Well, I invite you to turn this morning to Matthew chapter 5, first book New Testament chapter 5, continuing our study in the Beatitudes. Next week we conclude that and this study and possibly continuing into the Sermon on the Mount. I haven't fully decided yet, so I'm thinking either of that or Daniel, so, you know, I'd love to hear what you say to me at the door, okay? But, we're going to give our attention this morning to the first 12 verses, and the text is verse 9. This is the word of the Lord. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And just a couple things, by the way, before I begin. I'm sure when Jesus gave these, there were long pauses. Because these would have been shocking to the original audience. And everyone would have said, well, what about this? And what about that? and Jesus didn't always feel the need to qualify things to lose the intended effect you understand what I'm saying when I say that you could say well I don't really mean this and I'm worried that you're going to understand it this way and this is a possible misunderstanding and I know it says over here this when we do that we lose the intended effect of the spirit in feeling that particular truth and receiving that truth in the moment and that's what it would have been like in these beatitudes especially today's blessed are the peacemakers you could just hear the objections after that well what are you saying well that's where we are today one of the things that i have emphasized in the series on the beatitudes is that jesus is turning all conventional wisdom on its head really turning the religion of the pharisees on its head radically emphasizing things that are so different than sort of the natural way of the human heart or even the natural way we would produce a religion before god by which we think would be acceptable you ever notice how few few people tell us today they might generally say we would be great if everyone lived by the sermon on the mount but they don't get really focused a lot and say it'd just be good if everyone lived by the beatitudes that's true of course but the natural man can't do these things they would not want to do these things to practice the beatitudes even if we had some kind of desire to practice the beatitudes the result would be far different than the desire and that's because they run against the sinful tendencies and impulses of the natural man's heart everything jesus does in these beatitudes in every way and in that case that is especially true with the beatitude that is before us this morning blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god and remember up front jesus is not giving kingdom entrance requirements here jesus is describing the blessedness of the people of the lord as those who've already entered the kingdom he's describing their blessedness in this life he's describing who they are in this life and that's why he moves to salt and light right after this to say you are my salt and light and this is how you flavor and salt and give light to the world in this way well blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god are you tired of all the fighting in the world are you tired of all the separation are you tired of all the the arguing are you tired i mean the way truly romans 3 the way of peace they have not known the way of peace they have not known and yet while we say that we would love to have peace we love the fight now I'm not sure about the Christian school but when I was a kid you know at a public school from after the Christian school I was in both worlds it seemed that whenever there was a fight some guy would yell out at the top of his lung fight and you'd see the herd running to watch the fight we would all want to see who's going to take down who. That was in us as children. We want to see the fight. That's the world we live in. That's what's in our hearts. We love fighting. We love a place of conflict. We love a place of tearing each other up. And yet deep down we say, oh, how wonderful it would be if that were not so. And then we turn on the evening news and that's what we see. the war in front of us think of the challenge um today blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god what i want to do uh this morning is briefly consider with you how peacemaking is generally misunderstood how it was misunderstood in the first century when jesus said it and how it continues to this day to be misunderstood in the kingdom of god and then how we should properly understand peacemaking and then think for a moment about how to practice peacemaking so that's kind of how we're breaking this down today but imagine for a minute who is saying this with me think about who's saying this it is jesus christ the lord of heaven and of earth the one through whom all the worlds were made he stands there as the messiah sent of god and he says to the masses and he says to his disciples specifically blessed are the peacemakers. Listen, if anyone had the right to bring war at that moment, it was the Messiah. If anyone had the right to come and divide and to conquer and to destroy and to bring in the judgment now, it was the Messiah. But what was his message? The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them it's the god of peace hebrews 13 we looked at in that benediction the god of peace will establish your hearts this was the heart of the concern of our lord now this is what made it so difficult when you look at jewish expectations of the messiah we all know they expected the kingdom to come with outward force they expected the kingdom to come and achieve a kind of nationalist salvation of Israel in the place of the Romans. It was time. It was time to redeem Israel. It was time to bring in the war. It was time to divide and to conquer. So they expected of the Messiah a military campaign, didn't they? I mean, this is the divide and warrior conquer of Isaiah. They expected a military campaign when he showed up. That's why they were so confused about the Messiah. They hadn't read the scriptures properly. But the point is, that's why they were confused. They wanted the white, take Revelation 19, the white horse warrior