The Peacemaking Church

Amen. Pastor Jacob and myself talk. I was very encouraged by his message this morning.

And it's okay, we got out a little past 12 this morning, and so we think it's important to get out before 12 tonight.

And so we'll keep things, yeah. Matthew chapter 5, please.

We have been walking through, slowly, a series on the Sermon on the

Mount. We are still in the Beatitudes presently. But something that I want to talk about tonight as we find our way to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9, we live in a world of questions.

A lot of questions people have. We look at what's going on even right now in the

Middle East, a lot of questions, what's going on with Israel and those sorts of things.

We live in a world where people are searching for things.

They are searching for, maybe, meaning. They are searching for, maybe, fulfillment.

They are searching for, you might even say, solace, or even use the word, peace.

Of course, the problem is, as the Bible says in Romans 3, no one seeks after God.

And so though the world is searching, maybe, for answers, they are not looking in the right place.

And they are searching in such a way that it's actually reprehensible, it's actually refusing to acknowledge

God. But for the Christian, we have this book.

We have this book from God. And we have this book from God that teaches us, in some ways, exactly what the world says that it's searching for.

The book actually teaches us what the blessed life looks like.

You want to know what a life that is fulfilled, a life that is at peace, a life that is meaningful, a life that matters?

You want to know what that looks like? Well, Jesus is teaching that here in the

Beatitudes. This is what the blessed life looks like. And so tonight, we come to verse 9 of Matthew 5.

And I want to talk about the peacemaking church. Would you stand with me as we honor the reading of God's Word?

And so we'll just look at verse 9. We've walked through these one by one. Some of these Beatitudes have taken more than one sermon.

But here we are in verse 9. And Jesus says to His disciples, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Father, we pray that You would open this text to our hearts and minds tonight by Your Holy Spirit.

We want to be peacemakers because it is peacemakers who are called the sons and daughters of God.

Help us to understand this truth and how it applies in the life of the church.

I thank You for this church. I thank You for the peace that exists in this church.

But I pray we're mindful that this is something that we must be ever vigilant on and to consider

Your truth, Your Gospel, and the principles You've outlined in Your Word that we would be people of peacemaking.

And we pray it in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. Beatitudes here are pronouncements of blessing.

We're not saying that the word blessed equals the modern day understanding of happiness, but listen, y 'all, there really is.

I think it's the CSV or maybe it's the HCSP translates this word for blessed, happy are, happy are.

So, like, happy are the peacemakers. Maybe it's not a great one -to -one correlation, but don't dismiss it altogether.

Like, there is an element of happiness in the word for blessed here. What we're trying to do here is examine the recipients of the

Kingdom of Heaven. What we're thinking about here in these Beatitudes is what do the citizens of the

Kingdom of Heaven look like? Jesus answers that for us here in the

Beatitudes. Now, these are not imperatives. This is not saying go out and do this, not commands.

They're indicatives. They're statements of truth. And the reason that's important is because for our text, for example, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The idea is our identity in Christ, our regeneration, our being born again and then united to Christ, it results in certain things.

So, we don't go out and do these things so that God will accept us. Rather, because God has accepted us in Christ, because we have been born again, this is what now our life looks like.

And in our text, it looks like the peacemaking life. Now, I think that there's a connection.

I brought this up last time between verse 6 and then verse 7, 8, and 9.

So, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Well, what does a life satisfied in God look like?

What does the fruit of satisfaction look like? It looks like people who are merciful, people who are pure in heart, and people who are peacemakers.

And so tonight, we want to talk about the peacemaking church. I mentioned it this morning, and I don't mean to dwell on this, but I think it's relevant to today that our church has come a long way in one year.

But I want to reiterate tonight that a church is never done with reformation.

There's never a time that we say, oh, now we can hit the cruise control. You know how it's like, you're going through a big city, and you finally get through the traffic, and it's stressful, and you're just like, oh, and finally you get through all the traffic, and then what can you do?

You hit cruise, and you just keep going. But that's not the way in the church.

You don't get through a situation or something like that in the church, and then you say, okay, now I'm going to press cruise. No, there's always this idea of semper reformanda.

