Prince of Peace

You know, as we go through these prophecies and promises of the coming Messiah, I always think it's a great privilege to be able to speak on the different ones on a Sunday morning, just so that we get perspective in terms of what it is God wants us to learn, that we might be able to teach them to our children. Today we talk about day number 15, the prophecy of the coming Prince of Peace, and what that means for us. And today we want to begin by looking at the anticipation of that coming Prince, and then the announcement about that coming Prince, and then the actual arrival of that coming Prince, and then the adoration of that coming Prince, and then how it is we apprehend the peace that that Prince came to give.

That's what we're going to talk about today as we examine God's Word together, that you might be able to talk to your children about the coming Prince of Peace. You know, Christmas is a lot about anticipation. We live our lives in anticipation. In fact, the majority of our lives are built around different events that we anticipate, whether it's the anticipation of our engagement, it's the anticipation, excuse me, of our impending marriage, and then maybe the pregnancy, and the coming of the child, or maybe it's the graduation, or maybe it's just the promotion at work.

We live our lives in anticipation of what the next event will be, and sometimes it's those events that keep us going from day to day. Israel lived a life of anticipation. They had been given the promises of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they had learned to live in the light of the coming of the Messiah. In fact, the Bible speaks of it in the Psalm, Psalm number 72. It says this, Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness to the king's son. May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thine afflicted with justice.

Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills in righteousness. May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. Psalm 72 was a Psalm of anticipation, as Israel would anticipate the peace that would permeate their land, how they would be finally at peace with their enemies, and there would be no more turmoil in their lives.

That's what they anticipated. That's what they lived for, and then when you go over to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 2 verses 1 and 2, it says this, The word which Isaiah, the son of Amos, saw concerning Judah in Jerusalem, now will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his ways, and that we may walk in his paths.

For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples, and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn of war. Israel anticipated that. They had lived in captivity. They had lived in bondage. They had their enemies. During the birth of, the time of the birth of Christ, they were under the oppression of Rome, and they lived their lives in anticipation.

And Isaiah the prophet would talk about the salvation of the Lord, and the consolation that Israel would receive when the Lord's servant would come. And so it would cause the anticipation in the life of a nation to swell, and become large as they would think about their future, and the coming prince that would allow them to live in peace finally.

In fact, over in Isaiah 9, verse number 1, it says this, but there will be no more gloom for her who has, who was in anguish. In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea. On the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Israel lived in anticipation, and then the prophet said these words in verse number 6, 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.

There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord hosts will accomplish this. Israel lived in anticipation of the son that would be given, the child that would be born, and the name by which he was called, Prince of Peace, and that peace will be established forever. They lived in anticipation, but like most of us, when the reality of what we anticipate does not come to be, we tend to lose our enthusiasm.

We tend to lose perspective. Our hearts begin to grow cold, and our lives and our love for what we anticipated begins to wane, just like it did for Israel. And when you come to the New Testament, when you come to the book of Luke, you realize that it had been 800 years since there had been a supernatural act in the land of Israel. It had been 500 years since there had been a heavenly visitor to Israel. It had been 400 years since they last had any word from God through a prophet. 400 years, 500 years, 800 years.

We can't even live 400 minutes in silence, let alone 400 years in silence. And so you can imagine by the time you come to the New Testament, there are very few people in Israel living in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah, very few. In fact, the Bible records for us those that we know were living in anticipation. We know about Anna, who longed for the redemption of Jerusalem. She was a prophetess. We know about Simeon, who was longing for the consolation of Israel. In fact, he was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Messiah.

So we know he lived in anticipation because he knew that he was going to live until he saw the Lord's Messiah. So we understand that he lived looking and longing for the arrival of the Messiah. There would be some shepherds. What they knew, how much they knew, we don't know. But when the glory of the Lord would shine around them, they understood what was taking place. We know that Mary and Joseph, they obviously lived in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah, at least for nine months. But they had been looking and longing for the coming of that one who would save them from their sin.

And then there was Zacharias and Elizabeth, an old man, an old woman, who had continued on in their daily duties. Zacharias is a priest. Zacharias's name means God remembers. So when you come to Luke chapter one, turn with me there if you would, please.

