"God Is With Us"
Matthew 1:18-25
Sunday, December 23, 2012

Introduction: This fourth Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of “Peace.” But whenever I think of this word “peace,” it is hard not to think of our world situation. Here are some headlines in the paper:      “5 Iraqi Police Officers, Marine Slain in Attacks.”

   “Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Poisoned.”/  “Grenade Explodes at concert in Sri Lanka, killing 2.” “Conservative government in Portugal quits adding to political chaos.”

I don’t hear a lot of peace going on there, do you?

            And then I look around our community, our neighborhood, the people that are around me, and see conflict in marriages, conflict in families, conflict in friendships. How can we talk about peace when it seems that there is so little peace to be found? This morning, I want to say that we must talk about peace because of what is going on in our world! It is important for us to understand that there is really only one place for peace to be found, and that is in God!

I.                   Let God Know- (Philippians 4:6-7)

Too often in life we are not at peace because we try to do everything on our

own; this is the sin of independence. God desires for us to be dependent on Him. We were not created to be separate from God. We were not created to handle our trials or problems alone. God designed it for us to be in constant communion with Him. So when we try to do it alone, we have great worry and struggle, because we don’t have the power to do it on our own.

            We are told in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 6-7: “Do not worry about anything, 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 your minds in Christ.”

a.      Let your requests be known- The first important piece of information

that the apostle Paul tells us, is that we must make our requests be made known. Unless we make our requests known, what ends up happening is that we keep them to ourselves and seek to solve our problems by ourselves. In this case, God is not going to barge in and take over. God knows what we are going through, but will wait for us to ask for His help, His guidance, His power. And what also happens is that we worry. We worry because our situation doesn’t change; we worry because we get tired and frustrated; we worry because we can’t solve the problem.

            When you make your requests known to God, you have taken the first step of acknowledging that you can’t do it on your own; you acknowledge that it is going to take more power than you have; you acknowledge that the God of creation, who created all things, can affect the situation better, and with greater wisdom than you. This is a good step; a needed step; a life-changing step.

            So when you come to God in prayer, God not only receives the information you give, not only is given permission to work, but even more God begins to affect your spirit. And this needs to happen in everything. Paul reminds us that we need to take everything to God in prayer. Why? Because it is not only the big things, but the small things as well that disturbs our peace. As someone once said: “There is nothing too great for God’s power; and nothing too small for His fatherly care.”

            It is interesting to see how so many people are comfortable about praying for others, but they are uncomfortable about praying for themselves. When we get the prayer requests up front on Sunday mornings, 95% of the time they are asking for prayers for other people. That is okay, but the apostle Paul reminds us that it is okay to ask for prayers for ourselves too. And not just that, but it is okay to PRAY for ourselves! Only you know your real needs. Share them with God. Ask for help.

            On top of all of this, we pray with thanksgiving; thanksgiving for the past blessings of answered prayer, and thanksgiving for knowing that God will bring to us future blessings. We receive peace when we acknowledge God’s availability and the blessings that come from being able to even come to God and ask. We receive peace when we put our trust in God!

b.      Peace of God will guard your hearts- So through prayer, God affects our

spirit. But how does God affect your spirit?

God brings peace to you. And what kind of peace? The peace that surpasses

all understanding. It is not so much that this peace is a mystery that we cannot understand, but it is a peace that we cannot produce. It is not by our contriving, but by God’s giving that this peace comes. And it is a peace that is not normally seen in our world, because as sinful people we struggle to be at peace with ourselves and God.

            STORY: “The Mother and the ADD Child”- The other day I read about a mother whose son was hyperactive. She tried everything to calm him down. Drugs. Therapy. Discipline. It all failed. Finally, in desperation she grabbed her son during one of his episodes and held him in a tight, loving embrace. She quietly sang to him and spoke words of affection. At first his thrashed and squirmed, but then after some time he quieted down. He rested in his mother’s arms. She set him down, and the peace lasted! Now every time he has an outburst, this is what she does: she holds him until she quiets him.

This is what God wants to do for us, hold us until we feel His peace. God’s peace is a peace that calms our soul; a peace that takes away worry, because we can be confident that “all things are possible” in God; a peace that causes us to feel safe and secure and in good hands!

c.       Guard our hearts- Think about life. In life we are constantly bombarded

with situations and occurrences that bring hurt and confusion. When we lack peace in our lives, we actually are hearting our heart. The pain of life is damaging.

Someone once said: “Peace is the brief glorious moment in history

when everybody stands around reloading.” (…The Tardy Oxcart, p. 431)

Life can feel this way, when the only time there is peace and calm in our lives is that moment when the world is reloading to shoot at us again. So where is our help? Where is our protection? The apostle Paul gives us the answer…it is in peace. The peace of God that guards our hearts!!!

            This is really a military metaphor here. Not only do we feel like we are in a war sometimes, but this lack of peace we feel comes from the spiritual war we are in. So the idea here is that the peace that God can give to us ‘will keep guard over’ our hearts.

But lastly, we see in Philippians that this peace is the ‘peace of Christ.’ It is only because of Christ that we can have peace. Without Christ coming into this world and saving us, we would not have the hope of peace, because we would be lost in our sin; lost in our worry; lost in our anxiety. So peace comes from having Christ in our lives. Not in a superficial way, but by being deeply committed to Christ, and giving all of ourselves to Christ!

II.                Let God Go- (Matthew 1:18-25; John 14:27)

Let’s talk a little more about the peace that comes when God is at work. It is

not enough to just tell God about our situation, our worry, our problem. We must step back and let God work. That means that we have to back off, and only get involved in times and ways we feel God leading us.

