[0:00] We're going to begin our service this morning singing from Psalm 96. Psalm 96 from the beginning to verse 7.
[0:12] O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God. To God sing, bless his name, show still his saving health abroad. Among the heathen nations his glory do declare, and unto all the people show his works at one preside.
[0:32] For great's the Lord, and greatly he is to be magnified. Yea, worthy to be feared is he, above all gods beside. For all the gods are idols done, which blinded nations fear.
[0:48] But our God is the Lord, by whom the heavens created were. Great honour is before his face, and majesty divine. Strength is within his holy place, and there doth beauty shine.
[1:03] Do ye ascribe unto the Lord, of people every tribe. Glory do ye unto the Lord, and mighty power ascribe. And so on.
[1:16] We can sing these verses of Psalm 96, verses 1 through to 7. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God.
[1:47] To God's angels, sing all the earth to God.
[1:57] O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God.
[2:12] His glory to the Lamb Unto all the people show His works that wondrous are For praise the Lord And greatly He Is to be magnifying He'll only to be feared Is He
[3:12] The blood for God's beside For all the gods the high daughter With trident nations here The dear God is the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the heavens created where Great honor is before His face, that majesty divine, that this with endless holy place
[4:31] America's beauty shine, could ye ascribe unto the Lord, of people every time, glory to ye unto the Lord, and mighty power of the sky.
[5:20] Let's join together in prayer. Let's pray. Eternal and ever blessed God, enable us to compose ourselves as we enter into the presence of our God who is most holy, the one who is wise and powerful, the one who sits between the jerrybun, who is all glorious, and who is worthy to be in receipt of our worship, our undivided attention and affection, the one to whom this world belongs, and all that is within the same.
[6:11] You are its creator, you are its upholder and sustainer. You are the one who is to be magnified and praised.
[6:23] Within the songs and within the hymns of your creatures, we acknowledge that your word speaks of the very creation, being gathered together in a eulogy of praise, even in fulfilling their role within the natural realm.
[6:51] and we give thanks that sin has not entered into the experience of the creation in that respect.
[7:04] Nevertheless, it is still under the curse of God, because when sin entered into the world, it affected all of the natural environment.
[7:24] When we see that in the way that there is disruption and there is dissolution, there are evidences of the world in which we live, being on a path that is headlong to destruction.
[7:47] And yet we cannot interpret that as being something that is going to occur by reason of man's sinfulness, in the sense that man will be the author of its destruction.
[8:08] You are the one in whose hand this destruction is found. You have promised the dissolution of all the elements, that the day will come when the earth will melt with a fervent heat, when this world as it is known will be no more, and in its place you will have a new creation wherein dwelleth righteousness.
[8:36] We cannot comprehend of such a creation. It is so far removed from anything that we experience in this world at this time, our imagination, unless it be sanctified, cannot contemplate the wonder of a resurrected glory, even as it is in the passion of your Son, one who was without sin, who came into this world and who lived in the world, and who succumbed to the ravages of sin as a sin-bader, even though he himself was without sin.
[9:20] And yet he endured the penalty for the breaches made by mankind. And we give thanks that he did so willingly, and he did so on our behalf.
[9:36] And he suffered death, even the curse of death of the cross. He was buried and rose again on the third day. And there was a resurrected glory that belonged to him.
[9:51] There is an ascended glory that belongs to him. But such is his relationship with his church, that all who are in him will enjoy that glory that is his.
[10:08] They will be part of that glory. So he will have a greater glory still when the world that is his will be brought once and for all under his subjection.
[10:23] And those who belong to him in that world will be brought to be one with him in eternity, enjoying the privileges that are afforded his people for whom he came and for whom he died.
[10:40] We give thanks that in the midst of this world in which we live at the present that knows much of the institutes and the changes that sin has brought into the experience of all mankind.
[10:55] We give thanks that the day will come when there will be a certainty and an assurance out of that certainty that all things will remain as you have ordained.
[11:09] We pray that you bless your word to us today in this place and every other place where they gather in your name to worship and to wait upon you.
[11:20] We pray for a day of your power, a day when you bear your arm and touch the hearts and the minds of those who are under your word, even those who have deliberately separated themselves off from the means of grace, who have wonderfully chosen to disregard the privilege of knowing that Christ is the Saviour of sinners.
