Flourishing in Peacemaking
Flourishing in Peacemaking
Sermon Summary:
In this powerful message, we’re challenged to embrace the role of peacemakers in our world. The focus is on Matthew 5:9, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ We explore the deep meaning of peace in the Bible, from the Hebrew ‘shalom’ to the peace that Christ offers. This isn’t just about the absence of conflict, but a holistic well-being that comes from God. The message reminds us that even in life’s storms, we can experience the peace of Christ that surpasses understanding. As Christ’s ambassadors, we’re called to take risks, seek the best in others, and build bridges instead of walls. The story of Ananias welcoming Saul (later Paul) beautifully illustrates this challenging yet crucial role. We’re encouraged to reflect God’s character by being peacemakers in our families, communities, and world, showing that unity is possible even amidst diversity.
Sermon Points:
Alfred Nobel
World Peace: According to the United Nations, humans have been at peace for 268 of the last 3,400 years, which is about 8% of recorded history. The Geneva Academy is currently monitoring 110 armed conflicts around the world.
Shalom is the Old Testament Hebrew word for peace. It can refer to the absence of conflict. It also carries the idea of “wholeness” or “completeness” or “well-being.
He (Joseph) asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about. Is he still living?” They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.”
-Genesis 43:27-28
THE GOD OF PEACE
Now may the God of peace . . .
-Hebrews 13:20
PEACE WITH GOD
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-Romans 5:1
PEACE OF CHRIST
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-Isaiah 9:6
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
-Luke 2:14
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
-John 14:27
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
-Colossians 3:15
PEACEMAKERS
“Blessed are the peacemakers” is, I suppose, for another world. In this world they are frequently cursed.
-Ben Franklin
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
-Ephesians 4:2-3
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
-2 Corinthians 5:17-20
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel . . .
-Philippians 4:2-3
Peacemakers take risks, take the first step, seek the best, remain humble, trust the results to God, give God the glory, and . . . pray!
Photo: Peace Bridge, Londonderry, Ireland
CHILDREN OF GOD
Peacemakers bear the family resemblance to our Heavenly Father as we reflect His character.
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;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O 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;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Key Takeaways:
- Peace (shalom) in the Bible means more than absence of conflict; it encompasses wholeness and well-being
- God is the source of peace, and we can have peace with God through Christ
- Jesus offers a peace that transcends circumstances
- Christians are called to be peacemakers and ambassadors of Christ
- Peacemaking involves risk-taking, humility, and trusting God with the results
- The church should exemplify unity amidst diversity, rallying around the cause of Jesus
Scripture References:
- Matthew 5:9 (primary focus)
- Matthew 5:1-11 (The Beatitudes)
Stories:
- Alfred Nobel and the creation of the Nobel Peace Prize
- George Shultz’s interaction with ambassadors using a globe
- Ananias welcoming Saul (Paul) into the Damascus church
- The Peace Bridge in Northern Ireland connecting Protestant and Catholic communities
- The prayer of St. Francis as a model for peacemaking
Sermon Transcript
And everybody said amen, right?
Amen.
Thank you, worship ministry.
And also our orchestra sneaking in back here in the orchestra pit.
How about that?
We’re glad to have them in this service.
And it’s awesome.
Well, you know that our theme for this year by now is flourishing together, and we’re focused on what it means to be rooted in Christ.
And I know that a number of you were here for our launch weekend when we began the flourishing journey.
And if you’ll remember that weekend, we hosted Scott Hare and Kate Long, and we were grateful for the role they both played in the life of our church that weekend.
And so we, on Tuesday, our ministry leadership team had a Zoom call with Scott and Kate just to get an update on where they are in particular regarding the connection to local churches.
And so we had over an hour conversation with them.
We’re grateful for what they’re doing.
Most of their work is actually going to roll out in the fall.
And so we’re still on the journey with them.
They know what we’re doing.
We know what they’re doing.
We’re very blessed to have them as a part of our conversation. regarding flourishing as a church and they’re going to continue to be with us and so just want y’all to know that journey is ongoing and you also remember that those of you that were here for the launch weekend the flourishing program at Harvard has put together what they are compiled what they call domains that you use them to help do a self-evaluation kind of introduction to what it means to flourish and
And one of those domains is happiness and life satisfaction.
