Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20250622 - Blessed are the Peacemakers - Matthew 5:9

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#20250622 - Blessed are the Peacemakers - Matthew 5:9 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Today we're going to be in Matthew 5, chapter 5, and we're
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going to be looking specifically at verse 9.
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And this passage of Scripture is really summed up as being called
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the Sermon on the Mount. This Pat, this sermon from Jesus
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consists of Matthew chapter 5, and it goes all the way through
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Matthew Chapter 7. And it's a big, powerful
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message. And Jesus says a lot of
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impactful things in this sermon that he gives on the mount.
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But the most famous part of this passage of this sermon is found
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in Matthew chapter 5, verses one through 12, and is commonly
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known today as the Bee attitudes.
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These beatitudes consist and describe the character of
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someone who has been transformed by a deeply personal
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relationship with God. When you look at the beatitudes
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in in verses one through 12 you can see evidence of this when it
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says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
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righteousness, for they shall be filled.
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Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness
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sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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When you examine the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, it is
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clear that what Jesus is talking about is not just positive
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vibes. What he's talking about here are
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characteristics of someone who has been transformed by Jesus
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Christ. The things that we see in
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Matthew chapter 5 with the Beatitudes show someone that God
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is not just some religious experience.
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God is real because the only way that you can live out the
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characteristics that are found in the Beatitudes is by
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experiencing Christ and having Him transform you.
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Did you know that especially in the times we're living in, in
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the last days that we're living in, I know that we can look on
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the news and see that it's the last days that Jesus is coming
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soon. And our world doesn't just need
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to hear the gospel with our words, they need to see it.
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And the way that we show them is by demonstrating the
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characteristics of Christ in our lives.
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What does that look like? What this means is that as you
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get closer to Christ, you become more like Him.
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This means that God as as you get close to him, he's able to
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take someone who was consumed with rage and anger and turn
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them into someone who is consumed with love and grace.
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That's what Jesus does. As you enter into a relationship
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with Him and you pursue Him with everything that you are, God
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transforms your character so that what comes across the
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people is not the brokenness of who we are.
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It's Jesus. Where the world says you should
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be selfish, When as you get close to Christ, He teaches you
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to be giving and kind. Where the world says it should
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be all about you, you're about others.
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Why? Because as you get close to
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Christ, your character begins to change.
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And nothing communicates the gospel louder or clearer than
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someone whose life has been transformed by Jesus.
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And now the characteristics of Christ are coming through in how
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they live and how they treat other people.
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That's transformation. This isn't just being positive.
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This isn't just, well, I hope that this happens.
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This is what God does. There are those of you listening
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within the sound of my voice, those of you in this room right
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now who know that you were a completely different person
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before you met Jesus. But now that you've encountered
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Christ, there's there's been a transformation in you.
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And where there was once darkness, now there's now light.
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Where there was a life that was chained and consumed with sin,
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now you're walking in obedience to the Lord and you've
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experienced healing. Why?
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Because God is real and he transforms lives.
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The characteristics that are seen here show us how important
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it is that our faith is not just something we keep to ourselves,
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but we allow it to transform us so that those around us can see
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evidence that God is real as well.
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This is what makes Jesus statement in Matthew chapter 5
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verse 9 so impactful. He says blessed are the
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peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
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And so I've entitled this this study today.
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Blessed are the peace makers. But what is a peacemaker?
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I think many of us in the room are familiar with the term
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peacekeeper. You know, someone who who works
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hard to just kind of keep the peace.
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But that's not what Jesus is talking about here.
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But in order for us to understand what his messages
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here about being a peacemaker, we have to understand what a
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peacemaker is and what a peacemaker is not.
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First of all, a peacemaker is someone that willingly engages
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in conflict with the intention of helping establish peace
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between two opposing sides. That's what a peacemaker does.
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And furthermore, A peacemaker creates paths to understanding
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reconciliation and unity where false ideas, hatred, and
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division are present, even if it means they get caught in the
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crossfire. A peacemaker willingly
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sacrifices themselves, willingly places themselves in the line of
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fire if it means that there's a possibility that reconciliation
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can happen. That's what a peacemaker is.
