We all want peace in our lives. However, we often don't think about how we can be agents of making peace. According to Jesus, it will go well in our lives if we are people who are peacemakers.

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OC Church of Christ

Good morning.

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My name is Daniel Samogyi as that

awesome intro was right there.

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Uh, I have the honor and privilege

of serving here in North Hill

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C with the teens in campus.

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I think that's where you guys supposed

to clap teens in campus, but it's okay.

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It's all good.

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But yeah, so I'm a recent graduate at

Cal State Fullerton, and, uh, I know

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this is tight in land right here,

but I do notice in the crowd that we

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see, I see some anteaters, all right?

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That's because we have some of our

UCI campus students here with us this

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morning, so it's great to be with you

all, uh, for UCI to be here today.

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Right now, we are continuing our

series titled the Upside Down Blessing.

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There it is.

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The upside down blessing.

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And the idea of the upside down

blessing challenges conventional

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thinking and highlights the paradox of

worldly values and spiritual values.

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And with it, you know, it serves as

a reminder of what is truly value

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and bless may differ from what is

glorified and celebrated in the world.

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And then we are continually

reading from Matthew 5.

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That's the, where Jesus gives

a powerful sermon on the mount.

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And we're going to pick up in the

beatitudes as we've been doing.

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And the Beatitudes, you know, this

is a series of teachings by Jesus

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that outlines the attitudes and

characteristics that are considered

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blessed or highly favored in God's eyes.

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And as many speakers have said before,

you know, the Beatitudes, you know, it's a

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very convicting, uh, passage in the Bible.

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In my opinion, if you ask me what a

disciple is, I would just point to

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Matthew 5 right there for the Beatitudes.

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And it's, it's, uh, it's an interesting,

I wouldn't say it's a hard, but

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it's very convicting to preach on

Matthew 5 during the Beatitudes.

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Because it really helps check

my heart and where my heart is.

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And as, uh, some of you who weren't

here, I know Campus wasn't here,

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but last week Chris Galassi spoke.

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He did a great job speaking about,

uh, blessed the pure in heart.

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And speaking of that, the pure in

heart, I know he mentioned something

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about, uh, what was it, mosquito bites.

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I have a ton on my legs.

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That means my feet were stinking

throughout the week, I guess.

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So, uh, I have to do a

better job at doing that.

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But today we're going to be

picking up in Matthew 5, verse 9.

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And it reads, Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

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You know, before I get

into this, I just, peace.

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That's something we need.

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I don't know about you guys, but I was

on the news, like, just watching the

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news, and just seeing things, just about,

you know, the mass shooting in Maine.

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Just thinking about how the people

there, the family there, they're just

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unrested, they're at, not at peace.

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So right now, if you can join me, if

you guys can join me in prayer, as

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we, you know, we pray for the lesson,

but also for the folks in Maine.

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Uh, Father God, uh, we're just

so grateful to, to be here.

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It's really a privilege to be, uh, here.

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Call your sons and daughters here

as we worship you today, God.

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And God, as we, uh, go over, uh, Matthew

5, verse 9 about peacemakers, God, God,

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I really pray that you just remove me,

God, and that you speak through me today.

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That you minister at the

hearts of everyone here.

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That, you know, whatever we are

in at life right now, that we can

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just put that on hold and listen

fully to what you have to say.

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God, I just pray for the people in

Maine who lost some of their loved ones.

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God, we'll do this mass shooting.

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You know, they're, they're grieving, God.

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You know, we're all grieving,

but they're grieving right now,

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too, for losing their loved ones.

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They're confused.

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They don't understand why.

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But, God, I know that you will be there.

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I pray that you give them an

extra dose of your Spirit.

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That you comfort them.

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You send your angels to

comfort them during this time.

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And maybe during this time that

they, they will turn to you, God.

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God, we love you so much.

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In Jesus name, Amen.

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Amen.

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So we see here in Matthew 5 verse

9, you know, Jesus emphasized

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the importance of peacemaking.

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And the concept here of the upside

down blessing is in the context of

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being a peacemaker appears contrary

to the prevailing values in the world.

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And let's think about it, in many

cultures, well, don't only think about

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cultures, think about right here in the U.

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S.

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Success, power, recognition, they're

often associated with assertiveness,

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dominance, competition, and even conflict.

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But peacemakers, however, they're, they're

often, they often choose a different path.

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They choose a path of reconciliation,

empathy, you know, conflict

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resolutions, but in a nonviolent way.

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You know, this alternative approach

that, you know, that leads to a worldly

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success or immediate recognition.

