August 6, 2025 • 20 mins
What does it really mean to be a peacemaker in a world filled with conflict? The answer might surprise you. When Jesus declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” He wasn’t calling us to avoid conflict at all costs—He was inviting us into a revolutionary way of engaging with a fractured and hurting world.
The Greek word for peacemaker (eirēnopoios) appears only once in Scripture and describes someone who “bravely declares God’s terms and makes others whole.” This definition challenges the passive view of peace many of us hold. Jesus Himself said He came not to bring peace but a sword, revealing that true reconciliation sometimes requires confrontation. As the ultimate peacemaker, He overturned tables in the temple and rebuked religious leaders, showing that addressing injustice is essential to genuine peace.
This teaching explores three dimensions of biblical peacemaking. First, peace within ourselves, modeled by Jesus sleeping through a raging storm while His disciples panicked. Second, peace between people, demonstrated when Jesus crossed cultural boundaries to speak with the Samaritan woman at the well. Third, peace between humanity and God, accomplished through Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Each dimension shows that real peace demands courage, intentionality, and a readiness to step into difficult conversations for the sake of restoration.
The early church embodied this radical approach to peace through its diverse leadership and inclusive fellowship. From Pentecost onward, God’s people were called to break down racial, social, and cultural barriers through unity in Christ. Like leaven working through dough, this Kingdom peace transforms from the inside out—changing hearts, shaping communities, and ultimately influencing the world. As James writes, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
This session invites you to embrace that calling—to step beyond comfort, speak truth in love, and become an active participant in God’s redemptive work of reconciliation.
We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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James Boyd (00:04):
As some of you know, patty and I worked together in
the prison ministry, and when Ishared with her that I was
feeling a little nervous abouttonight, she suggested a good
way to deal with that would bejust to picture you all as being
prisoners, so I hope you don'tmind being a captive audience
tonight.
Seriously, though, it's a realhonor to be a part of bringing
(00:25):
this series to you and gettingto work alongside so many
amazing teachers, and I hope mycontribution will be a blessing
to you.
The title of it is Making Peacein a Warring World.
Before we get started, let's doa review.
Let's go to Matthew, chapter 5.
When you're there, say I'mthere.
(00:52):
I'll begin with verse 1.
Seeing the crowds, he went upto the mountain, and when he sat
down, his disciples came to himand he opened his mouth and
taught them, saying Blessed arethe poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for theywill inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hungerand thirst for righteousness,
(01:14):
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, forthey will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure at heart,for they will see God and
finally our passage for thisevening Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will becalled the children of God.
The grass fades, the flowerwithers, but the word of our God
will stand forever.
Friends, this world is hurting.
How many of you grew upwatching Mr Rogers?
(01:34):
If you did, you probablyremember his famous quote when
scary things are happening, lookfor the helpers.
You'll always find people whoare helping.
Well, if you watch the news forfive minutes, you know there
are a lot of scary things goingon in our world right now.
And to adapt Mr Rogers' quoteto our context, we could say
look for the healers, look forthe conciliators and, yes, look
(01:56):
for the peacemakers.
The Amplified Bible puts itblessed, spiritually, calm with
life, joy and God's favor, arethe makers and maintainers of
peace, for they will express hischaracter and be called the
sons of God.
Friends Jesus' seventhbeatitude here is more relevant
than ever.
The Greek word here iserinopoios, and it's the only
(02:17):
time in the entire Bible thisword is used.
It means a peacemaker, someonewho bravely declares God's terms
and makes someone whole.
Peacemaker, someone who bravelydeclares God's terms and makes
someone whole.
Now, I'm sure you guys knowthis, but it's important to
point out that the act of beinga peacemaker itself doesn't make
you a child of God.
Being born again makes you achild of God, but when you're
(02:37):
born again, your life will bearout the fruit of that.
The fruit of the Spirit, islove, joy, exactly so.
When you're part of God'sfamily, you'll bear that family
resemblance.
It's also important to rememberthat being a peacemaker may not
always look like you think itwill.
It's not all about tie-dyet-shirts, patchouli and granola.
Let's look at Matthew, chapter10.
(03:00):
Chapter 10.
Chapter 10, verses 34 through36.
Do not think that I have cometo bring peace to the earth.
I have come not to bring peacebut a sword, for I have come to
set a man against his father anda daughter against her mother
(03:21):
and a daughter-in-law againsther mother-in-law, and a
person's enemies will be thoseof their own household.
Strong words from the sameJesus that previously said
blessed are the peacemakers.
Is that a contradiction?
Not at all.
It's just simply pointing out afact that sometimes conflict is
necessary to get us to thatplace of peace.
Now, if you know me, you knowI'm a pretty easygoing guy, so
(03:43):
that's a lesson I've had tolearn the hard way from time to
time.
