I do sit down and turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9.
! Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9.
We're going through the Beatitudes and really trying to look at the Beatitudes as a lens for how we view the Christian life.
And so, it seems to me, over church history, many people took the Beatitudes and kind of learnt them, meditated on them,
dwelt in them in many ways, and it was such a great blessing to the church.
Often today, we just kind of do the Sermon on the Mount in about five sermons, and there's good things about that.
But there's real value, I think, in taking the Beatitudes and chewing on them week by week.
And so, that's where we are.
Matthew 5, verse 9.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they should be called sons of God.
Everyone loves peace, don't they?
And here's the first really popular word in the Beatitudes.
All the other ones we've looked at, can you see them?
They've been strange and unpopular.
They've been quite unusual.
And so, we've seen, as we've gone through the Sermon on the Mount, these Beatitudes,
how radical and how disturbing this statement of Jesus is.
And so, there's not many people out there that want to be pure.
There's not many people out there who are just dying to mourn, verse 4.
There's not a crowd of folk in Ealing, desperate to be meek.
It's not very popular.
People don't think that hunger and thirst are good things.
And even the last two are not valued very highly in our city, are they?
Merciful and pure.
But everyone, every person loves peace.
Every single one of them.
It's universally popular.
And a peacemaker, in theory, would be valued very, very highly, wouldn't they, in our culture?
So, there's a prize, isn't there?
An annual prize that's given each year for peace.
The Nobel Peace Prize.
It's a big thing when people win it.
It's in the news.
It's given from the proceeds of a manufacturer of gunpowder, Nobel.
Universities have peace studies.
Peace.
There are peace processes.
There are peace initiatives.
Peace is a good thing.
And yet, we live in a world that's pretty bereft of peace.
Out of the last 4,000 years, there have been about 320 years of peace.
I don't really know how they work that out.
But on a personal level, there's not much peace around our society.
Our society is not notably peaceful.
Family breakup.
Lockdown and domestic abuse.
Well-being.
Stress.
Mental health.
Those things are so popular, aren't they, to talk about?
It's decided as a good thing.
Good mental health, people think is elusive and hard to obtain.
And so, I think it sharpens our interest when we come to verse 9.
What is Jesus talking about?
And so, I want to kind of look at it from three directions.
First of all, who we are.
Who are we as the people of God?
Well, it says, blessed are the peacemakers.
And so, it's really important that the context tells you and I that this doesn't stand on its own.
We see that this Beatitudes comes after other Beatitudes.
And so, what you've got in the Beatitudes is a picture, isn't it, of every believer.
And they're not a set of unrelated qualities.
It's not, well, I'm a decent mourner, and I'm pretty good at purity, or I'm more strong in peacemaking.
No, Jesus is not saying there are eight sorts of people in the church with different sorts of strengths.
There are some merciful, some poor in spirit, some who mourn.
No, he's saying, here is the picture of Christian character.
This is what it is to be a true believer in Jesus.
This is what it is to be in the kingdom.
It's to be true of every single one of us who's a believer.
They are the birthmarks, if you like, of what it means to be born again.
They are the signs of the Holy Spirit working in your life and in my life.
All of us who claim to be Christians should be characterized by all of these things.
And so when Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers, he's not speaking of some activity out there,
which we may or we may not choose to take on as Christian service.
It's a kind of optional extra.
He's not foremost, he's not kind of primarily talking about what we do.
He's saying this is who we are.
What are we like?
What's our character, our personality?
And so what we've seen, haven't we, that the Christian is somebody who's a changed person.
Somebody who has been transformed by the Holy Spirit.
And so that there is a part of us which works itself out in being a peacemaker.
Because this man or woman or boy or girl has been changed by God so we make peace.
And of course that is one of the weaknesses, isn't it, with human peacemaking.
When you try to have a peace process between two communities, it can be too superficial.
Because mere human peacekeeping never deals with the real issue.
And the real issue is with what people are like inside.
And so you and I can cobble together a peace process.
And while it's made between people who are not peaceable, it'll never be permanent.
And so the world, when it talks about peace, it deals with external factors.
And it never deals with the real problem.
So in James chapter 4, verse 1, if you turn there if you want to, you'll find that there's a really profound analysis.
