Latest / CCC West Covina / Blessed are the Peacemakers

Transcript

Blessed are the Peacemakers · CCC West Covina

0:00
By way of introduction to tonight's verse, Matthew 5 verse
0:05
#9 blessed are the peacemakers, for they should be called the
0:12
sons of God. Literally, they and they only
0:15
are called the sons of God. So by way of introduction, I
0:20
want to turn to the ultimate peacemaker, Jesus Christ our
0:25
Lord. And so by way of introduction,
0:28
turn to Luke chapter 19, Luke chapter 19.
0:36
Everything about the ministry of our Lord is so unique and
0:40
precise. And to realize that what happens
0:44
at Luke 19 was not just foretold, not just foreseen and
0:53
not just for known. It was all fulfilled
1:02
specifically. And when you read the narrative
1:07
of the triumphal entry and the Lord sends his men into the city
1:11
to to get a donkey, that was fulfillment of Zechariah 9 verse
1:18
#9 and Christ rise to the city. You, you know the the narrative
1:25
to the praises of the people. That too was Zechariah 9 verse
1:31
#9 In fact, it's so specific it's quite unbelievable that
1:38
Israel did not understand it. In fact, Zechariah 9 verse #9
1:44
reads this way. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
1:47
Zion shouted triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your king
1:52
is coming to you. This is what they saying.
1:56
They sing joyfully. He is just an endowed with
2:00
salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the
2:04
full of a donkey, I'll prophesied.
2:09
And sure enough, in Luke chapter 19, it happens just as it was
2:13
foreseen, foreordained, foretold, foreknown.
2:22
It was fulfilled specifically, but also also everything, not
2:31
just about the praises of the people and not just the
2:36
presentation of the Savior, but specifically the pain of the
2:43
Messiah. For it says this in verse #41
2:47
when he approached Jerusalem, he saw the city and he wept over
2:53
it. Isaiah 53 verse #3 Messiah would
3:00
be a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
3:07
It's just so incredible how how everything comes to light.
3:16
And so the Messiah who comes to the city of peace, that's what
3:19
Jerusalem means the the city of peace.
3:24
You have the Prince of Peace on the the backside of a donkey
3:31
riding into the city of peace to offer them peace.
3:38
And yet he, he sits there and weeps over the city.
3:45
Why? Because the people would forfeit
3:52
their peace. Listen to what it says, verse
3:57
42. If you had known in this day,
4:00
even you, the things which make for peace, but now they have
4:07
been hidden from your eyes. If only you had known the things
4:14
that make for peace. But when Christ came, he, He
4:20
came to offer peace. He is called the Prince of
4:25
Peace. Isaiah 9 verse #6 Isaiah 54
4:29
verse #10 He offers the new covenant of peace.
4:37
In Luke 179, Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist,
4:41
would say that when the Messiah comes, He will guide us in the
4:46
pathway of peace. When the angels declared the
4:52
arrival of the Messiah, they said peace on earth toward those
4:59
with whom He has pleased. Luke 214 Simeon was looking and
5:08
longing for the consolation or the peace of Israel, and when he
5:14
held the Messiah in his arms, he rejoiced because peace had
5:18
arrived. And Anna in Luke 2 was longing
5:26
for the redemption of the city of peace, that somehow the
5:31
people who lived in the city of peace would be redeemed by the
5:35
Prince of Peace. So everything about the arrival
5:39
of the Messiah was all about peace because He was the
5:42
ultimate peace maker, that there is no peace without the Prince
5:50
of Peace. And so he comes right into the
5:54
city to the praises of the people, but he weeps because the
6:03
peace he offered, they did not once that they were looking for
6:08
political peace, they were looking for military peace.
6:17
They were looking for national peace, but personal spiritual
6:24
peace. They weren't looking for that.
6:27
That wasn't even in their minds. But Christ came to offer them
6:34
peace and they would forfeit it. Think about this way the Bible
6:40
begins that ends with peace. It began in the garden with
6:45
ultimate bliss and ultimate peace with no sin.
6:51
When it's all said and done in the new Jerusalem, in the new
6:55
heaven, in the new earth, total peace, complete, perfect peace.
7:03
But when man sinned in Genesis chapter 3, peace was forfeited.