And so we’ve chosen to begin the year addressing that first one, happiness.
And we’ve used the theme happiness is for the winter.
And you know that we’re using the Beatitudes to guide us in that conversation.
And we’re trying to rescue happiness.
Because for many Christians, we have been taught that happiness is this surfacy kind of glib thing that is always just connected to how well your life is going.
But it’s not a deep experience.
When actually, when you look at the scripture, that’s not the view of happiness in the Bible.
Happiness is connected to cheer and gladness and joy and and pleasure, and experiencing the righteousness of God.
And so happiness is much sturdier than we probably give it credit for being in our vocabulary as Americans today.
So we’re trying to rescue that word, that idea.
I want you to think of happiness that way.
In fact, in the Beatitudes, each Beatitude starts with the same Greek word, makarios.
And that word is translated blessed, but it can also be translated happy or fortunate or favored.
All of those are legitimate translations.
In fact, there are times in the Scripture where that happens.
So with that said, let’s continue this conversation today about happiness and what it means to flourish in it.
And so today, the title of the message is Flourishing Happiness.
In peacemaking.
And we’re going to focus on Matthew 5 verse 9.
But I still want us to look at all of the Beatitudes today.
So the text is found in Matthew 5.
So if you have your copy of the New Testament, I invite you to look at that with me.
And I also invite you to stand as we honor the Lord Jesus in the reading of the gospel.
So Matthew 5 reads like this.
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them.
He said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
And then today’s text, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Thank you.
You may be seated.
Many of you may be familiar with the story of Alfred Nobel.
He’s this Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman.
Before he died, he died in 1896, he owned some 355 patents. and he worked primarily with explosives, primarily with nitroglycerin, which was used in the Industrial Revolution during his lifetime.
He actually had plants where he produced nitroglycerin.
One of those plants exploded in Sweden, and his younger brother was killed in the explosion.
So it was a personal loss for him, and it challenged him to somehow find a way to use nitroglycerin in a safer manner.
He invented like the blasting cap.
He invented all kinds of measures to ignite nitroglycerin.
But what he was really searching for was a way to maintain its explosiveness and minimize its volatility.
He finally came across what he thought would work.
It did work and he marketed it.
He called that new product, y’all remember?
Dynamite.
And it comes from a Greek word, dunamis, which means power in the Greek New Testament.
Well, once dynamite was invented, he shifted his work from nitroglycerin to manufacturing and distributing dynamite.
And he became a multi, multi-millionaire.
And he developed a huge business that went way beyond Sweden, made its way across Europe.
And he eventually died in 1896.
But prior to his death, according to the story, he was reading the newspaper after his brother died.
And the journalist who wrote the article thought he had died and not his brother.
And so he read his own obituary.
So I’m not sure if any of you have ever had the opportunity to read your own obituary.
But I think it would be interesting.
But here’s what… stopped him the title of his obituary said the merchant of death has died the reason for that was dynamite was not just being used to build roads to mine precious minerals it was also by that time in the hands of military leaders and so dynamite had been used in destroying the lives of human beings not just the advancement of the industrial revolution
And so according to the story, Nobel saw how his name was associated with death and destruction, and it bothered him.
And so a year before he died, 1895, he met with a group of bankers there in Sweden.
And he asked them to take 94% of his estate and invest it in the long-term future to award prizes for people who would advance the cause of science.
There were several categories that he wanted to be awarded in his name after his death.
So physics, chemistry, literature, there were several of them.
But the most famous prize that was to be awarded is known today as the Nobel Prize.
Peace Prize.
And it is given annually to a person who advances the cause of peace most prominently across the world.
Even the idea of minimizing the number of people serving in the military, somehow responding to the destruction of humanity in our world.
And so he wanted his name to be associated with peace and not war.
And I think y’all would probably agree that today that has been a success.
Most people, when they hear the name Alfred Nobel, they don’t think about dynamite or nitroglycerin.
They typically think of the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was awarded in 1901, the very first time, to a man named Henri Dunant.
He was a fellow Swede.
And he, or actually he was Swiss, rather.
He is famous for founding the International Red Cross.
And he also founded the Geneva Convention.
And so in 1901, he was given the very first Nobel Peace Prize because the Red Cross was founded in response to the devastating effect of war on the lives of humanity.
