The Coming Peace | Sunday, December 13, 2020

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

In a year of rising anxiety, the prophets point us to the only true source of perfect peace—the Prince of Peace Himself.

What the Research Reveals About Peace

The other day Pastor Garrett sent me a link to a tweet from the Gallup research firm, one of the leading global analytics groups. One of their ongoing studies concerns mental health, and their most recent findings in the United States are striking. It will surprise no one that self-assessments of mental health declined in 2020. Only 34 percent of Americans rated their mental health as excellent in 2020, down from 43 percent in 2019—a 21 percent decrease year over year. If your organization's revenue dropped 21 percent, you'd be scrambling to stop the bleeding, and in some respects our culture is trying to figure out how to deal with the mental health deficits resulting from COVID-19 and the governmental responses to it.

None of us is surprised by the overall decline. But here is the fascinating part: only one group rated their mental health as having gone up from 2019 to 2020. Every demographic—Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, married and unmarried, rich and poor, and every age group from 18 to 65 and up—saw their mental health decompensate, save one. Those engaged in weekly religious services saw their mental health increase by four points. Surely there's no connection, right?

A Lifted Burden and a Deeper Need

I can tell you my own sense of well-being increased in the last 72 hours, because both my wife and I finished this last semester of school, and this is the last week before our kids' Christmas break. Many of you can relate—those finishing finals, or parents who have been guiding young children through at-home learning for fifteen or sixteen weeks. There's a relief, a weight lifted. Yet in the back of our minds remain concerns about our country, the elections, where we are headed, and COVID-19.

One of my classes this semester was on cognitive behavioral therapy, so I've been doing a lot of reading on mental health and well-being. It is a concerning reality that disorders of anxiety and depression have been on the rise—already rising before 2020, but accelerated like nearly everything else this year. Just as we've seen the trends of online shopping and decreased church attendance accelerate, so too have depression and anxiety. I don't think it is coincidental that mental health disorders have risen over the last couple of decades at the very time people have disengaged from church attendance. These things are connected, and in one way they affirm that the Scriptures are true: going to church, being part of the body of Christ, reading the Scriptures, and setting our minds on things above have a positive effect on our well-being.

Shalom: The Way Things Ought to Be

Nearly 3,000 years ago the prophet Isaiah observed this:

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)

Everyone desires peace, and not just peace but perfect peace. Yet peace as the Scriptures speak of it is not merely the cessation of violence and conflict. It is far more. In the Old Testament the word for peace is shalom, and in Isaiah 26:3 the phrase "perfect peace" is actually shalom shalom—an amplification.

Theologian Cornelius Plantinga Jr., former president of Calvin Theological Seminary, captures this beautifully:

In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.

Shalom is the way God wants us to experience life. When He breathed the breath of life into humanity in Genesis, it was His intent that we would experience this fullness of life—the very life Jesus speaks of in John 10.

When people ask me what I want for Christmas, this is what would be on my list. And I'm sure you would want the same: flourishing, wholeness, and delight—not just for yourself, but universally, for all people. This is what we deeply desire. Many in our culture who demand change and social justice are actually longing for this perfect peace, though they may not realize it. They have no idea how to make it a reality. They may naively think politicians and new policies will bring it, but you only have to live through a few election cycles to realize such thinking is juvenile.

A Desire That Points Beyond This World

The late psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs is basically a visual representation of this desire for shalom. And it is more than a desire—it is a need. For human beings to flourish, we need this kind of satisfaction. We need what only the Scriptures speak of with God as the source.

So is this perfect peace unobtainable? We seek it in riches, pleasure, politicians, fame—and we don't find it. C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, addresses this:

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy this desire, it does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy these desires, but only to arouse them, to suggest the real thing.

Your desire for something unobtainable by earthly means doesn't mean it is wholly unobtainable—it means you're drawing from the wrong well. Anything that only partly gratifies this desire only arouses it more fully. Why would God allow us to remain unsatisfied? So that we would be compelled to search and seek for what we deeply need, knowing that if we seek, we will always be brought back to this: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You." Perfect peace is possible, but it is found in only one place.

The Child Who Is the Prince of Peace

That's why I began with Isaiah 9:6—"and His name will be called... Prince of Peace." This child who is born, this Son who is given, is the Prince of Peace. Isaiah's prophecy, now nearly 2,800 years old, is a promise of a child who would bring perfect peace, shalom, that full human flourishing. The Son of Isaiah 9 is the one who brings the perfect peace of Isaiah 26:3 to those in darkness, burdened, and in bondage. His coming is the advent of peace.

