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The Kingdom of Heaven is full of what we call today, paradoxes. Paradoxes -- if you don't know -- are statements and principles that at first glance seem to contradict themselves but upon further consideration end up making perfect sense. Modern day "paradoxes" are terms such as "jumbo shrimp," "deafening silence," and "teenagers with clean rooms." (Just kidding about that last one.) Here are some other examples of statements that seem to contradict themselves, but in actuality are true:

Since the hour hand is the first hand on a clock, and the minute hand is the second, then the second hand is the third hand.

I'll stop before I get to how we drive on a parkway and park in the drive way and "has anybody ever really seen a horse fly?" Paradoxes.

As strange as it sounds, the God who is a "straight shooter" and always tells the truth, loves paradoxes. Let me remind you of what the Bible says:

I could go on and on, but it's clear that God likes to work through and around principles that at first glance make no sense, but after further study, make perfect sense. God loves paradoxes and even uses them to reveal truth to us. I've learned a long time ago that if something in the Word of God seems to contradict itself, then I have a lack of understanding of what God is trying to tell me, and that if something seems to contradict itself, then that is a dead give away of a nugget of truth that God is trying to reveal to me. And so I am drawn to paradoxes of scripture because I have learned that those are areas from which God is trying to speak into my life.

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We read as our text the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth. Imagine with me the surprise of those young shepherd boys as they were half dozing off during a pleasant and uneventful night only to suddenly have an angel appear out of nowhere and a light of the glory of God to suddenly turn the night into day! The King James Version says that the shepherds were "sore afraid," probably a phrase that is probably more accurate than the translators intended! The shepherds probably had damp robes, too! It's scriptures like these that make me look forward to the millennium reign where the church will have a glorified body that can appear and disappear and the remaining people of the earth will be alive in the normal physical sense. How much fun we will have. I'll bet some of you tricksters will get called in before the throne for scaring the willies out of people. Anyway . . .

The angel said first, "Fear not," and then proceeded to tell the slack-jawed shepherds about the birth of the Savior of the world. After the lone angel gave them directions to the manger, it was joined by a host of a multitude of angels in praising God before the shepherds. That Greek word for "multitude" is plethos -- where we get our word "plethora" and the same word used for the crowds that swarmed around Jesus at the height of His ministry. On Christmas cards and in television specials, we always are presented with four or five rows of angels perfectly lined up in the sky like jet fighters on maneuvers singing to the shepherds, but remember that paintings and movies are poor commentators of the Bible. From the word used here, the mental image of scripture is more of one of a crowd of hundreds of thousands of angels swarming around the sky where the shepherds were and they were "saying" or declaring loudly their message.

What I am trying to get you to realize is that God was playing for maximum shock value here. The shepherds were stunned by the sudden visible revelation of one angel, but before they could even comprehend and think on what that lone messenger had told them, the realm of the spirit was clicked on and suddenly they could see thousands upon thousands of angels surrounding them all declaring the Word of God loudly to them. And then in a moment the angels disappeared and darkness returned and if there were ever a "deafening silence" it came now to these shepherds and in the darkness all they could hear reverberating in their minds was this final message of the angels "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!"

If I had time I would comment upon how that just as the shepherds experience was that night, so is it how God reveals truth to us today. In a moment of spiritual insight and a flash of truth, God reveals to us His plan and instructs us what to do, and then just as quick the darkness returns, and like the shepherds, we sit there in the darkness, having to make the decision to act with faith and obey what we have instructed to do, or to continue to sit in the darkness despite the illumination of truth. Unfortunately, I know some people that despite the flash of hope and clarity of God's Word in their life, have chosen to not act upon the Word and thus sit in spiritual darkness even tonight. But thanks be to God, for those of you who when confronted with the flash of truth from God's Word, obeyed it and acted upon it and got to Jesus! Thank God for those of you who like the shepherds responded to the call to come in from the darkness, and who have made your way to worship the Christ!

If I had time, I could probably preach an entire message on "the moment of light in a darkened place," or maybe I could entitle the message "scared by truth" or "don't be sheepish when God calls" or something. But here and now I feel led to direct you to the very words that were ringing in the shepherds heads and hearts at that moment; the words of the multitude of the angels that God chose such a dynamic and memorable way to impress. The dramatics which God delivered this message reveal to us that it must have been important and here it is: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." What they were essentially saying was "Praise God, He has chosen to bless men by bringing peace on earth." "Go proclaim it to all men: peace on earth!" The coming of the Christ was the onset of "peace on earth" or at least that is what God told the angels to proclaim.