James says, what causes fights?
What causes quarrels among you?
Think about that.
There's a quarrel in a church.
Or there's an argument in a church.
And there's hostility in a family, maybe.
Or in the workplace.
What causes that?
What is behind that?
Well, you could look, couldn't you, at all sorts of external factors.
And say, it's because of this.
It's because of lack of sleep.
It's because of lockdown.
It's because of the pressure people are under.
But James goes way deeper than that.
He says, don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
You see, the reason that there are conflicts and arguments,
and quarrels,
and fights,
is because of the people we are.
It is the sin within us.
And so most human effort at peacekeeping
is rather like, isn't it,
trying to clean up a river downstream
from where the pollution is coming into the river.
And you and I need to remember that
blessed are the peacemakers
is the seventh beatitude.
It doesn't stress,
it doesn't stand alone.
So,
blessed are the peacemakers
is addressed to people who are,
look at verse three,
poor in spirit.
So it's saying that you and I,
as Christians,
we are not to be proud.
We're not to be arrogant.
We're not to be people that know it all.
We're not to try and dominate.
We're to recognize
our own personal guilt
and our own personal weakness
and our own wrongdoing
that actually you and I
are like beggars before God.
And we are to be people,
verse four,
who mourn.
That is,
we're really sorry
and we're ashamed
for our own sin
and for our own weaknesses.
And that leads,
doesn't it,
verse five,
to make us meek.
So we're not always trying
to get our own way all the time.
We're not trying to manipulate
the situation
so we get our way.
We don't try to get everyone
to follow us.
We don't think
we always know best.
We remember our own weakness
and our own frailty
and our own guilt.
And we're meek.
And because we recognize that,
we long above everything else
for holiness,
verse six,
for righteousness.
We long for God's will to be done.
And so we are merciful
because we find it easy
to forgive and forget.
And we find it easy
to pardon our fellow human beings.
We're not judgmental.
We're not harsh.
And we don't have long memories.
Why?
Because the Christian recognizes
that God has forgotten
our sins.
And because God
has forgotten our sins,
so we have to be willing
to forget the sins of others.
And so the person
who was described here
doesn't bring things up
from years ago
and use them as clubs
to beat people over the head with.
Because God would never
do that with us.
God never says,
you're always doing this.
Remember you did that
five years ago?
And so we're merciful people.
And we're pure in heart
with a single eye for God
and for his glory.
And then having said
all of that,
Jesus then says,
he says,
and blessed are the peacemakers.
because we see ourselves
in a new way
as a result of the Beatitudes.
We're not nearly as important
as we once thought we were.
We're not nearly as clever
as we once thought we were.
We're not nearly as good
as we thought we were.
We're a lot humbler.
And we're a lot more realistic
about ourselves
and about others.
And we see other people
in a new way.
And we love them.
And when we see their faults,
we know that we have faults.
And because we've experienced mercy,
we are merciful towards them
and meek towards them.
Because love covers over
a multitude of sins.
So blessed are the peacemakers.
And we take on
the essential character
of peacemakers.
It's not a mask that we wear.
It's not a duty
that we give ourselves to.
It's not a course
that we go on.
What is being a peacemaker?
It is the overflow
of real spirituality.
And so please don't take
verse 9
out of its context
and
kind of
out of its place
in the sermon.
What I'm saying
or what I'm trying to say
is that
for all the benefits
of peace to come,
you and I
need to be changed people.
We need to be
pure in spirit
and mourning
and meek
and merciful.
And you can't have peace
without that.
And so I'm saying
as we consider this text,
it's vital to consider
the other text.
It's vital
for you and I
to work out
our own spiritual growth.
That is our reading
of scripture,
our prayer,
our putting sin
to death,
our dealing
with ourselves,
our growing
in faith
and love.
because that's all
part of the picture.
There are no shortcuts
into becoming
a peacemaker.
You can't take it up
as a hobby
or a little extra
Christian activity.
And so the truth
is this, isn't it?
It is probably
too late
in church,
in a church,
when trouble comes
to be thinking
then
and only
then
of being
peacemakers.
Because when
trouble comes
in a church
or a family,
it doesn't just
come like that.
People always say
that to me.
They always say,
we didn't see it coming.
It just came
out of nowhere.