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A peacemaker is not a peacekeeper.
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There's a big difference there. A peacemaker is not a
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peacekeeper because peacekeeping involves maintaining peace by
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avoiding conflict and other in order for other people to be
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happy, even if it means that they or someone else has to
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suffer for it. That's what peacekeeping is.
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I'm willing to sacrifice myself or someone else for the sake of
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keeping the peace rather than just addressing the issue that
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needs to be addressed. What Jesus is saying here is
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that peacemakers are blessed because when they see an issue,
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they willingly engage the problem rather than avoiding it.
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This is so powerful because this is exactly what Jesus did.
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He saw the problem of our sin and he didn't ignore it, but he
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willingly engaged it to bring reconciliation, to reconcile us
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to the Father through his death and resurrection.
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That's what he did for us. We are reconciled to the Father
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because Jesus saw the problem of sin and said, I'm going to bring
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reconciliation through my death and resurrection.
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This makes Jesus the ultimate peacemaker.
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And when we live like this, when we seek to bring reconciliation
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between people or when we're trying to reconcile
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relationships that have been broken in our lives, we are
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being like Jesus. We're being like him, and one
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practical way that we can live like Jesus when it comes to
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being peacemakers is by seeking reconciliation in our
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relationships. Why is this important?
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Again, because as we seek reconciliation, when we seek
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reconciliation, it gives people evidence.
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It gives people proof that God is real because the world will
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tell you if someone has offended you, you, you should not ever
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forgive them. And there's some situations
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where it's like, man, if, if, if you're unsafe, it's if it's
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abuse or whatever it is, There's a process that has to go through
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that. It's not just something that you
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just get over. It's a process of healing before
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you can get to a place of forgiveness.
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So please don't hear me say that if you have are unsafe or if
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you've ever been abused, that you should just forget
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everything and go forgive that person.
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That's not what I'm saying. But if there is an opportunity
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for reconciliation, as believers, as peacemakers, we
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are called to engage in that, not to ignore it.
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And when we do that, it gives people evidence that God is
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real. When you are willing to forgive
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someone that is wrong view, you're showing that person that
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God is real as the scripture says that that they shall be
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called sons and I'd say even daughters of God.
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We show the world and the people around us that God is real by
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being willing to forgive those who have offended us.
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And I know sometimes that's a hard pill to swallow.
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That's a hard thing to to comprehend, but understand that
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that's exactly what Jesus did with us.
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If we have been forgiven by God, we cannot withhold forgiveness
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from others. That's that's the crazy thing
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about this grace that we've been given is that Jesus was beaten,
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brutalized and nailed to a cross and he didn't even deserve it.
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And yet when Jesus was on the cross, what did he say?
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He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
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Jesus is not calling us to do anything that He has not first
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done. But when we seek to bring
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reconciliation, even when we forgive someone, we are being
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like Christ and giving the people around us evidence that
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God is real and that he has transformed our lives.
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Because many times forgiveness does not make sense.
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Reconciliation doesn't make sense.
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It's just easier. I'm just going to cut that
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person off and never talk to them again.
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And that's it. But when God transforms your
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heart and brings you to a place where you're able to say, man,
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you know what? What happened is not excuse.
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What happened was not right, but you know what?
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It's not my identity anymore. I'm not letting that.
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I'm not letting that be a weight on my shoulders anymore.
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I'm giving that to the Lord and walking in obedience to what He
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has called me to do because I know that He's in control of the
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situation. This is what happens as we live
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as peace makers. And if we want to live that out
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in our lives today, we have to understand three things about
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what it means to be a peacemaker.
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The first thing is that peacemakers don't avoid
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conflict. The second is that peacemakers
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imitate Christ. And the third thing is that
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peacemakers set the table. Let's get into our first point,
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which is peacemakers don't avoid conflict.
