Title: Christ our Peace

CIT: The fact that Christmas is characterized by Peace (our word for the day) is found clearly in
Scripture and clearly is connected with the birth of the Savior.
SO: Christmas is that one time of year when people more easily exhibit the main ideas of
Christianity: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.
Scripture: Micah 5:5a, “This One will be our peace.”

Introduction:

I. Christmas-time brings out of mankind much that is good. One of my favorite jobs was
delivering pizza in San Diego. As the assistant manager, I was able to schedule myself
to odd shifts whenever I liked. So, during the Christmas shopping season, I worked
delivering the pizzas as much as possible. One thing that I had found is that people
were very generous during this season, especially if they were coming home to a
quiet evening of pizza for dinner after that long day of shopping. Good tips those
nights.
II. Christmas is that one time of year when people more easily exhibit the main ideas of
Christianity: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.
III. The fact that Christmas is characterized by Peace (our word for the day) is found
clearly in Scripture and clearly is connected with the birth of the Savior.
IV. Two Scriptures come easily to mind that tell us that Jesus, our Savior, was born to
bring peace to mankind:
a. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will
rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NAU)
b. "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from
long ago, From the days of eternity… This One will be our peace." (Micah 5:2,
5a NAU)

Exposition

I. Christ is our peace by reconciling us to God.

a. Exp
i. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1
ii. Justification is being pronounced righteous before God because Jesus took
your punishment on the cross and paid for your sins.
iii. Romans 4:24 says that Christ’s righteousness was credited to us who
believe in Him.
iv. This is the whole point of the cross and the shed blood
1. Old Rugged Cross (313, v. 3) “In that old rugged cross, stained with
blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see; for ‘twas on that old cross
Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me.”
2. Jesus Paid it All (316, v. 1) “Gone is all my debt of sin, a great change
is bro’t within, and to live I now begin, risen from the fall; yet the debt
I did not pay Someone died for me today, sweeping all the debt away,
Jesus paid it all.” This same hymn finishes, “On the tree for you and
me, yes, and the debt, the debt is cancelled, Jesus paid it, paid it all.”
b. App

