WPC hSP jaLWYaA%'#E)Ā XF͍{"fOnRߐdƎNn^l f'i!N \-f%P*4֑zjg=)`IphrBV x 4:x1ǩA﹋d;xj r_bADLT 1?g,?^l z% xMK󯩼U{d/ AXI17uYX>Swj~gC0rρ> ST' K]x6?2?r!Hc87S"SO#RUN %i 0:o U @ U@ 0c) 0c ^ w 4  " m$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 0X; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; AHP LaserJet 5/5M PostScript0(9 Z6Times New Roman RegularX($USUS.,.%$ p`(CenturyRegularTT(O Z(Times New Roman (;3u$ O!ʏ  (;3u$ O!ʏ  ݝ4 u4:i+003|xU:Crouch BkletBooklet printing for Crouch lessonsd3'P'XXXXCrouch Lesson&((h nHt%``HHTR'3Crouch Lesson3' '3Crouch Lessons  'PT7d7*XX,XX* s //// u)XmXXX  _( ( ,yXXm TheSermonontheMountLesson7  u*XmXXX  _,yXXm BlessedAreThePeacemakers !USUS.,  _ (d3'P'XXXXCrouch Lesson&((h nHt%``HHTRO'3Crouch LessonX3' Letter'3Avery 5198 Audio Tape Landscape3'LetterT8XXdd8*XX,XX* s XXXXcXX  FN@  THESERMONONTHEMOUNTLESSONSEVEN !cԈ X @  "BlessedAreThePeacemakers"   @  #c!#7$cMatthew5:9 $ #c$7S#cINTRODUCTION"  I.0  Oneofmankind'soldest,deepestlongingsisthedesireforpeace"t h heoppositeofconflict,discord,strife,anxietyandfear. ffffII.0  Butforcenturiesthesearchforpeacehasseemedattimes,tosome,   largelyinvain._  ffffIII.0  Thisistrueinspiteofthefactthat"ThePrinceofPeace"wasborn  R  2000yearsagoinBethlehemofJudah,andhisbirthwasan X   nouncedtotheshepherdsinthewords,"GlorytoGodinthe    highest,Andonearthpeaceamongmeninwhomheiswell  \  pleased"(Luke2:14;Cf.Isaiah9:6).b  ffffDISCUSSION" U  ffff I.0  THEPRECIOUSNATUREANDMEANINGOFPEACE H    (Psalm133:1).     A.0  " ThefruitoftheSpiritislove,joy,peace..." (Gal.5:22).L    B.0  Peaceisnotmerelytheabsenceofstrife,a_ceasefire_,oranend R  ofhostility,orjustgivingupthestruggle(John14:27).     1.0  Itisnotjustafeartofight,butsomethingproducedbyand V whichfollows"thegoodfightofthefaith"(1Tim.6:12).\     2.0  Itisnotwhattheworldcallspeace,apathyordeath(John   14:2).`     3.0  Itisnotweakness,surrendertoorcompromisewithevil: f  Withdrawalfromreality bywishingfor"thewingsofa  dove,"etc., doesnotbringpeace (Psalm55:6).j   C.0  "ThekingdomofGodis....righteousnessandpeaceandjoyin p theHolySpirit"(Romans14:17).    D.0  Thegenuinepeacemakerputsanendtostrifebyworking t! activelyforandbringinginitsopposite:Hesubstituteslovefor z"" hateandgreed;rightforwrong;truthforerror,falsehoodand (# deceit;friendshipforhostility;tranquilityfordiscord/turmoil; ~$ joyforsorrow: Heovercomesevilwithgood! ,%     1.0  Christianpeacemakersengagein righteousactivity: They 2& turn"swordsintoplowshares...spearsintopruninghooks" ' (Isaiah2:4;Galatians5:22).6(     2.0  Its basis issetforthplainly: Peacefollowspurityand <) righteousness (James3:17;Romans14:17;2Timothy2:22).*     3.0  Themindandspiritofthepeacemakerisdivinely @+ programmedandplainlyidentifiedintheBible(Romans F, 8:6;Gal.5:1922;Isaiah26:3;1Timothy6:9,10;1 - Corinthians1:10). J.   E.0  Becausepeacedoesnotcomebyitself,orbyaccident,itmust P!/ besought,producedandmadetoexist,tobeenjoyed&shared  !0 (1Peter3:1012). Therefore, #"T 1 # ffffII.0  THENEEDFORPEACEMAKERSISENORMOUS,URGENT, E VERYGREAT. K   A.0  Becausethelackofpeaceonearthissowidespread(Isaiah  48:22).O     1.0  Everyone talks ofsomeaspectofthisneed(Jeremiah6:14).U     2.0  BeginningwithAdam/Eve,manhasbeenatwarwithGod.     