Matthew

[0:00] . Seeking Lord's help and blessing, I will direct your attention to the words found in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9, the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

[0:38] . There is much emphasis on this disposition in the word of God, especially in the epistles to the various churches in the New Testament.

[0:57] We know that nearly all of those epistles will have such a greeting at the beginning. grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[1:16] And outless that peace is desired not only for individuals but for the Church of God as a whole.

[1:29] But not only so, but also at the end of those epistles we so often find words like those. If it be possible, as much as life in you live peaceably with all men.

[1:50] Follow after the things that make for peace and the things whereby one may edify another. Be of one mind, live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

[2:20] And similar expressions you will find at the end of almost every epistle. Peace be unto all those. The peace be unto you and to all the Israel of God.

[2:36] There is this continual emphasis on this great blessing of peace. And the continual exhortations that such as are concerned in these great and important matters should seek peace and pursue it.

[3:01] We have then much emphasis on this which we should surely observe as we have that desire expressed by the Apostle at the end of one of the epistles to the Thessalonians.

[3:17] The Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means the Lord be with you all.

[3:32] Now this peaceable and peacemaking disposition is one of the effects of those exercises which we considered earlier in this chapter.

[3:48] it is that disposition which is the fruit and effect of true poverty of spirit and of mourning over a sinful condition and especially of the meekness which we earlier considered.

[4:16] As I mentioned before that spirit is really one which the Saviour himself brings before us later in this chapter it means that when there is any personal affront or attack then one does not retaliate one does not wish to do so but one does in fact exactly the opposite as Jesus says at the end of the chapter that he said I say unto you bless them which curse you do good to them that hate you pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you in reference to this word that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God it is he evidently himself who is the author of true peace

[5:40] God is not the author of confusion but of peace peace in a sense is his very nature and certainly it is his precious gift so that we do need to seek that spirit of meekness the meek as we have it expressed in the Corinthians have that charity or love which suffereth long and is kind which vaunteth not itself does not behave itself unseemly seeketh not her own this is very much the peaceable spirit which is here so commended to us by the Lord and he on which he so pronounces his own benediction such are blessed it is then the effect of true meekness and the example is before us in the person of Jesus himself there were often strifes amongst these disciples to whom he was speaking for those occasions when their own pride and ambition and self seeking led them to desire to be the greatest peace and how frequently

[7:25] Jesus dealt in so such a faithful and tender and loving way with those disciples and brought them together again he often made peace amongst them but he came to this earth for a far higher purpose than that he came to make peace by the blood of his cross he has done that which none of his disciples could do anything towards he has made peace between man and God he has provided that propitiation that peacemaking sacrifice so that having made peace by the blood of his cross he came and preached peace to those that were far off that is the Gentiles and to those that were nigh now it should surely be our concern our very deep and constant concern that the peace which

[8:53] Jesus has made might be conveyed into the hearts of our fellow men that peace with God might be their portion if it be his holy will that is really our concern as regards to that but with respect to peace amongst men then it should certainly be our great concern to do all that we can to this end if it be possible as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men of course the word implies that it is not necessarily always possible there may be that on the other side which makes it impossible at some times to live peaceably with others but the apostle by the spirit is really saying see that there is nothing on your side to prevent that peaceable living together what a wonderful example the savior was in his life and teaching of the peacemaker he is called the prince of peace and through his whole life he was showing such an example of this and how about us perhaps you think well this is fairly easy it may seem perhaps easier to be a peacemaker than to be pure in heart or merciful well have you ever tried

[10:58] I suppose that Moses may well have felt it was fairly easy when he found two of the Hebrews striving together and said to them brethren why do you strive like this you're brethren one of them turned against him and said who made you a judge a prince and a ruler and a judge over us will thou kill me like thou killest the Egyptian Moses did not succeed in that instance but no doubt he learned much from it and it was later said concerning him that he was the meekest man of all the earth and how often he had to make peace between one and another of the people as they went through the wilderness how much strife and murmuring and trouble there was and how often he had to fall on his face before his

[12:12] God to seek help in this matter you see dear friends there are so many differences of temperament of background of circumstances and so many things which do cause again and again some strife and difference and division you well know surely that in this day there are so many broken marriages broken homes businesses businesses which are torn with strife churches which are divided oh the agony of it all because there is in the hearts of men so much in all our hearts there is so much of this tendency to strive there is so much danger of conflict everywhere and so the peacemakers are so precious they are so greatly needed and how we should all seek for this blessing that the

[13:43] Lord pronounces upon them blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God dear friends it isn't easy it is no easier than the other of these beatitudes nothing less than the grace and wisdom and compassion which God gives will be sufficient truly to be a peacemaker this then does imply there is always need for such if there were peace everywhere already there would be no need for peacemakers but it is very evident that that is far from the case and there is a constant need for such change you know how a little oil will make such a difference where there is it may be an irritating squeak or surfaces that are coming together and producing that friction which always results in heat how a little oil makes all the difference and so when there is the gracious loving influence of the

