SERMON: THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: PEACE-MAKING

THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: PEACE-MAKING
(The Beatitude Series)
10 July 2011

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

-- this morning, we are continuing on in our sermon series on the Beatitudes that we have called, “The Measure of a Christian” -- today, we are looking at the seventh Beatitude -- “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God”

-- when I think of Christian peacemakers, I am always led to the story of Telemachus -- Telemachus was a monk in the 4th century who desperately wanted to live for God -- he tried to do this inside the walls of a cloistered monastery, but after some time there, he came to realize that true Christianity must be lived out among the world -- that to be a Christian, he must serve God by serving people -- feeling a call from God to go to Rome, Telemachus left the isolation of the monastery for the first time in his adult life and went to the capital of the world
-- when he arrived there, he found himself surrounded by jubilant throngs of people who were celebrating a great victory over the Goths -- he let himself be swept up with the crowd to the Coliseum, where the Romans were forcing the Goth prisoners to fight the gladiators in the arena to the delight and entertainment of the crowd
-- he thought to himself, “four centuries after Christ, and they are still killing each other for enjoyment? -- as he watched the first prisoners being forced into the arena and heard the gladiators announce to Caesar, “We who are about to die salute you,” he knew that this was wrong -- he knew why God had sent him to Rome
-- Telemachus vaulted over the wall and went out into the middle of the field -- he stood between a gladiator and a Goth prisoner and said, “In the name of Christ, forbear” -- the crowd began to protest this disturbance to their entertainment and began to shout at Telemachus and throw stones at him -- but still, he stood in the middle with his hands up, begging for peace in the name of Christ
-- the crowd screamed, “Kill him” -- and one gladiator, to the cheers of the crowd, turned and plunged his sword into the monk -- Telemachus collapsed onto the sand of the coliseum -- his blood staining his monk’s robes and flowing onto the sand -- in one final gasp, Telemachus breathed out, “In the name of Christ, forbear” -- all noise stopped and the coliseum became quiet as all 80,000 people sat in stunned silence at the violence done to this man of Christ
-- before long, one man stood and left --and then another and another -- and within minutes, all 80,000 spectators had left the coliseum
-- three days later, the emperor declared Telemachus a martyr of the faith and issued an official decree that ended gladiatorial events in Rome forever

II. Making Peace
-- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” -- out of all the Beatitudes that we have studied so far, this Beatitude is different -- in the previous six Beatitudes, we saw the maturing of character -- we saw the development of a person of faith as they moved from just being aware of the existence of God and their need for a Savior to demonstrating the depth of character that a true Christian should possess
-- in each of the previous Beatitudes, the changes in character and attitude are inward-driven as the Spirit works within us to make us more like Christ -- God does the work, and our role is merely to accept and embrace the changes that He is making so that we will reflect the nature of Jesus in our lives
-- but, in this Beatitude, we become an active participant -- once again, God is working in us and through us, but here Jesus calls us to action -- Jesus calls us to make a difference
-- “Blessed are the peacemakers -- Blessed are those who intentionally go forth and choose to make peace in the midst of life”

-- I think we can really see what Jesus means by thinking again about the story of Telemachus -- Telemachus was the perfect example of a man of faith who lived out this Beatitude
-- certainly, you could say that Telemachus was a peaceful man -- as a monk living in isolation with a few other Christians, his life was one of peace and tranquility -- but that is not the calling in this Beatitude -- it does not say, “Blessed are the peaceful or blessed are the tranquil” -- this Beatitude is not a call for us to passively go through life with peace in our hearts -- serenely going about our days regardless of what is going on around us
-- no -- look at what this Beatitude says, “Blessed are the peacemakers -- Blessed are those who make peace”
-- and, so, God wasn’t satisfied with Telemachus just living a life of peace and tranquility and sereneness in his monastery -- God was calling him to more -- God was calling him to action -- and in answer to that call, Telemachus left the peace of the monastery and entered the chaos of life in the capitol of Rome and became known as a peacemaker for all time when he gave his life to abolish gladiatorial events