And the Geneva Convention was established to promote the cause of peace.
And through the years, many, many folks have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
People like Teddy Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson or Albert Schweitzer.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received it one year.
Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter. lots of folks have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
So I think that Nobel’s desire has been fulfilled to this day.
Now, when you talk about peace, you know, we use that phrase and we throw it around a lot.
And one of the things that we’re interested in is world peace.
You hear that often, something that we would like to experience.
Well, according to the United Nations, humans have been at peace for 268 of the last 3,400 years. excuse me, it’s about 8% of recorded history.
Today, the Geneva Academy, obviously a place that’s connected to the Geneva Convention, is currently monitoring 110 armed conflicts around the world.
That are active.
So you might look at that and on the one hand you could argue that we have reduced the level of atrocities that are committed across the world.
That is true.
But there are still 110 armed conflicts right now. currently being engaged in all over the world.
In the 20th century alone, 108 million people died in the various wars fought in the 20th century.
Today, across the world, there are about 21.5 million people who serve in the various militaries across the world.
97% of them are men.
And so when you read what sociologists have to say about war, they typically refer to it as a man’s game because the overwhelming majority of those who have served and who are currently serving in the militaries across the world are men.
Like I said, 97% of them.
China has almost 2.5 million people in their military.
The United States, we have 1.3 million active people serving in the military right now.
We also have 738,000 in reserves.
So there are close to 2 million Americans right now who are connected to either an active duty or they are serving as reserves.
So, there are ways that we have chosen as human beings to somehow find our way to peace.
The exertion of military strength has been one of those avenues that’s been used to secure peace and also preserve peace.
And so peace is in some ways it’s a controversial topic for us.
Well what does the Bible have to say about it?
Well, if you were to read your Old Testament in Hebrew, you would come across a very common word in the Hebrew Old Testament.
It’s the word shalom.
It’s familiar to most of us in English.
It’s the Old Testament Hebrew word for peace.
And granted, the word shalom at its very core simply means there’s no conflict.
So you can use the word shalom to describe a time where somebody’s not in a battle or in a war.
That is the core meaning of the word.
However, it also carries the idea of wholeness, completeness, well-being.
It is a word that we have to use a cluster of English words to put it into English.
It’s another one of those words that fits into a semantic domain that we’ve been studying together.
It is a deep and rich word.
Let me just show you an example of how the word shalom is used in the scripture.
Look at this text from Genesis 43.
Verses 27 through 28.
We’ll put it on the screen for you.
This is Joseph talking.
Joseph is meeting his brothers.
They’re in Egypt.
And he’s asking them about Jacob, their dad, his dad.
So here’s what he says.
He says, how they were.
He asked them how they were.
And then he said, how’s your aged father?
You told me about, is he still living?
They replied, your servant of our father is still alive and well.
Now in Hebrew, let me just show you how that’s actually worded.
When you see that question, how they were, that’s the Hebrew word shalom.
In other words, he says, do you have shalom?
Then he says, how is your aged father?
He says, shalom.
Is your aged father experiencing shalom?
They answer and they say, your father is still alive and he is experiencing shalom.
He’s well.
So the word shalom is used three times in those two verses translated variously into English.
In other words, it means more than just the absence of conflict.
It has to do with how you are experiencing life.
Shalom in the Old Testament is a powerful word.
It’s actually the word that our Hebrew brothers and sisters today use when they greet each other.
You and I greet each other and we say, hello, how are you?
A typical Jewish person will say, shalom.
When that Jewish person says shalom to a fellow Jew, they’re expressing a desire.
It’s a greeting, but they’re also expressing a hope.
I hope that you’re experiencing shalom.
And then when they part company, they typically say, shalom.
Again, it’s a wish.
It’s a hope.
It’s a desire.
I hope this is going to be your reality.
Well, what is shalom?
Well, shalom is well-being.
It means to be at peace with God.
It means to be at peace with yourself.
It means to be in harmony with your brothers and sisters around you.
It means to have peace of mind.
It can mean to experience health, prosperity, peace with others.
It is used over 250 times in the Old Testament.
So this is the word for peace. in the Old Testament.
It’s translated with a different word in the Greek New Testament that carries the very same connotation, this idea of wholeness.
So, how does the Bible portray peace?