            Here’s an Ex. Let’s say you have gone to Home Depot, and you have

purchased an entertainment unit; one of those units that have to be put together. You know you aren’t too handy at putting things together, but  you want to save some money, so you take it home and try to put it together yourself. In time  you realize you can’t do it. So you hire someone to do it for you. Now imagine that they are in your home putting it together, and you are constantly stepping in and trying to help. That is not going to be helpful. You will just be getting in the way (unless he asks you to hold something or hand him something). So it is with us and God. We have to let God work!

a.      God with us- In Matthew 1:18-25, we read the story of Mary being told

that she would give birth to the Messiah, the Son of God. And all this would take place to fulfill the scriptures. Which really means that it took place to fulfill the will of God. It was God’s will for God the Son to come to this earth to be with us. And how does this relate to the idea of peace? We receive peace when God walks with us! And we are able to be in this relationship with God because of what who Christ is: the Prince of Peace, come to bring peace into all our relationships.

            This is something that has to be learned. So don’t be discouraged when you fail to receive the peace of God; when you fail to comprehend how God’s presence should bring peace to your life. The disciples struggled with this as well.

            FOR EXAMPLE- Story 1: In Mathew, chapter 8, the disciples are in a boat on the water. You know the story. A storm arises. Jesus is with them, so they are all at peace. Right? Wrong. They are fearful, and rebuke Jesus for being asleep while they are in danger. Of course we know that Jesus does calm the storm. But we also see that He let them encounter the storm. The storm came, Jesus was with them, they should have had peace in this, but they didn’t. They ask Jesus for help, Jesus calms the storm, and they feel some peace. But not the same kind of peace had they trusted that all would be well with Jesus in their midst!

            Story 2: In Matthew, chapter 14, Jesus is teaching the crowd. It is becoming late, and the disciples know that the people will need food soon. So of course they know that because Jesus is there, all will be well. Right? Wrong. They get worried and strongly ask Jesus to send the crowd home, for the hour is late and they need to go into the village to buy food for themselves. Jesus feeds this large crowd of 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. They were not at peace because they were worried about how to feed the people.

            Story 3: In Matthew, chapter 26, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, who tells the chief priests where Jesus is. The chief priests and elders go to arrest Jesus. As they approach all is calm and peaceful. Right? Wrong. One of those with Jesus draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the slave of the high priest. Jesus quiets everything with His words, heals the ear of the slave, and then goes quietly with the chief priests to be put on trial for blasphemy. Jesus brings peace in a situation of great conflict.

            The point is, that Jesus came to show us how to live in peace, but time and time again, His followers get it wrong. We fail to see that when God is with us, we have the peace of God in our lives. We fail to hold on to this peace from God, and because of this we let the situations around us rattle us and cause chaos in our lives.        

b.      Not the peace of the world- Illus.- “St. Jerome and the Lion,” Stories For

the Journey, p. 74.- In the fifth century Jerome and a small group of monks lived in a monastery in Bethlehem. One day as the monks left the chapel a lion limped into the monastery courtyard. All the monks fled in fear except for Jerome, who stood still before the lion. Jerome watched as the wounded lion moved slowly toward him. When the lion was in front of Jerome, he lifted his paw to him… Jerome examined the lions paw and discovered a large splinter buried deep in the flesh. He took it out with a pair of pliers and wrapped the wound… Instead of lion the monastery, as the monks had hoped, the lioncurled up near Jerome’s room and fell asleep. As the days passed the lion acted like a permanent guest…Jerome asked all the monks to gather in the courtyard around the lion. He then said in a loud voice: “No one can remain in the monastery and remain idle. Everyone must have a job, including you (pointing to the lion).” He continued speaking to the lion: “Your job will be to accompany the donkey who goes into the forest for firewood each day. You will provide protection from the robbers and wolves.” The lion waved his tail showing he understood…In the days that proceeded, the plan worked perfectly. Each day the donkey, an old man, and the lion would travel into the forest to get firewood…One hot afternoon, as the lion was keeping watch, the lion fell asleep. When he awoke the old man and the donkey were gone, taken by merchants. The lions new job was to fetch the firewood. One afternoon the lion saw a caravan of merchants passing in the distance with his friend the donkey. The lion moved toward the merchants. The merchants, seeing the lion, scattered in fear, all running to the monastery. There they confessed their sin and asked for forgiveness. Jerome forgave the merchants. The other monks from this point on believed in the lion, and confessed their sin for doubting….If you ever see a picture of St. Jerome, you will see a lion at his feet!

            In Isaiah 11:6 we are told that a lion will lie down with a calf; a symbol of peace. And in John 14:27 we hear these words of Jesus: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”            This world is full of judgment and lack of forgiveness. We cannot be at peace when we judge others. We cannot be at peace when we do not forgive. We cannot be at peace unless we understand that these are gifts of God to us: ridding ourselves of our own sin, and setting aside the desire to dwell on those sins of others that have hurt us. God is with us. Let His presence give you peace.

Conclusion: We are told in Matthew 1:21 that Mary will bear a son (the Messiah), and name Him Jesus, and His purpose is to save His people from their sins. It is our sin, and the sin of the world that keeps peace from happening in the world. It is our lack of acknowledging that we need God in our lives that keeps peace from happening. Not just receiving a little bit of God, but all of God that we can. It is our inability to trust God that keeps us from experiencing peace.

            As I said before, we have to talk about peace, even in the midst of conflict, war, and unrest in our world. In the midst of our lives, the only thing that keeps us going and keeps us sane, is the peace of God. May we receive God’s peace today, and let God guard and guide our hearts, as His presence is ever with us. Amen.