PEACE (Luke 1:57-80) | Brian Lucas | 12/19/21 (The Gospel of Luke: Advent)

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What steals your peace? fear? conflict? focusing on what we don’t have? 
All these things turn us away from God. 
BUT WHAT IF WE TURNED TO GOD? 
“True peace requires taking what’s broken and restoring it to wholeness, whether it’s in our lives, our relationships, or in our world.” 
PEACE IS ABOUT GOD RESTORING WHAT IS BROKEN AND MAKING IT WHOLE

Colossians 1:15-20 NIV

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Luke 1:57-61 NIV

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.  58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.  59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,  60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”  61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

Luke 1:62-64 NIV

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.  63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”  64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.

PEACE IS ABOUT GOD RESTORING WHAT IS BROKEN AND MAKING IT WHOLE 
Zechariah turns to God and obeys him, and now his speech is restored.

Luke 1:65-66 NIV

65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.  66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

PEACE IS ABOUT GOD RESTORING WHAT IS BROKEN AND MAKING IT WHOLE
What else might God be getting ready to restore/do through this child?

Luke 1:67-79 NIV

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:  68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,because he has come to his people and redeemed them.  69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for usin the house of his servant David  70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),  71 salvation from our enemiesand from the hand of all who hate us—  72 to show mercy to our ancestorsand to remember his holy covenant,  73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:  74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,and to enable us to serve him without fear  75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,  77 to give his people the knowledge of salvationthrough the forgiveness of their sins,  78 because of the tender mercy of our God,by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven  79 to shine on those living in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

PEACE IS ABOUT GOD RESTORING WHAT IS BROKEN AND MAKING IT WHOLE

Luke 1:80 NIV

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.