This week we are going to finish up our series on the Beatitudes by looking at the last few that Jesus shared in His Sermon on the Mound. There is a lot in these last few so I want to jump right into them to see the last attribute Jesus calls us to live out in our lives as His followers — the ultimate reward we receive for living like Jesus and the encouragement we received to continue as we live like Jesus.
The Peacemaking we Embrace - Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
There’s no shortage of conflict in our world. We see it on a global scale with wars and rising tensions seemingly everywhere. However, it becomes far more personal when we zoom in from the headlines to the everyday struggles happening in our own lives. We experience conflict in our daily lives through conflicting expectations, hurt feelings, personality clashes, and a plethora of other reasons. We long for peace when we experience conflict in our lives, but the type of peace we long for is usually just a lull in the chaos this sinful world brings. This is not the type of peace Jesus is speaking of in this beatitude. It’s not that we are not to strive for peace in these situations to the best of our ability (as a matter of fact we are commanded to in places like Romans 12:18) but this peace that Jesus is speaking of is a much greater peace. During our Christmas Eve service we looked at Isaiah 9:6 and saw the names, as well as the attributes that would be ascribed to the coming Messiah. It tells us that, “He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace.”. This idea of Jesus being the Prince of Peace is the one that is found here. It’s not a peace that this world could ever bring, but something that only can come through Jesus — the Prince of Peace. This peace that only Jesus can bring is a peace with God that can only be obtained through a relationship with Him. The call here is not to experience this peace with God, that was already the focus of Jesus’ first beatitude, but it’s a call to be a peacemaker who shares this truth with others. The prophet Isaiah refers to the idea of peacemaking and salvation in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” In light of this beatitude, I want to ask you a couple of questions. These questions are not meant to make you feel bad, but rather it’s to get you to be honest with yourself and how you are doing living out this beatitude. When was the last time you shared the Good News or the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone and then you got to see them come through these baptismal waters? When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone at all? This isn’t just talking about spiritual things — God, or even Jesus — but you actually shared the Gospel with someone? Do you have the tools to actually share the Gospel with someone? If you are sharing Jesus with people — don’t stop. You will see fruit in time. Continue to be faithful because more often than not, people will not be saved the first time they hear the Gospel. We are actually told the average is around 15 times. Statistics tell us that only 1 in 4 Christians share the Gospel at most once a year and about 70% of those that share are young people. 93% of Christians say they know that Christians are called to share, but why is there a major gap between those who know they should and those who actually do. When asked why they don’t, around 30% said it was because they were afraid and over 60% said they didn’t know how. So if FBC Bloomfield comes anywhere close to those statistics we need to address these points and equip the church to be peacemakers.
First of all, you need to understand that sharing the Gospel is not optional for those who have experienced salvation themselves. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 tell us “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. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The Prince of Peace has made you an ambassador to the peace that you have experienced. You must tell people that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ they too can be reconciled to God, or have peace with God. Now you see from God’s Word that this is not just for a gifted few, it’s for everyone who has experienced the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ. Next let’s address the fear of sharing. Fear is not from God, it is from Satan. We are told that the perfect love of God casts out all fear. When we walk with Jesus in His perfect love and share the perfect love of God that is contained in the Gospel, we are not going to have fear. Sometimes the easiest way to battle these fears is when we realize the consequences of not sharing the Gospel with others. Most of us would be afraid to run into a burning house, but that fear quickly leaves us if someone we love is in that building. That’s what’s at stake with the Gospel — it’s life and death. It’s not merely life and death here on this earth but it’s life and death for all eternity. Forever is an incomprehensibly long time. When it comes to sharing the Gospel, the best way to share is in a way that you will use and use often. As long as it is grounded in the truth of Scripture and you are actually sharing, that's a great way to share. I use many different ways to share the Gospel depending on who I am talking to. This morning I want to share with you a very easy way to share the Gospel. If you don’t know how, we can equip you this morning to go and begin to make disciples as Jesus commanded us all to do. I want to share with you this morning a method that was made popular by Dare2Share ministries and it’s sharing the gospel by just remembering the acrostic G.O.S.P.E.L.
G = God
God created us to have a relationship with Him. To have a relationship with God is the greatest joy that anyone can have. It's what Adam and Eve had as they were created in the image of God and God walked with them daily. God created us to be with Him.
O.S. = Our Sins
Isaiah 59:2 tells us that our sins have cut us off from God. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and experienced this broken relationship with God. We can’t do anything about this ourselves, for no amount of good deeds can pay the price we owe for our sins. Our Sins have separated us from God and cannot be removed by good deeds.
P = Paying
Since we couldn’t do anything about our sins and because God loves us even when we are in rebellion and sinning against Him, Jesus came to willingly pay a price that we could never pay ourselves. He took the punishment that we deserved by dying on a criminal's cross in our place. Then three days later He rose again. He is alive forever more and will return one day. Paying the price for our sins, Jesus died and rose again.
