Prince of Peace (Part 2 of 2)

The for unto us a child words we hear every year at Christmas. The question is has that message penetrated and transformed our hearts today on Truth for Life. Alister Beck explains the ultimate purpose for Jesus Berg and the only way we can experience everlasting peace.

Our study continues in Isaiah chapter 9 verse six.

Who is this Prince of peace.

A Prince of peace. Someone who is himself.

Peace. Someone who is achieved peace. Someone who in knowing him becomes our very peace. I like to suggest to you in the balance of our time that there are essentially only two reactions to the human predicament, either men and women look around them at this relational disjuncture. This internal psychological may and they say we can work it out or they say help I need somebody not just anybody, I would have to look beyond myself because I looked in, and frankly the end that is in ought to be out and I can get it out and I've read a lot and I thought a lot and I know that I must be looking for someone I must be looking. I wouldn't be on myself instead of reaching in and reaching down is where to search inside of me. I wonder, is there someone who comes from outside of me and has the answer to my dilemma will of course that's the message of the Bible is instead of man.

Finding God is the account of God finding man for unto us. As a result of God's initiative. A child is born son is given in this son is the Prince of peace. No. Clearly, this piece is something more than just the absence of warfare, or even the presence of an inner sense of tranquility or well-being or the enjoyment of harmony amongst those who were previously feuding. All of those things are inevitably limited in their generation that has been no lasting peace. Since the Garden of Eden.

Is there someone help his or somebody not just anybody actually this piece of which we read is an eternal peace. That's what it says in verse seven of the increase of his government and peace there will be no and there will be no end all kind of pieces that we've never known peace like that at the end of the second world war, Churchill was so concerned immediately to get on and deal with the Russian problem was in the only listen to them no and they eventually threw them out as the prime minister, despite all that he done so, there is a great bear out there and if we don't deal with that one. Pretty soon it will come and swallow as elbow gold Churchill you're a warmonger now I said on the realist.

They died and 65. By that time communism was pretty well entrenched in everything that he had acknowledged had come to pass.

Was he simply a pessimist. Now he knew well. If there is a piece that is eternal and if that piece is found in this Messiah.

This wonderful counselor. How does all that work. How do you get from the phrase Prince of peace to the experience of peace within a life within a home within a nation within a world within a universe. If God has come in the person of this Prince we are to expect that he has accomplished what he set out to do and that is exactly what the Bible tells us, and for that reason, I want to.

And as I done in each of these studies by looking at another portion of Scripture which helps us to see worked out is aware the phrase that we been considering and for this I invite you to turn to Colossians chapter 1, and once there, I want you to notice three words.

And we will be done here in in a section that begins with verse 15, Paul is introducing us to Jesus. You notice he begins he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, and so on. Let's look from verse 19 for God was pleased to of all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things with her things on earth are things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross and the reason that this is so significant is because verse 21. Once you are alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. Let's start there and work back up for sport is alienation. Alienation and alienation that touches our minds are believing and and alienation that is represented in our lives are behaving. We behave wrongly because of our minds, our minds are wrong, and so we behave wrongly in the predicament that is before us is that we are alienated from God. I find this anywhere else other than in the Bible.

You won't find it address by anyone else or any other religion. In this way Buddhism will suggest to you that you look within yourself. You try and find the answer somewhere in there that's what makes it so appealing because it blends the individualism of America with the fact that I can just believe pretty well what I create for myself nobody out there is telling me anything nobody out there is making these proud assertions, as it were, but what we have to do is we have to say do these offerings of peace it where off the throne. This amazing story of God becoming man dying for his enemies and praying for their forgiveness is a story of Christianity. God takes the initiative and comes to us, the Prince of peace dies for those who are opposed to him and simultaneously praise for the forgiveness of his enemies, and the reason that this has validity is because of the fight of alienation again. You can find alienation everywhere you turn contemporary music and poetry and the arts are full of it. Films are absolutely solid with. That's why so many of them appealed to us the fractured relationships. The sense of internal dissonance percent of shadows of a God once known are all there we go only once those things are. We read these things and it tugs at us and pulls out his and we wonder about it and then returned to the Bible and the Bible says the reason that you know relational alienation. The reason that you experience psychological alienation.

The way the way you feel all messed up within yourself.