And so as the shepherd made their way to the manger, they went with the revelation of God that they were going to view the mode of bringing peace to the world. They knelt before the babe whom they had just been told would be the carrier of peace. It was not a misconception because it had been only a few months earlier at the birth of John the Baptist that his father Zacharias had prophesied that the Messiah would come:

He had come to lead us "into the way of peace!" And all of that fits with the prophecies by Isaiah that his child to be born, this son given would be "the Prince of Peace." And right now, some of you are thinking "what's the big deal, preacher?" "It's the first Christmas, you know 'peace on earth' and all of that -- we already knew that." "Why are you bringing it up here?" "Why does this phrase so stand out to you?"

It stands out because "peace on earth" is the paradox of the Christmas story. It stands out because as I read the rest of the Bible, I am struck by how much it seems that Christ's coming brought the exact opposite of peace on earth. By the time the wise men leave, there is already an order by Herod to kill all the young male children of the area and great weeping that is going up from what just weeks before were sleepy and peaceful towns. During Jesus' childhood, there were no less than ten or eleven major uprisings in Judea itself against the Roman rule. And then comes Jesus' ministry where He, Himself, declares in our other text:

Jesus said, in effect, "I have come to stir things up." "I have come to start wars and skirmishes between believers and their unbelieving relatives." And then we read of the many clashes between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. And then comes the day of His crucifixion where Pilate gives in to killing an innocent man because of the mob that is growing unruly in their chant to "Crucify Him; Crucify Him!" Doesn't sound too peaceful does it? And then comes the persecution of the Jewish religious leaders which sends the believers of the Early Church running for their lives across the continents. And then comes the persecution of Nero which claims the lives of both Peter and Paul. And then comes the great Jewish rebellion in 70 A.D. which ends in the Roman general Titus marching on Jerusalem and completely and utterly destroying the temple, so that to this day it is nonexistent. And then comes the later clashes between the Christians and the Moors over Judea, and then the Crusades where thousands of children warriors were killed fighting supposedly for the "cause of Christ" and then the remainder of modern history -- two thousand years which has seen more wars, more armed conflicts, and more bloodshed than all of the previous history combined! Even now, the conflict rages everyday in Israel over the same battlegrounds drawn thousands of years ago.

Peace on earth?! In being completely honest and objective, I would have to say that the coming of Christ seemed to -- if anything -- bring the exact opposite of what the angels declared to the shepherds. And so we are brought to seeming paradox of scripture where in one place peace is declared and in the next there is no peace. Where at first glance it seems as if scripture which cannot lie contradicts itself, but I'm preaching to you tonight that there is no contradiction and in actuality there is quite a bit of truth here for us to learn! The angels made no mistakes in what they declared to the shepherds, it was definitely the will of God to bring peace to the earth through Jesus Christ and still is, but what is lacking is our understanding of what God is trying to tell us from this "paradox of peace." The Word of God does not contradict itself, but rather is trying to scream at us for attention with it's paradox many important lessons to learn. Let's look at some of the many things that we can apply to our lives from this passage.

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This paradox teaches us first of all that true peace only comes when people receive and obey God's Word. The reason that it seems as if Christ's coming has mostly brought the lack of peace, is because most people have rejected His Word in their life. Throughout history in every conflict from a family feud to global wars, at the center of it is someone or several somebodies who rejected the Word of God. And rejecting the Word of God always destroys peace in your life.

Man may have on his own a time of peace here and there, but eventually it will end because without God's Word guiding them, it cannot help but end. Jesus came desiring to bring peace to earth, but the people of earth largely did not want to accept His message. Have you ever thought about what would have happened if the response of the people of Israel would have been different? I know that Jesus had to die on a cross to pay for our sins, but what if the overwhelming majority of people would have received Him? What if the Jewish religious leaders would have changed their hypocrisy and put their faith in His message? What if the Roman rulers and all the nations of the earth would have submitted themselves to Him? How much greater and powerful would it have been when it was announced that although everyone loved Him, He was going to show His love for us by dying for us! Can you imagine the horror and the sincere sorrow that the believers would have felt watching Him die? One can only imagine the overwhelming sacrifice and commitment that they would have given Him seeing Him give His very life for them after they believed.

My point is this: if man would have received God's Word and obeyed Jesus, then there would have peace on earth at His coming and the world would be a much different place now. But they rejected His coming and so we got the opposite of what He came to bring.