That is, the church is always reforming. We are never done fighting the evil one.

We must continue the ancient paths. So we must be a peacemaking church.

So number one tonight, the peacemaking church knows, number one, Christ is our peacemaker.

So let's start right here with the Gospel, right? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

So the first thing that a peacemaking church understands is that Christ is our peacemaker.

So to be a Christian is to be born again, to be given a new heart, to trust Christ. And then we have a desire to be like Christ.

Christ is the ultimate peacemaker, because he has made peace between us and God.

The Bible calls him the Prince of Peace. And in this sense, now in this sense, only

Christ is a peacemaker. You understand what I'm saying?

In the Reformation, probably what I'm going to do in two Sundays, never let a good

Reformation month go to waste. Probably what I'm going to do in two Sundays is on October 29th, that Sunday night,

I'll probably preach a message on the five solas. But this is Reformation month.

October we call Reformation month in church history, not because of our church, because of church history.

You understand? And the five solas of the Reformation, right, are that we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

And our highest authority on these matters is the Scripture alone. Now, that third sola, we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, number three, in Christ alone.

Solus Christus. That is, only Christ, in this sense, if you want to talk about all the peacemakers of the

Bible, only Christ is a peacemaker in this sense, because only

Christ is the one who reconciles us to a holy God. Psalm 711 says this,

God is a righteous judge, now listen, and a God who feels indignation every day.

God is love. God is love. You believe that tonight? Do you believe that God is love?

Amen? Right? God is love. We're not afraid of that. We love that. We should preach that.

But we should also remember that the chief object of God's love is

God. God loves His glory. And because He loves

His glory, God hates sin. And Psalm 711 says that He feels indignation every day, not merely towards sins, but towards sinners.

The bow is bent, the sword is ready, and judgment, friends, is coming.

Yet, there is one, the Bible tells us, who has brought peace, who has made peace between God and man.

Let's flip over in your Bibles to Colossians 1. Colossians 1. We're in Matthew 5.

Hold your place there. We'll come back. Let's go for a moment to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1, beginning in verse 15. He, that is

Christ, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities.

All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything

He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.

And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.

Jesus Christ is our peace. The gospel is our peace. And friends, let me tell you tonight, we must never lose the doctrine of propitiation.

My friend David Miller once told me, he said, we should know propitiation so well that if someone came over to your house at three in the morning and shook you awake and said, tell me what the word propitiation means, you could rattle it off like that.

What does it mean? Remember? Wrath, satisfying, sacrifice.

This is propitiation. This is the glorious reality that on the cross,

Christ propitiated the wrath of God.

He became, on the cross, our wrath, satisfying, sacrifice.

Satisfying that indignation that God feels toward sinners. Satisfying God's just wrath against our sins.

And we know that this atoning work is sufficient and we know that it is accomplished.

We know that when Jesus says on the cross, it is finished, that it really has accomplished, not just potentiality, but it really has accomplished what

Jesus intended. Why? Because our peacemaker rose again from the dead. His death was for our atonement.

That is a word in English, literally you put it together, atonement, spell it out in your mind, at -one -ment.

The idea is that through his sacrifice, Jesus has brought peace with God for those who put their faith in the finished work of Christ.

Apart from Christ, we are wretched and vile and helpless and hopeless, but the Bible teaches us, the gospel teaches us, the gospel of peace, that Christ bore our sins on the cross to satisfy

God's wrath, to end the enmity between us and God, and he rose again for peace with God.

God is just, and sin must be dealt with. God will not sweep our sin under the rug.

In fact, I believe it was A .W. Pink who said it this way, and we could tease out all that he means, but at least for shock and awe, it's helpful.

The way that he, A .W. Pink, said it was this way, God never forgives sin, only sinners.

And what he meant by that is that sin is always dealt with.

You understand? Your sin will be dealt with in one of two ways.

Either A, it is dealt with in Christ on the cross, or B, it is dealt with in eternity in hell, whereby you are never finished paying for your sins, because God is just.

