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Show Ir( PEACE THE PRINCE OF PEACE: OUR Mr-Mr!:!LJff:t:1\ Isaiah 9: This is a Ephesians 6 timely text for this 2: 14-17 season of the year. For you do recall that Isaiah said Jesus would come as "The Prince of Peace." You do k:U/iJ early Christmas carol, sang that "Peace On Earth angelic host remember that when the it was and Good Will Toward All Men." We have been looking and working and trying to find peace for a long time. Maybe we ought to look in the Word of God and hear what the inspired Bible has to say about OUR PEACE. The prophet Isaiah brings us the promise of God renewed. For God had book of Genesis that one promised in the would come to bruise the head of the serpent of evil. Here He is announced as identified. He come right on time and is indeed the Prince of Peace. name shall be called ... ... And His The Prince of Peace.'" Apostle Paul wrote his letter to at Ephesus, he included a special When the the church " 1 available to us through Jesus Christ. Listen one more time to the words of The Holy Oracles of God: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath word about what was ofpartition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments continued in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which are afar off, and to them that were nigh. What a powerful word of assurance. F or not only has Jesus done something for us but He is something to us. He did not just bring us peace broken down the middle wall _ " but He is OUR PEACE. Give us me a few minutes to to understand Paul is means. see saying First, he reminds us if I can help and what he that we were caught up in enmity, anger, separation and division. We were separated by the "middle wall of 2 partition" which is 'the law of commandments continued in ordinances." In other words, we have had wedges driven between us by the moral and the ceremonial law . It separated one people for another people. It created hard feelings and hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews were thought of as being better, the chosen of God, the particular of God, sacred in the Divine commonwealth, while the gentiles were referred to as uncircumcised dogs, sinners, aliens, without God in the world, controlled side by Jim Crow laws. of the track while other side. Master has Jesus started one the other lived on the Since there come as our Peace. One lived on peace, The Prince ofPeace: Our was no OUR PEACE to put us who back together again. With His came as as one the cross, He tom down the wall that separates and divides us. He put us all on one death on level and leveled the field of human existence. We are not to think of ourselves 3 as something we are not. For we are all sinners. We have all glory of God. All of our goodness is but as filthy rags. We are all in the quarry of life nothing but rough material waiting to be tried in the fire of God's grace and spirit. Then and only, then are we made as pure gold. F or we can do nothing to save our ourselves, it is by God's grace that we are who we are. He fallen short of the sent His Son the Prince of Peace: OUR PEACE. This peace of ours will keep because it starts destroying that.which causes discord and by separation. He gets to the root of evil and cuts Like the dandelion, to just remove the it out. top is - to have it even. spring backup again bigger than The Master has come to rid us of all the give us peace. Furthermore, it reconciles and puts us together as one, not by the force of police bringing us to one place but unrest and the Love of God shed abroad. was not as if that price for our separation was The wall is completely tom down. enough, paid in full. And the 4 Enmity is replaced with love. Fear is replaced with peace. Death is replaced with life. He is the Prince of Peace. CHRIST IS OUR PEACE. tired and weary, but 1 must toil the Lord comes to call me away, "I am on till morning is bright and the Lamb Light, and the night is as fair as the day. When the the There the flow' ers will be is blooming, the grass will be green, and the skies will be clear and serene, The sun ever shines, giving beam, and no clouds there will one ever endless be seen. gentle, the wolf will be tame, and the lion will lay down by the lamb. The host from the wild will be led by a Child, I'll be changed from the creature that I There the bear will be am. No headaches or heartaches 5 or misunderstands, be, no confusion or trouble won't endless smile, there'll be peace and contentment for me. No frowns to defile, just a big Chorus: There'll be peace in the valley for me someday, There'll be peace in the valley for me. I pray no more sorrow and sadness or trouble will be, There'll be peace in the valley for me." (Hymn 446 by Thomas A Dorsey) 6 " / " " , , , \ . , , I ,. , ,t ',' r ) . : .: t ) .. ", \.'" ' ,I .' I ,-,,'" ,I ".". " .' P. , t l ). , -- -: : " ') , " ,( J. ; " ;, , , " ,. iI |
