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Advent Week 2 – is “Peace” –  The second advent candle (or also called “The Bethlehem Candle”) is purple and it represents peace.

  • One of the prophecies about Jesus calls him “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7). 
  • When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they ended their message by saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). 
  • And, when Simeon saw baby Jesus in the temple, he thanked God that he could now die in peace for he had seen the Messiah (Luke 2:29-33).

The coming of the Messiah brings about peace on many levels.

 

Last time, we talked about Hope

Hope is a firm expectation that a desired future will be achieved! Our hope is not ultimately in our own health, wealth, and prosperity in this life alone, but in Christ and his provision for us today, and His ultimate provision and blessings in the life to come. It is based on the promise of Jesus Christ overcoming all of the brokenness and suffering that this world encounters. When we have this hope and expectation, that gives us hope for today as we walk through the here and now challenges with finances, our bodies, and our material difficulties that can challenge us each and every day.

 

This Hope Results in Peace

There is a reason why hope is first in our Advent wreath, and that is because the result of hope is PEACE! Of all places to get a good idea of the connection between of Hope and Peace, it was at Forbes.com.  This is what it said… “Hope fixes the broken hearted, the lonely, the lost, and confused, and it instills a sense of peace and drive in them so they can move forward.”

Another way to process this word Peace would be this…it is a harmonious state of mind, and a tranquility that can exist no matter the circumstance.

 

Why Do We Need Peace?

We need peace because of these three factors:

1. Our Sin. 

We are born with a hostility toward God – We are born at enmity with God. 

“…the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7, NIV84)

This hostility is one that we cannot overcome on our own. There is no amount of good works that we can do to earn God’s favor to undo all of our rebellion and sin against Him. We cannot reverse the act of cosmic treason on our own. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NIV84) Sin breaks fellowship between us and God. Our fellowship needs to be restored, therefore, we NEED to look to Jesus Christ, who paid for our sin on the cross to settle our sin debt. When one turns to God, and trust’s Christ for their only hope of sins forgiven and future in heaven, one receives peace between God and man.

2. Sins of others that affect us

We need peace because of the hostility that exists between the Church and our world. The brokenness of our world splashes up against us individually and also the church! We need peace because we live in a world full of conflict. Just turn on the nightly news on the TV and tell me if there is more than one positive, hopeful story. This sin-cursed world impacts not only us internally, but externally through others!

3. Effects of the curse

The third reason why we need peace is because of the hostility against life as a result of the fall. There is sickness, disease, financial insecurity, political divide, culture wars, and yes, real wars going on right now…plus a lot more!  We long for peace, but when we look around, almost always we see nothing more than the opposite. We need PEACE. The only place where we can get it, internally, and also for this world is in the one that has the name “the Prince of Peace,” Jesus Christ.

 

What is the Result of a Lack of Peace?

  • Anxiety, worry, dread, despondency…
  • Workaholism…which could in turn think that one’s “salvation” comes through making more money or being busy at work and not having to think about the realities of life.
  • Materialism…Salvation comes through possessions.
  • Fear…fear that you will not be able to provide for your family.

What if you are feeling these things?

Spend some time alone talking to the Prince of Peace. Talk to Him about your need for His presence in your current situation. Don’t live this way alone. Talk to someone about what you’re facing, and the lack of peace. Get some solid discipleship and fellowship. When you are alone in the darkness, find others in your church to encourage you. In doing this, you could get some good counsel, which may bring about some restful peace in your very real situation.

 

What does peace look like?

When Jesus is with the disciples on the water, we read this in Mark 4:39: “And he (Jesus) awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39, ESV)

Peace looks like calmness. 

In the middle of your life’s storm, peace would be a calmness. Now, it is important to note that it is not the absence of the storm! The storm may be whipping around like a category 5 hurricane, but remember that even in those storms, there is a center eye, where there is PEACE.

We can have peace when we face the difficulties of the world because we have hope (as we talked about last episode).. and we also know and BELIEVE that the Prince of Peace is present in the storms of life. He can say, ”peace, be still!”

We would be remiss if we did not speak about these two verses about peace:

  • Philippians 4:7, NIV84 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
  • John 16:33 – “In me, you may have peace” 

We covered a lot of ground about peace, what it means, and where to get it.  But how does this impact our personal finances? 

 

Stewardship Application:

Because of our confidence in our eternal reward, we can have peace in the here and now knowing that all the problems of this world are temporary. Yet, we live in this world right now, and as we see and process what is happening around us, or around the globe, as ugly and terrible as it is, we can have peace because we are IN Him. As the economy is pushing many to some financial brinks, as it is becoming more and more difficult for some to make the paycheck last the month, no matter what is happening with your job, your health, with any and all of these financial and stewardship challenges before you, know for certain that you can have peace! This season we celebrate the birth of a baby…the God-Man, the King of Kings, THE PRINCE OF PEACE!  Yes, Christ could undo the tangled web of financial and stewardship challenges that you are going through right now, but most of the time, He is wanting you to know this…John 16:33 – “In me, you may have peace” 

This peace is available to you today, which is a peace that transcends time and space, and will be with you into tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day.

The result of Hope + Peace = JOY

Next episode we will shift and look at joy.  

Consider joining us again in our next episode on our journey of looking at the candles of the Advent wreath in light of its application to our stewardship…of what God has put into our care.

 

Next Steps

 

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