But we're reminded tonight that we do not have to live in a world where God is our enemy.

If we will simply trust the sin -atoning work of Christ on our behalf.

Brother Cuatro, why are you preaching the gospel to a Sunday night crowd, right? We're Sunday night, we get this.

No, no, Martin Luther said, I preach the gospel every day because my people forget it every day, right?

We need to be reminded that the way that we are reconciled to a holy and righteous God is not because of the color of your skin, not because of the works of your hand, not because of just some arbitrarious thought from God.

The way that you are reconciled to a holy God is the peacemaking work of our

Savior. Jesus has given His life so that the wrath of God against our sin will be propitiated, will be satisfied, will be paid for.

Now, there's something else I need to mention based on this text. Let's press this just a little further tonight.

The text says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now, this isn't the masculine.

Huyos is the masculine term for the Greek word for sons.

It means sons. But I think that we could elaborate here. The idea of sons is sons and daughters.

Or maybe your translation, maybe it says children. But this is the idea, is that we are called sons or sons and daughters or children of God.

So, I want you to see that in His peacemaking with sinners, God goes beyond merely ending the hostilities.

Let me use an analogy with marriage. Y 'all ever had an argument with your spouse?

So, you understand there's a difference between ending the hostilities and reconciliation, right?

So, like, you're arguing with your spouse, and you just come to a point where you're like, okay, we're not going to argue anymore.

But there's still a little bit of tension, right? Or you think about between two countries who were once at war, and now they sign a peace treaty, and now the hostilities are ended.

But what I'm trying to get you to think about tonight is that the work of Christ does not merely result in God signing a peace treaty, but adoption papers.

Do you understand? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The gospel is about peace. The gospel is about reconciliation. The gospel is about restoration.

But friends, we must not forget, we must not lose the crucial aspect of adoption.

That is, through the blood of Jesus, God takes rebels and restores them to a right relationship with Himself, whereby

He clothes us in Christ's righteousness, where we're God's enemies no longer, and now we are treated legally in the family.

We're treated as sons and daughters. We are king's kids in Christ. Those who have put their faith in Christ are legally now in the family of God.

Glory! God's disposition hasn't moved from hostility to neutrality, but from hostility, from indignation, by the work of Christ, to favor.

Because we are now in the family of God. Those in Christ are sons and daughters of God.

The blood of Christ has made peace for us.

Are you trusting that tonight? Like anything else I say tonight is really irrelevant to you if it doesn't start with this.

Before you can worry about peace with the church, peace in your family, peace in your own soul, whatever the case may be, you must have peace with God.

It was mentioned this morning, and I agree, I affirm with what

Pastor Jacob said. I think he handled that this morning. We talked about medication and things like that.

I think he handled that very pastorally. I think he handled that very well, and I'm grateful for that.

It's undeniable that we are an over -medicated society. That's not trying to say every person that's ever taken medicine is wrong.

That's not the point. The point is, though, that a lot of people are on medicine in our society today.

You know why? A lot of people, because they have a guilty conscience. You understand that the problem,

I didn't say this, the problem with our society today is not that we feel guilty. That's not the problem.

Do you know what the problem is? We are guilty. We are guilty before a holy and righteous

God. And the only way that our guilt can be taken care of is for us to look to the one who has bore our guilt and shame on the cross, and that's our

Lord Jesus Christ. We must start here. But secondly, I need you to understand tonight that the peacemaking church understands that Christ is our peacemaker, but also, secondly, the peacemaking church understands that we have a responsibility for peacemaking.

That seems simple, right? But this is now back to the text. Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers.

Blessed are the peacemakers. In Romans 12, 18, Paul says, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Christians are at peace with God. Therefore, we seek to be at peace among men.

This is true outside the church, and it's true inside the church. And I might add, too, another thing based on this morning's sermon,

I might add that it's also true internally. The only way that you're going to have peace internally and be free from anxiety and depression and these things, the ultimate way that these things are going to happen is by looking to Christ, right?

So we are peacemakers. But a few thoughts about outside the church, and then really I want to talk about inside the church.

But because we're reconciled to God, we seek to be resolvers of conflict.

