Jesus: The Prince of Peace and Our Call to Reconciliation

"Now, 600 years later, roughly 20 generations or so, many of us have kept the last name, but we no longer embody the last name. I know four different Smiths over at the Sugar Grove campus. I don't think any of them work in metal, right? So there are some people though, hundreds of years later who embody their family name. They still embody their family name. They have their family name. The first example, this man, he, uh, he worked 12 years as the Washington Bureau chief for CNN." [00:04:41] (40 seconds)


"Peace because we have faith in Jesus. A pathway to peace has been paved between us and God. The relationship status now equals peace. He goes on in verse two. It says, through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Through faith, we have God's grace. The grace in which we stand, it points to the secure position that believers have in the standing of their relationship with God. Relationship status equals peace." [00:10:56] (35 seconds)


"so that they didn't go in there and drop dead as well, right? This is the world that Jesus was born into. And when Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins, to pay our debt, to purify our hearts, that veil that sectioned off the room where God's presence dwelt, that curtain was torn from top to bottom, signifying a new access to God that his son in his sacrifice has given us. Now the Holy Spirit can dwell within our hearts. Hebrews 10, 14 says that by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." [00:15:46] (41 seconds)


"And in contrast to his anger and his wrath is his incredible grace and mercy. In Romans 5 .10, it said, while we were still enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. While we were still enemies to God, he paved a pathway of reconciliation through the blood of his son because he loved us. Ephesians 2 said, by nature, we were children of wrath like the rest of mankind, but God, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love in which he loved us." [00:20:53] (36 seconds)


"Through objective peace, we can have subjective peace. Jesus is paved a pathway for us to have objective peace with God, the fact of peace with God because of what he's done. We can have confidence in the status of our relationship with in God for our subjective peace, that we can feel peace from God. Now we know as believers, that doesn't mean that our life is about to be easy. As my mother -in -law says, it's not going to be peachy keen, right? And Jesus said that as well in John 16, 33, that, in the world, you'll have tribulation, you'll have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome" [00:25:57] (40 seconds)


"the world. That taking heart is an acknowledgement of the objective peace that we have knowing that our eternity is secure, knowing that how the story ends, that he overcomes the world. But what about subjective peace? How do we go about feeling that peace, especially amid tribulation and trouble? We pick up in Romans 5, 3. It says, not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." [00:25:57] (43 seconds)


"Imagine with me, if subjective peace is water, if the feeling of peace is water, and we're all thirsty for peace, but the world doesn't sell real peace. The world is selling bottles of Sprite at an absorbent price like you're buying it out of the airport. Y 'all know Sprite. Lemon Lime Soda. Back when I was in high school, 2007, they had this whole campaign, and it was freedom from thirst. You can get freedom from thirst. It'd be like a bunch of guys riding in the back of a pickup truck." [00:29:36] (37 seconds)


"See, the peacemaker, they put themselves between two enemies and contends for both so that they can participate in the reconciliation. They put themselves between two enemies. I intercede to God on your behalf, and I evangelize to you on God's behalf. 2 Corinthians 5 .20 says, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ. Be reconciled to God. But the only way for me to have that voice in your life with any shred of authenticity or credibility is if I am leaning on God for my peace and then shining that light into the world that you could see God's peace in my life." [00:39:58] (46 seconds)