But being a peacemaker meansthat sometimes you deal with
hard truths.
It does sometimes involveconfrontation.
Jesus was the ultimatepeacemaker, but he had to be
very confrontational at times,just as the money changers that
felt the sting of his whip.
As believers, we walk the narrowpath.
(04:03):
The gospel message is alwaysgoing to be countercultural and
we're going to be going againstthe grain a good part of the
time, but we have to do thatwith the end goal of being a
peacemaker as much as possible.
Romans 12 18 tells us that yes,if possible, as far as depends
on you, live.
Live peaceably with all, thepresupposition being that it
(04:23):
won't always be possible to liveat peace with everyone.
So adjust your expectationsaccordingly.
So we're going to look at threedifferent aspects of being a
peacemaker Peace with ourselves,making peace between others and
, ultimately, peace between Godand humanity.
And in each case, we're goingto be looking for examples from
the life of Jesus.
After all, wwjd, what wouldJesus do?
(04:44):
First of all, we'll talk aboutpeace with ourselves.
We can't give to others what wedon't already have.
The making peace begins withhaving God's peace in our own
lives.
And when I think about how didJesus cultivate that in his life
.
What do you guys think Anythoughts Exactly prayer?
(05:06):
What do you guys think Anythoughts Exactly Prayer?
Wouldn't you love to be able towatch Jesus pray?
The Bible gives us a fewreferences to it, but just to be
there and watch one of thoseall-night prayer sessions and
hear his intimate discussionswith the Father.
Now, while the Bible only givesus a few glimpses, it gives us
the results of that.
Plenty of time.
Let's look at Luke, chapter 8.
Luke, chapter 8.
(05:36):
Luke, chapter 8, I'll beginreading in verse 22.
One day he got into a boat withhis disciples and said to them
let's go across to the otherside of the lake.
So they set out and as theysailed he fell asleep and a
windstorm came down on the lakeand they were filling it with
water and were in danger.
And they went and woke himsaying master, master, we are
perishing.
And he awoke and rebuked thewind and the raging waves and
(05:58):
they ceased and there was a calm.
He said to them where's yourfaith?
And they were afraid and theymarveled at saying to him who,
then, is this that he commands,even the winds and the water?
And they obey him, even thiscatastrophic storm, where the
disciples, just like most of uswould, were freaking out.
Jesus took a nap, and then herebuked them for not having that
(06:20):
kind of faith too.
But living in the Father's peacecarried Jesus all throughout
his earthly life.
Even when his soul wasoverwhelmed to the point of
death, he still maintained trustand resolve.
That's an important lesson forus.
Peace doesn't necessarily meanthe absence of pain.
It means that kind of trust andresolve in God in spite of it.
Next we're going to talk aboutpeace between others.
(06:43):
Let's look at Ephesians 2, verse14.
Ephesians 2, verse 14.
He himself is our peace, whohas made the two group, jew and
Gentile, one and has destroyedthe barrier, the dividing wall
(07:04):
of hostility.
Of course, the immediatecontext of this passage is again
taking away the barriersbetween Jewish and Gentile
believers, but the broadermessage is that the gospel is
for everyone, and no oneembodied that more than Jesus.
To see an example, let's go toJohn, chapter 4.
This story will probably befamiliar to most of you.
John, chapter 4.
(07:27):
John, chapter 4, I'll beginreading with verse 5.
So Jesus came to a town ofSamaria called Sychar, near the
field that Jacob had given hisson Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
So Jesus, weary from hisjourney.
A little side note it gives mecomfort to see Jesus got tired.
(07:47):
It's okay to be tired and it'sokay to take a rest, but he sat
down beside the well.
It was the sixth hour and awoman from from Samaria came to
draw water.
Jesus said to her give me adrink, for his disciples had
gone away to the city to buyfood.
The Samaritan woman said to himhow is it that you, a Jew,
asked drink for me, a woman ofSamaria?
(08:07):
For Jews have no dealings withSamaritans.
We'll be coming back to that.
Jesus answered her.
If you knew the gift of God andwho it is saying to you, give me
a drink, you would have askedhim and he would have given you
living water.
The woman said to him sir, youhave nothing to draw water with
and the well is deep.
Where do you get this livingwater?
Are you greater than our fatherJacob?
(08:28):
He gave us the well and drankfrom it himself, as did his sons
and his livestock.
Jesus said to her everyone whodrinks of this water will be
thirsty again, but whoeverdrinks of the water that I will
give him will never be thirstyagain.
Amen.
The water that I give him willbecome a spring of water welling
up into eternal life.
The woman said to me sir, giveme this water that I will not be
(08:49):
thirsty or have to come here todraw water.