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One of the things that I know is one of the things that I know is
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true about all of us is that in the relationships that we have,
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we want them to be peaceful. I don't think anybody in the
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room or online or listening on the radio enjoys drama in their
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relationships with people. I don't think anyone would be
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like, I want all the smoke, man. I want all the drama.
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I want all the stuff. No, in reality, we want our
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relationships with people to be peaceful.
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But the truth is, the reality is, is that in our relationships
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with people, things sometimes get rocky and issues come up
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that need to be addressed. And I know that that sounds
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difficult, but it's actually normal.
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It's a normal part of a healthy relationship.
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Things come up and we work through it.
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I remember going to a marriage event with my wife a while ago
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and I remember the the speaker saying saying this.
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They said problems in marriage can either lead to greater
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intimacy with each other or they can lead to greater distance.
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The truth in this or the difference in this is the choice
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to work through conflict or avoid it.
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You may be sitting here today and you may be going through an
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issue in your marriage and you may be going like God.
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What is going on? Why is this happening?
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Why is this here? And you may not know why, but
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what you can be confident in is that God is walking with you
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through it. And as you trust Him through it,
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He'll He'll bring you to a place where you and your spouse are
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looking at each other. Like not only are we closer to
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the Lord, but we're closer to each other because we held on to
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Him in the midst of the conflict.
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We didn't avoid it, but we worked through it together.
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Conflict in marriage either brings you closer together or
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farther apart, and the only difference is the choice to
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either work through it or avoid it.
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But whether it's in marriage or any other relationship,
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unfortunately, many times when conflict arises, we just choose
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to avoid it. And when we avoid conflict,
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we're not being peacemakers. We're trying to be peacekeepers.
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I can tell some of you were looking at me like, well, why is
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that a bad thing? It's a bad thing because
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peacekeeping deceives you into thinking that you're being
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virtuous by not addressing something that needs to be
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addressed. And what you're choosing to do
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is to walk on egg shells around an issue hoping it will go away
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on its own. But the truth is, is that
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conflict, when you avoid conflict, it doesn't go away.
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It just grows and comes back with greater force.
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Hebrews 12/15 in the New Living Translation says, watch out,
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that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble
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you, corrupting many. I have found that peacekeeping
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is just another way of saying to somebody, I don't really care
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about you. But for us as believers, it is
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our responsibility to be peacekeepers in the
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relationships that God has given us.
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And what that means is by keeping short accounts with
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people, whether it be, you know, friends, spouses, friends, Co
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workers, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, God has
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called us to be peacekeepers, meaning that we don't avoid
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conflict, we work through it. Peacemakers, there we go.
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Thank you. And let me just say it may take
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time before you're ready to address the issue.
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It may take time and that's OK. But when I, when I'm, I want to
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encourage you in is that even in the processes, as God is
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continuing to mold you and shape you, stay close to him.
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Because what God does is that as you stay close to Him, He'll
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bring you to a place where you're confident to step into
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that situation and address the issue without any fear, without
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any trepidation, not because of how great you are, but because
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you're confident in who He is. That's why it's so important to
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stay close to the Lord. Now, that being said, I know
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that, you know, being up here and talking about conflict
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resolution and talking about being a peacemaker, you know, it
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looks like I've got it all figured out and that I just love
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confrontation. And that's not the case.
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I envy people who enjoy and relish confrontation.
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You know, they walk into a situation, they're ready.
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They've got four or five arguments ready to go.
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I walk into conflict and I'm like, I don't really know what
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to say here. Jesus, take the wheel.
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I think that's all I got. I don't have it all figured out.
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But what I do know is that avoiding conflict only makes
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things worse because eventually both sides just put up walls.
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Think about it. How many marriages and
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relationships could have been saved if both parties involved
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were willing to humbly address the elephant in the room?
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And let me just be clear by saying that when I say don't
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avoid conflict, I'm not saying that you never show grace.
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We don't just go around giving people a piece of our mind
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because we can. You offended me.
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OK, it's time to fight. Let's go.
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Like, like, that's, that's not what I'm saying.
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We do show grace, but we don't avoid conflict either.
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We don't ignore it. And it's in that that
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peacemakers imitate Christ by being willing to address things.
