Peace on Earth

You might have seen or heard a lot of peace on earth this week. This is the season of peace being spoken about. Meanwhile, nations' leaders are often embroiled in conflict. Armies and nations are practicing warfare.

Prisons are filling up at an incredible rate with people in conflict with society and its laws. Entertainment is getting more and more violent. And that is about conflict and warfare and about murder. Where does this peace on earth come from? Where is it supposed to come from? Now there are tactical plans being made for when nuclear weapons go off. And who will try to shoot them at who in the developing world now of nuclear weapons? Peace on earth. Where does real peace come from? And can we talk about this as a third party? Or do you have a responsibility yourself when it comes to peace on earth? What is the source of true peace? Are you involved in bringing peace to your part of the planet? And how are you doing in that? Let's talk today about peace. And a sermon entitled, Peace on Earth. And let's make it personal. And let's make it prophetic. And let's make it human. And let's make it spiritual. And let's really look at this topic. This is Christmas Day. Many people think of it as Jesus and Mary Day. Which are two people in a syncretic blend of many pagan gods.

Of many pagan religions mixed in with some truth. And so it's a real mixture of stuff. The origin, as far as we know, was Nimrod and Semiramis. Nimrod and the newly born child. Coming down through time we had Isis and Horus, Osiris, other individuals.

We've had Ishtar and Thor, the moon, the sun, Venus, Saturn, etc. etc. And you have to throw them into this mix. Christmas is the traditional peace proclaiming season. And even at times of war people often try to stop the war on Christmas Day. My wife and I knew a German soldier from World War I. And he fought against the Allies in the trenches under his Kaiser. And a fine old gentleman in the church many years ago spent some hours talking with him about the war. He told about the Christmas Day when all this fighting and slugging it out and these muddy trenches over in Europe. And he was gassed by the Allies and had been left maimed by that gas. But on Christmas Day all the fighting stopped. All the guys were trying to single each other out and trick them and trap them and throw bombs on them and back and forth. And all the fighting stopped and they kind of stuck their heads up and they looked at each other. And after a while somebody got up and stretched a little bit and got out of the mud and had a cigarette.

And the other guys did the same and pretty soon they came together and they swapped cigarettes and they swapped food rations. And they talked, they told stories as much as they could across the language barriers.

They had a really good day.

And they all said, you know, why are we doing this?

This doesn't make any sense at all. You're nice guys.

And when Christmas was over they got back in their trenches and they wound up that machinery and they went back at it.

But it's associated with peace.

And people talk about peace this time of year. Let's go to James chapter 4 and verse 1.

James chapter 4 and verse 1. And let be asked the age-old question, where do wars and fights come from among you?

What's the source of war and fighting?

Do they not come from your desires for things that please you, that war in your members you lust and do not have?

It talks about self-centeredness. Let's go back to verse 16 of chapter 3 of James. James 3, 16, 4, where envy and self-seeking exist, things for me, confusion and every evil thing are there.

So there's self-centeredness.

Does Christmas have anything to do with self-centeredness? What do you think? Anything about me? About getting, receiving? What do people teach their kids? There's an article entitled, Kids Have Heavy Requests for Santa This Year. It says, The downturn of the economy this year has caused children to ask Santa for more than the usual toy or video game. And the children have a steadfast belief that Santa will deliver. You know, it's about getting. And they want more. Even the economies in a downturn, they want bigger stuff than ever. Kayla, age 3, said, I could ask Santa Claus for everything and he would bring it to me. It's interesting. The cause of war is wanting and not having. And we teach our children as a society to want and to get. Not always lawfully. A Halloween, we teach our children, go out and tell them, and they'll be able to get their children. And they'll be able to get their children. On a Halloween, we teach our children, go out and tell them, if you don't give me stuff, I'm going to do something bad to you. You know? Treat or trick. Well, giving gifts is a nice thing to do. Giving gifts at this time of year, Biblical. Let's go to Matthew 2, verse 11. We don't see anything in Scripture that has anything to do with people giving gifts regarding the birth of Jesus Christ, anything whatsoever to do with Him, to each other. Or about a time being where you're going to get something.

Matthew 2, verse 11, talks about some wise men, and when they had come into the house... Oh, wait a minute! Jesus was born in a manger! What are they doing in a house? They saw the young child. Oh! Young child, not a baby. So here come the wise men, some other time. Who knows how old he was? He's a young child, and they're living in a house. With his mother Mary. And they fell down and worshipped him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gifts made of gold, gifts of frankincense, and gifts of myrrh.

How many wise men were there? It almost jumps off your lips, doesn't it? But it doesn't jump out of the Bible, does it? How many gifts did they give? Well, we know.