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It won't always lead to that.

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Which is why it's called

the upside down blessing.

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So here we see here that...

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You know, Matthew 5, verse 9, as I was

studying it out, honestly, there was like

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three words that were just glaring to me.

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Those three words were, blessed,

peacemakers, and children of God.

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You know, with blessed, you know, I'm

gonna give you a short summary of it.

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I feel like Marcel covered it

pretty well, but blessed, this

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is not a superficial blessing.

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It's all about the eternal

joy that is bigger than any

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circumstance that we might face.

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You know, another term for blessed

would be fortunate and happy.

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And as Jesus was sharing this

blessing to the Jews, I feel like each

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blessing kind of came with a gasp.

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Just like, wow, he said that.

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What does that mean?

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You know, just, bless the poor in spirit.

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What?

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Bless the meek.

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Wait, why do I have to be weak?

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Bless the merciful.

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Why do I have to show people

mercy if they don't show it to me?

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All that.

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But if you look here at your beatitude in

the verse, this is the seventh beatitude.

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And I want to stress seven,

because it's so significant.

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In the Jewish culture.

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For example, if you read in Genesis,

you know, there were seven pairs

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of every pure animal in Noah's Ark.

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So those who don't know Noah's Ark, uh,

God instructed Noah to go in the Ark.

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As he was gonna flood the world, and he

was gonna have his family go in there.

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And he also instructed Noah to

have seven pairs of each animal.

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You know, the number seven also is the

seventh day of the week, which is Sabbath.

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Which is we all love, because

that's a day of no work, we rest.

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Also, including rest, is we also worship

God with all our hearts during that day.

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But also, which is interesting, seven

is said to symbolize completion,

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association with God or the covenant

of holiness and sanctification.

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So we know that the number

seven here has powerful meaning.

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So I assume that, you know, when they

were listening or even when they read

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back on it, they were probably going

through each beatitude and they were

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like, okay, there's one, two, three, four.

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Oh, what's the seventh one here?

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Oh, blessed are the peacemakers.

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And in Jewish culture, this

is where Jesus, I think really

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is intentional with his words.

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Because in Jewish culture, peace is

actually the highest ideal of life.

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Something to aspire for.

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Peace is shalom, which is wholeness,

completeness, fulfillment, inner rest,

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living without deficiency or lack.

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I mean, doesn't that, you know, hearing

that right now, it just seems impossible.

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But, you shalom in the

midst of crazy situations.

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I don't know about you guys, but

who here can have a difficult

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situation having shalom?

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Maybe there's, yeah, a situation in your

life where you are not experiencing peace.

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Maybe some of us today are

feeling not at peace with God.

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Maybe not at peace with our

spouse or significant other.

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With our children, our co workers.

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Maybe not at peace with our finances.

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But I want us all to have the peace

God's intent to have for all of us.

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That's what God wants.

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And the reality is, though,

peace does not come easy.

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You know, I love how in Matthew 5,

verse 9, you know, in the New Living

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Translation version, it says, God

blesses those who work for peace, for

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they will be called the children of God.

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You know, we have to work for peace.

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That's why it's not easy.

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It does not say blessed are

those if we hope for peace.

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Blessed are those who keep the peace.

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God blesses those who work for peace.

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And, funny enough, thanks to Google

Docs, I was able to find an essay

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I wrote in high school, in history

class, which was about peace.

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And I re read it, and two

things stuck out to me.

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One, my grammar was

terrible in high school.

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I was just like, ooh, like,

Grammarly was underlining pretty

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much every other word I had there.

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But another thing that I found

interesting was the fact that I did not

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know what peace was clearly back then.

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And even today, there's some things

about peace I still don't understand.

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But in my essay I wrote

that peace was this.

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That, you know, if you guys know this,

this is the world peace right here.

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And this was adopted big in 1960s

during the anti war movement.

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And with that, peace, it was

like in the absence of war.

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Or the absence of conflict.

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But we all know that

that's not really peace.

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There are many countries that

aren't at war with other countries,

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and yet they don't have peace.

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And to make it even more personal,

maybe there are weeks, if you're

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fortunate, but let's say days,

that you didn't have any conflict

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with your spouse, your significant

other, your children, your boss.

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You didn't have any of that.

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But yet, you still weren't

at peace with yourself.

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Another thing I thought

about what that peace was.

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I thought it was agreement.

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I thought that, you know, peace

is the absence of disagreement or

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conflict, then we would have peace.

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Because we have disagreement,

there would be no peace.