In Luke chapter one, we go from the anticipation of this coming prince to the announcement about the coming prince. In Luke chapter one, you have the story of Zacharias performing his priestly duties in the temple. He's probably over 80 years of age. We know that Elizabeth is somewhere around 80 years of age. In fact, she is called Baron Elizabeth because she has no children. They had anticipated the coming of a child, but there was no child to come for them. And so their longing for a child had dwindled.

And yet Zacharias was a priest. He did what priests do, perform their priestly function, doing what he did on a regular basis. And then on this day in Luke chapter one, the silence of God breaks. Having been silent for 400 years, the angel Gabriel comes to Zacharias and speaks. And it says in verse number eight, now it came about while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

It was his day. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense burning. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him and fear gripped him. You know, you circle that because that is the theme of the birth of Christ. Fear. It gripped Mary. It gripped Joseph. It gripped Zacharias. It gripped the shepherds. And that's why the angel would say, fear not, fear not. And as you read on in the story, it says, but the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard and your wife, Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will give him the name, John.

Can you imagine? This man's over 80 years of age. He's an old man. I didn't mean to offend anybody, but if I did, please forgive me. Old in comparison to 20. Okay. And he was an older guy and he had given up on having a child. You know, every Jewish woman wanted to bear a son because they wanted to be able to carry on their husband's name from generation to generation. And no one knew that if that son would be the Messiah. And so they longed for the coming of a son. And the angel comes to Zacharias and says, you're going to have a boy, your wife, Elizabeth.

She's going to conceive. She's going to have a child. And this is the name you're going to give him, John. That's going to be his name. God even named Zacharias' kid, John's his name. God is gracious because God is gracious to Zacharias and Elizabeth. They had longed for a son. They'd prayed for a son and they received not a son until this day, until this day. And God says, I've waited a long time because I didn't just want to give you any old son.

There are sons born every minute of the day. I want to give you a significant son, a special son, a son that will fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, a son that will come and be the forerunner to the Messiah. Listen to what it says. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink no wine or liquor and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord, their God.

And it is he who will go forth as a forerunner before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Zacharias is a priest. He knows the Old Testament. He knows that the angel is saying, the angel is saying to him, your son is the forerunner to the Messiah. He's going to be the one who announces the arrival of the Messiah. And you know how the story goes.

Zacharias gets a little confused. He's wondering how it's going to happen. And the angel says to him, look, you're not going to be able to speak until this boy is born. Zacharias is a priest. He's in the temple. He comes out of the temple unable to speak. If you understand the word kophos, it means not only unable to speak, but unable to hear as well. So he was both deaf and unable to speak for the nine months that Elizabeth was pregnant. And the story goes, he has to write things down and everything, but you can imagine all of the pent up praise inside of him.

Being able to try to explain to everybody what's going to happen. And so as time goes on, the son is born and Elizabeth says his name is going to be John. And they say, well, why are you going to name him John? Because there's nobody in your family by that name. And they go to Zacharias and say, what do you want to call him? And he writes out the name John. And as soon as they see it, he's able then to speak again. And the very first words he says is John.

That's his name, John. And then he erupts into this huge praise in Luke's gospel in verses 67 down through verse number 80. And look how he closes it. He says this in verse number 78, because the tender mercy of our God with which the sunrise from on high shall visit us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of what? Peace. This comes the announcement of the prince. Zacharias not only had the son that was the forerunner to the Messiah, he was the one who announced that finally peace will come.

And as you read through Luke's gospel and you understand Zacharias is praised. It's all about the Davidic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, and the new covenant all coming together under this one individual called the Messiah. And so he announces that this one who's going to come is going to be introduced through his son and peace will finally come to Israel.

So you move from the anticipation of this prince to the announcement of this prince to the actual arrival of the prince. And that's in Luke chapter two. You know the story. We've read it many times over again, but it's a story that never grows old. It's a story that's always, always new and refreshing because it's a story about the birth of our, of our Messiah. You ever talk about the birth of your children? If you're a mother, you talk about the birth of your children. Each, if you've had one or if you've had 101 of them, okay, you remember each of them because each of them are unique, significant.

