Advent; Peace in My Chaos ~ 20231210 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
23/12/10 Peace in My Chaos; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20231210_advent-peace.mp3
Promise of Peace on Earth
Hark! The Herald Angels ...sing of ‘Peace on earth, and mercy mild’. O come, O come, Immanuel, heralds the coming King of the nations, who will ‘bind in one the hearts of all mankind. Bid all our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace.’
Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 both point us to a day when;
Micah 4:3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (cf. Isa.2:4)
The famous prophecy of Isaiah 9 begins this way:
Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
The yoke of opression broken. War stained garments burned in the fire. Peace. There is a promise of peace that will never end, because the government will rest on the shoulders of this coming Prince of Peace, the one who will establish and uphold his kingdom in justice and righteousness.
In Luke 1, John’s father Zechariah prophesied over the forerunner of the coming Messiah;
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Peace, rescue from our enemies, guide our feet in the way of peace.
The angel multitude who appear in Luke 2 to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night proclaim
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
What Is Peace?
Peace. What is peace? We might say peace is freedom from fear of enemy attack, peace is the end of war, disarmament of enemies. Peace is a government protecting its citizens and upholding justice and righteousness. We long for peace.
But Biblical peace is so much more than this. The Hebrew word ‘Shalom’ is a positive good, not just absence of evil. We get a sense of this from the contrasts in Isaiah 45. The LORD claims:
Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; ... 6 ...from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being [shalom] and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Darkness is the absence of light, like calamity, chaos, evil is the withdrawal of shalom, peace, well-being, wholeness, completeness. Chaos is what happens when you drop your grandfather’s pocketwatch on the pavement, the glass shatters, the case bursts open, the tiny springs and wheels and gears explode everywhere. Shalom, peace, is every intricately designed part fitted perfectly together in one harmonious whole, smoothly carrying out the purpose it was designed to fulfill. Wholeness, completeness, well-being.
The LORD speaks in Ezekiel of making a covenant of peace with his people;
Ezekiel 34:25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”
God’s covenant of peace includes dwelling securely, ability to lie down in peace and sleep without fear. It includes the blessings of rain and fruitfulness, fullness, satisfaction, safety and security, deliverance from oppression, the respect of others. Peace is the presence of God with them; relationship with God, YHWH directly caring for his people as their Shepherd.
Ezekiel 37 focuses on this aspect.
Ezekiel 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Shalom, wholeness, well-being is God himself dwelling with his people in harmonious and permanent relationship. This is the wholeness, the completeness, the peace we long for.
The Tabernacle
But we don’t understand how dangerous this is. When God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt, he took them to be his people, and he would be their God, and he would dwell in their midst. He gave them instructions to build him a tent, a tabernacle, that would be in the middle of the camp of Israel.
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Exodus 29:45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
But before Moses had even come down the mountain with God’s instructions for their relationship with him, and his plans for the tabernacle where he would dwell with them, Israel had broken his commandments and was worshiping a gold calf-idol. God threatened to wipe them all out and start over. Moses interceded, and only 3,000 died. But in Exodus 33, God warned that it would be too dangerous for him to dwell with his people.
Exodus 33:3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’”
The presence of the Lord is peace, wholeness, completeness, fulfillment. But it is dangerous, because we are stiff-necked and rebellious, and our God is a consuming fire (Deut.4:24; Heb.12:29)! Leviticus 26 outlines the blessings we looked at in Ezekiel 34, and God promises
Leviticus 26:11 I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
But the rest of the chapter unfolds the dangers of disobedience, that God will bring on them chaos and catastrophe and sword and famine and darkness and desolation if they do not walk in his ways.
Relationship with God is what we most long for, what we were made for, the only thing that can ultimately satisfy, but we can’t live up to his perfect standards, so it is dangerous, even deadly.
Aaron and all Israel soon learned this lesson. When the tabernacle was complete and dedicated,
Leviticus 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Moses and Aaron had done everything God had commanded exatly as he had instructed, and God’s presence was manifested in all-satisfying glory and fire, and the people were in awestruck worship. But this doesn’t last long.
Leviticus 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Our God is a consuming fire (Deut.4:24; Heb.12:29). When the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the glory of the Lord, he responded:
Isaiah 6:5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Immanuel and Natural Born Enemies
This is why the name ‘Immanuel’ stirs in us such deep a deep aching for fullfillment. This is what we were made for, but as sinners, this will be our undoing. Immanuel is a promise of wholeness, completeness, peace, but also ought to stir in us holy terror!
We love the idea of ‘Peace on earth, good will toward men’, and we understand that for peace to prevail, wicked men must be crushed, but we don’t often look at it from the perspective that we are those enemies. Romans 5 describes us as ‘weak, ungodly, sinners, enemies deserving of God’s wrath’. Ephesians 2 describes us as dead, walking in trespasses and sins, following Satan, sons of disobedience, by nature children of wrath. Colossians 1 describes us as alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. Because our hearts go astray, James calls us adulterers.
James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
God With Us in Grace
Immanuel, God with us.
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Is.7:14)
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ... 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ... 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
God with us, God come down to tabernacle, to pitch his tent among us, not in judgment, not in wrath, but in grace. We deserve to be consumed, condemned; we deserve to perish eternally.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Jesus’ Promise of Peace
Jesus came to bring us to God. He came to reconcile us, to cancel the record of debt that stood against us, to purchase our peace. And he promised us his peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Jesus promised a supernatural kind of peace that passes understanding. Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted, suffer, even die, but that they were not to be troubled or afraid.
John 16:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus’ Presence is Peace
Peace even in the midst of chaos. Not a change in circumstances, not escape from affliction. Wholeness, fulfillment, well-being, right in the middle of it all. What does this look like? Let me remind you of a story that might help.
Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
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2023.12.10 Sermon Notes
Advent; Peace in My Chaos
Jesus the Prince of Peace
Micah 4:3-4; Isaiah 9:1-7; Luke 1:68-79; 2:14
Peace is positive good; not only absence of evil
shalom: well-being, wholeness, completeness
Isaiah 45:5-7; Ezekiel 34:25-31; 37:26-28
Our greatest good is the presence of God with us
Exodus 25:8; 29:45-46
The presence of God is dangerous to sinners
Exodus 33:3-5; Leviticus 26:11-13; Leviticus 9:23-10:2; Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29; Isaiah 6:5
For ‘Peace on earth’, the wicked must be crushed
Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 1:21; James 4:4
Immanuel; God with us in grace
Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4, 14, 16-17; 3:16
Jesus’ presence is peace in the midst of chaos
John 14:27; 16:31-33; Mark 4:35-41
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org