presence endures. The way of peace is paved by the presence of the Holy Spirit – resulting in our heart’s freedom; for, ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’