August 9, 2014

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God"  Matthew 5:9

One of the things that first attracted me to Barbara was her happy nature. I am a happy person and I enjoy being around happy people, so that grabbed my attention. After having been in a long-term relationship with an unhappy person her nature was very appealing.

I knew that if we were going to grow into a serious relationship making her happy would be a key factor and given the fact that she was already a happy lady made that seem more doable. At the risk of being too honest, I will admit that I was more interested in the happiness she could give me than I was the happiness I would be required to afford her.

After several years of marriage it finally dawned on me that if I wanted to be happy it was important to make her happy. That was a significant day in the Snyder household! After 27 year years together we are happy, happy, happy!

It has been a long time since I first trusted Jesus for salvation but I have no doubt that I came to faith with the idea that God could make me happy. I have a feeling I am not the only one who began following Christ with that selfish motivation.

When I decided on the name "Happiness Happens" for this series of sermons on the Beatitudes I was banking on people's interest in finding happiness to possibly capture some attention. But the subtitle I added, "But not like you think it does" should have been a clue about whose happiness I was referring to.

The "blessed" in the each Beatitude means, happy in the sense of having God's approval or the joy that comes from knowing God is pleased with you. So, Jesus taught eight ways to win God's favor on your life. Implied in these verses is that if you make God happy you will be happy.

For the believer, that is precisely how happiness happens. You find happiness by making God happy.

Becoming fully aware of how spiritually corrupt and morally bankrupt you are in the sight of a Holy God makes Him happy!

Having a broken heart because of your sinfulness makes God happy!

Humbly surrendering to His sovereign will for your life and committing to trust Him makes Him happy!

Realizing your spiritual emptiness and craving to be filled with His righteousness makes Him happy!

Being grateful for His mercy on your life and extending that mercy to others makes God happy!

Calling upon God through the blood of Jesus to make you spiritually and morally pure makes Him happy!

Those who find spiritual peace in God and reconcile men to God and to one another is a man who makes God happy!

You will find happiness when the passion of your life is to make God happy by building His Beatitudes into your daily living.

Happiness happens, but it happens by making Him happy!

Will you commit to His happiness today?

August 8, 2014

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be call the sons of God." Matthew 5:9

How does a peacemaker know when to make peace?

When peace is disrupted by injustice, perceived or actual, then a peacemaker needs to become involved.

When peace is disturbed by unrighteous acts or attitudes, a peacemaker can do the work of God.

How does a peacemaker approach peacemaking when the time is right?

A. Talk to God

I find it crucial to talk to the Lord about what I’ve done or what people have done to me before I talk to them. It gives me perspective and tenderness. The Lord helps me see the deeper needs in the relationship and what has caused the problem. He, also, shows me my part, and often, my wrong words, behavior, or attitude that is hindering the reconciliation. Even if the other person is 95 percent in the wrong and I am only 5 percent in the wrong, I still have to confess my error. Then, I surrender the conflict to the Lord.

B. Take the first step

Jesus is real clear on this action. Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). This, I believe, is the most ignored verse in the Bible. Later, Jesus said, “"If your brother sins against you,  go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother” (Matt. 18:15). You are to make the first move. Peacemakers take the initiative. “But,” you say, “Why should I go to the person when they are the one that hurt me.” Do you want the biblical answer? Because Jesus says so. Conflict is never resolved accidentally. That first step may be a letter, a phone call, or a visit. If someone has wrong you or you have wronged someone else, take action today. Your peace of mind and your Christian witness depends on your taking the first step. Happiness, God's and yours, awaits your action.

C. Tell the other person how you feel

When you take the first step and speak to the other person, before you speak, remember the words of Solomon and Paul. Solomon wrote, “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath” (Prov. 15:1). Paul wrote, “No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29). Empathize with their feelings. Consider their situation. Attack the problem not the person. Clarify don’t confront. Cooperate as much as possible. Emphasize reconciliation not resolution. Reconciliation is more crucial than being right.

D. Stop talking about the people who have hurt you to other people

Nothing disqualifies us in being peacemakers more than talking about people rather than talking to them. The old Spanish proverb is correct: “Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you.” A peacemaker never says anything about another person that she or he has not first said to that person directly. After that, why tell anyone else?

No wonder a peacemaker is called a "son of God" since he reconciles people to God and restores relationships between people. A peacemaker is willing to disturb superficial peace order to restore the righteousness and justice that leads to true peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers!

