I want to say welcome to our Christmas Eve service, or Christmas sorry, Christmas Day night service. So we had a service yesterday and a service today, and I wanted to just take a moment and say thank you to the people who have helped kind of put all these services on. Because what you don’t know is many of these guys on our staff or just volunteers have served working on Tuesdays and Wednesday and then again on Saturday to get Christmas Eve going well, and then Christmas Day. And we had no idea how many people were going to attend or not attend these services. It was a very weird year. And so I just wanted to say thank you to our staff and thank you especially a really special thank you to Jahson and Noelle Saunders for the work that they did this time. It’s been a different holiday season, but I think in many ways a really good and exciting holiday season. So we’re going to have a sermon here today, hopefully that this lesson will inspire you and encourage you to live as Jesus asked you to live. But I want to begin with a question.
If you could get anything you wanted, like anything you desired as a gift, and you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would give it to you, what would you ask for? What would you want? Maybe take a second and tell the person next to you. If they’re a stranger, then don’t make it too intimate, but yeah, tell somebody. What would you want? What would you want? All right, I asked a couple of my friends this very same question this week. I wanted to ask them, what would you want? And some of the friends I said, be honest, be totally, totally transparent with me. Some of the friends said a lot of money. That was their first ask. Maybe some of you are like they’re unspiritual, but you would have asked that. And again, money is not a bad wish. A lot of money can help a lot of people. It’s a good tool. You could be generous. Money buys time. So it’s not a bad gift or it’s not a bad thing to ask for. Though, you know, money doesn’t buy happiness, right?
We all would agree with that. So it wouldn’t be, I would say the optimal ask, but it’s an ask nonetheless. I asked someone else and they said, I just want a spouse. I want to get married. And again, that’s not a bad desire. It’s a godly desire. But you could get married and that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re, you know, perfectly happy, right? So be careful if you’re married, you said amen way. Just be cautious with that. You know, you’re sitting next to the person that anyway, so just, just be cautious with that. So it’s a godly desire, right? And it’s good. So other someone else I talked to ask for happiness. I think that’s good health for your family. Someone I talked to is just like right now. Right now. And I was like, yeah. And they were just like a PS Five. So I was like, that’s not exactly what I was asking for. But anyway, these are all good gifts. There’s nothing wrong with these gifts, but I don’t think anyone would agree that those are the most optimal gift. That’s why this morning, on Christmas morning, I want to help you today gain access to a gift that has already been given to you.
The Bible tells us that on Christmas morning we received a gift. Jesus brought us something on Christmas morning. And I want today to tell you about that gift. Now, there could be lots of things that come by way of Jesus this, but there’s one really specific thing that I want to talk about today that I hope will be an encouragement to you. I think this will be a lot of fun. We’re going to look at Luke, chapter two. I had a clicker. I lost a clicker. So I’ll just tell you to change slides when I ask you to. You could start in verse eight. There it is. It says, and there were shepherds. This is right in the heart of the Nativity story. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. That’s the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. Verse ten. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Here’s the gift. It’s going to be good news and it’s going to cause you great joy today.
And then he describes the gift a little bit. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born and he is Messiah, the Lord. Verse twelve. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloth, lying in a man. Suddenly, a great company of heavenly hosts. So you have to picture it, right? So they’re talking individually to these shepherd boys and then all of a sudden a great heavenly host appear and they shine in the sky. And this is what it says suddenly the great company of heavenly hosts appear with angels praising God and saying verse 14 glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. In words to the shepherds, the host of angels sing a hymn of praise and the nature and the significance and the consequences of the events they just saw, they describe with this last term that you just read there. Peace to those on whom the favor of God rests. This is the hymn that describes why the birth of thank you, the birth of Jesus Christ bears the richest significance to the world. Why is the coming Messiah so important to the welfare of all of humanity forevermore?
