Peacemakers - Like Father, Like Son
OKAY MGCC – let’s do this.
AND – I want to begin our conversation this morning, the way I almost always do…
By reading some alive and active, God breathed words, and by praying us into His presence…
In Luke 9… (some of us read this in our FCFH this week)
One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone.
NOW – some in here really need to do that…
AND – all of us need to do that more.
Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was.
Because it was not yet His time…
AND NOW – once they know for sure who He really is, Jesus for the very time tells them what He came to do.
WHICH – no doubt blew their minds.
“The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower,
QUESTION…
• Does anyone here want to be His follower (I hope that is why you are in this room today – with an hour less sleep)?
• And remember the guy that we are following is the same guy who in Luke 9 who set His face to go to Jerusalem, fully aware of exactly what was waiting for Him there… death?
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
OKAY – I think Jesus is being pretty clear here…
I MEAN – He is leaving no room for doubt, interpretation or for wiggle…
UNDERSTAND – we want to follow Jesus
WE MUST… (underline that)
• Give up our own way (Circle that)
• Take up our cross… (Circle that) Okay so what does that mean… It means every day we must die to our wants, our desires, to ourselves… Yes, everyday we must die to ourselves – at home, at work, in our relationships, in this world and in His church
• Follow Him… (Circle follow me) And listen following Him implies that we are headed to the very same place.
B/S – really think about those 3 things and what they mean lived out in your life…
Not easy right?
BECAUSE – there are things we want to do, ways we want to be and hang on to…
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? - Luke 9:18-25
NOW THIS MORNING – we are going to unpack the 7th beatitude in a conversation that I am calling… “Peacemakers – Like Father, Like Son.’
(Now to be honest… I wanted to skip this Beatitude, because I was not sure I wanted to hear what God has to say)
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
PRAYER
Blessed are the peacemakers… - Matthew 5:9
NOW – the word peacemaker is made up of 2 Greeks words
The word PEACE – which means…
• Exemption from rage a havoc of war
• Harmony between individuals
• Security, safety, peace of mind, serenity, fulfillment
• And freedom from trouble, and from anything which hinders contentment.
TO MAKE…
• To cause
• To produce
• To render
• To be the author of
• To execute and bring forth
UNDERSTAND – it’s a word that is bursting with energy.
IT - mandates action and initiative.
IT – describes someone willing to drag two combatants to the table and give them a reason to put down their arms.
NOW NOTICE - Jesus did not say “Blessed are the peacewishers or the peacehopers or the peacedreamers or the peacelovers or the peacetalkers or the peacekeepers.”
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 always active, taking the initiative, entering the fray. They are up and they are doing. They are actively pusuing peace…
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
AND LISTEN - the peacemaker pursues more than the absence of conflict;
IN FACT - they don’t avoid conflict (and sometimes, peacemaking will even create it)
BECAUSE - they aren’t merely seeking to appease the warring parties; they aren’t trying to accommodate everyone.
They are not interested in a fake – Disney World – painted on peace – where conflict still rages under the surface.
INSTEAD - they are pursuing all the beauty and blessedness of God’s peace…
ONE - that is ground in both truth and righteousness…
AND LISTEN – without truth and righteousness… it is not God’s peace.
OKAY…
SO - here is a good working definition…
A peacemaker is someone who is actively seeking to reconcile people to God and to one another and who breathe truth and righteousness into conflict.
UNDERSTAND B/S…
Conflict, hatred and division is everywhere, it’s in…
• Our world (in the 3000+ years of recorded history, the world has only been at peace 8% of the time or a total of 286 years and 8000 treaties have been made and broken.. NY Times 2003)
• Our country
• Our community
• Our schools
• Our workplaces
• Our homes
• And yes it is even in our churches
AND B/S – it is into these conflict infested, hate filled, divided world… THAT JESUS - sends us as peacemakers.
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
AND MGCC – believe me when I tell you, being a peacemaker is most definitely a path that will help us give up our way, take up our cross, follow Jesus and take us to the end of ME…
GET IT?
