Tonight we have come to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah called Him the "Prince of Peace" because Jesus was coming to this earth to bring peace. As the angels announced his birth in our Bible verse this evening, they reminded the world that this was the reason Jesus was born - to bring peace on earth. But we might ask, Where Is This "Peace on Earth"?

Here is what the historians have found: Over the last 5000 years, the world has only known 292 years of peace! During this period, there have been 14,351 wars, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick. More than 8000 peace treaties have been made - and broken. In the last 300 years, there have been 286 wars on the continent of Europe alone! Doesn't sound like peace to me! And isn't it ironic that Bethlehem, the very place Jesus was born, has been in the middle of the fighting almost constantly from then until now?

This lack of peace on earth has turned a lot of us into skeptics about the supposed "peace" Jesus was going to bring into this world. A band called U2, who I am normally pretty fond of, wrote a song a year ago called "Peace on Earth," and here are a few of the verses: "Heaven on Earth, We need it now, I'm sick of all of this Hanging around, Sick of sorrow, Sick of pain, Sick of hearing again and again, That there's gonna be Peace on Earth…Where I grew up, There weren't many trees, Where there was we'd tear them down, And use them on our enemies…Jesus in this song you wrote, The words are sticking in my throat, Peace on Earth, You Hear it every Christmas time, But hope and history won't rhyme, So what's it worth? This Peace on Earth?…" I am sure that after everything that has happened this past year, there are a few more skeptics among us. Where is this "Peace on Earth" Jesus came to bring??

Look what is going on in the world! No one is safe anymore. Planes filled with innocent people have become weapons and buildings filled with innocent people have become targets. There are no rules in war. Anthrax, poison, and chemical weapons scare us to death. Airport security has a long way to go before we can feel safe. The fighting going on around the world right now doesn't seem to have any end in sight. We live in fear because of the lack of peace. And we even though we desperately look for peace any way we can, so we can live our lives in safety and comfort, there aren't many places in the world that we can find peace right now!

In the 1980's a retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war, so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places on the globe. Their goal was to determine where in the world would be the least likely place affected by a nuclear war - a place of ultimate peace and security. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied. Finally, they found the place. And on Christmas they sent their pastor a card from their new home - in the Falkland Islands. However, their "paradise" was soon turned into a war zone by Great Britain and Argentina in the Falkland War! No matter how much we look for peace in this world, we aren't going to find it!

There are two ways that the world usually tries to create peace. The first is the "Peace through Strength" approach. One party threatens the other with physical or emotional abuse, financial ruin, or whatever weapons they can use to force the other party into submission. But "Peace through Strength" really isn't peace, is it? When one party uses power to win a "victory" like this, the result only breeds retaliation and anger, never peace. The other tactic the world attempts is "Peace through Compromise." Two parties try negotiating: "I'll agree to this if you'll agree to that. I'll stop doing this if you stop doing that." But compromise never leads to peace either because neither party has gotten what it wants. They both had to give something up to reach the compromise, and neither side is completely happy. That peace is neither real nor lasting.

Do you believe peace can be found? Can we at least find peace in our own homes and lives? We talk about wanting peace. But if we really wanted peace, would we honk at that slow driver? Would we cut in line? Bark at the telemarketer who calls us during dinner? Fight with our spouse? Lose patience with our children? Leave disagreements stand with those close to us? Ridicule anyone? Gossip about our neighbor? Even be tempted to hit someone? Do you realize that the same thing that fuels all of the fighting in this world fuels the same ugliness to our own lives? Do you know why there is no peace on this earth? Because of sin! There was peace once - in the garden of Eden. There was perfect peace there. We were at peace with God. But then, we messed up and blew that peace! When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that was their "September 11th." Their Pearl Harbor. That was the day their peace ended. Worse yet, that is the day that our real peace ended! That is why we aren't going to find peace in the newspapers, our own homes, or our own lives. We won't find the peace that means an end to conflict here.

