Blessed are the Peacemakers

[0:00] Good morning. Our scripture readings for today will be taken from Psalm 34 and Matthew 5 verses 1 through 9.

[0:15] ! Psalm 34. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord.

[0:27] Let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

[0:41] Those who look to him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

[0:55] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

[1:07] O fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. The young lions suffer, want, and hunger. But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

[1:19] Come, O children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

[1:35] Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears towards their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

[1:51] When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

[2:03] Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

[2:17] The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. Matthew 5, verses 1 through 9.

[2:28] Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

[2:40] 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.

[2:52] 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.

[3:05] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. The end of our scripture readings today.

[3:17] Amen. Thank you very much, David. Please bow in prayer with me. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we have your word.

[3:30] Lord, your word that you have preserved for us over the ages. We ask now, Lord, that you would speak to us through your word. Lord, would you give us both heirs to hear and hearts to obey.

[3:50] Father, I ask that you glorify yourself in the preaching of your word. Use the preaching of your word as well for the good of our souls.

[4:03] I ask for your help this morning, Lord, to be faithful, to bring your word to your people. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I think you would agree with me that peace is a scarce commodity in our broken world.

[4:21] There's strife, there's division, there's discord, there's separation on every level. We see it in human relationships. We see it in the workplace and the nations of the earth.

[4:39] We see it everywhere. We see it in our neighborhoods. Indeed, it's even in churches. And there are many people who are engaged in trying to make peace in all these different situations.

[4:57] I think the question this morning as we come to this seventh beatitude is, who are these peacemakers? Who are they?

[5:08] And why are they blessed by being called sons of God?

[5:20] And these are two questions that I hope to answer in this morning's sermon. And so the first point, for those of you who are taking notes, is the identity of peacemakers.

[5:40] Who are these peacemakers whom Jesus has in view in this seventh beatitude? And this really is a critical question to consider as we come to this seventh beatitude.

[5:55] But before we answer that question, I want us to consider why there is a need for peacemakers. Why do we even need peacemakers?

[6:09] And as I've already said, we need peacemakers because we live in a world that's filled with strife and division and discord and separation. And it is absolutely widespread.

[6:20] And there's one word that gives the reason for all of the strife that we have in the world.

[6:32] And that word is sin. Sin has brought about every division, every separation, every aspect of discord that we have in human relations.

[6:46] It goes back to the Garden of Eden. It goes back to Adam and Eve rebelling against God, not obeying God's command, not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

[6:57] And as a result of that, the first thing that happened was their relationship with God was broken. Their relationship with God, that vertical relationship that they had with God was broken.

[7:09] And we see it in the fact that when Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was they ran from God and they hid from God. And the next thing that we see happen is when God confronted them, when God said to Adam, Adam, what have you done?

[7:29] Rather than own his sin, what Adam did was he blamed his wife. He turned on his wife. And what we see there is we see a rupturing, a separation on the horizontal level between two persons who were in a relationship that is the most intimate and personal relationship that we could ever have.

[7:57] Sin came in and sin brought about those separations between God and man and between man and man in the most intimate union that is possible between two human beings.

[8:15] And then we see the outworking of sin. The outworking of sin continued to bring division, separation. We had brought hostility between Cain and his brother Abel.

[8:25] Abel brought hatred in the heart of Cain for his brother Abel, so much so that he killed him. And you follow it through and we will see how hatred in the hearts of men and women and strife and war and murder and the Old Testament is filled with it.

[8:46] And then there's so much more that's not even recorded in the pages of Scripture. What we see is we see this breakdown in relationships between human beings that we cannot enjoy anymore.

[9:02] Lasting peace in our relationships. These are the effects of the fall. I mean, just think about the world in which we live.

[9:15] When I was younger, I loved Bob Marley's songs. And as I was preparing, one of the songs that came to me as I was preparing was So Much Trouble in the World. So much trouble in the world.

[9:27] There's a lot of trouble in the world. And he wrote that back in the 70s. And how much more trouble we have in the world. How much more true are those words that he wrote.

[9:38] Our neighbors to the south. Live moment by moment in terror. Not knowing who to trust. If you are halfway abreast of what's going on in the world, you would be aware that there are wars and rumors of war everywhere.