We seek to be of a meek disposition. We seek to be humble and wise and kind and gracious.

Friends, this does not mean that we compromise truth. We stand, and we don't compromise truth, and we're unafraid.

But it does mean insofar as we are able, we live peaceable lives, and even as we are able, we seek to bring reconciliation and resolution to conflict as we are able to do so.

Now, you understand that sometimes that requires war. Sometimes for peace, you have to have war, right?

And we could talk about just war theory and all those things, and I do believe that it's the government's job to punish the evildoer, and that sometimes even comes into wicked regimes and those sorts of things.

And there's all sorts of things that we could talk about that. So don't think that me saying peace means that we never fight.

That's not true. But we're not troublemakers. Does that make sense? I'm going to use an illustration from lunch. I won't say any names.

But at lunch, okay, there's a burn ban, right, on. So at lunch, there was a well -meaning person that said, well, even if we got a burn ban, we could still do a fire.

We'll do a fire somewhere else. And I was like, well, no, let's not do that. Why? Because we're not troublemakers, right?

Like if we want to get in trouble, like if the government is going to fine us for gospel things, so be it.

We won't back down. But we don't add additional trouble when it's unnecessary.

Does that make sense? Because we have peace with God, we're not known as troublemakers when it comes to the idea of the laws of the land.

Does that make sense? Okay, but what I really want to focus on for a moment is peacemaking within the church.

Because we've been talking about from Ephesians 6, spiritual warfare, and we've talked about the disunity that's present in churches at times.

I want us to consider, all of us to consider, I want every person in here tonight to consider how you might be a peacemaker in the church.

And by the way, a lot of principles that we'll talk about apply to your marriage, apply to your families, apply to the workplace, all these things.

First, we need to remember that Christ's work of peace between us and God absolutely has a horizontal aspect.

So go to Ephesians 2 for just a moment. It's been so long since we've been in Ephesians 2, you might have forgotten it.

So we go to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2. In Ephesians 2, this is what

Paul says between Jews and Gentiles. Ephesians 2, verse 14.

For He Himself, that is Christ, is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in the place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And He came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near.

For through Him we both have access, we both have access, Jews and Gentiles, in one

Spirit to the Father. So what I'm trying to say is, peacemaking is a fruit of Christ's work in the lives of believers.

On the cross, not only does Jesus reconcile us to God as we put our faith in Christ and trust what

He has done, but He also reconciles us to one another, believers to one another.

And so peacemaking is a result of what

God has done in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. In other words, let me make it clear, you're not made a son or daughter of God based on your peacemaking.

Rather, the idea of the text is, Matthew 5, 9, because you are sons and daughters of God, you are peacemakers.

Peacemaking in the church is a fruit of regeneration. Now, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The point of this beatitude is that those who have experienced peace with God through Christ are themselves makers of peace.

Peacemakers. God's children are peacemakers. First of all, this brings into light again that the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom.

Right? We're not go grab our guns and take over the world for Jesus. Right? The Crusades in that aspect are wrong.

Our conflict is not against flesh and blood. Secondly, you need to know this.

A peacemaker is not a peace -at -all -costs person. A peacemaker is not a peace -at -all -costs person.

Many people don't like strife. In fact, I would probably say that's probably most people's disposition.

Now, there are people who love conflict. And, well, we call them, you know, drama queen or whatever, drama king, whatever it may be.

They just love drama. They love conflict. They love it. I would say most people probably don't. So they don't like strife, and they consider themselves peacemakers simply because they just try to stay out of the way.

But look at the text, and I want to just make a simple comment. Sometimes the simplest of comments jump out at us.

But just notice the word in verse 9. It's peacemaker.

It's not peacekeeper. You understand?

There's a difference. There is a difference between someone who will make peace and someone who just says,

I just don't want to rock the boat. Right? I just don't want to stir up. I just don't want to rock the boat.

Like, that's not what's meant by this term. What is meant literally from one lexicon, one who restores peace between people and another, one who works for peace.

In other words, there is activity here, not passivity. Peacemaking is not passive.

