1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,120 You’re listening to a sermon by Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 2 00:00:07,120 –> 00:00:16,620 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:16,620 –> 00:00:17,760 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,760 –> 00:00:19,740 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,740 –> 00:00:29,900 Blessed are the peacemakers says our Lord Jesus for they shall be called the sons of 6 00:00:30,680 –> 00:00:35,820 We began last week to look at this and to see that in a world of conflict God calls 7 00:00:35,820 –> 00:00:42,680 us his children to reflect his glory by being agents of peace. 8 00:00:42,680 –> 00:00:47,740 And we saw that a peacemaker is a person who has peace in him or herself. 9 00:00:47,740 –> 00:00:49,939 And therefore is able to bring it to others. 10 00:00:49,939 –> 00:00:52,180 How do you get peace in yourself? 11 00:00:52,180 –> 00:00:57,020 We saw that peace of life comes out of the pursuit of purity of heart. 12 00:00:57,439 –> 00:01:01,740 There is a connection between the sixth and the seventh beatitude as we’ve been seeing 13 00:01:01,740 –> 00:01:03,419 that throughout the series. 14 00:01:03,419 –> 00:01:06,839 We saw together that God of course is the great peacemaker. 15 00:01:06,839 –> 00:01:09,080 He has peace in himself. 16 00:01:09,080 –> 00:01:15,720 If you think of the magnificence of the being of God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. 17 00:01:15,720 –> 00:01:18,260 He is the God of peace. 18 00:01:18,260 –> 00:01:19,879 He is the Prince of peace. 19 00:01:19,879 –> 00:01:22,279 He is the dove of peace. 20 00:01:22,279 –> 00:01:27,680 He is peace in himself – the union of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. 21 00:01:27,680 –> 00:01:32,820 And he has made peace, the Bible tells us through the shedding of the blood of Jesus 22 00:01:32,820 –> 00:01:37,800 Christ the Son of God on the cross. 23 00:01:37,800 –> 00:01:46,519 And we asked the question, since God is the great peacemaker, how did he go about making 24 00:01:46,519 –> 00:01:47,519 peace? 25 00:01:48,120 –> 00:01:52,519 We’re being told that we will be blessed if we are peacemakers because we will be called 26 00:01:52,519 –> 00:01:53,519 sons of God. 27 00:01:53,519 –> 00:02:00,559 And obviously that speaks of some reflection, likeness to God being seen in those who are 28 00:02:00,559 –> 00:02:02,099 by faith his children. 29 00:02:02,099 –> 00:02:04,199 And so what does that actually mean? 30 00:02:04,199 –> 00:02:08,559 What does God’s way of making peace actually look like? 31 00:02:08,559 –> 00:02:13,919 And we ended last time with these three broad observations that are drawn directly from 32 00:02:13,919 –> 00:02:16,240 how God makes peace. 33 00:02:16,240 –> 00:02:23,600 We saw first that peacemakers who reflect the glory of God do not stand on their rights. 34 00:02:23,600 –> 00:02:30,559 That being prepared to give up your rights is really foundational to all effective peace-making. 35 00:02:30,559 –> 00:02:39,080 Christ was in the form of God and it was his right to enjoy an unbroken, uninterrupted 36 00:02:39,080 –> 00:02:41,919 heavenly joy for all eternity. 37 00:02:41,919 –> 00:02:44,360 But he gave up that right and why did he do that? 38 00:02:44,440 –> 00:02:48,639 He came into the world and why did he do that in order to make peace? 39 00:02:48,639 –> 00:02:52,279 You cannot make peace by standing on your rights. 40 00:02:52,279 –> 00:02:54,320 It just doesn’t happen. 41 00:02:54,320 –> 00:03:00,639 It’s impossible and we saw last time, if God had stood on his rights, I would be in 42 00:03:00,639 –> 00:03:03,360 hell and so would everyone else. 43 00:03:03,360 –> 00:03:05,759 And we have to remember that. 44 00:03:05,759 –> 00:03:10,399 Peacemakers reflecting the image of God be prepared to give up your rights and second 45 00:03:10,500 –> 00:03:14,759 we saw that true peacemakers move towards the trouble. 46 00:03:14,759 –> 00:03:16,100 And I don’t know if you’re like me at all. 47 00:03:16,100 –> 00:03:19,339 But just my natural instinct is always where there’s trouble. 48 00:03:19,339 –> 00:03:22,020 My instinct is I want to withdraw from it. 49 00:03:22,020 –> 00:03:25,020 And you may feel that that’s in your nature as well. 50 00:03:25,020 –> 00:03:30,179 But peace can never be made by moving backwards away from a problem and when the world is 51 00:03:30,179 –> 00:03:32,339 in rebellion against God, what does God do? 52 00:03:32,339 –> 00:03:39,039 He moves towards the problem and this is because he is intent on making peace. 53 00:03:39,039 –> 00:03:44,279 And of course that is never easy and it led Jesus to the cross itself. 54 00:03:44,279 –> 00:03:49,360 It might lead to great agonies for you to move towards the trouble. 55 00:03:49,360 –> 00:03:55,600 And then we saw thirdly that to be a peacemaker, reflecting how God does this, involves loving 56 00:03:55,600 –> 00:03:58,600 before we are loved in return. 57 00:03:58,600 –> 00:04:04,559 If God, think about this, had waited for you or for me to love him before he loved us, 58 00:04:04,559 –> 00:04:06,119 there would never have been peace. 59 00:04:06,619 –> 00:04:10,320 There would just have been an eternal standoff. 60 00:04:10,320 –> 00:04:15,020 So thank God that he makes the first move, he is the great peacemaker, and we are able 61 00:04:15,020 –> 00:04:22,119 to say tonight while now, we love him because he first loved us. 62 00:04:22,119 –> 00:04:27,000 So as we looked at what it means to be a peacemaker, what this great calling is, in the sevenst 63 00:04:27,000 –> 00:04:30,519 beatitude, that’s where we got to at the end of last time. 64 00:04:30,519 –> 00:04:35,119 These are really the broad strategies that are drawn directly simply from reflecting 65 00:04:35,320 –> 00:04:37,040 on the Prince of Peace. 66 00:04:37,040 –> 00:04:45,920 If Jesus Christ is your Saviour, that means by definition he is also your example. 67 00:04:45,920 –> 00:04:52,420 And he is our example in this, and he calls us to follow his example in this. 68 00:04:52,420 –> 00:04:57,600 So we’ve been learning who are the kind of people who can really be useful as peacemakers 69 00:04:57,600 –> 00:05:04,459 in this world of awful conflict almost everywhere, and the answer is got to be people like Jesus 70 00:05:04,459 –> 00:05:08,880 and that means people who are ready to give up their rights, people who are ready to move 71 00:05:08,880 –> 00:05:17,799 towards the trouble, and people who are prepared to love before they are loved in return, and 72 00:05:17,799 –> 00:05:25,260 we ended there with the sense of Lord make me that kind of person. 73 00:05:25,260 –> 00:05:31,440 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. 74 00:05:31,640 –> 00:05:33,440 Now, what we have looked at then, so far, may 75 00:05:33,519 –> 00:05:40,459 be described as broad strategies for making peace, the kind of person who can make peace. 