If we’re gonna talk about being a peacemaker, then we have to understand what peace is in the first place.
If you’re going to be someone who engages in helping to bring about peace, then I believe you’ve got to understand what peace is.
Well, the Bible talks about peace in several ways.
First of all, it talks about the God of peace.
The Bible connects peace to the very nature of God.
Hebrews 13 verse 20, this blessing, this prayer in Hebrews 13 starts off with, Now may the God…
Of peace.
He’s the one who supplies peace.
Peace is at the very heart of who God is.
We find that in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
Isaiah 26, you will keep him in your peace.
Philippians 4, be anxious for nothing.
Let all your requests be made known to God with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving and the peace of God. which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In other words, our God, the God of the Bible, is a God who supplies peace.
But the Bible also talks about having peace with God, not just the peace of God, but having peace with God.
Romans 5 verse 1 says, “‘Therefore, since we’ve been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'”
Here’s what that is teaching us.
The Bible teaches us from a theological perspective, when you and I are born on this earth as human beings, we are born sinners.
And what that means is we are bent towards sinning.
And that is our direction.
Now, I think I don’t have to prove that to y’all, do I?
Human beings are sinners, right?
How many of you parents have ever had to teach your children how to do wrong?
How many of you parents have ever said to yourselves, man, I’m just worried about little Johnny.
He just doesn’t do enough wrong stuff.
Not one of you has ever thought that.
You know why?
Because human beings are sinners.
We’re born that way.
We lean that way.
We’re bent that way.
But here’s the problem with that.
When the Bible talks about that, the Bible teaches us that because of that, when we’re born, we’re actually separated from God.
As a matter of fact, the Bible uses some harsh language.
It says we are at enmity with God.
It’s an old King James word.
You know what that means?
We’re at war with God.
That means something needs to happen.
Here’s the good news.
God has chosen in his grace and because of his love and according to his mercy to not leave us in that state.
So God has chosen to act because he’s a God of peace to give us an opportunity to find peace with him.
So Jesus is the answer.
Jesus is the one who’s now the bridge between us and God.
So he sent his son.
He’s gone to great lengths. to secure our peace with Him.
So He’s made it possible we can be justified, forgiven for our sins, and we can find our way to peace with God, but only through Jesus.
Does that make sense?
So the peace of God is taught in the Scripture, but also we need to be at peace with God.
Now the Scripture also talks about the peace of Christ.
When you talk about peace, peace is connected to the Son of God.
As a matter of fact, if you look at the prophetic passage in the Old Testament from Isaiah, Isaiah 9, the prophet said this, “…for unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, the government will be on his shoulders, he’ll be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Peace is associated with the Son of God.
In fact, when Jesus was born in Luke 2, the angels announced, glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace on those whom his favor rests.
Jesus himself will tell his disciples, I’m going to give you peace.
John 14, verse 27, peace I leave with you.
My peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
Don’t be afraid.
The Apostle Paul will say in Colossians 3, Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
So on the one hand, God is the God of peace.
On the other hand, we need to have peace with God.
But the peace of Christ is also available to you and me.
So I want you to think about that.
Jesus offers you true peace.
Now, that’s a beautiful thing because here’s what I know about your life.
Your life is not always going to be peaceful.
It’s just not.
The circumstances of your life are not always going to cause you to be at peace.
In fact, if you live long enough, what’s going to happen in your life, just like it’s happened in mine, you’re going to experience choppy water.
You’re going to come up against things in your life that you’re going to wonder, why has this happened to me?
Why is this still happening to me?
Why is God allowing this to happen?
Why can’t things just be different?
Is God paying attention?
Does God not care about me?
And you can look at your life and you’ll find yourself sometimes in situations where the very last thing that your circumstances add up to is peace.
That’s just life, y’all.
But here’s what I’ve learned.
Even in the midst of those challenging circumstances, even in the midst of the choppy water, even in the midst of times of turmoil and tragedy and sorrow and brokenness and hurt and pain and grief and sorrow, even in all those times, you can still have the peace of Christ.
You can still have something underneath all of that where you know that God loves you.
He cares about you.
He’s paying attention to what’s happening in your life.
And He’s going to give you what you need to endure whatever it is you’re having to endure because He loves you and He cares about you and you’re not by yourself.
