“Prince of Peace” By Jesse Rairdon December
17th,
2017 Amen.
Good message, Kirk. Join
with me in prayer, if you will. Our Heavenly, righteous Father and
Lord, thank
you so much for what we've heard today. And, Lord, this man stands
before your
people, this sinner that I am, forgive me of the sins. Touch my lips,
Lord, that
the words might be pure, that it may minister grace to the hearers.
Lord, that
we all be edified, and to grow in your love, and understanding of your
truth.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Isaiah,
nine, six. So, this month's theme is, “A Savior Has Come.” Isaiah,
nine, and
six says: Isaiah 9:6 For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. We're
going to talk about the Prince of Peace, today. And verse number seven
says: Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase
of his
government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,
and upon
his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will
perform this. The
two parts I want to cover in the message, today, is: Peace
with God Peace
be with you Peace
with God, and peace be with you. Before
Jesus, the world was dark, and in sin. And, most of us were Gentiles.
But,
there was a particular group of people, the Jews, the children of
Israel, that
had hope, that had a way to God. The Jews’ peace with God would come
through
sacrifice, which come through offerings that they brought and laid
before God,
and the priest made intercession, and that sacrifice was killed. These
specific
offerings had specific reasons and purposes behind these offerings. One
of those
sacrifices was peace offerings. As I was praying, and beginning to
prepare for
this message, several weeks ago, I was thinking about, “Why was He
called The
Prince of Peace, and not King of Peace, in Isaiah nine and six?”
Because what
was offered was the Son, it was the flesh. He didn't offer His Spirit
on the
cross for us; He offered that flesh; that was the peace offering. If
you really
want to study into peace offerings, go to Leviticus, chapter three and
chapter four--Time
won't permit me to go into all that today--and see if what I'm talking
about is
true. In fact, you should, don't ever take my word for it, take God's
word for
it. Amen? Study your Scriptures, because the Old Testament reveals
things to us
that the New Testament brings to pass. Okay? We
sang it in the song earlier, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. As they came
and they
sang, peace on Earth, God and sinners reconciled. We couldn't have that
peace
with God without something taking place to have that peace. There was a
separation;
the sin separated us from God. One of the ways the peace offerings was,
in
Scripture, was shown when it was in the commitment, and remembering of
a vow.
When you did a vow before God, you not only did a Thanksgiving, and a
peace
offering, but, you also, after you performed that vow, you did a peace
offering. Saying to God, “Okay, I'm still going to be at peace with
You. I made
this vow; I'm keeping this vow, and there's going to be peace between
me and You.”
So, you made that peace offering, consecrating that vow, and
remembering that
you made that vow to God, and thanking God that you were able to keep
that
commitment to Him. Amen? And it had to be done willingly, you know? Any
offering you do to God has got to be made willingly. Jesus, when He
went to the
cross, He did it willingly. Even if you consider His prayer in the
garden, His
flesh did not want to do it, and, if you think about it, is that
something you
want to endure? That was a lot of torture, a lot of pain, a lot of
suffering,
but, nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done. God
always knew that we can't, in our flesh, keep the law. So, He wanted a
way to, not
only for the Jews, to keep that with Him, and to have peace with Him,
but He
wanted a way for all the souls, the whole earth, to have peace with
Him; hence,
the peace offering of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Ephesians,
chapter two, we're going to read verses eleven through seventeen. Ephesians 2:11-15
Wherefore
remember, that ye
being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision
by that
which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at
that time
ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without
God in the
world: [Imagine living in a place like
that, as bad as
the world is, having no hope, and kind of seeing this children of
Israel,
going, they've got something, but you not having an opportunity to have
what
they have, that peace.] but now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall
of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law
of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of
twain one
new man, so making peace; So,
how it worked, if you understand how the Temple was, there was a place
that
only the priest, the high priest, could go, the Holiest of Holies. And,
between
that and the congregation, there was also a partition. You could not
enter into
that place, not just any old person could enter into that place. So,
when Jesus
made that sacrifice, He broke down that wall of partition, and we now
all now
have access to God for that sacrifice. Verse sixteen: Ephesians 2:16-17 and that he
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you
which were
afar off, and to them that were nigh. So,
He also preached to Jerusalem, and the Jews first, but, also, to all of
us. For
through Him we have access, to one Spirit, by the Father. As Jesus
said, in the
Scriptures, “I did not come to do away with the Law; I came to fulfill
the Law.”
