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)
Matthew 5:9
“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.
Psalm 139:24 NLT asks the Lord to …
“Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Let’s remember ….
Once you find God and learn to love Him as He loves you and once that love drives you to a life of faithfulness to God you will be endowed with righteousness and peace, right?
And then once you have the indwelling peace of God THEN He can use you as a peacemaker.
Remember, all of this is for the Lord and for building His kingdom here on earth.
We do not serve the Lord to receive His blessings but to bless Him. The blessings we receive from Him are byproducts of living faithful lives to bless Him. Don’t get inverted!
So, in what ways can we be peacemakers?
Since you have found “the peace of God that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) wouldn’t you want others to have that same peace as well?
How can they find that peace? They can find it by placing their faith and trust in Jesus the same way you did.
Can we help with that?
Is that something we are SUPPOSED to do?
2 Corinthians 5:20 says,
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. ‘We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.’”
Last Friday was September 11th, the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon and another unknown target.
Suppose you were working on the top floor in the first tower that would be hit and somehow you had found out about the terrorist plot and you knew that it would happen in the next hour and you also knew that the towers would eventually collapse and everyone still in them would die.
Would you start going from floor to floor telling people about what was going to happen and that they needed to get out of the building if they wanted to live?
Or would you quietly descend the elevator down and catch a cab out of the city?
We as believers in Jesus and believers in His Holy Word know that there is a terrorist worse than Bin Laden and a fate worse than physical death. We know the end is coming.
We also know that great Eternal Rescuer, Jesus who gave His life for us. They can have this peace, too! Yes, they can have that peace and out of an overflowing gratitude for what He has done for us we tell others and then they find that peace, too.
We can be spiritual peacemakers. God can use His faithful ones to bring others to Himself and His peace.
In what other way can we be peacemakers?
We can be peace makers in the Body of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 6 we see a church in spiritual and relationship chaos. They are actually dragging each other to court in front of the world.
This is what Paul says, “You yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters (in Christ).” 1 Cor. 6:8
That in itself is bad enough but parading the hatred in front of the world was even worse because they were representing the name of Jesus Christ!
And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:7
“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been COMPLETELY DEFEATED already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”
“Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”
Have you ever asked yourself those questions?
Would you rather be wronged, would you rather be cheated than to take selfish conflicts out before the world and sully the name of Jesus?
Jesus our Savior Himself said in John 13:34-35,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
If we truly love God and love one another will we be cheating and doing wrong to each other?
If we are living a life of true faithfulness to the Lord wouldn’t we “rather be wronged, wouldn’t (we) rather be cheated”, wouldn’t we rather be a peacemaker filled with the presence of God and therefore fully satisfied?
The evil one seeks to disrupt, divide and cause turmoil.
Jesus brings harmony, unity and peace.
We can know the peace of God and we can be peacemakers within the Body of Christ, the church.
Another example of a peacemaker is a person who is at peace with God and with the path down which the Lord is leading him or her.
You may have known some people like this. People who are simply wonderful, not wonderful in themselves but wonderful because who they have allowed the Lord to form them into His image.
And then these people are confronted with terrible circumstances and yet they remain blessed; filled with God and therefore fully satisfied.
This is the sense Pastor Karenlee and I encounter whenever we get to visit our friends Kevin and Jan. It doesn’t matter if it is in person or on the phone.
They love the Lord and are faithful to Him and have been for many years. They have been useful in the ministry for decades and continue to be useful to Him even in this time of great loss of health.
You know they have concerns for their own physical well being but whenever you enter their presence you get the sense that they are more concerned with what is going on in your life and if there is any way they can pray for you or help you.
They are going through great difficulties and yet they want to help with yours.
Of course, they want to be prayed for but they do not want to become a burden to you. Instead they want to bring peace to any conflict in your life. They are peacemakers and they are blessed.
Our dear Ken and Dot were the same way. Peacemakers!
Do you have the foundational requirements of loving God and others and of faithfulness that will allow you to live a life of righteousness and peace?
If you do, you will be blessed, filled with the presence of God and therefore fully satisfied. If you are truly blessed then you will be a peacemaker wherever discord is found.
Not everyone will be receptive to the offering of the peace of God that He will extend to others through you. That’s OK. You have obediently done what the Lord has asked of you.
Do you have the peace of God that goes beyond human understanding?
Are you a peacemaker among the brothers and sisters in Christ?
Do people sense the peace of God in your life during times of trouble?
Do they sense God’s concern for them through His Spirit in you?
Final thoughts and prayer.