76 00:05:40,459 –> 00:05:44,920 What we’re doing today is we try and push further in regards to application and get 77 00:05:44,920 –> 00:05:49,700 down to a practical level is really to ask the question, now what can I do then that 78 00:05:49,700 –> 00:05:51,820 will promote peace. 79 00:05:51,820 –> 00:05:56,920 What does peacemaking look like in practice and so today, if you like, we are trying to 80 00:05:56,940 –> 00:06:03,279 move from broad strategies to practical, down-to-earth tactics. 81 00:06:03,279 –> 00:06:08,239 What are the things that you can actually do in the pursuit of peace? 82 00:06:08,239 –> 00:06:14,600 And I want then, simply today, to offer to you ten tactics for peacemakers. 83 00:06:14,600 –> 00:06:18,000 Ten tactics for peacemakers. 84 00:06:18,000 –> 00:06:23,579 Number one, recognize where there is a problem. 85 00:06:23,920 –> 00:06:26,559 And I’ll give you direct scripture for all of these. 86 00:06:26,559 –> 00:06:31,000 And I’ve been reflecting here on Jeremiah, chapter 6, verse 14, 87 00:06:31,000 –> 00:06:34,320 where God speaks, through the prophet Jeremiah, 88 00:06:34,320 –> 00:06:42,200 about prophets and priests who tell people that everything is just fine when it’s not. 89 00:06:42,200 –> 00:06:43,320 And God says this, 90 00:06:43,320 –> 00:06:52,600 they have healed the wound of my people lightly saying peace, peace, where there is no peace. 91 00:06:52,600 –> 00:06:56,779 In other words, there were in those days of Jeremiah as there are today, 92 00:06:56,779 –> 00:07:00,899 people who made a living out of telling folks that everything is well, 93 00:07:00,899 –> 00:07:03,799 in other words telling people what they wanted to hear, 94 00:07:03,799 –> 00:07:09,119 they say peace peace all is well, there’s not a problem when there is no peace. 95 00:07:09,119 –> 00:07:11,380 And so what happens, God says, 96 00:07:11,380 –> 00:07:16,619 is that the wounds of the people, which are very real and very deep, 97 00:07:16,619 –> 00:07:19,500 are actually dressed lightly. 98 00:07:19,500 –> 00:07:25,200 We might say it’s rather like putting a sticking plaster over a septic wound. 99 00:07:25,200 –> 00:07:29,720 And everyone knows that that can only make the problem worse. 100 00:07:29,720 –> 00:07:32,559 And so this is very important for us to grasp, 101 00:07:32,559 –> 00:07:36,299 peacemaking is not the avoiding of conflict. 102 00:07:36,299 –> 00:07:38,839 Very important to understand that. 103 00:07:38,839 –> 00:07:41,579 It is not sort of burying your head in the sand 104 00:07:41,579 –> 00:07:44,559 like the ostrich and just pretending that everything is okay 105 00:07:44,559 –> 00:07:46,559 and just hoping that things will change. 106 00:07:46,559 –> 00:07:48,920 It is not anything for a quiet life. 107 00:07:48,920 –> 00:07:50,799 That’s not what peacemaking is. 108 00:07:50,799 –> 00:07:55,679 In fact a conflict avoided can often be a conflict postponed 109 00:07:55,679 –> 00:07:58,940 and therefore a conflict that ultimately becomes worse. 110 00:07:58,940 –> 00:08:02,260 Kent Hughes says this. Listen up, guys. 111 00:08:02,260 –> 00:08:08,220 This, he says, is particularly a male tendency. 112 00:08:08,279 –> 00:08:10,720 Even in our most intimate relationships— 113 00:08:10,720 –> 00:08:13,179 so he’s talking about marriage here— 114 00:08:13,179 –> 00:08:18,200 men tend to act as if everything is okay when it is not. 115 00:08:18,200 –> 00:08:23,220 Men often avoid reality because they want peace, 116 00:08:23,220 –> 00:08:27,760 but their avoidance heals the wound only slightly 117 00:08:27,760 –> 00:08:33,320 and prepares the way for greater trouble. 118 00:08:33,380 –> 00:08:36,280 So, this honesty 119 00:08:36,280 –> 00:08:40,080 that will admit to a problem where there is one 120 00:08:40,080 –> 00:08:42,359 is really the first thing that’s absolutely crucial 121 00:08:42,359 –> 00:08:47,020 if there is going to be any real peacemaking that takes place at all. 122 00:08:47,020 –> 00:08:50,200 We can’t make any progress so long as we’re living in the world 123 00:08:50,200 –> 00:08:53,479 of saying peace, peace, when there is no peace. 124 00:08:53,479 –> 00:08:57,239 And think about it, when God is making peace with a person, 125 00:08:57,239 –> 00:08:58,380 what does he do? 126 00:08:58,380 –> 00:09:01,280 Well, he begins by wakening that person up to the fact 127 00:09:01,299 –> 00:09:03,679 that there’s a problem in their relationship with him. 128 00:09:03,679 –> 00:09:05,159 Didn’t God do that with you? 129 00:09:06,239 –> 00:09:08,179 You suddenly saw there’s something that I need to do 130 00:09:08,179 –> 00:09:09,520 in order to be right with God 131 00:09:09,520 –> 00:09:12,799 and that was the beginning of some change 132 00:09:12,799 –> 00:09:14,840 and that was the work of God’s Spirit within you. 133 00:09:14,840 –> 00:09:18,099 So, the first step to making peace 134 00:09:18,099 –> 00:09:20,559 is admitting that there is a problem 135 00:09:20,559 –> 00:09:22,619 and there may be a place 136 00:09:22,619 –> 00:09:25,340 where you today would say, 137 00:09:25,340 –> 00:09:29,640 I need to get honest and real 138 00:09:29,640 –> 00:09:32,679 about what’s going on here. 139 00:09:32,679 –> 00:09:34,739 Number one, recognize where there’s a problem. 140 00:09:34,739 –> 00:09:39,219 Number two, deal with conflict early, 141 00:09:40,599 –> 00:09:42,320 deal with conflict early. 142 00:09:42,320 –> 00:09:44,559 Want to be a peacemaker? 143 00:09:44,559 –> 00:09:47,059 Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 14, 144 00:09:47,059 –> 00:09:49,000 here’s a vivid picture. 145 00:09:49,000 –> 00:09:52,039 The beginning of strife, 146 00:09:52,039 –> 00:09:54,280 now notice the beginning of strife. 147 00:09:54,280 –> 00:09:55,320 What’s it like? 148 00:09:55,320 –> 00:09:59,440 It’s like letting out water. 149 00:09:59,599 –> 00:10:00,760 What a picture that is. 150 00:10:00,760 –> 00:10:03,239 So quit, says the writer to the Proverbs, 151 00:10:03,239 –> 00:10:07,400 of the Proverbs before the quarrel breaks out. 152 00:10:08,260 –> 00:10:09,359 And reflecting on that, 153 00:10:09,359 –> 00:10:12,000 my mind goes back to a number of years 154 00:10:12,000 –> 00:10:14,440 when as a boy growing up in Scotland, 155 00:10:14,440 –> 00:10:16,179 I met a summer camp, 156 00:10:16,179 –> 00:10:19,859 a bunch of other kids out in the countryside, 157 00:10:19,859 –> 00:10:24,000 beautiful little stream that’s coming down a hillside 158 00:10:24,000 –> 00:10:28,200 and we’re gathering rocks in order to dam up the stream 159 00:10:28,200 –> 00:10:30,020 so that we can create a pool 160 00:10:30,020 –> 00:10:32,679 that is gonna be deep enough to swim in. 161 00:10:32,679 –> 00:10:34,000 And you know what that’s like. 162 00:10:34,000 –> 00:10:36,000 Can you gather the rocks and you get them in place 163 00:10:36,000 –> 00:10:37,419 and you get all kinds of other stuff 164 00:10:37,419 –> 00:10:39,140 to try and build this dam. 165 00:10:39,140 –> 00:10:42,419 And eventually you managed to stop the flow of water 166 00:10:42,419 –> 00:10:43,679 and you begin to get a buildup. 167 00:10:43,679 –> 00:10:45,039 You think, hey, we’re gonna get a swim 168 00:10:45,039 –> 00:10:47,440 and get in a splash around here is gonna be marvelous. 