3.0  BeginningwithCain/Abel,manhasbeenatwarwithhis Y _fellowman_._   B.0  Theneedforpeacemakersisverygreatbecausetrue    peacemakersaresoscarce,whilethenumberof_peacebreakers_ c  isverylarge(Proverbs6:1619;Matthew24:5;Galatians5:19 i   21;1John4:1).     C.0  Theneedforpeacemakersisverygreatbecauseenmity,hate  m  andstrifeareexceedinglycostlyandunwise.s       1.0  Thisistrueintheconflictbetweenandamongmen,where !  solittlehasbeenandisbeingdoneforpeace: Hateisthe  w  mostcostlypartofeverycity,county,stateandnational } %  budget. +      2.0  Itisalsoseeninthewidespreadenmitybetweenmanand   GodhisMaker,whereevenlesshasbeenandisbeingdone /  forpeace:Hateisenormouslycostlytofamily,church, 5  nation,theworld,andeternallycostlytoindividualsouls.     3.0  OnlyGodcanmeasure thesorrow,pain,heartache, 9 burdens,despairanddeathwhichprideandgreed,discord ? andstrifehaveinflicteduponthissincursedandenemy  filledworldfromthebeginninguntilnow.C   D.0  Truepeacemakersaredesperatelyneedednow!!I ffffIII.0  QUALIFICATIONS:HOWDOESONEQUALIFYANDBECOME < APEACEMAKER?    A.0  Firststep: ArightrelationshipwithGod,inChrist(John @ 16:33):"PeacewithGodthroughourLordJesusChrist"(Roma F  ns5:1;"Heisourpeace"Ephesians2:14;Philippians2:58).!     1.0  ToestablishpeacewithGodthroughChrist,onemust J" believe,turnfromhissin,bebaptized,resist/wagewar P# againsttheforcesofevil,includingSatan(Galatians3:26, $ 27;James4:510)."Fightthegoodfightofthefaith"(1 T% Timothy6:11,12).Z&     2.0  Peaceisabyproductofrighteousness:Rightthinking, ' rightdoing,andrightspeaking,"asagoodsoldierofChrist ^( Jesus."(2Timothy2:15).d )     3.0  ThisestablishespeacewithGod,innerpeace,withinself. * (Philippians4:49).h+   B.0  Secondstep: PeaceinthekingdomofGodisthepurposeofthe n, gospelandtheaimofeveryNewTestamentbook. -     1.0  "Beatpeaceamongyourselves"(1Thessalonians5:13).  r. "Walkworthilyofthecallingwherewithyewerecalled... x! / givingdiligencetokeeptheunityoftheSpiritinthebond &"0 ofpeace"(Ephesians4:13)."| 1     2.0  Wemust strive tobeatpeacewithourbrothersandsisters X inChrist(Matthew5:23,24).     3.0  How?Byseekingandpursuingpeace (1Peter3:11). \ "Givingdiligence("Makeeveryeffort")tokeeptheunityof b  theSpiritinthebondofpeace"(Cf.1Corinthians1:10).   C.0  Thirdstep:Righteousfamilyrelationsandpeaceisan f enormousandurgentneedofourtime. l     1.0  Thegreatestsinglethreattothenationandwestern  civilizationisthebreakdownofthefamilyasGodordained p it.v      2.0  Thegreatestpovertyonearthisthepovertyoffaithin $   God'struthrepresentedbythepovertyofvaluesand  z  moralitywhichisdevastatingtheworld,whichshouldbea  (  wakeupcallforatrue"BackToTheBible"movement..     D.0  Fourthstep:Maintainpeaceandgoodwillwithallmen,"as   farasitdependsonyou" (Hebrews12:14;Romans12:18). 2      1.0  "Lovedoes noill tohisneighbor"(Romans13:810).8      2.0  "Lovethyneighborasthyself"and"loveyourenemies" as   Jesusdid (Luke6:3538).<      3.0  Thisdemandsagooddispositionconstantly,whichisan B  attitudeofsustained,unbrokengoodwill!!!     E.0  Fifthstep:"GOFORIT!" "Thingsthatmakeforpeace"must F be"follow(ed)after" (Romans14:19;Hebrews12:14).L     1.0  Thewisdomfromaboveis" firstpure" (James3:17).     