[10:01] Ukraine and Russia is in the news. Hamas and Israel, that's in the news of what's happening in the Middle East. Some parts of Africa, not so much in the news, but happening as well.

[10:12] Parts of India, not so much in the news, but happening as well. Many say that we are on the brink of a third world war. But beyond all of that, I think every single one of us this morning, without exception, is aware of, and perhaps even involved in, a situation where relational peace has been broken.

[10:41] We're either aware of it, or we are involved in it. Whether it is between us and another individual or two individuals.

[10:53] Whether it's in families, whether it's in the workplace, whether it's in neighborhoods, or in communities. We are people who are acquainted with relationships that are separated and divided and broken.

[11:11] And there's discord and there's disharmony. And it's an ongoing reality that we face.

[11:22] And so this seventh beatitude is timely and it's relevant for all of us.

[11:34] And it's not just relevant this morning, it'll always be relevant. It'll always be relevant. It will be relevant until the day we leave this fallen earth. Now I think it's fair to say that most people long for a world where there is peace.

[11:54] Most people do. I mean, there are some who are hell-bent on creating chaos and problems because that's the way they thrive. But I think most people, most people desire peace.

[12:07] They value peace and peacemaking. But again, the question is, as we consider the seventh beatitude, who are these peacemakers?

[12:20] Whom Jesus refers to and whom he describes as blessed in the seventh beatitude. Are they those, all of those who are involved in any way, shape, or form in trying to bring people together, to encourage them to get along and to live as one and to let bygones be bygones?

[12:40] Are they the diplomats and the government officials who are tirelessly working and trying to bring nations together to resolve their differences and to sign peace agreements and to lay down their weapons of war?

[12:59] Are those the ones that Jesus has in view? I say, no, he doesn't have those people in view. And I don't say that to diminish the work that they do.

[13:14] Thank God for the work that they do. And may they continue the work that they do. It's vital, important work that they are doing.

[13:24] But they're not the peacemakers that Jesus has in view. The peacemakers that Jesus has in view in verse 9 are the same people that he's had in view from the very first beatitude.

[13:44] They are the ones who are poor in spirit. They are the ones who mourn over their sins. They're the ones who are meek. They're the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness. They're the ones who are merciful.

[13:56] They're the ones who are pure in heart. The same people with these various descriptions, seven descriptions up to this particular point.

[14:08] And they're the same people upon whom God has acted and brought into a relationship to himself. And that is the only reason these beatitudes mark their lives. These are not natural characteristics or mannerisms or part of a natural constitution.

[14:26] These are supernatural. These are divine. These are from out of this world. These are God-induced into the lives of these people who fit all of these descriptions in the Beatitudes.

[14:44] So bearing this in mind, the identity of the peacemakers whom Jesus has in view in the seventh beatitude are those who have been reconciled to God and who actively work to avoid relational strife and to help others to bring harmony where there is strife or to avoid it altogether.

[15:14] That's the people that Jesus has in view. That in their own lives, they labor to be peacemakers. They labor to avoid strife or to mend relationships when they are broken.

[15:29] And they endeavor to help others to do the same. Those are the peacemakers, brothers and sisters. There's that vertical part, first of all. They've been reconciled to God.

[15:40] And out of that reconciliation to God, they seek to live in harmony with one another and to help others to do the same. And we have what shapes like a cross.

[15:52] The vertical and the horizontal. Both of those seeking to have peace on both levels. But here's the reality. The reality is on the vertical level, there's a permanent peace.

[16:10] There's a permanent peace because we have peace with God through our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And that is a permanent relationship. And it's permanent because God himself ensures that it is.

[16:27] He ensures that because the good work that he begins in anyone, he is faithfully completed to the day of Jesus Christ. And so it doesn't matter what happens in our lives.

[16:39] Our peace with God, we are no longer under the wrath of God. And so the peace with God is a permanent peace. We have peace with God, brothers and sisters. But the horizontal level is very different.

[16:53] There is no such thing as permanent peace on the horizontal level. Our relationships on the horizontal level will be punctuated by strife and discord and separation and division because of sin.