August 7, 2014

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God." Matthew 5:9

When Jewish people greet one another or bid farewell they say, "Shalom!"

"Shalom" means peace, not in the sense of the absence of trouble, but peace that comes from the presence and the prosperity of God.

Numbers 6:24-26 brings out this idea very clearly: “The LORD bless you and protect you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace”

As you can see from that greeting given by Aaron, the brother of Moses, peace is the result of having a right relationship with God. Peace is living under God's favor.

The word "blessed" that prefaces each of the eight beatitudes means having God's approval or living under His pleasure.

A peacemaker has the double blessing of living under God's pleasure while experiencing God's peace. He has the "shalom" of God!

Obviously, to be a peacemaker you must first enjoy the peace of God! You cannot be an agent of peace if you do not know that peace. 

A pastor friend of mine gives this helpful explanation, "The word make in the term “peacemakers” comes from the Greek verb that means “to do” or “to make.” It is a word bursting with energy. It mandates action and initiative. Someone has to drag the combatants to the table and give them a reason to put down their arms. Notice Jesus did not say “Blessed are the peacewishers or the peacehopers or the peacedreamers or the peacelovers or the peacetalkers.” Peace must be made. Peace never happens by chance. A peacemaker is never passive. They always take the initiative. They are up and doing.

So when these two words are taken together, “peace” and “maker,” it describes one who actively pursues peace. The peacemaker pursues more than the absence of conflict; they don’t avoid strife (in fact, sometimes, peacemaking will create strife); they aren’t merely seeking to appease the warring parties; they aren’t trying to accommodate everyone. Instead, they are pursuing all the beauty and blessedness of God upon another."

One of my favorite Bible scholars, William Barclay translates this verse defining peacemakers, “They are people who produce right relationships in every sphere of life.”

Peacemakers live in the righteousness and the justice of God that comes only from a personal faith relationship with Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Peacemakers gently, patiently but persistently work to restore relationships between people and to reconcile people to God.

Blessed is the one who recognizes his sinfulness, mourns over it and repents to God, meekly submits to God's will, craves the infilling of God's righteousness, extends mercy to those who offend him, operates from pure motives and lives in God's peace!

That is how one becomes a peacemaker!

You can't have too much peace and you can't have too many peacemakers!

Will you be a peacemaker today?

August 4, 2014

"But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12b

I remember one time I was playing a golf match against an opponent from the club where I belonged at the time. That day I was playing very well and beat the daylights out of him. As we walked off the eighteenth green we shook hands and as I was turning to walk away he said, "You want to know what you were doing wrong?"

I said, "I beg your pardon."

He replied, "Do you want to know what you were doing wrong in your golf swing?"

While I am fully aware that my golf swing is far from perfect, I wasn't interested in taking instruction from a guy I had just beaten like a rented mule so I politely refused his well intentioned offer. Who was he to criticize me when I had handled him so easily? Why should my golf game be judged by him?

Now if someone like Jack Nicklaus wants to give me some golf tips - I'm there!

That is what I think of when I read this portion of Scripture about judging. Who am I to pass judgment on someone else when my game is far from perfect? Shouldn't I rather keep trying to improve my game? Wouldn't it be better for me to set a good example for other by the way I live rather than imposing my opinions upon them?

Who are you to stand in judgment of another person? Would your thoughts and energies be better served perfecting your own walk?

Which would you rather be part of, a church where everyone is telling each other how to live and criticizing one another personally and privately OR how about a fellowship where each believer is seriously seeking God to become a more excellent follower of Christ?

Me, too!

Granted, it is easier to analyze and criticize others instead of confronting our own glaring weaknesses but it is also destructive. It is certainly more consistent with human nature to pull someone else dawn rather than working hard to be lifted up. But believers are called to live under the supernatural not human nature.

How about you? Are you playing the role of Monday morning quarterback finding fault with others from the cheap seats?

Why not be a team mate that is practicing hard to improve your game and a coach to help others get better?

Which do think would please God? Which do think will build a stronger fellowship? Which will you choose?

August 6, 2014

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God" Matthew 5:9

Peace is one of the things worth fighting for!

More wars have been fought to secure peace than just about any other cause. Unfortunately over recent world history there has been more war than there has been peace.

Peace must be pretty important!

God places His blessed of approval on those who promote peace and He calls them His sons!

Peace is so highly valued by God because God highly values people and He values relationships and peace is the product of healthy relationships. Peace is worth fighting for because relationships are worth fighting for.

