You were made for peace, and we’ll dig into that this morning, and the enemy is aware that if he can rob you of peace, it will take you to dark places - In fact, the number one thing the enemy is trying to steal from you is your PEACE.

Whether it’s in your marriage or some other relationship, or your overcommitted schedule, or your career, the way you look physically, or simply your outlook on life, the thing we are all longing for is PEACE – calm, the absence of conflict, resolution – And here is the challenge: the enemy uses PEOPLE, PROBLEMS, PACE to create havoc in your life, but Steven Furtick says that the real enemy of PEACE is PERFECTION – and in order to gain PEACE, we must surrender our need for PERFECTION, because PERFECTION demands that everything happens exactly the way I want it to happen, and it’s always in my favor – do you see it? Your quest for everything to work out perfectly and wrapped up with a bow on top is what you perceive will bring you PEACE – realistically, it may bring you happiness, but happiness is momentary because it depends on perfection, where true peace and contentment is internal and not dependent on any circumstance

When we look at the story of Christmas, the Israelites had a picture of what their future Messiah would bring to them, but it ended up looking WAY different, anything but PERFECT

If you look back in prophecy in Isaiah 9:6, you find one of the characteristics prophesied about Jesus was that he would be called the PRINCE of PEACE – Remember, this prophecy was given roughly 700 years before the birth of Jesus to a people group that was consistently at war with bordering countries, even at war with themselves – at the time of the prophecy, Israel was divided into two Kingdoms, and they were both fighting for control – so Jesus was the promised Messiah that would one day bring PEACE and stability to the region and to the people called the Israelites

By they way, When you look at the US today, we are clearly divided into two kingdoms politically, with both fighting for control – Think we could use some help bringing PEACE and stability to our nation?

Moving forward, when Jesus was born, he was not born with the pedigree of a King – in fact, according to Luke, he was born in a smelly stable, and placed in a animal’s feeding trough – not the expected way the PRINCE of PEACE would enter the world, it was anything but PERFECT - Luke 2:8-14, the ANGEL appeared to an unlikely group: a bunch of no-name shepherds - PEACE WAS PROCLAIMED TO UNLIKELY PEOPLE IN UNLIKELY PLACE

V8:  shepherds probably laying out by a campfire sharing manly stories – shepherds not the upper crust of society – in fact, outcasts, the drifters, nobodies –

V9:  An ANGEL of the LORD appeared to them – anytime we see an angel appear to someone in the Bible (11 times in the NT), what is the most common response? TERROR! It says the glory of the Lord shone around them – I don’t know what angels look like, but the human response tells me that they must be HUGE and INTIMIDATING, because their visitation is usually followed by, “Don’t be afraid”
V10-11:  “I have good news to tell you – in Bethlehem, the Messiah has come!” – Think about this: the promised Messiah, the one whom the people had waited for had come into the world, and the PROCLAMATION of his coming was to…wait for it…SHEPHERDS

V12 – Here’s your sign: he will be the only baby in Bethlehem not sleeping in a bed – in fact, he’ll be lying in a manger – I love that the angel was specific – “if you want to find Jesus, it won’t be hard” – same for you this morning – if you truly want to encounter Jesus, he is not hiding – in fact, he is longing to bring you PEACE–

V13-14:  this is like the grand finale – first, one angel makes the proclamation, then the sky is filled with heavenly hosts! Heaven has come to earth – “Glory to God! And PEACE on EARTH!” – this is the proclamation of Jesus – when his kingdom comes, all the glory goes to God, and unexplainable PEACE falls on the earth – Again, JESUS was born to usher in PEACE

If PEACE only comes through the PERFECTION of circumstances, then the Christmas narrative is an EPIC fail – in fact, Jesus would slip into the world virtually unnoticed, revealed to a select few, and wouldn’t surface until about 30 years later

His ministry looked anything but peaceful – he was constantly at odds with the religious leaders who would’ve been the first to tout a coming Messiah – he was counter-cultural, counter-intuitive, seemingly counter-productive if his goal was to KEEP PEACE – you see, there is a difference between PEACE KEEPING and PEACEMAKING – peace keeping is the absence of conflict, conflict avoidance – but peacemaking is sometimes difficult, maybe even violent - in fact, Paul says in Colossians 1:20 that Jesus MADE PEACE through his blood shed on the cross – Jesus took your PEACE so seriously that he DIED to secure it

Jesus, the night before he died said something peculiar to his disciples in gospel of John – he said he was leaving, and that Jesus would send a helper, the HOLY SPIRIT, to guide them in the future – disciples clearly had no clue what he was talking about - John 14:27 – “ I am leaving PEACE with you (referencing the HOLY SPIRIT). I am giving you PEACE. But I don’t give it the way the world does.”

The PEACE Jesus gives doesn’t look like the world’s view of peace, because the world’s view of PEACE demands PERFECTION – The Psalmist David says it in Psalm 23:4 – Even in the valley, I am at peace because you are with me – The PEACE Jesus gives is IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VALLEY, in the middle of the cancer diagnosis, in the middle of the job loss, in the middle of the night when your wife wakes you and tells you she has had an emotional affair - Jesus didn’t come to give you the perfect life, but an unexplainable peace in the middle of your imperfect life

Do you know anyone that needs to hear that this morning? Anyone that needs to see that PEACE in your life? How can we consistently secure that peace? It’s pretty simple: RECEIVE IT.

Acts 2, after Jesus ascended, the HOLY Spirit DESCENDED and filled those who were waiting, and his POWER came on them – what does the power of the HOLY SPIRIT look like? Galatians 5:22-23 tells us – love, joy, PEACE, patience… when you said yes to Jesus, you received PEACE as a result – and this PEACE is not circumstantial, it is the calming confidence that God is working for my good NO MATTER WHAT, so, it is the antidote to the chaos the world is selling is the PEACE that JESUS fought for and won through the cross

If you are demanding perfection for your life, you are living in anything but PEACE – and if you are not receiving PEACE, you are certainly not giving PEACE to the world around you – and if you are not giving PEACE, you are not fulfilling your role in the Kingdom to change the world.

Close:
1. The PROMISED PRINCE of PEACE came to bring PEACE to your IMPERFECT WORLD.
2. THE ENEMY OF PEACE IS PERFECTION.
3. YOU must RECEIVE PEACE before you can BRING IT.