Jesus said Go call your husbandand come here.
The woman answered him I haveno husband.
Jesus said You're right sayingI have no husband, for you've
had five husbands and the oneyou now have is not your husband
.
What you said is true.
The woman says to him Sir, Ibelieve you're a prophet.
You think Our fathersworshipped in the mountain, but
(09:11):
you say Jerusalem is the placewe should worship.
Jesus said to her Woman believeme, the hour is coming when
neither on this mountain nor inJerusalem will you worship the
Father.
You worship what you do notknow.
We worship what we know, forsalvation is with the Jews.
But the hour is coming and isnow here, when true worshippers
will worship the Father inspirit and truth, for the Father
is seeking such people toworship Him.
(09:33):
God is spirit and those whoworshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, forthe Father is seeking such
people to worship him.
God is spirit and those whoworship him must worship him in
spirit and truth.
The woman said I know theMessiah is coming.
He was called Christ.
When he comes he will tell usall things Jesus said to her.
I who speak to you, am he.
Jesus had left Jerusalem, wasgoing back to Galilee and he
passed through Samaria.
And on the way he stops andtakes a rest by Jacob's well.
(09:55):
Little side note Jacob's wellis still standing.
It's in a monastery on the WestBank.
It's still visited by tourists.
While he's there, a Samaritanwoman comes to draw water and
Jesus asks for a drink.
That alone is revolutionary,that he would speak not only to
a woman in a day when women weretreated in very degrading ways,
but also to a Samaritan.
(10:17):
The animosity between the Jewsand the Samaritans ran deep.
It goes back to Israel'scaptivity in Assyria, which you
can read about in 2 Kings 17.
During that time, jews andAssyrians intermarried and the
Samaritan race came from that.
So it reminded the Jews of avery painful time in their
history.
There were also theologicaldifferences.
Samaritans only accepted thefirst five books of the Bible as
(10:37):
scripture and they didn'tworship at the temple at
Jerusalem.
They had their own temple onMount Gerizim.
But despite this, jesus came toseek and save the lost.
He used the mundane, everydayact of drawing water to
introduce her to the concept ofliving water, a symbol of the
Holy Spirit which you can drinkand never thirst again.
This woman tradition tells usher name was Fotini.
(11:00):
She asked for the water andthen something unexpected
happens.
Jesus has a word of knowledgeabout her past.
She's been married five timesand she's currently in a
relationship with someone out ofwedlock.
Obviously, that amazes her andshe speaks of the Messiah and
Jesus says I am the Messiah.
In response, she goes back andtells her friends come see a man
(11:22):
who told me everything I everdid.
Because of this, fotini isregarded as one of the first
Christian missionaries Christianmissionaries, and tradition
further tells us she wasbaptized and served God
faithfully all of her lifebefore being martyred by Emperor
Nero for refusing to renounceher faith.
This was all because Jesusreached out to someone that
(11:43):
religion had rejected.
He dared to be a peacemaker.
This radical cross-culturalapproach was the way that was
the pattern of the early churchfrom the beginning.
Remember how the church wasborn at Pentecost, in an
international assembly, when theHoly Spirit was poured out on a
group of people from verydiverse ethnicities and
(12:04):
backgrounds, including Parthians, medes and Elamites people from
modern-day Iran, residents ofMacedonia, judea and Cappadocia.
Others came from Pontus andAsia, phrygia and Pamphylia, all
of which are part of modernTurkey, egypt and parts of Libya
near Cyrene and North Africa.
There were also visitors fromRome, along with Cretans and
(12:26):
Arabs.
In addition, we see in Acts 13,leaders in the early church
included names like Barnabas,who was a Hellenistic Jew from
Cyprus.
Simeon, called Niger, was ablack man from Africa.
Lucius of Cyrene was also fromAfrica, manan had an
aristocratic Jewish backgroundand Saul or Paul obviously was a
(12:47):
Roman citizen and Jew fromTarsus.
This diverse group ofleadership tells us how the
church transcended racial,cultural and social barriers
through unity in Christ.
Finally, in chapter 7, verses9-10 of the magnificent book of
Revelation, we see people fromevery tribe, tongue and nation
worshiping God together throughall eternity and just like
(13:10):
cultivating peace in our ownlives.
Peace between others startswith prayer.
Friends, we know the secret.
We have an audience with thecreator of the universe anytime
we want it.
Do we ever stop and think aboutwhat an awesome privilege that
is?
People are frying their brainson drugs, trying to get what we
can get in our prayer time.
So to see how prayer ties intopeacemaking.
(13:30):
Let's look at 1 Timothy 2.
1 Timothy 2.
1 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2.
