Peace on Earth
Micah 5:2-5a
By
Pastor Brian
2018.12.09
Introduction
a. 2021 is a difficult year. Hardly peaceful.
1.
Time Square kicked off 2021 with closure for the
first time as coronavirus pandemic raged on. By December, COVID-19 death
reaches over 800,000 in the US last week, the most in any country in the world.
Breakthrough cases of Omicron variant.
2.
Then there was the capital riot on Jan 6: “Stop
the Steal.” 5 people died. I watched in horror as the event unfolded.
3.
In the world, conflicts never stop. The fall of
Kabul. Russia protest, Myanmar coup, War in Gaza.
4.
Climate change: Record snow in New York,
wildfire in CA, flood in LA, tornado in Ky.
5.
Winter storm in Houston in Feb. Many people lost
power and had broken pipes. The damage costed over 100 billion dollars.
6.
Inflation in the US is 40 years high. Mental
health issue is the pandemic of the pandemic. Simone Biles dropped out of the
Olympics because of mental illness. There were school shootings. Random
violence in the street. Atlanta Spa shooting taking aim at Asians. Asian hate.
7.
Churches divided and split on political issues
in 2021. Hardly peaceful.
b. To be honest, I am really sick and tired of conflicts,
strives, and fears. Are you? I long for peace. I want peace of the world. There
are times I just wanted to ignore all of them as if they had never happened. Indeed,
the preaching team did not want me to talk about these unpleasant events. Can
we take a break? We want peace in Christmas time to be happy.
c. “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men” Luke
2:14. The message of the angels’ “good news of great joy for all the people.” Luke
2:10.
d. And Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give
to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be
troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27. What does this Jesus’ peace look like? How is it
different than the peace the world gives? Is peace even possible in this sinful
world? And how do we experience peace today?
e. Micah 5:2-5a
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to
be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth
for me
one who is to be ruler
in Israel,
whose coming forth is from
of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in
labor has given birth.
then the rest of his
brothers shall return
to the people of
Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of
the Lord,
in the majesty of the
name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure,
for now he shall be great
to the ends of the
earth.
5 And this One shall be our peace. (ESV)
e. (Preview)
1.
Think peace. Jesus is our peace.
2.
Hope peace. Jesus is our blessed hope.
3.
Practice peace. Jesus gives us peace.
1.
Think peace.
Jesus is our peace. Micah 5:5a
a.
The prophet Micah lived about 700 years before
Jesus was born. Micah means “to see.” Like the other prophets, Micah saw things
everyone else wanted to ignore. He saw things much worse than gangs of thugs
beating up little guys. He saw unspeakable violence and injustice (2:9; 3:1-2).
But God promised better days. “Remember, Micah; someone is coming who will
bring peace.”
b.
In the midst of dark time, the promise of peace
came to Micah. The Coming One will judge between many peoples and will settle
disputes for strong nations far and wide (4:3). Under his person’s leadership,
the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they
train for war anymore.
c.
This is a beautiful picture of deep and rich and
wide peace. The Jews described this peace with the Hebrew, SHALOM. What does Shalom
look like?
i.
#1, Shalom, meant much more than simply the
absence of war or conflicts. More. It indicated more than a positive state in
my soul or a private transaction between God and me. Personal peace. More! The
Jews peace was much bigger and broader. Shalom means wholeness, wellness, and
completeness throughout all creation. It meant the end of injustice. It meant
the rich would no longer devour the poor. It meant all brokenness would be set
right and healed. It meant that people would love one another. Shalom would
flow deep and broad, embracing all of creation. Do you want to be well, Shalom?
ii.
#2 The hope of shalom is wrapped up in a person:
the prince of peace, Jesus. He will be our peace. Micah said, Someone is
coming, who will open the door to peace. The prophet Isaiah put it this way:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called the Prince
of peace. Micah tells us that He is to be
the ruler uniting His people—the believing community, his brothers. He shall
stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD. He is the Judge,
Ruler, Brother, Shepherd, Our Peace, and Deliverer. Verse 2. He will come
quietly that you just might miss it. He will come from Bethlehem, a quiet and
insignificant town. It is located 5 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem with an
elevation of 2500 feet. The city is situated within the hill country of Judah.
A very small city. Albright estimated that at the time of Jesus, there were
around 300 residents. When God brings peace, he will do it so quietly that you
just might miss it. That is the way God’s shalom comes: not with a marching
band and hoopla and press coverage, but quietly and to unlikely people. He is God’s peace giver. “He will
stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord… and they will live
securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”He
will be our peace. Peace is Christ.
1. Know
Christ, know peace. Knowing who is in my life, we have peace. No Jesus. No
peace. This is very different than our understanding of peace. This peace is
not from the world, from the outside, but from knowing Christ, our peace.
a. e.g.
Jesus in the midst of the storm on the boat with the disciples. Jesus is their
peace.
b. e.g.
Grandpa is around. I can do anything. Sliding the 3.5 ft bed. Know Christ. Know
peace.
2. Our
confidence is in Christ. Christ is our peace.
iii.
#3 The peace Jesus gives is not as the world
gives. 。John 14:27 The
counterfeit peace that the world gives:
1. First
of all, the peace Jesus gives not as the world gives is an intelligent peace,
not a stupid peace, as Tim Keller called it.
2. Some
years ago, I asked a doctor who worked in the emergency room how he dealt with
all the pains and suffering he faced everyday. Dying, violence, chaos,
everyday. He said, “Just not thinking too hard about them.” The counterfeit
peace is the same way. If you want peace, don’t think about it. Close your eyes
if you want peace.
3.
We have people who don’t go to the doctor. No
doctor. No bad news. Then I will be fine. Peace of mind.