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That's what I put in my essay.

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And if we got rid of disagreement,

then there would be peace.

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But, you know, if we didn't have

disagreement, yes, it may bring a measure

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of peace, but it wouldn't bring, you

know, peace that is actually everlasting.

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You know, peace is not

the absence of conflict.

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I hope you guys know that.

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It's not the absence of conflict.

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Peace is, is the presence of the living

God in the midst of our conflict.

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It's the presence of Jesus

in the midst of chaos.

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And I feel like the next one

too, this is the last one I

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thought what meditation was.

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I feel like we all tried

it, uh, what peace was.

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And I thought it was just the

absence of stress and anxiety.

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You know, I, I thought it was

just, you know, if I didn't have

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that boss or class or that job.

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If I can get rid of that

experience or situation I just had.

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If I can just go on vacation

and get my Zen experience, then

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maybe I can have that peace.

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But really, that's not true.

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All that right there, that's

just an escapism in the moment.

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And here's the truth of what the

Bible says in Jeremiah 6, 14.

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Peace, peace they say when they,

uh, they say when there is no peace.

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You know, peace is never

found in the absence of.

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It's actually the opposite.

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Peace is found in the presence of.

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And the peace that Jesus wants for us is

in the presence of him, you know, shalom.

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But it doesn't stop there, of course,

when we talk about peace in the scripture.

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It talked about a second part of the word,

which was maker, and a maker means to do.

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So God calls us to do peace wherever

it is that we live our lives.

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I feel like now that I hopefully

defined peace and maker for you at a

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okay rate, I want to talk about what

peacemaking is and what it's not.

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To start off, peacemaking is not passive.

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It's active.

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You know, the kind of peace Jesus wants

for us is not by a product of inaction.

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It's not peace by

happenstance or hopefulness.

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You know, peace is an action word.

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I mean, you can hope for

peace, yes, that's great.

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But if you actually want peace,

you have to go work for that.

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You have to do what it

takes to find that peace.

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You know, it says, Blessed are

the peacemakers, for they will

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be called children of God.

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Like I said, it didn't say, Blessed are

the peace lovers, or the peace keepers.

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It's people who are

proactive in promoting peace.

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That's who are blessed.

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Peacemaking also isn't appeasement.

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It does not mean always giving in,

or standing for your own values.

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It's, and I just think it's fitting how,

if you read Matthew 5, verse 8 again,

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it says blessed are the pure in heart.

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Once again, I just feel like Jesus was

intentional, intentional with his words

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there because, I don't know, for some

reason, I know some of you guys who've

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been in the faith longer, you guys know

that when you live a pure heart, for some

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reason, it just rubs people the wrong way.

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Who doesn't?

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It just causes conflict.

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You're just like, why?

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Like, I don't understand why.

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But what's funny enough is though, Jesus

was constantly stirring things up though.

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It was mostly with church

goers, too, as well.

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Because the way he was

living was offensive to them.

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So, and Jesus did not appease the crowd.

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Peacemaking, also, it's not avoidance.

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You know, this is, alright,

I hope you don't mind.

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This is like my therapy session right now.

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I used to think I was a good peacemaker.

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Alright, I really did.

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But what I learned over, honestly,

the past few months, and even this

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past few weeks here, is actually, I

was really good at avoiding conflict.

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I was really good at peacekeeping

and peacekeeping and peacemaking are

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totally different because being a

peacekeeper is about avoiding conflict.

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It's about not, you know,

sharing what you really think.

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It's about trying to keep

the status quo the same.

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But peacekeepers, they step into conflict.

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And, you know, maybe they create

it, but when they create it, it's

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not because of, you know, out of

their own hearts they want to, you

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know, ruffle feathers on purpose.

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But it's because they want to have peace.

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They want to make sure

everyone has the peace.

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And when I say this, you know,

I think some of us here, maybe

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we think we're good peacemakers.

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Maybe you're like me.

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Maybe you think so.

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But after hearing this, maybe

you feel like you're not.

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Because for me, I had to

take a deep look at myself.

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And I had to realize, I'm

not really good at this.

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If anything, I'm a coward.

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You know, I, I, I feel like

I relate a lot to the Wizard

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of Oz with the cowardly lion.

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I feel like I don't have

courage for some reason.

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And what's crazy is, and I say this

because Jesus said, you will know the

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truth and the truth will set you free.

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And it's a scary thought.

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I think about some of the interactions

I've had with people in my life who are

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experiencing trouble and to think about

how I wasn't a peacemaker for them.