169 00:10:47,440 –> 00:10:49,880 And then you notice there’s a little trickle 170 00:10:49,880 –> 00:10:51,679 that’s just going through your dam. 171 00:10:52,979 –> 00:10:55,440 And if you don’t deal with it, what happens? 172 00:10:56,359 –> 00:10:57,940 The trickle becomes a cascade 173 00:10:57,940 –> 00:10:59,280 and before you know where you are, 174 00:10:59,280 –> 00:11:01,539 the accumulative weight of water’s moving 175 00:11:01,539 –> 00:11:03,799 even the larger rocks that you put in place 176 00:11:03,799 –> 00:11:06,780 and all your work is in vain. 177 00:11:08,200 –> 00:11:10,320 Now, that’s the picture here. 178 00:11:10,320 –> 00:11:11,960 The beginning of strife. 179 00:11:12,859 –> 00:11:15,000 It’s like that first little trickle of water 180 00:11:15,000 –> 00:11:16,500 and if you don’t deal with it, 181 00:11:17,640 –> 00:11:19,979 it’ll ruin everything you’ve been working on. 182 00:11:21,200 –> 00:11:24,440 Now, you think about any broken marriage 183 00:11:25,760 –> 00:11:29,320 or in any relationship 184 00:11:29,320 –> 00:11:32,140 that has ended in acrimony, 185 00:11:33,619 –> 00:11:38,440 there was a moment when the strife began 186 00:11:40,080 –> 00:11:42,880 and the two folks involved may not even have noticed it 187 00:11:42,880 –> 00:11:45,200 but there was some moment where it began, 188 00:11:45,200 –> 00:11:48,280 the beginning of strife. 189 00:11:48,280 –> 00:11:49,940 The first harsh word, 190 00:11:51,200 –> 00:11:52,299 the first wound, 191 00:11:52,859 –> 00:11:55,659 the first moment of distrust, 192 00:11:55,659 –> 00:11:57,979 you maybe didn’t see it at the time. 193 00:11:57,979 –> 00:11:59,460 It didn’t seem like it was much 194 00:11:59,460 –> 00:12:01,140 not really worth making a big deal about 195 00:12:01,140 –> 00:12:02,520 not worth bothering about 196 00:12:02,520 –> 00:12:04,880 but the end was in the beginning. 197 00:12:06,520 –> 00:12:07,900 And you look back and you say now 198 00:12:07,900 –> 00:12:11,239 if I could go back to what happened then 199 00:12:11,239 –> 00:12:13,200 and if something could have been different then 200 00:12:13,200 –> 00:12:15,940 and perhaps we might be in a different situation now 201 00:12:15,940 –> 00:12:17,580 but of course you know you can’t go back 202 00:12:17,580 –> 00:12:19,960 and we can only live our lives going forward. 203 00:12:20,780 –> 00:12:23,960 So what do we learn from this? 204 00:12:23,960 –> 00:12:24,840 Here’s what we learn 205 00:12:24,840 –> 00:12:29,559 deal with conflict early. 206 00:12:30,880 –> 00:12:32,840 The beginning of strife, 207 00:12:32,840 –> 00:12:35,039 the first evidence of it, 208 00:12:35,039 –> 00:12:35,880 what’s it like? 209 00:12:35,880 –> 00:12:38,099 Is it a little thing that you turn a blind eye to? 210 00:12:38,099 –> 00:12:38,940 No, it’s not. 211 00:12:38,940 –> 00:12:40,739 It’s like letting out water. 212 00:12:40,739 –> 00:12:42,380 So says the writer of the Proverbs, 213 00:12:42,380 –> 00:12:45,979 quit before the quarrel breaks. 214 00:12:45,979 –> 00:12:49,799 Don’t let a small thing fester in your marriage. 215 00:12:51,419 –> 00:12:53,119 Don’t let it take root. 216 00:12:54,919 –> 00:12:56,479 Because if you do, it will grow 217 00:12:56,479 –> 00:12:59,280 and then you will wish that you had addressed it sooner. 218 00:13:00,919 –> 00:13:02,640 Tactic number three, 219 00:13:02,640 –> 00:13:04,919 practice restraint, 220 00:13:05,919 –> 00:13:09,200 especially with your tongue. 221 00:13:09,200 –> 00:13:10,760 Isn’t this the most obvious? 222 00:13:10,760 –> 00:13:12,979 You think that’s gotta get in there some where. 223 00:13:12,979 –> 00:13:14,679 And of course the scripture speaks about this 224 00:13:14,679 –> 00:13:15,760 so many times. 225 00:13:15,820 –> 00:13:18,380 I’m thinking of James 1 in verse 19. 226 00:13:18,380 –> 00:13:21,400 “‘Let every person be quick to hear, 227 00:13:21,400 –> 00:13:23,760 “‘slow to speak 228 00:13:23,760 –> 00:13:26,140 “‘and slow to anger.’” 229 00:13:27,000 –> 00:13:29,080 Here’s a characteristic of peacemakers. 230 00:13:29,080 –> 00:13:32,599 Peacemakers practice restraint. 231 00:13:34,039 –> 00:13:37,000 At times when you could unload, 232 00:13:39,320 –> 00:13:43,500 if you were a peacemaker, you will hold back. 233 00:13:44,440 –> 00:13:47,559 This is surely one of the most obvious tactics 234 00:13:47,559 –> 00:13:50,960 and it is surely one of the most important. 235 00:13:52,859 –> 00:13:54,520 Now, think about this with me. 236 00:13:54,520 –> 00:13:58,020 What are the leading idols of our culture? 237 00:13:59,679 –> 00:14:03,520 I want to suggest to you that one that will make the list 238 00:14:03,520 –> 00:14:07,020 is that self-expression 239 00:14:07,020 –> 00:14:10,520 is a leading idol of our culture. 240 00:14:11,039 –> 00:14:14,780 You know, folks say, I have to say what I think. 241 00:14:15,659 –> 00:14:18,640 I have to say what I feel. 242 00:14:18,640 –> 00:14:19,919 And sometimes when you get that, 243 00:14:19,919 –> 00:14:22,219 I have to say what I think, 244 00:14:22,219 –> 00:14:24,719 an answer sometimes to that that would be appropriate 245 00:14:24,719 –> 00:14:26,359 is really? 246 00:14:26,359 –> 00:14:29,179 Do you really have to? 247 00:14:31,099 –> 00:14:33,580 What would happen if you didn’t? 248 00:14:34,479 –> 00:14:36,359 Would you melt into the floor? 249 00:14:37,239 –> 00:14:39,619 Spontaneous human combustion? 250 00:14:41,239 –> 00:14:44,840 What would happen if you didn’t? 251 00:14:47,080 –> 00:14:49,900 If you want to be a peacemaker, 252 00:14:50,880 –> 00:14:54,039 learn to practice restraint 253 00:14:54,039 –> 00:14:55,020 at every level. 254 00:14:57,000 –> 00:15:00,679 Even in honest confrontation, 255 00:15:00,679 –> 00:15:03,400 which is very important as a part of peacemaking, 256 00:15:04,280 –> 00:15:07,140 you don’t need to unload everything. 257 00:15:07,140 –> 00:15:10,799 And if you’re a peacemaker, you won’t. 258 00:15:10,799 –> 00:15:13,820 This is where a lot of peacemaking runs to the ground. 259 00:15:13,820 –> 00:15:17,440 The people feel they need to unload absolutely everything. 260 00:15:17,440 –> 00:15:19,260 It’s all been building up for so long 261 00:15:19,260 –> 00:15:21,340 and so it’s completely uncontrolled. 262 00:15:21,340 –> 00:15:22,260 Think about this. 263 00:15:22,260 –> 00:15:25,020 If God unloaded at one time 264 00:15:26,380 –> 00:15:29,500 every offense that you have ever committed 265 00:15:29,500 –> 00:15:31,599 or I have ever committed against him 266 00:15:31,599 –> 00:15:34,820 and he caused us to see it all at one time, 267 00:15:34,820 –> 00:15:37,059 you and I would be completely devastated 268 00:15:37,099 –> 00:15:40,780 and we would never recover, so he doesn’t do that. 269 00:15:41,880 –> 00:15:42,719 What does he do? 270 00:15:44,380 –> 00:15:48,419 He reveals to us our sins and our failings 271 00:15:48,419 –> 00:15:50,539 by the gentleness of his Holy Spirit 272 00:15:50,539 –> 00:15:55,140 gradually, progressively, 273 00:15:55,140 –> 00:15:59,659 increasingly over a lifetime. 