1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,500 in the fifth chapter of Matthew. 2 00:00:07,060 --> 00:00:09,900 We'll be looking at the one verse this morning, verse nine. 3 00:00:13,060 --> 00:00:15,580 I told my wife this morning, I said it's kind of ironic 4 00:00:15,580 --> 00:00:18,440 that I'm preaching, she's laughing, 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:19,900 that I'm preaching on peacemakers 6 00:00:19,900 --> 00:00:21,840 because the morning we had, it was like, 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,700 I don't know that I'm qualified to speak on making peace. 8 00:00:25,580 --> 00:00:27,620 It is, we had, the Lord blessed us. 9 00:00:27,620 --> 00:00:29,140 We had four children, four and a half years, 10 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:31,060 that is a blessing and it creates conflict. 11 00:00:31,060 --> 00:00:34,580 And on Sunday mornings, we woke up, three of the four, 12 00:00:34,580 --> 00:00:36,700 all their sheets need to be changed. 13 00:00:36,700 --> 00:00:39,420 Two of the four, their plates are in the floor at breakfast. 14 00:00:39,420 --> 00:00:41,860 One of the four decided she's a teenager 15 00:00:41,860 --> 00:00:43,260 and hated what she was wearing. 16 00:00:43,260 --> 00:00:46,060 And Sandy and I, at that point, were done, okay? 17 00:00:46,060 --> 00:00:48,940 We were done making peace with our children. 18 00:00:48,940 --> 00:00:50,020 And so I looked at Sandy, I said, 19 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:51,620 honey, I'm supposed to preach on being a peacemaker 20 00:00:51,620 --> 00:00:53,020 this morning, and she laughed. 21 00:00:53,020 --> 00:00:55,280 And I mean, and I think she wanted to cry. 22 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,080 But I mean, you know, so this is something 23 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,180 that I'm going to be preaching to myself, all right? 24 00:01:01,180 --> 00:01:02,860 As I normally do. 25 00:01:02,860 --> 00:01:04,460 There are several times when you're reading 26 00:01:04,460 --> 00:01:07,740 through the scriptures, they are a mirror to us. 27 00:01:07,740 --> 00:01:09,300 And they do expose us. 28 00:01:09,300 --> 00:01:11,180 I was deeply convicted a few weeks ago, 29 00:01:11,180 --> 00:01:14,780 the pure in heart, a selfless, single-minded devotion 30 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:16,700 to Christ and his kingdom. 31 00:01:16,700 --> 00:01:18,780 They're the ones that's gonna see God. 32 00:01:18,780 --> 00:01:20,520 And I've just, the Lord's just been working in my heart. 33 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,520 And then this morning as well, about being a peacemaker. 34 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,180 The scripture, Jesus himself says blessed 35 00:01:28,180 --> 00:01:29,360 are the peacemakers. 36 00:01:30,380 --> 00:01:33,660 For they shall be called the children of God. 37 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,540 They're blessed, and the promise is they're gonna be called 38 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:39,340 the children of God. 39 00:01:39,340 --> 00:01:40,160 Let's pray. 40 00:01:41,540 --> 00:01:43,380 Father, would you help us, Lord, 41 00:01:44,900 --> 00:01:49,900 to understand, Lord, what our responsibility is 42 00:01:50,980 --> 00:01:54,140 as followers of the crucified yet risen one? 43 00:01:54,140 --> 00:01:57,320 I pray, Lord, I beg for your help. 44 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,400 I pray for your spirit's work of conviction. 45 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,080 Lord, I pray for illumination. 46 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:05,960 And Father, I pray for salvation 47 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:07,960 for some that are seated here. 48 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,240 May they see Christ and you open their heart 49 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,480 to allow them to behold his glory and desire that 50 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,180 and to follow him. 51 00:02:18,180 --> 00:02:22,320 Lord God, would you do this for your own glory, Lord? 52 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:27,320 Would you make this sermon an effectual means of grace 53 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,180 in the lives of your people, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 54 00:02:32,980 --> 00:02:36,000 John Piper said this about the Beatitudes. 55 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,680 He said, with each Beatitude, 56 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,140 another nail is driven into a coffin. 57 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,560 Inside the coffin lies the corpse 58 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,680 of a false understanding of salvation. 59 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,600 The false understanding says that a person can be saved 60 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,360 without being changed, 61 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,360 or that a person can inherit eternal life 62 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,560 even if his attitudes and actions are like the attitudes 63 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,380 and actions of unbelievers. 64 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,640 One after the other, the Beatitudes tell us 65 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,640 that the blessings of eternity will be given only to those 66 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:13,260 who have become new creatures. 67 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,280 What he's saying is that through these Beatitudes, 68 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,200 our Lord is revealing the character of one 69 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,400 who is already in the kingdom of God. 70 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,080 This is not how you get into the kingdom. 71 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,080 This is the character of a person who is in the kingdom. 72 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,340 So the Beatitudes, really, they reflect the work of God 73 00:03:34,340 --> 00:03:36,680 that's done in the heart of man. 74 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,280 These Beatitudes are not the works of man. 75 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,380 In fact, they're not commands. 76 00:03:41,380 --> 00:03:44,280 Jesus does not say, go be a peacemaker. 77 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,720 He's simply pronouncing a blessing upon those 78 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,000 who are peacemakers. 79 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,560 And that's why each of these Beatitudes, 80 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,760 there are no imperatives here. 81 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,700 He simply says, blessed are those who. 82 00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:57,320 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 83 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:58,880 Blessed are they who mourn. 84 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:00,220 Blessed are the meek. 85 00:04:00,220 --> 00:04:02,760 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. 86 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:04,240 Blessed are the pure in heart. 87 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,360 Now today, blessed are the peacemakers. 88 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:08,240 These are not commands. 