December 18, 2022
THE WAITING: COMPLETE PEACE
December 18, 2022
Matt Willmington
From the time of Creation and God’s promise to send a Redeemer, people waited for the Messiah of the promise to arrive. Finally, at the time God willed, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, took on the form of a human baby, yet remained fully God, and came from heaven to be born in a manger. His birth was the beginning of a new era, as He grew to manhood, was crucified as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, buried, and three days later walked out of the grave, alive forevermore! Through Him, we can accept His free offer of salvation and eternal life, and begin a new life in Christ Jesus, as He gives us peace—perfect peace.
Focal Passage: Luke 2:8-11.
What is peace?
· The common Hebrew word, Shalom, means peace. Does anyone recall the first meaning for this word as mentioned in the sermon?
· Was your answer “To be struggle-free” or to “cease fire”? Most of us cannot relate to being free of struggles, so what does God mean? Read John 16:33. Who is speaking here? What can we expect from life in this world? So–how do we get peace?
· Shalom also means “to be whole and healthy, or contented”; “to have well-being.” Do you know someone who is contented, and at peace with life? How did they get there? What marks their daily life?
· There is a second meaning for Shalom; do you recall? It is to “take the pain away”—not only removing the pain, but “fixing the problem.” How can we connect that meaning to Jesus and our spiritual condition?
When does peace come?
· In the Future. Read Isaiah 32:16-18. When will this peace reign? Who will be reigning with Jesus Christ in the Millennial kingdom?
· Today. Read Jeremiah 29: 4-5, 7, 11. What does God want for His people? Read Psalm 37:37, 85:8, 119:165. Why would God desire that we experience peace in our lives?
· How can we have peace through the storms that assail us on every hand? Read Mark 4:39-40. Do you sometimes feel that Jesus may be “asleep” when you are experiencing one of the storms of life? Does He ever sleep? Read Psalm 121:4. If He can calm the turbulent sea, can we have the faith to trust Him to calm our hearts from a broken and brutal world?
The Three Peace Zones
1. Peace with God
· Read Romans 5:1. Is there any way we can experience peace unless we have stopped our struggling against God? What do we have to give Him?
· How can you be saved, and free from the weight and shame of your sins? How do you know He will forgive you? With this done, can you have peace?
2. Peace with people
· Read Romans 12:18 and Matt. 5:9. Do you ever consider that other people—especially those who might be hard to love—are perhaps having their own storms? What can you give them?
· Read Luke 6:31. Is this how you treat people? Do you give others the benefit of the doubt when you’re not sure about their actions? Why is that a good way to react to an imagined barb?
· Read Mark 12:31. Why is it necessary to treat everyone in this manner? Can we obey God’s commandments without loving our neighbors? Why not?
3. Peace with self
· Read Isaiah 38:17. What was Hezekiah able to do with his pain? Why? Read Col. 3:15. Do you believe you are greater than God? If not, why do you hold your past and your forgiven sins close to you, when God has forgotten them? Why is it so important to let go of these?
· Read 1 Thess. 5:23. Is this how God sees you NOW, if you are saved by the blood of Jesus? Read 2 Thess. 3:16. Do you have this peace at the present time?
Close:
When we sit down and take time to carefully think through all the blessings that God has prepared for us, it’s rather amazing that we are not the most joyful, radiant, happiest people on the face of the earth! To name just a few, He came to give us life, and to give it abundantly (John 10:10). He has established peace for us (Isaiah 26:12), and when we become a Christian and are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). And not only that, but through Jesus, we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand (Rom. 5:2)! And to be the recipient of more of God’s blessings, we also glory in tribulations, because they bring hope (Rom. 5:4). God has not given us a shallow, dull, boring life, but one that is the anticipation of heaven after our time on earth. He has those plans for us, remember? If we abide in Him, and in Him move and have our being, we will be victorious, holy, and happy. How can we not be?
By Sandy Day December 18, 2022