[8:00 AM] Blessed are the Peacemakers (Matthew 5:1-12)

Please stand for the reading of the word.

We're in The Sermon on the Mount.

The Beatitudes verse number, 9 will be our primary focus today.

But here the reading seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the

mountain and when he sat down his disciples came to him and he

opened his mouth and taught them saying blessed are the poor in

spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed, are those who mourn for they shall be comforted?

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for

they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful for

they shall receive Mercy? Blessed are the pure in heart

for they shall see. God blessed are the peacemakers

for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

sake? For theirs is the Kingdom of

Heaven. Blessed?

Are you when others, revile you, and persecute you and utter all

kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice

and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for.

So they persecuted the prophets. Outfits who were before you.

The word of the Lord may be seated.

Today, we look at verse 9. Beatitude blessed, felicitous.

Happy Well, pleased are those who are the peacemakers.

For they shall be called the sons of God to keywords In this

passage. Peacemakers.

And sons of God. The peacemakers are those who

follow pursue and establish peace.

This is the sole use of this word.

Anywhere in scripture is not used anywhere.

In the Old Testament nor anywhere else in the New

Testament. This word Peacemaker.

In order to understand what it means to be the sons of God, we

have to remember a few things and then we can go from there.

Scripture says that those who are peacemakers, whatever that

is, are the ones that will be called the sons of God. in other

words, they will be like their father You'll be able to see the

genetic code in them. They will be doing those things

that their father does. Now the Bible gives us several

senses in which we are the sons of God.

In the first instance we are sons of God by creation.

Genesis 2. And that's the ants.

All human beings are the children of God.

By creation, God took Adam from the Dust.

Molded him. He was thoroughly physical

thoroughly of the earth earthy thoroughly of human.

Stock and standard and stuff dust Thou Art and dust, Thou

shalt return. But God breathed into his

nostrils, the breath of life and he became a living soul.

And in doing this God said, let us make man in our image and

after our likeness and he did that, he created them male and

female created. He them So there's a sense in

which we are as Paul says, and as even most Pagan religions

will tell us, we are in that. Sits, The Offspring of God, the

sons of God, we are God's Sons by creation and I think the

designation here where it says they shall be called or they

shall be accounted, they shall be reckoned, the sons of God,

isn't there something else to it beyond that?

We are children of God are sons of God by New Creation.

John 3 and First John 3. You must be born again.

We are born of the spirit of God.

Just like, God took that lump of clay and breathed into his

nostrils, the Blessed Breath of Life and Adam became a living

Soul physically. So spiritually, God takes the

dead lump. And breathed into our nostrils.

By his holy spirit, in a marvelous work of regeneration

in a marvelous work of recreation, and now we are the

regenerate sons of God. And as we mentioned, that's who

this passage is directed to by and large are the people who are

the born-again regenerated. Sons of God.

But then there's another sense and that's the sense of

adoption. We are adopted, this is the

legal forensic type of understanding of our sonship, it

has to do with the air to the Heritage.

The air that it belongs in. Paul flesh.

Has this out for us in Romans principally in chapter 8 and

other places. So God is our father.

We are his sons, but in order to be Designated that special piece

maker, designation. We've got to take a look at what

we need to be doing. and basically, we take a look at our

father What did our father do? Our father is a peacemaker.

John brought us says there is no more Godlike work on Earth than

being a peacemaker. That's what God had to do from

the very start. After Mankind's sins, God had to

start a work of being a peacemaker.

There was an Alien Nation. There was a separation.

There was a parting, there was an enmity in a hostility that

existed between God, the father and Humanity.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

There's none righteous. No, not one.

There's those that are far from God, and he must bring them back

to himself. So, the Lord began a work, that

is the work of reconciliation. Peacemaking.

Bringing the two that are at enmity and hostile.

Bringing them into one and atonement. 70 over 70 times in

the Old Testament, there is a Word used that refers to one of

the sacrifices, it was called the selim.

Shalom peace. It was the Salim, the selenium

was the peace offering and it was an offering that was quite

expensive but quite important and we find it mentioned and God

tells him how to do it in the book of Exodus.

Leviticus and he goes all through the Old Testament,

you'll find from time to time that peace offerings are made.

And a peace offering has kind of in the middle of it.

You can kind of always remember this.

It means appeasement It is to placate the Wrath of the

parties. It is to appease the parties, it

is to bring them together. There's a Reconciliation God

reconciled to man in the fact that he reconciles and

irreconcilable man. It's man that must change it.

