This is Redemption Church of Plano, Texas. We are so glad you are here! Merry Christmas!
My name is Chris Fluitt, and I welcome everyone in the room and everyone online.

I come bearing gifts.

We put together a simple Christmas Reset eBook.

There are over 25 prophecies we highlight. We show the Old Testament prophecy and reveal the New Testament fulfillment. 

Follow along with us: https://tinyurl.com/4jtps4kd

Today we are in the 2nd week of our Christmas series:

Messy Beautiful Christmas

Some Christmases feel like a Hallmark movie.

A big city lawyer. Power suit. No time for love.
She flies home for the holidays. Her car breaks down in Small Town, USA.
She meets a handsome guy who owns a Christmas tree farm, or a bakery, or both.
There’s a snowball fight. A town parade. A misunderstanding.
Then one meaningful speech and one kiss later, everything is healed. And the lawyer now wears Plaid. 

That is one kind of Christmas.

But some Christmases feel more like Die Hard.
Or a Christmas version of Game of Thrones.

Because this season is loud.
Pressure. Tension. Schedules. Money. Family. Grief. Anxiety.
Work stress that follows you home.
And yes, even food stress and weight gain fear.

So this Christmas, we need more than holiday vibes. We need something stronger than that. We need peace.

Peace is Greater Than a Vibe

I want to tell you today that peace is greater than a vibe.

We get caught up in the vibe and we miss what is most important.

I don’t have to tell you this is a stressful time of year. We already know. The signs are everywhere.

Christmas Battlefield Stats

So if Christmas feels like a battlefield right now, you are not crazy.

Our world keeps offering “peace” as a vibe…
But a vibe cannot hold up in a battlefield.

At War This Christmas? Searching for Peace

Let’s dive into what God says about this.

Luke 2 starts by naming who’s in charge.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree…” (Luke 2:1)

This is Roman rule. Occupation. Power. Injustice.

Rome loved the word peace, but their version was simple.
Roman Peace – Kill enough people, crush enough resistance, make everybody surrender, and then call it peace.

Aren’t you glad heaven’s peace is not like that?

Jesus says He gives peace… but not like the world gives. (John 14:27)

But hear this.

Heaven’s peace is not a cozy slogan vibe.

It’s announced in a time of war because it is a declaration of war.

Heaven’s peace is a declaration of war.
Not war against people..
War against darkness.
War against fear.
War against sin.
War against death.

“King” Herod

And it was so much a war that when an earthly king named Herod heard about a child born who was called King and Messiah, he treated it like a threat to his throne. He ordered the killing of the baby boys in Bethlehem because he feared another King had arrived. (Matthew 2:16-18)

And here’s what’s wild.

Instead of Luke taking us to kings going to war, Luke takes us to shepherds working the night shift.

Luke 2:10 (NIV)

Notice the first words of heaven in this story.

Not “try harder.”
Not “do better.”
Not “get your act together.”

It’s: “Do not be afraid.”

And Jesus never led with “try harder” either.

He did not look at a widow dropping in two tiny coins and say, “Give more. Be wealthier.” He honored her faith. (Mark 12:41-44)

He did not look at a man who could not walk and say, “Be stronger.” He moved toward him and raised him up. (John 5:1-9)

He did not look at the worn out and broken and say, “Fix yourself.” He said, “Come to me.” (Matthew 11:28)

Now listen to the reason they don’t have to be afraid.

Luke 2:11 (NIV) “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

That’s the reason.
That’s the joy.

A Savior.
The Messiah.
The Lord.

A new King has arrived.
A new kingdom has arrived.

The presence of a King in another kingdom is an act of war.

If we reduce Christmas to a vibe, we miss the story.

The original Christmas is a rescue invasion. A freedom mission.
What if the original Christmas story is a little more like Die Hard?
What if it’s a little more like Game of Thrones?

Because a new King has arrived.
And a new kingdom has arrived.

Then the angels say peace, and we have to notice where it’s announced.

Not in a palace.
Not in the Oval Office or the United Nations.
Not in a quiet chapel or a decorated cathedral.
Not in a perfectly decorated home with matching pajamas and no problems.

Peace is announced in a dark field, to working people, impoverished people, overlooked people, to hearts that are shaking, in a world under occupation and injustice.

And then comes a verse that is key for us today.

Luke 2:12 (NIV)

This is not just information. This is an invitation.

You will find.

They had to go & find.
Meaning they had to move.
They had to search.
They had to find the Savior for themselves.

This Christmas story is a war story.
It is not a mistake that your Christmas feels like a battle.

So what do you do when you’re at war this Christmas?

War Weary Christmas

1) Stop ignoring your fear. Name your fear.

If the shepherds were terrified, you can be honest.

Name it. Bring it into the light.

2) Receive the good news personally

“A Savior has been born to you.”

Not to perfect people.
To you.

3) Go and find Jesus. Take your next step toward Him.

The angels said you will find. The shepherds went and found.

So do not just hear this. Move toward the Savior.

4) Make Jesus your King, and go to war against what is killing you.

If Jesus is King, you stop making peace with what is destroying you.

Time to go to war against depression.
Against anxiety and mental illness.
Against addiction.
Against poverty and hopelessness.

Go to war for your marriage.
For your mind.
For your family.

Not with hype. Not with willpower.
With a King. With a new kingdom. With a new way of life.

One Call: Come and Find

Here’s the temptation.

To calm down, look at pretty pictures, listen to soft music, and soak up the vibes.

But the angels did not show up to calm, cozy people.
They showed up to people afraid, confused, in darkness, and without hope.

And the answer was not “just relax.”
The answer was: go and find.

So in a moment we’re going to sing, but we’re not singing to catch a vibe.

Before you step back into your schedule, back into work, back into school, back into family chaos – take a moment and go find Jesus and bring Him back into the center of your life.

And hear me: this is not “try harder.”
This is not “five things to do better this week.”
This is not “ten religious tasks to add to your to do list.”

This is surrender.

We are singing to find a God that is with us and God that is for us.

So as we sing: come and find.
If you need peace, come and find.
If you need prayer, come and find.
If you need freedom, come and find.
If you need to make Jesus your King, come and find.

Because peace is more than a vibe.
Peace is the King taking ground in your life.