7:10
And So what did Christ do? He came to make sure peace would
7:17
be granted to man by settling man's debts at Calvary, because
7:27
he wanted to be at peace with man.
7:33
And yet when he comes as the Prince of Peace into the city of
7:37
Peace, offering them peace, they reject it because it wasn't the
7:43
kind of peace they thought they needed.
7:50
We live in a world just like their world 2000 years ago, with
7:58
no peace. Every peace treaty that has been
8:03
made has been broken. One day, Antichrist will come.
8:10
He'll confirm the peace treaties in Israel that will begin the
8:15
Tribulation period. Daniel 924 to 27 is very clear
8:19
about that. That's when the Tribulation
8:21
begins. Revelation 6 says that the
8:23
Antichrist comes on a White Horse.
8:25
He comes with a bow, but no arrows, because he comes in
8:28
peace to make peace. And there will be a national
8:34
peace. There will be a political peace,
8:38
but it's not true peace. It's interesting that there is
8:45
no president that can bring peace.
8:49
There is no king that can bring peace.
8:54
There is no ambassador, no diplomat, no lawyer, no judge,
9:00
no individual who can bring peace.
9:07
But the Christian can bring peace.
9:14
In fact, you, me should be the world's ambassadors for peace,
9:22
because we are the only ones who can bring peace, because we know
9:28
the Prince of Peace. And interesting that it's God
9:34
who commissions us to be his ambassadors.
9:40
The world is at war. The world will always be at war.
9:48
In 1945 when the UN was established, it had this motto.
9:58
Very simply this. To have succeeding generations
10:05
free from the scourge of war. Since 1945, there has been no
10:13
generation free from the scourge of war.
10:16
But that's their purpose. The World Council of Churches
10:21
cannot bring peace. The UN cannot bring peace.
10:25
No government official can bring peace.
10:30
Oh, we can sign peace treaties, but in the years of our
10:37
existence there has been less than 200 years with no wars.
10:48
There is always going to be war. Why?
10:52
Because man is at war with God. And as long as man is at war
10:58
with God, he'll be at war with one another.
11:02
There will be no peace and Satan is at war with God.
11:10
His angelic hosts are at war with God, and that war is
11:18
nonstop. One day it will end with the new
11:23
heaven and the new earth, and there will be complete and total
11:26
peace. But until then, there is no
11:31
peace. And yet the Bible says blessed
11:35
are the peacemakers, for they and they only are called the
11:40
sons of God. Someone has remarked that peace
11:49
is that moment in time where everyone stops to reload.
12:01
Do you know that there have been more people killed in America by
12:09
guns than in wars? 1.5 million by private gun
12:19
owners, 1.2 million in wars. We got a problem.
12:28
Man is at war, not necessarily with one another.
12:32
That's the byproduct of his war. He is at war with God.
12:38
It has been since the fall. Man is at enmity with God.
12:45
He is the enemy of God, and therefore he becomes the enemy
12:50
of God's creation. And yet, as we begin to ascend
12:56
this ladder of the Beatitudes, each rung is filled with
13:02
blessing after blessing after blessing.
13:06
From the time of Matthew 5 verse #3 to the 7th beatitude, the
13:10
peacemakers, you just keep beginning to understand how you
13:14
get into the Kingdom, how you grow up in the Kingdom so you
13:18
can live like a child of the king.
13:23
And Christ makes it very clear that the peacemakers are the
13:28
only ones that are truly called the sons of God because they are
13:38
at peace with God. I don't know where you're at
13:45
tonight, but most families don't have peace.
13:53
Most marriages don't have peace. There's this ongoing battle day
14:00
after day after day. If you're, you're a believer and
14:03
you're married to an unbeliever, that there, there there is a
14:06
battle that's going on all the time.
14:10
I was reminded of the guy who was interviewed one day.
14:13
They had been married. He and his wife have been
14:14
married almost 70 years. And they, the reporter asked
14:19
him, what is the, what is the, the reason behind all the
14:25
harmony and and peace that you have in your marriage over all
14:30
these 70 years of being together?