[17:14] And therefore, peace making is an ongoing necessity.

[17:26] And it is something that we must, who belong to Christ, be committed to until the day of our death. And I think, hopefully, we should all be able to see why only those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can be peacemakers.

[17:46] Only they can be peacemakers. Because peacemaking requires certain conduct that is only possible because we belong to Christ.

[17:59] Because of the transforming work that God has brought about in our hearts. And Jesus makes this very clear in the Sermon on the Mount. It's very clear in the Sermon on the Mount.

[18:11] For example, Jesus says that we, who follow him, are called to go the extra mile.

[18:22] We're called to turn the other cheek. And we all know that going the extra mile and turning the other cheek is not easy. And it is not something that we can do in and of ourselves. It's not something we want to do in and of ourselves.

[18:33] We have no desire to do it. And we need divine grace to do it. Only those in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ are able to be peacemakers.

[18:52] The first scripture that we had read this morning in Psalm 34, this is what the psalmist writes in verses 11 to 14. You don't need to turn there.

[19:03] I'll just go ahead and read it in your hearing. Come, O children, he says. Come, O children. Listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he will see good?

[19:21] That's the question he asks. And here's how he answers it. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

[19:32] Turn from evil. Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. That's pretty interesting how the psalmist asks this question that seems to be some big, lofty question.

[19:50] And he answers it in a very practical way. And in essence, what he says, he says, if you desire life, in other words, a long life, a prosperous life, if you desire to see many days, if you desire to see good, here's what you do.

[20:12] Keep your tongue from evil. He's saying to us, bridle our tongues. You realize that most of the strife and the discord in relationships come from words.

[20:24] They come from words. And in particular, when you study the book of Proverbs, which gives us wisdom for living, so much of it covers speech.

[20:36] So much of it tells us how a soft answer, for example, turns away wrath. However, it tells us that the wise man does not utter every single thing that he thinks.

[20:50] And the psalmist bids us to come. He says, come, my children, I will teach you. This is how you pursue life and that you see good.

[21:03] Keep your tongue from evil. Bridal your tongue. And then also keep your tongue from speaking lies. We are to turn away from evil.

[21:15] These are active things. We are to do good. We are to seek peace and then pursue it. All of this requires exertion.

[21:26] It requires effort on our part. Peacemaking takes effort. Peacemaking takes time. Peacemaking takes time.

[21:36] Peacemaking takes time. The apostle Paul describes this very well. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1 to 3, he writes, I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

[22:00] With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

[22:14] Peacemakers, peacemakers, peacemakers, peacemakers, peacemakers, peacemakers, peacemakers bear with one another in love.

[22:31] They bear with others in love. And they don't just do it to draw attention to themselves or to show how good they are. They do it because they want to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

[22:51] Peace and harmony between brothers and sisters is a precious thing. It's a precious thing. Yet it's a fragile thing.

[23:04] It's hard to build and so easy to lose. And so those who belong to Christ, those who belong to Christ, whether we see ourselves as peacemakers, call ourselves peacemakers, we are peacemakers.

[23:20] And these ways of conducting ourselves should mark how we live and how we relate to others.

[23:34] And we don't just do it for our own relationships. We are concerned in others' relationships as well. We're concerned to help others to do this for themselves.

[23:45] Let me just say that peacemaking is not about not ruffling feathers and letting sleeping dogs lie and sweeping things under the rug.

[23:59] That's not peacemaking. Peacemaking is not just turning a blind eye to a difficult situation and everything is quiet and then we say, well, okay, we have peace.

[24:10] Now, that's not biblical peacemaking. Sometimes biblical peacemaking results in stirring up anger, bringing misunderstanding.

[24:25] But the goal is to achieve true and lasting peace, not a false peace. Not the absence of conflict. It is to pursue true and lasting peace.

[24:41] Not pseudo peace, not plastic peace, not an appearance of peace, not appeasement. But it is to find true peace without compromise.

[24:53] There is so much to be said about what we are called to in this area of peacemaking because it is a vast topic and scripture is filled with so many examples of it.