Is we who have fallen short. We are the ones that must be

made. New God is God, he changes not.

He has no reason in this relationship to be reconciled in

and of himself. He reconciles us and the

imperative from scripture is be ye reconciled to God and that's

what the peace offering was all about.

The peace offering was. Reconciliation.

It was an act of worship. It was an act of appeasement and

it involved as a said he was expensive involved.

Two Lambs without spot without blemish, firstlings of the flock

etc. Etc.

You know the standard for the sacrifice of the Old Testament,

it had to be perfect. Interesting, it's two Lambs.

Passover was one lamb, it's two Lambs.

There's some real heavy duty work to be done in

reconciliation. and man has to Be there.

Ready and open for God to do it and the bended knee and the

bowed head and the slaughter. The animal was man's way to come

to God and see if there might not be a Reconciliation.

God commanded him to be approached himself to be

approached, that way, a bullock that's quite a sacrifice that an

agrarian economy. You go out here to any Angus,

breeder in Texas, and ask them to surrender their best.

All they miss may not want to do that but that's what God calls

for. A bullock or even a ram, which

is the chief of all of those sheep and goat species.

And the reason it's expensive offering his it's precious,

there's absolutely nothing more important than a Reconciliation

apiece to be made between God and his people.

And any mediator work between God and man has been fulfilled.

We see a massive amount of Prophecy and shadows and types

and teaching and pictures. images of all of this in the Old

Testament, but We see this work of piece of peacemaking.

Is really the Sovereign work of the Lord, and he promises it in

who he will send. Let me read a passage of

scripture that is most familiar to you.

In fact, I hesitate to even read it so familiar, but you know

doesn't hurt its Isaiah chapter 9, listen to the language of

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

what we celebrate usually around the Advent season.

For unto us. A child is born.

There's The Human Side of Jesus. A little child is born unto us.

A son is given the exalted Son of God.

There's the deity of Christ Right There For unto us.

A child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall

be upon his shoulder. And his name Shall be Called

wonderful, counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father Prince

of Peace. That's a title.

That's David's son. David's great, son.

Or Solomon. That's what his name means.

Shalom, Solomon. It's a man of Peace.

David was a man of war, but because he was a man of Peace,

God, assign Solomon, the sacred Duty and privilege of building

the Temple. The place where God would meet

with man, where they would be reconciliation, where they would

be peace, where they would be meeting when all, the enmity

would be put aside, and they would become his very people. so

David's son is the candidate to do this work of reconciliation,

peacemaking and Christ is the one that fulfill that and so

Christ is prophesied here to be called The Prince of Peace of

the increase of his government and of Peace.

There will be no end. the whole point of the government, The

Authority, the rule, the reign of Christ in his kingdom, is to

establish that peace and to keep it A peacemaker and a

peacekeeper. And that's who Christ is to us.

Another Prophet prophesying around about the same time in

Israel. That had a passage similar to,

this is another passage. We consider often at Advent

season. But you o Bethlehem are too

little to be among the clans of Judah from you shall come forth

from me one, who is to be a ruler in Israel?

Whose origin is from old from ancient days.

There we have the eternality of Christ from old.

As coeternal with the father, he was with the father in the

beginning, but we also see his Incarnation, his coming to Earth

is coming to live in a tent of Flesh.

One more time, God is going to take a lump and Infuse, his

breath, his spirited to it as he did in Adam in the Incarnation,

that's what happened. God, takes human flesh and

hovers over by the Holy Spirit and what's conceived in Mary is

the very Spirit, the very breath, the very word of God.

And so that's the prophecy. Therefore, he shall, give them

up until The time when she, who has to labor, has given birth.

Then the rest of the brothers shall return to the people of

Israel. Here is the birth of Christ.

The Incarnation, he shall stand and Shepherd his flock in the

strength of the Lord. Don't miss that, he shall stand.

On a stasis stand-up, be raised. He shall stand and Shepherd.

His flock in the strength of the Lord.

In the Majesty of the name of the Lord.

God, they shall dwell secure for now.

He shall be great. To the ends of the Earth and he

shall be their peace. That's precisely what Paul says

in Ephesians 2. Says Christ is our peace, he's

our peace offering. He's the one that makes piece of

the coming of the Prince of Peace.

Is the one that comes to make this breach between God and

Humanity. Clothes.

Disappear healed. And that's what God has done for

us. God is the ultimate primary

Eternal, peace maker. If you do not know the Peace of

the Lord this morning, it is time for you to know that.