14:35
To which the man replied, he said, well, well, my wife and I
14:38
got married. We made a pact with one another
14:42
that if she was angry or, or she was irritated or she was was
14:48
upset or bitter, she would just lash out and get it off her
14:52
chest. And me, well, if I became angry,
15:01
if I became bitter, if I became resentful, if there were things
15:05
on my mind, I would go outside and take a long, long walk.
15:15
So he said the key to our marital peace and harmony is
15:19
that I've spent the bulk of my life outside, not inside.
15:26
I thought it was pretty funny. I'm not much of a joke teller,
15:29
but I thought that was pretty funny.
15:34
But just because you don't bring up a topic or bring up a subject
15:37
doesn't mean that there's peace. Just because you refuse to talk
15:43
about something doesn't mean there's there's peace.
15:47
To shy away from dealing with truth is wrong.
15:52
Why? Because when truth reigns, peace
15:59
prevails. There is no peace without truth.
16:05
Psalm 85 verse #10 says that righteousness and peace have
16:09
kissed each other. In other words, the only way
16:15
that righteousness really is seen is in the in the realm of
16:19
peace and and peace can only be accomplished in the realm of
16:23
righteousness, holiness, truthfulness.
16:29
But so many times we, we avoid topics.
16:31
You, you know about this and your family.
16:33
You don't want to bring up this issue because somebody might
16:36
blow up. So we refrain from that.
16:39
We get together at birthdays or holidays and we make sure we
16:42
don't talk about this and we don't talk about that because if
16:45
we do, something's going to really explode.
16:51
So let's just keep the peace. You're not really keeping the
16:56
peace. You're just maintaining the
16:58
truth because peace is always, always centered on truth.
17:08
Without truth, there is no peace.
17:09
That's why Jesus Christ is the God of truth.
17:14
That's why he's the ultimate peacemaker because he lives a
17:19
righteous life, a holy life. And without that there, there
17:24
would be no peace. That's why the Bible says he was
17:29
12/14 pursue peace and holiness without which no one would see
17:38
the Lord, because the 2GO hand in glove, the 2GO together.
17:48
And Christ comes along and says blessed are the poor in spirit,
17:53
there's the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who recognize
17:58
they, they have nothing sufficient in and of themselves
18:02
to accomplish anything for the sake of righteousness, because
18:05
they recognize that they have nothing to offer God.
18:10
Blessed are those who mourn over the sin, their iniquity.
18:15
They are the ones that are are comforted and blessed are they
18:20
meet the humble because they'll inherit the earth.
18:26
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
18:28
they and they only, are the only ones satisfied.
18:34
That makes it very clear. He says blessed are the pure in
18:40
heart, for they shall see God, and those who are pure in heart
18:49
become the peacemakers, and they are truly the sons of God.
18:56
James would say it this way. He would say the wisdom from
19:00
above is first pure, then peaceable, the order
19:08
significant. Every word of God is pure, every
19:12
word of God is true, right? Every word of God is clean.
19:16
So the wisdom that comes from above is first of all, pure,
19:21
pure, unadulterated truth, then peaceable because peace is
19:31
rooted in truth. That's why when you when you
19:36
watch the State of the Union address last night, half the
19:42
audience sat and the other half stood.
19:46
Why? Because there's no peace between
19:50
the two parties. Why?
19:54
Because truth does not prevail in either party.
20:01
So without truth prevailing. There can be no peace.
20:08
And so even though there are nations that gathered together
20:11
to formulate peace treaties, they just want to stop shooting
20:16
each other, stop dropping bombs on one another, stop killing one
20:21
another. Doesn't mean there is there is
20:24
peace because there is still hatred in their hearts toward
20:29
one another. So this beatitude becomes very,
20:34
very important for us to understand that God is doing
20:37
something unique in the life of His children, that they would be
20:42
able to represent his Kingdom clearly to those who come in
20:47
contact with. So the outline is the same as
20:51
it's been the last six weeks. We will make sure we define the
20:55
condition, describe the consequences, detail the
20:58
characteristics, and then determine our course of action.
21:02
OK, let's first of all define the condition by looking at the
21:07
origin of peace, the obstacles to peace, and the opportunity
21:13
for peace. First of all, the origin of
21:18
peace. Well, that's fairly simple for
21:23
us to understand. God is called the God of peace.