[15:16] Holy Spirit of God just a little even will make such a difference to ease to prevent and to heal any differences that there may be so how we do need the Holy Spirit and that wisdom which is from above that we may truly be peacemakers sin ever causes separations strides sorrows we so need the sin in us to be subdued and for the Lord to grant his holy peace peace well we may ask what is needed to be a peacemaker what are the characteristics that are necessary to this end well first we must have a peaceable spirit that must be put first as absolutely essential we must really be lovers of peace in our very hearts to be peacemakers this is not something you can just go out and do without any kind of preparation for it we do need our spirits to be softened you see those only really can be true peacemakers who know the peace of God in their own hearts and who know what effect this can have to be brought to the

[17:18] Saviour's Cross and to feel his peace and love flowing into your hearts will make you long for others to know it too and for that peace to be found wherever you go do we leave dear friends any peace behind us we need our hearts softened by the Saviour's precious blood being sprinkled upon them and to have that true delight in peace the psalmist spoke words like that he said I am for peace and I hope that we shall all be able to say that before

[18:20] God I am for peace but when they speak they are for war and again he says my soul has long dwelt with him that hateth peace now what a solemn situation this is what sad works are those and yet how true it is there are those many in the earth who really hate peace and are constantly stirring up strife and discord and conflict how entirely opposed to the spirit of Jesus Christ but nothing will do but first this peaceable disposition this longing that there may be peace and this real love for it and secondly we should need an understanding mind with regard to this we are all such complex personalities and when there are differences between persons then so much wisdom and understanding is needed in this respect you know how in that passage that we read together that very beautiful description of wisdom is given the wisdom that is from above that wisdom that God gives it follows the order in this passage it is first pure and then peaceable gentle easy to be entreated without partiality and without hypocrisy full of mercy and good fruit all of these things are of such a peaceable nature that wisdom that God gives he gave it to

[20:49] Solomon of old so that when they brought before him that child of whom the mothers were disputing as to whose it was he dealt with that in such a way that all that were there marveled at his wisdom in resolving this matter but the one who spoke these words has all the fullness of wisdom in himself so that he is called the wisdom of God he who says blessed are the peacemakers he is the fountain of wisdom in him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge he in his whole life was never baffled by the many human difficulties clashes with which he met he always had the wisdom to deal with everyone and he says in his word if any man lack wisdom let him ask of

[22:06] God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraid it not and it shall be given him dear friends peacemakers need much wisdom and understanding he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that keepeth his spirit than him that taketh the city much better to be a peacemaker than to be a great captain of the army much better to be a peacemaker in the sight of God than to be famous in this present world the Lord pronounces his blessing on such though how much understanding and prudence is needed in these things and further we need a sympathizing heart that word sympathy means a sighing toward or a sighing with to be a true peacemaker one has to so to speak project oneself into the other person's feelings and position to seek to understand and then to sympathize with the way that they feel we have it expressed in the manner in which

[24:04] Ezekiel had to act early in his prophetic ways there were those people his own countrymen who were in sorrow and we read just this he says I sat where they sat he didn't go at first to speak to them and he could only speak as the Lord opened his mouth but he sat amongst them he put himself in their position he was one with them he showed them in that way that he was sharing their grief and sought to sympathize and to do all the good that he could we see it also in the friends of Job they are often rightly criticized for their words but surely it should always be remembered but although they failed their original intention was good they came especially to Job to comfort him and they sat down with him seven days and seven nights and no man answered a word it may well have been that their silence was much more helpful than their words but they sat with him they did not utter a single word because they saw that his grief was very great and they sat there to sympathize with him now we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities he has such tender sympathy as well as such perfect wisdom may he make us all of his own disposition and grant us that same loving tender sympathy with those that are in sorrow with any who may feel to be grieved we need then a sympathizing heart a heart that is really touched with the distress and feelings of others so that we can in a sense put ourselves in their place and then we also need a guarded tongue those passages in James are exceedingly solemn as regards the immense amount of damage and distress that can be caused by just a little tongue it is the word of God says an unruly evil full of deadly poison surely no stronger language could be used about it we all have much occasion to speak but in the multitude of words there want is not sin and so often there is so much sin in what we speak there is a time to keep silence as well as a time to speak well might we pray every day such a prayer as that before we have said very much set a watch

[28:00] O Lord before my mouth keep the door of my lips that nothing may proceed hence which is going to cause distress to others but only words of truth and soberness of love and peace peace we have these words of exhortation in the scripture again and again the prophet Zechariah says therefore love the truth and peace the psalmist says seek peace and pursue it peace the apostle says follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord peace is to be followed and our own lips our tongues our speech is so much concerned with these things there is a time to keep silence when

