Sermon Central
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Peacemakers
Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Sep 30, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: The Lord has called us to live in peace AND He has called us to be peacemakers as well. What is a peacemaker? What does a peacemaker do? How can I become a peacemaker? Will God help me be a peacemaker?
Peace Makers
Today we will be reading from Matthew 5:1-10
Last week we took a look at the peace of God that is available to those who are in Christ, those have placed their faith and trust in Jesus for the salvation of their souls. This week we will be taking a look to see if those who are filled with God’s peace can become peacemakers.
So, last week we looked at Psalm 85:10 which is possibly one of the most unusual verses in the Bible. This verse has a kind of spiritual “formula” for the peace of God but, this “formula” is consistent with the entire Bible.
What does it say? It says, “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
If we love God and others in the same way that God loves us and if we are faithful to Him in all we do and say we WILL be in a righteous relationship with God and we WILL have a peace which passes all human understanding!
Remember, if you are trying to just “get by” on your love for God and just “get by” on your faithfulness to Him, He knows what you’re up to, and you will know and you will not have peace.
So, let’s assume that we are loving God and remaining faithful to Him. Is there anything that is expected of us as we live this life of righteousness and peace?
Let’s check it out in Matthew 5:1-10
(Prayer for help)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
We all want to be a son or daughter of God, right?
Now, there is something we need to realize about the beatitudes; we cannot invert their meaning.
What does that mean, “to invert their meaning?”
I know some people who read the prophecy Jesus made about the time of judgment that will be coming when He returns. It is referred to as “the Sheep and the Goats.”
When they look at that account (this is NOT a parable but a prophecy) they see what the sheep did in their lives and they believe that those actions brought about the salvation of the “sheep. Then they look at what those designated as “goats” failed to do and they believe that their failure to act in a certain way determined that they were eternally lost.
However, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats at the beginning of the time of judgment according to what they ARE and not according to what they have DONE.
Jesus actually separates them by what they are. The sheep have NOT become sheep because they acted like sheep; they simply act like sheep because they ARE sheep.
A goat cannot become a sheep no matter how much they try to mimic one. In the same way a sinner cannot become a Christian by acting like one. A sinner can only become a Christian by the transformational power of the Holy Spirit making them into a new creation.
OK. We have talked about that before so why are we talking about it again?
Some people have tried to “invert” the Beatitudes.
Some people may go through the Beatitudes and make up a list of things they can DO to BECOME Blessed or to be saved or earn salvation.
You could go right through the Beatitudes and make a list.
You could try to be poor in spirit and mournful.
You could try to be meek and do your best to hunger and thirst for righteousness.
You could try to imitate what it means to be merciful and pure in heart.
You could take all the training you could get to be a peacemaker and even arrange to be persecuted.
But, if you did all of those in your own strength to earn your own salvation you would not be saved. You would not have eternal life and you surely would not be blessed. You would not be filled with God’s presence and therefore fully spiritually satisfied BECAUSE YOU CANNOT DO FOR YOURSELF SOMETHING THAT ONLY GOD CAN DO FOR YOU.
What you would happen is you would end up being frustrated or perhaps you would become a legalist and make up a bunch of rules to follow so you could accomplish all your goals and become blessed.
You see, that is NOT how it works!
That is backward thinking according to the Bible.
Do you want to be blessed?
Do you want to be a peace maker?
Seek the Lord.
It doesn’t matter how long you have been a genuinely born again Christian. Seek Him anyway. Seek Him until you find Him. He WANTS to be found, you know! Seek Him until you are filled with Him!
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is anything in your life that needs for you to be changed to be more like Jesus.