They say, because he brings you peace. Think about it for a second. The summation of the gift of the Messiah is really simple. Peace on earth. I will submit to you today. That what so many people really want in life. And maybe they don’t even know that they want it. They don’t even know they need it. Is peace, real peace. A peace that the world could never really understand. A peace that doesn’t come from man, but from heaven. A divine peace. A peace from God. Because, and I don’t know how much you’ve thought about this but you can have all the money in the world in your bank account and have no peace in your heart. You could be married to a great person, a perfect person, and have no peace in your home. Again, cautious with your amens y’all. You can have happiness for a moment and then have no peace. You can have a great family and then there be some strife at work, or you can have a great job and there be strife in your home or in your own heart. What the world really wants, and they don’t even know they really want is a peace that comes from God.
And so on this Sunday morning, on this Christmas morning, I want to take a moment to again help you gain access to the gift that God offers on Christmas morning. The gift of peace. Amen. Are you with me?
All right. We’re going to work out of one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. It’s an Old Testament verse. It’s in Isaiah Chapter 26. If ou have a Bible, you can go ahead and turn there. If you don’t, no big deal. It will be up on the screen for you in just a second. And it’s a prophecy of the coming Messiah. If you were here last night, you heard me talk a little bit about Isaiah’s day just being a day of turmoil and day of chaos. But throughout his description of the future, he lays out just some snippets that say, hey, something good is on the horizon. This is one of those moments. It’s in Isaiah, chapter 26, verse one. It says this, In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. They had a weak city. The city was being just destroyed by this other group of people that were basically trying to take them hostage. And they’re like, no, one day our city will be strong. God makes salvation its walls and his ramparts. So it’s strong, but in a different way, because salvation is there.
Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. So it’s a nation categorized by salvation and then righteousness. And then verse three. I love this verse. You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. I love that promise. I want that promise. I would say I need that promise. The promise is that we can be kept in perfect peace. You may not even believe it’s possible. What is this perfect peace? The word peace in the Old Testament comes from a really rich Hebrew word. That’s the word shalom. You’ve heard that word before. It’s a pervasive concept in the Bible and most commonly relates to a relationship between two people. There’s peace here, but it also can mean something that carries, or rather it should carry, the significance of welfare or of prosperity or of wholeness. In some places in the Bible, it’s the opposite of harm. Shalom is the opposite of harm. It’s also synonymous in other places in the Bible with just something being good. This is an area of shalom, of peace. It’s completeness. And when we talk about peace or shalom, we’re talking about in context of your relationship with people, but it’s not just outside people.
It’s also your relationship with God, right? My relationship with God is AOK. Man, how many people want to feel that today? It’s a relationship with those outside in your family or in your community. My relationship with my community, there’s no sense of bitterness or hatred or discord or frustration towards anyone else. It also brings or has a significance connected to peace with yourself. You know, the dark spot in your past that you’re ashamed of, that you wish you had never done? The thought is, you know what? I’m okay with the trials God has brought me through, because on the other side, I see that I’m a better person. Shalom with yourself. It’s I’m good with God, I’m good with people, I’m good with myself. And again, it’s not just peace. It’s perfect peace. I am way more familiar with, like, imperfect peace. I would imagine that you’re familiar with imperfect peace. Maybe you’re more familiar with inconsistent peace. It’s like, I’m good, it’s peaceful until it’s not peaceful, right? It’s like when the bills are paid, total peace. When the bills are not paid, no peace at all in my home. In fact, I’m yelling at mom or mom, yelling at my wife, yelling at the children.
I’m like, I’m not even sure why I’m angry. But there’s a bill and all of a sudden there’s no peace in my life, right? Or there’s a situation in my marriage that’s just not right. And so it lingers. That discord lingers everywhere else. So you may have a little bit of peace somewhere, but it’s not perfect peace. It’s imperfect peace, right? And the moment something swaps in your life or something happens in your life with dread or fear or personal insecurity come along. And so anyway, the point is I’m more familiar, and I would imagine you’re more familiar with conditional peace, but the Bible offers you not conditional peace, but perfect peace. And it’s interesting, the actual original Hebrew text here, it says that God offers perfect peace, but he doesn’t actually say perfect peace. And this is the way you would translate it in it if you were just trying to translate the English words, it would say this, those whose minds are steadfast, you will keep in peace, peace. That’s what it says. It says you will keep in shalom shalom. So it doesn’t even say perfect peace. It just says double portion of peace.