NOW – the way I what to attack this conversation, on this Jesus’ 7th beatitude, is by unpacking 2 statements…
#1 – Like Father, Like Son
#2 – The Peace We Must Make
I. Like Father, Like Son
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
I’d like to take a moment to talk about…
A) When the child becomes a son
NOW - the word called means to be officially designated as holding a particular rank or office, as when you name the chairman of a company or choose a captain or designate a spokesman.
Jesus says that those who are peacemakers
Those who are actively seeking to reconcile people to God and to one another and who breathe truth and righteousness into conflict.
Will be known and recognized as who they really are - the sons of God.
NOW – we might assume at first glance that “sons of God” means the same as “children of God.”
BUT – that is not the case…
YOU SEE - a “child of God” is one who is a part of the family.
It is a statement of position.
HOWEVER - a “son of God” is one who is like the family.
UNDERSTAND - it is a statement of character.
YOU SEE - a son of God is one who not only carries on the family name but who bears the family resemblance and reputation.
OKAY – let’s dive a little deeper in the NT concept of being a son…
IN THE NT – and in that time and culture to be a son meant to have the same mind, values, beliefs and spirit as your Father.
IN FACT - in that culture a son who was pretty much a bum and who rebelled… and not at all like his father was dis-inherited and a slave who was of the same mind, values and beliefs was often times adopted and considered to be a true son.
UNDERSTAND – what Jesus is saying when he says that peacemakers will be called sons of God…
IS THAT – they look like The Father
THAT THEY – share His values, His believes and mission
THEY – have the same mind and spirit of the father.
R U tracking with me?
I MEAN – when people see how they live, when they see how they fight… they are like… “hey you must be son of God because you look just like The Father…
QUESTION - do the people in your life recognize your resemblance to the Father based on your efforts of peacemaking?
You are a child of God because you accepted Christ, but you are a Son of God because you pursue peace.
Are you actively seeking to reconcile people to God and one another - putting two neighbors back on speaking terms, restoring unity within a family, or making amends with a brother or sister?
Are you recognized as assisting in God’s peacemaking activity in our world?
HEY – I have been watching you… and the way you act, live, behave and speak… they way you fight for and contend for peace.. it’s just like the father… you must be a son of God.
Because…
B) The Father Is All About Peacemaking
I MEAN – since Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sin and take the bite of the forbidden fruit…
Making peace is what the story is all about.
I MEAN – from Genesis 3 until Luke 2 when the angels fill the skies and proclaim…
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. - Luke 2:14
The story is all about God preparing His people for the coming of The Prince of Peace… the ultimate peacemaker…
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. – Colossians 1:19,20
Like Father, Like Son
I don’t know about you, but I don’t simply want to be know as a child of God (as awesome as that is)
I want to be called (because of they way I talk, live, behave and pursue peace)
To be called a son of God
I want people to see the family resemblance, to see the Father in me
Man, I still have so far to go…
But by the grace of God I will get there
II. The Peace We Must Make
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
OKAY – so let’s unpack this concept of peacemaking
SO THAT – we will know what it is
SO THAT – we will know what we must do
SO THAT – we will be called sons of God
BUT – before we go there when need to talk about - What peacemaking is not…
BECAUSE there are a lot of misconceptions out there…
A) Peacemaking Is Not…
Absence of conflict.
Understand, peace in the Bible is never to be confused with pacifism.
Avoidance of conflict. Never are we instructed to run from conflict. Putting our head in the sand, hoping that the conflict will end, only delays the inevitable.
Appeasement - Understand the “peace at any price” mentality is far from a biblical command.
Accommodation
The person who glosses over the problems, acting as if everything is alright when it is not is not a peacemaker.
UNDERSTAND – to appease, accommodate and avoid does not make us peacemakers but rather peacekeepers…
YOU SEE
Peacekeepers want peace at all costs.
Therefore they often choose peace over truth, over what is right, over healthy and authentic relationships.