(Matthew 5:17) So, He came to fulfill the Law, and that sacrifice,
thereby
making peace between us and God. John,
sixteen, and thirty-three; He said: John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world. The
problem is, sometimes, we go and look for our peace in the world, even
as
Christians. And, we end up getting frustrated, we end up getting
discouraged,
we end up getting depressed, we end up getting hurt by friends and
family that
we thought we could trust, when, really, our true peace was the peace
that
Jesus came to give to us. And, the only way you can have that is,
you've got to
overcome the world. Like Kirk was talking about in his message, you’ve
got to
stop willfully sinning. Especially, if you know you're doing something
wrong,
you’ve got to put an end to it. And, you've got to reconcile with God,
you've
got to make peace with God. Part
2: Peace Be With You John,
fourteen, twenty-seven says: John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. You're
going to have tribulation in the world; you're going to have trouble in
the
world. Everybody has. But, when you have the peace of God you can
overcome
those things. You can have clear focus and direction in your life; you
can have
understanding in your life. Let's
go to Hebrews, chapter nine. The Book of Hebrews was written to the
Jews. They
understood the law. They understood the sacrifice. But, it's here for
us today,
to kind of understand, how do we take that peace in our life? How could
we have
that piece of God? How can we have that peace with us? Starting at
verse eleven: Hebrews 9:11-17
But Christ
being come an high priest of good things to
come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
that is to
say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his
own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the
ashes of an
heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the
flesh: how
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the
living God? [How much more should Jesus’
sacrifice
have taken effect, if these things in the law supposedly took effect
when they
were sacrificed?] And for this cause he
is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament,
they
which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For
where a
testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the
testator. For a
testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no
strength at all
while the testator liveth. It's
just like a will, if someone is still alive, that will is no good. But,
when
the person dies, then that Testament is in effect. So, the Old
Testament was in
effect until Jesus came, and then He died, and then the New Testament
came into
effect. Verse nineteen: Hebrews 9:19-22
For when Moses
had spoken every precept to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with
water, and
scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the
people,
saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto
you. [So, when they would speak these
things, they would sprinkle the blood
and the water with the hyssop and make that declaration. You have a way
to God
because of the sacrifice.] Moreover he
sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the
ministry.
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of
blood is no remission. No
remission—without the shed blood of Jesus, there is no remission of
sins. A lot
of people, even myself, grew up in churches, in places, where we were
really
not taught, we were taught about a baby being born on Christmas, okay?
That was
part of our tradition, too, as a family, but we never understood the
sacrifice
that He came to be. We never understood the peace offering. We never
understood
why the Prince of Peace was come to save us. Maybe
there’s somebody here that's just kind of confused, and they don't
understand
that part. Maybe, your whole life, you just been taught about the baby
in the
manger. And, that's great, I understand that, it's a chance to, this
time of
year, to share with people that are more open and receptive. I didn't
grow up,
for many years, understanding Christmas, and celebrating Christmas, and
now I
believe it's a time just to kind of share with people about more about
than
just the birth of Christ. But, if it was just the baby in the manger,
there
would be no salvation. There would be no hope. We would still be
without peace
in the world. Luke,
chapter twenty-two. So, there had to come a time when Jesus had to open
their
understanding. Even the disciples that have been with Him all that
time, had
traveled with Him, had suffered with Him, understood things, and made
sacrifices,
left all their family, left their livelihood, they still didn't
understand what
the sacrifice was about until Jesus told them. In Luke, chapter
twenty-four,
and verse forty-four: Luke 24:44-45 And he said unto them, These are the words
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must
be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in
the psalms, concerning me. Then
opened he
their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, You
ever come to a point in your life, where you're just kind of like, God
just
opens your understanding, and you say, “Oh, that's what that means.
That's
what's Christ was trying to tell me. That's what that baptism that Kirk
was
talking about?” Luke 24:46
and said unto
them, Thus it is written, and thus it
behoved Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day: “This
is the reason why I suffered,” He's telling them. Luke 24:47-48 and that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. So,
let's go to Jerusalem. Acts, chapter two, verses thirty-eight and
thirty-nine—let’s
start at verse thirty-six. So, here they are, waiting, they've been
endued with
that power from on high, they spoke with tongues, the Jews were around
from
every nation, they understood what they were talking about, a miracle
was
happening, and Peter was preaching the first message. It says, in verse
thirty-six: Acts 2:36-38 Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and
Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and
said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the
Holy Ghost. So,
the Prince of Peace is there, for everyone. But, not everyone gets a
chance to
hear this message about how this gets applied to their life, until
someone
shares it with them, and God opens their understanding. Otherwise,
you're just
going to be religious your whole life. You could go your whole life and
never
understand what God has for you in baptism. You could never have your
eyes open
to the truth. Thank God I did. Thank God someone shared it with me, but
I had
to be willing to sit down and study the Scriptures, and go over the
Scriptures,
and let someone teach me. And let God teach me the difference between
right and
wrong. The difference between these traditions and things that man has
out
there, these things that the movies try to tell us, the world tries to
tell us,
all these things they try to push at us; it can be quite confusing.
But,
there's one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians four and five).
There's
one way to God, there's one way to have peace with God, and there's one
way,
peace be unto you. Thank
you and God bless you.
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