274 00:16:01,219 –> 00:16:02,900 And if he dumped it all on you all at once 275 00:16:02,900 –> 00:16:04,460 you’d never recover, would you? 276 00:16:05,299 –> 00:16:07,460 So why would you ever think that you would want 277 00:16:07,460 –> 00:16:08,960 to do that on someone else, 278 00:16:09,960 –> 00:16:11,640 when God is so patient to you? 279 00:16:13,380 –> 00:16:18,380 Practice restraint, especially in regard to the tongue, 280 00:16:19,659 –> 00:16:24,659 the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. 281 00:16:26,059 –> 00:16:28,140 And as I’ve just reflected on my own life 282 00:16:28,140 –> 00:16:29,559 in the light of this Scripture 283 00:16:29,559 –> 00:16:31,979 as anyone who preaches must always do, 284 00:16:32,739 –> 00:16:36,719 I have this reflection that very, very, very rarely 285 00:16:36,719 –> 00:16:40,640 I can hardly think of a situation 286 00:16:40,640 –> 00:16:43,119 where I have really regretted remaining silent. 287 00:16:43,119 –> 00:16:45,880 I can think of one or two, but really not many, 288 00:16:45,880 –> 00:16:47,520 can hardly think of situations 289 00:16:47,520 –> 00:16:49,520 where I’ve regretted staying silent. 290 00:16:51,039 –> 00:16:54,239 But I can easily think of many more 291 00:16:54,239 –> 00:16:56,739 where I’ve had reason to regret something I said. 292 00:16:57,599 –> 00:17:01,419 Peacemakers, exercise restraint 293 00:17:01,419 –> 00:17:05,119 especially with regards to the tongue. 294 00:17:05,119 –> 00:17:06,959 Let every person be quick to hear 295 00:17:06,959 –> 00:17:11,959 and slow to speak and slow to anger. 296 00:17:13,800 –> 00:17:15,180 Number four. 297 00:17:15,180 –> 00:17:20,420 Prepare if you are serious about peacemakers 298 00:17:20,420 –> 00:17:22,819 for a long journey. 299 00:17:24,040 –> 00:17:26,060 Prepare for a long journey, 300 00:17:27,359 –> 00:17:28,959 now, it will not always be like this. 301 00:17:28,959 –> 00:17:32,839 Sometimes there is simply a need to recognize a problem 302 00:17:32,839 –> 00:17:35,160 and for there to be forgiveness 303 00:17:35,160 –> 00:17:37,180 and quickly things are settled 304 00:17:37,180 –> 00:17:38,599 and if you deal with things early 305 00:17:38,599 –> 00:17:41,000 that should be how it normally is. 306 00:17:41,000 –> 00:17:45,900 But if perhaps you’re called to be part of peacemaking 307 00:17:45,900 –> 00:17:49,119 in a situation where division runs very, very deep, 308 00:17:49,119 –> 00:17:52,439 then prepare for a long journey 309 00:17:52,439 –> 00:17:54,560 and I take that directly from the scriptures 310 00:17:54,619 –> 00:17:58,699 in 1 Peter 3 11, Peter’s quoting from the Psalms 311 00:17:58,699 –> 00:18:01,260 so it’s both Old and New Testament, he says this, 312 00:18:01,260 –> 00:18:05,859 seek peace and pursue it. 313 00:18:05,859 –> 00:18:07,520 Now, think about these words. 314 00:18:07,520 –> 00:18:11,660 The word seek means that sometimes peace 315 00:18:11,660 –> 00:18:13,839 will not be easy to find, 316 00:18:13,839 –> 00:18:16,020 otherwise why would he say seek it? 317 00:18:16,020 –> 00:18:16,859 Seek it. 318 00:18:17,859 –> 00:18:21,300 Sometimes peace will not be easy to find 319 00:18:21,300 –> 00:18:23,540 and why does he say pursue it, 320 00:18:23,619 –> 00:18:26,619 because sometimes peace will be a long way away, 321 00:18:26,619 –> 00:18:28,140 it will be a long journey. 322 00:18:28,140 –> 00:18:29,339 And you need to go after it, 323 00:18:29,339 –> 00:18:31,180 and you need to stay on that journey. 324 00:18:33,260 –> 00:18:35,859 This reminds us seek peace and pursue it 325 00:18:35,859 –> 00:18:39,439 that peacemaking is a process, not an event. 326 00:18:40,780 –> 00:18:41,920 Where there are deep wounds, 327 00:18:41,920 –> 00:18:43,540 the path to peace may not be quick, 328 00:18:43,540 –> 00:18:44,459 it may not be easy. 329 00:18:44,459 –> 00:18:46,839 If you want to be a peacemaker, 330 00:18:46,839 –> 00:18:50,439 then you gotta be prepared for a long journey. 331 00:18:51,319 –> 00:18:54,319 Did you notice that in the reading today 332 00:18:54,319 –> 00:18:56,439 Ephesians chapter two and verse 13, 333 00:18:56,439 –> 00:18:58,939 God speaks about making peace with those 334 00:18:58,939 –> 00:19:02,780 who are far off Ephesians 2.13, 335 00:19:04,140 –> 00:19:06,780 think about the length of the journey 336 00:19:08,040 –> 00:19:12,699 that it took for God to make peace with you. 337 00:19:12,699 –> 00:19:14,920 How long was that journey? 338 00:19:16,020 –> 00:19:18,500 Think about where did the problem begin? 339 00:19:18,500 –> 00:19:21,260 When did you become alienated from God 340 00:19:21,260 –> 00:19:22,660 and at enmity with him? 341 00:19:22,660 –> 00:19:24,439 How far back does that go? 342 00:19:24,439 –> 00:19:26,880 I mean, was it the first time you did something wrong, 343 00:19:26,880 –> 00:19:28,500 you slapped your little sister in the pram 344 00:19:28,500 –> 00:19:31,400 or whatever that is that where you got alienated from God? 345 00:19:31,400 –> 00:19:32,979 No, of course not, 346 00:19:33,839 –> 00:19:36,640 the problem goes further back than that. 347 00:19:36,640 –> 00:19:38,680 People all the time are speaking about 348 00:19:38,680 –> 00:19:41,479 and sometimes with some very good reasons 349 00:19:41,479 –> 00:19:44,520 about my problems go back to my parents. 350 00:19:45,459 –> 00:19:50,099 Well that may be true, but it doesn’t go far enough. 351 00:19:50,099 –> 00:19:51,719 The Bible goes further. 352 00:19:51,719 –> 00:19:55,140 It says the real root of all your problems 353 00:19:55,140 –> 00:19:56,979 doesn’t lie one generation back 354 00:19:56,979 –> 00:19:59,180 but all the way back to the beginning. 355 00:19:59,180 –> 00:20:03,000 The alienation from God that you are born into 356 00:20:03,000 –> 00:20:05,260 and born with and the enmity 357 00:20:05,260 –> 00:20:07,020 and the struggle towards God 358 00:20:07,020 –> 00:20:09,020 that you experience in your own life, 359 00:20:09,020 –> 00:20:10,479 where does that come from? 360 00:20:10,479 –> 00:20:12,880 It goes all the way back to your first parents 361 00:20:12,959 –> 00:20:15,079 who sinned in the garden of Eden 362 00:20:15,079 –> 00:20:17,619 and then got themselves thrown out of there 363 00:20:17,619 –> 00:20:21,420 and then passed on that impulse to sin 364 00:20:22,880 –> 00:20:24,219 that you were born with. 365 00:20:25,699 –> 00:20:28,760 You were born into a world that is hostile to God 366 00:20:28,760 –> 00:20:31,619 and that hostility was actually in you by nature, 367 00:20:31,619 –> 00:20:34,199 that alienation was the condition in which you were born. 368 00:20:34,199 –> 00:20:37,420 It’s your DNA if I can put it that way 369 00:20:37,420 –> 00:20:41,739 until God makes you a new creation. 370 00:20:43,560 –> 00:20:47,280 And that process of God making peace 371 00:20:47,280 –> 00:20:49,739 and reconciling you to himself, 372 00:20:50,760 –> 00:20:53,400 that was a long journey. 373 00:20:55,140 –> 00:20:57,660 It goes back to the beginning of time. 374 00:20:59,599 –> 00:21:02,959 It took all the promises of the Old Testament, 375 00:21:03,920 –> 00:21:06,420 all the work of redeeming Israel, 376 00:21:07,780 –> 00:21:10,739 all the ministry of sending the prophets. 