Jesus was not passive. He went to war on our sin. Christ stood firm in His teaching.

We talked about, wasn't it last week that we talked about He drove the people out of the temple?

So listen, to compromise doctrine, to fail to confront sin, that may bring about a momentary bout of non -hostility.

But all that actually is doing, listen, you've got to believe, all that's actually doing is planting seeds of conflict for the future.

When we don't deal with sin, when we go soft on doctrine, when someone says, let me use an extreme example.

I don't think Jesus is God. And we're like, oh boy, we better not say anything because that's really going to make them upset.

So we don't say anything. All you're doing, that's an extreme example, all you're doing is planting a seed of conflict that you're going to have to deal with later.

And all you've done is make it worse. So not dealing with sin, or compromising doctrine, all you're doing, it's not peacemaking, it's conflict postponing and conflict worsening.

So if you think, I better not say anything, it's just going to make that person mad. And you know those personalities.

And listen, hey, is this you? Is this you? You need to think about it. Sometimes you have the personalities in the church.

Tonight, it's appropriate tonight. Just something to think about. But we have business meeting and sometimes you have personalities and you're like, well this person wants this in the business meeting.

You know what, it's just easier for me to not say anything. I won't say anything because then, you know, like do you have that kind of domineering personality where other people are kind of afraid to say anything because it'll make you upset?

That's not the kind of personality that we ought to have. And we ought to be those who don't have that kind of personality.

And you see other people railroaded by that kind of personality. Like we ought to be willing to say, hey, you know what, that's not okay.

Because to say, I better not say anything is not really mentality of a true peacemaker. Now, let me say this.

You need to pray. You need to have wisdom. You need to have humility. You need to have the, think about the appropriate way to handle a situation.

But I'm just trying to argue here that peacemaking is not passive. Okay, so remember the connection between the other beatitudes, right?

The peacemaker mourns his sin. He's satisfied in Jesus. He hungers and thirsts for righteousness.

He strives to be free from the love of promotion of self. And so his desire is to point others to the peace available in Christ and to reconcile any hostilities between himself and others.

And as he has opportunity to reconcile any hostilities between various parties.

This isn't peace for the sake of peace. It's peace for the promotion of the gospel.

A church at peace promotes the gospel. Now, let me give you some very tangible applications for peacemaking.

I want to kind of go through these kind of quick. But let me just give you some very tangible applications for how you can be a better peacemaker in the church.

And all of us, myself, Pastor Jacob, all of us can apply these, all of them probably, in one way or another.

Number one. Be teachable. Be teachable.

There is not a single person in this church that has nothing to learn from anyone else in the church.

Does that make sense? There's no one here, including your pastors, who are just like, we are only teachers.

We have nothing to learn. Right? Have a teachable spirit. Listen well.

Receive correction. Receive instruction. Weigh everything like the

Bereans, according to the scriptures. Do not teach or be taught by the southern culture, but with the

Bible. Peacemaking is not about your wisdom, but about God's wisdom given to us in the book.

Be teachable. Secondly, how to be a peacemaker in the church. Secondly, look over minor faults.

Minor faults. I'm not saying, oh, so and so had an affair.

Well, we better look over that. That's obviously not what I'm talking about. Look over minor faults.

Love covers a multitude of sins. There are minor ways that we can offend one another. And we ought to look over those and be able to love one another through those.

And when we see a minor fault in a brother or sister, you should also strive to look for areas of grace as well.

Does that make sense? Listen to me. For every minor fault you see in a brother or sister, there are perhaps 10 or 20 or 1 ,000 evidences of God's amazing grace at work.

The devil will... You remember what he did to Eve. He said, if God really said that you can't eat of any tree in the garden, what was he doing?

He was maximizing the restriction. So if you're not careful, you will allow the devil to maximize the minor fault.

Right? I just don't like how they talk. Or like, I just don't like how their personality.

Or they love football too much. Or they don't love football at all. Or, you know, they drive a little too close to the middle of the road.

Whatever the case may be, right? And if you're not careful, you will allow the evil one to magnify that and to minimize all the ways that God is growing them in grace.