God wants us to look somewhere else for peace. Jesus didn't bring a peace that would end wars and fighting among people and nations. Jesus came here to do two things: The first was to live a perfect life. That perfect life He lived kept Him in perfect peace with his heavenly Father. That perfect life meant that He always did what was right and always stood up for what was right. But that perfect life He had to live wouldn't always bring peace as we think of it! He once said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Jesus would change the world forever. You either love Him as your Lord, or you hate Him! He knew all the fighting and persecution that would take place because so many would follow Him and so many would reject Him. And that is still the case in the world today. Jesus always obeyed God perfectly, but earthly peace didn't follow Him wherever He went. He cleared the temple with a whip, He rebuked people for their sin, and fought the fight of righteousness. On another occasion Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Our peace is in Jesus. We won't find it in this world. But because God has given us the credit for the perfect life Jesus lived, we now can find peace in our hearts!

The second thing Jesus did for us is dying on that cross. That is what won us true peace. Peace with God! All of our sins were placed on Jesus and He carried them to that cross and suffered what we deserved for them. So now, instead of seeing us as sinners, God sees us as his perfect children, sinless, and once again bearing his holy image. There is no conflict between Him and us anymore! No more guilt! True peace! That means we are guaranteed of eternal life in heaven with Him! That is the peace the Prince of Peace brought us! And end of hostility between God and us! A peace He put in our hearts, not in the world around us!

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with puffy clouds. Everyone thought this was the perfect picture of peace. The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, filled with rain and lightning. Down the side of the mountain was a punishing waterfall. It didn't look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird in her nest - in perfect peace. Which picture won? The second one. You know why? "Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace. Friends, with all the unrest going on right now, we might be tempted to complain to God about where this peace on earth is. But I believe He is showing us all the more clearly what wonderful peace we do have with Him while the world is raging around us! An eternally safe home with Him in heaven!

What does this "peace" do for us? How does it change us? How does it fill our lives? First of all, it the only thing that will lead us to try and live at peace with each other. The peace Jesus put in our hearts is the only motivation that will accomplish that. It means we can stop trying to achieve peace on this earth through power, intimidation, or compromise. It means we can live at peace with others out of love, because we have found peace in Christ.

Secondly, the peace Jesus brought between us and God is the only thing that lets us be at peace with ourselves. We can forgive ourselves and others. The cross gives us the confidence God loves us and has forgiven us. We stop seeing death as a tragedy when we know that in death, God is taking his children home. On September 11, a horrible atrocity was committed. But on September 11, many people went to heaven! Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you would die? Several years ago, a veteran missionary was in a plane that was circling over Detroit and unable to land because of fog. As the plane's fuel ran low and the danger of a crash landing became more apparent, the missionary got out paper and pencil and jotted down his last will and testament. He wrote: "There is peace, perfect peace in my heart and soul. Life with Christ is the way to live. Now in this hour there is assurance that God is underneath all the uncertainties of human experience. So I rest in God." We must all face the possibility of death. It is certain. But the Baby born in Bethlehem has given us a way to face this prospect peacefully. God sent the Prince of Peace here because He wanted to help us out!

Paul Harvey tells the story about a family on Christmas Eve. The family had a tradition where the mother and children would go to the Christmas Eve service, and the Father would stay home and read the paper. When the family returned home from church, they would all gather to open up their presents. The father was not an evil man, but he just couldn't believe in the childhood stories anymore of God coming as a baby in manger. As the family left for church, he opened up the evening paper and began to read by the fireplace. Suddenly, he heard a tapping on the window. It was a bird flying against the glass of his window trying to get out of the snow into the warmth of his home. The man had compassion on the bird, and he went outside, hoping to bring it in. As he approached the bird, the bird flew against the window even harder. Pretty soon, the bird flew into the bushes below the window, half frozen, yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the snow and thorns of the bushes. After a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure itself, the man yelled out in frustration, "Stupid bird, can't you understand that I'm trying to help?" The man paused and thought, "If only you understood you wouldn't fly away…if only…if only I could become a bird, and get you to understand!"

Just then, the church bells rang, as they always have on the hour. But when the man heard the bells this time, he fell to his knees and began to cry, saying, "Oh, God, I didn't understand. Oh, God, I didn't understand." We often don't understand. We often look for peace in this world, and wonder why we can't find it. We often forget that there won't be peace here because we belong to a sinful race of people. And we often forget that even though all that is true, God loves us anyway and wanted to give us real peace - peace with Him. The peace Jesus brought doesn't mean an end to war with our fellow man. It means an end of our war with God. But it is a beginning to the end of war with our fellow man! Let's never forget that the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate this evening, came through on his promise of peace on earth. There is now an everlasting truce between God and us! Amen.

Back to the page
Back to the Pastor's Messages page