Peace is essential because of its intricate connection with justice, righteousness and freedom. Peace is the by-product of a culture where justice, righteousness and freedom are honored and enjoyed. People living in such a culture would be truly blessed. That should be status quo for every family and every church, but unfortunately it rarely is.

Naturally, peace is disturbed whenever justice, righteousness and freedom are threatened. As much as we value peace, we will risk peace in an attempt to restore justice, righteousness and freedom.

That is what the cross of Christ was all about. Jesus died to restore justice, righteousness and freedom so His people could live in peace.

Having established its value brings us back to the question, "What is peace, by God's definition?"

Peace from God's perspective begins with being in right relationship with Him in obedience to His will. And since our sinful nature resists submission and obedience to God, therein is the individual struggle we must fight.

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses." I Timothy 6:12

Peace from God's point of view also requires relationships between God's people to be transacted in justice, in righteousness and in freedom. 

No wonder those who dwell in the peace of God as considered blessed!

No wonder those who live in peace and who promote peace are considered sons of God!

Will you live in peace today?

August 5, 2014

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God" Matthew 5:9

The seventh of eight Beatitudes deals with the highly valued commodity of peace. Like other coveted commodities, it is valuable because it is rare.

We have been learning that the first four Beatitudes teach what you can do to get right with God and the second four detail the spiritual evidence of a heart made right.

A righteous heart displays mercy, helping those who seek to hurt him.

A righteous heart is pure, motivated by the love of God in thoughts and deeds.

And, a righteous heart produces a peacemaker.

You may not know precisely what Jesus meant when He referred to peacemakers in this verse, but you can recognize a peacemaker when one walks into the room. Peacemakers have a way of bringing peace with them wherever they go.

In contrast, there are those who when they walk into a room bring tension that is palpable.

Are you a peacemaker or a troublemaker?

We will answer that conclusively over the next few posts, but first, let’s dispel some misconceptions of peace. Peace is not:

Absence of conflict. 

Peace in the Bible is never to be confused with silence induced by pacifism or intimidation.

Ignoring a point conflict or remaining silence in the face of obvious wrong is not what Jesus meant by peace.

Avoidance of strife. 

Never are we instructed to run from conflict. Putting our head in the sand, hoping that the conflict will end, only delays the inevitable. Cowardly avoidance of a necessary confrontation is not the peace Jesus was referencing.

Appeasement of parties. 

The “peace at any price” mentality is far from biblical command. I have discovered that you can never make everyone happy all the time, but I am called to make God happy all the time by doing right.

Accommodation of issues.

The person who glosses over the problems, acting as if everything is alright when it is not is not a peacemaker.

Biblical peace is closely linked with justice and righteousness. Therefore, ignoring injustice or compromising righteousness to avoid confrontation is not the peace that pleases Jesus.

You cannot be a peacemaker until you make peace with God through Christ. When you are at peace with God you will convey His peace wherever you go. You will also have the wisdom to know when to disturb the peace and the courage to confront injustice.

Will you be a peacemaker today?

August 3, 2014

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  Matthew 5:8

The exciting news Jesus announced in this Beatitude is that purity is possible and it is within the reach of your faith!

This would be a purity far removed from "white-washed tombs" or "cups clean on the outside", this will be a purity of heart and mind! This will cause every motivation to be shaped by love. This "pure in heart" promise is worth a closer look:

“pure” = the Greek word from which we get “catharsis,” which means “to make pure by cleansing from dirt, filth, or contamination” and was most often used to describe metals that had been refined by fire until they were free from impurities. It was also used for soiled clothes that had been washed clean, and of grain that had been carefully sifted to remove all impurities"

Second, it refers to being “unmixed, as having no double allegiance.”

The Message paraphrase: “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” The emphasis here is on what’s inside us.”

Jesus didn’t come to REFORM you, He came to totally TRANSFORM you from the inside out.

He made that clear when He stated:

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20

Examples:

God isn’t satisfied with a world where murders don’t happen. He demands a world where there is no hatred:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison." Matthew 5:21-25

Someone who is in a committed relationship with Jesus doesn’t hate his brother and is very careful not to give others a reason to hate him.

God’s Passion for Purity isn’t satisfied with a world where adultery doesn’t happen. He demands a world where there is no lustful thinking.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:27-30

Someone who is in a committed relationship with Jesus doesn’t entertain himself with lustful thoughts. Someone who loves a pure God keeps his thoughts pure.

What motivates your thoughts, desires and actions?

Do they pass the purity test?