Let's apply it to our life today. Jesus Christ wants to bring peace and comfort and good cheer into your life today, but if you reject His Word, you will never experience that peace and joy. If you continue to live at odds with the Word of God, then things cannot help but go to seed. If true peace is to be had, then it will only come when God is exalted onto the throne of our lives as Lord of All and obeyed as such.

There is an alternate reading of this proclamation of the angels that all of the more modern translations follow because there is better evidence for it than the KJV's reading. The more accurate giving of this verse is:

He did not come to bring peace to "all men" but rather "to those with whom He is pleased." That's a big difference in meaning and an important distinction to understand. Jesus wills that all would come to live a life where they are not constantly bickering and fighting. He desires to bring a peace and a rest and a comfort and joy into everyone's lives, but such things will only come with those whom He is pleased with: those who choose to obey His Word. If people choose to live against His Word then they will have quite the opposite of peace in their life and their lives will be full of confusion, strife, envying, and sadness. But He has come to bring us something better!

Furthermore, this paradox teaches us that God calls things in the beginning as they will be in the end of His Will. What that means is that God speaks things as He desires for them to be and not necessarily as they actually are at the moment. Let me read you a scripture:

The New King James puts this way:

God responds to faith, but He also moves in faith. And often His Word proclaims something that does not exist yet will if God's will is done. So understand that when God proclaimed peace on earth, He was speaking of something that will be done in His will as though it had already happened. Because one day when Jesus Christ really rules and reigns upon this earth for one thousand years -- in what we call the Millennial Reign -- there will truly be a time of peace and for the first 1,000 year period in history, there will have been no wars. The announcement of the angels was God speaking of things that will be as though they already were that way.

When the Word of God speaks into your life, it often speaks in that way. You come and repent of your sins and have them washed away in the waters of baptism. You believe and receive the Holy Ghost, and the scriptures and we say "you are saved," and yet Jesus says "he who endures to the end shall be saved." What gives? There is no contradiction here, but rather understand that when God pronounces you washed and justified in the Spirit and "saved," He is speaking of you as you will be if His will is done in your life. He is speaking of things that will be as though they are. He is speaking what will be done if He remains Lord of your life. If you continue your life living for Him with Him as priority in your life, then no matter what comes against you, you will be saved because you stayed loyal and faithful to His Word. In that sense, you are saved, but if you choose to walk away from His will and choose to dethrone Him, then understand that you will not be saved in the end. God has not lied, but rather He speaks from the beginning how things will be if you will continue in His will.

Another such example in our lives is what I preached last Sunday night. You come and are changed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus and God declares you a "new creature." But that is what you will be if you continue to let Him change you. If you ever stop, then you are lost because you have removed yourself from His plan. Grasp this and don't ever forget it: when you stop obeying the Word of God, you invalidate the promises that God has given you in your life. Those promises will not to pass until you place yourself back into the will of God and live for Him! Our day to day actions have more to do with what we receive in the Spirit than we would care to admit. That is why the promises of God are not near as exciting to those who don't obey God's Word as those who do. Because those who don't obey never actually see those promises come to pass. They never actually hold those promises in their hands. They say that they believe and believe and believe but they do not obey, obey, and obey and so they do not receive, receive, receive, because when God spoke that word to them, He spoke it as it would be if His will was done. He came to bring peace to those whom He is pleased with. We must obey Him for Him to be pleased with us.

One more example of this principle in our lives might be of value. We are talking how that the angel's proclamation proves that God speaks of things that will be as though they are already done. Let's say that you come for prayer for your body. His word says "by your stripes you were healed." God speaks of the healing as already taken place before you even ask. But praying for that healing is the expression of faith to God. By asking for healing, you are becoming someone whom God is pleased with. And so you get prayed for and God's Word says "you are healed; the prayer of faith has healed the sick." But remember that He is speaking of things that shall be as though they already were. Your actions in the near future will greatly determine whether or not you receive your healing. Because you must stay in the will of God to receive it. If you walk away and let doubt fill your mind, then chances are that doubt will rob your healing because it causes you to stop trusting in Him and being pleasing to Him. But if you walk away with the conviction that "everything is going to be alright and God's will shall be done" then more often than not you will find yourself truly healed. It's not mind over matter, it's obeying God's Word to be "anxious for nothing" and to "trust Him completely!" God speaks of things as though they already were, and then often how we act determines whether or not it comes to pass!

I have known people to hear a word from God for their future that it was the will of God for them to do such and such and then they just sit back and do nothing with the attitude of "God's Word cannot lie and so no matter what this is going to happen." And it never does, because they don't understand that God's Word speaks of how things will be if you continue in His will. Your actions determine whether or not it will come to pass. If you stop obeying and walking by faith, then it will not come to pass because you took yourself out of His will.

