Volume 26, Issue 5
Page 14
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Matthew 5:3-12, The Greatest Sermon (Part Three)
By Dr. Mike Spaulding September 2025 We begin our study through Jesus’ Sermon the Mount, what I call The
cold, the thermometer is cold. If the room is hot, the thermometer is hot. A thermostat, on the other hand, can change the climate of a room from a cold one to a warm one. A peacemaker is a thermo-
God. Godliness is demonstrated by those who change the climate and the culture in which they live. Jesus declared that being peacemakers shows that we are genuinely children of God. We
again with this but I remember watching the “Tonight Show” back when Johnny Carson was still living and hosting it. That tells you how long ago that was. On this particular night, Orel Hershiser was a guest. At the time, Orel was a star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. The Dodgers had just won the World Series and Orel had been named the series Most Valuable Player. They showed a couple of clips of the games and on one of the clips they showed Orel standing in the dugout all by himself and his lips were moving. It was ob- vious that he was saying some- thing to himself. Well, Johnny asked him about that. He wanted to know what Orel was saying. Orel politely re- fused to say what he was saying twice. The third time he was asked, Orel said “I wasn’t talking to myself, I was singing.” This really intrigued Johnny and he got the audience involved in asking Orel to tell what he was singing. Finally, Orel gave in and as the audience quieted down to listen, Orel began to sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” Johnny Carson, for perhaps the first time in his hosting career on the Tonight Show, was speech- less. The silence was deafening in that studio. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. And then one person began to applaud and soon the whole au- dience was applauding. You see, Orel was a born-again Christian who was not afraid or ashamed to share Jesus with his teammates. Evidently Johnny didn’t know that. Continued On Page 15
Greatest Sermon ever taught, in verse 9 of chapter 5 (See the pre- vious two editions of WCN for earlier articles in this series). Verse 9. What is a peace- maker? Is it someone who smooths out arguments? Is it someone who separates two peo- ple who are fighting? It could be, but more accurately, what Jesus is talking about here is much more than that. A peacemaker is someone who changes the whole climate of what is going on in a situation. Let me illustrate it this way. There are basically two kinds of people. Thermostat and ther- mometer people.
stat person. A peacemaker can change the climate of a room when he or she walks in. Have you ever seen that happen?
are children of God because we now have within us the same for- giving heart that Jesus revealed when He cried out from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Well, if the multitudes on the mountainside that day thought they understood the direction Jesus’ teaching was taking, they were certainly throw a curveball by what we read next. Verses 10-12. Why does Jesus save this for last? Perhaps be- cause it’s one of the hardest truths to accept. We all want to be liked and accepted. It’s hard to take when people reject us. The world doesn’t know how to respond to people who seek God in the way Jesus has been de- scribing. The reality of life is this – the closer you get to God, the more willing you are to live for Him instead of the world, the more you increase the odds that the world will mistreat you. Jesus is warning us that living for Him will make the world very uncomfortable with us.
Notice that peacemaking is one sure way to be identified with
A thermometer reflects the cli- mate around it. If the room is
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Mike Spaulding interviews authors, researchers, and other people who are making a difference in the communities in which they live. Listen on on www.soaringeagleradio.com, WTTP FM in Lima, Ohio, on Global Star Radio Network Saturdays at 7pm EST, on Talk America Radio, and on Worldview Weekend Radio. Questions or comments may be sent to PastorMike@cclohio.org SoaringEagleRadio.com
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