And when someone asks you about the birth of your child, there's something inside you that wants to explain everything that took place. It never grows old for you as a mother. How do I know that? Because that's what my wife tells me. I'm not a mother, but my wife tells me that. And she's given birth to seven children and everyone, she can record for you the details of each of their births, when they were born, how much they weighed. I don't know when they were born. I don't know how much they weighed when they were born.

I can't even remember their names after they're born. Okay. But she remembers everything, everything about their birth, what took place, how it happened. Well, the birth of the Messiah is the most significant birth known to man. And it should be a story that we can read and reread and go over and over and over again, because it is the most significant birth ever recorded. And the Bible says these words in verse number eight of Luke two, in the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord, somebody stood before them and the glory of the Lord shown around them. And they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which shall be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there's been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly there appeared with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, saying not singing, saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased.

Peace. This is the arrival of the prince of peace. There was an anticipation. There was an excitement that anticipation began to grow cold over time, except for the few that were looking for the constellation of Israel, Simeon, Anna, Zacharias, Elizabeth, the shepherds, the Magi, Joseph and Mary. There might've been others. We just don't know much about them. When the Magi came to Herod and they asked about the birth of his king, he called the scribes in and they would tell him that the king, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem based on what the prophets said.

So they knew about it, but their anticipation had grown cold. A lot of people in the church today, they know a lot about what the word of God says, but there is no passion for what the word of God says.

That were the scribes. That's how the scribes are described. They knew the law, but there was no passion for the law. Oh, by the way, if you're one of those people, you're like the scribes. You're like those who know the law, but there's no passion for it. There's no anticipation about it. There's no excitement about it when it's read. There's no longing to learn it, to memorize it, to digest it. You're just like the scribes, the Pharisees. You're cold. You're hard. People like Simeon, Anna, Joseph, Mary, they were passionate about the word.

They were longing to know. It was Mary who said, be it done to me according to your word. Let it happen. Can you imagine all that she would have to deal with as a young teenage girl around the age of 13 or 14 years of age, explaining to her parents that she's now a child? Have you never known a man? How are you going to convince your parents of that? How are you going to convince your friends of that? How are you going to convince your classmates of that? And for nine months, you have to live with this stigma, a stigma that will remain with Mary throughout her life because they would accuse Jesus of being born illegitimately.

She lived with that. But you see, when you have passion for God's word, when you are excited about God's word and doing God's will, you don't care what anybody else says. You don't care. Mary didn't let it bother her because she was chosen for a greater purpose and that was to bring God's son into this world. Wow, what a purpose. And she was a magnificent woman to be used of God. So she says, be it done to me according to your word. The submission that she portrays amidst all the conflicts she would face because Simeon would tell her in the prophecy, remember in Luke chapter 2, he would tell her that her soul would be pierced.

She would be greatly disturbed, greatly pained over the events that would take place in the life of her son. So he told Mary, Simeon did, in advance how much pain she would have because of the birth of this son. That son was eight days old at the time, but it didn't deter her from living for God, for serving God, because at the depths of her heart was a passion for truth, a passion for the word of God that just moved her day after day after day. That's the way we need to be. That's why she lived in anticipation.

And so when the prince came upon his arrival in Luke chapter 2, he came to bring peace. And from that arrival, we go to the adoration of the prince, the adoration of the prince. Now I've been to Bethlehem and if you go to Bethlehem today, it's not much of a city, okay? It's old, it smells, it's run down. It's kind of gnarly looking to be honest with you, but it's a beautiful city because it's the city of our king. And I've been to the shepherd fields to see where maybe this was the place that the angel came to the shepherds and make that announcement about the arrival of the Messiah.

One day I'd like to be in Bethlehem at Christmas time because there are 25 inches of snow as we speak today. Can you imagine being in Bethlehem with 25 inches of snow celebrating Christmas and the birth of the Messiah? That'd be amazing. But there came after this announcement a response from the shepherds that begin to tell us a little bit about the adoration of the prince. Look what it says, Luke chapter two, and it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let's go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing or this word or this reality that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.

And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph. How as a shepherd with sheep do you move quickly? I don't know. Do they leave them under somebody else's care? What do they do to go in haste? How quickly, if you've ever tried to herd sheep, it takes quite a while. We've been to Israel, we've had to wait for sheep to cross, just cross the road. It takes a while, but they would go in haste because you see when you look at the anticipation of the arrival of the prince and the announcement centered around the coming of that prince and you look at the adoration, it's marked by an excitation to be with them.