[25:11] A lot of examples of it and a lot of admonitions to us about it. But one of the things I found helpful in my own life when I am in any kind of relational strife or if I'm trying to help others who are in relational strife, one of the most helpful considerations for me is this question.

[25:34] Who do you want to please?

[26:04] The aim is to please him. Whether we live or die, whatever we do, we aim to please him. And sometimes, pleasing the Lord, seeking to please the Lord, being guided by his word and being willing to do whatever his word tells us to do.

[26:24] Sometimes, brothers and sisters, it calls for us to be willing to be wronged. It calls for us to be willing to get the short end of the stick. It calls for us to do things that scream against everything in our natural constitution.

[26:44] But yet, that is the path of peace many times. And the peacemakers are those who will take that path because that is who they are.

[26:59] If we want to please the Lord, we will take the path of peace. If we want to please ourselves, we'll do whatever we want to please ourselves.

[27:12] But if our desire is to please ourselves rather than please God, then we need to pause and we really need to consider whether we really belong to the Lord.

[27:28] Because one of the marks of genuine conversion is the desire to please the Lord and not ourselves. And it is because we have died to self.

[27:42] It is because we recognize that we now belong to Christ. I am not my own anymore. I've been bought with a price. And so the ongoing prayer of everyone who belongs to the Lord must be, not my will, but yours be done.

[28:03] Lord, what is your will? And see, here's what we do. This is a blank check, as it were. This is in the dark, not even knowing what it is yet to say, Lord, whatever your will is for me in this situation to bring peace.

[28:16] Lord, give me the grace. That's what I want to do. Even before we know what that is. We want to do the Lord's will. That's a mark of genuine conversion.

[28:30] But the sad reality is that peace is not always possible. And it is hard when you desire peace, but it is just not possible.

[28:48] It is possible. And the Bible is honest about this. It would be a tragedy if we were told that in every single broken human relationship, peace is possible and we should go after it because we would be sorely disappointed.

[29:04] Romans 12, 18 says, if possible. If possible. If possible. So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

[29:18] If possible. So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. This calls us to do our part to make peace. This calls us to make sure that our side of the bridge is built enough.

[29:33] That's what we're responsible for. We're not responsible for the other side of the bridge. We're responsible as much as lies within us by the grace of God to be people of peace and to seek to make peace.

[29:47] And when we lay down at night, we can say, I have done all that I know to do to make peace. And brothers and sisters, let us not play games with particular sins that we just don't want to lay aside.

[30:15] And I must say that this is one of my concerns for those of us who are reformed, those of us who believe that our salvation is secure. Sometimes it can tempt us to live a licentious life and not to be diligent to obey the Lord in all things.

[30:35] And I say that to say there is a connection between being a peacemaker and holiness. There is a connection between pursuing peace and holiness.

[30:49] The writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews 12, 14 calls us to strive for peace. More literally he's saying fight for peace.

[31:01] And it almost seems like a contradiction. Peace is so important that we have to strive for it. We have to go after it. He says strive for peace with everyone. Everyone.

[31:16] And for holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Striving is to make effort. It is to extend ourselves.

[31:28] It is to expand ourselves. And this is what peacemakers do. And they're only able to do it because God has transformed your hearts.

[31:43] And so when I ask you this morning, as you bring to mind the broad scope of your relationships, as you bring to mind the various contexts in which you have human connections, are you a peacemaker?

[31:59] Are you a peacemaker? Are you a peacemaker? Are you one who strives for peace? You look for the path of peace and you go after it.

[32:11] Do you make efforts to make peace, even when it costs you? Or are you contentious and argumentative?

[32:27] And you enjoy chaos. Do you hold grudges and hold malice and a desire to get even with others who have wronged you?

[32:44] Do you make people grovel in the dirt when they want to reconcile and they want to make things right?

[33:01] When we review our personal relationships, what do they show? None of us is perfect. So none of our relationships and the scope of our relationships ought not and will not reveal perfection in how we handle relationships.

[33:22] But what is the accent of them? Is the accent of them that we largely have harmonious, peaceful relationships? Are they marked by strife and separation and division?

