Blessed are the Peacemakers [Part 1]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright field, then it is part of your tribal responsibility to hate all callings. And if you're a McCoy bit is your responsibility to fall in with the party line of the McCoys and hate everything about every Hatfield means that every Hatfields got a hate every McCoys and every McCoys got a hate every that's pastor will hold. I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series called peacemakers is presented with an older church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program. I will make sure you know how to get our special resource right now can be yours for your donation this month. Alan Wright Ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God, and this crazy polarized strife so soft and hate filled culture that were in right now there's a temptation to get all caught up.

But as a child of God, you have a different role as a role like that of Jesus who is the peacemaker you are called to be those that help build bridges, calm strife, while keeping the troops today and coming weeks take on the daunting task of talking to you about being peacemakers and this polarized world and I can't think of any better place to start, and in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, where Jesus has this famous address that goes on for several chapters but begins with a series of what are called the Beatitudes they are not called Beatitudes because of the sound of the word be attitudes, but that is a good way to think of them. They are more about attitudes than they are laws is not a list of rules that are essentially saying if you will do these things and you'll be blessed.

It is more a description of the blessedness of the life of those children of God who… Why don't read all the Beatitudes so that you'll see our text in its context.

It's at Matthew five verse one seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and when he set down his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God in Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. So all of these variety of statements of blessing nature of the Christian's life. But notice that there is almost a growth in the Beatitudes towards becoming peacemakers, which is then followed by an actual even stronger statement of when you're persecuted or reviled.

There's even a blessing inside of that we want today to lay the foundation for the series and some want to just draw few principles for you about the peacemaker that really more based on the comprehensive look at Jesus's life.

What is it mean to be a peacemaker will hurt some. A good story since I've been back and doubt my favorite might've been asked that our union cross campus decided on a great bridge event, an event that we call it showing the love of Jesus and building a bridge to the community that they did on the eve of 4 July. So as a independence eve party that they dive decided to have at Weldon Village pastor Barrett is the campus battery and his wife and family lived there and Weldon Village cars for a new and growing neighborhood that is one of those neighborhoods that is designed ultimately to promote community and have all kinds of walking paths and people be very connected there people who move there wanting to find community and so they had this Wednesday night series going talk about saturating the community with the love of God in the civil while we on that Wednesday night just do so rather than studying about a let's have a big event and so they had this big event at Weldon Village and I had 200 250 people come in bunches of the people in the neighborhood and church members brought their friends and it was just a great big party on the eve of 4 July because thereby Lovejoy celebrate 4 July and not much going on the night before and so they had this big crowd and they set up stage in one of our own over their union cross TL library. He had jet cover band. They were out there playing songs from the 70s and 80s and such and had some great food, Brent Babb, who set up the grills and they were barbecuing chickens. They were given away all the food was delicious and the kids were having a ball. They had big wet water slide and the sprinklers going for the kids and then they had a big parade for the kids with their bicycles as all get down the parade and as they did. They played the Star-Spangled Banner from the platform.

They said to get into the parade. The kids didn't want to stop. They just kept on parading and it was just a big time and pastor Barrett said you know course, there were some you could set were a little skeptical of this big event someone who's wondering what is this some kind of pyramid selling scheme. You know what what what what are they going to make us do what we will ask about your marriage bed and all even one time he got to the mic phone. He said no church is happy to sponsor this event and we are glad that you're here hope you have a great time. If you happen to be looking for a church we meet a Glenn high school in and would love to have you come join us on Sunday morning. That was it and is and I went on AIM. I was skeptical loss of skeptic is schism is there. I kids are having a great time in and people started saying things like I need to come hang around a little bit more and some have even come and visit a church.

The census was a great event, but in the middle of a woman who did not live in the immediate neighborhood, but for the way across the street across the highway really came over and started approaching the band while they were planning, and she was screaming and said shut this blankety-blank thing down and Barrett stepped up their one of the many pastoral responsibilities and began to talk to her he said that every other word was an X within and that she just was had the whole are of alcohol she was inebriated and see that I thought you go hit me. I say what were you going to do. She's just a letter hit me I guess. And so he's trying to calm her down. She said my whole house foundation shaken blank Mike Mike Mike Mike well. About that time a neighbor of Barrett's who is not connected with our church don't know she's connecting with church at all. She came marching over and course. I'm thinking I hear the story all know she's will get all over his case to, but instead she came to his defense and to the defense of the whole incident and she began to calm the woman down. In fact, the woman still want to go over my house my mind like it was our scream and hurt see what it's like she says okay and so she walked across the street with a woman so the party could go on is more that story but contrast to that with I don't know why this came back to me as I was thinking about how quickly strife when the low gasoline is poured on.