89 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:09,400 You can't do them. 90 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,920 You cannot make yourself pure in heart. 91 00:04:14,100 --> 00:04:17,240 Try as you might, you cannot make yourself meek. 92 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,320 You will never see how spiritually poor you really are 93 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,240 until the Holy Spirit awakens that in you. 94 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,440 All of these are works of the Holy Spirit of God. 95 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,240 But they tell us something. 96 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:30,820 This sermon that Jesus is preaching, 97 00:04:30,820 --> 00:04:33,640 these Beatitudes tell us that heaven awaits 98 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,840 those who by God's grace have been changed, 99 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,960 who have become new creatures. 100 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,760 And it's very clear, if you're not pure in heart, 101 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,600 you won't see God. 102 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,360 If you are not poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven 103 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:48,640 will be shut to you. 104 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:54,020 If you are not merciful, God's merciful, we refuse. 105 00:04:54,020 --> 00:04:56,440 Now that does not then imply the opposite. 106 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,600 It doesn't work conversely. 107 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,180 It does not imply that being merciful, 108 00:05:01,180 --> 00:05:03,600 you earn God's mercy. 109 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,400 That's not what he's saying. 110 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,040 The Beatitudes reveal a heart changed. 111 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,400 A person who from the heart is absolutely merciful 112 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:17,160 in word, in deed, or action, they show that they have 113 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,800 received the mercy of God and have been transformed. 114 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,440 So here what we're seeing as we're making our way through 115 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,000 and probably finish next week or the week after 116 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,680 with the Beatitudes, they reveal a heart that has been 117 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,680 gripped by God's grace and changed by God's grace. 118 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,800 Now today we come to the seventh Beatitude. 119 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,880 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called 120 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:43,940 the sons of God. 121 00:05:43,940 --> 00:05:46,120 Blessed, favored by God. 122 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:47,400 It's a Greek word, mekarias. 123 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,240 It can be happy. 124 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,180 It can mean joyful, but favored by God. 125 00:05:52,180 --> 00:05:54,360 God's blessing is upon you. 126 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:55,720 Upon whom? 127 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,560 Those who pursue peace, maintain peace, 128 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:01,880 and even bring peace to others. 129 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:03,560 If I were to ask you, what is it that man 130 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,080 so desperately wants? 131 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,520 People might answer, oh, pleasure or money or all, 132 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,920 but really what they're seeking after is peace. 133 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,320 What do nations all pay lip service to? 134 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:16,760 Peace. 135 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,600 We all want peace, and yet war is one of the constants 136 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:21,140 of history. 137 00:06:21,140 --> 00:06:22,960 Is the world more at peace today than it was 138 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:23,980 100 years ago? 139 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:26,200 No. 140 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,960 Even with all of our technological and scientific advances, 141 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,320 the world is not a safer place, and in fact, 142 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,440 peace is not more prevalent. 143 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,840 I would say in many ways that the world is actually 144 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,400 a more dangerous place. 145 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:45,400 Today, with nuclear capability, we fear that nuclear arms 146 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,240 will fall into the hands of rogue nations 147 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,220 like Iran or North Korea. 148 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:51,400 Just look at the Middle East. 149 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:52,600 It's on the news every day. 150 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,800 We see the Israeli-Palestine conflict or war. 151 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,360 It threatens to disrupt the entire Middle East 152 00:06:58,360 --> 00:06:59,980 and even bring World War III. 153 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:02,960 Well, just go to Eastern Europe. 154 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,340 Look at Russia and Ukraine. 155 00:07:05,340 --> 00:07:07,720 It's a long war that continues, threatening to spill 156 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,280 over into Europe if a NATO nation gets involved. 157 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,240 Go to South America, and you see nations that are 158 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:16,560 in disintegration, and if you follow the news at all, 159 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,720 and we have good friends in Venezuela, 160 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,940 it is a dumpster fire. 161 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:23,640 The nation is literally unraveling, 162 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:25,800 and people are tremendously suffering. 163 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,320 You go to the Muslim world, and there, 164 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,720 you have the never-ending conflicts between the Sunnis 165 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:31,780 and the Shiites. 166 00:07:32,660 --> 00:07:35,760 What about our own nation, North America? 167 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,760 We're rocked with scandal. 168 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:39,880 Violence covers our streets. 169 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,540 Just this past week, in the heart of the Bible Belt, 170 00:07:42,540 --> 00:07:44,340 another mass shooting took place. 171 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,680 Racial tensions are almost at the tipping point. 