377 00:21:11,599 –> 00:21:14,900 It took the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ from heaven 378 00:21:14,900 –> 00:21:16,660 for you to have peace with God. 379 00:21:16,660 –> 00:21:21,660 It took his perfect life, 33 years of fulfilling, 380 00:21:22,420 –> 00:21:25,680 perfect obedience on your behalf. 381 00:21:25,680 –> 00:21:29,239 It took all of his atoning death as he bore your sins, 382 00:21:29,239 –> 00:21:32,359 making himself the sacrifice on the cross. 383 00:21:32,359 –> 00:21:35,420 It took his rising from the dead. 384 00:21:35,420 –> 00:21:39,500 It took his ascending to the right hand of the father. 385 00:21:39,500 –> 00:21:40,959 And even then it was not done 386 00:21:40,959 –> 00:21:43,880 because it took the sending of the Holy Spirit 387 00:21:43,880 –> 00:21:46,359 to awaken you to your need of Christ 388 00:21:46,359 –> 00:21:48,319 and to cause you to be born again 389 00:21:48,319 –> 00:21:52,040 and to apply into your life the cleansing power 390 00:21:52,040 –> 00:21:55,280 and effect of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ 391 00:21:55,280 –> 00:21:58,800 and to move you from a position of condemnation 392 00:22:00,280 –> 00:22:02,800 to a place where you knew the blessing of new life 393 00:22:02,800 –> 00:22:07,800 in Jesus Christ as an adopted son or daughter of God. 394 00:22:07,859 –> 00:22:11,160 That is a long journey, isn’t it? 395 00:22:11,160 –> 00:22:13,660 That is an amazing journey. 396 00:22:13,660 –> 00:22:17,260 That is God being relentless over centuries 397 00:22:18,680 –> 00:22:23,680 in seeking and pursuing peace with you. 398 00:22:26,119 –> 00:22:28,140 Blessed are the peacemakers 399 00:22:28,140 –> 00:22:30,839 for they shall be called sons of God. 400 00:22:32,660 –> 00:22:35,260 And one of the ways in which peacemakers are likened 401 00:22:35,280 –> 00:22:40,260 to God is that they are prepared for a long journey. 402 00:22:42,520 –> 00:22:47,520 Number five, take a step towards peace. 403 00:22:49,699 –> 00:22:50,780 We’ve gone from thinking 404 00:22:50,780 –> 00:22:54,579 about a massively long journey to a single step, 405 00:22:54,579 –> 00:22:58,199 which of course is the way that every long journey begins. 406 00:22:58,199 –> 00:23:01,540 And I’m thinking here of Romans in chapter 12 and verse 20, 407 00:23:01,540 –> 00:23:04,540 another great passage on the subject of peace in the Bible. 408 00:23:05,619 –> 00:23:06,920 where God says to us this, 409 00:23:06,920 –> 00:23:11,739 if your enemy is hungry feed him, 410 00:23:13,680 –> 00:23:18,680 and if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, 411 00:23:19,859 –> 00:23:24,160 your enemy, the person with whom you would hope 412 00:23:24,160 –> 00:23:26,280 one day there will be peace. 413 00:23:28,640 –> 00:23:30,400 And here he is, something’s happened 414 00:23:30,400 –> 00:23:33,079 and for some strange reason he’s hungry, 415 00:23:33,079 –> 00:23:34,219 he’s got some need. 416 00:23:35,479 –> 00:23:37,900 And God says, well, now in that situation 417 00:23:37,900 –> 00:23:40,819 here’s what you do, you do something to help him. 418 00:23:40,819 –> 00:23:43,160 You reach out with some act of kindness 419 00:23:43,160 –> 00:23:46,520 towards him and his situation of need. 420 00:23:46,520 –> 00:23:48,939 Now, the principle here is a very simple one 421 00:23:48,939 –> 00:23:50,959 and it is of course that the longest journey 422 00:23:50,959 –> 00:23:54,219 begins with a single step. 423 00:23:55,140 –> 00:23:57,699 And this is very important when peace seems 424 00:23:57,699 –> 00:24:02,260 a long way off, some of you may even now 425 00:24:02,260 –> 00:24:04,520 be in a situation perhaps in counseling 426 00:24:04,540 –> 00:24:07,180 and you’re saying, will there ever be reconciliation? 427 00:24:08,479 –> 00:24:11,500 It’s hard even to imagine, is this worth it? 428 00:24:12,959 –> 00:24:15,079 And as you think about the length of the journey 429 00:24:15,079 –> 00:24:16,699 that may be discouraging to you. 430 00:24:16,699 –> 00:24:19,959 Very, very important to think also along with that 431 00:24:19,959 –> 00:24:21,819 and your commitment to that about 432 00:24:21,819 –> 00:24:26,640 the value of taking one small step. 433 00:24:28,520 –> 00:24:31,479 What would be one step, 434 00:24:32,479 –> 00:24:35,239 one thing that I could do 435 00:24:36,180 –> 00:24:38,719 that would make this situation better? 436 00:24:38,719 –> 00:24:39,939 That’s the question here. 437 00:24:41,579 –> 00:24:45,219 One thing that would lessen the tension, 438 00:24:46,800 –> 00:24:49,079 one thing that might be appreciated, 439 00:24:49,079 –> 00:24:52,819 if your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat, 440 00:24:52,819 –> 00:24:57,300 he’s unlikely to snarl in that situation. 441 00:24:58,300 –> 00:25:02,619 I’ve been reading again the story 442 00:25:02,619 –> 00:25:05,760 of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 443 00:25:07,119 –> 00:25:10,979 Here was this moment when the whole world 444 00:25:10,979 –> 00:25:15,119 is on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. 445 00:25:16,760 –> 00:25:20,939 Two mighty nations and they are standing toe to toe, 446 00:25:22,359 –> 00:25:25,300 this enormous nuclear arsenals 447 00:25:25,339 –> 00:25:28,359 on either side ready to be unleashed 448 00:25:28,359 –> 00:25:30,780 to an unimaginable destruction. 449 00:25:32,079 –> 00:25:37,079 To this day, it remains the most dangerous moment 450 00:25:37,359 –> 00:25:39,540 in World History ever. 451 00:25:41,459 –> 00:25:43,319 And the key question 452 00:25:44,560 –> 00:25:48,619 at the heart of the Cuban Missile Crisis was 453 00:25:49,839 –> 00:25:52,739 what would be a single step 454 00:25:52,739 –> 00:25:57,739 that could begin the process of deescalation? 455 00:26:00,439 –> 00:26:02,839 What would be a single step that would do that? 456 00:26:03,920 –> 00:26:06,300 What would be one thing that we could do 457 00:26:06,300 –> 00:26:11,300 that might make possible some other step in response? 458 00:26:13,000 –> 00:26:13,939 A single step? 459 00:26:15,359 –> 00:26:16,300 What would that be? 460 00:26:18,640 –> 00:26:22,459 If your enemy is hungry, feed him. 461 00:26:23,619 –> 00:26:28,560 In a situation of conflict, will you look this week 462 00:26:28,560 –> 00:26:33,560 for one step that you could take 463 00:26:33,920 –> 00:26:38,920 that might make a responsive step, however small, 464 00:26:39,180 –> 00:26:41,060 at least possible? 465 00:26:43,099 –> 00:26:43,979 Number six. 466 00:26:45,560 –> 00:26:50,560 Aim at humility, not humiliation. 467 00:26:50,800 –> 00:26:51,959 Humiliation. 468 00:26:51,959 –> 00:26:56,719 Aim at humility, not humiliation. 469 00:26:57,920 –> 00:27:01,160 Now, think about the character of the Lord Jesus Christ 470 00:27:01,160 –> 00:27:05,739 as God comes to us in Christ as the great peacemaker. 