A couple weeks ago we saw His coming as the advent of joy; last week, the advent of hope; and now, the coming of peace. He is the very personification of peace, because peace is an aspect of the nature of God. The perfect peace He brings is not complete for us in this life, but we have the prophetic promise of its fulfillment. If you receive Christ as Savior and Lord, you begin now to experience His peace, with the promise of its full realization in His kingdom.

Wounded for Our Peace

This peace is possible because of another familiar prophecy:

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows... But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:3-6)

This is the same passage Philip preached from to the Ethiopian on the chariot in Acts 8. Isaiah, living 2,800 years ago, looked forward to the Messiah—the child and Son of Isaiah 9:6, who is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Jesus was born to be wounded for our transgressions, punished on the cross so that you and I could have shalom—in part now in this broken world, and in fullness in His kingdom.

The apostle Paul says something similar:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. (Ephesians 2:13-14)

He is not just something that He gives or brings—He is our peace. If you read Leviticus, you'll find page after page of peace offerings, sin offerings, and wave offerings. Many people struggle to get through that book, but those offerings were all prophetic foreshadowings pointing to Jesus, who is the fulfillment as our peace offering from God. Jesus makes peace with God possible; once you enjoy peace with God by His justifying work, peace in His future kingdom is sure and peace in this life is possible.

Two Questions This Christmas

So whether you are white or non-white, rich or poor, male or female, on the right or the left or in the middle, young or old—none of those things ultimately give you peace. Peace is found in Christ. As we close, I want to leave you with two questions.

First: Have you received the gift of peace from the Prince of Peace? His peace is available as you put your trust in Him. He came and died so that you could experience it. We may never fully lay hold of His peace entirely in this life, but you can begin to experience it in increasing capacity. If you have never received this gift, read through the Gospel of John, see what Scripture says about Jesus, and put your trust in Him—simply praying, asking God to come into your life, forgive your sins, and fill your heart with His Spirit and presence.

Second: If you have received Christ, are you laying hold of His peace today? Many who received Christ years ago are having a hard time with peace right now, and I understand that—these are difficult and distressing times. But Jesus said:

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

This is one of those passages where the prosperity and health-and-wealth teachers run into Jesus. He doesn't say trouble is a possibility—it's an absolute, in the indicative mood. You will have trouble. But in Him you may have peace. Troubles are certain; peace even amid them is possible in Christ.

Laying Hold of His Peace

How do we lay hold of this peace? First, recognize that it is a benefit of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Peace is a byproduct of the presence of God's Spirit. So draw near to God through prayer, worship, His Word, and fellowship with other believers—even over a Zoom call if you're not comfortable meeting in person.

And pray a specific prayer. Jesus' disciples came to Him about prayer in Luke 11, and He said:

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?... If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:11-13)

As a dad with four young kids, I've heard plenty of Christmas wants this season, and so much in me wants to provide for them even when I can't. We are fallen and sinful, yet we know how to give good gifts. How much more will your perfectly holy and good Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to you who ask? So ask Him: "Lord, give me Your Spirit, and the evidence of His presence—Your peace, joy, patience, self-control, and love."

Peace That Rules the Heart and Mind

Second, in Philippians 4 Paul describes how this peace can rule your heart and mind—your psyche, the very place so many are experiencing distress:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

The gift of perfect peace can rule your soul by prayer. This is certain. I have experienced it many times and counseled others with it for years. When our anxieties are heightened—as they have been—one of the best ways to lay hold of the peace that guards our hearts and minds is prayer. The peace of God is yours; it is a gift He has promised in Christ.

Finally, Paul adds:

Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things... and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)

This is an opportunity—whether you are a Christian or not—to test what the Scriptures say. First, put your trust in Jesus, the Prince of Peace, asking Him to deal with the enmity between you and God because of your sin, so you can experience peace with God and with one another. And for the Christian, it is a great opportunity to test whether God's Word is true this Christmas season—to experience His peace through the presence of His Spirit, through prayer, and by setting your mind on the Lord.

Closing Prayer

Father God, we thank You that You promised we can have peace. Jesus, we thank You that You are the Prince of Peace. I pray for anyone who will hear this message—whether on the day it releases or months from now—that You would cause Your Word to draw people to know You and Your peace. Lord, guard the hearts and minds of my brothers and sisters during difficult times, as anxieties are high and troubles are many. I pray that we would be among those whose mental health and peace have increased even in hard times, because of Your Spirit and grace. Work in Your church; draw people to Yourself to experience this peace. Prince of Peace, come again, establish Your peace in the world forever. We look forward to the increase of Your government and peace, of which there will be no end. But until then, Lord, help us, Your church, to be peacemakers. Jesus, You said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Help us to be those who bring peace to others during this time, giving the gift of peace. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace; and may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God bless you.