with sword to ride now. And that was all over the Gospels, that problem. That's really the Christian confusion at the moment. It's a big Christian confusion at the moment. It comes down to this issue. I think, really, your eschatology or what you believe about the end times causes great confusion right now wherever people are on that particular issue about the mission of the church at the moment. And it's not something we can really afford to get wrong. That's why it's so troubling. Should we be at war? Well, in what way? Think of the war that's happening before us. And it's an ugly war that's happening in our society. I mean, this is a war going on right now. A big-time culture war that we're right in the middle. You might say, on the one hand, it's a lawless party throwing down all, casting off constraint, throwing things away morally, sexually. It's just lawlessness. And on the other hand, it's supposedly the party of moral values. who looks for a strong man to solve it all. And here we are. Where do we fit into this? See, we're a lot like the Jews. Jesus, it's time. Time for the war. Time to divide and conquer. I mean, this is what they did to Jesus in John 6. When they saw that he fed the 5,000, they said, whoa! If somebody could feed the 5,000 with just a few loaves and fish, that guy could take down the Romans. And so, John 6, remember what they did. They came and they tried to take Jesus by force and make him king. Set up the throne and right now we'll take down the Romans. And then he departed and went away alone. Wanted nothing to do with their coup. Well, that was the moment. It's the moment. He could have established a throne right then and there in Jerusalem. He could have stead it up. All the evils of the world could have been brought to an end. I mean, there were awful abuses in the Roman Empire. There were awful abuses that those people lived through in the Roman Empire. Abortion was not uncommon. I mean, all the way back to Nineveh, they were an aborting people. Jesus in a moment could have stopped it. He's God. I mean, we're really not. We could have brought the war that way. Yep, take up your sword. That was built into the disciples. You know, it's built into us. Remember when that little town in Samaria didn't receive the gospel? And they said, the disciples said to Jesus, do you want us to call down fire from heaven like Elijah and kill these people? and jesus says you don't know what manner of spirit you're of that's what you want to say to a lot of the post-mill reconstructionists today now imagine into all this blessed are the peacemakers i see everyone stops and says oh that just took the wind right out of my sails i need qualification what do you mean blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god my kingdom is not of this world for if it were my servants would fight and they'd make war if it were my citizens would be fighting over this sort of thing we would fight with the sword to stop all the evil in the world, we would bring wrath and judgment on all those who do not believe. Jesus says, no, you're entirely wrong in your outlook on all of it. You see how shocking that is. How shocking that would have been to the Pharisee. What was Jesus saying? What was he describing? Blessed are the peacemakers. What created all the evil in this world? What did? what caused all the evil in this world? What caused this mess? What caused the real problem that we're dealing with to this day? It is this truth that the whole world is at war with God. That's the problem. And Christ had to come and do what? Well, remember what Jesus, when He looked at Jerusalem, said? Oh, Jerusalem. As He weeps, If you had recognized on this day the things that make for peace. What did Jesus do? How was Jesus a peacemaker? Well, He didn't just address symptoms, did He? What did He do? He went to the cross. Now, just listen to that for a minute because we say it so often. what is the message of christianity jesus is the prince of what peace christ suffered peter said leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but committed himself to Him who judges justly, bearing our sins on the cross, He goes on to explain. And this is where we get to the heart of what Jesus is doing here. Jesus was not setting aside justice. Jesus was not making peace with sin. He went after the head of the snake for us. He went after the head of the snake. Satan himself. He went after the root cause of all problems. Christ came into this world, into our present age, to bring and offer peace where? In the most important place. With God. With God. This is what the angels said. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. Behold, we bring you good news and glad tidings of what? Peace. Peace to all men. so that he would take the blows and the beatings, he would bear our sins and his body on the tree, so that the first words out of the tomb, when Jesus comes to speak to the world, was my peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you. He accomplished it. And he was excited to tell us about it. I accomplished it. I gave you peace where you need it most. I did it. It's finished. I took the blows. It was all unjust. I committed it to him in the moment because I had to do that. Now, do you see why he would then speak of a blessedness of his people being different in this life? Do you understand that in the beatitude? He looks at his people and he blesses them. and he says blessed are the peacemakers blessed are you you know what it means it means blessed are you because what you intuitively do as his people and what you are in this world are those who cultivate peace now again i'm not saying we're perfect but this is the character of the believer regenerated and given life entered the kingdom you said what are you talking about you know someone runs me off the road in southern california man you don't know what's going to happen you know but i hate to see that happen some of you who knows what you're doing when you get bumped off the road or when somebody cuts you off right this is innately in us get me back on the basketball court i can be a real bad person well what are we talking about well