[33:41] And discord? Which is it? Brothers and sisters, if our relationships are marked by division, strife, separation, discord, and we profess to belong to Christ, that's reason for pause.

[34:06] That is reason for pause. Because that is not the way of a peacemaker. And it is either that you are not living up or we are not living up to who we are called to be in Christ, or we're not in Christ.

[34:25] Because those who belong to Christ, part of their DNA, their spiritual DNA, is that they are peacemakers.

[34:41] Again, we'll never be at peace with every single person. But at the same time, those of us who belong to Christ, relational strife should not mark the scope of our relationships and indeed our own lives.

[35:05] And so this morning, if present or listening online, and you profess to know Jesus Christ, and you would acknowledge at the same time that you have this pattern of broken relationships in your life, I encourage you, one, to pray.

[35:26] And seek counsel. Talk to another believer and try to get some godly counsel to help you to assess what is going on.

[35:37] Is it possible that one person could just be in such a situation that it's like relationships are just ruptured again and again and again? I imagine it's possible, but I don't think it's likely.

[35:51] I don't think it's likely. So that should be of concern to us. Well, that's who the peacemakers are. They are those who have been reconciled to God, and they strive, they make an effort to be at peace with others, and they help others to do the same in their relationships.

[36:11] This brings me to my second and final point. The blessing of peacemakers. How are the peacemakers blessed?

[36:22] Jesus says they'll be blessed in a simple but a profound way. He says they'll be blessed by being called sons of God.

[36:38] Now think about that. Peacemaking is sacrificial. It is self-giving. It is costly. It is going the extra mile.

[36:51] It is turning the other cheek. It is the willingness to be wronged. And so how, when we think about that, is this, you will be called the sons of God, a blessing?

[37:16] How is that a blessing? Is it a blessing?

[37:29] Because somehow, as we live this way, people will see us and say, hey, that person, that's a son of God. That person belongs to God. Is that the blessing? That people will observe our lives and perhaps see that we deal with strife and discord and separation in a different way, that we're marked by humility and patience and grace.

[37:53] And they'll say, hey, that person, that person's a Christian. Is that the blessing? That's not the blessing. The blessing is that God himself, the God of the universe, the holy God of the universe, says to peacemakers, you belong to me.

[38:18] You're my son. Now, some are put off by this word, sons. Some think it should be sons and daughters.

[38:31] Or it should be children. But in the original language, it is sons, masculine, sons. There are times when a translation is appropriate to say brothers and sisters.

[38:45] Or you could say children. You can translate it broadly. But not in this case. It's literally speaking about males, sons. And that's what Jesus said.

[38:58] And that's what they heard in the original setting. So neither sons nor daughters or children would powerfully communicate what Jesus communicated by saying that the peacemakers will be called sons of God.

[39:22] And the reason for this is that in Jewish culture, only the sons received an inheritance. The daughters only received an inheritance if all the males were dead.

[39:37] There was a rule by Moses that the daughters could inherit in that way. But under normal circumstances, only the sons got an inheritance.

[39:49] The first son got a double portion and he was primarily responsible to care for his mother and care for the sisters. But in Jewish culture, the girls, the daughters, the women, did not receive an inheritance.

[40:08] It's the sons who received the full inheritance. Sonship was the highest status that one could have in Jewish families. And what Jesus was saying is to all the peacemakers, be they sons or be they daughters, be they male, be they female, they would all be recognized and called.

[40:32] The highest status that is possible in a family, they'll all be called sons. sons of God in the fullest inheritance that they possibly could have.

[40:51] Now why is this beatitude above all the other beatitudes the one that Jesus says will identify us as belonging to God?

[41:10] Why is this beatitude the one that he says you're the ones who are the sons of God. You belong to God. You're part of the family in the fullest sense that is possible.

[41:25] Why this one and not the others? I think the reason is because more than anything else in these beatitudes, peacemaking describes the activity of God in human history.

[41:42] God acted in human history to bring peace between himself and Adam's rebellious race. And he did that by sending his son who gave his life as a sacrifice to reconcile undeserving rebellious sinners to himself.