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We do that because Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker.
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In fact, in Isaiah 961 of Jesus titles is that he is the Prince
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of Peace. And yet you could argue when you
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examine the scriptures that his life was anything but peaceful.
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In fact, Jesus constantly engaged in conflict, whether it
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was challenging the religious leaders, confronting sin,
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addressing the disciples unbelief, or preaching in
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hostile conditions. Yet despite all this tension,
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Jesus was still able to set people free.
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He was still able to show grace, and he was still able to build
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healthy relationships with others.
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He did all this while at the same time not being afraid to
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rock the boat. You can read the scriptures.
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No, Jesus will call you out. He didn't avoid things, but his
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motive for why he did that wasn't so that he could point
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his finger and go ha ha, look at you.
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It was always to bring reconciliation.
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It was always to bring greater understanding.
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It was always to to set someone free.
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Jesus didn't avoid that, but he lovingly addressed conflict.
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And as he is our example, we are called to be just like him.
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But so many of us avoid conflict because we have assumed that all
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conflict is something that is not worth dealing with.
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It's something that should just be avoided.
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It's not worth the trouble. And maybe you develop this
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perception because of how you were raised.
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Maybe someone in this room grew up in a household where if there
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was an issue that happened the day before, you just swept it on
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another rug and didn't talk about it.
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That's you didn't get to discuss it.
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You knew that you just needed to move on.
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What was said was said, What was done was done, and that's it.
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And just leave it alone. And so you grew up thinking
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that, OK, I don't want to address, or even you've never
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learned to address conflict in a healthy way because it was never
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demonstrated in your home. And I get that.
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But again, avoiding conflict is not an act of virtue.
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It's not a virtuous act. Instead, when we choose to avoid
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conflict, it's actually an act of self preservation.
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For example, have you ever chose to ignore an issue with someone
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because you weren't confident that you would win the argument
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or the conversation? I guess nobody in here has ever
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done that. You know, I'll, I'll say I have.
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I have. There have been times in my life
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where I knew I needed to address something with someone, but
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because I knew that they were a better communicator, they could
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argue really, really well. I just kind of chose the I don't
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want to look like the loser here, so I'll let you be you and
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I'll do me. That's not right.
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That's not what God has called us to do.
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God had to show me that when I feel that way, I've got to die
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to myself. Because at the end of the day,
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engaging conflict with the purpose of seeking
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reconciliation and honoring God. It's not even about me at all.
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It's about being like Jesus. There is nothing more Christ
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honoring than bringing reconciliation between two
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people who have been divided, whether it be you and somebody
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else or whatever that may be. When you do that, you're being
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like Christ. When you walk in forgiveness and
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forgive someone, you are being like Christ.
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You are demonstrating the very character that He has called us
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to live out in this world. I'll put it this way, when you
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do that, God smiles because you're following in His
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footsteps. He forgave us, he forgives us.
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Some of us are this morning have received new mercies from the
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Lord because he forgave us for whatever something we did
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yesterday, last night, whatever it is we are walking in his
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forgiveness. And if he we have been forgiven
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like that from God, we are called to do the same with
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others. Mark Chapter 9 verse 50 says
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have salt in yourselves and have peace with one another.
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Romans 12/18 says if possible, as much as depends on you, live
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peaceably with all men. But then the question becomes
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this, If there's conflict in our relationships and we know that
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there's an issue, how do we pursue peace through it in a
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healthy way? How do we actually do that?
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Well, we do that by understanding that peacemakers
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set the table. Now, there are many scriptures
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that that show us how to deal with, you know, to confront
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something and to do it in a healthy way.
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There's many books written on that.
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But I want to share with you a technique that God has given me
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any time, has given me to use any time that I've run into any
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conflict with somebody. And I call this technique
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setting the table. For example, in order for you to
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be ready to eat a meal, you have to set the table.
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You need plates, forks, knives, spoons, napkins, cups, etcetera.
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Some of you are thinking like placemats and candles and you
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know all those different things. You've got to set the table so
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that you can before you're ready to eat.