-- the message of this Beatitude is that peace must be made
-- last night we all gathered at my parents’ house to welcome them home after their long vacation -- as we were watching the many slides from their trip, they had a picture of a van from the 60’s that was in the Route 66 Museum -- on the side of the van was painted the slogan, “Make Love, not War”
-- well, my niece brought up a situation at school where a friend of hers had been sent home to change after coming to school in a shirt that had that same slogan on the front -- the school administration said the shirt promoted sexual behavior and sent her home
-- my niece was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe they sent her home -- “that’s not what it meant,” she said, “it means, “Make Peace, Not War” -- that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, isn’t it?”
-- I have seen that slogan all my life and never really made that association, but she’s right -- regardless of what the originators of that slogan meant, we are supposed to be making peace and not war -- we are supposed to be peacemakers

-- which leads us to the question, “How?”
-- well, I’m glad you asked -- if you would, turn over to 1 Peter 3 and let’s answer that question starting in verse 8
-- in this epistle, Peter gives his readers practical instruction on how to live the Christian life -- he has written to slaves and masters -- to husbands and wives -- and to Christians in general -- and now, as he finishes up his instructions in this area, he sums it up with these verses here in chapter 3 that echo the words of Christ, “Blessed are the peacemakers”

-- look with me, if you would, at verse 8 -- 8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

-- as Peter closes his instructions on practical living as a Christian, he ends up with this final instruction that is for everyone -- slave and free -- husband and wife -- children and adults -- everyone who names the name of Christ, Peter says, is to live in harmony with each other
-- what does he mean by harmony? -- the dictionary says that harmony is “agreement in feeling or opinion -- being in accord -- like-mindedness” -- the Jews had another word for it, “Shalom” -- that all-encompassing peace that permeated lives and cultures and that affected relationships with each other and with God
-- Peter is saying this is our goal -- this is what we are striving for -- this is what Jesus was calling us to in the seventh Beatitude -- and now he’s going to tell us how to get there

-- look back at the second part of verse 8

1 Peter 3:8b -- “be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

-- we could call these verses, “Steps to peace” -- Peter says that if we want to live in harmony -- if we want to experience Shalom in our lives -- then this is the way to do it
-- first, be sympathetic -- think about the other person -- before you react to another person -- before you jump to conclusions and become angry or hostile towards them, stop and consider what might be going on with them to make them act that way
-- several years ago, we were at a restaurant here in town and we just were not getting good service -- the waitress was rude and short with us and would just disappear and we couldn’t get what we needed and it was not a good situation -- and, generally, it takes a lot to get me angry and I was starting to get fed up -- I was about to let this waitress and her manager know just what I thought -- when all of a sudden, we heard tires squealing and people yelling screaming outside and just general chaos -- and when we looked out the window to see what was going on, I realized why our service was so poor and why our waitress was so distracted and appeared so rude -- turns out she was in the middle of a domestic dispute that had followed her to work -- and her husband/boyfriend was harassing her and screaming at her in the parking lot and causing all manner of disturbance -- no wonder she was distracted -- no wonder she seemed rude -- she was going through chaos in her life at that very moment -- and as I began to have sympathy for her, my anger melted away -- we ended up leaving her a very big tip and not saying a negative word to anyone
-- be sympathetic

-- the next step to peace is “love as brothers” -- how better to bring peace into a situation than by showering someone with love? -- Jesus told His disciples on the night that He was betrayed that He was leaving them with a new command -- “love one another” -- by this, He said, all men will know that you are a Christian
-- love should be the defining characteristic of a Christian’s life -- and, as the slogan on that hippie van points out, “Love leads to peace”

-- next, be compassionate and humble -- compassion and humility are kissing cousins and should be attitudes that we all seek to demonstrate in our lives at all times -- to be compassionate and humble means that we are putting others above us -- it means that we are not demanding our rights and our way, but are putting the wants and wishes and desires of others above ours so that peace may reign
-- what would happen in a relationship if everyone demanded to be first? -- what would happen in a relationship if each person demanded to have all of their wishes and desires met, even at the expense of the other? -- the relationship wouldn’t work -- it would be strained at best -- Peter is saying here that peace only comes to a household when someone chooses to be compassionate and humble in their heart

-- next, Peter says don’t repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but instead bless those and do good for those who insult you or do evil to you -- remember what Christ said in this Beatitude? -- “Blessed are the peacemakers” -- it is our calling and our duty and our responsibility to be the better person -- to accept the insult -- to accept the injury -- in order to make peace and show the love of Christ to others
-- think about Jesus’ own example -- when He was being led to the cross, He was mocked and insulted -- He was beaten and suffered all kinds of indignities -- but from the cross itself, He never spoke evil back -- He never repaid the insults -- instead, He prayed for those who had wronged Him and asked God to forgive them for what they were doing
-- this same attitude of Christ is what we are called to express in this instruction from Peter if we want to live in harmony with all

-- verse 10

10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.

