HOW TO FIND PEACE

Series: Upside Down Kingdom | Pastor Daniel Norris

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy… Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:7, 9 (ESV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

How do I find real peace in a world full of conflict and offense?

The peace we long for is connected to the mercy we choose to release.

1. MERCY IS THE IDENTITY OF THE KINGDOM

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, ESV)

A. Mercy is God’s Identity

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6, ESV)

raḥûm comes from the root word for womb. 

Mercy is not just something God does. Mercy is who God is.

18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18 (NIV)

Mercy is not God ignoring sin. Mercy is God confronting our sin while choosing not to give us what we deserve.

B. Mercy becomes our identity

Read this “Blessed are the merciful” not as I am choosing to be merciful, but I am merciful because that is how kingdom people behave!

2. MERCY RECEIVED BECOMES MERCY RELEASED

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36, ESV)

A. Mercy flows through us

Merciful people are not born. They are reformed. 

B. Mercy withheld stops the flow

Matthew 18:32–33 (ESV) 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

The person who struggles most to give mercy is usually the person who has forgotten how much mercy they received.

Ephesians 2:4–6 (ESV) 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

3. PEACE IS NOT FOUND…PEACE IS MADE.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9, ESV)

Peace is not an accident. Peacemaking is active, it is intentional, and it is costly. 

Peacemakers look like their Father because peacemaking is what their Father does.

Mercy is the seed, and Peace is the harvest.

Five Questions for a Peacemaker

– Am I escalating or extinguishing?

– Am I demanding or demonstrating mercy?

– Am I gossiping or going directly?

– Am I building walls or bridges?

– Am I reflecting Jesus or defending myself?