This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Waterford Lakes, East Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Count from Luke chapter 2, verses 8-15. 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, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. This will be assigned to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. You may be dismissed. Sorry about that. I'll remember that for the very end of that. Hey, welcome again to Christ's Kingdom Church. This is your first time, a special welcome to you, really glad you're here with us. And before I really jump in to our sermon here this morning, I want to jump into something that's so important in life of our church. I've already mentioned it, but this is our outreach call to light. It will shine coming up actually a week from tonight. And I'm super excited about it. We're getting the partner with our sister church, University Presentory and Church with that. So it's going to be really exciting to see how God works and moves. And there's such a collection there of people between some of you going to come share your story with the cardboard signs, which I'm really excited about. And if it's not too late to do that, by the way, if you'd like to do that, or if you just sense the Holy Spirit leading you to do that, see Catherine Serbian before you leave today, or you can talk to me and we'll make sure you get added to that list. Some of our musicians with their musicians and so on, but hopefully most importantly, the most important role for the night is each of you to invite a guest, invite somebody. We challenge you back in October to be thinking, to be praying, asking God, who would you invite? Maybe it's a collection of people. Maybe it's a few friends. Maybe it's just one that's been laid on your heart. But this is the week. I wanted to take time right now to say, this is the time. If you wait till next Sunday to invite somebody, the chances of them coming are pretty slim. It's like, hey, it's just six hours from now. I want you to come. They may or may not, but you have a week right now. And this is the most critical time. People are looking for opportunities to invest in that. And right now I'm going to ask some of our ushers. I think Ted Solwick is going to help start distributing. We have those little invite cards here. And we've got several hundred in a basket that's going to come around here. And I just want to challenge you at least each of you to take at least one that you're going to intentionally give to that person. I'd love for you to take more than one. We'll print more if we need to in the week ahead here. But take a handful of these. Distribute these to your friends. Those that come to mind. Maybe have a few extra in your pocket or purse. So if you happen to run across mine, you thought, you know, they didn't even cross my mind. But I'd love to see if they would come and use these as a tool to invite your friends a week from tonight. 630 Avalon Park outside. It's going to be an exciting time. So here comes. We can do that way too. I just want to make sure people have the opportunity to get more than one if they need it. So all right. Lots of ushers. In fact, before we go further, let me just pray for that time as well. Again, God, would you just work and move a week from tonight in the hearts of those that we invite. God in our own hearts as we take time out as we pause to reach out to our friends, to our loved ones, our classmates, our co-workers, whoever it might be. To invite them to come and experience a night where they'll be reminded of the signs, the sounds, the hope of Christmas. And God, I just pray you would work and move in a mighty way, drawing hearts to yourself, including ours in the process. So we just ask you to work and move in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, continuing on in our sermon series for Christmas, we're going to take a break from the Follow Me series. We've been doing all fall. And we're going to start several weeks here where we're just going to talk about some of the messages, some of the themes of Christmas. And today's sermon is called Not One Without The Other. And I'll explain more about that here in a moment. You know, the Christmas season is often called the most wonderful time of the year. I mean, it's even a song, right? And I think there's been a movie made by that same title as well. But I asked myself this week because I was thinking about it. Is it true? Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? If you think it is, raise your hand. All right. Good, good, handful. If you think it's not, raise your hand. Yeah, some of you are not voting. All right. So we have some discrepancy. I kind of wondered about it myself. But then I looked here and I thought, you know, well, it seemed like from the stuff I was researching that actually for generally for most of us, it actually is at least one of the most wonderful times of the year if not the most. Think about it. There's a lot of things going on. One, most of us have some level, some amount of vacation time. You know, even if it's Christmas day itself, you just have at least a few days, some of you have a few weeks. Kids are out of school, right? Kids? Is that a good thing? Yes, right? You got kids out of school. There's inspirational plays, programs, movies that are going on and all about. You have time to see family loved ones that maybe you don't get to see, but maybe once a year. And maybe they'll be in town, or maybe you'll be going to see them. It's a beautiful time to exchange gifts. Yeah, you do that on birthdays, but to have a time where you really give expressions of love and appreciation to one another through the former gift giving, it really has some amazing things about it. When I asked myself another question, I thought, what about peace though? Peace on earth. Goodwill towards men as we just read. Is peace experienced more this time of year than any other? And honestly, I wondered about that because you got all the hustle and bustle and things going on. Statistically, from the reports and the studies I saw, it is. There is more peace experienced by the common person this time of year than almost any other