All of those alienation's are directly tied to verse 21 of Colossians 1. You are alienated from God and enemies in your mind enemies in your mind what if we are the enemies of God. If by our belief in buyer behavior we turn our back on him. What hope is there for peace then.

Unless, of course, this God from whom we are alienated is the one who takes the initiative. That's exactly the prophecy of Isaiah 9 God takes on human flesh and provides for us. The man who will represent all men.

He comes to deal with our alienation by affecting and here's our second word reconciliation reconciliation. God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus all of God that may be known as in Jesus and through this Jesus. This Messiah, to reconcile to himself all things. In other words, there is a barrier between God and man, and I barrier the Bible describes as sin are passive indifference are rebellion against him all of that stuff that we understand that offends against our consciences at least until we do it so many times that we flat out don't care, and all of that offends against a holy God because he is just he must punish sin, because he is loving he provides a solution in the midst of the execution of his judgment and it is here that we find ourselves at the apex of the Christian claim because it is here that Paul is making sense.

If you like all the phrase from Isaiah 9. He is the Prince of peace. In what sense while he is the Prince who by his sacrificial death atones for sin takes upon himself the righteous response of God to sin is not a burst of fiery anger such as our our horrible approach to life when someone does something to us, but the sampled indignation of the character of God to that which is opposed to him because he is just he must deal with that and hear the Prince of peace moves inexorably towards the cross of Calvary and Verdi bears in his own body are sin's in it in a very realistic sense. We have to fasten on the fight that 1 Is Taking Pl. on the cross is to use an old-fashioned biblical word a propitiation that Christ in himself bears the Roth that we deserve and propitiate's so that the story of the cross is not as many of is guarded from the passion movie. The overwhelming response to the passion by the general public when something like this if they were unaware of the story of the Bible. They came out saying that's a dreadful thing to do to a nice person. I can't believe he would do that to such a nice person. I think I'm going to try and be a nice person but I hope nobody does that to me is that the gospel know.

You see, the key to that movie was actually in the scroll that ran before ever kicked into its opening scenes and remember what it said he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement that brought us peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed so that in his sacrificial death is the answer to all of our human alienation. Again I say to you it is such an implausible claim that you might find this very implausibility appealing that the answer to all of my life all its fractures and its failures. All of his disappointment and his dirtiness all of his unfulfilled hopes and dreams may actually be traced to a moment in time on a hill outside Jerusalem on a narrow strip of land at the point where three continents of the world intersect. Yes is your Savior. Again this Christmas story that everybody can set aside in this mental with the within the Christmas lights is not the story to which were introduced in the Bible know you can go to Hallmark for that.

You don't need a vote of the Bible for that. The real question is are you reconcile them to God's will. I know a number of people were sinners but not myself like this is good for Sunday. I must get this for someone I I know somebody be honest, is it so strange that were able to look with clear eyes at all the stuff that is so obviously wrong. All of violence. All the hatred all the broken down business. We watch it on TV. We read it in the newspapers and were prepared to acknowledge things are really messed up. And yet we can somehow or another face up to what is messy, untidy, ugly and painful in our own little life's know you see Jesus as a sufficient Savior as what is telling us here. He's reconciling the world to himself, and on the cross. He is accomplished a reconciliation. The issue for us is not achievement but acceptance our society.

Our immediate culture as a whole remains completely unaware that our reconciliation has been achieved that on the cross of Christ.

The answer to all of our deep-seated angst has been provided the reason he doesn't know is because many cases those who believe don't know well enough to tell others about this to tell them that in that alienation, the Prince of peace is done the work of reconciliation which leads in our final word to transformation transformation. Transformation not only of the individual, but a transformation of the whole universe that he reconciled us to himself all things, what you mean all things, or the one in whom all of God's fullness.

His phone is the one who reconciles everything with her things on the earth of things in heaven and actually things under the earth as well.

In other words, all these points are the cosmic sweep of the reconciling work of Jesus. Nothing in the universe lies outside the range of what Jesus has accomplished nothing and nobody lies outside the extent of God's reconciling work refinish in this way. When Adam sinned, turns his back on God, a huge dislocation took place that not only affected Adam and his wife.

The two of them and their kids but affected the garden.