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 i. We all owed a debt to God because were by nature, from conception,
sinners. And because we are born sinners and this is our nature, we sin. We
sin in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We cannot get away from it. Sin
haunts us. Sin gets in the way of any relationship that we want to have. It
stands between you and your friends and family. Do you have a broken
relationship with your mom or your dad? Sin caused that. How about a bad
relationship with your wife? Same things: sin. Do your children not want
anything to do with you? Sin, not just theirs and not just yours, is working
there. And, most importantly, a relationship with God was broken in the
Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve’s sin. That created the nature that we
inherited and that affects all other parts of our lives. And as much as God
wants to have a relationship with you and you might want to have a
relationship with Him, it can’t happen. Why? Sin!
ii. But Jesus cleared the way. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our
sins. Remember, Romans 5:1 says that we are justified by faith. We are now
given the opportunity to have peace with God.
c. Ill/Transition
i. Upon believing and becoming a Christian, a miraculous and mysterious
thing happened: we were made right with God and with other men. And
this is the second way that Jesus is our peace.
II. Christ is our peace by bringing unity to men
a. Exp
i. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke
down the barrier of the dividing wall, Eph 2:14
ii. I will say that this is an interesting barometer of our restored relationship
with God. Both are true. Jesus made it possible for us to be right with God
and with other people. I believe that it is either both or neither.
b. App
i. If you are right with God, then you will become right with people. If you are
not right with people (or heading that way), then this might be an
indication that you are not right with God.
c. Ill/Tran
i. Christ’s basic law for harmonious co-existence with others is found in Luke
6:31: "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you”. Matthew
states it this way: "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you
want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
(Mat 7:12 NAU)
ii. It is said that the Roman Emperor Severus was so enchanted by this law
when he heard it for the first time that he appointed a reader to repeat it
aloud every time someone came before him for judgment. He also ordered
it to be written in large letters in the most frequented rooms of the palace
and in many public buildings. Though an idolater, the Emperor honored
Christ as the One who had told them how to live justly, and he was even
disposed to include Christ among the gods.
iii. The more we live the peace that Christ has given us, the more likely people
will be able to honor the God we say we are peace with. And what better
time to demonstrate this than Christmas time when people are thinking
these thoughts anyway?
iv. Finally…
III. Christ is our peace by being near His Church
a. Exp
i. Rejoice in the Lord, again I say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all
men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
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 and supplication with thanksgiving let you request be made known to God
and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
ii. Here is the crux of Christmas for most people. We feel a special affinity to
the Savior Who was born. This doesn’t make anyone a child of God. But it
does mean that people are thinking about the reason for the season.
iii. More than this, though, Christmas reminds us that Jesus was born as a
child, became a man and lived an earthly life. He died a horrible death, and
was resurrected from the dead.
iv. Now, Scripture tells us that He is near. How does this help us today
especially if we fall in that group of people who struggle through the
holidays because of depression caused by the anxieties of life? Two ways I
believe this passages can help us:
1. Through Answered Prayer
a. Clearly connected with the Lord being near (not soon coming,
but close by) is that we can go to Him in prayer when we have
anxiety.
i. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let you request be made known to God.
b. I found that I had claustrophobia one day while getting an MRI.
What calmed me down was when the technician gently
touched my leg as I was being slid out of the MRI machine. Just
that touch helped.
c. We know that Jesus hears us, and cares for us. Knowing that
He is near can calm anxieties and help revive our spirits.
d. Christmas does that for us. That Jesus is near becomes real to
us. Let me encourage you: Focus on Him, not on your
anxieties. You’ll find your prayer life richer and more fulfilling.
e. The second way Christ presence can help us is…
2. Through Abundant Protection
a. and the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
b. When we know that Jesus is near, we know that He is taking
care of us. He is not a king who sits in a far-away place not
knowing how His people are doing. He is right now, actively
protecting you from dangers.
c. Many people believe that they have guardian angels. Who
created those angels and set them to watch over you? I would
guarantee you if we thought to bring glory to the angels, they
would remind us of Who is really worthy of our worship.
d. But more than this. When all is right between you and God,
when you are at peace with God, what else matters? This is an
example of focusing on the main things – knowing Jesus and
making Him known.
b. App
i. So, I want to encourage you to know what the main things are. To know
Jesus and make Him known. Losing focus on those is allowing other things
to distract us. When we are distracted away from the presence of Jesus, we
will forget or ignore that He is caring for us.
ii. Quite simply, the closer you are to God, the less you’ll talk about yourself.
And the more you focus on Jesus, the less the worries and anxieties of your
present circumstances will grip you.
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 c. Ill
i. A happy Christian met an Irish peddler one day and said to him, “It’s a
grand thing to be saved.” “Aye,” said the peddler, “It is. But I think
something is equally as good as that.” “What can you possibly think is equal
to salvation?” “The companionship of the Man who has saved me,” was the
reply. When we know that, we can rejoice with John and say “Truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
Conclusion

I. What is the real meaning of Christmas? Let me finish with the Christmas story as
found in Matthew 1
a. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been
betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by
the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting
to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered
this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son
of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been
conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His
name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Now all this took place to
fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN
SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME
IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." And Joseph awoke from
his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his
wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name
Jesus. (Mat 1:18-25 NAU)
II. This was an anxious time for Joseph. How do we know? The angel told him to not be
afraid to take Mary as his wife. A soon to be wife who was pregnant. Everything in his
culture said that he had every right to not just divorce her, but maybe even worse.
But, we are told, he was a righteous man, and wanted to not hurt her, but was going
to put her away secretly. This would still affect both her reputation in the community
and his. Then he had a dream about his Son. And he would learn that God has a plan
for him and his Son. And what more, his Son would be called Immanuel, God with us.
Isn’t this just how it works? In the most anxious times of our lives, we realize that
Jesus is near and this brings peace. Joseph experienced the Peace of Jesus, and He
wasn’t even born yet. We can experience this same peace that Joseph knew—peace
that God is with us.
III. Let’s pray.