E = Everyone
This forgiveness that Jesus bought for us is not automatic; you must receive by faith the gift that Jesus offers of forgiveness. Romans 10:9-13 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” It doesn’t matter who you are, Jesus died for you. It doesn’t matter what you have done, Jesus is offering you forgiveness. You just have to trust Him as your Lord and Savior. We are saved by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not because of your works, but because of Jesus works on your behalf. Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
L = Life
When we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are promised eternal life with Him. To be absent in this body is to be present with our Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Life doesn’t start when you die, it starts the moment you trust in Jesus. When we are saved, Jesus starts to remove the things from your life that still have the stench of death on them. You were once dead in those sins, but since you have been raised to a new life in Jesus those sins are not you anymore. That was the old you and as we walk with Jesus we walk in life not in our old ways that were controlled by sin. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.
This is a very simple way to share the Gospel, just remember God, Our Sins, Paying, Everyone, Life. Yes, it’s going to be difficult the first couple of times you share, but guess how you get better? By practicing! You can even use A.I. to practice sharing Christ so it does a pretty good job of responding normally when you do. When Jesus calls us to be peacemakers, it’s a call to a ministry of reconciliation. God has trusted you with a ministry to tell others how they can have peace with God. This is how we can be identified as children of God. It's when we carry out this ministry the way Jesus has called us to.
The Pushback we Experience - Matthew 5:10-11
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 and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
This last beatitude is framed as a reward that we will receive when we follow all of the beatitudes that Jesus has shared. When we follow Jesus in obedience we will have fruit in our lives. Part of the fruit is expressed in the beatitudes that Jesus shared here in Matthew. However, the fruit, as wonderful as it is in the life of a Christian, is not at all welcomed by the world at large. This world is hostile to all things holy. When we live for Jesus, striving for the holiness that Jesus calls us to, we are going to experience persecution from the world. This persecution is not for anything we are, it’s because of who we follow and whose righteousness we proclaim. We are punished because we follow Jesus and because we hunger and thirst for His righteousness in all parts of our lives. When we experience persecution, we need to make sure we are experiencing the persecution because we are following Jesus the way we have called to and not suffering punishment for any other actions we have sinfully found ourselves in. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:15 “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.” This persecution comes because we are like Jesus, not because we are like other sinners. This persecution that is promised will happen in many different ways. It can be as insults because of who you are in Jesus, or it can be lies against your character because you refuse to conform to the standards of this world, or it can even be physical harm even up to death, because they hate who you stand for. Jesus says those who experience these are blessed, or they are the ones whom God's approval is upon. Therefore, when we are living like Jesus, it’s not if we will be persecuted it’s when we will be persecuted. However, don’t let it get you down. When you are persecuted for Jesus' sake, you are in great company.
The Company we Enter - Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
We are called to rejoice and be glad when you experience persecution because you are following Jesus, you are suffering like Jesus, and you are living more like Jesus. Jesus said this would happen in John 15:18-21 - “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.” When we suffer for Christ, it’s an honor. It’s something that Paul speaks of often and despite all he suffered for Christ, he counted it as a positive thing in his life. Although we are called to rejoice and be glad, we can find ourselves discouraged especially in times of persecution. We can tend to feel like we are all alone in our suffering. Jesus shares that not only do you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven, you are not alone. Many people have experienced the same persecution before you. They are suffering the same thing now, and they will suffer in the future. Don't worry, you are not alone. You are in good company. All Christians who live for Jesus will experience persecution for righteousness sake at some part of their lives. However, when we all get to heaven, what a celebration it will be. I just imagine Revelation 7:9-10 describing such a homecoming, Revelation 7:9-10 - “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” Forever with Jesus. Worshiping the lamb and in the company of the entire blood bought church, an eternity in the presence of the perfect love of our Savior. Don’t be discouraged when persecution comes. It will come and it will be more severe as we get closer to the return of Christ. Stand strong and know you are suffering just as Jesus did and alongside an innumerable group of men and women all throughout history all because they proclaim the hope we have in Jesus Christ. A time of peace and rest is coming. Stay strong in your walk with Jesus.
Those are the beatitudes. The things Jesus calls us to be because they are things that He is. I hope this sermon series has been as much of a blessing to you as it has to me. As we strive to live more and more like Jesus, more and more people will see Jesus in our lives. Jesus will be proclaimed and glorified more and more in our families and in our community. It’s difficult because it’s not natural. It's supernatural. It's not what the world expects and accepts, but it’s what God expects and accepts. There are many people in our community that are hungry for hope, hungry for truth, and are very confused when it comes to who Jesus is. They become more and more confused when they look at the life of someone who calls themselves “Christian”, but looks nothing like Christ. Therefore, if we are going to stand for Christ and His truth in a world that desperately needs Him, we are going to have to make sure we live like Him in all parts of our lives. When His church is walking in obedience, God will use them for mighty things but it has to be His way and not our way.