time of year. Now, I'm not so much so much sure it's the weeks before Christmas. Maybe it's Christmas itself on that week after where there's a little bit more of the relax and enjoying the time and hopefully some of that vacation time. But it is actually one of the times that peace is most experienced. But if you look at those same scales of same charts, almost as quickly as it came in December, it begins to vanish early on in January. Maybe it's school starting back. Maybe it's going back to work. Maybe it's saying, having to say goodbye to loved ones that you got a chance to hang out with and see for a while. Maybe it's the reminder that last year's New Year's resolutions didn't stick. And now you've got that decision again. Can I make a new one that, and will it stick or not? Maybe it's the credit card statement that comes sometime in the month of January. As quickly as the sense of peace had swelled for a week or two in December and now dissipates like the morning fog at the rise of the first sunlight. It's a problem with peace. It's a peace problem. It can be there one moment. It can be there for a few weeks. But then it dissipates. Then it goes away as if it had never been there. So my question was, why is it lacking? Why is it so transient? Why is it so hard to keep? Why does it feel like trying to catch a snowflake in your hand? You catch it and then it disappears. The former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, along with many historians from England, from Egypt, from Germany, from India, they did some study of church, not church history of just complete history. Listen what they found. Over the past 5,600 years of recorded history of the world that they had to look at to analyze. There are only 292 years that they know in general there was no known war going on. 292 years out of 5,600. During that same period there were at least 14,351 known wars that they have documented. And estimated 3.64 billion people have been killed during that period of time. There's a key difference I want you to think about here this morning. The world looks to find peace on earth in hopes that it will penetrate the heart. But the followers of Christ find peace in Christ has penetrated their hearts. There's a big difference between looking for peace on earth and the hopes that something out there will sink in deep. And let me tell you there's something like Christmas time to fill your heart, to fill your mind with the hopeful things of thinking how nice this planet can be. I mean you won't see a single Christmas movie or show on TV that won't leave you feeling a little bit better. That was great or here of donations and people giving generously in hopes that something amazing is going to happen as a result of it. But it won't take much more than maybe next day's headlines or certainly January's headlines before you think where all that love and charity go. The world is not lacking for the passion to look for peace on earth. But it's very different for the follower of Christ who understands that peace actually came and entered earth. Peace came to earth and peace is a person and that person came to penetrate hearts. Two things I want you to see this morning primarily is first peace came. You're following along and you're sermon answer that might be helpful. Versus 13 through 14 that we already heard read this morning suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom is favor rest. Remember that principle every time we see the Christmas Carol heart the herald angels sing you know that verse heart the herald angels sing glory to the newborn king peace on earth and mercy mild. Why God and sinners reconciled peace came Jesus came. It was Jesus arrival to earth two thousand years ago that's what they proclaim the peace had come to those men on whom this favor rest. So it is so important that we must look back and remember that peace came. Why did it come? Well because it was a promise that needed to be answered. I remember from Genesis chapter three when that curse is given to Adam knee for the sinful choice they made to operate on their own independent of God came with also a promise that one would come that would strike the Messiah's heel but he would crush the serpent's head. There was a promise made right at the beginning. We had this the promise also reiterated through the prophets throughout the Old Testament of how they forecast and they proclaim we heard some of it read this morning here from Isaiah and so on about one that would come that would bring peace. And when peace came two thousand years ago don't misunderstand it was inaugurated it did begin but don't misunderstand that it was just though the beginning of what was to come. You know with all the racial tensions heightened in recent weeks whether it was things with Ferguson or some of the other things going on with some of the verdicts of grand juries and so on. I was thinking of the whole journey with this slavery in the Civil War. You know as June 22nd 1865 that the Civil War ended and in principle and even by law and through the support of the 13th amendment there was freedom from slavery. It was inaugurated but you don't have to know much American history to know that that was only the beginning. There was a long battle ahead. There is reflections and echoes of that battle still lingering even here today. You know the first century Israel misunderstood the peace that came when the Messiah came in the form of Jesus and now I'm talking about those that were followers of Jesus even misunderstood to some degree. They expected it to be a nationalistic peace. They expected that Jesus was going to come and really set them free from their enemies that they could see with their eyes. Primarily in Exhibit A the Roman Empire. That's part of the reason why some who were intrigued by Jesus would never end up following him because they didn't see how it was connecting. If you're going to overthrow the enemies like King David and others had in the Old Testament and this Messiah was being aligned and to be part of the legacy of King David. Why is Jesus delaying and overthrowing the Roman Empire? Well because Jesus's agenda was going deep to the deepest place for the deepest