Peacekeepers see ‘peace’ as simply the absence of any kind of argument or discord. Which is why they will go to any length to avoid any kind of conflict/confrontation/unrest.
Peacekeepers tend to sweep issues under the carpet.
AND - in doing so they settle for a counterfeit-pseudo-disney world peace that is based on avoiding what is real and true.
BUT UNDERSTAND
God’s peace, the peace of the Bible never evade issues, and it knows nothing of peace at any price.
It does not gloss over or hide from issues,
It does not rationalize of excuse.
INSTEAD - it confronts problems and seeks to solve them.
AND - after the problems are solved, it builds a bridge between those who had been separated.
YOU KNOW - I believe the reason there is so much conflict in our homes, in our lives, in our world and in our churches today, is because we have tried to be peacekeepers rather than peacemakers.
SO – we appease, avoid and accommodate… rather than deal with truth and what is right.
BUT LISTEN – that was most definitely not the way of Jesus the ultimate, the model of a peacemaker…
I MEAN…
CHECK OUT - what Jesus the Prince Of Peace said in Matthew chapter 10
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. – Matthew 10:34-39
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. – Matthew 10:34
What a paradox! The Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), who is gentle and humble (Mt 11:29), who would not even cry out on His own behalf (Isa 53:7) will be the cause of great division.
And Jesus word in verse 35 ‘set against’ – is even stronger than our translations are able to tell. It suggests ‘inciting to revolt’ or to ‘sow discord.’ Jesus’ driving passion is for peace, but not at the price of truth and discipleship. - Mark Moore (Life of Christ)
YES - these words seem to be the opposite of what Jesus is calling his disciples to do in Matthew 5, but the peace Jesus is encouraging, reminds us that…
There will be opposition before there is harmony.
There will be conflict before there is peace.
Why?
Because the peace of Christ must always be seen in terms of truth and righteousness – to which the world is in fierce opposition.
UNDERSTAND…
• When believers bring truth to a world that loves falsehood, there will be conflict.
• When believers bring righteousness to a world that loves their sin and wrongdoing there will be opposition.
• AND WHEN – a believer brings a word of truth to a brother or sister that loves falsehood and their sin wrongdoing there will be conflict and opposition.
BUT LISTEN
• Until unrighteousness (the wrong way) is changed to righteousness (the right way),
• Until falsehood and lies are changed for truth
There cannot be the peace that God desires and is all about.
OKAY… SO
• Peacekeeping is not an option for those who are called of God,
• Instead peacemaking is the way of the true believer.
• And Peacemaking is often difficult, costly and ugly, but it’s the work we have been called to… it’s the work that will lead us to being called sons of God.
B) NOW – there are at least 4 areas where God wants us to make peace…
1) Peacemakers Make Peace With God
UNDERSTAND – this is the starting point.
I MEAN – before we can be called a son of God, we must first become a child of God.
We must first make peace with God.
QUESTION – in making peace with God who sets the terms… God or us? I will answer that… God does.
YOU SEE – He sets the terms of our surrender not us, and He lays out those terms in His Word…
OKAY – so what are the terms of our surrender…
No verse can mean less than what it says, but it can mean more in light of other Scripture
Believe…
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
Confess
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. – Romans 10:10
Repent and be Baptized
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 2:38
QUESTION – have you surrendered to His terms?
NOW – there is one of God’s terms that for some reason people are slow to surrender to…
I MEAN – even the apostle Paul was a little bit slow with this one…
That is until a friend asked him a question…
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ - Acts 22:16
2) Peacemakers Make Peace With Others
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18
NOW – one of the best ways to live at peace with everyone is to not start conflict and wars in the first place.
By our words, our actions, our tone
By being prideful, critical, harsh, judgmental, defensive, hateful and mean spirited
AND INSTEAD – adopt the Ephesians 4:1,2 philosophy
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:1,2
QUESTION – do you think that being completely humble and gentle (keeping your strength under control) and being patient and bearing with one another in love
Would help us to live in peace with others?
Would minimize strife and conflict?
