Matthew 3.1-12

In September 1939, the British government distributed a poster that said, “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory.”  Soon another poster was printed and distributed. “Freedom Is in Peril; Defend It with All Your Might.” 

During World War II, these two posters showed up all over England—on railroad platforms and in pubs, in stores and in restaurants. The government created a third poster in the series but it never saw the light of day. British officials held it in reserve for an extreme crisis, like a German invasion of Britain. More than 2.5 million copies of this third poster were printed, yet the public never saw it until 2001. That’s when a bookstore owner in northeast England discovered one in a box of old books. What did that poster say? “Keep Calm and Carry On.” 

“Keep Calm and Carry On” became so popular that the bookstore began putting it on items like coffee mugs, postcards, and T-shirts. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Management guru Jim Collins studied leadership in turbulent times. He looked at more than twenty thousand companies, sifting through data in search of an answer to this question: in an extreme crisis, why do some leaders make it while others don’t? Collins concluded that successful leaders in a crisis aren’t more creative, more visionary, more ambitious, or more risk-taking. What sets them apart? They’re more self-controlled. They keep calm and carry on.

One of the major messages of Advent and Christmas is the message of peace.  

Another way to understand that is to say that one of the major messages of Advent and Christmas is the message to “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

The experience of peace can be elusive. 

The experience of peace can be here one second and gone the next.

And, for some of us, we may believe that experiencing peace is an impossibility.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, I want to let you know that experiencing peace is possible. 

God does not desire for you to live in a constant state of restlessness, anxiety, and worry.  

So, let’s hear more about that by following our Biblical text for this morning.

Matthew 3:1–12 tells us this:

[1] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, [2] “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [3] For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’”

[4] Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. [5] Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, [6] and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

[7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. [10] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

[11] “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (ESV)

The Bible tells us that it God’s will that every man, woman, and child would be able to live at peace.  

The peace that God desires for you to have is the peace that comes from finding rest for your heart, mind, and soul, by knowing and believing that in Jesus’ coming to you, living for you, dying on the cross for you, and rising from the grave for you, you are forgiven of your sin and reconciled to your Creator.

You can rest today because trusting in Christ gives you every last thing you need to be ready to meet God.  

Because of Jesus, God does not require anything else from you.  

Through Jesus, all of the work of has been finished for you!

The heart of God that wants nothing more than for you to live at peace with Him is spoken of by both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter in their letters to the early Christian Church.

2 Peter 3:8–9 says this:

[8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (ESV)

And, 1 Timothy 2:1–6 says this:

[1] First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (ESV)

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this 2nd Sunday of Advent, the Sunday that celebrates the Peace that comes with Jesus on Christmas, we are given what we need to have peace with God today.

In this piece of history that describes the ministry of John the Baptist,  John the Baptist tells us where peace comes from and how peace comes into our lives.

First, John the Baptist says that peace comes from being prepared to meet God and His Kingdom.

God’s eternal Kingdom of Heaven is described like this:

[1] …I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

[5] And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [6] And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. [7] The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:1–7, ESV)

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because, as we are told in this text from Revelation, there will be no more reasons for tears, no more reasons for mourning loss, no more reasons for pain and suffering, and no more death.

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because in God’s Kingdom all wrongs have finally been righted. 

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because life has been restored back to what God originally intended it to be when He breathed life into Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden.

Second, John the Baptist says that peace comes from repentance and confession.

Confession is to say, “I have been doing the wrong thing.”

Repentance is to say, “I will turn around and do the right thing.”

In the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program, we confess our problem every time we open our mouth.  Any time you want to speak at an AA meeting, you have to begin with saying, “Hi, my name is Fred and I am an alcoholic.”  

This is statement of both confession and repentance.  By introducing ourselves this way, we are saying, “I recognize my extreme crisis.  I have a severe and life-threatening problem with alcohol and I am here to actively do what I can, with God’s empowering and leading help, to change this behavior.”

There is something freeing about admitting your faults and knowing that those that you are admitting your faults to will not judge you or expel you, but will rush to your side 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to encourage you, lift you up, support you, and correct you when needed.

The church is the same. It is the local chapter of a universal community. Call it Sinners Anonymous. Each week I stand up and say, “Hi, I’m Fred. I’m a sinner. I need help. And only a higher power can give me the help I need—though I admit I also need all of you to help me on the way.” 