21:28
He's the originator of peace. Six times in the New Testament
21:31
He's called the God of peace. In Judges 624 he's called
21:35
Yahweh, Shalom, the Lord our peace.
21:42
Jesus Christ is the peacemaker, Ephesians 214 for He is our
21:51
peace. The origin of peace is in God
21:55
alone. So unless you know God there,
21:59
there will be no peace, for he is the God of peace.
22:05
And so the Bible says that if God is the God of peace and
22:09
Jesus is the Prince of peace, then the Spirit is the agent of
22:12
peace, because the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy and peace.
22:19
The Kingdom of heaven is not eating and drinking in Romans
22:21
1417, but righteousness, truth, peace, and joy in the Holy
22:29
Spirit without. Without peace there is no joy.
22:36
Without righteousness there is no peace.
22:41
And the Kingdom of heaven is made-up of a righteous king who
22:44
rules purely and truly and holy and offers peace to those who
22:51
come to Him on His terms. So here's Christ writing to the
22:56
city of Jerusalem as the Prince of Peace, wanting to offer them
23:02
peace, and yet they refused it. And someone will say, well, wait
23:11
a minute, hold on. Didn't Jesus say in Matthew
23:13
1034, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword?
23:20
Yeah, that's what he said. Why?
23:24
Because there's division in the family when someone believes and
23:31
receives the Prince of Peace, the Jewish family.
23:36
If if you believe in the Messiah, you're you're ousted,
23:40
you're gone, you're done. You, you are dead to the family.
23:45
So here is Christ the Peacemaker who comes to offer peace to
23:50
those who embrace Him as the as the Prince of Peace.
23:53
All the while they do that, it divides their homes.
24:00
It brings a separation from those who do not want to know
24:05
the true Prince of Peace. So the origin of peace is is
24:11
rooted in God. You, you see the bumper sticker,
24:13
right? No God, no peace, no God, no
24:16
peace, NO God, NO peace KNOW God, KNOW peace.
24:28
If there is no God, there is no peace.
24:30
But if you understand and comprehend God, then you
24:33
understand and comprehend peace, because He is the Prince of
24:41
Peace. So He is the origin of peace.
24:44
What are the obstacles of peace? Well, if God is holy and just
24:47
and true and pure, then the obstacles to peace are the
24:52
opposite of that which is holy unholiness, the opposite of that
24:57
which is pure impurity, the opposite of that which is true
25:01
falsehood, hypocrisy. The obstacles of peace are sin
25:08
and that that's why there's never going to be peace in the
25:11
world. No matter how hard to be try,
25:14
it'll never happen. Why?
25:15
Because there is no peace for the wicked.
25:19
Isaiah says it twice. No peace for the wicked can't
25:24
be. Why?
25:26
Because the only way you know peace is to know the God of
25:29
peace and without knowing him there is no peace there.
25:36
There can be a truce, there can be a laying down of the weapons,
25:43
there can be a refusal to say some of the things you used to
25:47
say. But without a heart change there
25:51
cannot be peace, because peace happens on the inside of the
25:56
man. You see, We think that peace is
25:59
the absence of something. Peace is actually the presence
26:06
of someone. Peace is not the absence of
26:11
conflict in your home. It's the presence of God in your
26:17
heart. And when the presence of God is
26:22
in the heart, there could be conflict in the home because of
26:27
those who do not want to stand for the truth and for the
26:31
righteousness of God. In fact, I guarantee there's
26:36
going to be conflict in the whole mind.
26:37
The very next beatitude speaks about persecution.
26:46
All those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
26:49
persecution. So.
26:53
So peacemakers are dividers. They don't purposely want to
27:01
divide, not purposely trying to sow division.
27:07
They just automatically divide because they live for the Prince
27:12
of Peace and they live for truth, and they uphold truth and
27:18
honor truth because they know there's no peace without truth.
27:23
And so therefore you become an automatic divider.
27:29
Let me ask you something. Christ was a divider.
27:34
He troubled man's souls. Here was the peacemaker right
27:39
into Jerusalem on Monday, but on Tuesday he goes and cleanses the
27:43
Temple, runs everybody out. That's the peacemaker.
27:48
Why? Because the peacemaker stands
27:50
for truth and does not want truth to be compromised and will
27:54
not stand for truth to be compromised.