172 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,260 Violence covers most of the streets of our major cities. 173 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,580 Suffice it to say, we need peace like never before. 174 00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:00,280 But where is it found? 175 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,480 Well, the Bible opens with a garden. 176 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,560 At this garden, there was peace. 177 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,960 It closes, actually, with a garden, the book of Revelation, 178 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,760 and there's eternal peace there, 179 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,180 and it's promised to all those who know Christ. 180 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:18,140 The scriptures are replete with this word peace. 181 00:08:18,140 --> 00:08:20,320 In fact, in the Old Testament, the word for peace 182 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,500 in Hebrew is shalom. 183 00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:24,240 If you go to Israel, it's a customary greeting. 184 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,740 You would say, hi, shalom, and you would end saying goodbye 185 00:08:26,740 --> 00:08:31,160 with shalom, and it's not merely the absence of conflict. 186 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,160 Of course, that's peace. 187 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,000 But the word shalom is so much more comprehensive than that. 188 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,520 Shalom means wholeness. 189 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,480 I like to think of it as life as God intended. 190 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:45,600 It's a state of fullness. 191 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:46,680 It's a state of perfection. 192 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:47,960 It's what Jesus is doing. 193 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:49,500 He's making all things new, 194 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:52,640 and he's gonna bring shalom back to the entire world. 195 00:08:54,140 --> 00:08:59,140 One of the names for God in Judges 6 is Yahweh Shalom. 196 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,720 God, or the Lord, is peace. 197 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,400 Yahweh Shalom. 198 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,560 What about Isaiah 9 and 6, a messianic title for Christ? 199 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:08,880 He is called what? 200 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,320 The Prince of Peace. 201 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:14,380 So by these titles, we start to understand 202 00:09:14,380 --> 00:09:18,040 that shalom can only come through God. 203 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:19,600 In the beginning, there was shalom. 204 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:21,560 At the end of all things, there'll be shalom. 205 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:24,120 So what happened now? 206 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,240 What happened that destroyed the peace 207 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,160 or the shalom that once existed? 208 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:28,980 I'll tell you what happened. 209 00:09:28,980 --> 00:09:29,820 Genesis 3. 210 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:32,040 Genesis 3 happened. 211 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,380 In Genesis 3, we read the fall of man into sin. 212 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,120 As the old New England primer says, 213 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,400 in Adam's fall, we send all. 214 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,200 Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. 215 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,000 They chose to go their own way. 216 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Sin comes into the world, 217 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,660 bringing death and chaos and destruction. 218 00:09:52,660 --> 00:09:53,920 From that point forward, 219 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,020 mankind is fundamentally changed. 220 00:09:56,020 --> 00:09:57,480 We are all born guilty, 221 00:09:57,480 --> 00:09:59,520 with the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to us. 222 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,280 We're born corrupt from the womb. 223 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,520 And worst of all, 224 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:09,520 mankind is now alienated, separated from the life of God. 225 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,520 Paul writes about this in Ephesians 4. 226 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,060 Having their understanding darkened, 227 00:10:15,060 --> 00:10:17,360 being alienated from the life of God 228 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,240 because of the ignorance that is in them, 229 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,240 because of the blindness of their heart. 230 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:25,600 They're divorced from God. 231 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:26,820 They're divorced from his peace. 232 00:10:26,820 --> 00:10:29,880 Well, what happens when you're divorced from God and peace? 233 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:31,640 Chaos ensued. 234 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,960 And as I said, the nature of man has changed. 235 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,920 He is now self-centered. 236 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,840 He has bent inward on himself. 237 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,120 Everyone, the Bible says, wanting to go his own way 238 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,160 and to do his own thing. 239 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:47,560 Now, just think for a moment. 240 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:49,640 If you have a planet with eight billion people 241 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,560 all wanting to do their own thing in their own way, 242 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:54,060 what do you think can't happen? 243 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:56,740 There will not be peace. 244 00:10:56,740 --> 00:10:58,200 It can't happen. 245 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,560 When self is first, peace will be last. 246 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:03,360 And that's the problem with mankind. 247 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,440 Self is first. 248 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,480 Now, Jesus is not speaking into a vacuum. 249 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,040 There's a whole historical context 250 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,900 with all of these beatitudes. 251 00:11:10,900 --> 00:11:12,920 At this time in history, the word is speaking, 252 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:14,960 the Jewish people, the Jewish nation, 253 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:16,920 was looking for a messiah. 254 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,200 Messianic expectations were very high. 255 00:11:20,060 --> 00:11:22,680 But the problem was they were looking for a political 256 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:25,400 or a military messiah who's gonna come, 257 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,200 deliver them from Roman occupation and Roman oppression. 