As you well know, Christians know the name of that higher power. It’s Jesus. He is the help we need. He is where we’re going.  He is the way to where we’re going. His people, sisters and brothers in Christ, are fellow sinners on the way. They are Jesus’s uncountable hands and feet and eyes and ears, his friends guiding your steps along the path, one by one. When you fall, and you will, you can’t get up alone. He will pick you up with the help of those in this place. This is the Christian life. It is a fragile and vulnerable thing, but beautiful and peaceful for just that reason.

When our eyes are opened and we see the ways that we have been disobedient to God and we respond by confessing that Sin to Him, we find peace because we have the good news that He will always forgive us for the sin we confess (and even the sin we don’t! Praise the Lord!) and He will restore us into a right and eternal relationship with Himself.

Third, John the Baptist says that peace comes from baptism.

In his letter to the Christians gathered in the city of Rome, the Apostle Paul describes baptism this way:

[3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3–5, ESV)

And, the author of Hebrews adds this to the baptism discussion:

[22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22–23, ESV)

Baptism let’s us experience peace because the Word of God mixed with the water does what it promises to do—wash us and cleanse us from the dirt and filth of our Sin that keeps us away from God our Father in Heaven.

Fourth, John the Baptism says that peace comes from the Holy Spirit.

Again, the Apostle Paul helps us out here in his letter to the Roman Christians when he says:

[1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5, ESV)

And,

[11] In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11–14, ESV)

Peace comes from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is God living in us.  With the Holy Spirit, we have God with us all of the time and everywhere.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, the piece of God that He puts in us, to lead us and guide us and help us and empower us and correct us,  so that we are continually being renewed in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The professional world has a slogan that goes like this:

“It’s not who you are.  It’s who you know.”

What that phrase is pointing out is that in order to get ahead in life, your qualifications often don’t matter.  You will get the job or position you are applying for only if you know the right people with the right names, the right titles, and the right money.

The fancy word for this unfair treatment is nepotism.

This is one of the sins that John the Baptist was confronting in our text this morning.

As John was preaching about God’s grace, mercy, and love coming to forgive and restore through His Savior, Jesus, the Jewish crowd was fighting back saying that they didn’t need Jesus because they were descendants of Abraham who was the Father of God’s people (see Genesis 12).

The Jews who were hearing John’s message of good news took offense to the idea that they were sinners in need of a Savior.

The Jews on the shore of the Jordan river that day believed they would get ahead in life, that is ahead in eternal life because of who they knew. 

However, peace with God doesn’t come from who you know—Peace with God doesn’t come from your past; Peace with God doesn’t come for the specific denomination listed on your church’s sign; Peace with God doesn’t come from the people you know; Peace with God doesn’t come from your family name; Peace with God doesn’t come from your grandfather’s spirituality and commitment to the church; Peace with God doesn’t come from your mother’s charitable giving and lifetime of service to a religious organization.

No, peace with God comes from who you are.  And, through faith in Christ, you are fully united with Jesus and everything Jesus every did, said, and thought, becomes yours when God looks at you from His throne.

Only when you are covered in the life and blood of Jesus can you rest in the assurance that God will accept you and welcome you into His enteral Kingdom.

Guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix once said, 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

This morning, you are facing an extreme crisis.  Your freedom is in peril.  Because of sin, you are heading toward death and eternal suffering.  

As our Biblical text tells us this morning, it is not your courage, your cheerfulness, your resolution, or your families’ tradition and history that will bring you victory over this separation from God.  It is only God’s coming to you in the person of Jesus Christ and dying on the cross in Jesus Christ, and rising from the grave in Jesus Christ, that will make you into one who conquers Sin and Death. 

This morning, the power of love has overcome the love of power.  

The power of God’s love for you has over your love of worldly power.

Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.  This is the promise and guarantee that you are at peace with God today, tomorrow, and forever.

So, when life gets chaotic, take a deep breath and Keep Calm and Carry On because you have been washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ your Lord (1 Corinthians 6.11).

This week, whatever your lot, God has taught you to say, “It is well with my soul!”

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

This is the Peace of God of you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 7, 2025.