[11:46] We pray for mercy for all, that we may know for ourselves with that assurance that as you peoples, that Christ encourage us all to come to him, that none would perish but have everlasting life.
[12:03] So pour out your spirit upon us to that end, because I pray in people, those who are your people, may they pray for themselves and others that they may know the same salvation that they have been able to enjoy through Christ.
[12:20] May those who have yet to experience it know the wisdom of pleading before a throne of grace for mercy and seeking the face of Christ as the face of one who is the altogether lovely one of his people.
[12:37] We pray your blessing on all that is done in your name in this place, be it amongst young or old. Lord, we ask for your blessing upon all the membership, those who cannot be with us for whatever reason.
[12:50] We are aware of so many amongst us who are unwell, some seriously ill, some suffering because of Covid or the aftermath of it in some way.
[13:02] We pray that you would have been able to come to us and have been able to come to us and be able to come to us. We pray that you would remember us in this strange time that has overtaken us, that we may know that there is the possibility of recovery and restoration.
[13:18] We may not despair of ever seeing what we enjoyed so much by way of liberty. We pray that you would mercifully undertake for us and that you would endow with wisdom those who are entrusted with our well-being, our care.
[13:38] We pray that you would, our nurses and nurses and doctors, we pray that you would guide their hands so that even in the administration of vaccines that are designed to alleviate the sufferings of many, that they may be directed in appropriate ways.
[13:55] We pray that we pray that we are in the sick and that we are in the hospital. We pray that you would visit the sick in mercy, those hospitalized, those in care homes, those in the hospitals. We pray that you would, all engaged in their care, remember the grieving and the sorrowful, your voice speaks to us repeatedly, reminding us of our own frailty.
[14:14] We pray that you would, even in these situations of grief and sorrow, speak to us and encourage us to put our trust in God, the one whom to know is life eternal.
[14:28] So continue to watch over us, remembering our island community, our nation as a whole, those who govern us, that national, international and even local government.
[14:42] We pray that you would undertake for us in all these ways. Watch over us, watch over the nations of the earth, wherever there is discord of the present and we see much of it, even within the universe.
[14:57] Even within the European community, we see there civil strife and those who are kicking against the pricks, as it were. You are speaking to us all through the providence that has overtaken us.
[15:12] And there are so many evidences of man's puny resistance to that providence and unwillingness to submit to what you are saying to us.
[15:25] Speak as wise in our own lives to yield to the God who is speaking to us and to hear what you are saying, that we may heed and heed well what you are.
[15:38] Reminding us of the frailty of our flesh, the shortness of our life and the wisdom that there is in preparing for the day of our demise.
[15:49] Cleanse from sin and call before us in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I'm going to hear the word of God as we have it in the gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
[16:03] Matthew chapter 5. We're going to read from the beginning of the chapter. And we'll read down to verse 16.
[16:19] Matthew chapter 5. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4.
[16:30] 5. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 8. 8. 9.
[16:41] 9. 10. 9. 10. 10. 10. 10. 10. 10. 11. 11.
[16:55] 11.