28:00
And he said, you have made my father's house a den of thieves.
28:08
So by way of moving people on, he was standing for truth as the
28:17
peacemaker. And we think that that because
28:21
you're a peacemaker, there are there are things you just don't
28:23
say or the things you just don't do.
28:25
But listen, the peacemaker always says the truth, and the
28:29
truth is the automatic divider of people.
28:34
You speak the truth, you will have enemies because they don't
28:40
want to abide by the truth. That's OK because the truth
28:46
stands and speaks for itself. The Bible says about this
28:52
concerning the Christ that he was the one who stirred up
29:00
strife. Luke 23I think he's 23/5 his
29:06
accusers said he stirreth up the people.
29:13
Listen, whatever you speak truth, you expose sin.
29:16
Whenever you expose sin, people get what?
29:19
Get mad, get upset. Why?
29:23
Because they don't want their sin exposed.
29:26
And so whenever you preach the gospel as a peacemaker, what
29:32
happens? Those who love their sin don't
29:35
want to hear what you have to say.
29:38
They don't want to follow Christ, that they love their sin
29:41
more than they love the Christ. And so they're going to become
29:44
angry with you and the things you say about what it means to
29:46
be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
29:49
And they get upset not because you purposely tried to upset
29:54
them, you just simply spoke the truth as a peacemaker because
29:58
you want to them to enter into peace as you have entered into
30:02
peace with the true and living God.
30:03
It's very important to understand that.
30:08
So God is the origin of peace. Christ is the the Prince of
30:12
peace. The Spirit of God is the the
30:14
agent of peace. But the obstacle to peace is
30:17
always sin, unrighteousness, and holiness, because man is wicked,
30:24
he's wicked. And so the Bible says in
30:29
Jeremiah 8, they've healed the hurt of the daughter of my
30:33
people slightly by saying peace, peace when there is no peace.
30:45
The great Puritan Thomas Watson said these words.
30:49
Peace always flows from sanctification, but they, being
30:55
unregenerate, have nothing to do with peace.
30:58
They may have a truce, but no peace.
31:01
God may for bear the wicked a while, and stop the roaring of
31:07
his Canon, but though there be a truce, yet there is no peace.
31:12
The wicked may have something which looks like peace, but it
31:16
is not. They may be fearless and stupid,
31:20
but there is a great difference between the stupefied conscience
31:24
and the pacified conscience. This is the devil's peace.
31:30
He rocks men in the cradle of security.
31:34
He cries peace, peace when men are on the precipice of hell.
31:39
The seeming peace of Sinner has is not from the knowledge of his
31:44
happiness, but in the ignorance of his danger.
31:49
So true, so true. But the opportunity for peace
31:58
comes because of Christ. Listen to what the Bible says in
32:01
the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter one.
32:08
It says that Christ reconciled all things to himself.
32:16
Have He made peace through the blood of his cross?
32:21
Through him, I say, whether things on earth or things in
32:23
heaven? And although you were formerly
32:25
alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He
32:30
has now reconciled you and his fleshy body through death, in
32:36
order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond
32:40
reproach. See, we forget that we, we were
32:44
the enemies of God before our salvation and, and, and God and
32:53
his great love for mankind went to Calvary's cross in order to
32:59
to bridge that gap between himself and mankind.
33:04
And therefore he grants us the, the grace of salvation so that
33:11
we are no longer enemies of God, but reconciled to God.
33:14
Two parties coming together to be one in purpose and one in
33:19
life and one in love. God does that for us.
33:22
He's the, he's the, the great opportunity for peace.
33:28
And Christ provided that so that we could be a part of his
33:32
Kingdom. Put #2 What are the
33:37
consequences? Let me say it to you this way.
33:40
I kind of changed my outline a little bit today.
33:44
I got the prerogative to do that.
33:46
And that is there are three. A brand new identity, a
33:53
beautiful testimony and boundless joy.
33:58
A brand new identity, the sons of God.
34:05
Just think about that. You're called a son of God.
34:08
We oy is the, is the word it, it's a word of honor.
34:13
It's the word of prestige. It's the word of position,
34:15
right? We've studied that with Christ
34:18
being the son of God, we, us and what that means.