I can just become engulfed in rage on November 3, 1979 when my father, a TV news man went to work. He had no idea that the supposedly routine story. He was covering that day would be that evening's national news. He didn't know when he woke up that morning that but for the grace of God he lost his life that day. A group called the Commons workers party was going to have a rally starting in the Morningside development Greensboro and marched to the City Hall seat of Guilford County. It was called the desk to the clan.

March they were rightly furious about the antics of the Ku Klux Klan and one of them out of the whole Greensboro area, but the marchers and the rally didn't carry that beautiful spirit of Martin Luther King, Junior, who advocated peaceable protests. In fact, some of their flyers had suggested that the clan needs to be beaten violently and chased out of town. It was already the kindling was was already there for a confrontation. So as dad arrived that morning and all the marchers and protesters were collecting their corner of Everett Street very soon after the caravan of 10 vehicles and a van started coming in writing back and forth in front of them. It was Ku Klux Klan and some of the Commons workers party and their anger took their picket sticks instruct their cars through rocks and then an unimaginable quick sequence of events, clan members went open the trunks of their cars and start pulling out guns and rifles and within seconds. Within seconds a magna cum laude graduate of Duke was dead. Local one of the nearby hospitals had pediatrics was dead. Few moments later, the president of the student body at Bennett College was dead. All told, five were shot to death. Others wounded and it became known as the Greensboro massacre. I'm not saying that every time where there strife that unless there's a peacemaker, it can end up in such violence, but I am saying this that everything that we do in our lives is either contributing to the peace or contributing to the strife and I like to think of watersheds. Whenever I think of the great truths of the Scriptures and the great truths of God's life in this world, then the top of a mountain, a drop of rain on one side of the others. Not very distant but once it runs to its respective ocean is thousands of miles apart. I think the thing for us as Christians in this world is to not get duped and tricked and sucked into the vitriol of a society that has lost its ability we are as the children of God. Peacemakers I want talk about what that means right will have more teaching moment from today's important series.

It's shocking how quickly American values have changed.

Suddenly, most people go to church or have a biblical worldview. Everything has changed so much that maybe you feel like a foreigner in your own culture was a Christian supposed to live in a post-Christian world we fight against it. We decide our light in the midst of it all away from it.

These are the same questions that faced a young exile named Daniel in Babylon 600 years before Christ. Though he was an alien God showed the young man favor when you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry today will send you pastor out messages on Daniel favored foreigner and an attractive CD album on a USB thumb drive or through digital download is our way of saying thanks for your partnership. You may feel like a stranger in this world is God's favor to gain his farmland God's grace is upon you today. Your gift today will only help you walk in the grace of God during these troubling times.

It will also help someone else. This ministry is only possible through prayerful support listeners like you when you give today will send you today's special offer call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come visit pastor out.org today's teaching now you once again is Alan Wright. The Beatitudes are called that because the attitude means blessing, but what's interesting about the Beatitudes.

Is that really this word for blessing is not the usual word for blessedness is actually a word that means more like well happy but it's deeper than that.

It means it's the word. The Greeks used to say congratulations to someone. It really means.

Congratulations, you should be. You deserve to be congratulated that. So if you really to understand literally these Beatitudes as Jesus starts much of his ministry with several amount essentially is saying if you're peacemaker then congratulations you got me one of most well-off happiest people in the world. Congratulations to you is almost like you'd say to someone at a healthy newborn baby or just got the big promotion at work. Well, you are to be congratulated because you're in a much better condition than most.

So this is not a list of sort of laws to say if you will be a peacemaker, then you shall be a son of God, no, instead, this is saying that when you are a child of God you can increasingly become like Christ.

Your big brother and as such, you will be a peacemaker and that's a very blessed thing to be. Congratulations. You're peacemaker wonderful and so this is the foundation for what I want talk to about in coming weeks. That is, you think about being a child of God, literally, a son of God and is not meant to be gender exclusive it is to evoke the image of the status of the firstborn son, and that ancient Palestinian culture who enjoyed a double portion of the inheritance in a very special status.

