The Peacemaking Ones

Greeting

Isaiah 2:3 ESV

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.

The mountain of the LORD is where God put his temple, his house, his church. It is the center of the spiritual world, and this morning we come in the presence of God to worship. We are blessed to assemble, and doubly blessed by those visiting with us. Please let us know what’s on your mind by hitting the QR code on the pew in front of you.

Grabber

In 1945 the United Nations was created to assist the world with peace. In the Preamble to the UN Charter the first determination is “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Since its beginning, the world has not experienced a single day of peace; not one day when war did not rage somewhere. Humankind’s record of peace has been abysmal. Amid the slogans, treaties, and hopes for peace we are reminded just how elusive peace is. Conflict, war, sorrow, pain, and hate disrupt our greatest efforts. Yet, we continue to seek it because innately we desire it and biblically we know it is attainable.

Introduction

In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a snapshot of Kingdom Living—what living in the Kingdom looks like from a heavenly perspective. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, and the pure in heart. Imagine a world where most people started living by these principles. Imagine if just those who called themselves Christians lived by these principles.

These living ideals run so contrary to modern culture, that I think a lot of us would feel threatened if we lived like this. Yet, to Jesus these are not “live like this unless it…threatens you…brings poverty…invites abuse…let’s others get ahead of you,” it is simply, if you want to be my disciple, walk this way.

But Jesus is not done. In Matthew 5:9 ““Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” What does a peacemaker look like? To know this, we must understand peace from God’s perspective, then evangelistically spread his peace.

Discussion

The Character: Peacemaker (Matt 5:9)

Matthew 5:9 ESV

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Peace

Absence of Conflict. No wars. No fighting. Yet this only creates a truce while reloading. That is about all peace treaties and drawdowns get us—time to reload. It does not create an atmosphere of peace. When people visualize world peace, this is what most people envision.

Inner Calm. Closer. But many people seek calm through meditation, medication, or therapy. But this is not God’s peace. They seek to center themselves, but it is still about themselves. Their weak, fallible, broken selves. We need a better foundation for peace.

Righteousness. Yes! Righteousness removes conflict with the Creator and brings the calmness of knowing we are in fellowship with the Father. It fits the context of the Bible. The Bible begins with peace in the Garden and ends with peace in Heaven. It traces the loss of peace at the fall and the regaining of peace at the cross. In the promise of peace, there is an expectation of righteousness—a removal of sin which brings conflict.

James 4:1 “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

Hebrews 12:14 “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Psalm 85:10 “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

Peace with Conflict. Peaceful Conflict or Conflicted Peace?

The Bible is filled with paradoxes. A crucified Savior. A living sacrifice. A silent teacher. Then there is an embattled peace.

Matthew 10:34 ““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and he seeks to bring people under the peace of God, but his presence brings conflict with those out of step with God.

Following Jesus today still brings conflict

John 15:18–19 ““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Galatians 4:16 “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

John 3:19–20 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Making Peace

Bible peace does not ignore the issue of sin. It does not embrace peace at any price. It does not gloss over sin. Bible peace conquers the problem and builds a bridge. The gospel is offensive. It ruffles feathers. It creates tension, pain, unrest, and anguish to make sinners uncomfortable with their sin—to make us uncomfortable with our sins. 1 Kings 18:17–18 “When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”

Some people think making peace means to be easy-going, a quiet people who don’t make waves or bring up issues, or one who lacks a sense of justice and righteousness, or compromises and appeases with others. That’s not a peacemaker, that’s just someone without convictions.

This is how we make peace.

Make peace with God. Acts 3:19–20 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,”

Make peace with others. Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Help others make peace with God. Jude 21–23 “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

Silence isn’t peace.

The Consequence: Called Sons of God

Peace is a portrait of God

He is the God of Peace. Philippians 4:9 “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

He is our Peace. Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”

He is our Reconciliation. Colossians 1:20 “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Making Peace turns our image into the likeness of God. The spitting image. He looks just like his Father. He set the standard of peace, and I want to follow it.

Application

It comes down to this, God wants us to be peacemakers, not just peaceful. It is costly because it forces us to get involved when it would be easier to just stay out of it. That requires humility, courage, and willingness to step into the tension of other people’s lives. It requires us to confront sin with true love.

It requires more than stopping an on-field soccer scuffle or mediating in a neighbors domestic situation. It means investing in people’s lives to bring them into harmony with God. Evangelism. Engage, Connect, Model, Listen, Invite, Teach, Serve.

God look at a world filled with sin and conflict—and got involved.

So, What?

God calls us to be conformed to his image and get involved in making peace in the midst of conflict.