Sunday December 11, 2022
Matthew 5:9- “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”
Isaiah 9:6- “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Jesus….The Prince of Peace!
Luke 2:13-14- “Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
MY FAVORITE
Romans 16:20- “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Philippians 4:6-7- “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
God is a God of peace! God loves peace because He is peace!
God wants to give you his peace!
Romans 5:1- “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
You can have the peace of God when you’re at peace with God!
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
You and I can’t be peacemakers until we have the peace of God!
THERE IS NO TRUE PEACE WITHOUT GOD!
DID YOU KNOW THE BIBLE BEGINS AND ENDS IN PEACE!
Adam and Eve had peace with God and with one another! Then they were tempted by Satan and disobeyed God.
All conflict is the result of sin. Conflict is the fruit of sin!
If God is a God of peace and Jesus is the Prince of Peace then why do we have conflict in the world?
- Satan fights against peace.
- People reject peace. If you reject God you reject peace! God is peace!
1. What is Peace?
As World War II was about to end in 1945, nations were in ruins, and the world wanted peace.
Representatives of 50 countries gathered at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, California from 25 April to 26 June 1945.
For the next two months, they proceeded to draft and then sign a Charter, which created a new international organization, it was hoped this organization would prevent another world war like the one they had just lived through.
Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended, the United Nations officially began, on 24 October 1945,
When the United Nations was formed it had one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security.
Now, more than 75 years later, the goal of the United Nations is still to provide peace for all future generations!
In 2018, the number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million people. The highest recorded in almost 70 years!
Is the United Nations accomplishing its goal? NO!
Currently, violence against children affects more than one billion children around the world and cost societies up to 7 trillion dollars every year.
50 percent of the world’s children experience violence every year!
Every 7 minutes, somewhere in the world, a child is killed by violence.
Is the United Nations bringing peace to the world? NO!!!! WHY?
TRUE PEACE CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD! THERE IS NO PEACE WITHOUT GOD!
“Peace is that wonderful moment when everyone stops fighting………to reload!
Man cannot produce peace!
WHAT IS PEACE?
Peace is not the absence of conflict!
Peace is the presence of righteousness! Jesus is righteousness!
Peace is not the absence of something but the presence of Someone.
When Jesus comes into a situation, He brings peace!
Peace is Jesus! If there’s an area of your life you don’t have peace you need to bring Jesus into that area!
Bring right standing with God into whatever area needs peace!
If you don’t have peace in your finances it’s because you haven’t brought right standing before God into your finances!
If you always have war and conflict in your finances it’s because of sin!
If you always have war and conflict in your marriage it’s because you haven’t brought Jesus into your marriage. He is the Prince of Peace!
Isaiah 32:17- “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”
2. What is a Peacemaker?
A peacemaker is someone who produces righteousness in a situation!
James 3:17-18- “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”
The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace!
The only way you and I make peace is to sow righteousness into the situation!
Psalm 85:10- “Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!”
What area of your life do you not have peace in? You need to bring the righteous standard of God into that area!
Bring that area under the Lordship of Jesus Christ! Otherwise you have no peace!
Having peace is a desire! Making peace is a decision!
3. Who are the Peacemakers?
Ephesians 2:14-16- “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”
Colossians 1:19-20- “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”
To reconcile something is to make peace!
WHO ARE THE PEACEMAKERS?
Those who are at peace with God! If you have given your life to God you now have the responsibility of being a peacemaker!
An appointed representative of God!
God has made peace with the world! But not everybody in the world has made peace with God!
If I have made peace with God then I have a responsibility!
Peacemakers show others how to have inward peace with God and how to be instruments of peace in the world!
2 Corinthians 5:17-20- “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
God has already done his part! Now it’s our turn! We need to bring Jesus to every person on this earth!
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God!”
Peacemakers are not power brokers but people lovers!
BE A PEACEMAKER!
CONCLUSION:
Have you made your peace with God! God has done his part for anyone who wants to be saved!
Is there peace in your marriage?
Is there peace in your family?
Is there peace on your job?
Is there peace in your finances?
Is there peace in your relationships in the church?
Bring the Prince of Peace into every situation!
Are you a peacemaker? Are you allowing God to make his appeal through you for his lost children to come home? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?