It never comes
out of nowhere.
Never, ever.
In a church context,
the rot sets in
normally years
after earlier.
There's been a failure
in vital
godliness.
And then you see
the fruit of it.
And the problem
didn't arise
in a week,
one meeting,
or a month.
It had been something
that had been going on
for a long time.
And so you've got
to keep the verse
in its context.
Who we are,
changed people,
people in whom
God's spirit is working,
people who are growing
in Christ.
And so it points
to who we are.
Secondly,
it points to what we do.
What we do.
So in verse 9,
blessed are the peacemakers.
And so we need to begin
with a couple of negatives,
don't we?
Peacemakers are not
people who are easygoing,
who avoid confrontation.
They're not wimps.
Peacemakers are not weak,
and they're not ineffectual,
and they're not cowards,
and they're not compromising.
And that's not what
Jesus is talking about,
isn't he?
Peace has to be based
on truth and righteousness.
And in reality,
sweeping things
under the carpet,
it doesn't make peace.
Ignoring wickedness
doesn't make peace.
God speaks,
doesn't he,
in Jeremiah 6,
verse 14,
they're famous verses.
And he speaks
to the preachers of the day,
the leaders of the day,
and he says,
you dress the wound
of my people
as if it wasn't serious.
You say,
peace, peace.
But there is no peace.
And so in your own marriage,
and in your own family,
and in your own home,
to sweep things
under the carpet
is not making peace.
To bury things
in the sand
is not making peace.
To ignore something
is not what our Lord
is talking about here.
And he's not just speaking
about peace keepers,
if I can put it like that.
They're vital, aren't they?
We are to be people
who are peaceable.
We're to control
our tempers.
Proverbs 15,
18 says,
a hot-tempered man
stirs up dissension.
We'll control our speech.
Proverbs 15, verse 1,
a gentle answer
turns away wrath.
But a harsh word
stirs up anger.
We've got to avoid gossip.
It's a plague, isn't it?
And it's a curse
in church life.
So Proverbs 26, 20 says,
without a wood,
the fire goes out.
Without gossip,
a quarrel dies down.
And we have to be
peaceable people.
We'll see later on
in Romans,
the Apostle Paul says,
as far as it's possible,
live at peace with everyone.
And so we've got to be
peaceable,
men and women
and boys and girls,
not always looking
for a fight.
But I think there's
more than that here
that Jesus is saying.
He is saying,
blessed are the
peacemakers,
not just those
who keep the peace,
as important as that is.
It's going further
than that, isn't it?
It's making peace.
It is bringing peace.
It is creating peace.
It is establishing peace.
It's a very
positive,
dynamic quality.
And so,
when we think of peace,
how do we think of it
in our culture?
We think of peace
as the absence of war.
But in the Bible,
the word peace
is far richer,
far more beautiful.
It's a far more
beautiful concept.
peace in the Bible
is a state of
well-being
and wholeness
and prosperity
and safety
and blessing.
So with us,
the way we think of peace,
we think of peace
as the absence of something.
The absence of war
or the absence of fighting.
But in the Bible,
peace is the presence
of something.
It is the presence
of wholeness
and prosperity
and soundness
and blessing.
It's a positive thing.
So being a peacemaker
is much richer.
It is much
more wonderful
than stopping fights.
Being a peacemaker
is creating wholeness
and wellness
and prosperity.
peacemakers
and so peacemakers
repair gaps.
Peacemakers
heal preaches.
Peacemakers
bring people
together.
Peacemakers
want to create
unity
and soundness
to create
God's
shalom.
God's peace.
