Shift #7
THE BRIDGE BUILDERS
MATTHEW 5:9
INTRODUCTION: (:33 intro)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of my all time favorite movies. I wasn’t alone in liking it. The film won four academy awards and was nominated as Best Picture in 1970. It’s ranked as one of the top 150 movies on several motion picture sites. Part of the popularity of the film was the difference between Sundance and Butch. The Sundance Kid was a notorious gunslinger and likes to fight his way through differences. While Butch was more of the peacemaker.
Video Clip: Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: Start: Chp. 3: 5:20 - Stop: Chp. 3: 8:38 = 3:18
How are you at sowing seeds of peace? Most of us will not be called on to ward off a gunfight, or for that matter any physical encounter, and I really doubt you’ll be tempted, like in our drama, to purchase confrontational insults from the “Sticks and Stones.” But, here’s what we have been called to do and according to the Bible it is vital and significant in God’s sight: we are to bring peace to troubled hearts. Our world is in need of peacemakers. For there is conflict between spouses, between parents and children, between races, between nations even between those who call themselves Christians. So Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God."
I hope you’ve kept up with the building progression that Jesus has laid out in His beatitudes. (1) First, he told us we must see our need, that we are not good but "poor in spirit." (2) He told us that after seeing our sin we need to "mourn" over it. We discover gladness when we leave the prison of pride and repent of our rebellion. Sorrow is followed by (3) "meekness." The meek are those who are amazed that God would save them, and even more surprised that God would use them. The meek don’t tell God how to conduct, they simply surrender themselves as instruments and are thrilled to be a part of the concert. The result of the first 3 steps? (4) Hunger. For, maybe the first time in your life you are addicted to something positive. And you want more. Then (5) comes "mercy." The more you realize you have received, the more you want to give. You discover the joy not just in God’s forgiveness but in forgiving others. A sacred delight has been placed in your heart and you know that the One who made you can also purify you- that’s the (6) step, to be "pure in heart," clean from the inside out. Now, and only now, are you ready to take action. See, you cannot help others find peace if you do not have it yourself. The first six beatitudes encouraged us to right attitudes, and once we have the right attitude, Jesus can stimulate us to right action. To be God’s emissaries. To help others to be at peace with God, at peace with their fellow man and to have peace in their hearts. When we do that, Jesus says we most resemble God, we become "sons of God," chips off the old block. For after all, as it says in Eph. 2:15-16 - "Jesus brought all of us together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. 16On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God." (CEV) Since Jesus has provided peace for us through the cross He now says that we are to take the action of being like Him, a peace maker. So, let’s look closely this morning at the divine task He’s given us.
I. THE DEFINITION:
As in the other beatitudes, understanding exactly what Jesus means here is paramount. Just before Jesus left to ascend to Heaven, He said in Jn 14:27- "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives."(NLT) Because His peace is different then what the world offers, we need to clear up some misconceptions about peace making.
First of all, peace making is NOT simply the absence of strife. The world thinks of peace simply as a situation where conflict ceases, whether that be between nations or people. But that peace is temporary, incomplete, shallow because it does nothing to give lasting peace for the heart. The peace that Jesus offers not only includes the ceasing of bad things happening but promotes good things occurring in its place. God told the people in Micah 4:3- "They’ll trade their swords for shovels, their spears for rakes and hoes."(MSG) They were not to simply stop the strife but to turn their instruments of conflict into tools of productivity. Peace is not just negative, bad things stopping, but positive, good things occurring. Peace making is not just the absence of strife.
Peacemaking is also NOT simply avoiding conflict. All of us hate confrontation but Jesus is saying here that sometimes it is necessary. Will you notice that He does not say, "Blessed are the peace lovers, but.. “blessed are the peace makers.” If there is conflict or sin problems in your family, or in the church, you are going against Jesus’ teaching here if you simply stick your head ostrich-like in the sand and avoid it. I hear people who will see someone in emotional or spiritual trouble say things like, "It’s none of my business," "that’s between them and God," "They will resent my interference." I say this in love, but those quotes are not said by peace makers but by people who are afraid. Yes, steps taken to try and mend the problem are not pleasant but Jesus’ business was to bring peace and we are to be about the King’s business.
And thirdly, peacemaking is NOT simply appeasement. Christ’s peace is not passive. Being a peacemaker is not simply letting people have their way. Some of you here lived in homes where the motto was: “Peace at all cost” or “Don’t rock the boat.” In other words, just let it go, appease the person. And because no one had the courage to confront a problem the problem just got worse. Jesus did not say, "Blessed are the peaceable." The Scripture teaches us over and over again that if we see someone in trouble, someone in sin, someone who by their actions is obviously out of sync with God, we are to help them. Gal. 6:1- "My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way." (TEV) Jesus stood His ground on Godly issues, He didn’t just appease people, He confronted them in love, trying desperately to allow them to see that real peace comes from a right relationship with the Heavenly Father.