If you’re thinking about it, using two words in a row is a way of kind of putting an exclamation point on it. Going, I’m going to keep you in peace. Peace, good. Peace, peace, peace, peace, right? I’m going to give you peace and then more peace than you need. I’m going to give you everything you ever needed to make you feel secure and whole. And then I’m going to give you a little bit more. Now, I want to be clear before we move any further because we’re going to talk about how to gain access to this peace, but I want to just say that peace does not mean you don’t have trouble in the world. In fact, the Bible is really clear. John, chapter 16, verse 33. Jesus says this in this world, you will have trouble. And just as emphatic of a promise, just as emphatic of a promise that we just read, God will keep you in perfect peace, this is also a promise. God is promising you that you will have trouble. So it doesn’t mean that you won’t have any problems. What it means is that you are able to withstand the trials because you have something else.
And so if you’re taking notes or if you’re kind of jotting the thoughts down your mind, I want you to capture one point. And this is the one point, this is the most important point that peace isn’t found in the absence of problems. But it’s found in the presence of God. You’re at peace when you’re close to God. Doesn’t mean you don’t have any problems. What it means is that you’re close to God. That’s what it means. And on Christmas Day, God allowed his presence to be nearer to man than it had ever been in all of history. Peace is God’s presence. It’s having God’s perspective. It’s having God’s assurances, even when life is anything but what you want it to be. And some of you might push back and go, I don’t know if I can be in peace if my marriage is a wreck, right? What kind of peace is that? Or how can I have peace when my body is decaying and my health is failing? Or how can I have peace when I’m struggling with my children right now and there’s like pornography in my home and there’s abuse and there’s anger and there’s fear and there’s frustration?
Like, how could there be peace again? I just want to show you from the scriptures that even in the worst of circumstances, peace is still possible. You’ll understand from the scriptures that peace will start as a battle, and then if you practice, you can find the peace that only God can give. So we’re going to go back to the text. We’re going to review it a little bit and get to know it. So this is actually the new living translation. It’s another version of the scriptures that says this says, you will keep in perfect peace all those who are fixed on you, God. That gives us a little bit of a clue as to how to gain access to the peace. You’re fixed on the truths of God, focused on God. If you go back to the NIV, it says, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast. Notice Isaiah doesn’t say he doesn’t say you’re going to have perfect peace when your mind is fixed on the future. He doesn’t say you’re going to have perfect peace when your mind is fixed on your financial problems. He doesn’t say you’re going to have perfect peace when your mind is fixed on your family.
He doesn’t even say you’re going to have perfect peace when your mind is fixed on yourself. I just really need to think about myself a lot more this year. That’s one of my New Year’s resolutions. I want to be at peace with me by thinking more about me. That’s not the answer. What you find is that when your mind is fixed on God, you can find peace. You’ll have perfect peace when your mind is fixed oh, sorry, go back. You’ll have perfect peace when your mind is fixed and focused on the truth of God. In fact, the word in Hebrew there fixed or focused or steadfast is this word Shamaq. That’s that first little word there. It means to lean, to rest, to support, to lay down. That’s what it means. It means to fully rest oneself on something. Right now I’m fully resting myself on this stage, right? You don’t know this, but this stage is dilapidated. We’ve covered it with this black thing in order for it to not feel as dilapidated. But if watch this, guys. See that? No bueno. Something you can think is like this. If you fix your life on something like this, you’re fixing your life on something that is a sandy foundation that one day will fall apart.
This is kind of like your future. You know, you’re like, you’re like, at any given moment, it could fall down and it would be a really funny Christmas story. You’re like, oh, I was at that church service, the stage fell down. That joker was hilarious. What do you talk about? I don’t know. But the point is that your life is fixed on something. It’s resting on something. It’s resting on something. And what the Bible is telling you is that if you fix your mind on the promises and the truths of God, you can actually find peace. Perfect peace is when your thoughts are resting on God’s unfailing promises. This stage will buckle and fall likely. We should probably throw it away. But the truths of God never fail. So you anchor your life onto something that doesn’t change, and in that way, it stays secure. Peace, perfect peace is when your thoughts are resting on God. So here’s a question for you, and this is something you have to take for just a moment really consider. What is your mind resting on? What are you thinking about? I could almost tell you whether or not you have peace by the way you answer this question.