[17:17] 11. 14. Are ye when men shall revile you And persecute you And shall say all manner of evil Against you falsely For my sake Rejoice and be exceeding glad For great is your reward In heaven For so persecuted they the prophets Which went before you Ye are the salt of the earth But if the salt have lost its savour Wherewith shall it be exalted It is therefore Henceforth good for nothing But to be cast out And to be thrown under the foot of men Ye are the light of the world A city that is set on a hill Cannot be hid Neither do men light a candle And put it under a bushel But on a candlestick And it giveth light unto all that are in the house Let your light so shine before men
[18:17] That they may see your good works And glorify your Father Which is in heaven Amen May the Lord add his blessing To our reading of his word And to his name Be the praise Now just a word to the young folk Before you go out to Sunday school I believe that this morning We're going to be looking at A famous person from the New Testament From the Gospels A man called John the Baptist John was somebody who was remarkable For a whole host of different reasons And when I was looking at The life of John He is someone who Was spoken of even before he was born
[19:18] He was promised By God That he would Be born into this world And that When he would be born That he would have a Particular Ministry To carry out Now that seems strange To many people How can How can the Bible Speak about somebody Many hundreds of years Before they're actually born And speak of them With such knowledge And yet that's what we find Very often the Bible Teaches us That God knows Everything And then when it comes To the New Testament Just before John was born We are told That he was born In very strange circumstances Parents Zacharias and Elizabeth Were both Quite Elderly And they had no family
[20:20] And they thought That they would never Have any children But one day John's father was Working He was a priest And he was in the temple And an angel Came to speak to him And the angel Told him That his wife Was going to have A baby And he didn't Believe it He didn't believe it Because he thought That he was too old And that his wife Was too old And the angel Said no This is what God is going To do for you And Elizabeth Is going to Have a child But until That happens You will not Speak again You're going to be dumb So he wasn't Able to say anything So when he came out From Doing what he was doing In the temple He couldn't say
[21:20] Anything To anyone And the people Who were Who were trying To speak to him Or were speaking to him Thought Well he must have Seen something He must have seen A vision That's why he Can't speak And that's the way It was Until the time That Elizabeth Gave birth To John And what they did Then When children Were Born After Seven days They would be Taken to the temple And they would be Circumcised They would be Arrive Arrive Something like Baptism And It was also A time When the Baby would be Named And When they took The baby To be named They asked What name Will you give To him They were expecting The name To be called The baby To be called Zacharias
[22:20] And they said No Mary said No You will call His name John And he said No you can't Do that There's nobody In the family With that name You've got to Call him Zacharias And she said And then His father Asked for a piece Of paper Or something To write on And he wrote On that paper He Would be called John And the Moment he Said that That was the Moment he Was able To speak Again And There again God was Showing That John was Going to be A special Child A special Person And his Relationship With Jesus Was such That he Was going To be Someone who Would speak To others About him And tell Others About him
[23:20] Now I Think When you Look at The story Of John There are Many things About the Story That you Will say Oh well That You know His The prophecies Concerning his Birth The actual Strange Situation That Happened Before he Was born And the Kind of Person he Was He was in The wilderness And he Was dressed In camel Hair And he Was eating Locusts And wild Honey And he Would say All of These things Make him Out to be Somebody Different Or somebody Special Real And he Darkey Inilton Initial direction of Jesus and say to them behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world
[24:28] I'm sure if you ask John what was the most important thing that could be said about you and I'm sure that's what he would say and the reason being because of the special place that Jesus had in his affection I hope the same will be true of each one of us we're going to sing now as you go out to Sunday school the words of Psalm 122 Psalm 122 I joyed when to the house of God go up they said to me Jerusalem within thy gates or feet shall standing be Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together and to that place the tribes go up the tribes of God go thither to Israel's testimony there to God's name thanks to pay for thrones of judgment even the thrones of David's house there stay and so on to the end of the psalm I joyed when to the house of God go up they said to me
[25:32] I joyed when to the house of God go up go up they said to me to me to me surrender within thy gates the feet shall be during новый ground the earth shall be
[26:37] And to that place the tribes go up.
[26:50] The tribes of God go to earth. To Israel's testimony there.
[27:11] To God's name thanks to pay. For thrones of God.
[27:27] Let in the thrones of David's life.
[27:39] Their stay. Great us, ger Thailand we have Peace and felicity.
[28:02] Let them not love thee and thy peace.
[28:16] How still prosperity, therefore I wish that peace may still within.
[28:41] Thy will remain and ever make thy parishes.
[28:59] Prosperity retain. Now, for my friends and brethren's sake.
[29:22] Peace be in thee, I'll sing. And for the house of God our Lord.
[29:44] I'll sing thy good our way. Amen.
[29:58] And we turn once again to the passage that we read from the New Testament Scriptures, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5.
[30:10] We can read again at verse 9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
[30:25] Perhaps the greatest sermons that were ever preached were preached not in a church or a cathedral, but in the open fields.
[30:47] Maybe just as the example that we have here, Jesus preaching. And some people question whether he was actually preaching or not.
[31:01] What's called the Sermon on the Mount. And instantly when we think of the word Sermon on the Mount, we think of our own experience of sermons.
[31:13] But it's quite different. Some have suggested that what Matthew has recorded here is a summary of the teachings of Jesus gathered together and recorded in this way.