First of all, then, I urge thatsupplications, prayers,
intercessions and thanksgivingsbe made for all people, for
kings and all who are in highpositions, that we may lead a
(13:51):
peaceful and quiet life, godlyand dignified in every way.
Okay, first, notice how we areto pray for all people, but it
specifically signals outgovernment officials, and we're
to pray for all those who are inauthority, whether we agree
with them or not, whetherthey're members of our party or
not, whether they're Christiansor not.
Keep in mind that thegovernment that Paul was telling
Timothy to pray for didn't havea single believer in it.
(14:12):
In fact, they were routinelyusing Christians as human street
lamps.
But still, the end result thatwe may lead quiet and peaceful
lives in all godliness andhonesty.
So the focus of the prayer ispeace and stability, maintained
by godliness and honesty.
Finally, we can be peacemakersbecause Jesus is our peace,
(14:32):
which brings us to the finalpoint and the ultimate goal
peace between God and humanity.
Let's look at one of my favoritescriptures Colossians, chapter
2.
Colossians 2, I'll beginreading with verse 13.
And you who were dead in thetrespasses and the
(14:55):
uncircumcision of your flesh,god made alive together with him
.
Having forgiven our trespassesby canceling the record of death
that stood against us with itslegal demands that he set aside,
nailing it to the cross, hedisarmed the rulers and
authorities and put them to anopen shame by triumphing over
them in him.
Okay, we discussed earlier howsometimes conflict is necessary
(15:17):
to bring us to peace.
This is the key example of that.
To bring us to peace.
This is the key example of that.
Jesus won our peace by goingdirectly into battle against the
powers of darkness.
This reached its climax on thecross.
What seemed like a humiliatingdefeat turned into the supreme
victory when he rose from thedead.
How many of you have seen thePassion?
I'm very grateful for how thatmovie jarred us out of our
(15:41):
Sunday school image of whatcrucifixion was and gave us a
look at just how brutal itreally was.
Medical doctor Gerald H Bradleydescribes it this way this was
the most agonizing death mancould face.
He had to support himself inorder to breathe.
The flaming pain caused by thespikes hitting the median nerve
in his wrists explodes up hisarms, into his brain and down
(16:01):
his spine, the spike burningthrough his nerves between the
metatarsal bones of his feetjerks, his body erect, then the
leg muscles convulse and drivehis body downward, beating him
against the cross.
Air is sucked in but cannot beexhaled until the built-up
carbon dioxide in his lungs andbloodstream stimulates breathing
to relieve the cramps.
Exhaustion, shock, dehydrationand paralysis destroy the victim
(16:25):
.
The heart is barely able topump the thick blood as each of
his billions of cells die, oneat a time.
Prior to his death and all hisagony, Jesus is in full control
of his mind.
He asked the Heavenly Father toforgive them, for they don't
know what they do, and the dearLamb of God was sacrificed for
you.
At least 30 Old Testamentprophecies were fulfilled in
(16:47):
Jesus' death.
The guard thrust his spear intoJesus' side and blood and water
came out.
That shows that the ultimatecause of death was heart failure
due to shock and constrictionof the heart by the fluid sack
around the heart.
Think of that for a moment.
Because of our sin, heliterally died of a broken heart
.
(17:07):
Next is the Colossians passagetells us Jesus spoiled
principalities and powers.
He made a show of them openlytriumphing over them.
In it.
This is military terminology.
The image being drawn is anarmy overthrowing a rival
kingdom, stripping its rulernaked and leading him down the
street in humiliation.
This is exactly what Jesus didto Satan.
When he came out of that tomb,he had the victory once and for
(17:30):
all, and he invites us all toshare in it.
Jesus died as the sacrificiallamb and he was raised as the
conquering warrior, and hereminds us in Revelation 118, I
am he that liveth and was dead.
And behold, I am aliveforevermore and I have the keys
of hell and death.
Rc Sproul put it well when Godsigns a peace treaty, it signs
(17:53):
for perpetuity.
The war is over.
Of course we still sin, westill rebel, but God has done
our co-belligerent.
He will not be drawn intowarfare with us ever again.
We have an advocate with ourfather, we.
So where do we go from there?
(18:15):
Let's look at Romans, chapter 10.
Romans, chapter 10, verses 14and 15.
How thus shall they call onthem who they have not believed,
and how they will believe inhim who they have not heard?
And here, how will they hearwithout a preacher?
And how will they preach exceptthey be sent as is written?
(18:38):
How beautiful are the feet ofthem that preach the gospel of
peace and bring back gladtidings of good things.
Friends, jesus has entrusted usto be messengers of that peace,
each and every one of us.
We're the ones who are to bethe source of peace and
stability in these scary times.
You may be like me and havefeet so ugly only your mother or
(18:58):
a podiatrist could love them.