Oh, I’m thinking a lot about my financial situation. Say, wow, you are living with zero peace. You’re living with loads of tension. Think about it. What does your mind drift to when you have idle time? What does your brain go to? Does it go to work? Does it focus on financial matters? Does it focus on what’s going on in the world, the things that are right, things that are wrong? Do you spend your time thinking about your future, about your career? Even about your kids? The Scriptures are trying to tell you this Christmas morning I think that the gift of God giving to you is a peace that you can have access to if you will change the place where your mind rests. If you will shift your mind to rest on the promises of God, you can be found in perfect peace. Scripture echoes this thought throughout the Bible. But in the New Testament, there’s a really powerful verse in Philippians, chapter four, verse eight and nine, which says this finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy worthy, think about such things, whatever you have learned.
And then he says, Look, I’m trying to help you. This Paul speaking, I’m trying to help you. Whatever you’ve learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice and the God of Peace will be with you. I want you to notice this. This idea of fixing your thoughts on God as opposed to the things of the world requires some practice. It’s a practice, it’s not a drug. You can’t go to the pharmacy and be like, can you get me a dose of peace? It doesn’t work like that. It’s a practice. You got to work on it. Today you’re going to leave here and immediately you’re going to be like, what’s for dinner? I’m in a rush. And then you’re going to lose the opportunity to be at peace. And then if you are trying to practice, which will bring your brain back to the thoughts about who God is, about what he is and what he does for you, the God of Peace is going to be with you. I just want you guys to know this, that I’m practicing this. I want to be really honest. I know this truth and I believe this truth, but I haven’t always experienced the perfect peace described in the Bible.
And this year, this year coming up and most recently, I found God’s words to be absolutely and completely true, that if I rest my mind on Him, I will find not circumstantial peace, but perfect peace. I got a brand new Bible app or Bible software that allows me to do basically some new journaling and reflection questions and all that stuff. And one of the questions that’s always asked at the end of the Bible journal thing is, how did God renew your thoughts after reading? And I’m like, oh, I don’t, I don’t even know how to remove my thoughts because I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just reading. So I’m trying to be very, very intentional, right, that as the day goes on and I’m not proud to say this, what ends up happening is I’ll read my Bible, I’ll get inspired. And then as the day goes on, my brain will shift towards the trivial or my brain will shift towards the things that I’m disappointed about or the things that I want to get, or the things that I feel like I have to do or whatever is the next thing on my schedule.
And so I’m trying to capture all those thoughts and then make them obedient to Christ and replace them with the truths of God. So I’ve been trying to tell myself in the midst of my own feelings of disappointment, God is good. I just repeat that in my mind over and over again. It’s my practice, right? Hey, God is good. No, no, God is good. He’s always been good. He’s been good to me since the day I was born and he’s still good right now. And even though there’s some weirdness going on, He’s good. And I try to tell myself there’s nothing better than God. I’ve been trying to tell myself that his promises are true. I need to hear that. I need to remind myself of that. Okay? God promises that he works for the good of those who love Him. That’s a true promise. I’ve been trying to remind myself that his promises never fail. That when I’m lost, that he’s a guide for me, that he’s also my strength in my weakness, that when I’m hurting, he’s a comforter, that he gives life and breath and everything else. I’ve been trying to remind myself of this. Maybe this will be good for you parents. That God cares more about my children than I care about my children. OOH, that’s a hard one. That he loves me more than I love my own self. I’m trying to fix my mind on those things, trying to turn my brain away from myself, away from the other things I focus on and towards God. Fix my mind on Him, because I know that if I do that, he will give me peace, peace. Shalom, shalom. Perfect peace. And it’s a peace that only he can offer. In fact, Jesus will say it this way later on peace I leave you. My peace I give you I do not give to you as the world gives. Thank God for that. Don’t let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. Notice Jesus says this my peace I give you. He’s not giving you some worldly peace. He’s giving you his peace. A peace that’s not found in the absence of problems, a peace that’s found in the presence of God. And so I want to encourage you today you’ve been given this gift. Now it’s your time to work to accept it, to get it, to go after it, to pursue it, because it’s what God wants to do.