An excitation, yeah, that is a word. They were so excited. Let us go and see this reality. They could not wait any longer. Once they heard the word of the Lord, they wanted to see the word of the Lord incarnate. They wanted to understand that word. Let us go in haste. Let us go straight to Bethlehem. Let's don't take a detour. Let's don't get a cup of coffee and make sure we stay awake on our way there. Let's make sure we get there as quickly as we possibly can. We need to see this because you see when it comes to the adoration of the prince, there's nothing that keeps you from bowing before him.

Nothing. You can't wait to be with him. You can't wait to see him. And then not only is there an excitation to be with him, there's a proclamation about it. They get there and it says in verse number 16, they made their way to Mary and to Joseph and the baby as he lay in a manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. How do you know you adore the prince of peace?

You can't wait to be with him and you can't wait to tell others about him. There's an excitation to be with him and there's a proclamation about him. They had to tell Mary and Joseph, listen, this is what we heard. This is what we saw. And they made known the statement to all who heard. How do you know you adore the prince? You can't stop talking about him. There's an excitation to be with him. There's a proclamation about him. And then thirdly, there's a meditation upon him.

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen just as had been told them. There's a meditation upon him and there's a jubilation over him. Mary would just meditate. She pondered, she treasured all these things in her heart. She could not stop thinking about the Christ child. When you adore Christ, you can't stop thinking about him. He's on your mind. He's ever present in your heart.

And then there's this jubilation over him. That's the way it was for the shepherds. They went back praising God. They went back rejoicing. How do you know you've worshiped God? You leave here today so excited you can't contain it. Oh, by the way, if you leave here today, not excited and you can't contain it, you didn't adore him. That might sound kind of negative, but that's the truth. You didn't come to adore the Savior today. If you don't leave here with a jubilant spirit, rejoicing over what you've heard and what you've seen and what God is doing.

That's the way every worship should be. That's the way we adore our God. There is an excitation to be with him. We can't wait to be with him. We can't wait to see him. We can't wait to hear about him. And then we can't wait to tell other people about him. And then we just think about him all the time. And not only do we think about him, we can't wait, can't wait to rejoice over him. But there's another way that marks our adoration for the King. And that is, there's always a presentation to him. Always.

Remember in Matthew chapter two, the Magi? Go to Matthew chapter two just for a moment. In Matthew chapter two, when the Magi came to Jerusalem, they followed the star. Next week we're going to talk to you about the star. This is going to be just an incredible study. When you look at the prophecy and the promise of the star, it goes way beyond anything you could ever imagine when you begin to understand the story of Christ.

But these Magi came and they came to Jerusalem and they inquired of Herod about the babe. Where is the babe? Verse seven, then Herod secretly called the Magi and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go, make careful search for the child. And when you have found him, report to me that I too may come and worship him. And having heard the King, they went their way and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over where the child was.

And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the child and Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. And opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. You see, when you adore the Christ child, there's always a presentation to him. You can't not give. You can't. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, all representing his deity, his humanity, and his royalty, all significant gifts. But they were gifts given at the worship of the Prince, the King of kings, the Lord of lords.

And they came wanting to give what they had. Let me ask you a question. When you come, do you come wanting to give what you have? Or do you come wanting to hold on to the things that you have? There's no worship or adoration without a presentation of your best to the King. They gave their best. They presented to him their gifts because they wanted to worship the King. They came to him in a house, not the grotto or the stable or the manger. At this time, he was older. He was probably somewhere between one or two years of age because he's a child now.

So the word used there speaks of a older child, not much older than two, maybe one. We don't know exactly, but they came to a house. Took them a while to get to where they were going. But once they got there, they fell down and they worshiped the King because they wanted to present to him their gifts. Listen, if there is, if there is in your heart, in your life, in your adoration of the King, if there truly is an excitation to be with him, a proclamation about him, a meditation on him, a jubilation over him, and a presentation to him, there will be a satisfaction with him.

