They Will Be Called Sons Of God Series

They Will Be Called Sons Of God

#BlessedAreThePureInHeart

Matthew 5:9

It’s 30 AD and Jesus has been: preaching, teaching and healing people for about a year. AND SO - there is a very large group of people following after Jesus.

AND – as Matthew chapter 5 opens up, it’s time for Jesus to give His platform speech, His manifesto. It’s time for Jesus to tell everyone what He and His Kingdom are all about.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart,

Those who…have been cleansed in character so that the way they look in public is the way they look in private. They are undivided, authentic, sincere, unpretending – not faking it, a person of integrity.

for they will see God.

NOW THIS MORNING – we are going to unpack Matthew 5:9, in a conversation, I am calling, ‘They Will Be Called Sons Of God

Blessed are the peacemakers,

because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9

PRAYER

Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9

NOW – the word peacemaker is made up of 2 Greeks words…

Peacemaker = eirenopoios

The word PEACE (Eirene)– which means….

• The end of rage and the destruction caused by conflict

• Harmony between individuals

• To make complete and restore to a flourishing wholeness (shalom)

TO MAKE (poieos)… (poy os)

• To cause, To produce, To render

• To be the author of

• To execute and bring forth

UNDERSTAND – eirenopoios

IS - a word that is bursting with energy.

IT - mandates action and initiative.

IT – describes someone who is willing to drag two combatants to the table and give them a reason to not only put down their arms… but to live together in peace.

NOW NOTICE - Jesus did not say “Blessed are the

peace-wishers or the peace-hopers or the peace-dreamers or the peace-lovers or the peace-talkers or even the peace-keepers.”

He said blessed are the peacemakers

BECAUSE

• Peace must be made.

• Peace never happens by chance.

• Peace must be fought for.

BOTTOM LINE - a peacemaker is never passive.

INSTEAD – they’re always active, taking the initiative, entering the fray… jumping into the arena…

YES - peacemakers are up, and they are doing.

They actively pursue peace…

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

– Psalm 34:14

Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14 (HCSB)

IN OTHER WORDS - no one will see the Lord lived out in our lives…

Blessed are the peacemakers,

because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9

AND UNDERSTAND… the peacemaker pursues more than just the absence of conflict…

PM - don’t avoid conflict, in fact, sometimes peacemaking will even create moreconflict.

BECAUSE PM - aren’t merely seeking to appease the warring parties… NOR – are they trying to accommodate everyone.

YOU SEE - PM are not interested in a fake – Disney World – painted on (Mr Rogers ‘won’t you be my neighbor peace’ – where conflict still rages underneathe the surface…

And nothing has really changed.

INSTEAD - PM are pursuing all of the beauty, power and blessedness of God’s kind of peace…

ONE - that is ground in both truth and righteousness…

AND LISTEN, LISTEN – without truth and righteousness Without truth and right behavior, it will never be is God’s kind of peace.

Get It?

OKAY…

SO - here is a good working definition of a PM…

A peacemaker is someone who is actively seeking to reconcile people to God and to one another and who breathes truth and righteousness into conflict.

NOW - I know that when we look at our nation the last few years… pretty much all that we see…

LIKE - we are bombarded 24/7 with images of conflict, hatred, violence and division… I MEAN - like it is everywhere.

AND - I am sure that if you are like me… all of those images and the destroyed lives behind them, are wearing you out and breaking your heart… moving you to want to cry out, “Enough!”

BUT UNDERSTAND – tragically (hatred, conflict, violence and division) are not anything new…

IN FACT…

A study was done a few years back that found that in the 3000+ years of recorded history, the world has only been at peace 8% of the time…