Because sometimes, y’all, you look at your life and this circumstance and this circumstance and this circumstance, you say, well, that plus that plus that never equals peace.
You’re right.
But here’s what I would tell you.
Take all of that plus that plus that plus that plus Jesus.
And you can find peace.
And it’s the peace that passes understanding.
It’s the peace that’s beyond your ability to comprehend.
It’s the peace that you don’t conjure up on your own.
It’s not natural to us.
It’s something God gives to us.
Praise His name.
And so this morning, you may need to claim that.
You may need to ask for it.
And I’ll be honest with y’all.
I’ve been through a whole lot in my life.
Sometimes on the front end of what I may go through, I don’t experience that peace right off.
I’m just honest enough to tell you, sometimes it’s frustrating to me.
And I’m wondering, why?
Lord, are you paying attention?
What are you doing here?
But eventually, every time I found the peace of Christ in him.
Because that’s what he promises us.
So let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Now, with all of that said, let’s talk about peacemaking.
Because you can’t be a peacemaker if you don’t understand what peace is.
You know, you can’t give away what you don’t have.
So if you’ve not found peace with God, it’s going to be very difficult for you to be a messenger of peace in the lives of other people.
So what does it mean to be a peacemaker?
Because that’s what Jesus says in verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers.
Well, here’s what Ben Franklin said about that.
He said, blessed are the peacemakers is I suppose for another world because in this world they’re frequently cursed.
Not everybody appreciates peacemakers.
And yet, it’s a valid and viable role.
And you and I have to learn how to do it.
Some of us are better at it than others.
At different times in our lives, some of us are better than we are at another time in our life.
But we’re still responsible for it as followers of Jesus.
Listen to what the Scripture says.
In Ephesians 4, Paul says, Be completely humble and gentle.
Be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Make every effort, Paul says.
Here’s the passage I want you to meditate on in this week, 2 Corinthians 5.
Here’s what Paul says.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.
This is our Bible reading for this week.
The old is gone, the new is here.
All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
And he’s committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.
This is one of my favorite lines in the NIV Bible.
As though God were making his appeal through us.
I love that.
It’s as if God is making his appeal through you. the appeal of peace and reconciliation.
Some of y’all may remember when George Shultz was the Secretary of State of the United States.
He met with every single ambassador.
This says we’re going to be Christ’s ambassadors.
Chi Alpha, I think, is how we put it sometimes.
The ambassadors of Christ.
His cause is being represented through us.
Well, when George Shultz was the Secretary of State, he met with every ambassador before they left on their appointment.
And he said he would call them into his office.
He had a huge globe in front of his desk, and he would ask them to stand at that globe, and he would spin it, and he would say, now I want you to point to your country.
And he said, inevitably, every single one of them would point to the country they were going to.
And he said he would always take their hand and move it off the globe and spin it back to the U.S. and put their finger on that one and say, this is your country.
This is who you’re representing wherever you go.
Well, Jesus is calling us into his office and saying, this is my kingdom.
You’re representing it.
No matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter what the situation is, my appeal is actually coming through you personally.
So that means you and I have a role to play in our sphere of influence.
It’s not always easy.
I get it.
Listen to what Paul said.
In Philippians, Paul was under house arrest in Rome.
We just got back from Rome.
Cindy and I and Holly and Kevin, friends of ours, we actually went to the house in Rome before our tour started where Paul was when he wrote Philippians.
Here’s what Paul said.
I plead with Euodia, I plead with Syntyche, two ladies in the church who are at odds with each other.
And he said to be of the same mind in the Lord.
Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel.
Paul says, would one of y’all…
Step in and be a peacemaker between these two women.
Would y’all, somebody, help these two women come together because they’re at odds with each other and they’re valuable to me and I need them.
So he was calling on a peacemaker.
Now here’s what I’d say about peacemakers.
Okay, they take risks.
They take the first step.
They seek the best.
They remain humble.
They trust the results to God.
They give God the glory.
They pray.
They pray.
Because you need all that to be a peacemaker.
Because peacemaking is not easy.
Troublemaking is easy.
True?
Anybody can be a troublemaker.
Right?
And troublemakers, you need one or two of them.
I’ve always said that preachers say blessed are the troublemakers because it gives us job security.