258 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,400 We even know at this time there's a group called the Zealots. 259 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,360 These were a group of religious zealots. 260 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,840 They wanted nothing more than to see Israel emancipated 261 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:40,340 from Roman occupation. 262 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:43,520 They hated the fact that Rome was in their land 263 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,240 taxing them. 264 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:46,640 They hated it. 265 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:51,640 So they wanted this deliver a messiah, strong, military-like. 266 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,360 He's gonna come, he's gonna overthrow, 267 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:59,080 and maybe even embarrass Rome for what they'd done to them. 268 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,280 Because Rome humiliated Israel at this time. 269 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,880 They longed for the shackles of Roman occupation to be gone. 270 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,060 Exaltation of Israel was God's people at last. 271 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,820 And Jesus comes doing miracles. 272 00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:17,840 But he began to speak of the blessedness of peacemaking. 273 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,600 He said those who make peace and not war 274 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,200 are the sons of God. 275 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,120 He did not come preaching the overthrow of Rome. 276 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:28,360 He never even mentioned it. 277 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,320 So no doubt this message would not have resonated 278 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,040 with many who were there on that day 279 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:34,760 listening to Jesus speak, 280 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,800 especially the religious leaders. 281 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,640 I mean, they were talking about a deliverer. 282 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,160 They knew about the messiah, a coming messiah. 283 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,360 Yes, he would be a conqueror, a mighty warrior, 284 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,140 a military victor, and they would be free at last. 285 00:12:49,140 --> 00:12:54,140 And Jesus, the Christ, he pronounces a blessing 286 00:12:54,580 --> 00:12:58,780 on the people he said who make peace, not war. 287 00:12:58,780 --> 00:13:01,680 Now the context primarily is speaking 288 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,440 of interpersonal relationships, 289 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:05,920 your own personal relationships. 290 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,660 Jesus will go on to say you are to love your enemies. 291 00:13:08,660 --> 00:13:10,420 You are to bless those who curse you. 292 00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:13,620 You are to pray for those who persecute you. 293 00:13:13,620 --> 00:13:16,220 So he's talking about personal insults here. 294 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:21,060 So the ethic of God's kingdom, it is one of love, 295 00:13:21,060 --> 00:13:25,200 forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation. 296 00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:28,980 Now sometimes to understand what Jesus is saying, 297 00:13:28,980 --> 00:13:31,740 it's best to understand what he didn't say. 298 00:13:31,740 --> 00:13:35,300 He never said blessed are the peace lovers. 299 00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:37,340 There is a difference between those who make peace 300 00:13:37,340 --> 00:13:38,860 and those who love peace, 301 00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:41,140 because you can love peace wrongly. 302 00:13:41,140 --> 00:13:44,660 Some love peace so much that they will actually never do 303 00:13:44,660 --> 00:13:46,900 what makes for peace. 304 00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:50,140 William Barclay speaks of this in his commentary. 305 00:13:50,140 --> 00:13:52,860 He said the blessing is on the peacemakers, 306 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:55,020 not necessarily on the peace lovers. 307 00:13:56,100 --> 00:13:58,500 It very often happens that if a man loves peace 308 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:03,420 in the wrong way, he succeeds in making trouble, not peace. 309 00:14:03,420 --> 00:14:06,800 What this beatitude demands is not the passive acceptance 310 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,860 of things because we're afraid of the trouble 311 00:14:08,860 --> 00:14:10,860 of doing anything about them, 312 00:14:10,860 --> 00:14:13,220 but the act of facing of things 313 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:16,500 and the making of peace even when the way to peace 314 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:17,540 is through struggle. 315 00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:21,860 Sometimes there is conflict before there can ever be peace. 316 00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:25,980 So a peacemaker in this sense that's blessed 317 00:14:25,980 --> 00:14:28,340 is one who's promoting God's peace, 318 00:14:28,340 --> 00:14:31,660 shalom in all its forms. 319 00:14:31,660 --> 00:14:34,100 John Calvin says by peacemakers, 320 00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:37,500 he means those who not only seek peace and avoid quarrels 321 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:39,660 as far as life's in their power, 322 00:14:39,660 --> 00:14:42,460 but also who labor to settle differences among others, 323 00:14:42,460 --> 00:14:44,420 who advise all men to live at peace 324 00:14:44,420 --> 00:14:47,220 and take away every occasion of hatred and strife. 325 00:14:48,260 --> 00:14:51,180 This is someone who's both pursuing peace 326 00:14:51,180 --> 00:14:56,180 and promoting peace in all areas by promoting righteousness. 327 00:14:56,500 --> 00:14:59,460 Peace and righteousness are gonna be friends, if you will, 328 00:15:00,340 --> 00:15:01,260 because I mentioned earlier, 329 00:15:01,260 --> 00:15:03,860 what is it that takes away peace? 330 00:15:03,860 --> 00:15:06,900 Why is it that the world is in the shape it is in? 331 00:15:06,900 --> 00:15:08,620 Why do we see chaos? 332 00:15:08,620 --> 00:15:10,180 Because of sin. 333 00:15:10,180 --> 00:15:11,020 That's it. 334 00:15:11,020 --> 00:15:13,300 And I know that's the Sunday School answer, 335 00:15:13,300 --> 00:15:16,460 but the problem is we don't think deeply enough about sin. 336 00:15:16,460 --> 00:15:19,300 See, this is not about political problems. 337 00:15:19,300 --> 00:15:21,020 Regardless of what happens November 5th, 338 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:22,980 whether we have President Harris or President Trump, 339 00:15:22,980 --> 00:15:24,140 and we'll have one of them, 340 00:15:24,140 --> 00:15:27,180 the world is still gonna be in a state of disarray. 341 00:15:27,180 --> 00:15:29,500 Politically, politics can't answer it. 342 00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:31,700 I'm not saying don't vote, do what you want. 343 00:15:31,700 --> 00:15:33,860 The politics isn't the answer to everything. 