Introduction. The ideal of perfect peace is considered by many people to be a hopeless pipe-dream. Peace is considered to be the absence of conflict. Everywhere around the world today, we see much conflict. Not only are these conflicts costly to governments and their citizens economically; inevitably, there are precious lives lost. Conflict is thought to be by many cynics an everyday side effect of people trying to live together and so will always be prevalent. And certainly, if you look around us, it seems that way. Illus> A woman once wrote the editor of Christianity Today with this story: “One afternoon, my four-year-old niece Paige and my six-year-old daughter Ashley started an argument, which grew louder and louder. I was about to intervene when my daughter stormed down the stairs. "Mom," she yelled, "Jesus wants us to be the salt of the earth and Paige is being the pepper!â€� Are you being salt? Or are you being the pepper? Isaiah is writing about the only person that will ever bring perfect peace to us. In verse six of our scripture today, he calls Him by four names; Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This morning I would like to conceptions and misconceptions of the true Prince of Peace. I. Will the Prince of Peace bring perfect peace to this earth? I have thought a lot about this question and I think that until Jesus Christ truly comes again to rule the world, we will never have peace on earth. Conflict is a part of life; it is a part of human history. A study reported in the Canadian Army Journal regarding the frequency of human conflicts came up with this interesting statistic â€" “since 3600 B.C. the world has only known 292 years of peace. During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed.â€� (sermoncentral.com/Illustrations) Someone once wrote that; "Nations have no existence apart from their people. If every person in the world loved peace, every nation would love peace." But sadly every person doesnâ€"t love peace. Only the love of Jesus Christ shown through each person will ever give us this lasting World peace that we all talk and even fantasize about. So then, what peace are we seeking and what can we have? 1. The Messiah can bring peace to our personal lives. How would you characterize your daily lives? Would you say that most of you days are serene and tranquil; carefree and easy; laid back and somewhat boring? Or, would you describe your lives as often chaotic and rushed; confusing and frustrating; or, even desperate? I suspect that many of you are dreading the holidays because you are so caught up in the trappings of the secular world that you havenâ€"t taken the time to stop and thank God for sending a Savior, a Messiah, the only person that can bring peace to you. The title “Prince of Peaceâ€� is the culmination of the three previous titles that Isaiah uses. The Saviorâ€"s wisdom as our counselor; His power and His parenthood offer us the provision of peace. He is a Prince who will in Person completely subdue every opposing foe, banish every disturbing element and thus bring peace to His people and to the nations. This the angels heralded at His Birth in Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When we need guidance, we can turn to our counselor. When we need strength, we can turn to our almighty God. When we seek reassurance and consolation and wish to have a parent to turn to, He is there for He is our everlasting Father. All of these attributes makes Jesus Christ the person that we turn to for our peace. Illus> “In the mid-17th century, Oliver Cromwell sent his secretary to the continent on some important, state business. One night during his travels he found he was unable to sleep. According to an old custom a servant slept in his room and that evening the servant was sleeping soundly. In the middle of the night the secretary woke the man up to tell the servant that he could not rest because “I am so afraid something will go wrong with the diplomatic mission,â€� “Master,â€� said the valet, “may I ask a question or two?â€� “Of course…â€� “Did God rule the world before we were born?â€� “Most assuredly He did.â€� “And will He rule it after we are dead?â€� “Certainly He will.â€� “Then, master, why not let Him rule the present, too?â€� The servantâ€"s reply stirred the secretaryâ€"s faith he found a deep sense of peace, and in a few minutes both he and the servant were sound asleep.â€� (Sermoncentral.com/Illustrations) Our biggest problem is that we try to make the Savior be what we want Him to be rather than what He is. We want Him to stop people from doing bad things. We want Him to stop power hungry and greedy politicos around the World that harm the environment and human lives for their own gain. We want the Messiah to keep bad things from happening in a world that is ruled by the evil one. But, what Jesus has done and is doing is being a personal Savior. Disciples are made one at a time. We might not be characterized as a Christian Nation by those around the World; but, we can be a Nation of Christians. We may not be a Christian community, but we can be a community of Christians. We may not have been brought up in or now even, live in a Christian home; but, we can be a Christian in the home. There are those that would take the Christ out of Christmas; but be sure that the world does not take the Christ out of you. Sometimes I even wonder if our churches have the right to be called Christian churches from the actions of its members and pastors. Illus> Russ Sharrock shares that he had heard many people say so many times that you canâ€"t tell the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. His wifeâ€"s sister-in-law, is a New Age Soka Gakkai Buddhist. She is so serene, so filled with peace and joy, that his wifeâ€"s brother, her Mom and Step dad, have all been drawn into this cult. Why? Because the “Christianityâ€� that they experienced was full of criticism, anger and abuse. Where is the peace and love that Christ taught us? How can we live it? How can we show it to the world? Are we acting like judges and juries of the world; or are we counselors, showing the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit and loving as a parent can only love? Join us Sunday for the rest of this message!