Rev. David Holwick X Beatitudes
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 13, 2003
Matthew 5:9
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I. Most people love peace.
A. Except Norwegians; I am 25% Norwegian.
My ancestors were Vikings and they loved war.
Some of them loved it so much they went into a frenzy.
They were known as Berserkers.
But most people on earth prefer peace to war.
B. If we prefer it, why isn't there more of it?
1) There have literally been thousands of wars since birth of
Christ.
2) America itself has had 11 major wars, or about one every
twenty years.
a) Maybe you get a warm knowing your taxes can be
translated into cruise missiles that take out bad
guys half a world away.
b) Right now we have troops trying to squelch war in Korea,
Bosnia, Iraq, and maybe soon in Liberia.
C. Jesus prefers peace, and blesses those who make it.
1) Peace-makers are blessed, not necessarily peace-lovers.
a) There can be quite a difference.
b) If you love peace, but in the wrong way, you may succeed
making trouble instead of peace.
The most vivid example I can think of happened to my
father.
In 1968 our family was stationed in West Berlin, Germany.
That year also happened to be the peak of the Vietnam War.
The German university students plastered every available
wall with anti-American slogans and had peace marches
every week.
One day my father, who was wearing his uniform, was
driving downtown when one of these peace marches
crossed his path.
Seeing that he was an American officer, they surrounded his
car and began rocking it back and forth.
Fortunately the German car in front of him stayed
bumper-to-bumper, or I would have gone to college on his
insurance policy.
These students loved peace - their banners had peace
statements printed on them and the slogans they chanted
were for peace.
But they weren't very good at making peace.
II. Biblical background to peace.
A. Peace is one of the blessings of obedience to God.
1) James 4:1 - inner struggles cause conflict.
2) To be a peacemaker, deal with your inner self first.
B. Peace is something the Messiah brings.
1) "eace on earth, goodwill to men."
C. Biblical peace is comprehensive.
1) Peace is not merely the absence of war.
2) The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, refers to a state of
harmony, prosperity, well-being and completeness.
TIME magazine listed Haddon Robinson as one of the top 10
living preachers in America.
He taught preaching at my seminary - after I graduated.
Haddon wrote this:
SHALOM is a positive word.
When Jewish people say SHALOM, they are not just talking
about the absence of war.
They are wishing all of the best for someone.
They are wishing fullness, wholeness, and blessing.
The need for peace implies a prior division.
Making peace means bringing two parties together across
their lines of difference and reconciling them.
When Jesus talked about peacemaking, he meant active
involvement in bringing together people who were
estranged.
D. Three foundational areas where we are called to make peace.
1) With God.
2) Between individuals, especially Christians.
3) In society.
III. Barriers to peace.
A. Pessimistic worldview is common for Christians.
1) People (and nations) are corrupt.
2) Jesus himself did not come to bring peace but a sword.
3) Nothing can change until Second Coming.
a) As a matter of fact, wars will increase as the Second
Coming approaches, so the more wars the better!
B. Grace is hard.
1) In Sermon on the Mount, peace-making is tied to forgiveness
and reconciliation.
2) These are fun to receive but much harder to give.
IV. Practical ways to attain P.E.A.C.E. [adapted from Rick Warren]
P - PLAN A PEACE CONFERENCE.
1) Jesus tells us to take the initiative.
Matthew 5:23-24 -
"If you remember your brother has something against you,
... First go and be reconciled to your brother."
a) Don't wait for them to make the first move.
b) It doesn't matter if you're the offended or the
offender, always assume that you have the
responsibility to make the first move.
2) Why should we take the initiative?
a) Because Jesus said so!
b) Conflict is not resolved accidentally, it doesn't
resolve itself.
c) You must intentionally deal with it.
3) When do you deal with it?
a) This verse says "at once." Do it now, don't postpone.
b) If you avoid or delay, it only grows worse.
E - EMPATHIZE WITH THEIR FEELINGS.
Philippians 2:4 -
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others."
1) This goes against our natural tendencies.
a) Especially when we are upset we focus on ourselves.