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If the table's not set, you're not ready.
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And in the same way, if you don't set the table before you
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address an issue, the person that you're talking to, that
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you're going to be talking to, you may not be ready to receive
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what you're about to say. You must set the table before
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you address an issue. Now, what does this look like?
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I believe there are five ways that we can set the table so
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that we can engage in healthy conflict resolution and seek to
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be peacemakers with the peace with the people that God has
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around us. The first way that we set the
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table is by making sure that the conversation happens at a time
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where you're both awake and not exhausted.
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Especially for those of you who have small kids, it's not wise
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to address an issue with your spouse after you've been with
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the kids all day and you know all the craziness of life and
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finally you put the kids down, you're dead tired at night, and
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then you're going to like, hey, I got to talk to you about
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something, not the right time. Why?
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Because when you're tired, your fuse is short, you're not really
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willing to listen because you're exhausted.
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Or maybe it's not with your spouse to find.
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Find the time and a place that works for you and that person
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that you're going to talk with. It's so important.
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The second way that we set the table is by checking our tone.
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Tone is so important when you're communicating with someone and
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you're seeking to bring reconciliation between you 2
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It's so important. For example, there's a big
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difference between telling someone like this, we need to
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talk versus hey, can we have a conversation.
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Which one would you rather be up for, the aggressive one or the
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gentler one, right? With the aggression, with the
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aggression in the tone, the walls go up immediately.
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I'm not talking to you about nothing.
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We about the fight now, but when it there's gentleness, hey, can
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we have a conversation about this now there's an open door
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for OK, I don't know what it's about, but OK, let's let's have
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a conversation. Tone is so important when you're
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communicating with someone and seeking to bring reconciliation.
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The third way that we set the table is by explaining that the
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purpose of the conversation is to promote health in the
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relationship, not to point fingers or condemn.
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This has to be understood before you bring up the issue.
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It must be communicated to the person that you're talking to
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that my purpose in this is not to point the finger at you, it's
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not to condemn you. It's to seek to strengthen our
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relationship and even to to bring reconciliation if if
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possible. I'll put it to you this way.
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If you want to shut down any conversation, any good
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conversation that can lead to reconciliation, start by saying
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you always. If you lead in by saying you
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always, you can forget the conversation because what you're
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doing is you're devaluing that person by saying you have never
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done anything good. You always do this.
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You are immediately condemning them with one word.
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And so when you set the table, it's setting the table helping
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them understand. I'm not here to point the finger
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at you. I'm not here to condemn you.
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I'm not here to box you in and say you're always this thing.
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I'm here to seek to bring reconciliation if possible, and
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so that we can resolve this conflict in a healthy way.
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The fourth way that we can set the table is make sure that in
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the conversation it's understood that whoever sharing is going to
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be listened to without interruption.
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That's the big one, without interruption.
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And then sometimes that's hard because when you're listening to
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someone and maybe they have something against you or maybe
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you know, they're sharing their part or whatever it is you want
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to interrupt and say, no, no, that's not what no, I remember
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it differently. No, what you do in that moment
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by not is that you're showing them that you're not listening.
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And when someone does not feel heard, why would they continue
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to share? Why would there be an open
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opportunity for reconciliation if they're not being listened to
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and understood? So it has to be understood at
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the beginning, hey, we're going to share without interruption.
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The fifth thing that we can do to set the table is don't go in
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guns blazing, but start with observations.
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When you go in guns blazing, it immediately causes that person
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to put the wall up. But if you start with
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observations by saying, hey, here's a pattern that I've seen,
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can you help me understand why this this becomes the outcome?
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Or is there anything I can do to help with this?
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Start with observations. Those are five ways that we can
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set the table for any healthy conflict resolution.
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Now, there may be times where you don't have time to set the
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table and you just got to handle something.
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But even in that, as believers, as peacemakers, our goal is
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never to condemn. It's always to seek healthy
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reconciliation. What's frustrating about what
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I've shared with you is that sometimes the timing is not
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right. Sometimes God has to work on
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somebody else's heart before there's an opportunity for
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reconciliation. Sometimes God has to work on
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your heart before there's an opportunity for reconciliation.