And that makes peace a positive process. Both the Greek word for peace, "eirene," and the Hebrew word, "Shalom," describe a much deeper meaning than just people having freedom from trouble. Jesus is describing right personal relationships. He is describing intimacy, fellowship, predominant goodwill between people and God and between each other. So, peace is not the absence of strife nor the avoiding of conflict, nor shallow appeasement so as not to have confrontation. Peace making is facing the issues and doing all we can do to resolve them. Jesus is saying, "Happy many times over are the people who actively seek to resolve conflict."
II. THE APPLICATION:
Now, how do I do that? When I see conflict between someone and God or if there is strife between myself and someone else, how do I practically handle it? How do I become a peacemaker? Well, using the acronym: P.E.A.C.E., here are five suggestions to help you resolve conflict in your home, job, church and any other place where peace is threatened.
(1) P-lan a peace conference: Matthew 5:23-24- "If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, 24abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God." (MSG) The principle here is: The peace maker takes the initiative. Jesus says, "it doesn’t matter whether you are the offender or the one offended, you make the first move.” Now, I can already hear the hesitation, because I felt it too, the first time I heard this. It’s natural for us to say, "Wait a minute. Why should I be the first to go? I’m the one that has been hurt, I’m the victim.” But there’s a good reason God wants the one hurt goes to the hurter and it’s because conflict is always resolved intentionally, never accidentally. You schedule a face to face meeting to sit down and intentionally deal with it. Now, when do you deal with it? Bible says: immediately. Matt. 5 says "leave immediately.." Do it now, don’t postpone it, don’t keep avoiding it. The longer I wait to resolve a conflict the more difficult it’s going to be to resolve it. So, first plan a peace conference.
(2) E-mpathize with their feelings: Phil. 2:4- "Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but to the interests of others." The word for "look" there is the Gk. word, "scopos," from which we get microscope, telescope. In other words, pay close attention to what may have caused them to act the way they did. Let me ask you a question. When you’re upset who do you primarily think of? When I’m upset, when I’m angry, I’ve got to confess, I’m prone to primarily think of me.. my needs, my hurt.. "You hurt me!" " I can’t believe you did that to me!" God says, reverse that, hold a peace conference and focus on their needs, what can I do to help them? If you will do that, conflict can produce positive results. Because one of the values of working through conflict is greater intimacy with the other person, because you’ve been listening, you’ve seen their needs, not just your own.
(3) A-ttack the problem not the person: You cannot focus on repairing the problem when you determined to fix the blame on the other person. If you plan a peace conference for the purpose of blame, it’s not going to be much of a peace conference. Prov.15:1- "A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger." Have you ever experienced the truth of that verse? I have. So be sincere not sarcastic, be gentle not judgmental, be candid without being critical. Attack the problem, not the person. Don’t condemn, compare, criticize and don’t insult. We’ve all learned and God knows just how devastating unwholesome talk can be. That’s why we read in Eph. 4:29- "Don’t say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you."(GW) Attack the problem not the person. Because, you don’t get the point across by being cross.
(4) C-ooperate as much as possible: Be a bridge builder not a bridge burner. When you go to your peace conference go with the spirit of compromise.. "What can we agree on?" Don’t go with the attitude- "I’m right and when I get done with him or her, they’re going to see how wrong they are." Won’t work.. Romans 12:18- "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Did you notice our responsibility in Rom. 12:18? "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you..." He’s saying, do everything possible.. on your part.. to get along, but recognize that just as conflict takes two, so does peace, & there are some people who you just can’t work things out with. They are just "un-get-along-able." But you do the best you can.
And please realize that peace always has a price.. if you want peace in your home, if you want peace in your marriage, if you want peace in the church there’s a price. Peace cost your ego. You’ve got to be willing to give up your self-centeredness, your selfish desire, your pride. Husbands you’ve got to be able say, "My wife’s probably right.” Wives you’ve got to be able to say, “My husband’s slant on this has merit." Parents you’ve got to be open to say, "Maybe my child has a valid point." Young people: "Maybe my Dad & Mom do know what they are talking about." Somebody said that the 3 most difficult words to say in the English language are, "I am sorry." The 6 most difficult: "I am sorry, I was wrong." The eight most difficult: "I am sorry, I was wrong, a lot!" We could probably go for awhile with this. But to be ready to say those things is having the spirit of compromise.
James 3:18- "Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness."(NLT) In other words, you’re going to reap what you sow. You want people to be cooperative with you during times of conflict, you be cooperative with them, you want people to be nice to you, you be nice to them, you want people to compromise with you, you have to compromise with others. So ask yourself, "what seeds am I planting?" And if you are always planting seeds of griping, complaining, hassling, criticizing and arguing.. guess what you’re going to reap? What you plant is what you harvest. So plant seeds of compromise, cooperation and peace.