You need one or two.
Okay?
But just in case you’re wondering, we don’t need any more.
We have enough.
So if you’re looking for that job, it’s already filled, okay?
But in the life of the church, peacemaking is challenging.
It just is.
Now, Jesus is a great example.
Paul, when Paul was alive, one of the huge puzzles they were trying to resolve was how are the Jews and the Gentiles going to get along in the church?
How are they going to find their way together in the same family?
And Paul says in Ephesians 2, Paul says this about Jesus.
He says, “‘Jesus is our peace.'”
And he has bridged the gap between the Jew and the Gentile.
That’s what Paul says.
In other words, Jesus has stepped in and he’s taken on the most problematic issue we’re facing and he’s built a bridge between these two groups of people.
And he uses him as an example.
Well, the Bible has examples of peacemakers.
You know, peacemakers are important.
When we’re doing our work right now in West Africa, one of the things that we’re doing is
Because we’re planting churches in new areas.
And our primary partner is a pastor named Pastor Emmanuel.
We met Pastor Emmanuel when David and Lisa Bonet were our workers in Sierra Leone.
He now works very closely with Gabe and Seda.
Pastor Emmanuel leads a ministry called SENT, Salvation Enters New Territory.
Don’t you love that?
That’s the name of his church.
Guess what he says he does whenever he enters new territory?
You know who he’s looking for?
A person of peace.
You know why?
Because that’s what Jesus said do in Luke 10.
Jesus said, Luke 10, verse 6, when you go into these new areas, look for a person of peace.
And you find that person of peace who will welcome you.
They’re not a believer, but they’re open.
And they’re the person you’re going to be able to work through.
They’ll become the conduit.
We should look for those very same kind of people, not just in the village in West Africa.
We need to be looking for them all over Arlington.
Because they’re the pathway to get in the gospel to other people.
And they’re examples of people of peace in the Scripture.
For example, how about Cornelius in Acts chapter 10?
He’s a Roman soldier, and yet he became a person of peace.
The Philippian jailer, the woman at the well.
One of my favorite people of peace in the New Testament, a peacemaker, is Ananias.
Do y’all remember the story when Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus?
He would later become the Apostle Paul.
But on his way to Damascus, he was going there to persecute the church.
He was going to round up all the Christians, particularly the Jewish Christians.
And on his way to Damascus, he meets Jesus.
And he’s radically converted to Christianity.
But he’s struck blind.
And he makes his way.
They have to lead him into Damascus.
When he gets there, he’s lost his traveling companions because he’s no longer connected to them.
He’s not been introduced to the church.
So it’s a very lonely time for Saul.
And the Bible says that God appeared to Ananias in a vision and said, Saul of Tarsus has come to Damascus and I need you to go and pray over him and welcome him.
And Ananias said, you have got to be kidding me.
We know him.
We know, that’s my translation of what he did.
He said, we know why he’s here.
He’s here to harm us.
He’s not here to help us.
And the last thing we need to be doing is showing him who we are because he’s coming to round us all up.
And God said, he has met me on the way to Damascus.
You go to him.
And the Bible says, Ananias went to see Saul of Tarsus.
He laid hands on him and anointed him.
The scales fell from Saul’s eyes.
He was no longer blind.
Ananias baptized him and welcomed him into the church in Damascus.
Don’t y’all know and believe and think we need more people like Ananias in our churches?
Come on now.
What an awesome thing he did.
Guess what?
Saul leaves there, goes to Jerusalem.
He gets to the Jerusalem church and the apostles say, we know who he is.
We don’t want anything to do with him.
And Barnabas, the Bible says, takes Paul and leads him to the apostles and said, you need to know he was converted on the way to Damascus.
He’s helped the church of Damascus.
He needs to help our church here in Jerusalem.
And the apostles welcomed him because Barnabas was the peacemaker.
He built the bridge.
We need people who know how to build bridges.
Are you one of them?
It’s easy to build walls.
They’re simple.
Bridges are hard.
I don’t know if y’all know about technology of bridges.
Bridges are hard to build because they have to bridge chasms.
Sometimes they’re built over water.
It’s not easy.
Let me show you one of my favorite bridges in the world.
Can I just show you this bridge here?
It’s in Northern Ireland.
Y’all see it?