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Heck, I wasn't even a

peacekeeper for them.

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I was a troublemaker, for the most part.

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Because when we withhold the truth

from people, we're troublemakers.

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And we're allowing trouble to grow

in someone else's life, and we

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have a perspective that can help

them, and yet we do nothing and let

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that trouble grow in their life.

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As you know with conflict, if

we do not step in to it and

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deal with it, it tends to grow.

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And when it grows, it turns into a

bigger problem, and eventually we

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just push that further down the road.

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So peacemaking, it's not passive.

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It's not appeasement,

and it's not avoidance.

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What I think a peacemaker is, I think of

a person that initiates reconciliation.

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You know, a peacemaker goes out

to mend broken relationships.

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You know, they take initiative to

resolve disputes, they put themselves

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in that situation, they want to heal

wounds, they want to foster unity.

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You know, this means taking

responsibility for your own actions,

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your words, your attitude, that may

have contributed to the problem.

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Peacemaking, they're also, they also

promote harmony, peacemakers do.

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They want to create an atmosphere of peace

where they have goodwill wherever they go.

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They aim to unite people and

communities rather than sow division.

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And promoting harmony is so vital and

component in building a relationship.

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Whether it's personal,

professional, in here at church,

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or outside in your community.

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Because it helps create an environment

where people can work together.

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effectively, conflicts are

minimized or resolved in ways

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that benefits all parties.

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Another thing about peacemakers

is big, they advocate for justice.

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When you think about it, we, we've seen

it throughout history, with the Civil

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Rights Movement, you know, Martin Luther

King, and outside of that, even before

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that, you know, Gandhi, you know, true

peace often requires addressing underlying

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injustices, which meaning stepping in

to that light and addressing issues.

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You know, wanting to correct

wrongs and ensure fairness.

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Which requires uncomfortability.

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Probably set yourself

up for being a martyr.

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As we see here with, you

know, Martin Luther King.

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And even with Jesus.

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And also peacemaking.

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They live out the word of God.

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I mean, peacemaking is an

outwork of the word of God.

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It reflects the reconciliation between

God and humanity through Christ.

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And seeks to extend reconciliation

throughout all humanity.

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So what does that mean for us though?

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What does that mean for us as

we're called to be peacemakers?

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I think personally, there's three

ways to become a peacemaker.

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We have to first know peace.

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We have to know peace before

bringing it to anyone else.

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We have to experience the peace because

peacemakers can't create peace to others.

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If we don't start with

peace in our own hearts.

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Ultimately, the only way to peace

is through a relationship with the

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Prince of Peace, which is Jesus.

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And when we know peace, when we live a

life for Jesus, we will live out what

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Paul writes in Philippians 4 verse 7.

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And the peace of God which transcends

all understanding will guard your

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heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

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I mean, that peace becomes

the guarder of our own hearts.

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That peace becomes the one that, no,

we're not going to let that in our hearts.

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Because we want peace here, and

that's just going to cause you stress,

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that's going to cause you drama,

that's going to cause you tension.

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And when we experience that peace,

church, we have to bring that

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peace to other people in our lives.

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And that's our, that's my second point.

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To be a peacemaker, we

have to bring peace.

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I mean, how, but how do we bring peace?

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Practically, I would say this.

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If you are involved...

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with conflict, right now, directly.

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I would say, just make the first move.

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Make the first move.

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And by making the first move, it isn't

by going to the person and pointing

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out all the ways they have hurt you.

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No.

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The first move is humbly

acknowledging that, you know what,

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I've played a role in this too.

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You know, I've never been part of a

fight where there weren't two people

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involved or multiple sides of the story.

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And by saying that, I'm not trying

to excuse for what they did.

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But you're just saying,

hey, you know what?

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I realize I created some of this as well.

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And I played a part in this.

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And I want to apologize for that.

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I mean, think about it.

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Can you imagine?

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Can you imagine in a relationship where

you're currently experiencing conflict

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where if you just start off with that

conversation you're just first to go,

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you know what, hey I have a role in this.

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Can you imagine the

tone that would follow?

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I mean, so make the first move.

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Be quick to listen and slow to speak.

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I mean, isn't that biblical?

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That's straight out of the

book of James right there.

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Be quick to listen and slow to speak.

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Cause what if it's possible

that you do not understand a

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situation as well as you think?

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What if there's a little bit more to the

story and you just say, you know what,

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I'm just gonna sit here and listen.

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I'm gonna listen, not for the

sake of refuting or rebutting

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like it's a court case.