471 00:27:06,599 –> 00:27:08,859 And here I’m thinking about Philippians chapter two 472 00:27:08,859 –> 00:27:11,800 in verse eight, the coming of Christ 473 00:27:11,800 –> 00:27:14,160 from all the glory that is his 474 00:27:15,119 –> 00:27:19,859 and being found in human form, he humbled himself. 475 00:27:19,859 –> 00:27:21,640 Isn’t that an amazing statement. 476 00:27:22,579 –> 00:27:25,900 Not just that he humbled himself by taking human form 477 00:27:25,900 –> 00:27:28,680 even when he was in human form, he humbled himself. 478 00:27:29,959 –> 00:27:31,619 And you see that all the way through the gospels 479 00:27:31,619 –> 00:27:34,219 in the life and in the character of the Lord Jesus. 480 00:27:34,219 –> 00:27:35,420 Think about this. 481 00:27:36,760 –> 00:27:39,380 When God was giving the law, 482 00:27:40,939 –> 00:27:45,939 his voice thundered impersonally from Sinai. 483 00:27:46,260 –> 00:27:47,099 Sinai. 484 00:27:48,020 –> 00:27:50,479 The experience of the people was just sheer terror 485 00:27:50,479 –> 00:27:54,079 at the awesomeness of this voice, this unseen form, 486 00:27:54,079 –> 00:27:59,079 just a thundering voice as God gives the law at Sinai. 487 00:28:02,199 –> 00:28:04,859 But when God is making peace 488 00:28:06,400 –> 00:28:09,719 he comes to us with his own glory veiled. 489 00:28:10,719 –> 00:28:15,719 He does not come to us in all the evidence of his strength, 490 00:28:17,060 –> 00:28:21,319 he comes to us in Jesus Christ in weakness. 491 00:28:21,319 –> 00:28:25,979 Christ crucified in weakness. 492 00:28:25,979 –> 00:28:30,979 He comes alongside of us in our own flesh 493 00:28:31,160 –> 00:28:36,160 and he speaks to us face to face. 494 00:28:36,199 –> 00:28:41,239 God speaking with people face to face. 495 00:28:47,119 –> 00:28:50,979 There’s a humility that runs right throughout 496 00:28:50,979 –> 00:28:55,339 God’s magnificent way of making peace. 497 00:28:58,339 –> 00:29:02,000 God makes peace not by a triumph of power 498 00:29:03,000 –> 00:29:05,000 But by a triumph of love 499 00:29:06,380 –> 00:29:08,380 He wins us 500 00:29:08,819 –> 00:29:10,819 He woos us 501 00:29:11,459 –> 00:29:13,459 He draws us 502 00:29:14,619 –> 00:29:16,619 his love 503 00:29:17,180 –> 00:29:19,180 constrains us 504 00:29:20,420 –> 00:29:25,219 This is how God makes peace and then think about this it is it is marvelous 505 00:29:26,219 –> 00:29:28,520 God does this when all 506 00:29:29,300 –> 00:29:31,300 Right was on his side 507 00:29:32,319 –> 00:29:34,839 And all the wrong was on ours 508 00:29:36,839 –> 00:29:43,199 You might think that God would come to us to say you guys are just the worst of sinners and I’ve got absolute holiness and 509 00:29:44,400 –> 00:29:46,839 but he comes to us with his glory veiled and 510 00:29:48,319 –> 00:29:50,319 His love constraints us 511 00:29:52,060 –> 00:29:57,859 Why have you been drawn to Jesus Christ is it not his love is it not his grace 512 00:29:58,500 –> 00:30:00,079 And 513 00:30:00,079 –> 00:30:02,199 where you really conquered by the law 514 00:30:04,180 –> 00:30:06,660 or were you won by the love of Jesus Christ 515 00:30:08,939 –> 00:30:11,599 Aim at humility, but never 516 00:30:13,140 –> 00:30:15,140 humiliation 517 00:30:15,140 –> 00:30:18,640 See when we get into peacemaking it is so easy 518 00:30:18,839 –> 00:30:21,680 Isn’t it when we feel that right is on our side? 519 00:30:21,699 –> 0:30:25,880 haven’t you already decided that on the day of the 520 00:30:26,400 –> 00:30:28,900 الصاحب الدعم 521 00:30:30,880 –> 00:30:32,880 The Father 522 00:30:32,979 –> 00:30:34,979 When the prodigal returns 523 00:30:36,479 –> 00:30:38,280 You know, you look into your own heart 524 00:30:38,280 –> 00:30:42,819 I look into mine and I think why I guess there would be a little bit of told you. So a 525 00:30:43,339 –> 00:30:47,459 Little bit of wounded too much harm to rub a bit of his nose in the dirt 526 00:30:48,359 –> 00:30:50,359 You know of his own failure 527 00:30:50,359 –> 00:30:53,319 Not a hint of that with the Heavenly Father 528 00:30:54,540 –> 00:30:57,280 Don’t you want to be more like him? 529 00:30:57,920 –> 00:31:01,260 The grace with which he 530 00:31:01,660 –> 00:31:03,560 Embraces this 531 00:31:04,900 –> 00:31:07,160 Wretched son 532 00:31:07,160 –> 00:31:09,160 Loves him 533 00:31:10,640 –> 00:31:16,160 When you have been wronged I mean really wrong when you have been wronged 534 00:31:17,500 –> 00:31:19,020 What do you want? 535 00:31:20,979 –> 00:31:27,540 Do I want vengeance? Do I want that person who wronged me to squirm? 536 00:31:27,560 –> 00:31:33,199 Do I want vindication? Do I want it to be absolutely clear that I was right? 537 00:31:34,619 –> 00:31:37,760 Or do I want to make peace? 538 00:31:37,760 –> 00:31:40,439 These are three very different things 539 00:31:40,819 –> 00:31:46,800 And people who want vindication, and people who want vengeance, cannot make peace. 540 00:31:46,800 –> 00:31:52,819 If you want to see someone who has hurt you squirm in the dust, you are not ready to be 541 00:31:52,819 –> 00:31:55,199 a peacemaker. 542 00:31:57,079 –> 00:32:01,140 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. 543 00:32:01,140 –> 00:32:04,180 They are the ones who are like Him. 544 00:32:04,939 –> 00:32:10,459 General, his book about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Robert Kennedy quotes his brother, 545 00:32:10,459 –> 00:32:11,920 the President. 546 00:32:11,920 –> 00:32:20,319 Quote, John F. Kennedy says, if anybody, this is the 26th of October, 1962, and Kennedy 547 00:32:20,319 –> 00:32:24,839 says, if anybody is around to write after this… 548 00:32:24,839 –> 00:32:26,459 Can you imagine him saying that? 549 00:32:26,459 –> 00:32:30,780 If anyone is even around to write after this… 550 00:32:30,780 –> 00:32:36,420 They are going to understand, that we made every effort to find peace and every effort 551 00:32:36,420 –> 00:32:40,520 to give our adversary room to move. 552 00:32:40,520 –> 00:32:51,459 I, says John F. Kennedy, am not going to push the Russians an inch beyond what is necessary. 553 00:32:51,459 –> 00:32:54,060 And then Robert Kennedy records this in his notes. 554 00:32:54,060 –> 00:32:59,920 He says after it was finished, the president instructed all members of the government that 555 00:32:59,920 –> 00:33:08,619 no interview was to be given, no statement made that would claim any kind of victory. 556 00:33:08,619 –> 00:33:11,459 Why? 557 00:33:11,459 –> 00:33:21,540 Because peacemakers aim at humility, but never humiliation. 558 00:33:21,739 –> 00:33:24,739 Number seven. 559 00:33:24,739 –> 00:33:28,819 Trust the injustice you have suffered 560 00:33:28,819 –> 00:33:30,079 to God. 561 00:33:30,079 –> 00:33:32,420 There goes to be real progress in peacemaking. 562 00:33:32,420 –> 00:33:34,560 This also is absolutely huge. 563 00:33:34,560 –> 00:33:37,180 I’ll take a few minutes on it that remain, 564 00:33:37,180 –> 00:33:38,219 and then very briefly, 565 00:33:38,219 –> 00:33:39,920 just the last ones to round off here. 566 00:33:39,920 –> 00:33:44,380 But here is something absolutely critical to the 567 00:33:44,380 –> 00:33:46,619 progress of all peacemaking, 568 00:33:46,900 –> 00:33:51,900 trust the injustice that you have suffered to God. 569 00:33:53,140 –> 00:33:55,979 Now friends, it is a terrible thing to be wronged. 