34:21
It's a, it's a, it's not a term of origin.
34:23
It's a, it's a term of honor and position.
34:27
And, and we have been granted a position of honor to be called
34:31
the sons of God, the children of God.
34:37
And therefore we we have this, this brand new identity.
34:43
See, we were once sons of our father the devil.
34:48
Johnny, remember when Christ talked to religious
34:51
establishment and said that you are of your father the devil.
34:54
I mean, either the devil is your father or God in heaven is your
34:58
father, right? And if the devil's your father,
35:01
you're a son of disobedience. And if if God in heaven is your
35:06
father, you are a son of obedience.
35:09
See, and Christ says blessed are the peacemakers.
35:15
Why are they blessed? Why do they have boundless joy?
35:20
Simply because they're pure in heart.
35:22
They hunger and thirst for righteousness.
35:25
But but the fact of the matter is, is that they have a brand
35:29
new identity with a with a brand new identity comes a a beautiful
35:36
testimony that you are of your father in heaven.
35:42
You are sons of God. You you've seen children running
35:46
around our our campus, right? And you look at them, that's
35:51
their father, right? I can see their Father in that
35:56
boy right now, right? Good or bad, you see the Father
36:00
and the Son and the Son and the Father, right?
36:05
Well, when it comes to being children of God that they see,
36:09
they see that we're sons of our Father in heaven, they say that
36:13
person knows the Lord. That person follows his Father
36:19
in heaven. That person is a true peacemaker
36:23
because he wants to live in peace.
36:26
He's so committed to the truth. So you have this beautiful
36:31
testimony that comes that's based on a brand new identity
36:35
that gives you nothing but boundless joy.
36:39
The book of Proverbs says this Proverbs 12 verse #20 counselors
36:46
of peace have joy that great counselors of peace have joy.
36:58
Why? Because they're settled in their
37:02
heart. They're at ease.
37:05
They're at peace with God. And as they counsel, they want
37:10
to lead people into a, a, a understanding of who God is and
37:13
a relationship with the living God.
37:14
And therefore that brings them nothing but bliss and joy.
37:19
That's why the Bible says blessed, happy, joyful are the
37:26
peacemakers for those people. They are the sons of God.
37:35
What a great tribute that God passes to His people #3 DTN.
37:43
The characteristics for them #1 those who are peacemakers have
37:49
experienced peace, right? They experience peace.
37:55
Remember Titus chapter 3 verse #3 For we also once were foolish
38:01
ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various
38:04
lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy,
38:08
hateful, hating one another, that that's the characteristic
38:12
of the unbeliever. But when the kindness of God our
38:16
Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us none of
38:20
the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but
38:23
according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
38:26
renewing it by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out up on us
38:31
richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified
38:37
by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of
38:44
eternal life. The characteristic of a
38:49
peacemaker is that he's experienced peace, peace with
38:52
God. He's no longer at war with God.
38:58
I hope tonight you don't see yourself fighting God, an enemy
39:03
of God, because if you are, you're not a believer in the
39:06
Lord Jesus Christ. If you've been reconciled to the
39:10
Lord, if you've been, if you've been made at peace with God,
39:13
then you are one with Him, and the Prince of Peace reigns in
39:19
your soul. Isaiah 3217 says this.
39:24
And the work of righteousness will be peace and the service of
39:28
righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
39:32
What a statement. The work of righteousness is
39:36
peace. Because of Christ's
39:41
righteousness, because of His justice, because of His
39:44
Holiness, He made a way for peace.
39:50
And that righteousness produces comfort, it produces confidence,
39:57
it produces rest in the soul because you've experienced
40:02
peace. That's why Christ said, My peace
40:07
I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, He says to his
40:13
men in John 14. And those who experience peace,
40:17
they express peace. They express it.
40:23
Romans 12/18 if possible, so far as it depends upon you, be at
40:29
peace with all men as much as it depends upon you be at peace
40:35
with all men. In other words, that there's an
40:38
expression of our lives that exudes peace.
40:42
We're not, we're not arrogant, we're not prideful.
40:47
We're we're, we're not trying to put people down 'cause strife.