for you and I to be peacemakers
that will mean we've got to listen
listen to people
to take time to understand
what they're saying and where they're coming from
and very often to differentiate
between what they say and what they mean
because
people often
don't always say what they mean
or mean what they say
and so
as we listen we are asking
what is this person trying to communicate to me
peacemakers want to reduce
tension and look for solutions
not to describe
problems or make them worse
peacemaking is positive and constructive
and healing
so Paul says in Romans 14 verse 19
let us make every effort
to do what leads to peace
and mutual edification
and so above all isn't it
above everything else
what peacemaking surely means
is telling the gospel to people
because that is isn't it
the finest and the most ultimate
and the most permanent
and the most constructive way of making peace
telling people of a God in heaven
who has sent his son
the Lord Jesus Christ
the saviour
so that
you and I can have peace with God
and as we've seen in Romans
peace with God
is not just
absence of hostility
it's not just that the war is over
but there's wholeness
and blessing
fullness
the fruit of the spirit
Galatians 5.22
the fruit of the spirit
is love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
and self-control
and so when you have people
filled with the Holy Spirit
you will have peace
and so what we do is
we're to be healers
builders
facilitators
bringing people together
to bring God's
shalom
to the earth
that's part of our family calling
isn't it
that is part of
the creation mandate
of Genesis 1.27
to rule and subdue the earth
it is to bring order
and beauty
out of the chaos
in God's world
subduing the earth
who we are
and what we do
and then lastly
who we resemble
who do we resemble
blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called
sons of God
it's sometimes
mistranslated
children of God
but it's
sons of God
our children
refers to our
status
sons
refers to our
nature
we're all
aren't we
part of the
bride of Christ
I hope
you men
rejoice in that
we are part of
the bride of Christ
there's no kind of
sexist
in this
when the New Testament
speaks about the
sons of God
we are all
sons in the
son
there's nothing
sexist
for you women
in being
sons of God
our identity
our character
Jesus is saying
we are the
offspring of God
we bear the
likeness of our
father
and he says
if we are
peacemakers
we will be
recognized by
other people
and they will
say
ah
they are
sons of God
they will be
known and
acknowledged as
sons of God
like the
son of God
and we can really
understand that
can't we
easily understand
that because
God
as we saw
this morning
God is the
great peacemaker
isn't that the
whole history
of redemption
from the
moment that
Adam and Eve
fall
to the second
coming of
the Lord Jesus
Christ
what is it
the story of
the whole of
the Bible
is the story
of God
bringing peace
to his
disturbed
and disordered
world
and the
gospel
is the
gospel of
peace
the good news
of peace
Satan
came
into the
garden
of Eden
and he
disrupts
the space
he came
into
and he
breaks
the unity
he breaks
what is it
in Eden
is it
just in the
absence of
war
no there's
shalom
in Eden
isn't there
there's
fullness
there's
wholeness
there's
beauty
and Satan
comes and
he disturbs
that
and yet
God
in his
plan of
redemption
has sent
his son
into this
world
to heal
the world
he is the
prince of
peace
and God
promised
this
doesn't he
I will
make a
covenant
of
peace
with
them
and the
Lord
Jesus
when he
left
his
disciples
do you
remember
what he
said
he said
he breathed
on them
and said
peace
be unto
you
and the
apostle Paul
as he
calls
God's
blessing
unto
people
what does
he say
he says
grace
mercy
and peace
to you
and so
when Jesus
returns
he will
bring with
him the
complete
and everlasting
peace
of God
and in that
promise in Isaiah
Jesus is who
he is the
prince of
peace
and so
God is the
God of
peace
and his
work is
in that of
bringing peace
and wholeness
and unity
and soundness
and blessing
that's what we
look forward to
when we come to
the Lord's
table
when there
will be
wholeness
and unity
and soundness
and blessing
and we will
partake of the
wedding supper
of the Lamb
and so what I
think Jesus is
saying to us
is that when we
make peace
we are
God like
we are
God like
and truly
that's
tremendously
encouraging
isn't it
to us
we make
peace
with a
friend
we've
had an
argument
with someone
there's
been a
coldness
between
us
or a
quarrel
so I
need to
say to
you this
it is
a
God
like
thing
and it
is a
Christ
like
thing
to
make
peace
to go
to that
person
and make
peace
when our
children have
