Day 14
What Does Jesus Say About Peacemakers.
What Does Jesus Say About Peacemakers?
Text: Matt 5:9, 23-25 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION:
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet,” while the Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the state of being calm or quiet.”
Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict or a state of rest. It means completeness or wholeness, and it points to the presence of God.
“The Hebrew word translated as peace is shalom (shaw-lome’), and according to Strong’s concordance, it means completeness, soundness, and welfare. It comes from the root word shalam (shaw-lame’), which means making amends or making whole or complete.” (wordsoffaithhope.com)
Therefore, as we look at what Jesus says about peacemakers, we are looking at what makes us complete Christians.
LIFE LESSONS
- If you seek peace at all times, you will be blessed. It is as simple as the Bible says it. Verse 9 of our text says , “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” To be called a child of God is the greatest blessing anyone can have. It means God loves you, takes care of you, you are a god; you are an heir; it gives you certainty and hope for the future.
Romans 8:17- Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Psalm 82:6– I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.
Jeremiah 29:11–For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
- You can not come to God with grudges in your heart.(Verse 23 and 24)You have to reconcile with the person or people you have grudges or altercations with before you can offer God anything successfully. The person may have hurt you badly, but you have to let it go, for the sake of peace and so that your offerings will be acceptable and God will answer your prayers. We serve a righteous God and can not offer him anything less than righteousness. We can not come to him with a filthy rag and expect Him to hear us. God is not interested in the gift we have for Him when we are not on good terms with our neighbors.
- God will not support misconduct/lawlessness/criminality/wickedness and the likes. (Verse 25-26) If you are wrong, don’t expect God to be on your side because he is a just God. He has promised to not leave us nor forsake us, but listen, verse 26 says,“Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” This applies to money related issues and non-monetary issues. This to me is saying everyman will get punished for their wrongdoings. It is frightening. This is the only thing you can do, and God will not stand with you. There are consequences for not reconciling, especially when we are at fault. God will not overrule the law of the land for us when we are wrong. It is a misconception of the Word of God to say we can get away with everything. Not when we are wrong. Colossians 3: 25 says,“anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”
LIFE APPLICATIONS
- Peace with God.
The first step to being at peace with God is to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and savior. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus came to the world to die for our sins. They punished him for what he did not do, for our sakes. We need to bridge the gap we have created with him by confessing our sins and accepting Him into our lives. If you are here today listening to this message and you are yet to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior, now is the time to do it. If you are a backslider, now is the time to come back to your savior. Romans 5: 1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Only when we are sure that we are at peace with God can we pursue peace with ourselves and others. We must lay the foundation.
- Peace with others- Reconciliation
Reconciliation is making amends. The passage we read did not say if you are not at fault don’t make amends, verse 23 says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Many times we may not understand why someone has an unfriendly attitude towards us, but we have to be on good terms with them because it is a requirement from God. Not all tactics work for all situations, but I have found two things to be very useful:
- Having conversations. If we can address the issue, then let’s do it. You might find out that the situation is not as bad. Talking about it will relieve our minds of bias and misconceptions.
- Ignore the unfriendly attitude and show love, respect, and admiration. Yes, you noticed the hostility. Ignore it and be nice. If you match hostility with hostility, then you must be a hostile person yourself. It may not be easy, but try it, it might not be as difficult as you think. I have noticed that many unfriendly attitudes have changed to friendly ones in a short while. If you want to be at peace with God, you must be at peace with man.
- Have a free mind and keep trying if possible.
- Peace with ourselves
Jesus is our peace. We need to keep Him in our hearts at all times. When it looks like we have lost our peace, then something is wrong. It is a red flag. Trouble, fear, unrest and the likes may take our peace away if we let them. But we should always remember to lay it all at the feet of the Lord. Matt 11: 25 says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Having faith in Jesus to take care of all situations will help us keep our peace in place.
LESSON OF THE DAY:
Peace is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5: 22)
We should always look for peace in every situation. Psalm 34: 14
The questions we should always ask ourselves are, how can we settle amicably? How can we maintain peace? If we invite Jesus into every situation, He will bring us peace
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