40:52
No, we just want to speak truth and live in peace because we
40:58
know the Prince of Peace. The Bible says over in in
41:04
Matthew 543, you have heard that it was said you shall love what
41:09
your neighbor and hate your enemy.
41:12
But I say to you, love your enemies.
41:14
Pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of
41:19
your Father in heaven. In other words, you've heard
41:23
that it was said that you can love your friends and hate your
41:26
enemies. No, no, no, you.
41:29
You love your enemies. And when you love your enemies,
41:32
you do prove yourself to be a son of your Father in heaven.
41:37
Who said that in Father? Forgive them, for they know not
41:39
what they do. That God demonstrated his love
41:42
for us, and that while we were yet still enemies of His, He
41:49
died on Calvary's cross for us. So when you love your enemies,
41:55
you prove yourself to be a son of your Father in heaven.
41:58
You're you're, you're a son of God.
42:00
See, you're, you're a peacemaker because you love your enemy.
42:05
Don't hate your enemy. And so you not only experience
42:11
peace, but you express peace and you explain peace or extend
42:18
peace. You explain peace to others.
42:23
Peter said this way Acts 1036. The purpose of the church was to
42:28
preach peace through Jesus Christ.
42:33
Preach peace through Jesus Christ.
42:37
Romans 10/15 How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the
42:40
gospel of peace. In other words, those who
42:45
experience peace live peace. They express that peace, but
42:50
they also explain that peace. They they want to extend that
42:53
peace to others. So they make sure they
42:55
understand who the Prince of Peace is.
43:00
They want to live and speak for Christ.
43:05
And those who experience peace and express peace and explain
43:09
peace will always encounter pain.
43:16
They will always encounter pain. Christ it here was the Prince of
43:23
Peace who rides into the city of peace to offer them peace.
43:27
And what do they do? They hang on a cross.
43:31
They crucify him. They kill him, they hate him,
43:37
simply because he came to offer them peace that they did not
43:40
want. So he encountered the most
43:46
excruciating pain known to man. Not physical suffering, ah, but
43:53
the separation of his Father in heaven.
43:56
My God, my God, why has that forsaken me?
43:59
Such pain he encountered as the Son of God.
44:07
Paul was known as the the pestilent person because he
44:14
would preach peace. When you preach peace, try to
44:21
explain peace. You'll be criticized, you'll be
44:23
condemned, you'll be persecuted. Why?
44:28
By those who want nothing to do with your God.
44:31
I love what Vance Havner said. He he said these words he said.
44:34
Let it not be forgotten that a twice born and spirit filled
44:37
Christian is always a contradiction to this old world.
44:42
He crosses it at every point from the day that he is born
44:47
again until he passes on to be with the Lord.
44:53
He pulls against the current of a world forever going the other
44:56
way. If he allows it, men will tone
45:01
him down, steal the joy of a salvation, reduce him to the
45:07
dreary level of the average. Most church folk dislike having
45:14
their Laodicean complacency, upset by those who insist on
45:19
walking by faith and not by sight.
45:24
So good and so true. And so those who have
45:30
experienced peace and want to express that peace to others and
45:35
explain that peace so that they can encounter the Prince of
45:38
Peace will always encounter pain to some degree.
45:43
Rejection, persecution, isolation, you name it.
45:50
Stand strong on the truth and see who stands with you.
45:56
Very few will they they, they're more willing to compromise truth
46:02
to maintain peace. But that's not peace because
46:06
peace is rooted in truth. Without truth, there is no
46:10
peace. So what's my course quickly?
46:17
Number one, you need to love the maker of peace.
46:22
That's Christ. He's the ultimate peace maker.
46:28
John 1633 says these things. I have spoken to you that you
46:31
might have peace. 2nd Thessalonians 316 says May the
46:36
Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in
46:40
every circumstance. Oh how I love thy law is my
46:44
meditation all the day. And great peace have those who
46:47
love thy law. If you love the Lord, you love
46:51
the law of God. You have to love the Maker of
46:53
peace. You love them with all your
46:55
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your
46:57
strength. Why?
46:58
Because there's going to come a time where you are standing all
47:00
by your little lonesome, and no one else is going to stand with
47:03
you. But you love the Lord, and you
47:06
will stand side by side with the King of the universe, who is the
47:09
Prince of Peace. You love the Maker of peace #2
47:15
You need to leave the menace to peace.
