1. In the long ago Jesus preached the famous Sermon on the Mount.

• He began this great sermon by saying. (Matt. 5:3-12).

• These verses are known as the beatitudes. They tell us how to be happy, how to have a full life, how to be acceptable to God.

2. Each of these beatitudes are essential. Not one of them is more important than the other. No one will enter heaven who is not like all of these beatitudes.

• I would like for us to study the 7th beatitude found in Matthew 5:9.

• Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God."

1. This statement must have come as a great shock to the materialistic Jews of Christ's day. They were looking for an earthly kingdom and messiah, a king who would lead them to victory over the Romans and make them a world power. They were looking for a king who would make them a prosperous and mighty nation.

• Jesus asserts, however, that God's children are to be peacemakers, not fighters.

• This is a fact emphasized throughout the Bible. (Psa. 34:14; Prov. 6:16-19; 20:3; Matt. 5:38,39, 43-45; Rom.12:18-21; 14:19; Gal. 5:19-21, 22-24; 1 Pet. 3:10,11).

2. These scriptures make it abundantly clear that God's children are to be peacemakers.

3. The question that probably comes to our minds is "What is a peacemaker like? How does he act?"

• The peacemaker is one who avoids trouble if possible.

• He loves peace so much that he is willing to go out of his way to keep it.

• Isaac is an excellent example of one with a peace-making spirit. (Gen. 26:16-22).

• I am reminded of this proverb. (Prov. 16:7).

• The peacemaker not only avoids trouble if possible, but he is actively engaged in bringing peace to the world. 

• There is an old English proverb that says, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

• Long and deadly quarrels often are prevented by a little interference or mediation in the beginning.

• This does not mean that the peacemaker is a meddler in other men's matters, but it does mean that he does everything within his power to promote peace.

• Jonathan, the son of Saul, is a fine example of the peacemaking spirit. (1 Sam. 19:1-6).

• Saul later went back on his word and tried to kill David and even Jonathan his son for his peacemaking efforts.

• But even with this, one cannot but admire Jonathan's effort to make peace. God will bless those who have the peacemaking spirit of Jonathan.

• One time a man asked a little boy this question "Suppose your dad and mother would quarrel, what would you do? Would you take sides with your mother or your dad?" After a moment of silence the little boy answered, "I would not take sides with either. I would stay in between and try to stop their fighting."

1. We need people like this little boy in the world today.

• We are living in an age where there is constant international tension and threat of war. In fact, every year there are thousands and thousands are killed and butchered.

• There are many reasons for this strife and killing, but perhaps the greatest reason is the fact we do not have enough people, men and women, boys and girls working to promote peace and harmony in the world.

• We need more people who will work and make personal sacrifices and even forfeit their lives for the cause of peace.

• We need more prayer. Prayer reaches the God who controls the universe. We need more people, especially Christians, who will pray for peace. (1 Tim. 2:1,2).

2. We need peacemakers in the church.

• Satan is alive and active. He works very hard to create trouble in the church.

• He knows that if he can cause trouble in the church or split the church he has won a great victory. Souls will be lost in the church and in the community. The church will lose interest in the Great Commission and doing good to all men. It will become absorbed with self and members will bite and devour one another instead of building one another up. Sadly, there are some congregations that are always bickering and fussing over something.

• One congregation was so divided that they would only agree that a faction would use the building in the morning of the Lord's Day while the other would use it in the afternoon. This arrangement worked for a short time. Soon one side accused the others of using more of the coal they did. So they agreed on having 2 coal piles. A neighboring lad wrote on the bulletin board in the front yard: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, and 2 coal piles."

• It is sad the little boy could see our inconsistency. It is said when there is, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, and 2 coal piles." Eternity alone will reveal the harm that is done by such discord in the church.

• I would like to suggest some things which will help us continue to grow and be at peace.

• First, we must follow the commandments of God.

• God has never given man the prerogative of directing Himself. (Jere. 10:23; Prov. 14:12).

• Jesus warned against following our own way. (Matt. 15:9).

• We must always speak as God directs. (1 Pet. 4:11).

• Second, we must love another.

• We do not have perfect families. Most of us have problems and we do not always see eye to eye on everything. What holds us together? It is love. Love motivates us to overlook many of differences and work through our problems.

• The church is a family. It may be a big family, but it is still a family.

• We must exercise love for another. (Jno. 13:35; 1 Cor. 13:4-7).

• Third, we must not divide over opinions.

• We sometimes differ over things that are not very important.

• We sometimes differ over things that are very important.

• How does the Holy Spirit dwells in us? Some say by the word only, others say He dwells in us personally, others say He dwells in us through faith.

• All of these brethren believe in the Holy Spirit and all believe He dwells in us.

• The Bible does not tell us how the Holy Spirit dwells in us. We must not divide or fight over our opinion.

• Another thing we differ on is killing.

• We have some who believe it is wrong to kill under all circumstances. Others believe it right under some circumstances to kill. They believe that war and capital punishment are sometimes justified.

• This is not an unimportant matter. What could be more important than killing?

 3. We need peacemakers in the home.

• We live in a time when many homes are filled with trouble and strife. There is constant bickering and fighting.

• Many times this trouble is caused by the wife. Solomon, realizing what a contentious wife can do to the home, said it would be better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a contentious woman in a wide house. (Prov. 21:9).

• Just as often the man of the house is guilty of troublemaking. Solomon said. (Prov. 11:29).

• Families that are filled with strife need to read this beatitude over and over again and make it a part of their home lest it be destroyed.

1. Jesus promises that those who promote peace shall be regarded as "sons of God."

2. On the other hand, troublemakers shall be called sons of Satan. The meaning of this beatitude could be expressed this way, "Cursed are the troublemakers; for they shall be called the sons of Satan." Those who cause trouble and work for selfish and sinful ambitions manifest that they are not of God, but of Satan.

1. This beatitude gives us a description of the sons of God.

2. In order to become sons of God, we must be both again. (Jno. 3:1-5; Gal. 3:26-27).

3. We invite you to come to God as we stand and sing.