Author: Stephen Thomason

God's Character Goals for Our Lives
A Reconciling Spirit
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God,
Intro:
1. Types of peace.
a. ILL: Larry & the Marines. They are peacemakers politically.
b. Hypnotherapy (Pam Boyer & Priscilla Lindsay): relaxation to the body, feeling of tranquility, reduction of pain without drugs, the bringing of peace to physical bodies.
2. But we are looking at a different kind of peacemaking!
I. What Does It Mean to be a Peacemaker?
A. Meaning of the word.
1. Peace (εἰρηνοποιός) = the absence of trouble, harmonious relationships.
2. Peace שָׁלוֹם) ) = to be safe from physical harm, to be prosperous financially, to be complete
a. It's the well being of the total person. - everything that makes for that person's highest good.
b. So it's more than freedom from trouble, it's the enjoyment of all that is good.
B. What are peacemakers?
1. Those who are used to bring about a diplomatic solution to warring countries or regions. (The Marines!)
a. The US philosophy behind our military rules of engagement: never for conquest but to bring a climate of peace to the area of operation for the purpose of bringing about a diplomatic solution to a political problem.
b. From a Canadian journalist: "The reason America is great is because America is good. If the time ever comes when America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great!"
2. Those who establish good relationships between others.
a. There seem to always be those who will stir up trouble & tension.
b. But there are others who seem to be able to unite brothers & sisters harmoniously.
c. Rom 14:19 - Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
d. I Thess 5:13 - Live in peace with each other.
e. Eph 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
f. An example of making peace in the church. Phil 4:2 - I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.
3. Those who strive to make the world a better place to live in.
a. Abraham Lincoln: "Die when I may, I would like it to be said of me that I always pulled up a weed & planted a flower where I thought a flower should grow".
b. ILL: Hudson Taylor & the China Inland Mission.
c. ILL: Mother Theresa & the Streets of Calcutta, India.
d. Billy Graham & Bill Bright bringing 1000s of people worldwide to the Lord!
4. Those who have made peace with God.
a. We all struggle to live a consistent Christian life with temptations all around us.
b. You become a peacemaker when you introduce others to the Lord Jesus! Each of you are capable of witnessing & leading someone to the Lord.
II. What Does It Mean to be Called the Sons of God?
A. What does the phrase "son of" mean?
1. In Hebrew & Aramaic, our Lord's spoken languages, it meant identification with your father & family.
a. "Ben" or "Bar" meant "son of".
b. In the movie "Ben Hur", Charleston Heston played Judah ben Hur, "Judah, Son of Hur".
2. But it was also used in place of an adjective when used with an abstract noun.
a. A man could be called "a son of peace" instead of "a peaceful man".
b. Example: Act 4:36-37 - Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
B. God is known as a peacemaker!
1. I Cor 14:33 - For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
2. Rom 15:33 - The God of peace be with you all.
3. II Cor 13:11 - Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
4. I Thess 5:23 - May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
5. Heb 13:20 - May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep.
C. So - "Sons of God" means that peacemakers are:
1. Doing the work of God or a god-like work.
2. They are so identified with spiritual ministry that they are completely identified with God.
When you become a peacemaker, you become completely identify with God! Isn't that what you want?
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