47:19
If you love the maker of peace, you leave the menace to peace.
47:23
What's that? Sin, Hypocrisy, compromise.
47:29
Leave all that behind. You must if you love the maker
47:35
of peace. The Bible says in Proverbs 28
47:44
verse #25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife.
47:54
He was of a proud heart stirreth up strife.
47:59
If strife in your home, are you the reason for that strife?
48:07
You need to leave the menace to peace.
48:11
Whatever that attitude is, whatever that that ingrown
48:16
personality trait you have is, you leave it, Run away from it
48:24
because you don't want to become that obstacle to someone else
48:28
seeing the Prince of Peace because of your bitterness,
48:30
because of your anger, because of your short sightedness,
48:34
because of your quick tempered attitude, No, you don't want to
48:40
do that. Got to leave all that behind so
48:46
many times. It's, it's our self that's the
48:50
menace to peace, right? Our selfish desires, we went it
48:56
our way and no other way. And that's what you need to
49:02
leave behind. Love the maker of peace, love
49:07
the Lord. And then if you do, you leave
49:11
the minutes to peace #3 labor to make peace.
49:22
Paul says in Ephesians 43. Endeavor, work hard to keep the
49:29
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
49:34
Endeavor to keep that what you have.
49:37
Listen, you cannot develop unity in the church, but you can
49:44
destroy unity in the church. So Paul says, endeavor to keep
49:51
the unity of the Spirit and abundant peace.
49:54
You got to do all you can to keep it.
49:56
You got to work hard. You got to be zealous to keep
49:59
that which God pleased you, where God put you together as a
50:04
as a unit, as a body of Christ, right?
50:08
Are you working hard? Are you labouring to make peace
50:14
because you endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit and the
50:17
bond of peace? Clauses 315 says we're to let
50:21
the word of Christ be at home in our hearts.
50:27
Let let the peace of Christ be at home in our hearts.
50:32
In other words, there there is something about being on God's
50:37
side that causes great peace and therefore we let it rule, let it
50:45
govern every decision we make. The fact that we're on God's
50:49
side determines what decision I make with my wife, my kids, my
50:54
work, whatever I'm doing. Let the let the peace of, of
50:58
Christ umpire in your hearts, right?
51:03
Let let the fact that you're on God's side call all the shots.
51:07
That's just a great thing because see, I don't have to
51:10
call any shots. I don't have to be the empire.
51:13
Sometimes I act like the empire, but I don't have to be the
51:16
empire. Why?
51:17
Because I let the peace of Christ be the empire in my
51:20
heart. Let the fact that I'm on God's
51:21
side, let God make the decision. How do I know what the decision
51:26
is? That's what I got the word of
51:27
God for, right? That directs me and guides me.
51:31
And lastly. Live as a messenger of peace.
51:42
Live as a as a messenger of peace.
51:48
Listen to what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 18.
51:54
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to
51:57
himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
52:00
reconciliation. We have been given a ministry of
52:06
reconciliation, of bringing two parties together that are at
52:10
odds and enmity with one another, God and man.
52:16
God has reconciled us to Himself so that he would impart to us a
52:20
ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ
52:25
reconciling the world to Himself, not coming to
52:28
trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the
52:33
Word of reconciliation. See, God gave you the word of
52:40
bringing parties together that are enemies one with another.
52:46
That's why you are the ambassador of Christ.
52:51
That's why God has commissioned you to be his peacemaker.
52:57
Nobody in the government can do it.
53:00
Nobody in your school can do it. Only God's peacemakers can bring
53:04
peace, peace with God, and God wants us to live as a messenger
53:10
of peace. How about you?
53:12
You want to do that because true blessing comes to the
53:19
peacemaker, because those people truly are the sons of God.
53:25
My, my, my prayer is that you understand that you are his son
53:29
of the living God. Let's pray together Father,
53:32
thank you for today. All that you do chance to be
53:35
together. Bless us, bless this night.
53:37
As we leave this place, may we take with us the opportunity to
53:43
speak forth the truth, maybe lift for you and honor you.
53:46
Glorify your precious name in Jesus name, Amen.