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But that's why we stay close to the Lord because as you stay
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close to Him, He will bring you to a place where you're willing
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to walk into a situation and either forgive someone or or
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reconcile with someone, fully knowing that God is in control.
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Now, if you reconcile with somebody, that doesn't mean that
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they have access to your life, doesn't mean that they're going
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to be your best friend. But what it means is that
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whatever offense that they did, whatever it is, it's no longer
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something you carry in your heart.
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It's no longer something that you allow to define you, but you
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give it to the Lord and allow Him to deal with that person,
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but you don't carry it around. Peacemakers engage in healthy
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conflict by setting the table so that both sides feel heard and
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Christ is glorified. So what does this mean for all
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of us today? What it means is that we give
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proof for the fact that God is real and that we are His
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children by being willing to live as peacemakers in the
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relationships that God has allowed us to be in.
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Because living as a peacemaker and seeking healthy conflict
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resolution with people, we bring glory to God and we honour Him
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and show people that He is transforming our lives.
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This is the ministry that God has called us to. 2nd
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Corinthians 518 says now all things are of God who reconciled
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us to Himself through Jesus Christ and having and has given
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us the ministry of reconciliation.
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We follow His example by doing the same, by reconciling, by
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seeking forgiveness. We're becoming more like Christ
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and pointing people to Him. Let's pray.
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Father in Heaven, we come before you in this time.
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Not because what we've just talked about here is easy.
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We come before you seeking your help.
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Father, we cannot be peacemakers in our flesh or in our own
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ability. We can only do that as our life
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is consumed with you, as you are filling us, Lord, with your
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spirit, as you are drawing us to you, as you are transforming our
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lives. Father, I pray for everyone in
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this room and I pray, Lord, that you would fill this place with
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Your spirit. I pray for everyone watching
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online or listening on the radio.
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What I pray that you'd fill them with your spirit.
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Whatever that issue is, whatever that offence is, what I pray
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that right now they would know that they can give that to you
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and that you're not going to fumble it, Lord, you're going to
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take it. You're going to work on it.
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You're going to work on their heart.
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You're going to work on everyone involved in that process.
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In fact, in this moment, if you're here right now, if you're
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in house, you're here and you know that there's a conflict in
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your life that you know needs to be addressed in a situation
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where you know God, you, you need God to show up in a big way
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to bring reconciliation and to bring healing.
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Would you be bold this morning and stand to your feet?
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I just want to pray for you. If you're online, you can stand.
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If you're listening on the radio, you can raise the hand.
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Thank you for standing. I want to pray for you, Father.
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I pray for every situation represented right here, right
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now. Everyone's standing right here,
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right now as an act of faith, Lord, knowing that they cannot
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resolve the conflict in their lives in their own power.
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I pray in the name of Jesus, Lord, that in every situation
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you would show up in a big way. I pray that even as they leave
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here today that they would get a phone call that's different,
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that that interaction would be different, that you would open
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doors that have been shut for a long time.
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I pray God for a molding and a transformation of their hearts,
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Lord, that you would draw them to you in such a way that you
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begin to bring a healing that they have sought after for a
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long time, where they know that whatever happened is not their
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identity. That is not a weight that they
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need to carry. Lord, your word says that your
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yoke is easy and Your burden light.
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So I pray, Lord, that they would lay whatever it is at Your feet
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and that you would show up in a powerful way to bring
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reconciliation, to bring healing in the situations they're
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facing. Father, as a church, Lord, we
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ask that you would come soon. We know that you're on the way.
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And in that time, God, we asked, Lord, that you'd help us to
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represent you, not just in the things that we say, but in our
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conduct, in our character. Help us to lead people to you,
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Lord, by our ability to simply reflect you, to live like you,
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to represent you to the people that you've placed around us,
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even if it means as peacemakers. Thank you Father for this time
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in Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 87730
35:45
Grace that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
35:52
integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
35:57
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
36:02
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
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this week.