a lot of people hear this and thinks there should be no certain people hear this think there should be no conflicts over truth doctrine doesn't matter and what they hear is blessed are those who are easygoing and blessed are those who avoid conflict at all costs and blessed are those who seek peace at all costs in this life who say nothing that's what we really need because if we say nothing then everything will go well really does anyone really believe that jesus brought all kinds of separations over truth it was just what naturally happens when you speak truth he said in families some are not going to like it and they're going to divide and they're going to call you names this is what the scriptures say when you speak truth that's our duty those are natural outcomes of divisions that are necessary Jesus is addressing something entirely different what creates all kind of wrong conflicts what creates wrong divisions what creates hatreds Galatians says what creates discord and jealousy and fits of rage and selfish ambition and dissensions and factions and envy what creates that in life well again i think calvin gets to the heart of it if we are patient it will not be our fault if we do not live in harmony and peace with other men why else do men inflict such sufferings upon one another why do people do that why is everyone at odds with one another he asks why are they at war among themselves this is the spiritual eyes you have this is the spiritual eyes you have why do they fight like cats and dogs is it not because they're impatient here's what he says no one can be wrong today and we are so addicted to self-interest that we demand instant gratification if we do not get it we immediately take off the gloves. Then come recrimination, hostility, which turn to mortal hatred in which we kill and murder with no one being spared. We must leave then to cultivate patience and so to lay aside self-interest and reputation that we readily forgive the wrongs done to us. That's how we become peaceable. In other words, what makes the Christian different? What indicates the blessedness of who he is? Someone offends us. Someone hurts us. What do we do? Demand justice now. Demand payment now. Demand it all now. See the impatience? you see what how this connects to christ what is it to be peacemaking who are peacemakers why are god's children different in the world well for anything like jesus so important we're going after the heart of the problem in this life with people listen it's a really important point i hope i'm clear because i'm always afraid i'm never clear We're going after the heart of the problem in people's lives. We're concerned about the bigger issue. We're concerned that people are not at peace with God. And that's why they're doing what they're doing. How radical is this, beloved? If anyone wants to sue you, Sermon on the Mount, and take your shirt off your back, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. See how impatience factors into this? If we've been saved by the blood of Christ, having been justified by faith, we have what? Peace with God. We have a great concern that's different than the world that's put in us by the Spirit. We have a great concern that all people would have this peace. you understand what that does to you from the inside out. It changes your perspective on everything. As with Calvin, we then think about patience. And what happens when people offend us? What happens when our reputations are attacked? What happens when even people lie about us? What happens when we are slandered? Well, if we look like Jesus, we commit it to him who judges justly. It doesn't mean there aren't avenues in the civil world to make things right. That's not what I'm saying. But we don't become quarrelers or angry fighters. We don't become those who demand our rights now because we see in those who offend us and those who are attacking us and those who are doing what they're doing. They're doing it because they're at war with God. what a tragedy for them. And to be a peacemaker is to be like our Lord. Desire for them to have peace with God, which in the course will spill over to peace with man in the right way and in the pure in heart way, in the sincere way, not the phony, hypocritical, fake way. One pastor said, if we see two people at war with one another, with each other. What should happen to us? Well, like the little kid in us, we still run to the fight, you know. That's the gossip train. We instead should feel sorrow and pity for them who are in the danger of hellfire. Wasn't Jesus strong on this? I tell you that anyone who's angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. If you're offering your gift at the altar and therefore remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled, then come to offer your gift. If you see two people unreconciled who are fighting with each other, what is the perspective of the Christian? That is one sad state of affairs before God. You see? Let me make you really uncomfortable today. And this was at the heart of what Paul said in Corinth. Christians were suing each other. And he couldn't believe that believers in the Lord would go to law against each other in the civil realm. So it was some kind of fight over property or something. We're not told the details. But here's what Paul said. It's a failure that you're going to non-believers to judge you. Listen to this. Why don't you rather accept the wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated and you say, whoa, no way? I mean, that makes us recoil. I want my rights and I demand it now. How dare someone offend me? How dare someone do that to me? And a brother at that. You mean I should just take the abuse and accept the injustice? No. You give that to the Lord. You commit it to Him. We're not equalizers. All judgment belongs to Him. Christ says, blessed are the peacemakers, meaning if that's your brother, Christian, it would be better for you to give your brother what they want than to pursue a war with him in court that would bring shame on the body of Christ. Just give it to him. Yeah. There's so much bigger of a purpose. People need the gospel. And you take