[31:35] Now, there's no evidence for that, of course. It seems that when we look at the account that we have here, we don't have an awful lot of information about the mount upon which Jesus spoke these memorable words.
[31:53] In the previous chapter, what we do read is that at the end of the chapter we have these words, whose name information, the Souza identified in the seminaries and all our followers, and it has to be made and of Unisles.
[32:05] And of course, his fame went throughout all Syria. And he brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, those which were possessed with devils, those which were lunatic, those that had had the palsy, and he healed them.
[32:21] them and there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee and from Decapolis and from Jerusalem and from Judea and from beyond Jordan. So you can see that it is a gathered congregation and it's not recorded for us how many there were although you can imagine that there would have been a considerable number of people.
[32:57] And of course when we begin to think about that we think well how can it have possibly been the case that those who were there heard what Jesus had to say.
[33:10] And there have been examples of natural amphitheatres where the actual physical layout of the place where a person has been speaking ensured that the voice of the speaker would carry.
[33:30] The ministers who preached would have preached with a louder voice than I have. It's early today, forgive me, I'm a bit harsh but my voice is soft spoken as you will know. I get a lot of complaints about how hard those who are hard of hearing can't hear what I have to say. So you can imagine in a situation where you're out in the open, there's no public address system and there's no immediate obvious means by which people can hear. And yet it doesn't seem that that was a problem here. It could have been simply the Lord of the Lord of the miracle, performing a miracle and allowing people to listen.
[34:51] We just don't know. But whatever it was, we have these words recorded for us. And what we can't overlook is the fact that Jesus was not preaching for the sake of preaching. I don't think any preacher should preach for the sake of preaching.
[35:12] The whole point of preaching is to deliver a message that is meant to be heard and listened to. And what is heard and listened to to be applied. I would hope that that would be the end result. I don't know how promising my hope is in that respect.
[35:35] But that is the whole purpose of preaching. That those who are present when a sermon or a letter is being delivered, those who are hearing it, are actually going to engage with the word and listen to what is being said in a way that it is expected that what is heard would be put into practice.
[36:00] So in that respect, when you're looking at what Jesus is saying here, you're looking to someone who is preaching to a people that he understands.
[36:11] He's not speaking to an undescript people that he knows nothing about. He knows them perhaps better than they know themselves.
[36:22] So what he has to say to them is a message directed at them, at the heart of their very being, their life, whatever their life is. He's got something to say to everyone present that they can listen to and listen to with profit.
[36:41] The preacher and teacher John Blanchard has written a comprehensive study on the Sermon on the Mount. And in his introduction to this book, or this passage, he says, Christianity was not a bandwagon, but a battle.
[37:03] The Christian life was serious and demanding. There was to be no blurring of the issues, no small print, no hidden agenda, no easy ride.
[37:15] There is something essentially dishonest about easy believers and about a so-called gospel that promises peace, joy and happiness, but demands nothing in the way of repentance, self-crucifixion and holiness.
[37:34] Now why does he say that? Well, he says that because the message that Jesus presents to us is a message that not only brings comfort and encouragement to those who are hearing it, that at times disturbs, adapt times probes in areas of life where so to do creates pain and creates ill ease or leaves a person ill at ease.
[38:08] And he doesn't just do that because he likes the feeling of disturbing people or making people feel that this guy is affecting me in some way.
[38:22] The effect is meant to produce in them an end product that they themselves have a greater knowledge of who he is and what he should be to them.
[38:39] Now what we must consider about this Sermon on the Mount is the fact that Christ is not speaking for the sake of it, as I said.
[38:50] He is overwhelmed at the constant demands that are made upon him, but most of all for the reasons that lie behind that.
[39:02] These people were throwing him. They were coming from all over trying to get some kind of contact with him. Healing where healing was wanted.
[39:15] Wisdom where wisdom was sought. And Jesus directs them to the source of all blessing.
[39:27] And he does that so that they can experience that blessing for themselves. So we have a series of Beatitudes, what's called Beatitudes, which describe to us the spiritual characteristics, if you like, of a person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[39:52] And they share a whole list of them there. The blessedness and makarios of the people of God. I'd like us to focus today on verse 9, bearing in mind that it belongs to a group of Beatitudes.
