From His Heart

Speaker 1

With Christmas on the way, are you missing peace and are you seeking to find it? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Speaker 2

Now. Remember this when we talk about peace. Peace is not the absence of trouble. It's the calming, reassuring presence of the Lord in the midst of trouble. That is real peace.

If you have peace in your heart because the prince of peace is leading you and guiding you and ruling you, that makes a statement to the world. Wow. There is something about that girl. There's something about that guy, that man, that woman. What is it about them?

He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope from his heart.

Speaker 1

Jesus is the prince of peace. His life on earth radiated peace. If you're seeking peace in your life, God put you here today to listen, learn, and live in peace.

Thanks for joining us on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, who today will have an uplifting Christmas lesson sharing just how the blood of Jesus purchased peace for you and me and how we can choose to trade our stress for peace. Yes, it's the peace that passes all understanding.

A message that runs through the whole series that we're in now called "What a Beautiful Name," Isaiah's description of the Promised Messiah. You can find out more about this series when you go online to fromhishheart.org.

Let's get started now with today's message, "The Missing Piece." Open your Bible to Isaiah, chapter nine. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 2

Christmas time is a time of food and family, fellowship, fun parties, and great music. It's also a time of Christmas movies, and many people love Christmas movies. You know who loves Christmas movies? The Hallmark Channel. They start airing Christmas movies around July. I mean, it just... Seriously, they started, I'm not kidding, they started before October 31, airing Christmas movies because people liked them so much.

And I think that if we are being objective, we would have to say that the greatest Christmas movie ever made was made in 1946. It's called *It's a Wonderful Life*. Would you agree that's a great Christmas movie? How many in here have never seen *It's a Wonderful Life*? Anyone? You need to leave. No, you need to see it. Hallmark Channel has only played it 50 times this Christmas. But no, it's on there and you can watch it. And it is a great, great movie.

For those of you that haven't seen it, let me give you a little bit of background. So Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, and he is just a kind man, a family man, loves his wife, loves his kids, works hard at the building and loan office that he runs, that he owns with his family, and works with Uncle Billy, who's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They run into a problem right before Christmas. Uncle Billy goes to make a deposit at the bank—$8,000—which doesn't sound like a lot, but in 1946, $8,000 was a lot. It'd be like $108,000 in our economy. And he loses the money. He misplaces it. Actually, he accidentally put it in Mr. Potter, the mean rich man in town; he accidentally put it in his lap, and Potter doesn't tell him.

Uncle Billy loses the money and tells George about it. "We're $8,000 short, sure as the world." The bank examiner is in town on Christmas Eve. Kind of strange, but he is. And George knows they're going to be in trouble. He says to his Uncle Billy, "You got to find that money. If you don't find that money, you know what we're talking about? We're talking about scandal, we're talking about embarrassment, we're talking about prison. Because they'll say we embezzled all this money."

He goes home Christmas Eve to be with his wife and his children. Not a happy guy. What was George Bailey missing other than $8,000? He was missing peace. He had no peace at all. He was worried, he was bothered, he was stressed to the max. He was thinking the worst was going to come upon him. He desperately needed peace.

Now, remember this: when we talk about peace, that's one of the wonderful names of the Lord, the Prince of Peace. When we talk about peace, it's not the absence of trouble; it's the calming, reassuring presence of the Lord in the midst of trouble. That is real peace. I mean, anyone can be happy, so to speak, from the world's perspective when everything is going well. But it's when things are hard, when things are tough. If you have peace in your heart because the Prince of Peace is leading you and guiding you and ruling you, that makes a statement to the world. "Wow, there is something about that girl. There's something about that guy, that man, that woman. What is it about them?"

We've been in a series for this Christmas season called *What a Beautiful Name*, based on Isaiah's description of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah, who lived in 700-00 B.C., talked about Jesus, who was to come. He says in Isaiah 9, beginning in verse 6, "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this."

Prince of Peace. But we talk about the missing peace because so many people who claim to be Christians don't really have peace. And it really shows up; their lack of peace shows up at Christmas time. It's the most wonderful time of the year, the song says, but for lots, it's the most stressful time of the year. Maybe you can relate to this little meme of this girl: "All I want for Christmas is one stress-free day." She's freaking out with all the things to do.

Now, how many in here? Well, you probably won't raise your hand. How many in here would say that you're feeling a little stressed? Christmas, anybody feeling a little stressed? Debbie, your hand needs to be down. A little stress. How many in here have still not Christmas shopped? Anybody? Okay, some of you, my hand's up. I've gotten a few things but need to get a few more; that can bring stress. Some people are just thinking, "I just want to get through the holidays. If I can just get through the holidays, just make it through." That's not how God wants us to live. He wants us to live in peace. The Lord has a name: the Prince of Peace.

Hey, let me ask you a question. Are you living right now? Right now? Are you living with stress and worry in your heart, or are you experiencing the peace of Jesus Christ? I want to share with you two insights from this name, this title, Prince of Peace.