But as long as they're devotedto spreading this message of
peace, god says your feet arebeautiful.
And don't be discouragedbecause it doesn't happen as
quickly as we'd like.
Remember, jesus compared thespread of his kingdom to leaven,
just like yeast in a loaf ofbread it starts off small and
(19:19):
brings change from the insideout.
Similarly, god's kingdom bringschange gradually from the
inside out.
It starts small, but eventuallyit'll be manifest on a
worldwide scale.
In closing, we'll look at onemore scripture.
Let's look at James, my book,chapter 3, verses 16 through 18.
(19:40):
For where jealousy and selfishambition exist, there will be
disorder in every vile practice.
But the wisdom from above isfirst pure, then peaceable,
gentle, open to reason, full ofmercy and good fruits, impartial
and sincere, and a harvest ofrighteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
Amen.
As some of you know, patty and I worked together in
the prison ministry, and when Ishared with her that I was
feeling a little nervous abouttonight, she suggested a good
way to deal with that would bejust to picture you all as being
prisoners, so I hope you don'tmind being a captive audience
tonight.
Seriously, though, it's a realhonor to be a part of bringing
(00:25):
this series to you and gettingto work alongside so many
amazing teachers, and I hope mycontribution will be a blessing
to you.
The title of it is Making Peacein a Warring World.
Before we get started, let's doa review.
Let's go to Matthew, chapter 5.
When you're there, say I'mthere.
(00:52):
I'll begin with verse 1.
Seeing the crowds, he went upto the mountain, and when he sat
down, his disciples came to himand he opened his mouth and
taught them, saying Blessed arethe poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for theywill inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hungerand thirst for righteousness,
(01:14):
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, forthey will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure at heart,for they will see God and
finally our passage for thisevening Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will becalled the children of God.
The grass fades, the flowerwithers, but the word of our God
will stand forever.
Friends, this world is hurting.
How many of you grew upwatching Mr Rogers?
(01:34):
If you did, you probablyremember his famous quote when
scary things are happening, lookfor the helpers.
You'll always find people whoare helping.
Well, if you watch the news forfive minutes, you know there
are a lot of scary things goingon in our world right now.
And to adapt Mr Rogers' quoteto our context, we could say
look for the healers, look forthe conciliators and, yes, look
(01:56):
for the peacemakers.
The Amplified Bible puts itblessed, spiritually, calm with
life, joy and God's favor, arethe makers and maintainers of
peace, for they will express hischaracter and be called the
sons of God.
Friends Jesus' seventhbeatitude here is more relevant
than ever.
The Greek word here iserinopoios, and it's the only
(02:17):
time in the entire Bible thisword is used.
It means a peacemaker, someonewho bravely declares God's terms
and makes someone whole.
Peacemaker, someone who bravelydeclares God's terms and makes
someone whole.
Now, I'm sure you guys knowthis, but it's important to
point out that the act of beinga peacemaker itself doesn't make
you a child of God.
Being born again makes you achild of God, but when you're
(02:37):
born again, your life will bearout the fruit of that.
The fruit of the Spirit, islove, joy, exactly so.
When you're part of God'sfamily, you'll bear that family
resemblance.
It's also important to rememberthat being a peacemaker may not
always look like you think itwill.
It's not all about tie-dyet-shirts, patchouli and granola.
Let's look at Matthew, chapter10.
(03:00):
Chapter 10.
Chapter 10, verses 34 through36.
Do not think that I have cometo bring peace to the earth.
I have come not to bring peacebut a sword, for I have come to
set a man against his father anda daughter against her mother
(03:21):
and a daughter-in-law againsther mother-in-law, and a
person's enemies will be thoseof their own household.
Strong words from the sameJesus that previously said
blessed are the peacemakers.
Is that a contradiction?
Not at all.
It's just simply pointing out afact that sometimes conflict is
necessary to get us to thatplace of peace.
Now, if you know me, you knowI'm a pretty easygoing guy, so
(03:43):
that's a lesson I've had tolearn the hard way from time to
time.
But being a peacemaker meansthat sometimes you deal with
hard truths.
It does sometimes involveconfrontation.
Jesus was the ultimatepeacemaker, but he had to be
very confrontational at times,just as the money changers that
felt the sting of his whip.
As believers, we walk the narrowpath.
(04:03):
The gospel message is alwaysgoing to be countercultural and
we're going to be going againstthe grain a good part of the
time, but we have to do thatwith the end goal of being a
peacemaker as much as possible.
Romans 12 18 tells us that yes,if possible, as far as depends
on you, live.
Live peaceably with all, thepresupposition being that it
(04:23):
won't always be possible to liveat peace with everyone.
So adjust your expectationsaccordingly.