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No, I'm gonna sit here, and I'm gonna

listen, and I'm gonna seek to understand.

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So be quick to listen and slow to speak.

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And also, I know this is a lost

art, at least for my, uh, You know,

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my group of people, but let's be

agreeable even when we disagree.

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I feel like the world is calling

us not to do that for some reason.

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I don't know why, but to some of

the closest friends that I have

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in this church, we don't see eye

to eye on a lot of things when it

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comes to things outside of Jesus.

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But yet, I still love them

and I know they love me.

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So we can be agreeable.

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And when we do that, we

get to reflect peace.

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You know, I love that last part of

the verse here, Matthew 5, verse 9.

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Blessed are the peacemakers, for

they will be called children of God.

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Now, when we step into the role of

peacemaker, we will have that blessing.

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You know, when we seek to bring peace

in whatever difficult situation we

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are in, with others around, they're

gonna say, Wow, that person right

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there, that person's a child of God.

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That believer, that, that,

they reflect God's value.

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You know, when I think about

reflection, I think about a

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relationship with the parent and child.

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I mean, parents, when you look at your

kids, you know, you see how they act, they

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may have picked up some traits from you.

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Whether it was your sense of humor,

whether it was your looks, I don't know

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what it is, but it's easy for you parents

to look in the crowd and point out, oh

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yes, that, that's my child right there.

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Because they look like

me, they reflect me.

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And what Jesus is saying here in

Matthew 5 verse 9, he's saying that

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when you look like me, when you talk

like me, when you reflect my values,

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when you bring peace in difficult

situations, people will not be able to

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mistake that you are a child of God.

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You reflect the values of the living God.

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And I know we live in a culture that

they just want to divide us in all

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kinds of ways, in different things.

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But what if things weren't

different for us here?

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What if we were a church that

really took this scripture to heart?

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And knowing that every time I get

into one of those conversations

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with people, whether it's about

politics, sports, you know, masks,

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vaccines, I really don't care.

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But knowing that, hey, I have my

own opinion, which is great, but

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I also have a greater calling.

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And that calling is to be a peacemaker.

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I'm going to bring people together.

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That's my calling.

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If we did that as a church, oh

my goodness, I feel like we would

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have more people in this room.

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Saying that, hey, I came to this church.

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I came to the OC church because there

was this person who was called a

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Christ follower and they came into

my life and they brought peace in

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my life when all I've experienced

was tension, drama, stress.

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That's all I've ever experienced.

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And I heard this is a place where

people who reflect God's value hang out.

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I hear this is a place who

reflect Jesus come to worship.

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That's what I feel like would happen if

we really lived out Matthew 5 verse 9.

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That is the true blessing right there.

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That is the upside down blessing.

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It's being called a

child of God right there.

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And I say it's upside down because

none of us, I mean we're all adults.

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I know we're a child to someone,

but really when you say to

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someone, Oh, you're a child?

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It's kind of offensive,

especially to the world.

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But here, as disciples, being called a

child of God, that is such a high calling

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because we get to reflect the values.

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People see that we are

reflecting the values of God,

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and they're not mistaking that.

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So let's be peacemakers.

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Let's be peacemakers.

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Let's reflect God and His values.

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Let's be called His children.

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So as I close out for some action

steps this week, you know, I really

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want us to pray for the Beatitudes.

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This really has been so powerful

and convicting for me, studying

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this out, examining my own heart.

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And I know I'm not going to live

up to the standards of it, but

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it's great to always strive for.

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Also, let's just pray that

we can become a peacemaker.

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There's so much going

on in the world today.

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This world is really, really dark.

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We, we need to bring the light.

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We need to bring the everlasting

piece, not this temporary piece.

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So church, as I close out, like I said,

Matthew five verse nine, blessed are those

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who are peace makers or let me go there.

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Blessed are the peace makers for,

they will be called children of God.

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I'm gonna close out in prayer

and then we'll have, uh, the

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worship team come back, back up.

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All right.

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God, just, uh, I come to you so

grateful for, for your word, God,

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for it to never to come back empty.

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God, as, as we, uh, close out here,

God, as we're reflecting on the

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Beatitudes and being a peacemaker,

God, God, I really pray that we get to

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make the everlasting peace here, God.

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That this world, they need people like

us to bring that peace, God, bring that

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light, to bring your values here, God.

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So God, I pray that, you know...

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Not only throughout the week, but

throughout the rest of our life here,

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God, that we get to, uh, bring that peace

to you, to you, God, and to each other.

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God, we love you so much.

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In Jesus name, Amen.