Listen
Although the truth will offend people, our attitude should not
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18
YOU KNOW
I think some of us need pray about scheduling a peacemaking meeting with someone.
And remember I am not talking about appeasing and accomodating…
3) Peacemakers Helps Others Make Peace With Others
Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement.
And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. – Philippians 4:2,3
NOW - this can get messy…
BUT – it so awesome, to see the relationship of 2 people restored and to know that you played a part in making it happen…
4) Peacemakers Lead Others To Peace With God
If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!
All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him.
God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace.
So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God.
– 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. – Luke 10:2
Lord give me one person to share your love with today. – Pray for one
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
Telemachus was a monk in the 4th century. One day in prayer, He felt called by God to leave immediately and head to Rome. So he put his possessions in a sack and headed out.
Upon arriving in Rome, he was immediately caught up in the crowd. The crowd was immense and excited. Soon Telemachus found himself giddy with the contagious excitement of those around him.
He wasn’t sure where he was headed but he knew whatever it was, it had to be great, and there was no way he was going to miss out on it.
Within a few moments he found himself deep in the seating area of the Roman Coliseum. Asking those around him, he learned that the Romans had just defeated the Goths, and the emperor had commanded a circus to be held for the celebrating crowd.
As he took his seat, he couldn’t have missed the emperor sitting in his seat of honor. He most certainly would not have missed the arrival of the gladiators into the coliseum.
As the gladiators lined up below the emperors seat, together they stood and yelled out: “We, who are about to die, salute you”.
It was the traditional greeting of the gladiators to their emperors, and in that instant he knew exactly what he had stumbled upon. The Bishops and leaders of the church had spoken out about the gladiator games in Rome, yet most believed it was only legend.
In that moment, Telemachus realized it all was true.
Soon the gladiators pulled their weapons and the bloody brawl began just a few hundred yards away from him.
The grotesque nature of the sport appalled him.
Worse yet, was the reactions of those around him.
The spectators where in a blood thirsty ecstasy over what they were seeing.
Telemachus was sickened and shocked.
In that instant he realized that it must stop. From his seat, he yelled out to the warriors: In the Name of Jesus Stop… But no one heard.
Without thinking he jumped over the wall and into the battle arena of the fighters. The gladiators surprised by the unexpected guests momentarily stopped their fights and stared at the monk.
“IN THE NAME OF JESUS STOP!” he yelled over and over again.
After a few moments, the silence turned to chuckles and outright laughter. One of the gladiators, with a sick enjoyment, took a swing at Telemachus with his sword, just barely missing him. With that the others began to draw their swords.
Soon they were chasing this man, across the field of battle to the laughter of the crowd. Most who witnessed the spectacle thought he was a clown or there for comic relief.
That was until they heard what he was yelling;
For the love of Christ, Stop!…
He ran, jumped, dodged and ducked, and with each passing moment his words grew clearer and louder;
In the name of Jesus, Stop. In the name of Jesus Stop.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS STOP!
Eventually the gladiators surged and when the dust cleared, there laid Telemachus on the ground with a sword in the center of his chest. There was silence in the crowd. It was said in that moment, that his words still echoed in the coliseum; In the name of Christ Stop.
After what seemed like an eternity, one man got up from his seat, and left in silence.
Then another… Then another…
Until everyone got up from their seat and left in silence and disbelief.
The site of the dead monk in the center of the coliseum, and the reaction of the crowd, also led the emperor and his guests to silently stand, turn and leave the coliseum.
After a few minutes, the Gladiators put their swords down and they too left. All that remained in that giant coliseum was the scrawny lifeless body of the young monk.
History claims that this was the very last gladiator game at the coliseum. The memory of that man screaming to the crowd, and the image of the blood thirsty lust of the crowd had changed the hearts and the minds of the Romans in that instant. Within the hour the emperor issued an edict forbidding any future games of war within the Roman Empire.
There was no more killing in the Coliseum. There were no more gladiator matches in Rome. There was no more killing as sport. All because one man, stood up….and said
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
