Mankind is ever searching for peace. In the last 4,000 years there has been less than 300 years of peace. A visitor from Mars would say that earth’s chief industry is war. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, designer of the Atomic Bomb, when asked if there was a defense against the bomb, said, “Yes, Peace.” Apollo 11 had a motto – “We come in peace for all mankind.” They left it on the Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin found themselves in a peaceful place because there had never been any humans there before. Albert Einstein once said, “The unleaded power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.” When asked, “So you don’t believe there will ever be peace?” he responded, “As long as there will be man, there will be wars.”
Man tries to find peace through financial pressure, gun control, evasive habits, knowledge and even religion. But there is no real peace in the world until we have peace with God. Man’s conflict with man is but an expression on the human level of his conflict with God. The history of man is futile efforts to live happily and peacefully apart from God.
There is peace only in God. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
There are over 400 references to ‘peace’ in the Bible. Six times in the New Testament God is allied the “God of Peace.”
What does it mean to have peace?
1. We must first be at peace with God.
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace[a] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1).
Is everything okay between you and God? Have you trusted His Son, Jesus Christ, as your own personal Lord and Savior?
2. We then can have the peace of God.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
To have the ‘peace of God’, we must (1) Quit fighting God (John 14:27), (2) Surrender to God (2 Chronicles 30:8), and (3) Serve God (2 Chronicles 30:8).
To have peace with God and the peace of God is not enough. We are to be peacemakers.
3. We must be peacemakers.
To be a peacemaker, you must control your own anger (Matthew 5:21-26; 18:15-17; Proverbs 18:19). How can you help others in conflict, if you cannot help your own conflict?
To be a peacemaker, you must have peace with your enemies (Matthew 5:38-48; Romans 12:18-21). We must not let our ‘enemies’ control our thoughts, emotions, and decisions.
Why are we not effective at making peace between God and man?
1. We choose not to get involved when we see disagreements.
2. We have no common ground with the opponents.
3. We ourselves are at fault and in the wrong.
Christians are called by God to be peacemakers. Is your work, your school, your community, your home a more peaceful place because you are there? Do you add to the disruption and fighting? Does it matter if you are there or not? Do you effectively change your environment to a peaceful one? do you find solutions to problems or do you add fuel to the fire? Do you bring people together on common ground, or do you separate people and their differences?
If you’re having problems being a peacemaker, maybe:
– you don’t have peace with God.
– you don’t have the peace of God.
– you don’t realize your responsibility as a peacemaker.
Come and meet Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. He wants to give you peace, make you peaceful, and turn you into a peacemaker.
You can read my other Sermon on the Mount articles: Life Redefined: Sermons from The Sermon on the Mount.
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