But we don't. Because the Bible doesn't say. And they gave gifts to him. It wasn't a birthday gift. It wasn't the day he was born. This is a young child somewhere else at a different time. Why? Well, they came to worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Let's go to Luke 2, verse 11. Luke 2, verse 11. Here we find the birth of Jesus Christ. And it was told to the shepherds, There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, or in English, the anointed one.

And this will be the sign to you, you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. Or as the margin says, a feed trough. It's kind of an unsightly, unspecial place, last minute. Let's put them here. But notice, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praying, praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace toward men of good will.

That's the way that should read. Look at the margin. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger.

And the shepherds returned. So the shepherds were out there in the field, and they finally returned. Now, why were gifts brought by the wise men some other time? Shepherds didn't bring any gifts. Why did they come? The expositor's Bible dictionary said, The long-standing tradition in the Near East to bring gifts to royalty. Gifts to royalty. Nothing about getting. Nothing about anything that has to do with this syncretic mix of paganism, of reincarnation, of rebirth, of the moon and the stars and the sun, of magic, of getting something for yourself, based on false teachings. No.

Does the emotionally charged Christmas have anything to do with reality? Can you find one thing about Christmas that has anything whatsoever to do with reality? That's an interesting thing. I would take exception even with the name Jesus, simply because there was no letter J ever used in the English Bible, the King James Bible, until well into the 1600s. The letter J was invented. But you have this person that's being referred to as the little tree, and the sun, and the solstice, and then you've got Mary, but you've got really the mother that is the pagan mother, and the one that the Israelites turned their back on in Jerusalem of the temple and worshiped the sun coming up, and they worshiped the Queen Mother of Heaven.

So you have this syncretic mix of stuff. And by the way, he also was born in a manger. So you add a little truth to it, but you stick it at the wrong time of the year, in a different season. Gifts were brought but not at his birth, and not to be given to other people, and so on and so forth. It's just a mess. It's just a mess. Old gods, fables woven into the world's largest commercial enterprise. But it's very hollow. Last week, my wife and I were driving down the street right at sunset in Yuma, having anointed a lady in the church and visited a couple of people.

And as we drove away right at sunset, there's this glorious sunset that we get here in Arizona because our clouds are so high. They're usually about 20,000 feet high. And the sun really can get up underneath and just paint this canopy in color. And there was a moon, almost a full moon, that just came up over the mountain, and it was so beautiful. But along that street were lines of people standing with the backs to the sunset.

They weren't looking at the moon or appreciating God's sunset. They were waiting with anticipation for the Christmas parade that was coming. A bunch of fake little golf carts and go-karts and little cars that people had stuck, you know, tinsel on and twinkly lights.

And they were just so excited for this trashy stuff that had no meaning, but they had their back to the creation of God. When we got down to where the lineup was, we had to pass that of all the vehicles getting ready to come out. It was all about self-promotion. My little golf cart's better than yours.

I got more flashy stuff. My lights are bigger and brighter. I got some stuff hanging out there that nobody else does. It was just a big bunch of show-off stuff. Competition for attention. Recognition. You drive around and you find people's houses that are lit up with lights.

But the neighbor will put more lights on and another label, more lights on. You've got these light competitions going on. Sometimes you can go by them and you can feel the heat off the lights.

We drove by one, and we know the house because it's a house that's almost in a slum. The poor family that lives there has so little, and their house is just trash. But at night they decorated it and colored it up and crammed so many lights into that little yard.

You can't see the house. But there they are standing out in the middle, and the bus tour comes by of the Christmas lights, and they're on it. And it's kind of sad, you know? It's kind of sad that they get their little attention by standing out in the middle of a bunch of stuff that has no meaning.

There's an article entitled, The Problem with Christmas. And the writer says, the problem with Christmas is not the batteries. The problem isn't even really the stuff. If you poll Americans this time of year, far more of them regard the approaching holidays with dread than anticipation.

A week that people find themselves hoping will soon end.

If we go to Romans 3, verse 10, we find the problem with Christmas, the problem with humanity, and the problems in this room, and the problems in your personal life and mind are something different. They're spiritual.

Romans 3, verse 10 says this, As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. What does righteous mean? Loving our neighbor as ourself. Loving others as God has loved us. There's none that understands. There's none that seeks after God. Our problems are when we don't do that and we get, Ah, self, me, I want to get, I want to receive, it's about me, I want to be lifted, I want to be noticed. They are all gone out of the way. They have together become unprofitable. There is none that does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open grave. What we say as humans tends to slice and dice and hurt others and defame.

