Upside-Down 7 // Blessed are the Peacemakers

Matthew 5:9 (NIV) | Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Peacemakers ≠ Peacekeepers – peacekeeping presupposes there is a peace worth keeping.

John 14:27 (NLT) | I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

A Peacemaker Believes:

  1. In Jesus’ peace
  2. Jesus is Truth setting us free
  3. Helping others find freedom in the Lord

We tend to be driven by:

  1. Comfort
  2. Convenience
  3. Consumerism

Beatitudes Review:

So now we are peacemakers as opposed to peacekeepers because the worldly view of peace is not worth keeping.

We need a godly worldview to combat the corrupt culture, even though it will be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and costly.

Matthew 5:9 (MSG) | You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

Peacemaking = Reconciliation – Moving from separation, hurt, and brokenness to healing, wholeness, forgiveness, and reunion.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NLT) | 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!’ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Reflection Questions

  1. What is the difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper? Is this a new way to think for you, especially considering what Jesus taught and who Jesus is?
  2. How did Pastor Mark help us see what being a peacemaker means in this world?
  3. What 3 words that begin with the letter ‘c’ did Pastor Mark argue tends to drive our behavior?
  4. This week’s Beatitude begins the culmination of the previous six. Outline what they are and the implication of being a peacemaker.
  5. Pastor Mark closed with a lesson from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. Review that text. What is the implication for how we are to live lives of truth in this culture?