Life in the In-Between

The Gift of the Prince of Peace at Christmas

Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his
shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

Peace is the experience of present rest and the sense that all will somehow
be well tomorrow because of Who goes with me

1. Real peace is established in our hearts when we know beyond doubt
that a powerful, good, kind Father is always with us wherever we go

2. Come and receive the Prince of Peace this Christmas and receive His
rest

Hebrews 4:6, 10 -11, 16 (NLT)
So God's rest is there for people to enter...For all who have entered into God's rest
have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our
best to enter that rest...So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we
will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on
you!

Peace deepens when we learn to rest and wait on our good and powerful
father, while looking honestly at our unrepentant attitudes and motivations

1 Cor. 1:3 (NLT)
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3. Dwell and gaze at our Servant Savior and once we fully understand
what has been give to us, the gift begins to grow from within us

Ephesians 3:12, 18-19 (NLT)
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently
into God’s presence…And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people
should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience
the love of Christ, through it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made
complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Why We Hope?

1. Use good reason and faith to point yourself toward a hope

that will never disappoint you.

Romans 5:2-5
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2… we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our
tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven
character; and proven character, hope; 5 and (this) hope does not disappoint, because the
love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to
us.

If I place God as the end of my hope instead of using God as a
means to a hope, then all of my hopes will ultimately be satisfied.

2. As children of God, we have access to a type of Hope that

satisfies us in the present even before we arrive at our
destination.

Philippians 4:5-7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

5...The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:11-13
New International Version (NIV)

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

3. Consciously place every desire and expectation (your

hope) into the hands of God while being aware of what kind
of God He really is.

John 5:22-23
New International Version (NIV)
22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that
all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father…45 “But do not think I will accuse you
before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.

Lamentations 3
Good News Translation (GNT)
21 Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:
22 The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue,
23 Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
24 The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.

25 The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him,
26 So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us—

1 John 4:1-12, 18-19 (NASB)
let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the
love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that
we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love
is perfected in us. (…) 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first
loved us.

7 Beloved,

1 John 4:1-12, 18-19 (MSG)
beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone
who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love
doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't
love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live
through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've
done to our relationship with God. 11-12My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly
ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply
within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! (…) 18There is no room in love
for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of
judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. 19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved.
First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

7-10My

What kind of Love?

1. v. 9: God loved us so much that he sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him.
a) God loved us enough to take the form of a human being and live among us.
b) God loved us while we were still undeserving.

2. v. 19: We love because God first loved us.
a) We learn to love by being loved.
b) The more we love God, the more capable we become of loving ourselves and
others.

3. Love and fear are incompatible.
a) v. 18a: Perfect love casts out fear. Likewise, fear casts out love.
b) There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. And there is nothing we
can do to make God love us less.

God’s greatest gift to humanity was Jesus, love incarnate. He arrived on earth as a baby, whose
birthday we celebrate at Christmas. There is no gift that has the power to change who you are, into
a better version of you, than God’s love. ◊

How we gain access to joy