And I'm saying flip it. Keep the minor fault minor and look for evidences of grace. Thirdly, refuse...

If I could just... It's like almost one thing, if I could just... This is hyperbole, but if there's one thing

I take away, give to you tonight to take away to be this one, refuse to be easily offended.

Please. Not everything is about me. Not everything is about you.

Be a person hard to offend. Be a person hard to get bent out of shape.

This happens in churches all the time. A person is easily offended and then the church explodes because of that person.

Fourthly, refuse... refuse to assume someone else's motivation.

Commentator Daniel Doriani said this, guessing other people's motives is a prime way to subvert our peace, especially since by some perverse impulse, we tend to make the most negative, self -damaging guesses.

If you begin to assume someone else's motivation, right, you will be burned.

You'll be humbled because you'll be wrong. I'm just telling you, you will be wrong. For every time you get it right, there'll be a hundred times that you get it wrong.

That is, I know why so -and -so wasn't here today, right? I know why so -and -so...

They walked past me and they didn't even look at me and I know why. That's because I didn't get them a Christmas card last year.

Now they're sitting here trying to pay me back. I'm not going to have that no more. And then all of a sudden, it's like you have a problem because you assumed someone's motivation.

So refuse to assume someone else's motivation. You don't have that. Only God has that knowledge, right?

You don't have that. Now, if they tell you their motivation, then we can deal with that. But you can't just assume it without talking to them.

Fifthly, refuse... We're talking about how to be a peacemaker in the church. Refuse to be envious of God's blessings in the lives of others.

In other words, celebrate what God is doing in the lives of others. Why did they get a truck?

Why did they get a raise? Why did they get to go on that vacation? That's not fair.

I want to do that. I want to go to those places. I want these things. No, no, no.

That envy is a sure way to disrupt peace. Refuse to be envious. Instead, celebrate.

Isn't that amazing? Like, here's the thing about the family of God. When God blesses your life, He's blessed mine too.

Man, when I see God do something in your life that's amazing, you get to go on this amazing trip, or you get this amazing bonus at work, or you get this new thing or something like that.

Like, God just blessed you. He's blessed me too, right? And I get to celebrate that with you instead of being envious.

Sixthly, confront others in love regarding sin. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Didn't you say that we're supposed to be peacemakers? Yes. If you want to be a peacemaker, then you must be willing to confront others in love regarding sin because you can't let sin fester.

This is really hard, and I really think it's really hard in the Bible Belt because our southern sensibilities tell us just ignore it.

I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to say anything. I'm not going to talk to that person because it'll just resolve on its own.

We'll just let enough time get past, and then it'll just heal. But listen, not when we have to deal with sin, it won't.

Peacemakers deal with sin lovingly and biblically. Seventh, consider self less.

Consider yourself less and others more. Just for time's sake, we won't go there, but I'll mention to you we could go to Philippians 2.

Count others as more significant than yourselves. I'm not going to be upset that so -and -so is on this committee, and I'm not.

I'm going to think of myself less, and I'm going to think of others more. Number eight.

Ooh, this is a big one. Never excuse gossip. It's a

Baptist church, right? This is an area we need to ever be mindful of.

Gossip will destroy peace. Do not let someone talk to you about issues they have with someone else.

The only way that they should be talking to you about issues or rumors or all those sorts of things if they've already confronted that person and they're trying to come to you to be a witness, but even with that, they shouldn't tell you about all the things because you're supposed to be a neutral party as it were, right?

Does it make sense? So think about that. Gossip will destroy peace. We can't let it fester.

We can't let it go unchecked, and it's very easy not to let it go unchecked. If you come to me and you say, hey, man,

I gotta tell you something about Brother Jacob that just really bothers me. This is an easy way, easy way to shut that down.

Hey, brother. Hey, sister. Hey, I don't know if it may not be a serious thing or not.

I don't know, but let me just tell you this. Will you go to Brother Jacob?

You need to go to Brother Jacob. If you have an issue with Brother Jacob, if Brother Jacob or Brother Quatro or whoever it may be in the church, if someone has offended you or hurt you or they've done something wrong to you, don't go to Facebook.