So we're going to look at threedifferent aspects of being a
peacemaker Peace with ourselves,making peace between others and
, ultimately, peace between Godand humanity.
And in each case, we're goingto be looking for examples from
the life of Jesus.
After all, wwjd, what wouldJesus do?
(04:44):
First of all, we'll talk aboutpeace with ourselves.
We can't give to others what wedon't already have.
The making peace begins withhaving God's peace in our own
lives.
And when I think about how didJesus cultivate that in his life
.
What do you guys think Anythoughts Exactly prayer?
(05:06):
What do you guys think Anythoughts Exactly Prayer?
Wouldn't you love to be able towatch Jesus pray?
The Bible gives us a fewreferences to it, but just to be
there and watch one of thoseall-night prayer sessions and
hear his intimate discussionswith the Father.
Now, while the Bible only givesus a few glimpses, it gives us
the results of that.
Plenty of time.
Let's look at Luke, chapter 8.
Luke, chapter 8.
(05:36):
Luke, chapter 8, I'll beginreading in verse 22.
One day he got into a boat withhis disciples and said to them
let's go across to the otherside of the lake.
So they set out and as theysailed he fell asleep and a
windstorm came down on the lakeand they were filling it with
water and were in danger.
And they went and woke himsaying master, master, we are
perishing.
And he awoke and rebuked thewind and the raging waves and
(05:58):
they ceased and there was a calm.
He said to them where's yourfaith?
And they were afraid and theymarveled at saying to him who,
then, is this that he commands,even the winds and the water?
And they obey him, even thiscatastrophic storm, where the
disciples, just like most of uswould, were freaking out.
Jesus took a nap, and then herebuked them for not having that
(06:20):
kind of faith too.
But living in the Father's peacecarried Jesus all throughout
his earthly life.
Even when his soul wasoverwhelmed to the point of
death, he still maintained trustand resolve.
That's an important lesson forus.
Peace doesn't necessarily meanthe absence of pain.
It means that kind of trust andresolve in God in spite of it.
Next we're going to talk aboutpeace between others.
(06:43):
Let's look at Ephesians 2, verse14.
Ephesians 2, verse 14.
He himself is our peace, whohas made the two group, jew and
Gentile, one and has destroyedthe barrier, the dividing wall
(07:04):
of hostility.
Of course, the immediatecontext of this passage is again
taking away the barriersbetween Jewish and Gentile
believers, but the broadermessage is that the gospel is
for everyone, and no oneembodied that more than Jesus.
To see an example, let's go toJohn, chapter 4.
This story will probably befamiliar to most of you.
John, chapter 4.
(07:27):
John, chapter 4, I'll beginreading with verse 5.
So Jesus came to a town ofSamaria called Sychar, near the
field that Jacob had given hisson Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
So Jesus, weary from hisjourney.
A little side note it gives mecomfort to see Jesus got tired.
(07:47):
It's okay to be tired and it'sokay to take a rest, but he sat
down beside the well.
It was the sixth hour and awoman from from Samaria came to
draw water.
Jesus said to her give me adrink, for his disciples had
gone away to the city to buyfood.
The Samaritan woman said to himhow is it that you, a Jew,
asked drink for me, a woman ofSamaria?
(08:07):
For Jews have no dealings withSamaritans.
We'll be coming back to that.
Jesus answered her.
If you knew the gift of God andwho it is saying to you, give me
a drink, you would have askedhim and he would have given you
living water.
The woman said to him sir, youhave nothing to draw water with
and the well is deep.
Where do you get this livingwater?
Are you greater than our fatherJacob?
(08:28):
He gave us the well and drankfrom it himself, as did his sons
and his livestock.
Jesus said to her everyone whodrinks of this water will be
thirsty again, but whoeverdrinks of the water that I will
give him will never be thirstyagain.
Amen.
The water that I give him willbecome a spring of water welling
up into eternal life.
The woman said to me sir, giveme this water that I will not be
(08:49):
thirsty or have to come here todraw water.
Jesus said Go call your husbandand come here.
The woman answered him I haveno husband.
Jesus said You're right sayingI have no husband, for you've
had five husbands and the oneyou now have is not your husband
.
What you said is true.
The woman says to him Sir, Ibelieve you're a prophet.
You think Our fathersworshipped in the mountain, but
(09:11):
you say Jerusalem is the placewe should worship.
Jesus said to her Woman believeme, the hour is coming when
neither on this mountain nor inJerusalem will you worship the
Father.
You worship what you do notknow.
We worship what we know, forsalvation is with the Jews.
But the hour is coming and isnow here, when true worshippers
will worship the Father inspirit and truth, for the Father
is seeking such people toworship Him.
(09:33):
God is spirit and those whoworshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, forthe Father is seeking such
people to worship him.