570 00:33:55,979 –> 00:33:58,219 And I’ll be surprised if there’s anyone 571 00:33:58,219 –> 00:33:59,660 in this congregation today 572 00:33:59,660 –> 00:34:01,459 who doesn’t have a story of being wronged. 573 00:34:01,459 –> 00:34:03,339 And some of you have stories of being wronged 574 00:34:03,339 –> 00:34:05,420 in terrible ways. 575 00:34:05,420 –> 00:34:07,339 It is a terrible thing to be wronged, 576 00:34:07,339 –> 00:34:10,300 to be slighted, to be treated unfairly, 577 00:34:10,300 –> 00:34:13,199 to be passed over, to be taken for granted, 578 00:34:13,199 –> 00:34:16,179 to have evil returned for good that you have done, 579 00:34:16,219 –> 00:34:20,439 to have given yourself and to have received wounds in return. 580 00:34:20,439 –> 00:34:23,699 Friend, Jesus knows all about that. 581 00:34:24,860 –> 00:34:28,679 Nobody has been wronged more than he has been wronged. 582 00:34:29,699 –> 00:34:31,179 And no one is a peacemaker 583 00:34:31,179 –> 00:34:33,600 like Jesus Christ is a peacemaker. 584 00:34:34,580 –> 00:34:38,739 And we have the most marvelous model to follow in Jesus. 585 00:34:38,739 –> 00:34:41,419 No one has had their rights ignored or floated 586 00:34:41,419 –> 00:34:44,159 quite like our Lord Jesus Christ has. 587 00:34:44,699 –> 00:34:48,199 And so Peter tells us in his letter 588 00:34:48,199 –> 00:34:50,080 and you will want to mark this 589 00:34:50,080 –> 00:34:51,959 if you’re trying to get a handle 590 00:34:51,959 –> 00:34:54,020 on what peacemaking is all about. 591 00:34:54,020 –> 00:34:55,639 In 1 Peter in chapter two, 592 00:34:55,639 –> 00:34:59,419 he tells us how Jesus did this, 593 00:34:59,419 –> 00:35:01,780 how he dealt with all of this. 594 00:35:02,719 –> 00:35:05,239 It is a huge, huge passage of scripture 595 00:35:05,239 –> 00:35:06,820 for anyone who has been wronged 596 00:35:06,820 –> 00:35:08,719 and really wants to be like Jesus. 597 00:35:08,719 –> 00:35:10,459 He says 1 Peter chapter two in verse 19, 598 00:35:10,459 –> 00:35:11,959 you might like to turn to it 599 00:35:11,959 –> 00:35:14,500 just for this moment here briefly. 600 00:35:14,500 –> 00:35:17,419 This, he says, is a gracious thing. 601 00:35:17,419 –> 00:35:19,280 When mindful of God, 602 00:35:19,280 –> 00:35:23,679 one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 603 00:35:23,679 –> 00:35:25,239 So he’s talking about what to do 604 00:35:25,239 –> 00:35:28,879 when you have suffered injustice like Jesus did. 605 00:35:28,879 –> 00:35:30,340 You’ve been treated unfairly 606 00:35:30,340 –> 00:35:32,600 and now you’re beginning to feel resentment 607 00:35:32,600 –> 00:35:34,979 and you’re losing your own peace 608 00:35:36,199 –> 00:35:38,020 and you feel yourself getting angry 609 00:35:38,020 –> 00:35:39,979 and you don’t want to go down that path. 610 00:35:42,199 –> 00:35:43,320 Verse 20, he says, 611 00:35:43,320 –> 00:35:46,179 if you do good and you suffer from it and endure, 612 00:35:46,179 –> 00:35:49,120 this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 613 00:35:49,120 –> 00:35:52,919 Verse 21, for to this, you’ve been called. 614 00:35:52,919 –> 00:35:54,239 There’s a calling here 615 00:35:54,239 –> 00:35:56,840 because Christ also suffered for you, 616 00:35:56,840 –> 00:35:59,659 leaving you an example, 617 00:35:59,659 –> 00:36:02,399 that is, an example to do of what to do 618 00:36:02,399 –> 00:36:05,159 when you’re wronged, when you suffer injustice. 619 00:36:05,159 –> 00:36:08,120 He’s left you an example so that you, 620 00:36:08,120 –> 00:36:10,379 he says, might follow in His steps. 621 00:36:10,379 –> 00:36:13,580 What is this example of Christ that I’m to follow 622 00:36:13,580 –> 00:36:17,040 when I’m wronged, really wronged, 623 00:36:17,040 –> 00:36:18,899 as He was wronged? 624 00:36:21,260 –> 00:36:22,739 Peter tells us, it’s just very simple, 625 00:36:22,739 –> 00:36:23,739 you can see it right there, 626 00:36:23,739 –> 00:36:26,879 two things Jesus didn’t do, and two things He did. 627 00:36:26,879 –> 00:36:27,820 What did He not do? 628 00:36:29,540 –> 00:36:31,699 When He was reviled, 629 00:36:31,699 –> 00:36:35,560 He did not revile again. 630 00:36:36,580 –> 00:36:38,360 He did not revile in return. 631 00:36:38,800 –> 00:36:42,959 People spoke out against Jesus, 632 00:36:42,959 –> 00:36:46,100 people slandered Jesus, 633 00:36:46,100 –> 00:36:47,899 people insulted Jesus, 634 00:36:47,899 –> 00:36:49,320 people spat on Jesus, 635 00:36:49,320 –> 00:36:51,399 people provoked Jesus. 636 00:36:51,399 –> 00:36:53,500 But when He was reviled, 637 00:36:53,500 –> 00:36:55,820 He did not revile in return, 638 00:36:55,820 –> 00:36:57,280 that’s what He didn’t do. 639 00:36:57,280 –> 00:37:00,439 That’s an example that we may follow in His footsteps, 640 00:37:00,439 –> 00:37:02,479 because we’re to be like Him. 641 00:37:02,479 –> 00:37:04,080 Why did He not revile again? 642 00:37:04,080 –> 00:37:06,219 Why did He not give them, 643 00:37:06,239 –> 00:37:09,199 in His words, what they deserved? 644 00:37:09,199 –> 00:37:12,100 The answer is because He came to make peace. 645 00:37:13,459 –> 00:37:14,820 What else did He not do? 646 00:37:14,820 –> 00:37:18,639 When He suffered, He did not threaten. 647 00:37:18,639 –> 00:37:19,659 That’s huge. 648 00:37:21,320 –> 00:37:24,000 Soldiers flogged Him and nailed Him 649 00:37:24,000 –> 00:37:27,379 and inflicted unimaginable pain upon Him, 650 00:37:27,379 –> 00:37:28,959 and He’s the Son of God 651 00:37:28,959 –> 00:37:32,280 to whom all judgment has been trusted, 652 00:37:32,280 –> 00:37:34,580 and He could have looked down from that cross 653 00:37:34,580 –> 00:37:39,219 and He could have said, you wait, you wait. 654 00:37:41,500 –> 00:37:42,659 And He did not do that. 655 00:37:44,419 –> 00:37:45,260 Why? 656 00:37:46,899 –> 00:37:48,379 Because He came to make peace. 657 00:37:50,100 –> 00:37:50,939 What did He do? 658 00:37:52,260 –> 00:37:54,699 Peter says He continued entrusting Himself 659 00:37:54,699 –> 00:37:56,360 to God who judges justly. 660 00:37:58,760 –> 00:38:00,620 And that’s an example for you and for me 661 00:38:00,620 –> 00:38:03,760 when we’re wronged, you bring that injustice 662 00:38:03,820 –> 00:38:05,479 and you place it into the hands of God, 663 00:38:05,479 –> 00:38:07,219 that’s what Jesus did. 664 00:38:07,219 –> 00:38:09,020 You say, oh, God, you know about it. 665 00:38:10,780 –> 00:38:12,120 And I trust you to deal with it. 666 00:38:12,120 –> 00:38:14,399 And not only does he trust the injustice to God, 667 00:38:14,399 –> 00:38:15,560 notice what Peter says. 668 00:38:15,560 –> 00:38:18,199 Christ trusted Himself to God. 669 00:38:19,679 –> 00:38:22,199 In other words, He does not seek His own vindication 670 00:38:23,879 –> 00:38:27,320 because He knows that His vindication is with God. 671 00:38:28,439 –> 00:38:32,040 Friends, there is a tremendous release here 672 00:38:32,080 –> 00:38:35,120 when you are wronged or where you are slighted. 