enemy lied. The human heart beginning with the heart of each man and each woman that hears the proclamation of the gospel is the offer of peace to come. Reconciliation between God and His creation. You see the followers of Jesus and all of us at one time were enemies of God. Apostle Paul goes to great links to point that out in the book of Romans that you were all once enemies. What that also means anyone who is not a follower of Jesus Christ is still currently an enemy of God. Now I know that doesn't sound like much of a warm cherry Christmas message but let me tell you if it's true to withhold that message is one of the most hateful things you could do to anybody. But to be reminded that there was a God who so much the God who was rejected the God who was rebelled from what sin his own son from heaven to come to earth to walk to be relatively quiet for 30 years. Not making a fuss to enter into our world for a good three decades and just be in it just to see what it's like with physical human eyes to walk among us. And then to begin his ministry short three three and a half years to come and touch the hurting to touch those who are the violist to touch those who were the most despised to touch those who are the most rejected. He touched those even at least attempted to who are the most arrogant he spoke truth. He came to bring peace why because peace was lacking. Now let me tell you as someone who loves you this morning if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ you are still an enemy of the God who created you. With all the hope that Jesus has to offer in the gospels that it doesn't have to stay that way that Jesus Christ came to reconcile to be peace. And he came to take your verdict you're just verdict of condemnation because you have rebelled against a righteous holy God he came to take that verdict on himself that penalty that punishment. So all the full righteousness of Jesus the perfection of Jesus the pure love the things that we celebrate about Jesus that clean perfect record could instead be handed to you and God would pour out his wrath on Jesus instead of on you. So reconciliation don't ever doubt came at a high price the highest price possible why because you have the highest price to pay a part from Jesus Christ. Do you realize that the advent season in traditional church history this this what we're celebrating here and even the purple candles purple is a surgical color for repentance in many cases in many cultures where the Christian church was was going you are not allowed to get married during advent. Why because it was considered to be a season of repentance. Jesus had to come and enter this world reason why he had to become sin in our place was a reason to grieve to be somber to think of the sacrifice that was made for you maybe in some small ways the ways we think about veterans day immoral day we think of those who've lost their lives for our freedoms. And we celebrate with somberness of knowing there's people that don't have those loved ones sitting around the table because they pay the highest sacrifice for our freedoms. It's a small picture of what it means we were called to celebrate him who is peace piece that came and we definitely should look back it's so important to look back. Remember that peace came because you do not have peace with God apart from faith in Jesus Christ and by faith you can know genuine peace to God. We're no longer slaves to sin but we're sons and daughters of the most high God when we become followers of Jesus Christ. And that is reason to celebrate it's very important to look back here's a thing I really want you to see but we must not look back without looking forward. We must not look back without looking forward this is the key point for the day the one thing I want you to think is you leave your be think of only one things this. We must not look back without also looking forward yes look back to the peace that came but also look in faith and hope to the peace to come the peace to come. You see the promise began two thousand years ago but it has not been fully realized yet the peace will be consummated. Let me go back to the example of the Civil War and slavery. Do you realize that remember it was in 1865 that the Civil War ended 1865 to 1875. Ten years federal troops were posted to enforce the emancipation process. Ten years federal troops were posted all over the South to make sure that was happening to make sure that was being enforced. Was it finished and done after those ten years. No okay but funding and other other reasons. Ten years was about what the federal government at least you know with the northern influence was at willing to do in that process and they pulled out after ten years at least the federal federal oversight of that. Do you realize and I didn't realize it took this long you realize it wasn't until 1941. Some of us were still alive in 1941 and all of us know people who were alive in 1941. That's how that's how recent in 1941 the 13th amendment was finally fully enforced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the process and anticipation with World War II and all that was going on. 1941 was when when some of the when the effort was truly given to make sure it was enforced since 1875. Now you can read the books or even see movies and documentaries that have been done on the show that yes slavery was slowly being subsided but it was a process it was a long process. And no wonder the reflections and the animosities and the struggle when we have some of these cases that come up like Ferguson no wonder it feels so close to so many because it's not been that long because there's still work to do. And let me just jump out for a second as a white man and challenge we as the church because the church has been way too quiet on this for way too long. We have a responsibility to step in and bring the hope and the peace that's offered through Jesus Christ. Ultimate reconciliation between God and man is the power to infiltrate reconciliation between men and women, country and country, race and race here on earth. And it's the only ultimate power to do that. So who should be speaking loudest with the most loving compassion, we the church. So