344 00:15:33,860 --> 00:15:35,500 Economic problems. 345 00:15:35,500 --> 00:15:37,820 You can throw all the money you want, it's not gonna fix it. 346 00:15:37,820 --> 00:15:41,140 Social problems, you can give all the educated people, 347 00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:42,300 and if you educate a bunch of sinners, 348 00:15:42,300 --> 00:15:44,900 you'll just make them smarter in sinning. 349 00:15:44,900 --> 00:15:48,300 All those products, all those problems 350 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:51,460 are the rancid byproducts of sin. 351 00:15:51,460 --> 00:15:52,980 That's it. 352 00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:55,980 Because where does a problem lie? 353 00:15:55,980 --> 00:15:57,100 And if you don't believe this, 354 00:15:57,100 --> 00:15:58,940 you don't understand the gospel. 355 00:15:58,940 --> 00:16:02,340 Where the problem lies is in the heart of man. 356 00:16:02,340 --> 00:16:03,220 This is it. 357 00:16:03,220 --> 00:16:05,100 If you don't believe that, you can't be a Christian 358 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:07,900 because you can't understand the gospel. 359 00:16:07,900 --> 00:16:11,740 We are bent inwardly toward ourselves, 360 00:16:11,740 --> 00:16:15,700 and a planet full of sinful, self-centered people 361 00:16:15,700 --> 00:16:18,740 will produce violence and conflict and wars, 362 00:16:18,740 --> 00:16:21,180 which is exactly what we see today. 363 00:16:21,180 --> 00:16:23,260 We are not surprised at what's happening. 364 00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:26,780 So if sin is the problem, then what's the answer? 365 00:16:27,660 --> 00:16:30,540 The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 366 00:16:30,540 --> 00:16:32,340 What can change the heart of man? 367 00:16:32,340 --> 00:16:35,420 Only the grace of God. 368 00:16:35,420 --> 00:16:38,940 The only remedy for man is to get a new heart, 369 00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:41,940 and that's something only God can do. 370 00:16:42,940 --> 00:16:44,780 Now what does it mean not, 371 00:16:44,780 --> 00:16:46,980 what does it not mean to be a pacemaker, I should say? 372 00:16:46,980 --> 00:16:48,740 It's an awkward question, isn't it? 373 00:16:48,740 --> 00:16:51,580 What does it not mean to be a peacemaker? 374 00:16:51,580 --> 00:16:54,020 It's not peace at any cost. 375 00:16:54,020 --> 00:16:56,380 It's not a strict pacifist attitude. 376 00:16:57,380 --> 00:17:00,380 There's Christian sex, I think the Quakers and the Shakers, 377 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:01,820 and you have extreme pacifists. 378 00:17:01,820 --> 00:17:03,420 It's not what he's talking about here, 379 00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:06,460 because sometimes peace can only come through conflict. 380 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:07,780 Jesus said in Matthew 10, 381 00:17:07,780 --> 00:17:09,860 do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. 382 00:17:09,860 --> 00:17:12,620 I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. 383 00:17:13,740 --> 00:17:16,580 Now with everything, we need to understand this, don't we? 384 00:17:16,580 --> 00:17:19,300 In Isaiah 9, 6, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, 385 00:17:19,300 --> 00:17:21,660 and he just said in Matthew 10, I'm not bringing peace, 386 00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:23,580 I've come to bring a sword. 387 00:17:23,580 --> 00:17:25,140 So what's he talking about here? 388 00:17:25,140 --> 00:17:27,500 In John 14, verse 27, he says, 389 00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:30,420 my peace I leave with you. 390 00:17:30,420 --> 00:17:33,900 So if he's the Prince of Peace and he leaves peace, 391 00:17:33,900 --> 00:17:36,420 how in the world is he coming with a sword? 392 00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:41,500 Well, first, let me say clearly, this is not a literal sword. 393 00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:44,460 When our Lord was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, 394 00:17:44,460 --> 00:17:48,100 and Peter drew his sword, what did the Lord tell him to do? 395 00:17:48,100 --> 00:17:49,540 He said, put it up, Peter. 396 00:17:49,540 --> 00:17:51,540 He said, put your sword in this place, 397 00:17:51,540 --> 00:17:54,940 for all who take the sword will die by the sword. 398 00:17:55,820 --> 00:17:58,580 Jesus isn't interested in military conquest. 399 00:17:58,580 --> 00:18:00,220 So now what do we have to understand? 400 00:18:00,220 --> 00:18:02,180 The peace that Christ came to bring 401 00:18:02,180 --> 00:18:04,500 is a peace between God and man. 402 00:18:06,140 --> 00:18:08,220 So here's how this sword works. 403 00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:13,220 Those who reject Christ, he's the only way of salvation, 404 00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:14,940 that's it, there's only one way, 405 00:18:14,940 --> 00:18:17,660 they will find themselves perpetually, 406 00:18:17,660 --> 00:18:20,180 continually at war with God. 407 00:18:21,260 --> 00:18:22,580 So let me say it very clearly, 408 00:18:22,580 --> 00:18:26,780 you cannot have peace with God apart from Jesus Christ. 409 00:18:26,780 --> 00:18:28,980 It doesn't work. 410 00:18:28,980 --> 00:18:32,580 So in that sense, there is a division in humanity. 411 00:18:33,540 --> 00:18:36,140 Those who have come to Christ for salvation, 412 00:18:36,140 --> 00:18:37,980 and those who have not. 413 00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:39,060 What does a sword do? 414 00:18:39,060 --> 00:18:41,940 A sword divides, a sword severs, if you will. 415 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:46,500 So the sword that Christ brings severs and divides 416 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:50,260 the children of God from the children of the devil. 417 00:18:50,260 --> 00:18:52,060 It's that simple. 418 00:18:52,060 --> 00:18:55,420 Because the peace that God is bringing to this earth 419 00:18:55,420 --> 00:18:57,660 is a peace that is based upon truth, 420 00:18:57,660 --> 00:19:00,900 and the sword of Christ divides on truth. 421 00:19:02,140 --> 00:19:04,460 So if we're gonna be peacemakers that are blessed, 422 00:19:04,460 --> 00:19:08,140 we have to be willing to confront those living in error 423 00:19:08,140 --> 00:19:12,420 and living in darkness with the truth of God and his gospel. 424 00:19:12,420 --> 00:19:15,580 And it is not always easy, it takes great courage at times 425 00:19:15,580 --> 00:19:18,260 to tell people the truth that they don't want to hear. 426 00:19:19,540 --> 00:19:20,940 But we must make peace. 427 00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:23,460 But you can't love it so much 428 00:19:23,460 --> 00:19:26,580 that we are tempted to deny or compromise the truth. 429 00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:29,420 Some people think peace is just no conflict. 430 00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:32,980 Let's just let everyone get along and live in their truth. 431 00:19:32,980 --> 00:19:34,620 That's a false peace. 432 00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:37,300 Now let me say what it's not as well. 433 00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:41,420 Some people just by nature are confrontational. 434 00:19:41,420 --> 00:19:43,060 They just like it, they like to speak in their mind, 435 00:19:43,060 --> 00:19:44,820 they're bold, they're brash. 436 00:19:44,820 --> 00:19:47,420 But they're not necessarily looking for a solution. 437 00:19:47,420 --> 00:19:50,660 They're not making peace, they're stirring up more conflict. 