Insight number one: Jesus is the captain and master of peace. That's what the word prince means in the Hebrew. It means captain, leader, lord, master, keeper—Keeper of peace. The Hebrew word for peace is *shalom*. *Shalom* is used in the Old Testament 239 times. That is the greeting that Jews give one another: *shalom*. It means more than just the absence of conflict. Externally, *shalom* means tranquility, contentment, well-being, and harmony within and without.

The Greek New Testament's corresponding word for *shalom* is the word *eirene*, and that word is used 91 times in the New Testament. So when you put those two together, this concept of tranquility, contentment, harmony within and without is used 330 times in the Bible. It's a huge part of the Christmas story: "Peace on Earth, good will to men." That was the message the angel gave to the shepherds. And the Prince of Peace has come—Jesus, who is the master and the Lord and the leader and the keeper of this thing called peace.

Now, if you're going to be the Prince of Peace and the leader and the master and the captain of peace and the keeper of peace, all peace kind of dwells with you. Well, then you better exhibit that in your life. And when we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, we see that his life just radiated peace. You look in the Gospels about Jesus, and there's just peace coming off of him. You know, the Bible says, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." How did Jesus attract such a huge crowd? You say, "Well, his miracles." Yeah, his miracles, but also his person. There was just something about him that was so attractive to people, and that something was his joy, his peace, and his love. His life radiated peace.

How do we know? Well, in Mark chapter four, they're in a big storm on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night. The disciples are fearing for their lives, and they're rowing and they're bailing and they're sweating and they're fretting. And Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. He was never worried. He was never stressed. He was never fearful. You never read in the Gospels where he snapped at the disciples. I mean, they asked him one dumb question after another, and finally he just snapped at them. Then he had to say, "Sorry, guys, I didn't mean to do that. I got a lot of stress. I'm getting ready to go to Jerusalem and the Cross." He never does that.

As a matter of fact, when he would tell his disciples that he was going to the cross, the scripture says he spoke these things plainly. He didn't speak them all stressed out; he just spoke plainly of what was going to happen to him. And when Jesus died on the cross, he was praying for his enemies: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He was making sure his mother was taken care of as he looked at John and said, "Son, behold your mother. Woman, behold your son." He was dying in such a way that the centurion never saw anyone do that because he was dying trusting God in perfect peace.

After Jesus breathed his last, the centurion in Mark's gospel said, "Truly, this man was the Son of God." His life radiated peace. Furthermore, his sacrifice on the cross purchased peace. See, Jesus is all about peace, and his sacrifice purchased peace. It says in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, beginning in verse 19, "For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness of Deity to dwell in him." Jesus is the God-man, and through him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace (*eirene*) through the blood of his cross.

Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death in order to present you before him, holy and blameless and beyond reproach. He made peace through the blood of his cross. That work of Christ on the cross—we call it his atonement—means covering. The Lord covered us. The Father covers us in the Son because of what he did on the cross.

Someone has well said atonement can be understood this way: it's at one ment. See, the Lord Jesus, who is God in the flesh, is as much God as though he were not man at all. He's as much man as though he were not God at all. He is the one and only God-man, 100% man, 100% God at the same time. Because he's the God-man, he can be our substitute. He can take the hand of God the Father, because he is God, and the hand of sinful man, because he is a man. He can bring God and man together through the blood of his cross.

He preached peace, he exuded peace, and he brought about peace, so there's no more conflict between man and God. He made a way where previously there was no way. His coming kingdom will be characterized by peace. Look at verse seven again in Isaiah, chapter nine: "There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness." When the Lord comes back to rule and reign in Jerusalem and sets up his millennial kingdom, the characteristic of that kingdom is peace.

It says in Isaiah, chapter 2, verse 4, that people are going to learn war no more. They're going to take their swords and beat them into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. There is not going to be war in Messiah's kingdom because he is the Prince of Peace, the captain and the master of peace. That's the first insight.

Insight number two: Jesus offers peace to you. The Prince of Peace, who embodies peace, as the scripture says, "The Lord is our peace." He Himself is our peace. He offers peace as a gift. You want a gift at Christmas? Well, how about the gift of peace? I think I told you before, I've never forgotten this interview that Barbara Walters did with Richard Dreyfuss. She was talking to him about his life and the struggles he had in his life. You know, he's such a famous actor and wealthy and all that. She said, "Richard, if you could have one thing that you don't have, what would it be?" And he said, "Peace. Peace. I want peace."

You know, the Bible makes it very clear. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks and he says, "There is no peace for the wicked," declares the Lord God. You can't have peace apart from the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. See, peace is not a commodity; peace is a person. The only way to have peace is through a relationship with Jesus.

Well, Jesus said to his disciples in John chapter 14, "Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." How does the world give peace? What's the world's definition of peace? The world's definition of peace? "Hey, you want peace? You know, if you win the lottery, then you'll have peace. If you have a bunch of money, somebody dumps a truckload of money on you, then you'll have peace. If people aren't against you and they're not talking bad about you on social media, then you can have peace." It's all external things. That's how the world tries to give peace.

