SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Matthew 5:9
INSTRUMENTS OF PEACE
#8 - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Francis of
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace!
Where there is hatred, let me
sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh, Divine Master, grant that I
may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to
understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we
receive;
It is in pardoning that we are
pardoned;
It is in dying
that we are born to eternal life!
Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other Stories, (
Matthew 5:9 says, Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God.
Many Christians go through life
not knowing what God's will is for their lives.
Some wander aimlessly through their Christian lives simply because they
don't know what God's plan is for their lives.
Some of you wander aimlessly through your lives because you don't want
to know what God's will is for their lives.
Christian, one of the things
that is God's will for your life is that you be a
peacemaker.
PEACEMAKERS ACCEPT PEACE
God is a righteous, holy God.
God hates sin.
Sin is anything that is against the will of God.
When sin is committed a barrier goes up between you
and God.
In the
We are sinners. We are unrighteous. Isaiah 64:6
Because of sin, there is a lack of peace between God
and man.
Someone had to make peace for us, so we could be
reconciled to God.
That's exactly what the Lord Jesus did for us.
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, went to the cross and
took the punishment for our sin. Isaiah 53:6
The price has been fully paid for our sins.
What we must do is accept God's provision for peace
with him by placing our faith in Christ as the one who died for us. When we do, have peace with God. Romans 5:1
When you trust Christ, God declares you righteous.
When you trust Christ, peace between you and God
comes.
You go from being God's enemy to being God's child.
John 1:9
Christian there is another type of peace we need to
accept from God. It is the peace that
comes when we deal with our current sins.
Sin for Christians breaks their fellowship with God. Isaiah 59:2
Confession of sin restores our fellowship with God. 1
John 1:9
PEACEMAKERS ARE ACTIVISTS FOR PEACE
The peacemaking that we should be active about has
nothing to do with world politics. It
has to do with relationships between God and man and between man and man.
The term "peacemaker" implies activity. You can't be a peacemaker and be passive.
The area of relationships that most requires that we
be activists is our interpersonal relationships with others.
The scripture is very clear that we should resolve
conflicts among ourselves. Matthew 5:23-24,
If you come to worship God, and realize that you have
done something to offend someone, you are to stop your worship of God and
immediately go to that person and make it right.
Romans
Hebrews 12:14-15 - A bitter person not only makes
himself miserable, but those around him or her as well.
Ephesians
PEACEMAKERS ARRANGE PEACE
When there are differences between people, there is
often a need for a peacemaker, a person who can come between two people and
bring them together.
Paul was looking for such a person in Philippians
4:2-3.
Euodias and Syntyche
needed help. They were quarreling, and
it was having a negative effect on the church. Others in the congregation were
to step and help them resolve their quarrel.
How can you help Christians who are feuding with each
other?
How can you arrange peace with God's help?
·
Pray! Ask God
for guidance.
·
Listen! You
need to hear both sides, and see if each person understands the other person's
position correctly.
·
Explain! You
might be able to correct some misconceptions that a person may have.
·
Bring together!
Get the people to talk to each other, with or without you present.
PEACEMAKERS ARE AMBASSADORS FOR PEACE
2 Corinthians
An ambassador is an official representative.
And we have the privilege of being God's official
representatives to those who need to be reconciled to God. Someone has brought
us to God through Christ, now it is our job to bring others to Christ. 1 Peter
3:15
There is another sense in which we are ambassadors for
Christ.
We are ambassadors to other Christians.
We are to help each other grow in Christ. Hebrews
10:24-25
We are also to help those who have spiritual problems.
Galatians 6:1