438 00:19:50,660 --> 00:19:53,660 But then there's others, they're never willing 439 00:19:53,660 --> 00:19:56,580 to confront anyone with anything at all. 440 00:19:57,460 --> 00:20:00,060 They're very peaceable by nature. 441 00:20:00,060 --> 00:20:03,260 But that's not making peace, that's actually cowardice. 442 00:20:04,260 --> 00:20:05,700 If you're going to be a peacemaker, 443 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:07,620 you must be willing to confront people 444 00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:08,980 with the truth of God. 445 00:20:10,020 --> 00:20:12,460 They're willing to tell others of what? 446 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:16,100 The dreadful, awful reality of their sin and rebellion. 447 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:17,260 And I'm not saying this has to be 448 00:20:17,260 --> 00:20:19,660 the first conversation out of your mouth. 449 00:20:19,660 --> 00:20:22,260 But you have to show that they are at war with God. 450 00:20:23,140 --> 00:20:24,780 And then you have to show them the answer 451 00:20:24,780 --> 00:20:28,300 that lies in the Lord Jesus. 452 00:20:28,300 --> 00:20:30,060 Martin Lloyd-Jones said this, 453 00:20:31,060 --> 00:20:32,900 it is not a matter, this peacemaking, 454 00:20:32,900 --> 00:20:35,740 is not a matter of natural disposition. 455 00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:37,620 It does not mean an easygoing person. 456 00:20:37,620 --> 00:20:40,420 It does not mean you're a peace at any price person. 457 00:20:40,420 --> 00:20:41,820 It does not mean the sort of man 458 00:20:41,820 --> 00:20:44,060 who says anything to avoid trouble. 459 00:20:44,060 --> 00:20:47,460 These easygoing, peace at any price people 460 00:20:47,460 --> 00:20:52,460 are often lacking in a sense of justice and righteousness. 461 00:20:52,460 --> 00:20:56,220 They do not stand where they should stand, they are flabby. 462 00:20:56,220 --> 00:20:57,860 They appear to be nice. 463 00:20:57,860 --> 00:20:58,980 And if that's what you want friends, 464 00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:00,980 you are way off target here. 465 00:21:00,980 --> 00:21:03,260 But if the whole world ran on such principles 466 00:21:03,260 --> 00:21:06,540 and by such people, it would be even worse than it is today. 467 00:21:07,420 --> 00:21:11,140 Your true peacemaker is not an appeaser as we say today. 468 00:21:11,140 --> 00:21:14,180 The mere avoidance of war does not make peace. 469 00:21:14,180 --> 00:21:18,180 Because the peace that Jesus speaks of 470 00:21:18,180 --> 00:21:22,780 is a peace concerned with righteousness. 471 00:21:22,780 --> 00:21:26,020 It's not a matter of a lack of conflict, 472 00:21:26,020 --> 00:21:30,220 but rather the presence of righteousness 473 00:21:30,220 --> 00:21:33,700 that will determine true and lasting peace. 474 00:21:34,820 --> 00:21:35,860 So we're called to do this. 475 00:21:35,860 --> 00:21:37,420 We're called to be peacemakers. 476 00:21:37,420 --> 00:21:40,340 We desire to continue peace where it is present 477 00:21:40,340 --> 00:21:44,260 and wherever it is absent, we want to restore it. 478 00:21:44,260 --> 00:21:45,580 But if you're ever going to do that, 479 00:21:45,580 --> 00:21:48,180 you must have experienced peace in your own soul. 480 00:21:49,260 --> 00:21:51,540 You must be at peace with God. 481 00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:53,540 You must have experienced divine peace 482 00:21:53,540 --> 00:21:56,460 before you can ever try to help anyone else have it. 483 00:21:56,460 --> 00:21:58,500 And how do you have peace with God? 484 00:22:00,180 --> 00:22:03,180 By faith in Christ Jesus, his beloved son. 485 00:22:04,300 --> 00:22:08,500 Romans 5.1, therefore having been justified by faith, 486 00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:11,820 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 487 00:22:12,980 --> 00:22:16,220 Again, Lloyd-Jones says, before one can be a peacemaker, 488 00:22:16,220 --> 00:22:19,180 one really must be entirely delivered from self, 489 00:22:19,180 --> 00:22:21,460 from self-interest and from self-concern. 490 00:22:22,740 --> 00:22:24,700 Well, how are you delivered from self? 491 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:31,460 By seeing your spiritual poverty and mourning over your sin, 492 00:22:32,340 --> 00:22:35,020 becoming humble and meek before God, 493 00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:38,660 whereby you become hungry and thirsty for righteousness. 494 00:22:38,660 --> 00:22:42,460 Because you are meek, you begin to become merciful to others 495 00:22:42,460 --> 00:22:47,460 and your heart is pure and all this is offered at salvation. 496 00:22:49,060 --> 00:22:51,580 So how are you delivered from self? 497 00:22:52,780 --> 00:22:55,780 You have to be a different self than what you were born. 498 00:22:55,780 --> 00:22:59,260 You have to be born again, excuse me, by God's grace. 499 00:23:00,380 --> 00:23:02,740 And what happens at the new birth? 500 00:23:02,740 --> 00:23:05,140 You are now reconciled to God, 501 00:23:05,140 --> 00:23:06,460 but that's not the only thing, church, 502 00:23:06,460 --> 00:23:08,820 and this is where we might be missing the point. 503 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:10,460 We are reconciled to God personally 504 00:23:10,460 --> 00:23:13,340 and we are given a ministry of reconciliation. 505 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:15,780 We serve a king, right? 506 00:23:15,780 --> 00:23:17,340 We're talking about the kingdom. 507 00:23:17,340 --> 00:23:18,500 Who is the king of this kingdom? 508 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:19,540 It is Jesus. 509 00:23:19,540 --> 00:23:21,540 Jesus is king, it is his kingdom, 510 00:23:21,540 --> 00:23:24,940 and you and I are ambassadors for King Jesus. 511 00:23:24,940 --> 00:23:26,140 What does an ambassador do? 512 00:23:26,140 --> 00:23:29,460 We go out and proclaim lasting eternal peace 513 00:23:29,460 --> 00:23:31,180 being made possible by him. 514 00:23:31,180 --> 00:23:33,020 Now that's not my words, that's Paul's words 515 00:23:33,020 --> 00:23:34,260 in 2 Corinthians 5. 516 00:23:35,460 --> 00:23:39,060 All things are of God who has reconciled us to himself 517 00:23:39,060 --> 00:23:41,420 through Jesus Christ, amen. 518 00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:45,540 And he has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 519 00:23:45,540 --> 00:23:49,140 That is that God was in Christ 520 00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:52,340 reconciling the world to himself, how'd he do that? 521 00:23:52,340 --> 00:23:55,380 Not imputing their trespasses to them 522 00:23:55,380 --> 00:23:58,940 and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation, 523 00:23:58,940 --> 00:23:59,780 the gospel. 524 00:23:59,780 --> 00:24:01,620 Reconciliation, the gospel. 525 00:24:01,620 --> 00:24:06,180 Now then, you and I, we are ambassadors for Christ. 526 00:24:06,180 --> 00:24:09,180 As though God were pleading through us, 527 00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:14,180 we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 528 00:24:15,700 --> 00:24:19,540 For he made him who knew no sin, that is Christ, 529 00:24:19,540 --> 00:24:22,260 to be sin for us that we might become 530 00:24:22,260 --> 00:24:26,700 or we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 531 00:24:28,340 --> 00:24:29,220 What do we mean? 532 00:24:29,220 --> 00:24:30,900 What do we mean by reconciliation? 533 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,060 Two parties that were odds, they come together, 534 00:24:33,060 --> 00:24:36,380 brought back into a harmonious relationship. 535 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:39,460 That here, in this context, it means man is restored back 536 00:24:39,460 --> 00:24:40,620 to divine favor. 