-- here we see the final two steps to peace -- be mindful of your speech and turn from evil and do good
-- when I was growing up, we recited that familiar rhyme in the schoolyard -- “Sticks and stone can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” -- years later, I realize just how wrong we were -- words can hurt you -- words can devastate you -- I still remember hurtful words that were thrown my way when I was very young -- to this day, I still feel the hurt and pain that they caused
-- in James 3:8, it says that the tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison -- to make peace, we must control our tongues -- we must be mindful of what we say and how we say it -- and we must be sure to speak only the truth and only the truth in love

-- finally, we must turn from evil and do good -- all of our actions must reflect the goodness and nature of God -- peace cannot exist with evil -- peace cannot be present in the face of sin -- and so, Peter tells us to turn from evil -- to repent from what is wrong -- and to do good in our lives

-- notice that he says there in verse 11 that we must seek peace and pursue it -- peace doesn’t just happen -- it isn’t something that you stumble across in your daily life -- peace is something that is made -- something that you have to strive for and work for and live for
-- that’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” and not “Blessed are those who are peaceful” -- to be peaceful you have to first make peace -- and to make peace, you have to seek it and pursue it through the steps that Peter give us here in this passage

III. Sons of God
-- before we close, let me spend just a moment reflecting on the promise that is associated with the command in this Beatitude -- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God”
-- as we were looking at the vacation pictures last night of my parents and my aunt and uncle, it struck me how similar everyone in our family is -- even if I had not known who these people were -- even if I had grown up away from my uncle, I would have been able to see his picture and know that he was a Lee -- you could see the family resemblance
-- that’s what Jesus means here when He says that peacemakers will be called “sons of God” -- He’s saying that when you make peace --when you seek peace and pursue it and strive to produce it in your life and your relationships, that others will know it -- they’ll see your life -- they’ll see your nature -- and they’ll see your family resemblance to God
-- without you even having to tell them you are a Christian, they’ll know because you reflect the very image of God in your life and in your actions
-- the word, “Christian,” literally means, “little Christ” -- and that is just what we should be -- that’s just what we should look like to those around us -- as we mature in Christ -- as we grow and take on the attitudes and characteristics of Jesus, our goal should be that when others look at us, they see Jesus and they call us “sons and daughters of God”

IV. Closing
-- as I close, for just a moment I want you to think back to September 11th, 2001 -- do you remember that day? -- do you remember how you felt?
-- when we started to grasp the fact that our country was under attack, at first we couldn’t believe it -- and then we denied it -- and then panic set in because we didn’t know what was going on -- we didn’t know if this was the first of many attacks and we didn’t know if our community would be next
-- we watched on our TVs as men and women ran for their lives in the streets of New York and Washington
-- when the first planes hit the World Trade Center and the government realized that this was an intentional attack on our nation, the Secret Service issued an evacuation notice for the White House -- they ran through the halls telling everyone to get out -- to run away from the danger
-- Tim Goeglien was there in the White House on that day -- he worked for President Bush -- and on a Focus on the Family broadcast, he talked about the panic as people rushed out of the entrances of the White House and onto Pennsylvania Avenue -- he said it was total chaos
-- but, as he ran through the gates, he noticed small groups of people clustered in circles on the street -- Christian staffers who had gathered in small prayer circles in the middle of the street
-- as chaos streamed around them, they were in perfect peace and harmony -- they trusted God despite the fear and uncertainty -- they turned to God -- and the peace that emanated from them affected the whole crowd -- and calmed those around them and took away their fear
-- on that day, Christian employees of the White House became peacemakers and were called the sons and daughters of God

-- as we close, I want to encourage you to spend some time this week reflecting on the call of Jesus in this Beatitude -- hopefully, none of us will ever find ourselves in situations like Telemachus or the White House staffers on 9-11 -- but we have the opportunity to make peace where we are and to bring peace to our relationships and to those we come into contact with
-- so, let’s close in prayer, and let’s pray that God gives us the strength to pursue and seek peace in our lives each and every day
-- let’s pray