been angry
with us
and they're
irate
with us
we put
our hand
on their
shoulder
and we
tell them
that we
love them
and we
speak
gently
to them
and wisely
and we
make
peace
that is
a
God
like
thing
that is
a
Christ
like
thing
and when
you go to
two friends
who've
fallen out
with each
other
and you
pray
and you
talk with
them
and you
seek to
help them
understand
and to
help each
other
and to
forgive each
other
and you
try to
bring them
together
as best
you can
that is
a
God
like
thing
and a
Christ
like
thing
to
go into
a church
when it's
divided
and to
try and
bring
people
together
and not
make the
situation
worse
that is
a God
like thing
to do
and a
Christ like
thing to
do
and God
says
blessed are
the peacemakers
for they will be
called the sons
of God
we resemble
God
when we
make
peace
in some ways
I could finish
there but
I think
we need
to see
the
challenge
of
these
verses
because
it's
all very
well and
good for
me to
say to
you
it is
God
like
when you
make
peace
and that's
a great
encouragement
but we
need to
understand
how did
God
make
peace
so
let me
read you
from
Colossians
chapter
1
it was
our
assurance
of
pardon
this
morning
Colossians
chapter
1
and
verse
19
for
in him
that's the
Lord Jesus
Christ
all the
fullness
of God
was pleased
to dwell
and through
him to
reconcile
that's to
make peace
to bring
back
together
to himself
all things
whether on
earth or
in heaven
making peace
by the
blood
of his
cross
peace
and so
if there's
anything
that's
clear
in the
New
Testament
it's
this
it is
this
that it
costs
God
to make
peace
and making
peace
is costly
one of the
Puritans
said
the God
who said
let there
be light
could not
say
let there
be peace
the God
who said
let there
be light
could not
say
let there
be peace
because God
had to
make
peace
and God
made peace
through the
blood of
his son
shed on
the cross
and peace
making in
the Bible
the gospel
tells us
is very
very costly
and so
tonight
as we come
to this
table
we rejoice
in God
because we
have come
to peace
with God
through the
life and
death
of the
blessed
son
of God
and as
you eat
of the
bread
and as
you drink
of the
wine
it
reminds
you
of the
cost
of peace
this
is my
body
given
for you
this
is my
blood
shed
for you
and so
it is
with us
chapter 5
verse 1
seeing the
crowds
he ran
up on
the
mountain
and when
he sat
down
his
disciples
came to
him
and so
what you've
got in
the
sermon
on the
mountain
is you've
got him
speaking to
the
disciples
with the
crowd
listening
in
and amongst
that crowd
there would
have been
hardline
right wing
conservative
Jewish
nationalists
and as
Jesus preached
to them
that day
they hated
the Romans
they were
desperate
that the
Romans
would be
got rid
of out
of their
land
and their
eyebrows
would have
been raised
and they
would have
sneered
when Jesus
said
blessed are
the peacemakers
it was a
hard thing
for Jesus
to say
in a
kind of
politically
charged
atmosphere
but think
for a
moment
what did
it mean
for Jesus
when he
says
this
that
when he
says
blessed
are the
peacemakers
for they
should be
called
sons
of
God
he
knows
what it
will cost
him
to make
peace
that he
was going
to die
on a
cross
to make
peace
it's not
sentimental
is it
he would
lay his
body
on the
line
to make
peace
the peace
that we
enjoy
blessed
are the
peacemakers
and I
need to
say to
you
it is
costly
if we're
going to
do
this
and so
this week
who is
there
that you
can make
peace
with
and there
will be
situations
I expect
for the
people in
this room
in your
family
in your
circle
in your
friendships
in this
church
even
where
the Holy
Spirit
is
speaking
to you
through
this
verse
and saying
to you
you need
to make
peace
and making
peace
pleases
God
and I
don't say
that sentimentally
I know
that is
costly
and for
peace
to be
made
it may
well be
absorbing
an awful
lot of
pain
and an
awful lot
of hurt
and coming
to the
Lord
Jesus
and saying
I can
only do
this
in your
strength
sometimes
being accused
being a
peacemaker
is accused
of being
a compromiser
it's often
that in
church life
sometimes
when you
try to
make peace
people will
say why
don't you
just mind
your own
business
nothing to
do with
you
people
won't
understand
but what
a way
to spend
our
lives
blessed
are the
peacemakers
for they
will be
called
sons
of
God
and we
follow a
saviour
who made
peace
and he
made peace
at the
cost of
his life
as it
seems to
me that
we are
never more
Christ-like
and we
are never
more
God-like
than when
we're seeking
to make
peace
and it
may be
for you
that it's
a very
small
and limited
way
that whatever
way this
week you
can make
peace
but when
you do
that
blessed
are you
that you
should be
called
sons of
God
let's
pray