Life With the King: A Kingdom Christmas - Kingdom Peace (Romans 14:17; Luke 2:13-14)

Series: Life With the King: A Kingdom Christmas

Sermon: Kingdom Peace

Scripture: Romans 14:17; Luke 2:13-14

Date: December 9, 2018

 

Last week's WEEKLY GROWTH SUGGESTION: Pray about the right way to celebrate Christmas.  Memorize Romans 14:17.

 

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17)

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"  (Luke 2:13-14)

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."  (Luke 2:13-14, NLT)

"The peace of which the angels spoke is only for men with whom God is pleased.  The Greek text literally reads, 'men of His good pleasure.'"  -John MacArthur

What does peace mean?  Peace (the Biblical word) literally pictures the binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or divided and thus setting as one again.

Only in Christ can true peace be realized.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17)

Do you seriously want to make Jesus happy at Christmas?

First, righteousness.  Doing what God says is right, which has a lot to do with how we treat each other.

When we treat each other in loving ways, we have a much higher chance of having peace in our relationships.

For, after all, the important thing for us as Christians is not what we eat or drink but stirring up goodness and peace and joy from the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17, TLB)

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Let's talk about three kinds of peace today.  Kingdom peace includes:

1. Peace with God
   • God is not ok with any sin.
   • We need to be as opposed to, if not more, our own sin than anyone else's.
   • "Come, all ye drunkards, swearers, Sabbath-breakers, adulterers, fornicators; come, all ye scoffers, harlots, thieves, and murderers, and Jesus Christ will save you; he will give you rest, if you are weary of your sins."  -George Whitefield (Twitter: @WhitefieldG)
   • Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 5:1)
2. Peace of God
   • We need to be careful that we want God Himself more than we want His peace.
   • 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)
   • Here are a few important words to help us celebrate Christmas with God's peace:
     • Prayer
       • Are you praying about it or just talking about it?  Prayer takes things out of your hands and puts them in God's hands.
     • Thanksgiving
     • Faith
     • Obedience
       • The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.  (Philippians 4:9)
   • Weekly Growth Suggestion: Which of these words will you pay special attention to this week to help experience God's peace?
     • Prayer
     • Thanksgiving
     • Faith
     • Obedience
3. Peace with God's people