Suddenly there were thistles ironically thistles being the emblem of Scotland. But why we would choose a weed who would ever know. But nevertheless, in the garden of Eden. There was no emblem for Scotland no thistles, no thorns, no nothing. Just pristine beauty, but man turns his back on God and dislocate his relationship with God's relationship with other people and his relationship with creation itself.

So we do have something to say to people who start out on the periphery and Sarah are you concerned about creation or your concern about the environment answer is absolutely. I are you concerned about the issues of eggs in the fact of disease without any question at all.

This Christianity of anything to say to the predicaments of the human heart whereby people are lost and entrapped in their own psychological disorders and find themselves enveloped in all kinds of things without question and find I love to introduce you to a person somebody not just anybody, the Prince of peace, because by his coming.

His death and his resurrection. The age to come, which will be finally together according to God's timetable.

By the age to come, has dawned, and little glimpses of it little insights to our to be seen. But one day the San Francisco zoo Tiger will no longer jump over its wall unless it just jumps over and says could have a bowl of rice crispy displays rather not actually says it.

But, but he just jumps over an effort jumps over for a couple why because of Isaiah 11 the lien will lie down with the lamb.

What is that describing describing what happens when the Prince finally says okay is put the whole thing together.

The day is going to come when the accoutrements of war will be put away once and for all be totally obsolete when the the diseases that ravage our bodies will be no more. And God will provide a new heaven and a new earth, and the structures of government within that cute new heaven and you are will not be about man's power and his predilections and his posturing, but will be about the glory of God fly how because a child is born, the child is the Prince of peace. And if you would know peace, you must come to the Prince and want to welcome you will receive. For he is taken the initiative in making a reconciliation which he doesn't ask us to achieve but to accept so which way do you want to go out under which Larry, your choice say thanks Ally was flying in on almost on time. Not bad, but hey, we can work it out with fun or help.

I need somebody not just anybody, she because your view of the world has to deal with your life now and has to deal with your death, then what a strange thing I have in my repertoire, but not one in a thousand half you see this is going to be good. It is that is that I can say the words of committal for the graveside ceremony without looking at my notes. Why, because of said them so many times, and why, because I believe them with all my heart so I'll finish with it goes like this for as much as it is pleased Almighty God, to receive to himself the soul of our dear brother here departed.

We therefore commit his body to the ground, ashes to ashes, dust to dust in the sure and certain whole of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our earthly bodies that they may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to sue June all things.

Even dad to himself. Your choice. We can work it out or help. I need this Prince of peace. It is God who has taken the initiative question is how will you choose to respond.

That's Alastair big today on Truth for Life.

Alister returns to close with prayer in just a minute, so please keep listening.

Maybe today's message has opened your eyes to the realization that you been trying to fix your problems on your own. Maybe you're ready to admit that you need help help that is found only in Jesus. Let me encourage you to visit the learn more page on our website. It's there that Alastair explains the message of the gospel. You can watch a short illustrated video that outlines God's plan for salvation, you'll find these and other helpful resources. When you visit Truth for Life.org/learn more and if you're already a believer in Jesus you know that prayer is an important spiritual discipline for all of us but if were honest, we admit that sometimes our prayers can become routine or words sound shallow will.

Today we want to recommend to you a book titled piercing heaven prayers of the Puritans. This is a book that won't just refresh your prayer life.

It will take it to a whole new level. The book piercing heaven is a rich collection of carefully selected and slightly updated prayers, written by 32 Puritan writers, including people like John Bunyan and Bradstreet and George Whitfield each prayer has a title based on a theme in the book is arranged by topic so you can work through the prayers from beginning to end. Or you can look for a prayer that fits your current situation. For example, you find prayers that help you through doubts or temptations through times of sadness or suffering.

There are prayers of praise and thanksgiving or even prayers to help you start or end each day. When you give to support Truth for Life.

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Now here's Alastair the prayer from Augustine warlord to be turned from you is to fall to be turned to you is to rise to standing you is to provide for whatever granted us in all our duties here help in all our perplexities.

Your guidance in all are dangers your protection, and in all our sorrows, your peace and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all ever more men about Lapine.

If you have children or if your child at heart.

Christmas morning can't get here soon enough. It's hard to have to wait for a gift you really want or a gift.

You need tomorrow will learn how the promises of God led to lifetimes of eager anticipation. The Bible teaching of Alastair big is furnished by Truth for Life. Learning is for Living