The Bible says the wicked are like the troubled sea.

They cannot rest. There's no peace.

Saith my God to the wicked. God wants you.

He calls you. He says to you seek me while I

may be found call upon me while I am near.

He's broken down the middle wall of partition.

He has made peace for us, and he calls upon us to do just that

and having come by faith. To the Savior who was a blood

shedding peace offering to God on our behalf.

To thus remove that which separates us.

The Lord's hand is not shortened that he cannot save, neither his

ear heavy that he cannot hear your sins have separated between

you and your God. And your iniquity has hid his

face from you, and he will not hear if you do not have that

piece this morning. It's because of your sin.

You must repent. Abandon your sin.

Flee to him and call upon him. And as we've tried to indicate

He will give that peace. That will keep him in.

Perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on thee

because he trust in thee. That's what we're asking you to

do this morning is to is to trust the Lord.

Let me make one practical note. and, If I have a moment, I'll

read one more scripture. I mentioned that brought us had

said that peacemaking there's no more Godlike work on Earth than

being a peacemaker. What is the role of a peacemaker

in our society as we operate and live our lives and seek to be

peacemakers as God has called us to be making peace involve

sacrifice. It's a removal of Wrath hatred

and strife between parties. You think you want to get in the

middle of a fight? You think you want to get

involved? Peacemaking requires that but

when he does, it will require require you to endure all the

way I got this all out of Calvin.

It's just you just listed it out there, you can just read it in

door and dignity. To here and tolerate reproach.

in fact, I like the way he said it, he says you will hear

Grievous complaints from both sides, In a peacemaking

Enterprise, you will be hated. you will be mistreated by both

sides, both parties that we have a absolute Duty to advocate for

truth, justice and mercy in our efforts, as peacemakers brought

us in his remarks going to say that you must be impartial.

Loving. Tactful.

Selfless. And exercise an enormous amount

of self-control. How will we do?

Well, the good news is God calls us to do everything.

They were supposed to do. The fact is we usually don't do

it too well. Full of imperfections and

failing and even mixed and mingled with motives and sins.

So we have the assurance that God is going to take everything

and make it just right. And as Robbie praying, this

prayer just a few minutes ago. It's not as it used to be.

And it's not as it will be. Let me read.

Just one very, very interesting, passage out of the the Old

Testament to conclude and there are many passages in the Old

Testament that talk about peace and the Shalom, that will be

upon the Earth with the animals, the wild animals, and the fierce

animals, lying down with the domestic animals.

And there will be nobody hurting and destroying and all of God's

mountain and over and over and over in the books.

But here's an interesting. I didn't like the way the Lord

phrases it. Let me close with this.

Therefore this is it Ezekiel by the way Ezekiel 34 therefore

says the Lord. Behold, I myself will judge

between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

I had a wish. I had time to talk about that.

Would Ron preach only preached on fat sheep.

Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust it all with

the week with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad.

This is the hustle, and the tussle in the friction and all

of the hostility that is between the Sheep.

Peacemaking is to be done within the house of the Lord true.

And the Lord says, one of these days I'm going to settle all

these disputes. I'm going to recognize this, I'm

going to bring to judgment and I'm going to judge between this

sheep and that sheep. He says I will rescue my flock.

They shall no longer be a pray. I will judge between sheep and

sheep. I will set up over them.

One Shepherd, Christ my servant David and he shall feed them, he

shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd.

And I the Lord will be their God.

And my servant, David will be Prince among them.

I am the Lord I have spoke now. Listen to this.

I will make with them, a covenant of peace and banished,

wild beast from the land. So that they may dwell securely

in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

And I will make them in the places all around my heel of

blessing and I will send down the showers in their season.

They shall be Showers of blessing and the Trees of the

field shall yield their fruit in the Earth, shall yield its

increase, and they shall be secure in their land.

And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars

of their yoke, when I deliver them from the hand of those who

have enslaved them, they shall no more be prey.

And the Nations nor shall the beasts of the land devoured

them. They shall dwell securely.

And The way shalom means well-being Prosperity safety

dwelling in in peace. That's what the word shalom

means. I will provide for them renowned

plantations so that they may know more be consumed with

hunger in the land and no longer suffer the reproach of the

Nations. And they shall know that I am

the Lord, their god with them. Then they, the house of Israel

Are My People. Declares the Lord God and see if

you hear the voice of the Savior saying, And you are my sheep.

Human sheep of my pasture. And I am your God, declares the

Lord God My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.