Their tongues, they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. James 3 talks about that in the early part, how we all have this tongue, but it's an unruly character. Going on, in verse 15, their feet are swift to shed blood. They're going to go to war. They're going to go to battle.

Because they're not getting, they want, they lust, and we want. Destruction and misery are in their ways. Where's the love? Where's the joy? Where's the peace? Destruction and misery comes from that. And there's the wars and there's society. And verse 17, and the way of peace, they did not know. Peace is a way, and peace is a byproduct of that way. And humanity, including you and me, don't know that way without God, without His word, without His Spirit in us. And we are too frail and too feeble and too human and too carnal most of the time to know much about it. I know we like to think of ourselves, oh, we're the spiritual giants, we're the church, we're the true church. And then you see problems in the church, and you see them on TV. Wait a minute, they're talking about us, but they're talking about the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, but they're talking about us, or they're talking about this country, or the company, or whatever. And you think, wow, have we grown at all? We're just like everybody else, but we think we're special. Now we're human. And the way of peace, we don't know.

And so every day we must study, we must relearn, we must ask God for forgiveness, a do-over, another opportunity. Why is this? Verse 18. Because there is no fear of God in their eyes. We forget to fear God. We forget to highly reverence, we forget to focus on God, we forget to make Him the object of what we think and say and do, and instead we make ourselves the object. We read the Bible and we see ourselves and then we close it and we forget what man or person we ought to be, and we go about our self-pursuit. We've got to change that if we're going to be in the Kingdom of God. Satan is the God of this world, and he is a murderer from the beginning. The traits of him are identified in John 8 44 by Jesus Christ. If we see the traits, we've got to see His influence in our lives, and we've got to fight that. I'm not talking about anybody else, I'm talking about me. I'm talking about the daily struggle. We can't just say, oh, I'm in the church, I've been baptized, I'm on cruise, and whatever I think can do, that's good. This is godly. Apostle Paul said it was a little different than that. What I ought to do is not what I tend to do. Jesus said, you are of your father, your pater, the influencer, the one who is sort of motivating you as the devil. And the lust of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he abode not in the truth, because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. God is truth. The Logos, Jesus Christ is truth. His word is truth. And we must attach ourselves to that truth, and we must become truth as well. I asked in a sermon not too long ago, are you becoming truth? Are you truth? God is. Are you am I? I'm not there yet. I want to be. I strive to be. If we go to Galatians 5, verses 20 and 21, you will find, and I'm not going to read it to you, because I hate that passage. It's all the fruits of the human nature, fruits of the flesh, it could be called, followed by the fruits of the Spirit. In verses 19 through 20, we just don't want to go there. And all the byproduct of that is misery. It's misery for everybody. Our nature breeds strife, and it breeds pain for other people. Some of you experience pain, and you feel that pain because of what others have done to you. But others feel pain because of what you've done to them. And so we as humans spread pain. The result of this we can find in Isaiah 49, verses 1 through 15. Isaiah 49, beginning in verse 1.

And now the Lord says in verse 5, Who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him. Because we have gone astray like sheep. And Jesus Christ was sent to heal that breach in you and me, and ultimately in Israel.

In verse 14, the Lord, but Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Verse 15, Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Yes, we have ripped apart relationships, including our relationship with God. But God has not forgotten us. And Jesus was sent here so that through his blood we could be reconciled. Do you appreciate that? Do you want that? Is that something that you really desire? In Isaiah 59, 10 chapters later, it says, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor is ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God.

We have got to be repenting of our iniquities so that we can be restored to God and to godliness. Jesus Christ is coming. His bride needs to be getting ready so that we can restore Israel and ultimately the whole world through a process of peacemaking. The Prince of Peace is coming.

1 Corinthians 14, 33 says, For God is not the author of confusion or chaos, but of peace. He is the author of peace. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. You and I are called to be peacemakers.

Peace is a byproduct of godliness.

If you read Galatians 5, 22, which I really like, the fruit of the Spirit is love. Agape, godly, selfless love for others.

A byproduct of love is joy. A byproduct of love is peace. That word can be translated harmony. A very difficult intermixing and a binding between two people. A unification. A oneness.

And the source of our peace is God.

Isaiah 9, 2.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light has shined.

Verse 6, for even unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder.

And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That's the true Jesus. That's the real child that was born. That's the one who came not to teach us to get and pass out a bunch of gifts, but that came to teach us to give.

And peace comes as a byproduct of living and thinking like God does. Let's notice John 14 and verse 27 with this in mind. John 14 and verse 27.

Jesus said, Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you. It's a different kind of peace.

Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Perfect love casts out fear. Perfect love breeds peace. And that's what he left us with. The commandment to love one another is he loved us. And that's his peace. Chapter 16 and verse 33. These things I have spoken to you that in me you shall have peace. Not going to have it anywhere else, any other way. But it's only in Christ and pursuing what Christ is that you will have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.

There are two mindsets that we can have. We can have the I'm in the church mindset that says I'm in the church and I can focus on myself and I'll be in the kingdom. And I've got this great relationship with God who supports me in my personal ambitions, in my lifelong ambitions. And this is working great. Or we have a second mindset that I'm in the church and I don't deserve to be here. I'm nothing. I can do nothing on my own. I am going to make myself a living sacrifice, as Jesus Christ did. Sacrificing my will for God's will, my life for the others and helping others. And I will do that for all eternity, including when Christ returns that we can help and serve others like slaves.

In Romans 8 and 5, For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Those in the church, who am I talking to? You want names? I'll give you one. John Elliott. When I set my mind on things of the flesh, I get the things of the flesh. I live according to the flesh. But those who live according to the spirit put their minds on the things of the spirit. Now I have a choice every day. What am I going to think about? What's this going to be about? It's not a one-time thing that happened at baptism. It didn't happen somehow years ago and since then I've been on cruise control. It's the daily, I get up, I've got time, I have opportunity, I have resources. What am I going to do with them? If I put my mind on the things of the flesh, then I will do those things. But those who live according to the spirit will put their minds on the things of the spirit. To be carnally minded is death. When I put my mind on the things of the flesh, there's no future in that whatsoever. Oh, there's a little bright kind of a flash for now. Like, woo! Then it's gone. Everybody loves to see the little firewort that goes, psh, psh, psh. That was interesting. Nice little show there. But that's all there is to it. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. If you're elevated later and God raises you up later to do a work and He glorifies you later, that is eternal. And that is life and peace. Why? Because it's based on love. And peace is always a byproduct of love. Because the carnal mind is in many against God, for it's not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

We have got to put our minds on the proper things, brethren.

Go back one more book to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 2 and 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 2 and 3.

Paul says here, To the church of God, which is at Corinth, we could say, To the church of God, which is at Phoenix, wherever you may be visiting from, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, sanctified by His blood, sanctified by God's Holy Spirit, sanctified by His special calling, called to be saints, saints in preparation for being firstfruits at the return of Jesus Christ, as it says in Revelation 14. With all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both heirs and ours, grace to you and peace. Grace to you. Not grace and peace to the world. Grace to you who are sanctified, who are called, who call on the name of Jesus Christ, who repent and call upon His blood through His name, forgiveness, you receive grace and you receive peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's where peace comes from. Now, it doesn't come if we are not doing those things, but we are also in the church. Don't deceive yourself. Don't let yourself get deceived. This is about doing. Jesus said in Matthew 5, verse 9, Blessed are the peacemakers, not the peacepopers, the peacelikers, the peaceful people, the people who are peacewishers, but the peacemakers. How do you make peace? Love your neighbor as yourself. Love God with your heart, soul and mind. That's how you make peace. It's an automatic byproduct. It'll be coming right along. It'll be coming along really soon. With your enemies, peace will be rolling in any minute. If you're loving them, praying for them, blessing them, serving them, sacrificing for them, peace is on its way. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Why? Because they are sons of God. They are godly. They are learning to love as Christ loved them.

In Romans 12, verses 16-18, here's an important concept from the Apostle Paul about us being peacemakers. Romans 12, verse 16, Be of the same mind toward one another. That mind is supposed to be loving, humble, self-deflating, honoring others more than oneself, promoting others, looking out for their best interest. He says, Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. And if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. By humbling, putting your mind on others, as much as you have in the relationship, as much as you contribute, let it be the things that make for peace. It says, in Psalm 119, Great peace have they who love your law, not just those who like your law, but those who love it. The law of God is to love, and peace comes from God. Peace comes from the Prince of Peace. It comes from the God of Peace that rules in our hearts. We have it when they direct our steps. We have it when their Holy Spirit leads us in loving others. Let's go to 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 16, in closing. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 16. Paul concludes this book to the church at Thessalonica by saying, Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. That is how we have peace. That is how you have peace. We have it if the Lord is with us and if we are following Him. So brethren, let the Spirit of God develop peace in your life by imitating God and imitating those who are godly, imitating those who lay down their lives, and give their lives for a friend who put others before themselves. And let that Spirit bring the fruit of peace in your life and bring peace to the lives of others as you have opportunities. And brethren, if you do these things, there will be peace on earth.