the wrong, committing it to him rather than bring shame on the body. That's what our Lord taught us, you know, all through the scriptures. The beginning of strife is like letting out water. As from a small break in a dam, first it trickles and then it gushes. Therefore, abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode. One of the seven deadly sins, think of this, there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. God has cursed people who do this and you live and see it everywhere. So what do we do? We view every situation in light of the gospel as peacemakers. I'm not saying this is easy. I'm not saying you're going to do this perfectly. You're going to repent along the way a lot. That's the difference also, isn't it? Someone who trashes me, someone who provokes me, I've got to look at it and the much bigger picture, right, than the immediate result that happens to me. How's peacemaking practice? our difference is as the people of God in our words we bless those who persecute us and bless and do not curse a soft word turns away what wrath so we use our words to bless is there is there somebody really troubling you in life right now I ask that and it could be a sizable portion right now. Someone really troubling you. You're losing sleep over this. Always provoking, always grumpy, always complaining. They're miserable people. How do you look at them? Why are they acting that way? Why are they acting that way always? Well, it's much bigger than you? Do you look at them and say something's broken in their lives? Don't their actions show it? Why are they doing these things to you? Usually it's jealousy. They're miserable. What does it say about them? Martin Lloyd-Jones says, when you observe all the actions of people, to you and take them personally which is what everyone does today as soon as you do that taken in a personal way against you when you take something in a personal way against you immediately he says there will be the war that's what follows but if you can step back which is a lot amount of maturity and wisdom as God's peacemakers. If you can step back and see it in the light of the gospel, I'm not saying this is easy. I've failed many times, beloved. They're doing this. They're provoking me, whatever it might be out of jealousy, anger, to see a deeper problem in their lives before God. That should burden you. Changes everything. I had someone who constantly attacked me early on in ministry and did all kinds of bad things to me on purpose. If I told you, you'd be shocked. And the way I got through all that was to remember that's how I behaved to the Lord. That's just a little glimpse. And it made me pray for that person, love that person. And guess what? That changed. If you change your mind this way, that's already the pathway to peacemaking. Think of someone who's persecuting you. What's the command of Scripture? If your enemy's hungry, feed them. Why are they doing these terrible things to you? Why would the wicked ever want to persecute us? It's to try to justify their own wicked behavior so that they don't have to deal with us. But they can't escape God. I challenge you, who are you in conflict with? Have them to dinner. have them over do something to help that person what Jesus is describing here is what he looked like in the world he looked upon the needy he looked upon the most hostile to him with compassion imagine being and I know you can't do this but as far as you can do it imagine being the son of God being punched in the face being spit upon imagine taking the unjust blows as the king and then saying when all that led to your death right before father forgive them for they know not what they do what he was concerned about was they need peace with you as far as it depends upon you live at peace with everybody says paul and the fruits of the spirit are beautiful their love their joy the burden's off you by the way their peace their patience their kindness their goodness their faithfulness gentleness and self-control there's no law in that that's the evidence of God's blessing in your life and he attaches a promise here to close this out today blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God is there anything more special than that really you know that designation of Hebrews I'll be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters in the new covenant says the lord almighty the god of peace we are blessed to be peacemakers in christ we show ourselves to be his children and he takes delight to call us sons and daughters he the god of heaven and earth calls us his children in his family that we're going to dwell together forever in a place where there's no more of this stuff it's how beautiful when hebrew says remember god is not ashamed to be called their god he is not ashamed jesus to call us his brothers after a short time the day of salvation is over and then we get to go and enjoy a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell forever but until then we are his peacemakers we are his patient in the earth waiting for the coming day of the lord and that patience will be most demonstrated in our lives as we pursue peace with all people as servants of the God of peace. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us with this. We confess how far we've missed the mark. Nonetheless, you have called us blessed and peacemakers of God in this world as salt and light. Help us, O Lord, to be this. And for those, Lord, who are not ultimately reconciled with You and who behave in obnoxious and bitter and complaining and cruel ways, would You change their hearts? But would You change their hearts through the love that we show to them? Help us, for we're weak. This challenges us in many ways. And thank You, O Lord, for loving us in Christ and giving us forgiveness when while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. We were the ones who spit. We were the ones who struck. We were the ones who hated. And we were the ones who received from the mouth of Christ mercy and forgiveness for we did not know what we were doing. Help us, O Lord, now to demonstrate peace in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.