And it may sound strange to say, but, you know, if you’re going through pain or you’re going through hurts or you’re going through fears or you’re going through challenges, I want to encourage you to give this a try. Because at the end of the day, you’re going to find something that’s unlike anything that the world has to offer. The Bible will tell us later on. The Paul will say, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, through prayer and petition, lay your request before God and the God of peace. And the peace of God which transcends all understandings, will guard your heart and mind and soul in Christ Jesus. It’s a peace from God. Not a circumstantial peace, not as the world gives, but a peace that comes from God. Cast your cares on Him because he cares for you. So here’s your practice as you’re leaving today. And here’s your little how do you gain access? So what’s your Christmas present? Peace. Do you want it? I hope you do. How do you get it. Here it is. And here’s three things that you can take away. You know, this is this is for you.
Practicing God’s presence. I want to encourage you to practice God’s presence this year. Pray. Pray. Maybe you haven’t you haven’t prayed in a long time. Why not try it? Why not try to get on your knees and pray a lot more than you prayed last year? Focus on the promises of God. Go through the Scriptures and read. Remind yourself that God cares for you more than you could possibly care for yourself. And then get around the people of faith who are going to remind you of these things. I wonder what would happen if you did this. I wonder if you would be able to feel tranquility in the midst of a crazy world that we live in, or you’ll be able to feel calm in the midst of the chaos. Or if your heart will be strengthened in the midst of heartbreak. If you’ll have a higher level of trust in God than you ever had before. And let me just leave you with this. Everybody I know that is full of peace has a high level of trust in God. They just believe God will take care of them and so nothing can rattle them.
You know, those people? Sometimes I feel like they’re annoying. I’m like, oh, well, you just got into a car accident. You must be really going through something. They’re like, God will take care of me. I’m like, but that’s the person you want to be, right?
That’s the person you want to be where every situation, regardless of what you’re going through, your level of trust in God is so high that you’re able to have peace. That is your gift on Christmas Day. Accept it, receive it, learn to practice it. And I pray that the God of peace will take care of you this year. Let’s go to God in prayer as we pray for the communion and we end with a couple more songs.
Father, we come before you with a sense of knowing that this Christmas Day, you did not want to leave us empty handed. In some ways, you gave us a gift in Jesus that has more benefits than we could ever imagine. The benefits package, if you would, is littered with so many different things salvation and life everlasting, and a community and a kingdom and the relationship with a messiah and all these wonderful things come. But, Lord, sometimes, and I would say especially in this culture, in this time, in this age, I feel like what I need and what the world needs is just the feeling of freedom from anxiety and freedom from stress and freedom from tension and something that feels like perfect peace.
And so I just want to say thank you, Lord, for giving us that, for giving us access to that, for telling us that we can be in peace if we fix our thoughts on you. Lord, I just pray that we’ll do that today. I pray that we’ll practice it, that we will not try two or three times and then go, this doesn’t work. But we’ll really focus on it this year. Like, we focus on working out, like we’ll focus on other things, Lord, that will focus on it and that we’ll find at the end of the day, that Your words always come to fruition, that if you promise peace, that it will come. Lord, thank you for being such a good God. Thank you for being such a great strength in the moments of our weakness. Lord, as we end our service here today by taking communion, I pray that we’ll reflect a little bit on the penalty of sin that allowed us to get peace. That being the sacrifice of your son Jesus. And as we eat the piece of bread that represents your body and the blood or the little bit of juice that represents the blood that was poured out for us, I pray that we’ll just be reminded of the way that you left us.
You left us a world that was better than what you received. And in so many ways, Lord, we have been given and gifted a life that we could never have on our own. Lord, thank you. Thank you for sending Jesus. Thank you for allowing Him to be crucified on a cross for us. We pray that on Christmas morning, we not only remember the babe born in Bethlehem, but we also remember the Lord that was crowned in Calvary. We love you, Lord. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen.