We’re starting a brand new series today called Wonder. Over the course of the Christmas season, I believe the Lord wants us to experience the wonder of what being in relationship with him really means.

We’ll visit the wonders of hope, of faith, of his unimaginable love, all in an effort to either begin, rekindle, or deepen our relationship with this incredible savior, Jesus Christ.

Today we’re talking about why wonder of his peace.

Peace is one of those things that we are constantly after. And we experience this pursuit in every area of our lives. We want peace in our home, peace in our thoughts, we even want, peace globally. We have this insatiable deep seated need for peace, and we will do almost anything for it.

How much peace are you experiencing in your life right now?
Is there peace in your home? Is there peace in your sphere of influence? Is there peace in your heart?

I think sometimes we get so bogged down in the things of the world, so busy, so stressed, so anxious, that we lose sight of what peace even is to begin with. Peace defined is “freedom from disturbance.” Where are all my toddler parents?

The word we get peace from is “pax" in Latin. “Reconciliation, or agreement.” If you look to the Bible, we find the word "peace" from the word “shalom.” Where as the secular definition of peace is to reconcile, or to be tranquil, the biblical route for the word peace means "to be made complete,

So let me ask the same question like this:
Is there wholeness in your home?
Is there completeness in your sphere of influence?
Is there shalom in your heart?

What I pray you see today is that not only does peace really exist, but you can have peace in your home, and your spirit, influence, in your heart.

Paul talks about the peace of God in Philippians 4.

Philippians 4:6-7
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

While there are so many things we can run with from the specific passage,
like not allowing fear of the unknown to make you anxious, (Anxiety is just fear. Anxiety is the pimple. Fear is the irritant. Remove the irritant, and the pimple goes away.), like being grateful as you let God know what's going on inside of you, like allowing that peace to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, something that really sticks out in this verse is "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding."

How can we have peace that surpasses understanding?
This is peace even when you don’t understand how you are at peace.

Here are threes areas where we can have peace beyond our understanding.

1. Peace in your sphere of influence
This sphere extends just past your physical body all the way to the ends of the earth.

How can we have peace in our sphere of influence?

My fleshly reaction is that you cannot have peace in your sphere of influence because so much of that sphere is not under my control. If I can control the situation, I can have peace, right? Of course that is false. But we often make us being able to control the narrative and by extension the outcome as a prerequisite for peace.

Here’s a newsflash for all of us, me included:
You don’t have to control it to have peace in it.

Thomas Watson
If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.

I have no control over the President allowing missiles to be launched into Russia putting us on the brink of World War 3 and nuclear annihilation. I have no control over what's going on in the Middle East. I have no control over the political climate in countries across the world. I have no control over the economy and what it impacts, both good and bad, will bring to us.

But you don't get peace in control. You actually get peace in letting go.

If I really want peace in my sphere of influence, I have to:
- Cast all my anxieties on him 1 Peter 5:7
- Set my mind on Jesus Isaiah 26:3.
- Believe he has me in his hands as he promises that he will bless me and keep me, that he will make his face to shine upon me, that he will be gracious to me, that he will lift up his countenance upon me, that he will give me peace. Numbers 6:24–2

Taking control is just a mechanism that your flesh uses to try to convince you that everything is going to be OK. Relinquishing control is how the Spirit protects you while he actually makes everything OK.

Peace is not in the controlling. Peace is in the letting go.
Letting go of your right to justice and choosing to forgive. Letting go of your excuses and choosing to take responsibility. Letting go of your sin and choosing to embrace righteousness. Letting go of your disobedience and choosing to embrace obedience.

The easiest way to determine if Jesus is in something, it’s through peace.
(Also a great way to make decisions when you are not 100% on what God wants) Do you feel at peace with the decision you’re about to make? With the path you’re about to travel? With what’s going around you even if the world is in chaos?

If you are experiencing peace in all of those areas, it is proof that Jesus is right where he needs to be in your life.

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Just because there is chaos around you does not mean that there has to be chaos in you. Let go and let God, and then stand in wonder in how you can have peace no matter what's going on around you.

2. Peace in your home
Believe it or not, this is possible, and the secret is actually pretty simple:
You eat the produce of what you prioritize.

If you prioritize sports, you get what sports have to offer. If you prioritize money, you get what money has to offer. If you prioritize feeling good, you will get what feeling good has to offer.

Now, you might think that's not so bad, and maybe not. Things like sports, money, they are neither good nor bad. They are neutral. But we tend to idolize that thing we are consumed by. And idols require worship and sacrifice.

You may have a star athlete but you haven’t had a weekend home in 3 months. You may have a fat bank account, but you’ve had trade your family for it. You may feel good right now, but it is just masking the pain you feel inside.

Idols only take your worship and sacrifice. Jesus takes your sin and hurt and brokenness, your pain and confusion, and even better, he gives peace and blessing, hope and grace.

Which one is prioritized in your home? Idols or Jesus?

So here's a little question to determine if your priorities in your home are good for your home or not:
Will those priorities give you peace that surpasses understanding?
Will they guard your heart and mind like we read earlier?
Are they creating the peace in your home you long for?

Now look, I played sports my whole life, so I am not saying that sports are the devil. I've used money my whole life and it isn’t the devil, either. But my parents were very careful to make sure we prioritized the right things growing up.

Sports were important, but they were not going to consume our lives. Money was important, but it was not going to drive our life decisions. A good example of that is this:
I made varsity baseball as a freshman and during that same time, my dad had an opportunity to go to Wyoming to work. I think he said he would've made about $1 million over the course of that job. That money would've been great, but he would miss out on things like the prestigious Brenham tournament, playing ball with Texas Select, and so many other things like me playing a trumpet solo at the state jazz band ensemble, and a million other things. Not to mention him just being there. Beyond the duck hunts and fishing trips, his presence mattered.

They taught me a lesson during that time that I didn't fully appreciate until I had a family of my own:
Presence is more important than money. (Both my parents’ presence and God’s presence) And if he could make ends meet without having to go off, that's what he was going to do because being there was a priority.

I played sports and band, theater, student government, I was in all of it, but they never let that stuff be prioritized over Jesus. It didn't matter if the team was playing on Sunday, we were in church. And I was wearing pants. No shorts allowed! I was going to youth on Wednesday night. I couldn't watch certain shows and listen to certain music. I wasn’t allowed to do whatever I wanted to do. I had curfew and chores and expectations put on me. There were certain priorities in our home growing up that were non-negotiable, and that was it. There was no discussion about it, there was no weaseling out of it, they kept the main thing as the main thing.

Now, you might be hearing all of this and think:
I have to work out of town for months on end so I must not be doing the right thing, I let my kids play sports and sometimes we have a game on Sunday so I must be wrong. None of that is what I'm trying to tell you right now. Don't hear what I'm not saying. Don’t be legalistic. I’m simply telling you that when I grew up, there were priorities.

Because Jesus was the priority in our home, there was peace in our home.
It wasn't always perfect. We didn't always have money just flying around the house. We had family issues just like everybody else. There were times when I was rebellious. There were times as a kid where I got spankings. But here's what amazing:

Even though I was not perfect, my parents were not perfect, our focus, our priority, was on Jesus who is perfect.

As a result, we could have peace in our home because we knew that no matter what happened, no matter how good or bad the finances were, no matter how good or bad our relationships were, Jesus was the foundation.
He was the center focus. He was the standard. Anytime there was an impasse, Jesus, the Word, that's what set us straight.

Peace in your home isn't about having enough money or never having any issues. Peace in your home only happens when Jesus is the focal point.

Matthew 6:33
Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

If you want that peace in your home, it has to start with the Kingdom in your home. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy. Are you prioritizing these?

Peace doesn’t happen without Jesus. And nothing else can give that peace that surpasses understanding but Jesus.

So if you are going to prioritize something besides Jesus, be prepared to eat the produce they give. Anxiety, strife, struggle, hardship, and the like.

When Jesus is first, first in your own heart, then in your marriage, you will experience the wonder of peace in your home.

3. Peace in your heart
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.

I want there to not only be peace in my heart, I want Christ’s peace to RULE in my heart.

As we approach Christmas, I am reminded of a few verses in Isaiah concerning Jesus, his birth, and even his purpose.

Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government (dominion) shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

This is who we celebrate at Christmas. This wasn’t just a random baby born in a manger. This is Jesus. A baby born to die. And he fulfilled that purpose.

Isaiah 53:1-5
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Can we just stop for a moment and first tell Jesus sorry, and then thank you.

Verse 5 says, “the chastisement for our peace was upon him.”
The Hebrew literally means “the punishment for our wholeness was on him”

I started thinking the week about Jesus and peace and a thought came to me:
Is there any scenario where Jesus does not have peace? Now, there were times when Jesus was in human form where he was troubled, where he was sad, where he experienced human emotion. But was there ever a time when Jesus was not at peace? “whole”

If so then Jesus would have to have succumbed to fear or allowed the scenario around him to overtake him. The closest he got was in the garden praying that the cup would pass over him, but we know how that ended: “Not my will but yours be done.”

So if Jesus was never in a moment where he had no peace, why would Jesus have to be chastised for peace?

We know that this means that Jesus took the punishment for our peace, but what does that really mean?

Any soldier will tell you without a doubt peace comes at a cost.

George Orwell
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

As unsavory a thought as it is, this is still the truth. Peace comes at a price.

But first, we have to understand what conflict Jesus’ peace came to resolve.

Jesus was not chastised for world peace. He was not punished so we could be free from political conflict. He was punished so we could have peace between us and God.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23
the wages of sin is death

What we broke, Jesus died to fix. When we created separation, Jesus created restoration.

This is the conflict Jesus came to resolve. And even the disciples had a hard time understanding this.

Acts 1:6-8
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

True peace is not a safe place to rest your head and a lack of conflict between friends. True peace is understanding that Jesus was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and that if we will simply accept his free gift of salvation by confessing him as Lord, we can receive that true peace of a restored relationship with God.

You are never going to experience true peace until your heart is made right with God. Peace isn’t the lack of conflict. It is the wonder of knowing that though your sins were like scarlet, you’ve been made white as snow.

Second, we have to realize that the peace Jesus came to give is a peace that primarily affects you and only affects the world around you as a byproduct.

Look at Jesus’ response to the disciples again:

Acts 1:7-8
“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus wasn’t bringing peace to set right our politics. He wasn’t restoring Israel, but restoring humanity! He was giving us the Holy Spirit to empower us to live! He was bringing peace to set right our hearts!

We sinned. That sin created conflict between God and us. That conflict created death in us. That conflict could not be resolved by human hands or ingenuity. Only God could fix what we broke. Only life could restore life.

So when Jesus came to this earth, it wasn’t to be a cute little baby with a cow mooing in the background. He came to give his life to stop the conflict, to end the war between good and evil, sin and righteousness, death and life.

John 10:10
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have life more abundantly.

Jesus came to give us life.

Peace isn’t the result of a war ended. It is the result of your heart changed.

I can have peace in my heart no matter what swirls around me simply because I know that Jesus is my Lord, my sins are forgiven, I’ve gone from death to life

The Wonder of His Peace.
Wonder defined is a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.

“And the peace which surpasses all understanding.” It’s wonderful, isn't it?

To me, this verse now makes sense. It makes sense because I can understand what peace really is. Peace is the fruit of reconciliation with God. And we can prove it biblically:

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Isn’t it interesting that those who engage in the intentional act of making peace (or in biblical language - bringing completeness) are called God’s sons? Makes sense because making people whole is the family business. All because Jesus was willing to take the punishment that made us whole.


I don’t know what is swirling around in your world right now causing chaos. Here’s what I do know:

Trying to control it makes it worse.
Letting go and letting God makes it better.
Peace in my home starts with peace in my heart.
Peace in my heart starts with Jesus as my savior.

Where are you in this list?
Are you trying to control it in a desperate attempt to get a sliver of peace?
Are you trying to let it go so that God can move?
Are you growing your relationship with Jesus so that peace can rule in your own heart and home?
Are you here today knowing that you need to start with asking Jesus to be Lord of your life?

Whichever it is, let me simply say this: You can have peace or chaos.

The secret to having peace in the midst of chaos is Jesus.

How do you need to respond today?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?