I. Introduction
--
turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12
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, saying:
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, Matthew 5:9 -- “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
-- 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
-- back a few years ago, Mama and Daddy took a trip
across the United States -- from Adel to the Pacific Ocean and then back again
-- when they got home, we all got together to welcome them back and to hear
about their adventures -- Mama got out her computer and started showing us all
the pictures they had taken -- and, as we were watching the slideshow, one of
the pictures she had taken was of a van from the 60s that was in the Route 66
Museum -- on the side of the van was painted the slogan, “Make Love, not War”
-- well, my niece was still in high school at the time,
and she said that 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 was not appropriate
-- my niece was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe they
sent her home -- “that’s not what it means,” 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, Jesus told us that we were to love one another -- and we
show our love to others by making peace and not war -- as Christians, we are
supposed to be the 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
1 Peter 3:8a Finally,
all of you, be like-minded (harmony)
-- 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 8b
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
-- Brant Hanson makes the case in his book,
“Unoffendable,” that we should live as people who are never offended by the
actions of others -- that we accept insults -- we accept injury -- we accept
the hurt -- without responding in anger or in hostility, but by responding in
love -- in that way, we lead the way to peace
-- 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
1 Peter 3:10 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 gives 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”
-- we were at my great-nieces birthday party yesterday, it
struck me how similar everyone in our family is -- there were a lot of people
there -- my niece’s in-laws -- other parents with their kids -- but out of this
crowd of people, you could tell who belonged to who -- you could look at us and
know that we were related -- 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 you are His son or daughter 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
-- when the first planes hit the
-- 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
-- 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 let me remind you
that we are living in unprecedented times
-- we are in the middle of a global pandemic -- we are
living in one of the most divided times in our country -- politically and
materially and culturally -- and, as Christians, we have an opportunity to make
a difference in what is going on around us -- 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
-- far too often, I see complaints about Christians on
social media or hear complaints from others -- about how Christians are
judgmental or hate-filled or how their actions don’t reflect Christ
-- we need to change that -- we need to live as
peacemakers -- we need to live based on the law of love -- to stop being
offended by every little slight -- to stop demanding our way and putting
ourselves and our desires above others -- we need to learn to live differently
-- to follow the path that Jesus and Peter laid out for us in Scripture -- so
that we can be islands of peace and harbingers of love in a world struggling
with sin and hatred
-- 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
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