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"But what about that other scripture, preacher?" "What about where Jesus plainly says that He did not come to bring peace?" How do you reconcile that with the angels' proclamations?" I'm glad you asked, because the most sobering and powerful principle that this paradox teaches us is this:

For God to truly bring peace, then He be Lord of All and sin must not reign supreme. His ways must become our ways. And so for God to bring peace, He must first tear down everything that exalts itself against Him. This is why when we sometimes pray for something, it seems for a time that the opposite of what we prayed for happens. God is working in that area, but He is having to tear down some things for His will to be built up in their place!

There is a scripture that is quoted in many churches, one of which used to have a sign in San Antonio proclaiming:

I used to laugh at that sign, because it's such a paradox. The Bible tells us to pray for peace in Jerusalem and yet tells us in the book of Zechariah that God has made Jerusalem a "cup of trembling" and trouble. And in scripture, the only time Jerusalem will ever have peace will be when Jesus reigns on this earth in the final thousand years. And yet, knowing all of this, God commands us to pray for Jerusalem. And the more we pray, the worse things get over there.

The reason is that there are things in Jerusalem that must be destroyed if He is to reign and rule over it, and since there cannot be peace until Jesus Christ is Ruler Supreme, then there is fight as God seeks to destroy the things that are against His will. He is bringing peace, but it seems for the time that the exact opposite is happening.

That's what Jesus meant when He said in our other text:

I have had most people that get into church and God transforms their life, eventually tell me "I thought God had said that He came to bring peace in my life, but it seems that since I've been serving Him, all hell has broken loose, instead." Actually, that's more accurate than you thought. Because God has come to bring peace, but you will only have true peace in your life if He is Lord of All, and so He first begins to shake things up to loosen the foundations of things that are not like Him in your life. When the ark of God's presence was taken into the Philistine's temple of their idol, Dagon, they found that God destroyed violently that idol. Their little fish-god was skinned and flayed on the floor before the ark. And that is the same thing that God does in the temple of our bodies. When you invite Him in, He comes to bring peace, but to bring it, He must tear down everything that tries to exalt itself above Him in your life. And so things seem to get worse and we cry out "God, I prayed for peace," and His answer is "I'm trying to bring it, but it won't come until this changes and that is removed."

If your work is God in your life, then chances are God will fight against you at work if you ask Him to be Lord of All and come bring peace into your life. If you have unsaved loved ones in your house and you ask Him to bring peace and unity in your house, then chances are that things will seem to get worse before they get better because God will at first work to try to tear down the pride and issues that are keeping Him from reigning as Lord! If you pray for a fresh anointing and power, chances are that God will highlight and point out some other areas that need to change in your life or begin to deal with you about a greater commitment. He is answering your prayer, but things must first get worse to get better. It's spiritual surgery, that you are asking for here. But in the long run, He is coming to bring peace!

And so if the Word of God has spoken into your life and you have prayed for peace and yet is seems as if the battle is raging and growing stronger everyday, then take heart. Because such a battle means that God is actively answering your prayers. He is moving. He is bringing about peace. "But it feels like war, preacher," that's because Jesus has come to bring a sword, but it is a sword of peace. He is trying to tear down everything that exalts itself above His will in your life. He knows that the only way for their to be true peace is for Him to be Lord of All!

How many of you have ever prayed "Lord, I want above all else to be saved?" If you have prayed that then understand that God takes that prayer seriously. At that point, God puts your eternal salvation as more important than your personal comfort. God knows you better than you do. He created you. He knows every weakness and every strength. He knows the deepest secrets of your heart. He knows what it will take for your marriage to work. He knows what it is that is really keeping you from a greater level in Him. And He knows what it will take to keep you trusting in Him. If that means a life of financial hardship, then He'll do that. If that means allowing this trial or that, then He'll bring it. If it means allowing the sword of your family persecution to rise against you, then He'll bring that sword. But in the end it is so that your soul spends eternity in peace. He's trying to bring peace on earth to the people whom He is pleased with, and yet sometimes it only comes with trial and tribulation. Take heart, though, because you know that He is working.

Listen to this scripture:

And this one:

Don't try to figure out His workings, just trust Him! Put yourself in His hands and when He proclaims peace, then know that no matter what it seems like now, things are moving toward peace! He'll answer your prayer and do whatever takes to bring peace on earth. And we must trust Him through the conflict that comes to bring it. Such is the Paradox of Peace.