[29:17] Aaron's two sons were appointed to the priesthood his eldest sons and he would have expected one of them to succeed him in that very high and important and privileged office no doubt he was so pleased and yet how soon Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord and the fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed him poor man how deeply he must have felt that too how his sons struck down when they'd been in such a promising state to and yet we read concerning it Aaron held his peace he must have felt like saying a great deal but he had wisdom enough to say nothing the great high priest himself when he was brought before his accusers that many things were said against him he answered not a word he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he openeth not his mouth there were many times in which the Saviour spoke when they asked him concerning his being the son of the blessed he spoke very plainly and definitely concerning that but he would not answer these personal accusations all unjust that were railed against him and so we do so need a guarded tongue to be peacemakers we need to be so careful and so prayerful also concerning the things that we speak a soft answer turneth away wrath grievous words stir up anger this is so even in natural things remember a dear friend and brother of mine who was at one time in a hurry and left his car parked on the corner or somewhere where it really shouldn't have been when he came back to it there was a policeman standing there obviously very annoyed all ready to speak to him and this friend said isn't that a silly place to part just look at it isn't it it's so stupid to part there he said I am sorry and then he could see the policeman's anger completely subsiding and all he said was something like well don't do it again will you so often peaceable words do turn away anger the soft answer turneth away wrath when grievous words would stir up anger that tongue the apostle says is as a fire fire fire which can be so useful and profitable and helpful to us in so many ways and yet it can spread so rapidly and cause such vast damage the tongue is like a fire how we needed it to be our tongues to be guarded and guided in all the things that we say and surely if we are honest we have or to confess that we have so many sins of our tongue well now the promise here is that peacemakers shall be called the children of God to be the children of God is indeed a priceless privilege such a wonder surely John was deeply stirred in his heart when he wrote such words as those behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God that we who are so sinful and base and unworthy should ever be called the children of God what a wonder indeed it is that God should adopt into his own family those who were rebels against him and so full of iniquity and sin and rebellion against him what a wonder it is that worms of the earth should be called children of God his own adopted children heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ but there are such there are those who are truly the children of the Lord

[35:26] Most High who have this tremendous privilege of being adopted into his royal family nothing could possibly be greater than that to be the children of God but this word says that they shall be called the children of God they shall be acknowledged as such they shall be seen to be the true children of God and that must certainly be fulfilled to some extent upon this earth those who are truly peacemakers will be acknowledged as God's children for they have a little likeness to him he is called the God of peace Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and certainly the Holy Spirit of God is a spirit of peace and those who are of that peacemaking disposition these shall be acknowledged even now as the children of God and certainly it will also be so on the great day of judgment you read that word concerning the children of God that it shall be said behold

[37:00] I the Savior says and the children whom thou hast given me he is not ashamed to call them brethren he will acknowledge the peacemakers to be his own they are and they shall be called the children of God and what a wonderful privilege dear friends it will be in that great day to be found amongst the children of God and to be called that and this follows for all eternity they shall ever be under his wonderful favour and enjoy his own peace they are to dwell with God himself forever because they are his own family and he will have them to be with himself forever more now beloved friends are you concerned about this simple yet so profound statement blessed are the peacemakers are you one of them are you concerned in your life to make peace and not to destroy it to avoid bitter envious angry words which do cause so much strife and division and to heal where there may be a breach of the peace well if that be so there is so much cause for constant prayer concerning it

[38:53] I have said to you that we do need these things we do need this whole disposition if we are to be peacemakers and only God himself can bestow it upon us and preserve it in us we so need him to give us a peaceable spirit an understanding mind a sympathizing heart a guarded tongue may the Lord in his great mercy grant us this the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace they are sowing peace it is a remarkable word and expression but we are all sowing every moment of our lives we are really sowing something and the word of

[39:58] God very solemnly declares concerning it that God is not not for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap if he sows discord he will reap it if he sows peace he will reap that we don't expect one such kind of seed to produce an entirely different kind of plant he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit that is the holy spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting what are we sowing dear friends to him that soweth righteousness there shall be a full reward and the fruit of righteousness is being sown in peace by them that make peace for may we all be found amongst them

[41:05] Amen We will close with hymn number 10 182 tunes to Marguerite 225 How sweet how heavenly is the sight when those that love the Lord in one another's peace delight and so fulfill his word when each can feel his brother's sigh and with him bear apart when sorrow flows from eye to eye and joy from heart to heart hymn number 10 182 How sweet our heavenly glory is the sight when thou hast loved the

[42:12] Lord in one and others may delight and so fulfill his God heart where he can feel his brother's side and with him ever part where CD can

[43:13] And cry And wishes All above It can be But the fading Night And so A brother's Lord When all In one Delightful Spring Through every Ghost of Flowers All Your love Sweet And Dear In Every Action

[44:15] Goes Love Is The Golden Trade For The And Were Love Is Another Wow Are Welt the glory Lord.

[45:05] Great and holy and ever gracious God we do beseech thee to grant those favors of which we have spoken and heard and sung O do grant that thy peace and thy love may be found in our hearts today. We so greatly need thee to work in us that which is so acceptable in thy sight and to subdue every evil within. O do grant we do beseech thee that peaceable spirit that we so need.

[45:55] Make us all lovers of peace and peacemakers. May thy blessing rest upon us all we do pray thee.

[46:08] In the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

[46:20] Amen.