You are like Jesus, child of God and is very clear. The Scripture how you become a child of God. In John chapter 1. Those who believe on his name had the right to become children of God. John chapter 316 that when you leave and you trust in the fact that God came in the person of Jesus to save you, and you put your trust in that. That's how you are saved and you can be born again and in Romans, Paul talks about the image of being adopted so this is not a text that says if you become a peacemaker, then you'll be a child of God is instead sank that children of God are peacemakers and you are peacemaker, because Christ himself is a peacemaker when you think about Christ's life. I just want to lay a very general foundation in an and mentioned three aspects that I think are instructive from Jesus's life and are absolutely critical for us and for them to be peacemakers. In this polarized world and the first thing that is interesting to me about Jesus's life and I think is in the whole call is that there's just a refusal of Jesus to get wrapped up in the few between the quote religious leaders in the centers.

He somehow steps out of that he has friends on all sides. He is not put into a box when you are a peacemaker, it doesn't mean that you are not that I disagree with people and maybe disagree very very strong. Be very clear about this. I have very strong feelings about about some very important issues, but there is a way to disagree without becoming needlessly disagreeable, and I think that's the first mark of all peacemakers and able to disagree without being needlessly disagreeable.

You don't have to be disagreeable. I was thinking about the most famous feud of all time, the Hatfields and the McCoys.

I went back to look up about the actual origins of the McCoy family hailed from Ireland and they were led by Randolph McCoy, grandson of the great patriarch William McCoy and they lived mainly on the Kentucky side of tug for which is a tributary of big Sandy River Hatfield family lived on the West Virginia side of the river, led by William Anderson had failed. Who would called devil ants Hatfield well when Asa Harmon McCoy who fall for the union came home from the Civil War. He was murdered by a group of Confederate home guards called the Logan wildcat and though they accuse devil ants Hatfield of committing the murder. It was later confirmed that Hatfield was at home sick at the time and couldn't of done it but here's the funny thing nobody knew who killed that boy and that's what started the whole feud they had assumed that it was the wrong person. And so it began 13 years later in 1878 at dispute emerged about the ownership of all Floyd Hatfield cousin of devil ants is had the hog in his possession, but Randolph McCoy claimed it was his said that the notches on the pig's ear were there kind of notches and they got a big dispute and appeared before the justice of the peace who was a Hatfield who of course ruled in favor of the Hatfields and they used the testimony of a relative named Bill Staten and so to the McCoys killed Bill Staten but they were later acquitted on grounds of self-defense and thus the Hatfield and McCoy feud began and lasted for over 30 years. What is so ironic about this is that I learned that in 1979. The descendents of the Hatfield and McCoy's appeared on the famous TV game show family feared they had a weeklong competition for some cash and for a news message. Blessed are the peace makers from the series on peacemakers and I invite you to stay with his pastor Alan is back joining me in the studio, sharing his parting good news thought for the day in just a moment. It's shocking how quickly American values have changed. Suddenly, most people go to church or have a biblical worldview. Everything has changed so much that maybe you feel like a foreigner in your own culture. I was a Christian supposed to live in a post-Christian world we fight against it.

We decide our light in the midst of it. We pull away from it. These are the same questions that faced a young exile named Daniel in Babylon 600 years before Christ.

Though he was an alien God showed the young man favor when you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry today will send you pastor out eight messages on Daniel favored foreigner in an attractive CD album on a USB thumb drive or through digital download is our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

You may feel like a stranger in this world is God's favor to gain his farmland God's grace is upon you today.

Your gift today will only help you walk in the grace of God during these troubling times. It will also help someone else. This ministry is only possible through prayerful support listeners like you when you give today will send you today's special offer call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come visit pastor out.org back there in the studio as your pastor at a sporting good news thought for the day is worth starting this new series on peacemakers and boy, this is timely.

Alan, this is a good time to be talking about peace in such a crazy world we have in our lifetimes. Most of his eye. We've never seen society around us in America be so polarized and with pandemic and racial unrest and an election coming we just feel like this series, Daniel is so so timely. When Jesus says Blessed are the peacemakers, he saying that since congratulations, you are to be commended to our you're in a good position if you're peacemaker.

That's it.

Need to say that the ones who are actively interested in making peace rather than simply adding to the friction is a really blessed people and we got a lot more to learn about this in coming days to there is a blessing that comes into our lives through the coming vessels of God's peace in this world and let's make it a commitment of our hearts. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright ministry