They say, "Well, you know, here's how you find peace. It's in a bottle, it's in a pill, some drug that you take that can give you peace." It doesn't give you peace. Peace comes from God. "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." So Jesus said, "I don't give you peace like the world gives." We're not talking about an external thing that can make you feel better for a few hours. We're talking about real peace, lasting peace, tranquility, contentment, well-being, and harmony within and without. It's a picture of this spirit-filled life, and Jesus offers that to you and to me.

Now, here's the good news. So maybe you're here and you're saying, "You know, I can relate to George Bailey in that I have financial problems in my life." And I'm sitting here thinking, "How am I gonna pay for all this stuff that I bought? How are we gonna make it? What am I gonna do about next year?" Oh, I'm just so stressed out. You don't have to live... Here's the good news: you don't have to live worried and bothered and fearful. You don't have to live like that. The Lord doesn't want you to live like that. The Lord says, "Here's my peace. If you will receive me, you will receive peace."

You don't have to live as you're living, worried and stressed and bothered. Now, when I think of that, I always think of the story in Luke chapter 10 of Mary and Martha of Bethany when they invited Jesus over to the house for Sunday dinner. Jesus came with the disciples, and Martha is in the kitchen making a magnificent feast, a magnificent meal for the master. Mary is helping her, her sister. They're cooking and they're getting ready, and I don't know what they're having—maybe meatloaf. They're having meatloaf for the master, and it's exciting because Jesus is coming over. Can you imagine how exciting that would be if Jesus came over? Well, they were excited.

But then Jesus gets there, and as soon as he gets there, what does Mary do? She leaves the kitchen, goes in with everybody, and sits at the Lord's feet. She's listening to his words. Martha is left alone in the kitchen, and she doesn't like it. She says, "Lord, I've been left here to do all the serving alone." This is how the scripture words that: "But Martha was distracted with all her preparations." She came up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." Don't ever do that with the Lord, where you say, "Lord, this is what you're going to do. You're going to tell my sister to help me." That's not a good idea.

But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only a few things are necessary, really only one. For Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." See, Martha was saying, "Lord, you need to be on my side and let you and me tell Mary what she needs to do. She should get up and help me serve because this is meatloaf time for the master, and that's what's really important." She was all focused on serving the Lord, and Mary was focused on worshiping the Lord. Martha was stressed out, and Mary was blessed out at the feet of Jesus.

Listen, you don't have to live all stressed out and worried and bothered. You know, when we talk about worry, worry is an old Anglo-Saxon word. It's a word *wyrgen*, and that literally means to strangle. It's the picture of a dog who takes a shoe in his mouth and tries to strangle it to death. You ever seen a dog do that? They'll grab ahold of that and go back and forth. Well, worry is that thing that takes your soul in its teeth and goes back and forth with it. The scripture says that Martha was distracted with all her preparations. That word, distracted, means to drag in many different directions.

She's saying, "I gotta do this, and I gotta do that, and I gotta do this other." She's all freaked out over that, and she misses out on a tremendous blessing. That's the way lots of people live. Like Martha, they say, "Well, I'm serving the Lord." But listen, the Lord's not as interested in your service as he is in your worship. If you get your worship right, then your service will be with joy and not with worry and stress.

Speaker 1

Are you full of stress this Christmas? Are you wound up tight and about to bust? Well, you're missing peace, and God has plenty in store to give you. We're learning about peace today, the missing peace that grips so many who fail to allow the Lord to come in and control their hearts, their thoughts, their desires, and their actions. We pray today's lesson has steered you in the right direction. It's from the series "What a Beautiful Name," Isaiah's description of the Promised Messiah.

Hey, next week about this time, we'll be celebrating the birth of our Savior, the Prince of Peace. And that's the message that we share in some way or another in each of these broadcasts heard around the world and on over 850 radio stations each day across America. We're able to do that because of the generosity of our listeners who support this ministry financially and faithfully. The support that comes in December, the calendar year end, is essential for our mission, as we normally will receive about 25% of our yearly donations. And that's a lot.

We want to thank you this year for being a part of helping us by sending you Pastor Jeff's new daily devotional book called "The Heart Is God's Home Number One." It's beautiful and filled each day with truth and encouragement from 39 pastors and church leaders, including Pastor Jeff. It'll fill your heart with peace and passion for Christ. It's our gift to you for your support this month to help us at From His Heart. Pastor Jeff receives no income from this ministry; he's our chief volunteer. Everything you give goes to sharing the gospel around the world.

To get yours, call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-24253) or go online to fromhisheart.org and make that special year-end gift today. When you do, we'll say thanks by sending you the 365 daily devotional book, "The Heart Is God's Home."

Thank you for joining us today. I'm Larry Nobles, and we trust that you'll be right back here next time for part two of today's inspiring message, "The Missing Piece." That's on Thursday when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from God's heart. Here on From His Heart.

Speaker 2

There is tremendous truth There is hope that you always dream of he can heal every scarlet true real love real from his heart.

Speaker 1

From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.