Don't go to other people in the church. Go first and foremost to them. Never excuse gossip.

Ninthly, be committed to time with others in the church. This includes corporate worship but also fellowship outside the church.

I would even mention a commitment to the Lord's Supper when we have it. We need to be committed to our time together in the church because a church that spends time together is a church that's able to cultivate peace in a way.

Two more. Let me go through these. Ten, pray for one another in the church. Pray.

That's simple, right? But pray. Are you praying? You want to be in a peacemaking church? Pray for your brothers and sisters in the church.

And then eleventh, preach the gospel to yourself every day. Christ is our propitiation.

We are at peace with God and we are adopted in His family and this matter causing conflict, whatever the case may be, it must be seen in light of that.

And peacemaking is my ministry no matter whether I'm a man or a woman or a boy or a girl.

If I'm born again and if I'm in Christ, one of my ministries in the church is to be a peacemaker.

Why? Because this is what God has done. He's reconciled me to Himself and He sees the church as beautiful, as beautiful and glorious and wonderful.

So part of my role in the church is to bring peace in the church. So this is what it looks like to be a son or daughter of God.

You are a peacemaker. Again, listen to this. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.

So listen, not everyone is a child of God. Only those born again and adopted into the family and this is what those adopted into the family look like.

Do you desire the blessing of God upon this church? Let us strive for peace in the church.

I'm going to give you one more point this evening and then we'll be finished. The peacemaking church understands Christ is our peacemaker.

It understands our responsibility for making peace and finally, I want to make this point.

A peacemaking church knows that evangelism is actually a peacemaking endeavor.

Evangelism is a peacemaking endeavor. Blessed are the peacemakers. Daniel Doriani says it this way, anyone who shares the gospel of Christ is a peacemaker.

This is a simple point but it must not be overlooked. I just want to mention that evangelism is a great peacemaking endeavor.

Now you say, but doesn't evangelism sometimes cause strife? Quatro, haven't you had people, haven't you been evangelizing and others in this room, haven't you been evangelizing where people make rude and horrible gestures at you and yell obscene things at you and tell you to stop or tell you to leave?

Doesn't that happen? Yes, indeed, it does happen and there is a way that some people do evangelism what

I'll call antagonistically. This is wrong. It's not our job to be combative. It's not our calling to be sowers of discord or fueling hostilities.

However, we must also understand this truth. Jesus says in Matthew 10, 34, Do not think that I've come to bring peace to the earth.

I've not come to bring peace, but a sword. So by its very nature, yes, evangelism is confrontational because it calls sinners, sinners, and it tells them judgment is coming, but it also tells them that God has made a way for their sins to be forgiven in Christ and the only way to know what it is, rebelling against God, repent of their sin and put their faith in Christ.

And many people are going to reject that message. Some are going to be quite hostile toward it.

But I'm telling us tonight it is the duty of the church to proclaim the message of peace with God through Christ to the nations.

We're coming up on Christmas. Did y 'all know that? And one of the things that we say about Christmas, peace on earth, right?

That's only true though through the heralding of the gospel. It's the church's mission to preach the gospel of peace to the nations.

Evangelism is a peacemaking endeavor. Now we must make sure that the offense is not ourselves, but the gospel.

And we must have a genuine concern for Christ's glory in the souls of men.

A church that refuses to be intentional in evangelism is not a peacemaking church.

Do you want the blessings of God on us? Let us strive for being a peacemaking church in evangelism.

For blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. I really wonder what

God thinks about it, huh? I really wonder what it may look like. Right?

Like what is it that God really wants for us? I wish I just knew. And then you open the

Bible and it's so clear and it's so good and it's so sufficient.

Blessed are not the peacekeepers, not the strife makers, but the peacemakers.

And it is the peacemakers who are the children of our trying

God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this word. We pray that it would reverberate in our hearts.

We pray that we would be a church that strives. First of all, to rest in the peacemaking work of Christ.

Secondly, to strive for peace among men and to cultivate peace in the church.