[40:11] It's Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who says in his own comments on this area of the New Testament, that what we need to grasp is that only a new man in Christ can be expected to produce the fruits of which he speaks here.
[40:34] These fruits are born only on branches that are grafted into the tree. And there is no possibility of the blessedness of which he speaks here.
[40:50] It's not individuals. This person is blessed in this way. This person is blessed in that way. That's not what he is saying. He is saying, this is the blessedness that marks out the people of God in their lives.
[41:07] So there are two questions we can ask about these words. What is it that Jesus has in mind when he speaks to us of peacemakers?
[41:19] And maybe you're saying to yourself, well this sermon would be better suited when there's a time of discord in the congregation.
[41:29] When we've got a split in the congregation. When we've got a dispute in the congregation. When we've got factions in the congregation. Maybe you're saying, that would be the best time for that.
[41:42] And I suppose if I were to preach this at that very moment. You would instantly focus in. Oh, this is who he's getting at.
[41:54] This is what he's getting at here. This is something that is true. At all times. Not just when we are aware of division.
[42:07] Or when we are conscious of factions. Or frictions. Or oppositions. Within a congregation. Within our homes. Within our families.
[42:18] Within the nation. Whatever. This is a truth that abides no matter what. Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers.
[42:31] And then he says. That those who are blessed because they are peacemakers. This is what will be true of them. They are going to be called the children of God.
[42:47] They shall be called the children of God. A lot of the commentators emphasize that word. That we have translated. They shall be called. It's far more definite than we might give credence to it.
[43:04] It's more definite than maybe in our minds that there's a hint of possibility there.
[43:15] It's not a possibility. This is what is true. This is what will be true. So where would we begin to emphasize what Jesus is teaching here?
[43:28] Why would he teach this to those who are round about him? Well, as I said, there is obviously the potential for discord in the world in which we live.
[43:45] It's not something new. It goes back to ancient times. But beginning with the one who is speaking to them.
[43:58] He is one who is able to exemplify what a peacemaker is. The blessedness of being a peacemaker.
[44:11] All blessedness finds its source in God. And when we think of God, we have God the Father as the God of all peace.
[44:23] We have God the Son as the Prince of peace. We have God the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of peace. That is the description that Godhead presents of itself.
[44:39] God is a source or e-source, if you like, of peace. And before a person can actually follow the teaching of Christ experientially, before they can consider themselves to be able to follow this teaching or to understand what it is for us to be blessed as peacemakers, there must be a connection with the source.
[45:19] There must be a relationship with the source. There must be an open conduit to the source of all peace. And the scripture reminds us of that in different ways at different times.
[45:33] There are so many passages that we could draw your attention to. Paul, writing to the Romans, He tells us about the experience that the believer enjoys by reason of faith.
[45:52] In chapter 5 he says, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope.
[46:09] The glory of God. That is how a person would ever experience peace.
[46:22] Through peace. Only through the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he writes the second epistle to the Corinthians, again in chapter 5, he describes to us there what the cross of Christ has secured for a person who is a believer.
[46:47] If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
[47:19] Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God.
[47:37] There are many other passages which we could direct you to. But essentially, in these two passages, we are reminded of something, that there is a need for reconciliation.
[47:51] That word reconciliation tells us that there is discord, that there is dis-peace, that there is a breach that needs to be repaired.
[48:04] And the only way by which that breach can be repaired is through Christ Jesus. And the reason it needs to be repaired is because the breach is between God the creator and his creature, mankind.
[48:22] And if man remains in a state of discord, of dis-peace, then the consequences of that will remain with him.
[48:32] And that's why Jesus is saying here, blessed are the peacemakers. Because the peacemakers, essentially, in this very first instance, must be recognized as those who attract attention to the fact that there is a need for reconciliation.
[48:53] that there is a need for reconciliation to be carried out between God and the creature, the descendant of Adam who is out of kilter with him.
[49:10] We mentioned when we spoke of John the Baptist that this was his greatest mission. Whatever else kudos he has, whatever else makes him a famous personality.
[49:23] And his life is an interesting tapestry of events. As a preacher, a teacher, somebody who is the social conscience of his generation and who by reason of that suffers imprisonment and beheading, his whole focus, the attention that he wants to be focused upon is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[49:47] Why? Because Christ Jesus must be someone through whom we have peace with God. And without that peace with God, then we will be in a state of dis-peace.