537 00:24:40,620 --> 00:24:42,740 All the Adam lost in Genesis 3, 538 00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:44,780 Christ is regained at the cross. 539 00:24:45,820 --> 00:24:48,340 Now man can do nothing to reconcile himself. 540 00:24:49,420 --> 00:24:52,340 God has acted to reconcile him. 541 00:24:52,340 --> 00:24:56,060 God has acted, man receives the benefit. 542 00:24:56,060 --> 00:25:00,780 What is this ministry of reconciliation? 543 00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:01,620 Here it is. 544 00:25:02,620 --> 00:25:04,660 You and I go out and we tell the world, 545 00:25:04,660 --> 00:25:07,300 we tell all nations that God has made peace 546 00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:08,660 with them in Christ. 547 00:25:09,740 --> 00:25:11,940 Yes, he's made peace with them in Christ. 548 00:25:11,940 --> 00:25:14,020 Man can't make peace with God. 549 00:25:14,020 --> 00:25:15,340 We often say, go make your peace with God. 550 00:25:15,340 --> 00:25:17,700 You can't, you're unable. 551 00:25:17,700 --> 00:25:19,020 That's God's work. 552 00:25:19,900 --> 00:25:22,780 And he did it in his son. 553 00:25:22,780 --> 00:25:25,140 You can't come to God on your own. 554 00:25:25,140 --> 00:25:27,700 You're lost and blind and hard-hearted. 555 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:31,340 So this coming to Christ, God has to do it. 556 00:25:31,340 --> 00:25:36,220 So it's not what will you do, but will you believe? 557 00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:38,860 Will you believe that Christ is the only hope for sinners? 558 00:25:38,860 --> 00:25:42,300 He's the only way to be reconciled to God? 559 00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:45,300 Will you confess Jesus Christ is the only hope 560 00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:47,100 and source of your salvation? 561 00:25:48,300 --> 00:25:51,140 Will you rest in what God has done for sinners? 562 00:25:51,140 --> 00:25:55,980 Or will you, like most people, choose to go your own way? 563 00:25:55,980 --> 00:25:58,380 God is a peacemaker. 564 00:25:58,380 --> 00:26:01,380 Therefore, his children are peacemakers. 565 00:26:02,660 --> 00:26:05,460 But being a peacemaker costs us something. 566 00:26:05,460 --> 00:26:08,660 For Jesus to bring us to be at peace with God, 567 00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:10,580 it cost him his life. 568 00:26:10,580 --> 00:26:13,860 Colossians 1.20, having made peace 569 00:26:13,860 --> 00:26:16,740 through the blood of his cross. 570 00:26:18,140 --> 00:26:20,580 This gospel message, it's going to do something. 571 00:26:20,580 --> 00:26:22,500 It'll be peace, it'll bring peace 572 00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:25,300 if you embrace the message of the cross. 573 00:26:26,740 --> 00:26:30,140 But in others, it provokes anger and discord 574 00:26:30,980 --> 00:26:33,060 and even repulsion, if you will. 575 00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:37,740 But friends, if you're not willingly able 576 00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:40,700 or willing to lovingly confront people about their sin, 577 00:26:41,820 --> 00:26:43,780 you can't be a peacemaker. 578 00:26:43,780 --> 00:26:47,220 True peace and sin can't coexist. 579 00:26:47,220 --> 00:26:49,620 Peace lives with righteousness. 580 00:26:49,620 --> 00:26:52,900 God's peace must come through God's way. 581 00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:54,300 Ephesians 2. 582 00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:57,140 But now in Christ Jesus, do you see a repeated pattern here? 583 00:26:57,140 --> 00:27:01,180 In Christ Jesus, through Christ Jesus, in him. 584 00:27:01,180 --> 00:27:06,180 You who once were far off, we've been brought near. 585 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:09,140 God brings us near him. 586 00:27:09,140 --> 00:27:10,180 How? 587 00:27:10,180 --> 00:27:15,180 By the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace. 588 00:27:15,180 --> 00:27:19,180 What happens to those who've experienced this? 589 00:27:20,580 --> 00:27:22,900 If you know God's grace and you've experienced his mercy, 590 00:27:22,900 --> 00:27:26,180 you are merciful and compassionate toward others 591 00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:30,820 because you remember, I was once alienated from God. 592 00:27:30,820 --> 00:27:33,100 I get how they can do it. 593 00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:35,980 You start to see lost people not as others, 594 00:27:35,980 --> 00:27:38,140 but rather as a captive of themselves, 595 00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:41,380 a captive of Satan, and therefore you have mercy 596 00:27:41,380 --> 00:27:42,780 and pity upon him. 597 00:27:42,780 --> 00:27:44,220 What's your motive? 598 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:47,460 So that people think you're such a nice guy? 599 00:27:47,460 --> 00:27:49,900 Now it's for the glory of God. 600 00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:53,660 Those whom God has called to peace, 601 00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:57,140 he also then calls them to make peace. 602 00:27:58,100 --> 00:28:01,700 Like all beatitudes, there's a promise of reward. 603 00:28:01,700 --> 00:28:02,780 Look at the text. 604 00:28:02,780 --> 00:28:04,100 What's the promise? 605 00:28:04,100 --> 00:28:06,700 For they shall be called the sons of God 606 00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:07,980 or the children of God. 607 00:28:08,980 --> 00:28:10,900 Now notice what it does not say. 608 00:28:10,900 --> 00:28:14,900 Being a peacemaker is not the way to become a son of God. 609 00:28:14,900 --> 00:28:19,900 Rather, they are recognized as the sons of God. 610 00:28:19,900 --> 00:28:21,300 What is our Lord saying here? 611 00:28:22,620 --> 00:28:25,380 God's children are peacemakers. 612 00:28:26,340 --> 00:28:27,700 It's not how you become a son. 613 00:28:27,700 --> 00:28:29,420 So how do you become a son then? 614 00:28:30,420 --> 00:28:31,980 John 1-12. 615 00:28:31,980 --> 00:28:34,180 But as many as received him, that is Christ, 616 00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:36,860 to them he gave the right, that is the authority, 617 00:28:36,860 --> 00:28:39,460 to become the children of a God. 618 00:28:39,460 --> 00:28:40,300 Who is that? 619 00:28:40,300 --> 00:28:43,300 To those who believe in his name. 620 00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:44,140 It's believing. 621 00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:45,540 Galatians 3-26. 622 00:28:45,540 --> 00:28:47,460 For you all are sons of God. 623 00:28:47,460 --> 00:28:48,300 How? 624 00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:51,780 Through faith in Christ Jesus. 625 00:28:51,780 --> 00:28:53,700 That's how you get to become a son. 626 00:28:53,700 --> 00:28:55,580 But if that's the message you embraced, 627 00:28:55,580 --> 00:28:56,820 you now know mercy. 628 00:28:56,820 --> 00:28:57,660 You've experienced it. 629 00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:00,020 The spirit of God is doing the work in you, 630 00:29:00,020 --> 00:29:02,260 causing these things to be produced in you. 631 00:29:03,580 --> 00:29:04,980 I quoted John Piper at the beginning. 632 00:29:04,980 --> 00:29:06,460 Let me quote him here. 633 00:29:06,460 --> 00:29:09,460 God is a peace-loving God and a peacemaking God. 634 00:29:09,460 --> 00:29:11,660 The whole history of redemption, 635 00:29:11,660 --> 00:29:14,140 climaxing in the death and resurrection of Jesus 636 00:29:14,140 --> 00:29:18,100 is God's strategy to bring about a just and lasting peace 637 00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:20,380 between rebel man and himself. 