I don't know how God calls you to respond to that but respond. We must not look back without looking forward. We look forward to what? To new bodies. Do you realize you have a new body to look forward to here in Jesus Christ? Secure Indians 5, 2, 3, 4. Meanwhile, the Apostle Paul writes, we grown longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling because when we are clothed we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we grown in our burden because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. How many of you feel the process of getting old? Come on, we know who we are. Most of us, some of your kids are going like getting my driver's license in a couple of years. Is that what you mean? No, that's not what I mean. All right, your medicine cabinet will begin to have life in it. Okay, when you know what I mean. Don't our physical bodies grown and thinking, wow, what's happening? What's going on? Yeah, it grows because it's not supposed to be, you're not supposed to live inside a body that's decaying. You're not supposed to. You weren't made for that. Let me tell you there's a heavenly body that waits for you. We must not look back without looking forward. And we have also a new heavens and a new earth to look forward to. Listen to what Revelation 21 says. John the disciple of Jesus says in his vision, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth. That means this one that you and I are occupating right now had passed away. And there was no longer any see verse five. He who was seated on the throne said, I'm making everything new. Then he said write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. You can read more in that chapter about what it looks like. That's where he talks about every tear from your eye being wiped away. No more sickness and pain and death. No more wars and so on. There is a new heavens. There's a new earth to come. So whoever told you that you're going to float in the cloud one day playing a harp was misinformed. Or had not read Revelation yet. We must not look back without looking forward. So let me just tell you a couple quick applications. Quit putting your hope in this physical body. So in different levels you can apply that. Quit looking to put your hope in this physical planet, this physical earth right now the way it will look. Does that mean don't recycle and don't be green? Absolutely not. If anybody should be more compassionate and more encouraged to take care of our planet because we're stewards of it, it should be us as the church. But don't put your hope there. Don't put your hope here because these things are passing away. There is a new body that we each will have. There is a new heavens and earth that's coming. And we're called to live in the in between now. We're called to live with the tension that we feel physically in so many ways. We're called to live with the understanding that peace came but peace is still yet to come. And I know many of you because I know your stories. You can tell me stories of how you've experienced peace in your life. But many of you if not if not each of us, I just don't know everybody's story here yet. Each of us will share also where you have real life examples of where peace is not there yet. A broken relationship with somebody. People that you haven't talked to in years. People that you still struggle with bitterness that still lingers from things from the past. Pain wounds. So so many Christians, some of us in the church forget the fact that we live in the in between. We talked to people who who pretty much have come to the place where they write off God because they thought this this peace on earth was going to be great. And when they first placed their trust in Jesus Christ and started to follow him, they felt peace. They felt forgiven like this is awesome. And then they realized that their problems didn't just evaporate and go away. In fact, in some cases, they were persecuted. In some cases, there were friends and loved ones that didn't understand that it was his and their change of things and wrote them off. Or shot them down. I know I think, hey, where's this peace you were talking about? It's the peace that's to come. Jesus Christ came in a humble way to bring forgiveness, mercy, and grace from God to bring peace. But let me tell you, ultimate peace is when he comes back the second time and he wipes out all his enemies. All his enemies. All his enemies. That's intense. But let me tell you, there is no peace on earth now if we don't have the assurance that there is peace one day that Jesus will come back and take care of all the problems. All of the problems. He metaphorically speaks about a revelation about our enemy being thrown at the lake of fire, the great serpent, and all those who stand against the Messiah likewise thrown at the lake of fire. Jesus will conquer. Jesus returns on a great white horse. The one who's called faithful and true. We have hope and trust in that. But we're not there yet. Romans 8, the Apostle Paul writes to you, listen to what he talks about here. He says, not only so, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit. What he means is that the Holy Spirit poured out as just the beginning. He goes on and says, we grow inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies, for in this hope we were saved, but hope that a scene is no hope at all. Who hopes what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not have yet, we wait for it patiently. Then he goes on and he talks about creation. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Let me tell you something, I'll blow your way. How many of you have a pet? Cat, fish. I don't understand fish. Why do we call that a pet? But anyway, okay. Do you understand, and I love it. See us Lewis. We'll talk about this in some of his writings. Do you understand that your pet is more obedient to the call of God in his life than you and I have ever been on this side of eternity? Do you realize you want to know what your pet's thinking sometimes? Because I know I do. I have a new dog, Chloe, and I'm always wondering what that dog is thinking. And you know, I could probably write a book, I think, if I figured it out. But I can tell you one thing that Chloe is thinking, besides when the next meal is, is this? How long? When will the sons of God and the daughters of God be finally and fully revealed? So that creation is fully restored. Your pet is wondering better than you, and more infatically than you, and more passionately than you, how long? How long? How long? Verse 20. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it. In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Your pets want to be brought into the glorious freedom that you and I can experience through Jesus Christ. And we won't finally experience until Jesus comes back. This is amazing stuff. Verse 22. For we know the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up into the present time. Some of you like to hug trees, the tree wants to hug you more than you want to hug a tree. Creation understands. Creation doesn't have a mouth to speak. Verily to tell us, a creation knows who the creator is. You think it was any big deal to the molecules in the Red Sea when the creator said, pull away and make a wall, so my people can walk through it? They bowed on obeyed every single water molecule in the Red Sea in worship. It's amazing. We must not look back without also looking forward. And creation is looking forward more than we are in many respects.
It will come desire of nations bind all peoples in one heart and mind, bid envy strife and quarrel cease, fill the whole world with heaven's peace. We sing. Simple application this morning. Some of us here are missing peace because we're looking at for it other places other than solely and ultimately in Jesus Christ. Your search is over. Find it and look to it in him.
Some of us are too peaceful right now. You're looking at the things of this earth and maybe you are already a follower of Christ. You're looking though at the things of this earth that really give you ultimate peace that you're looking for. So you can settle in your home. You can snuggle into the cozy couch at night. You can turn off the news recordings and not read the newspaper. You can withdraw into your own self-made monastery to retreat from a world that desperately needs to hear the message of peace. You, my friend, are too peaceful. In fact, we really should say you have a false peace. Jesus says, literally, he says I came not to bring peace but a sword. What do you mean by that? Because he is, right? The one that gives us peace with God. He's saying look, this hope of the gospel is going to divide. And he goes on to say it's going to separate father from child and mother from child and sister from brother and so on. It's going to be so divisive. It's going to separate even families this message of hope. Some of you need peace that you've never had and never known because you've looked for it apart from Christ. I have peace that's not the peace that Jesus came to bring. It's peace you're looking still to gather from here from earth. Oh, that job promotion. Oh, a little bit more money or a little bit more security. A little more control of my relationships and my life so I can feel peace here on earth. And that was the peace that God had ever meant for you to have because it's not real peace. Some of us don't long enough for his second coming. No wonder we don't look for it and even think about it or look to it because we don't long for it. We don't need it because we're doing okay right now. Step away from that. This Christmas season. Look and see those who are hurting around you. Be motivated to invite somebody to a Christmas outreach next week because not because it would make you feel good but because people are longing for the kind of peace that we talked about. That's only found in Jesus. Some of us are too peaceful. Some of us are not peaceful at all. We must not look back without looking forward. Bill Hybel's in his book, Simplify, since we've been talking about racism. He writes, he says, imagine Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. giving speeches filled with gentle hints about the evils of segregation because he feared pushing too hard. Imagine Rosa Parks during that same era in American history submitted to the bus drivers command to go for seat to a white person. Or imagine Nelson Mandela looked the other way when he witnessed an experienced apartheid in South Africa because he didn't want to make a fuss. So a daring question I end with here this morning. Can you, here's the question for you to ask God, God, how can you use me to bring the peace of Christ to earth in my spheres of influence today? I want to challenge you to ask God how he can use you to bring this peace of Christ to earth in your spheres of influence, in your own heart, in your own family, in your own neighbors, in your own workplaces. In our own country, in the midst of some of the chaos it's in, and then to listen and then to obey. So we'll be carriers of this message of peace that Jesus came to inaugurate and he will one day consummate as we live in this in between time. Close with Isaiah 9.6, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, let's pray. God just ask that you would come, and you would even in our midst in our presence here as your church here, Christ, kingdom that you would bring God your peace presence. That we would come, we would worship the one who is the prince of peace, that we would come, we would look back to see how you did bring peace and reconcile us to yourself 2000 years ago. And God, we will look forward to know that we are not there yet, that there is still a peace that is yet to come. And there is a message of hope of the gospel that we are called as your people to spread and to share in word and in action to all those around us. So God, would you fill us, especially your church at Christmas season, would you fill us, God, with your spirit, which is a spirit that portrays the spirit of Christ. That you, prince of peace, would dwell and would reign in us to lead us to be speaking reconciliation, God, into our own broken relationships, into our own broken country, God, into our own broken hearts. So God, we ask that you would administer that as only you can for your glory and for your honor. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.