[50:02] We will be the focus of the anger and wrath of a holy God with the danger of it lasting into eternity.
[50:13] Now what this passage reminds us of is that God alone is the author of peace and reconciliation.
[50:26] You notice when Christ the Lord was born, the angels came from heaven and announced his birth.
[50:40] There were many things they could have said about him. There were many things that they did say about him. But one thing that they said was this glory to God in the highest.
[50:54] On earth, peace, good will to all men. That peace was firmly tied in to the person who was born then, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[51:06] peace. This was the announcement made from heaven that this was the source of peace. When the Lord Jesus was preparing to leave this world, he made a bequest.
[51:20] He announced the contents of his will. He told his disciples that he had to take his leave of them and this was something that he was leaving to them.
[51:31] He was leaving his peace with them. not just any peace, he says, but my peace I leave with you. And, you know, you have to understand that when Jesus is using this as a passage, a part of his sermon, one of his points, if you like, he is highlighting something that is essential for every one of us to understand that Jesus is getting to the nitty-gritty of where we are with regard to himself.
[52:06] Can I speak of my blessedness as a peacemaker who is able to speak of that because I have access to the source of all peace and that source of all peace is the one who has brought peace into this world that is under God's condemnation.
[52:27] He speaks of peace and not just any peace but his peace and that is what must undergird out peace otherwise it is ill, it is sick, it will not last.
[52:51] I remember reading somewhere a passage that was talking about the way that we as a generation appreciate peace as those who have been embroiled in war so often and I think it was an American theologian he said in Washington he said you'll find countless numbers of monuments to peace peace just go to Washington you'll find a whole host of monuments to peace there and the strange thing about it is that every one of them was built after a war every one of them was built after a war and what does that say to us it tells us that we appreciate peace only when there's this peace we appreciate it when we are deprived of it and then we value what we've had when we lost it you know what it's like if there's friction in the home you know what it's like when there's friction in the family it's not comfortable it's not something you want it's certainly not something you want to allow to go on and you would like it to be brought to some kind of successful conclusion you don't want it in the community you don't want it in the church you don't want it in the nation but the thing is we cannot be blessed if that peace is not there from the source where true peace is found and if there's more likelihood of this peace in our experience if we are alienated from its source if we don't have a living vibrant relationship with the one who is the
[55:12] God of all peace peace let's look at what Christ teaches us here he teaches us that for the sake of brevity that those of us who are to practice what he teaches here must have a feasible disposition we must if you read the epistle to the Hebrews the writer there tells us what do you say we must follow peace with all men without which and holiness without which we cannot see God what is he on what does he think he's talking about we must follow peace with all men as some of the men you know and
[56:20] I know it's an impossibility to be at peace with them they're extraordinarily cantankerous and difficult to manage and we are very peaceable as you understand people would find it easy to get on with us even though we can't get on with others is that the way it is I think given the right circumstances we would need to be carefully handled and the only truth that martyrs is that if we are this is why it's important that we understand what Christ is saying here blessed are the peacemakers those who are blessed are peacemakers because their blessedness comes from their relationship with himself and without that relationship with himself however well disposed we are to others however naturally inclined we are to keep the peace we we will find that without the element of grace without
[57:37] God's help we will fail miserably we have to avoid giving offence and there are plenty who would rather give offence rather than surrender ground that they believe is rightfully theirs do you understand that is that something how often do we stand on our rights because we have right on our side and if we have right on our side then well wo betide anyone who tries to usurp these rights where does peace of illness come at that moment well the Bible forbids us to be amongst those who would say peace at any price that's not what the Lord Jesus is preaching or teaching he is teaching us of the necessity there is to ensure that we do anything and everything within our power and within the law that is legitimate and right to keep peace forgiveness forgiveness we are told for those who wrong us that is not easy and yet it is one thing that we are expected to show to show to those who wrong us and if you think that Jesus is going to teach you and tell you to do the things that you find easy to do you've got another thing coming if everything that Jesus wants us to do as those who would follow him is going to be simple and easy to carry out then you've got a mistaken appreciation of who he is that's why the theologian whoever it was that we quoted at the outset believe what he did