It’s a footbridge bridge.
It’s a walking bridge.
You can ride your bike on it.
It’s kind of an S-shaped curved bridge.
It’s very famous.
It was opened in 2011, I believe.
It’s in Northern Ireland, and it connects two parts of one city.
On the eastern side of this city in Northern Ireland is where all the Protestants live, and they have a certain political persuasion.
On the west side of this city, of this river, the River Foyle, is where the Catholics live.
And they have a certain political perspective.
And they have been at odds with each other for over 400 years.
Separated by a river.
As a matter of fact, they can’t even agree on the name of their town.
If you’re on the Catholic side of the river, the town is known as Derry, Northern Ireland, D-E-R-R-Y.
If you’re on the Protestant side, it’s known as Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
And the conflict has been lived out in daily life.
So, for example, if you send a letter and the postmaster in the Catholic side of the town receives it and you have it addressed to Londonderry, he will send it back because there’s no such thing as a Londonderry.
If you send a letter to the Protestant side of the town and you address it to Derry, the Protestant postmaster will send it back to you because there’s no such town as the name Derry.
The name of the town is London Derry.
That’s just a little thing.
It’s a huge dispute, massive trouble through the years.
2011, you know what they decided to do?
Why don’t we build a footbridge and connect our city?
And they decided to make it kind of an interesting bridge so it would be attractive to people.
And so in one way, it was a symbolic gesture.
In another way, it was a very practical thing to connect these people where they could actually walk to each other and start engaging in conversation in life and shop at each other’s shops and get to know each other.
Because when people get to know each other, it’s a little bit easier to build bridges and to get outside of your wall.
Does that make sense?
But it’s not easy.
And here’s what I would say to y’all at this church.
We live in an era when people are really good at building walls.
As a matter of fact, our society has a PhD in wall building and judgment and castigating others.
We’re good at it and getting better.
We know how to separate and castigate.
And it doesn’t take much.
Doesn’t take much.
All you got to do is maybe say one or two words.
And when you say them, I’ve automatically categorized you.
I know everything about you.
I know what you think, how you feel, how you vote, what’s important to you, what you care about.
And I don’t like you.
Because you’ve said one word to me, two words to me.
Are y’all with me?
This church is filled with all kind of people.
I’ve been here a long time.
And you know what we have in this church?
We’ve got people from all walks of life who have all different kind of perspectives.
And somehow or another, we have been able to get along with each other and rally under a cause that’s bigger than any of our own individual causes.
And that is the cause of Jesus.
And this community needs churches like ours to show people it can actually be done in the 21st century.
Now, amen.
Now, the only way to do it is to have some bridge builders.
We’ve got to have some Ananiases and some Barnabases because it’s hard to do.
But here’s what Jesus said.
He said, if you’ll do this, then you know what you’ll be known as?
The children of God.
In other words, you’ll bear the family resemblance.
You’re going to start looking like me.
And people are going to recognize it because peacemakers bear the family resemblance to our Heavenly Father as we reflect His character.
Is that not who you want to be?
I hope so.
We want to be the children of God.
It’s not easy.
I get it.
I understand it.
It’s so much easier to separate than it is to come together.
But peacemakers believe that this actually matters, and it does matter.
And I want to invite you to that journey.
Let’s you and I be people of peace.
It doesn’t mean we always agree with each other.
In fact, that’s really hard to do because we come from so many different perspectives.
But there are some things upon which we can agree and we can build our future and our reality on those things because they matter.
And that’s what the church is supposed to do.
And may we learn how to do it better.
Now here’s what I want us to do this morning.
We’re going to sing a song of invitation.
And so Michael, y’all can come and lead us.
But before we do it or as we get ready for that, I want us to offer up a prayer.
It’s typically referred to as the prayer of St.
Francis.
You’re probably familiar with it.
We don’t know for sure that Francis of Assisi wrote it, but he gets credit for it.
And so I want us to stand together and I just want us out loud to read this prayer together.
But I want it to actually be our prayer that we express to the Lord.
So we’re going to put it on the screen for you.
And I want it to represent Jesus. commitment today of what we’re asking the Lord to lead us in.
So let’s share this prayer out loud together as a church.
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, and where there is sadness, joy.
O 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.
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
May that prayer be so in your life.