673 00:38:35,120 –> 00:38:38,659 Your vindication is with God. 674 00:38:39,760 –> 00:38:42,899 And you can trust yourself to Him who judges justly. 675 00:38:44,239 –> 00:38:46,939 If you were able to vindicate yourself to everybody 676 00:38:46,939 –> 00:38:48,520 entirely in this life, 677 00:38:48,520 –> 00:38:50,719 actually that would be quite a small thing. 678 00:38:50,719 –> 00:38:55,419 How much better for your vindicator to be God himself. 679 00:38:56,620 –> 00:38:58,600 And what if you have to wait until heaven 680 00:38:58,600 –> 00:39:00,379 for that vindication to be known? 681 00:39:00,379 –> 00:39:02,379 That’s only a short step away anyway. 682 00:39:06,500 –> 00:39:08,659 And not only did He entrust Himself 683 00:39:08,659 –> 00:39:10,860 to the one who judges justly, 684 00:39:10,860 –> 00:39:13,939 He Himself bore our sins 685 00:39:13,939 –> 00:39:17,260 in His body on the tree. 686 00:39:18,500 –> 00:39:19,979 He bore this injustice. 687 00:39:19,979 –> 00:39:23,159 He bore what was done against Him. 688 00:39:23,159 –> 00:39:27,020 He absorbed the pain of it without passing it on. 689 00:39:27,020 –> 00:39:32,020 Bearing shame and scoffing rude, 690 00:39:32,379 –> 00:39:35,179 in My place condemned He stood. 691 00:39:35,179 –> 00:39:37,800 Sealed My pardon with His blood. 692 00:39:38,800 –> 00:39:39,760 Hallelujah. 693 00:39:41,100 –> 00:39:43,000 For a Savior He bore it, 694 00:39:43,000 –> 00:39:47,399 bore our sins in His body on the tree. 695 00:39:47,399 –> 00:39:49,379 And Peter says this is an example 696 00:39:51,379 –> 00:39:55,439 that you may follow in His footsteps 697 00:39:55,500 –> 00:39:57,560 and what came of it, verse 24, 698 00:39:57,560 –> 00:40:00,580 by His wounds you have been healed. 699 00:40:03,580 –> 00:40:06,500 Christ’s wounds have brought healing for you 700 00:40:08,300 –> 00:40:10,260 and in terms of human relationships 701 00:40:10,260 –> 00:40:12,739 your wounds can be healing wounds also 702 00:40:13,899 –> 00:40:14,739 by His grace. 703 00:40:14,739 –> 00:40:15,919 That’s what it’s saying. 704 00:40:16,979 –> 00:40:20,479 If you bear them and you trust yourself 705 00:40:20,479 –> 00:40:22,560 to Him who judges justly. 706 00:40:23,260 –> 00:40:27,320 Read more, very briefly, just completing this. 707 00:40:27,320 –> 00:40:29,580 Number eight, pray for peace. 708 00:40:29,580 –> 00:40:31,560 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 709 00:40:32,840 –> 00:40:35,719 1 Timothy says all who are in high positions 710 00:40:35,719 –> 00:40:36,639 were to pray for them 711 00:40:36,639 –> 00:40:39,520 that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives 712 00:40:39,520 –> 00:40:41,260 in a godly and a dignified way. 713 00:40:41,260 –> 00:40:43,080 If you’re committed to peace, 714 00:40:43,080 –> 00:40:45,739 praying for peace will be part of your prayer life. 715 00:40:45,739 –> 00:40:48,860 Number nine, share the gospel of peace 716 00:40:48,860 –> 00:40:50,959 as shoes for your feet. 717 00:40:50,959 –> 00:40:54,300 Having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 718 00:40:54,300 –> 00:40:56,820 Isn’t it interesting how often the Bible connects 719 00:40:56,820 –> 00:40:59,540 the gospel with running. 720 00:40:59,540 –> 00:41:03,199 How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news 721 00:41:03,199 –> 00:41:04,479 and the gospel of peace? 722 00:41:04,479 –> 00:41:06,060 It’s like shoes on your feet, 723 00:41:06,060 –> 00:41:07,639 it’s to be taken out. 724 00:41:07,639 –> 00:41:10,100 Some people think that the Seventh Beatitude 725 00:41:10,100 –> 00:41:13,179 is all about helping men and women 726 00:41:13,179 –> 00:41:14,639 to come to peace with God 727 00:41:14,639 –> 00:41:17,060 and related therefore to the work of evangelism. 728 00:41:17,540 –> 00:41:20,639 I don’t think it should be limited to that. 729 00:41:20,639 –> 00:41:22,120 But we certainly don’t understand 730 00:41:22,120 –> 00:41:25,699 the full range of this beatitude apart from that. 731 00:41:25,699 –> 00:41:28,679 A person who is a peacemaker, a son of God, 732 00:41:28,679 –> 00:41:31,080 will be reflecting God’s great peacemaking. 733 00:41:31,080 –> 00:41:31,899 Which is what? 734 00:41:31,899 –> 00:41:35,080 The reconciling of people to himself through Jesus Christ. 735 00:41:35,080 –> 00:41:36,360 And how does that happen? 736 00:41:36,360 –> 00:41:38,840 Through your sharing the gospel this week. 737 00:41:38,840 –> 00:41:41,719 That may be the greatest peacemaking you ever do 738 00:41:41,719 –> 00:41:44,780 is to lead a person directly to Jesus Christ. 739 00:41:45,580 –> 00:41:48,899 And number 10 is simply this, cherish peace 740 00:41:48,899 –> 00:41:52,379 wherever you find it. 741 00:41:52,379 –> 00:41:56,040 Maintain the unity of the Spirit 742 00:41:56,040 –> 00:42:00,000 in the bond of peace. 743 00:42:01,860 –> 00:42:04,580 Sometimes, a phrase, a very simple phrase, 744 00:42:04,580 –> 00:42:06,820 stays in a way that’s helpful. 745 00:42:09,020 –> 00:42:14,020 I end with this, I once met another pastor 746 00:42:15,600 –> 00:42:17,639 for a meal in England. 747 00:42:19,139 –> 00:42:21,120 Was the only time I ever met him. 748 00:42:22,179 –> 00:42:25,179 We got together for a meal because we had to talk 749 00:42:25,179 –> 00:42:28,780 about an issue in which it was at least possible 750 00:42:28,780 –> 00:42:30,379 that we might disagree. 751 00:42:31,500 –> 00:42:32,719 Never met him before. 752 00:42:34,260 –> 00:42:37,139 And we sat down at this meal and he offered to say grace 753 00:42:37,139 –> 00:42:40,540 when the meal was served and this is what he prayed. 754 00:42:40,540 –> 00:42:41,379 Never forget it. 755 00:42:41,939 –> 00:42:43,780 Lord, 756 00:42:45,919 –> 00:42:47,939 we were one when we met. 757 00:42:50,219 –> 00:42:54,060 Let nothing in this conversation today make that 758 00:42:54,060 –> 00:42:58,399 less, when we part, amen. 759 00:43:00,340 –> 00:43:01,500 It was a wonderful meal. 760 00:43:03,100 –> 00:43:06,580 His prayer was answered and there was peace. 761 00:43:08,540 –> 00:43:09,620 Let’s pray together. 762 00:43:12,340 –> 00:43:15,439 Are you at peace with God? 763 00:43:18,919 –> 00:43:21,340 Are you ready to be a peacemaker? 764 00:43:25,939 –> 00:43:29,659 Father, in the vastness of the different circumstances 765 00:43:29,659 –> 00:43:32,479 in which we are hearing your word today, 766 00:43:32,479 –> 00:43:37,020 we look to your Holy Spirit to seal into every heart 767 00:43:37,020 –> 00:43:42,020 what I must do to be obedient to your word 768 00:43:43,419 –> 00:43:45,580 and faithful to the Christ who loved me 769 00:43:45,580 –> 00:43:47,040 and gave himself for me. 770 00:43:48,340 –> 00:43:51,580 In who’s name I gladly pray, amen. 771 00:43:56,179 –> 00:43:57,439 You’ve been listening to a sermon 772 00:43:57,439 –> 00:43:59,820 with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 773 00:43:59,820 –> 00:44:03,979 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 774 00:44:03,979 –> 00:44:08,439 or visit our website, openthebible.org.