[59:57] Jesus challenges us at every level of our life every area of our life few of us are willing to back down at all times when we discover we are on the wrong we are seldom willing to acknowledge that and it's interesting if you want to find one of the traits of the devil in anything especially when it comes to strife it's one of the descriptions that we have often is that he comes to show so tears in the midst of the weed and that is often understood to be words of discord or thoughts of dispute or discord in the heart and mind of those who would readily believe what he has to say rather than believe what he would warn us against the blessings to be called the children of
[61:01] God so one of the puritans put it the true peacemakers are the children of God by regeneration and adoption by being born again by becoming one of the family of God by being a peacemaker you have the evidence of this remember the Apostle German is a prissile he tells us some of the marks and the traits of a believer in this he says the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother neither he that loveth not his brother I think that speaks of peace again if you know a person to be a brother or a sister in the Lord then the onus is on you to do everything in your power behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God therefore the world knows us not because we knew him not beloved know but we the sons of God and does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is to be the children of God to be the peacemakers to be those who evidence such a relationship with Christ that would have us rather that than be the creators of dispute and dissent it's not something easy it's not something that is natural to some of us but it is something that is encouraged by Christ
[63:04] I was thinking of this I was reminded of you know the gathering of people at the mount there who knows it doesn't say anything about weather it doesn't say anything about climate it doesn't say anything about how far they had travelled or anything like that but they were all hungry to hear what Christ had to say I wonder how many of them would be disappointed by what he had to say to them there are many who came to remember the Pharisees came to him and they had a dispute and they wanted Christ to sort it out and how was he going to sort it out well by telling them what they wanted to hear that's what people like they want Christ to tell them what they want to hear but it doesn't work like that sometimes he tells us what we don't want to hear and I totally unrelated
[64:06] I was just thinking the minister who was in Graver many years ago he used to some man called Moldof McLeod he was 38 years in Graver and he used to walk between the villages he didn't have a car I don't know if he had a driver's license or not but he didn't have a car anyway so he would walk from Graver to Gromore perhaps on a day such as yesterday and he had a big heavy tweed coat and when he would get to Gromore he would take his coat off and they could hardly carry it because of the water that was in it and my thinking was this well how many of us were so pampered and so used to the comforts of our central heating and what have you that I mean even sitting in a congregation a church such as this one is much of an imposition but the truth of the matter is that
[65:13] Christ spoke to those who were there who knows where they came from or how far they had come but the one thing that drew them was what he had to say and they listened to what he had to say many of them anyway and many of them were numbered amongst the blessed who believed what he had to say I wonder if that is true of yourselves with all the ease and the relative comfort that you have in sitting listening to a message without having to do very much to hear it have you listened well have you heard what Christ has to say are you going to be numbered amongst the blessed are you going to be seen for your peacemaking especially through the peace that you have with the Lord Jesus Christ may he bless to us these thoughts let us pray have blessed
[66:15] God we give thanks for your word for your encouragement to get to know yourself through Christ that we might have peace with you through him and that peace would fill our hearts and our minds and that we would know what it is to share news of that peace with others that we would be disseminators of peace by speaking often and speaking clearly of how his peace came to fill our heart grant mercy for our many shortcomings for the many ways in which we fail to demonstrate our peace keeping ability go before us now pardon sin in Jesus name Amen I'm concluding Psalm 17 Psalm 17 and verse 5 hold up my goings
[67:17] Lord may guide in those thy paths divide so that my footsteps may not slide out of those ways of thine I call to upon thee O God because thou wilt me heal thou may mist half come to my speech to me and climb thine ear verses 5 to 9 Psalm 17 hold up my goings Lord me guide and host thy path divine hold up my goings Lord me guideilt i to God so take me to all ministers in life
[68:26] I call it upon thee, O God, because thou wilt me hear.
[68:47] Thou nourish our men whom I seek to be in thine's way near.
[69:06] Thy wondrous loving kindness show, thou that by thy right hand.
[69:26] Sift them that trust in thee from those that have against them shined.
[69:46] As the apple of the I.D. And thy wings shake me close.
[70:06] From blood of presence, come and sing me round a gently force.
[70:27] Amen.