And that was Simeon. He was satisfied. He was satisfied. He said, I can now die. I can die. I've lived for the one purpose of seeing the Lord's Christ. He holds him in his arms eight days after his birth. He blesses the child. He speaks to his mother about the future of the child and says, I can die. Because this is what life's about. It's all about the Messiah and the coming Prince. And there's an ultimate satisfaction once you've seen him, once you've held him, once you've embraced him, because in all reality, you've experienced the peace of God.

How do you apprehend that peace? The apprehension of the Prince of Peace, the peace that only he gives, the apprehension in man's soul through life storms in my sphere of influence. It comes by grace through faith in Christ alone. The Bible says, peace on earth with whom God is pleased.

Psalm 147, 11 says that God shows favor. God is pleased with those who fear him. He's pleased with those who fear him. In other words, God in the theme of the Christmas story is always about fear because those who came encounter with the angel, fear gripped them because they, as the Bible says, Joseph and Mary, Zacharias and Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna were all righteous people.

They weren't righteous because they did righteous works. They were because they were declared righteous by God himself. They had righteousness imputed to them. It wasn't that they had done enough to make themselves right before God, but God had shown them grace and showed them favor. And there needs to be peace within our souls. I know we'd like to have peace in our homes, with our families. It's not always that way, is it? But peace is never the absence of conflict in the home. It's always the presence of Christ in the heart.

We say it to you every year because we forget it. It's not about the absence of conflict in your home. It's about the presence of Christ in the heart. That's where peace lies, within man's soul. Romans 5, 1 says, Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. Peace with God is about peace from the God of peace, who's called the Prince of peace. He's the one who grants us peace. The word, Irenae, is a word that speaks of two opposing forces coming together to experience joy. That's the peace God offers.

Because when we are born sinners, we are born separated from God. We are born at enmity with God. And through faith in Christ, we are able to come to terms with our condition, and we are able to repent of our sin, and we are able to be at peace with God. There needs to be peace within man's soul. And it comes because I've been justified by faith. And those of us who have peace within our soul can have peace within the storms of life that we face. I would like to say that everybody in the room is so excited about this season, but you're not.

Because it's a season for you of loneliness. It's a season of separation. It's a season of bad reminders. And so as a season grows closer, you feel more and more isolated. That's a hard thing. That's a difficult thing. And yet, it's the Prince of peace that wants to still your storm. He's the one who wants to accomplish you with His mercy and His grace to allow you to understand Him. Great peace have those who love thy law, and nothing causes them to stumble, Psalm 119, 165. So during those times of turmoil, because of circumstances or situations, ask yourself, do I love the law of God?

Because the Bible says those who do have great peace, not just some semblance of peace, great peace have those who love thy law, and nothing causes them to falter, to stumble, to turn away.

Because they're at peace with God, and they let the peace of Christ rule in the heart. Remember Colossians 3, 15? Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and be grateful. Let the fact that you're at peace with God, that you're no longer His enemy, you're on His side, He's on your side, you're together as one, let that be the governing factor in every decision that you make. The very fact that you're a child of the King, you're a part of His kingdom, let that guide every decision that you make.

Let the peace of God be the umpire in every decision that you make. And the Bible says, I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on me.

I want you to love my law, and I want you to look only to me, only to me. And I will grant you my peace, not as the world gives. John 14, 27, Christ says, my peace I give unto you.

The peace He had when He hung on a tree, He died for your sins and mine. The peace He had when He was humiliated, humiliated. The peace He had when He was blasphemed, the peace He had when He was ridiculed and rejected, the same peace that He had in His soul. He says, my peace I give unto you. That you might experience what I experience, that through every turmoil and every difficulty in life, you might understand that I am the sovereign God who rules over all. This Christmas is about the coming Prince, the Prince of peace, the peace that should rule supremely in our hearts and lives, that we then might become the peacemakers that God wants us to be.

We are to live in peace with others. And the only way that can happen is when we're at peace with God, that we might honor and glorify His name. May this Christmas be one where you truly experience the peace that only the Prince can give. Let's pray together. Father, we thank You, Lord, for today and the opportunity, as brief as it may be, to study Your Word. For truly You are a great God and You alone are worthy of praise. We thank You, Lord, for the opportunity to study Your Word. And we pray for everyone in this room that no one would leave without an understanding of what it means to be at peace with God.

And that the words today would be words that, Lord, we would understand from Your Word, the truth of what it means to live at peace with the coming Prince of peace. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.