1> We say, "You hurt me."
2) But God says reverse that. Hold a peace conference.
a) Take time to listen to their facts and their feelings.
A - ATTACK THE PROBLEM NOT THE PERSON.
1) You can't fix the problem and fix the blame simultaneously.
Proverbs 15:1 - "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a
harsh word stirs up anger."
a) Engage your mind before you engage your mouth.
2) Practical advice on "don't"s:
a) Don't be sarcastic.
b) Don't criticize, condemn and compare.
c) Don't use name calling, or derogatory remarks.
3) Practical advice on "do"s:
Ephesians 4:29 -
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others
up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen."
a) Say things that build people up, not put them down.
b) Think in terms of "win/win" rather than "win/lose."
C - COOPERATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
1) Go with the spirit of compromise. "What we can agree on?"
2) The hallmark of a Christian ought to be your ability to get
along with others.
a) Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you're my
disciples, that you have love for one another."
3) Do we have to get along with EVERYONE?
Romans 12:18 -
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live
at peace with everyone."
a) This verse implies there are some people you can't get
along with.
b) There are always some who just refuse to be loveable,
who refuse to be reconciled, to let go of the
conflict.
c) But, as the verse says, "Do everything possible" on your
part to live at peace with others.
4) Peace always has a price.
a) If you want peace in your home, your marriage, there's
always a price.
b) It costs you your ego, self-centeredness, & selfishness.
c) Be willing to give in.
The two most difficult words: "I'm sorry".
The three most difficult words: "I was wrong."
The five most difficult: "I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Six: "I'm sorry, I was wrong, alot."
Maybe you've heard the saying, "Love means never
having to say you're sorry."
It comes from a syrupy movie, and it's dead wrong.
Apologize whenever it is appropriate.
James 3:17-18 -
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of
all pure; then peace-loving, considerate,
submissive, full of mercy and good fruit,
impartial and sincere.
"Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of
righteousness."
E - EMPHASIZE RECONCILIATION, NOT RESOLUTION.
1) To reconcile means to re-establish a relationship.
a) It doesn't always mean you've settled all the issues!
b) It means you've rebuilt the relationship so that you
can work as resolving the issues.
2) Honest differences are a given.
a) Between husbands and wives, employees and bosses,
neighbors, church members.
b) We value different things, we approach issues
differently.
3) Reconciliation means you bury the hatchet, not the issue.
a) You keep talking about it but you talk about it in
harmony. You can disagree, agreeably.
b) Reconciliation focuses on the relationship.
1> Resolution focuses on the issue, the problem!
V. Beat your swords into plowshares.
A. Modern example of Isaiah's vision: Isaiah 2:4
George Togba is a native of Liberia.
At the peak of the country's 17-year civil war, George and his
family were among 600 people who had sought refuge in
St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Monrovia.
The military raided the sanctuary, and George saw most of the
refuge-seekers killed in front of him, including his mother.
They were all unarmed.
George escaped the massacre and joined the war effort.
He didn't really want to be a soldier, but he wanted revenge.
Nonetheless, George made it through the war, and when peace was
finally restored to Liberia in 1996, he had to find a way to
support his family.
He had a dream where he was changing shell casings into symbols
of peace.
He gathered up several of the used shells that littered the
war-torn countryside and started to work.
He leaves the lower part of the round intact so that you can
see what it was intended to do -- destroy life.
But above that is the symbol of life, pointing to the cross.
#16261
It is ironic that the Liberian civil war has intensified even
as I speak.
But the truth remains - their peace will be found in the cross.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
This sermon follows many of the points in Rev. Geoff Neufeld's sermon
"Finding Your Missing Peace." Garden Valley Community Church;
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Sermon #16522 in Holwick Database.
I suspect it is derived from a sermon by Rev. Rick Warren.
#16261 "Shell Casings Into Crosses," by Freddy Duntz. Originally from
article "Peace by Pieces" in GUIDEPOSTS, August 2001,
pp. 12-13. Found in Dynamic Preaching weekly email,
www.sermons.com, March 31, 2003.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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