638 00:29:20,380 --> 00:29:23,140 And then between man and his fellow man, 639 00:29:23,140 --> 00:29:27,100 God's children have the character of their father. 640 00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:28,620 What he loves, they love. 641 00:29:28,620 --> 00:29:30,540 What he pursues, they pursue. 642 00:29:30,540 --> 00:29:32,420 You can know his children by whether they're willing 643 00:29:32,420 --> 00:29:35,180 to make sacrifices for peace the way that God did. 644 00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:37,020 It's just a hallmark. 645 00:29:37,020 --> 00:29:38,580 It's a characteristic of his children. 646 00:29:38,580 --> 00:29:40,380 It's a characteristic of his children. 647 00:29:41,260 --> 00:29:42,980 But look at the blessing. 648 00:29:42,980 --> 00:29:44,860 We are promised the glorious blessing 649 00:29:44,860 --> 00:29:47,740 of eternal sonship in the eternal kingdom. 650 00:29:49,460 --> 00:29:51,820 People are gonna recognize us by our desire 651 00:29:51,820 --> 00:29:52,980 to make peace with all people. 652 00:29:52,980 --> 00:29:55,340 And this goes into all relationships. 653 00:29:55,340 --> 00:29:57,020 This doesn't mean just simply telling people 654 00:29:57,020 --> 00:29:59,460 about Christ and the peace that's offered there. 655 00:29:59,460 --> 00:30:01,140 The true peacemaker seeks harmony 656 00:30:01,140 --> 00:30:04,180 wherever he is in all relationships. 657 00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:05,860 He builds bridges. 658 00:30:05,860 --> 00:30:07,340 He seeks reconciliation. 659 00:30:07,340 --> 00:30:09,660 He promotes forgiveness. 660 00:30:09,660 --> 00:30:12,260 He seeks harmony with all people. 661 00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:13,100 So what does that mean? 662 00:30:13,100 --> 00:30:15,780 It means as Christians, you and I are called 663 00:30:15,780 --> 00:30:18,260 to live in peace with those inside the faith 664 00:30:18,260 --> 00:30:20,220 as well as those outside the faith. 665 00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:23,980 In just a moment, you and I will come 666 00:30:23,980 --> 00:30:25,220 to the table of the Lord, 667 00:30:26,180 --> 00:30:29,120 where we recognize we are one body in Christ. 668 00:30:30,180 --> 00:30:32,420 We must not, church, be the people 669 00:30:32,420 --> 00:30:34,780 who claim to enjoy peace with God 670 00:30:34,780 --> 00:30:36,820 and yet continue to live in hostility 671 00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:37,980 with our fellow brothers. 672 00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:40,640 It's incongruous. 673 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,260 You can't do it. 674 00:30:42,260 --> 00:30:46,260 Wherever there is relational conflict, 675 00:30:46,260 --> 00:30:48,880 Christians must learn don't operate 676 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:50,620 by your fluctuating emotions, 677 00:30:50,620 --> 00:30:53,940 but rather by the promises of God. 678 00:30:53,940 --> 00:30:57,260 The child of God, the son of God, 679 00:30:57,260 --> 00:30:59,100 seeks to be the agent of peace 680 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:00,780 even when it costs us something. 681 00:31:01,660 --> 00:31:03,860 And most of the time, it costs us our pride. 682 00:31:03,860 --> 00:31:06,460 Let me give you one last thing here. 683 00:31:07,460 --> 00:31:09,560 The truth is you can long for peace. 684 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:10,460 You can work for peace. 685 00:31:10,460 --> 00:31:12,900 You can seek after peace and yet it may not come. 686 00:31:14,620 --> 00:31:17,460 You are not responsible for achieving peace. 687 00:31:17,460 --> 00:31:19,780 You are responsible for trying. 688 00:31:19,780 --> 00:31:23,500 Romans 12, 18, if it is possible, sometimes it's not. 689 00:31:23,500 --> 00:31:25,340 As much as depends on you, 690 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,640 live peaceably with all men. 691 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,860 Sometimes it is an impossibility, 692 00:31:31,860 --> 00:31:34,940 but it must be impossible because others are unwilling, 693 00:31:34,940 --> 00:31:37,400 not because you are unwilling. 694 00:31:39,020 --> 00:31:39,860 So now what? 695 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:42,560 The final minute here. 696 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:43,400 Now what? 697 00:31:44,660 --> 00:31:45,840 Acknowledge your sin. 698 00:31:47,340 --> 00:31:48,380 Don't excuse it. 699 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:51,780 Acknowledge your unforgiveness or if there's bitterness, 700 00:31:51,780 --> 00:31:54,500 your disobedience in this regard. 701 00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:56,580 Acknowledge where you're still in conflict 702 00:31:56,580 --> 00:31:58,220 with other people. 703 00:31:58,220 --> 00:32:00,960 Let me just say this by way of reminder. 704 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,340 If you can't bring reconciliation just the two of y'all, 705 00:32:03,340 --> 00:32:05,820 seek out a third party if it seems impossible. 706 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:07,700 It's that important. 707 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,040 So we can come to the Lord. 708 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:10,940 He already knows. 709 00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:13,220 Confess our sin, repent of it before the Lord. 710 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:15,260 Lay your pride at His feet. 711 00:32:16,340 --> 00:32:19,780 And as you do so, you receive the pardon and cleansing 712 00:32:19,780 --> 00:32:21,360 that is yours in Christ. 713 00:32:22,420 --> 00:32:24,340 We're gonna look to Christ. 714 00:32:24,340 --> 00:32:26,060 We're gonna remember Him. 715 00:32:26,060 --> 00:32:27,780 We're gonna remember His life and His death 716 00:32:27,780 --> 00:32:29,820 and His resurrection for sinners like us. 717 00:32:29,820 --> 00:32:32,940 And you know what happens when we do that? 718 00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:35,500 We're filled with praise and gratitude 719 00:32:36,380 --> 00:32:40,620 for all that God has done for us in Christ. 720 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:43,260 Close with this final quote from Chris Miller 721 00:32:43,260 --> 00:32:44,100 and this is it. 722 00:32:44,940 --> 00:32:47,540 God is the ultimate peacemaker 723 00:32:47,540 --> 00:32:49,700 who since the fall has sought to make peace 724 00:32:49,700 --> 00:32:51,680 between humanity and Himself, 725 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,280 even if it cost Him His beloved Son. 726 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,300 Likewise, the reconciliation between people groups, 727 00:32:57,300 --> 00:32:58,560 that's all ethnic groups, 728 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,620 will culminate when God unites people from every nation, 729 00:33:01,620 --> 00:33:04,020 tribe and tongue in the New Jerusalem, 730 00:33:04,020 --> 00:33:06,500 even so make it a reality, Lord. 731 00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:10,260 Those who participate in this kind of peacemaking 732 00:33:10,260 --> 00:33:13,460 are aptly called sons of God. 733 00:33:14,300 --> 00:33:16,940 Blessed are the peacemakers, 734 00:33:16,940 --> 00:33:19,660 for they shall be called the children of God. 735 00:33:19,660 --> 00:33:20,500 Let's pray. 736 00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:24,460 Father, thank you for your word. 737 00:33:24,460 --> 00:33:27,000 And Lord, I want to be here, Lord, 738 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,940 leading the people that you have placed 739 00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:31,060 under my stewarding responsibility 740 00:33:31,060 --> 00:33:57,340 in confession as well, Lord.