12/7/25 “Know Jesus, Know Peace”
Know Jesus, Know Peace
Colossians 3:15-17
As many of you know, today (December 7th) is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
Today we remember the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.
Not only was there tremendous loss of life, but also, over 300 American aircraft were either destroyed or damaged…
4 US Battleships were sunk…
…And 6 Naval Cruisers and Destroyers were also damaged.
This event was, of course, what drew the United States into the global conflict known as the Second World War.
What made this act of war by the Japanese somewhat ironic was that it took place on one of the most peaceful places on earth.
Hawaii was – and is – known for bring a place of tranquility…a place of relaxation…a place of peace.
In fact, the Hawaiian greeting ‘Aloha’….which we’ve all heard before…carries with it the idea of love, compassion….and….Peace.
December 7th, 1941 – the Date that will live in infamy – was the day when war descended upon a land of peace.
Well…today is the second Sunday of Advent – and this Sunday has traditionally carried with it the theme of peace.
And when we consider the events of the night that Jesus came into the world…
…We see Jesus (The Prince of Peace) descending upon a world that was – and still is – at war with God.
This truth resonates throughout scripture…
King David writes in Psalm chapter 2, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” (Psalm 2:1-2)
….And In the New Testament, James echoes this sentiment when he writes, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?” (James 4:4)
This sin-wrecked world around us naturally wages war against God through its sinful systems of philosophy, self-worship, and humanistic pride.
Our culture would rather worship the creation itself…than worship the creator of that creation – God.
…If you think about it…that’s not much different than the animalistic & cosmological idolatry that was happening throughout both Testaments of the Bible
Pagan cultures were worshipping the Sun, the Moon, certain animals, mountains….rivers…lakes.
Today, our culture worships technology (Have you seen the lines at the Apple store lately?)
…Not only do we worship technology….Our culture also bow the knee to celebrities…entertainment…sports…food…alcohol…drugs…pornography…….comfort…convenience…fashion…woke ideology….and atheistic theories about life & the universe….
We worship these man-centered materials, pursuits & ideologies…
…Rather than worshipping the God of all creation….the God who loves His creation….the God who died for His creation.
Unlike a nation bent on war attacking an island of peace…
Jesus (the God of peace) bent on redemption, descended upon a planet at war….
A planet at war with its own savior.
But – as Christians – as Christ followers – we’ve been given the gift of understanding this truth…
By surrendering to Jesus , our spiritual blinders have been taken off….
We are able to discern the world’s sinful & ungodly actions, attitudes, and motives.
This is one reason why we celebrate the season of Advent…
The preamble to the commemoration of the greatest act of grace & mercy the universe has ever seen….
The Advent of the Messiah…
…The coming of the Christ child...
And through His arrival – along with his eventual death, burial, and resurrection - we….His sin-stained creation – are able to experience peace with God.
That is what we celebrate today…and everyday.
Actually, we celebrate the reality that believers have 2 forms of godly peace.
We have peace with God
And we have the peace of God.
Peace with God is positional peace….it comes from our position of being justified through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is what the angel is referring to when speaking to the shepherds in Luke chapter 2….when he proclaims “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
Peace with God is essential for salvation…
It’s needed for a human soul to be able to live for eternity in the presence of the Father in heaven.
Peace with God is the single most important peace treaty that any human being could ever enter into….and it is only entered through the name of Jesus.
Then there is the peace of God.
…and this is the kind of peace that today’s passage deals with…
This is serenity of the heart… stillness of the soul…the calm and humble disposition that characterizes a born-again child of God.
This peace is the peace that anchors one’s ship when the waters of life get rough and choppy
…It’s the stability system on one’s aircraft that reduces the turbulence of life
There’s a volcano in the Hawaiian island chain named Kilauea…many of you have probably heard of it.
Kilauea is a volcano that is almost always erupting…but it never completely blows its top – like Mount St. Helens did back in 1980.
The reason for this has to do with the viscosity of the magma that flows through the mountain.
Unlike the thick, gas-trapping magma of Mt. St. Helens…
The magma of Mt Kilauea is a very low viscosity…making it easy for gas to escape…leading to more continual…and ‘gentle’ eruptions.
Having the peace of God in our hearts limits our emotional and relational eruptions to a slow, stable flow….
….rather than intense outbursts of uncontrollable and destructive eruptions.
The viscosity of the magma rules the temperament of the mountain.
In a similar way, verse 25 (Colossians 3:25) of our passage for today speaks of the ruling power of peace in our lives.
It reads, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”
We generally don’t use the words ‘peace’ and ‘rule’ together, do we…
The Greek word for ‘rule’ in this passage is actually a sports-related term…
…it conveys the idea of a referee deciding the outcome of an athletic contest.
In other words, as we contest for the faith in our day-to-day lives…we need to be mindful to play by the rules of peace…
Peace needs to call the shots as we interact with others in our lives
…even when interacting with people who may not be that easy to deal with.
Treating others in an un-Christlike manner…or escalating an already volatile situation….
A dramatic emotional eruption of blowing your top will most-assuredly draw a foul call from the referees of peace.
For a believer, that kind of behavior is a violation of the rules of the game.
So, as Paul puts it, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Verse 15 (Colossians 3:15) goes on to describe how a body of believers ought to be characterized by peace and thankfulness.
…and this doesn’t mean only on Sunday mornings when we gather together for worship
…this means at home with the family…or at events throughout the week…
….or when you’re standing in line at Menards waiting for Joyce to scan your items…
….or even when that person cuts in front of you while you’re standing in line at Menards waiting for Joyce to scan your items…
As Christ-followers, we are people of peace….
…We are people of peace because God has allowed us to experience peace with Him.
Peace in our life is like a river that is fed by the tributaries of scripture…steams of God’s everlasting Word.
When the Word of God continually flows into our hearts…the river of peace running through our lives will be healthy and robust.
That’s what we read about in Verse 16 (Colossians 3:16) when it says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
The truth of scripture should permeate every aspect of the believer’s life…
…Governing every thought, action, word, and deed.
Psalm 119:11 describes it this way, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it….”
In order to consistently maintain a peace-filled disposition, we need to remain immersed in God’s word.
Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truths of scripture…on a regular basis.
Commit verses to memory…
Intentionally carve out time every day to stay connected to your creator….the one who is jealous for your time and attention.
…And – what’s really cool – is that committing yourself to this discipline of the faith will begin to produce in you a natural desire to praise God…
…To praise Him through song…through worship…through musical testimony.
‘Psalms’ in verse 16 literally meant psalms – or, ‘songs’ - from the biblical book of the same name.
The Old Testament Psalter was used much like how we utilize our hymn book today…
…Songs that were very familiar to many Christians in the early church – and they would regularly sing them together in a setting of corporate worship…
The Hymns mentioned here in verse 16 were more modern musical compositions designed to praise God in a worship setting…
…much like how we utilize our worship set to begin each service.
…and – finally - Spiritual songs emphasized testimony….
Testimonies that were put to melodies.
Early believers would express - through song - what God had done for them….and what He would continue to do.
That got me thinking…
If you were to write a song about your testimony….
…what God has faithfully done for you through Jesus Christ…what would the title of that song be?
Maybe it would be something like “He Pulled Me from the Depths of Despair”
…or “Once I was Lost, But Now I am Found”
…or maybe a title such as “He Touched Me and made me whole”
Think about that…what would your personal redemption song be called?
** Is Anyone thinking of one right now you’d like to share with the rest of us? **
As a believer – you have a song.
I think my redemption song’s title would be something like “A broken vase is all I am…mended by the grace of my Savior’s hand”
If you are a born-again believer, you also have a refrain of deliverance and justification that describes how Jesus saved you from being a slave to sin…
….to – now - being a slave to righteousness…
…and that’s the most meaningful – and powerful - song you could ever sing.
Finally, verse 17 (Colossians 3:17) wraps up our passage for today with a summary of what a heart of peace and thankfulness will look like in practice…
Paul says, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…..”
This is very close to what he wrote to the church in Corinth where we read, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
These verses are a reminder that we are – first and foremost – Citizens of God’s Kingdom….
…and that our words, actions, and deeds need to consistently reflect that identity….
…who we are should always reflect who we serve…
The goal of the Chrsitian life is Christlikeness.
People should be able to instantly recognize Jesus in us.
This time of year, many of you are in the process of acquiring Christmas presents for family…or co-workers…or good friends.
One thing that Lisa & I have a tradition of doing is that each of us wraps our own acquired gifts in our own favorite wrapping paper.
She always goes for the more traditional Christmas-looking paper…
…while my paper preference tends to be a bit more edgy & contemporary.
For instance, this year I purchased some amazing black paper – stay with me - with shiny evergreen boughs on it…with bright red holly dots…
…Yeah, it’s pretty epic.
So…when it comes time for our daughters and their husbands to open their gifts each year…they already know exactly who purchased which items – even when those presents have both of our names on them.
In other words…our wrapping paper reflects our personality…it reflects who we are.
Spiritually speaking, this should be true of everyone who professes to follow Jesus Christ…
The ‘wrapping paper’ of our words, actions, and deeds, ought to be instantly recognizable as attributes that we have acquired from our savior.
For Instance, When I see Charlie working on light fixtures here at the church…I think of Jesus sacrificing His time with those who needed light in their lives…
When I see Peggy working at the food distribution…I think of Jesus sacrificially feeding the 5,000…
When I hear Teri pray every Tuesday afternoon…I think of how Jesus prayed for the needs of others…
When I hear Frank give his testimony….I think of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit…(Frank – maybe your song of redemption should be called ‘Delivered in the Driveway’….does that sound alright to you?)
…And when I hear our new church choir sing…I think of the angels in heaven bowing down in worship to the Prince of Peace.
Whatever you do….do it in the name of Jesus
…And people will take notice of your integrity…your priorities…your compassion.…your resolve…your inward peace.
…and they’ll want to know more about this Jesus whom you serve.
So…in conclusion:
There’s a word in Hebrew that means Peace – it’s called shalom….many of you have heard that word before.
It’s a common Jewish greeting that carries with it the idea of – not just the absence of conflict – but an active, inner state of peaceful tranquility and wholeness.
Folks, we are all called to Shalom….You are called to Shalom
We are all called to exude peace in a world that wants to make war.
We are all called to reflect His truth in love, to a world that despises His righteousness.
Brothers & Sisters in Christ…Allow Shalom to rule in your heart this Advent season.
For to Know Jesus…Is to know Peace.
But where there is no Jesus…there will be no Peace.
Let’s Pray.