God is spirit and those whoworship him must worship him in
spirit and truth.
The woman said I know theMessiah is coming.
He was called Christ.
When he comes he will tell usall things Jesus said to her.
I who speak to you, am he.
Jesus had left Jerusalem, wasgoing back to Galilee and he
passed through Samaria.
And on the way he stops andtakes a rest by Jacob's well.
(09:55):
Little side note Jacob's wellis still standing.
It's in a monastery on the WestBank.
It's still visited by tourists.
While he's there, a Samaritanwoman comes to draw water and
Jesus asks for a drink.
That alone is revolutionary,that he would speak not only to
a woman in a day when women weretreated in very degrading ways,
but also to a Samaritan.
(10:17):
The animosity between the Jewsand the Samaritans ran deep.
It goes back to Israel'scaptivity in Assyria, which you
can read about in 2 Kings 17.
During that time, jews andAssyrians intermarried and the
Samaritan race came from that.
So it reminded the Jews of avery painful time in their
history.
There were also theologicaldifferences.
Samaritans only accepted thefirst five books of the Bible as
(10:37):
scripture and they didn'tworship at the temple at
Jerusalem.
They had their own temple onMount Gerizim.
But despite this, jesus came toseek and save the lost.
He used the mundane, everydayact of drawing water to
introduce her to the concept ofliving water, a symbol of the
Holy Spirit which you can drinkand never thirst again.
This woman tradition tells usher name was Fotini.
(11:00):
She asked for the water andthen something unexpected
happens.
Jesus has a word of knowledgeabout her past.
She's been married five timesand she's currently in a
relationship with someone out ofwedlock.
Obviously, that amazes her andshe speaks of the Messiah and
Jesus says I am the Messiah.
In response, she goes back andtells her friends come see a man
(11:22):
who told me everything I everdid.
Because of this, fotini isregarded as one of the first
Christian missionaries Christianmissionaries, and tradition
further tells us she wasbaptized and served God
faithfully all of her lifebefore being martyred by Emperor
Nero for refusing to renounceher faith.
This was all because Jesusreached out to someone that
(11:43):
religion had rejected.
He dared to be a peacemaker.
This radical cross-culturalapproach was the way that was
the pattern of the early churchfrom the beginning.
Remember how the church wasborn at Pentecost, in an
international assembly, when theHoly Spirit was poured out on a
group of people from verydiverse ethnicities and
(12:04):
backgrounds, including Parthians, medes and Elamites people from
modern-day Iran, residents ofMacedonia, judea and Cappadocia.
Others came from Pontus andAsia, phrygia and Pamphylia, all
of which are part of modernTurkey, egypt and parts of Libya
near Cyrene and North Africa.
There were also visitors fromRome, along with Cretans and
(12:26):
Arabs.
In addition, we see in Acts 13,leaders in the early church
included names like Barnabas,who was a Hellenistic Jew from
Cyprus.
Simeon, called Niger, was ablack man from Africa.
Lucius of Cyrene was also fromAfrica, manan had an
aristocratic Jewish backgroundand Saul or Paul obviously was a
(12:47):
Roman citizen and Jew fromTarsus.
This diverse group ofleadership tells us how the
church transcended racial,cultural and social barriers
through unity in Christ.
Finally, in chapter 7, verses9-10 of the magnificent book of
Revelation, we see people fromevery tribe, tongue and nation
worshiping God together throughall eternity and just like
(13:10):
cultivating peace in our ownlives.
Peace between others startswith prayer.
Friends, we know the secret.
We have an audience with thecreator of the universe anytime
we want it.
Do we ever stop and think aboutwhat an awesome privilege that
is?
People are frying their brainson drugs, trying to get what we
can get in our prayer time.
So to see how prayer ties intopeacemaking.
(13:30):
Let's look at 1 Timothy 2.
1 Timothy 2.
1 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2.
First of all, then, I urge thatsupplications, prayers,
intercessions and thanksgivingsbe made for all people, for
kings and all who are in highpositions, that we may lead a
(13:51):
peaceful and quiet life, godlyand dignified in every way.
Okay, first, notice how we areto pray for all people, but it
specifically signals outgovernment officials, and we're
to pray for all those who are inauthority, whether we agree
with them or not, whetherthey're members of our party or
not, whether they're Christiansor not.
Keep in mind that thegovernment that Paul was telling
Timothy to pray for didn't havea single believer in it.
(14:12):
In fact, they were routinelyusing Christians as human street
lamps.
But still, the end result thatwe may lead quiet and peaceful
lives in all godliness andhonesty.
So the focus of the prayer ispeace and stability, maintained
by godliness and honesty.
Finally, we can be peacemakersbecause Jesus is our peace,
(14:32):
which brings us to the finalpoint and the ultimate goal
peace between God and humanity.