4.
We have abusive husbands. But the wives refuse
to deal with it. Close your eyes to the truth. I am fine. Peace of mind. If you
think too much, you will see life is a terminal disease. If you reflect too
much, you will begin to see you don’t know why you are here. You don’t know how
to deal with all the troubles of the world. Don’t look. Don’t think. Act dumb.
We develop a shield. Become indifferent to troubles. Stupid peace.
5.
The counterfeit peace finds substitutes to distract
us. How do we deal with bad grades? Stay in my room and play video game all
days. This is how addictions work. Take our attention away from troubles. Counterfeit
peace.
6.
Sometimes anxiety is like the tumbling feeling
in the stomach that felt more like rocks in a dryer. We choose to just ignore
it. Just go on as if nothing happens. That is the peace the world gives. Stupid
peace.
7. Secondly,
another counterfeit peace is the happy peace. Not sad. Happy all the time. If I
am happy, I have peace. Our thinking is that peace equals to prosperity. We
have what we want. Then we have peace. We have the next thing. Then we have
peace. But you never see any place in the Bible that tells you it is wrong to
be sad. There are a lot of places in the Bible that exhort you to be joyful.
But there is never any place in the Bible that tells you it is wrong to be sad.
The Bible is always telling us to rejoice in our sorrows. The Bible is assuming
Christians will be sad. Why? Because we live in a very, very sad and painful
world.
8. Jesus
the man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. We are supposed to rejoice in our
sorrows. Peace is not without sorrows. Peace is knowing who are with you in
sorrows.
9. Testimony:
“I am so sad but also so peaceful.”
d.
Think intelligently. If Christ is your savior
and you know what your future is, then the greater your alertness, the great
your awareness, the greater your peace. Jonathan Edwards says Christian peace
and only Christian peace is a reasonable peace. Peace comes when you begin to
think.
e.
Paul said, “Take every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor 10:5. Control your thought to make it obedient to
Christ. Your thoughts matter in experience God’s peace. Not to ignore the
troubles and sorrows of life, but to control your thought in knowing Christ. He
is with you. Know Christ. Know Peace.
f.
Some of you may say, “Look, I understand that. I
know that, but I don’t have peace. My fears are still there.” Don’t forget that
Jesus also sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s job is to remind you of
all the things that Jesus said. The peace comes when you allow the Holy Spirit
to take Jesus’ words and to drill them in.
g.
Action items: Practice the presence of Christ in
my life. Read the words Jesus said. Read the Bible. The more you know Christ,
the more peace you have. To know peace is to know Christ.
2.
Hope peace. Jesus
is our blessed hope, Micah 5:2-4
a.
The first coming:
i.
From the little town of Bethlehem, the Savior
will come forth. The first time He came as the humble King. Peace on earth and
goodwill toward men is announced to the shepherd. The promise of peace is
fulfilled. The peace we are aching for that seems out of reach has come. The
Messiah has come.
ii.
In the words of Zacharias, “Because of the
tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO
SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet
into the way of peace." Luke 1:78-79
iii.
The entire host of angels start singing, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on
earth to all whom God favors.” Luke 2:14
iv.
This is the One the prophet Micah has promised.
Around the globe on Christmas Eve, followers of Jesus will celebrate the coming
of the peace God intended for his creation, once lost because of sin and longed
for by all creation, has come in Jesus. He is the one Micah has promised, who
would be our peace.
b.
The second coming:
i.
The peace has come in Christmas. And it will be
fully realized when Jesus comes again. We will see him face to face. All
creations will be well. Complete. No more death. No more fear. No more
conflicts. God dwells with His people. Our faith is oriented not just to the
past but to the future.
ii.
Jesus is Our blessed hope. At his second coming,
Jesus is the future King. The promise of peace will be fully realized.
c.
Now we are living in between two comings: the
already but not yet. Peace is here but not fully yet. Hope peace, blessed hope.
d.
Mr. Yang who passed away last night at the age
of 93. Sad but we have peace, knowing that he is with the Savior and we will
see him one day.
3.
Practice Peace.
a.
Live peace without fear
i.
Jesus said, “If you have my peace, there will be
no more fear.” Fear is the opposite of peace. The test whether you have peace
is not whether you are sad or have sorrows. It is whether you have fear. We may
think that there are many reasons for fear. The fear of rats. The fear of
COVID. The fear of death. The fear of people. But ultimately, fear comes from
sin. Separate from God.
ii.
Genesis 3. Adam and Eve are in the garden.
Everyday God came and walked with them in the cool of the garden. When God came
near, they ran to God. They knew no fear. The moment they have sinned, they
became fearful. They were afraid and hid in the bushes. They were afraid.
iii.
The disciples were afraid of the storm even with
Jesus on their boat with them. They were people of little faith. I am afraid
when I think I am alone facing all these troubles.
iv.
Do not fear. God’s command to us repeated more
than 350 times in the Bible. I am the Lord your God. I am your Savior. Do not
fear. Know peace. No fear.
v.
Actions: “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 comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil
4:6-7. Pray the passage. Write out it out. Meditate on them. Live peace without
fear.
vi.
My experience during COVID in the last two
years: Always come back to the Scriptures for peace.
b.
Make peace.
i.
This peace is first peace with God. Everything
Jesus did was designed to reconciled us with God the Father.
ii.
Second, the Messiah calls us to join his
revolutionary movement of bringing shalom to a broken world. We begin this
peacemaking in our homes and neighborhoods.
iii.
Live in peace in a divisive culture. Speak the
message of peace to our neighbors especially those who don’t agree with us.
iv.
Live peace in our home and in our world.
Conclusion
Christmas Greeting: Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus.