[42:09] And then sending his Holy Spirit to enable them to repent and to believe the gospel so that they could be reconciled to him and be forgiven from their sins and be saved from the wrath to come.

[42:27] And so peacemaking, when we engage in peacemaking, we are doing in miniature sense what God did in that global sense. What God did through Jesus Christ.

[42:38] He made peace with undeserving sinners. who could do nothing to make peace with him. And so what we see is when we engage in peacemaking, when we go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, when we willingly accept the wrong, when we humble ourselves in pursuit of peace, we're engaging in divine work.

[43:06] work. We're engaging in work that is out of this world. We are engaging in work that points to God's ultimate work. His ultimate work of peacemaking accomplished on the cross of Jesus Christ.

[43:25] Brothers and sisters, what God did in Christ on the cross is the most important activity that has ever taken place in all of human history.

[43:40] And when we pursue peacemaking, we are participating in that process. I'm sure you've heard the phrase or the statement like father, like son.

[43:59] See, when we're engaged in peacemaking, we are walking in the steps of our father as it were. Walking in his footsteps, seeking to be like him.

[44:12] Another concern of peacemakers is not just to have people reconciled together, reconciled to us where it is needed, and help others to be reconciled between themselves.

[44:28] Another concern of peacemakers is that people are reconciled to God. Now, Jesus doesn't address that in this seventh beatitude. In this seventh beatitude, he is addressing peacemaking on the horizontal level.

[44:43] But this has to be an implication of what it means to be a peacemaker. One who has himself, herself, already been reconciled to God, it must be a concern for them if those whom they are trying to get reconciled on the horizontal level, whether they are reconciled to God on the vertical level.

[45:06] And I think that's a natural flowing of a peacemaker. They would want to know that those who they're relating to, those they're dealing with, that they have been reconciled to God.

[45:25] When we engage in peacemaking, it is a beautiful picture of the gospel on display. God himself, God grants to peacemakers the blessing of being called sons of God.

[45:46] And I pray this would be true for all of us who profess to know Jesus Christ. I pray that we would all be stirred in our hearts wherever there might be relational conflict right now, or where there might be relational conflict in the days to come, may we be reminded, I belong to God.

[46:08] He has reconciled me to himself. He has purchased me. I want to do his will, not my own will. And I will strive and I will do whatever I can to make peace.

[46:25] And again, only the grace of God can enable us to do this. If we try to do it in our own strength, we'll fall flat on our faces. If we leave this place and we think we can just do it, unmindful of the Lord and the need for his help, any sense of desire to do that that you have right now will not be with you in that moment.

[46:49] This is divine work and it requires divine grace to enable us to do it. Brothers and sisters, I encourage us to step back and to reflect upon and to consider what God has done for us in Jesus Christ to make peace with himself.

[47:23] And oftentimes what we are called to do to make peace with others, what we are called to do to make peace with others sometimes is a fickle thing. sometimes when you really look at it, it is a nothing.

[47:37] But the only thing that makes it seem like a something is the pride in our hearts. The pride in our hearts that blinds us. One of the sad realities is that sometimes we can seek to make peace when it's too late.

[48:00] I've reflected on just a number of relationships, situations I've seen that were hot for reconciliation and individuals were acting in pride and arrogance and refusing to reconcile and then when they were quote unquote good and ready the situation was cold.

[48:24] There was nothing they could do. I've often remarked that much of the crying that you hear at funerals is crying of regret.

[48:38] The tears that you see, the tears of regret that change or reconciliation is now impossible, can't be done.

[48:51] and so let's seize these opportunities by the grace of God, brothers and sisters, and let us live out, all of us who belong to Christ, let us live out our peacemaking responsibilities and we could do it with this assurance, the God who calls us to do it will help us to do it.

[49:12] Blessed are the peacemakers sons of God. Let's pray. Lord, we acknowledge this morning that this is divine work.

[49:28] We acknowledge that it is only possible when we have been reconciled to you, when our hearts have been transformed.

[49:42] Lord, even then we need your grace to live it out. I pray that you would help this to be true for all of us who belong to you in evident ways.

[50:02] I pray, Lord, that in this church we will be marked by this beatitude. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.

[50:17] Would you do this, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.