Let's look at one of my favoritescriptures Colossians, chapter
2.
Colossians 2, I'll beginreading with verse 13.
And you who were dead in thetrespasses and the
(14:55):
uncircumcision of your flesh,god made alive together with him
.
Having forgiven our trespassesby canceling the record of death
that stood against us with itslegal demands that he set aside,
nailing it to the cross, hedisarmed the rulers and
authorities and put them to anopen shame by triumphing over
them in him.
Okay, we discussed earlier howsometimes conflict is necessary
(15:17):
to bring us to peace.
This is the key example of that.
To bring us to peace.
This is the key example of that.
Jesus won our peace by goingdirectly into battle against the
powers of darkness.
This reached its climax on thecross.
What seemed like a humiliatingdefeat turned into the supreme
victory when he rose from thedead.
How many of you have seen thePassion?
I'm very grateful for how thatmovie jarred us out of our
(15:41):
Sunday school image of whatcrucifixion was and gave us a
look at just how brutal itreally was.
Medical doctor Gerald H Bradleydescribes it this way this was
the most agonizing death mancould face.
He had to support himself inorder to breathe.
The flaming pain caused by thespikes hitting the median nerve
in his wrists explodes up hisarms, into his brain and down
(16:01):
his spine, the spike burningthrough his nerves between the
metatarsal bones of his feetjerks, his body erect, then the
leg muscles convulse and drivehis body downward, beating him
against the cross.
Air is sucked in but cannot beexhaled until the built-up
carbon dioxide in his lungs andbloodstream stimulates breathing
to relieve the cramps.
Exhaustion, shock, dehydrationand paralysis destroy the victim
(16:25):
.
The heart is barely able topump the thick blood as each of
his billions of cells die, oneat a time.
Prior to his death and all hisagony, Jesus is in full control
of his mind.
He asked the Heavenly Father toforgive them, for they don't
know what they do, and the dearLamb of God was sacrificed for
you.
At least 30 Old Testamentprophecies were fulfilled in
(16:47):
Jesus' death.
The guard thrust his spear intoJesus' side and blood and water
came out.
That shows that the ultimatecause of death was heart failure
due to shock and constrictionof the heart by the fluid sack
around the heart.
Think of that for a moment.
Because of our sin, heliterally died of a broken heart
.
(17:07):
Next is the Colossians passagetells us Jesus spoiled
principalities and powers.
He made a show of them openlytriumphing over them.
In it.
This is military terminology.
The image being drawn is anarmy overthrowing a rival
kingdom, stripping its rulernaked and leading him down the
street in humiliation.
This is exactly what Jesus didto Satan.
When he came out of that tomb,he had the victory once and for
(17:30):
all, and he invites us all toshare in it.
Jesus died as the sacrificiallamb and he was raised as the
conquering warrior, and hereminds us in Revelation 118, I
am he that liveth and was dead.
And behold, I am aliveforevermore and I have the keys
of hell and death.
Rc Sproul put it well when Godsigns a peace treaty, it signs
(17:53):
for perpetuity.
The war is over.
Of course we still sin, westill rebel, but God has done
our co-belligerent.
He will not be drawn intowarfare with us ever again.
We have an advocate with ourfather, we.
So where do we go from there?
(18:15):
Let's look at Romans, chapter 10.
Romans, chapter 10, verses 14and 15.
How thus shall they call onthem who they have not believed,
and how they will believe inhim who they have not heard?
And here, how will they hearwithout a preacher?
And how will they preach exceptthey be sent as is written?
(18:38):
How beautiful are the feet ofthem that preach the gospel of
peace and bring back gladtidings of good things.
Friends, jesus has entrusted usto be messengers of that peace,
each and every one of us.
We're the ones who are to bethe source of peace and
stability in these scary times.
You may be like me and havefeet so ugly only your mother or
(18:58):
a podiatrist could love them.
But as long as they're devotedto spreading this message of
peace, god says your feet arebeautiful.
And don't be discouragedbecause it doesn't happen as
quickly as we'd like.
Remember, jesus compared thespread of his kingdom to leaven,
just like yeast in a loaf ofbread it starts off small and
(19:19):
brings change from the insideout.
Similarly, god's kingdom bringschange gradually from the
inside out.
It starts small, but eventuallyit'll be manifest on a
worldwide scale.
In closing, we'll look at onemore scripture.
Let's look at James, my book,chapter 3, verses 16 through 18.
(19:40):
For where jealousy and selfishambition exist, there will be
disorder in every vile practice.
But the wisdom from above isfirst pure, then peaceable,
gentle, open to reason, full ofmercy and good fruits, impartial
and sincere, and a harvest ofrighteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
Amen.
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