2.0  Hence,thetruepeacemakersmust think onthingsthatare P "true...honorable...just...pure...lovely...andofgood V report,"and dothethingsJesusteaches, and then "the  Godofpeaceshallbewithyou"(Philippians4:8,9);andour Z liveswillbefilledwith"mercyandgoodfruits,without ` variance,withouthypocrisy."Because"thefruitof  righteousnessissowninpeaceforthemthatmakepeace" d (James3:17,18).j     3.0  WemustsowtheseedofGod'skingdomtoenjoythefruit   ofGod'skingdom (Luke8:11;John17:1721.n!     4.0  Wemust practice Christianlove,longsuffering,forbearing t" tolerance, anessentialChristianvirtuewhichincludes "# meeknessandisforgiving: Wemustguardagainstgiving x$ needlessoffensetoothers(1Corinthians16:13,14).Andwe ~&% must"Avengenot"ourselves,but"Overcomeevilwithgood" ,& (Romans12:1921;Ephesians4:13).' ffff IV.0  WHATISTHEREWARD/BLESSINGJESUSPRONOUNCES u) UPONPEACEMAKERS? {#*   A.0  " Blessed arethepeacemakers:" Happinessandjoy isthe )+ portionofGod's_fellowworkers_ԀwhoshareinHisministryof , reconciliation! --     1.0  Joyisthewonderfulpossessionandfeelingwhichfollows 3!. childrenofpeace"thosewhopartakeofthenatureand !/ workoftheFatherofmercies/Godofpeace,assurelyas "7 0 reapingfollowssowing(Isaiah26:3).X     2.0  Itisafundamentalpartofthelifeandharvestofonewho  hasdecidedanddeterminedto"lovelifeandseegooddays" \ ratherthanenjoy(?)"theworksoftheflesh"or"the b  pleasuresofsinforaseason"(Hebrews11:25).     3.0  "ThefruitoftheSpiritislove,joy,peace"because"thetree f isknownbyitsfruit"(Matthew12:33).l   B.0  "...FortheyshallbecalledsonsofGod,"bythosewhoknow  Him. p     1.0  Theypartakeof,demonstrateandreflectthenatureof v  theirFather."SonsofGod"arethosewhoimitateGod, $   followHisSon,andarelikeHim. z      2.0  TheBiblecallspeople"sonof"apersonbecausetheyare  (  "of"him,andarelikehim,ortheyresemblehim..       3.0  DoyouresembleJesus,theSonoftheLivingGod?Read   Mark6:3538,andcompareyourself! 2    C.0  Peacemakersaremostappropriatelycalled"sonsofGod:" 8  TheirGod is "theGodofpeace"(Romans15:33;Philippians4:9;   1Corinthians14:33);theirLord is "thePrinceofpeace"(Isaiah <  9:6,7);andtheirmessage,"thegospelofpeace,"is"thewordof B  reconciliation"toGod(Romans10:15;2Corinthians5:19).    TheygivetheirlivestoGod'sworklikeIsaac,Jonathanand F Jesus. L   D.0  Thetaskofpeacemakers isdifficultanddangerous,butnot  hopelessorimpossible. Andthosewhoengageinthiswork P maybe"calledeverythingelsebutsonsofGodbytheir V contemporary_peacebreakers_."Butthebenefitsandblessings  arealwaysworththecostandthoseprinciplesareeffective. Z Therewardisenormoushereandineternity:FarGreaterthan ` anyNobelPeacePrize!Thepayheremaynotseemgreatbut  theeternalretirementplanisunbeatableandoutofthisworld! d (Revelation14:13;22:14,17).j ffff V.0  THEREISROOMINGOD'SKINGDOMOFPEACEFOREVERY ]! CHILDOFGODONEARTHTOBEAPEACEMAKER.  "   A.0  Willyoubeone?PeacealonedoesnotmakeussonsofGod a# (John3:3,5).Ittakesmorethanapeacelovingdesireand g$ dispositiontogotoGod'sheaven.%   B.0  But ifwearesonsofGod,wewillbebothpeacelovingand k& peacemakers!q'    C.0  CanGodcountonyoutobeboth?Ifnot,whynot?Ifnotnow, ( when?u) PPCharlesE.Crouch#c#