(5) E-mphasize reconciliation not resolution. (Repeat) And there is a big difference. Reconcile means to reestablish a relationship. Remember the words Jesus used for peace? Having a right relationship. But.. just because you reconcile doesn’t mean you wipe out all the problems. Because a lot of times there are some legitimate, honest differences between husbands and wives, parents and children, bosses and employees, etc. There are some differences in our make-up that can contribute to problems. For example.. There is a study by James Dobson that reveals that men use about 25,000 words a day, but women use 50,000. Now, ladies when you say, "My husband just won’t listen to me.." You’ve got to realize he doesn’t have the brain with the capacity to hold as much as you can say! It’s not our fault God gave us pea brains! Seriously, God made men and women differently, as a general rule, women are more verbal. And we need to realize that there are honest differences and recognize that not all problems will be resolved. Someone once said, "Reconciliation means burying the hatchet not burying the issue." The issue you keep talking about.. but disagree agreeably, walk hand in hand without necessarily having to see eye to eye.
When you focus on the relationship the resolution of the problem often becomes low priority. "Hey, we’re married, we love each other. Sure we have a major disagreement, but let’s keep working on it, let’s get some advice, let’s not allow it to ruin our relationship." "Hey, we’re brothers & sisters in Christ, sure we may have a disagreement over an issue. But God is still our Father so that makes us family. We won’t allow this issue to split us." When you focus on reconciling the relationship often either (a) the problem starts to resolve itself, (b) the problem becomes insignificant or (c) at least you have two people working together in the same direction in love. You emphasize reconciliation of the relationship above the resolution of the problem. 2 Cor. 5:18- "God who reconciled us to Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation.. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.." God has modeled for us what He wants us to do. God reconciled us to Him through Jesus and now we’re to do the same.
III. THE SATISFACTION:
And what happens when we do that? Jesus says, that’s when we are most like God.. when we are peacemakers we inherit the greatest title that could ever be bestowed on man- "Sons, children or heirs of God." What do we practically, inherit from this “son-ship”?
First, when we give ourselves completely to Him we inherit His peace. A peace that passes all understanding, a peace that enables us to deal with adversity, a peace that helps deal with the hurts that comes in relationships, a peace that helps us reconcile with others and resolve problems in love and harmony. You see, when I have unresolved conflict in my life I don’t have peace, in fact it does three things:
(a) It blocks my fellowship with God. The Bible teaches that you cannot have close fellowship with God and be out of fellowship with others at the same time. 1 John 4:20- "If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen." (TEV) When you are out of fellowship with other people horizontally, you are out of fellowship vertically- with God.
(b) It prevents an effective spiritual life. Guys listen closely to 1 Peter 3:7- "In the same way you husbands must live with your wives with the proper understanding that they are more delicate physically than you. Treat them with respect, because they also will receive, together with you, God’s gift of life. Do this so that nothing will interfere with your prayers."(TEV) Peter says that when you don’t treat your mate right your prayer life, your spiritual life is hindered. But that’s just not true for husbands only. Matt. 5:23, that we read a few minutes ago, says that when we have unresolved conflict it hinders our worship. Jesus said that if you have a problem with someone else to leave your offering in the front of the altar, don’t give it to God yet, but first go and reconcile with the person, and then come back and give your offering to God. Because reconciliation is a prerequisite for honoring God, for worship! If you’re having a hard time cultivating close communion with the Lord or if you’re having difficulty having the right attitude at church then check out your relationships.
(c) Unresolved conflict hinders my contentment. Folks, when you’re in conflict with someone you care about, are you fun to be around? I’m not.. when Deb and I are fighting (yes preachers and their wives have disagreements.. most of the time we sit and pray all day..) but every once in a while we’ll fight. And when I’m in conflict guess who is miserable to be around? Me. Job 18:4- "You are only hurting yourself by your anger."(TEV) You see unresolved conflict brings resentment and resentment robs you of your joy.
But Jesus says, the peace makers, those actively seeking to resolve conflict.. have fellowship with God, they possess an effective spiritual life and are contented with the fact that they have done all they can do to resolve the problem.
But Jesus says a second way we are known as “sons or children of God”is because when we pursue peace, that’s when we are most like Him. Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace." When the angels came and announced Jesus’ arrival they said, "Peace on earth among men." Ephesians 2 tells us that Jesus is our peace because of He reconciled the gap between our sin and God’s perfection by His sacrifice on the cross. And when you help restore relationships, you’re doing what God does. When you help bring people together, that’s the most Christ like thing you can do. And when God looks down on you, and you’re taking the initiative to restore oneness in that marriage, or unity in that office, or to reestablish harmony between another and God.. when you’re doing it, God looks down on you and says, "That’s my girl." - "That’s my boy." God says, "They’re doing exactly what I have done.. and keep doing - trying to bring harmony where there is disharmony, trying to restore unity where there is conflict." You see, you are never more like God then when you are building bridges of peace because, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God."
Prayer
Next Step: In order to make peace FOR God you must be at peace WITH God.. And maybe you’d like to talk with someone about that.
{All Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, unless otherwise noted.}
