Peace of Mind
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· 13 viewsThe Sermon on the Mount calls us to a different way of living, peacemakers shall be called sons of God.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
the seventh beatitude: Peace-Makers
The Sermon on the Mount calls us to a different way of living, peacemakers shall be called sons of God.
The Movie the Help, gave great insight on the life of many Black/Brown/African American/ BIPOC(black indigenous people of color) women and what the endured as Maids, nannies to families through the Jim Crow south period.
As we look at what peacemaking is: I think about 2 characters who tried to bring about peace; SKitter and Mrs. Aibileen. SKitter the white woman who tried to bring relief by telling the stories of the women being abused and taken advantage of. . . and Mrs. Aibileen who labored to get women to share their stories.
It was hard- SKitter would loose trust with her family who participated in the brutality and Mrs. Aibilenne would initially be seen as someone putting lives in danger.
To bring about peace. . someone must be willing to stand in the Gap and bring about peace and reconciliation
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 7. The Peacemakers (9)
Now peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation.
another quote
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 2. The Beatitudes, 5:3–12
He refers not to peace-keepers but to peace-makers, people who end hostilities and bring the quarrelsome together.
Peacemaking:
who are they? how is it achieved? Peace between whom?
Peace bears the idea of the Hebrew Word shalom-”wholeness and overall well-being.
Definition of Peace?- find one
Preaching the Word: Sermon on the Mount—The Message of the Kingdom “Blessed are the Peacemakers”
Both parts of the word “peacemakers,” taken together, describe one who actively pursues peace in its fullness. He pursues more than the absence of conflict; he pursues wholeness and well-being.
What a peacemaker is not: maybe find some examples
easy going- laissez-faire: doesn’t care about what others are doing as long as it doesn’t directly affect me.
always Tolerant: you do your thing and i will do mine
not an appeaser: they just want peace at any price. this is not peace; it just puts off the conflict.
What peacemakers are;
Honest- they tell the truth in all situations.
can you imagine the prophets of old; speaking unpopular truths to people not willing to receive it?
Ezek warning against people acting like things are good when its not
Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,
Jer speaks truth as well
They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
peacemakers are painfully honest about what’s going on in life.
Many of us unfortunately don’t want to face reality in a lot of situations, we want to act like everything is fine when it’s not. Peacemaking requires us not to avoid the reality.
Experience Pain-
risking being misunderstood
Fighters:
makes trouble to make peace
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Peacemaking is necessary in our world. We need peace.
Our Passage Finally:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The text is a beautiful passage again calling us to do something that is difficult in our own strength.
one point to bring out is the inconcinnity (in-ken-sinity)-{perceived lack of congruity} of Mat 5:9 and Mat 10:34
in it note the idea while driving in the car:
Peace by some brings disruption for others. The peace you may try to offer, is devastation for those who live recklessly.
Jesus saying blessed are the peacemakers seems to contrast what he will say later in Mat 10: he says don’t suppose i can to bring peace but a sword!!!!
WHAT!!!!
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Is Jesus being contradictory? By no means; He lifts up the reality that the good news of peace, the kingdom of heaven being at hand. . was like a dagger to the hearts of those unyielding to the Gospel. Families will criticize you, friends will call you foolish. . they are perishing.
examples:
Many premarital sessions were it was advised that marriage may not be the best for you. Peace, looks like a sword.
The financial advisor planning out the next 5-10 years. . placing heavy emphasis on saving and not spending. . . Peace looks like a sword.
The doctor telling Conley to put down the ice cream and donuts. . . reduce the sugar from your daily routine. . . my my my God. . . Peace sounds like the SWORD!!!
This is the life of a peacemaker; not the absence of chaos, rather stepping in to chaotic situations
Christ the Ultimate Peacemaker
Our Lord himself is, of course, the supreme peacemaker. He is the glorious “Prince of Peace” prophesied by Isaiah, the messianic fulfillment of the new covenant of peace. . . .
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
“My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
At his birth the angels celebrated this fulfillment, singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests”
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Peace is at the heart of God- romans talks about this
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The Person and work of Christ brought peace: ephesians
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
How did Christ accomplish this peace?
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
It was His work on the cross and the empty tomb which brought about this peace. And when I think about the cross. . . the benefits are giving to us freely. . but it was costly. The peace afforded to came at a huge price. . the Death of Jesus. . He was the substitutionary atonement for our sins!!!!
Peace came at a Price
What was the price?
Jesus left Glory to save us
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
SONs of GOD
Being called “Sons of God” is Two-Fold:
What is hoped for and symbolized by the notion of eschatological sonship is twofold—(1) a degree of intimacy with God not experienced now and (2) a likeness to him (cf. 5:48).
We have ways to be in the word and in God now: spiritual disciplines- prayer, fasting, solitude. It gives us a bluetooth connection of sorts but there is more that comes when our time here is over.
We have a sense of likeness to God now: made in His image, filled with the Spirit, and having the mind of Christ. . . BUT there is something special when we get to see God face to face.
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
we will be like him and will see him
The Pattersonaires- “i shall see Him face to face”
Revelation gives us a glimpse of how different the relationship will be
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Lets be peacemakers, if we want to follow after Jesus, lets be peacemakers