As always, you can read the transcript of the service below.
Psalm 119:65-72
65 Do good to Your servant according to Your word, Lord.66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,for I trust Your commands.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,but now I obey Your word.68 You are good, and what You do is good;teach me Your decrees.69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,I keep Your precepts with all my heart.70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,but I delight in Your law.71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.72 The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
PSALM 119:65-72/
MATTHEW 5:9
Springford Baptist Church: October 19, 2020.
BLESSED
AND A BLESSING ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
Who have you known that you would describe as a peacemaker?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9
As we continue to work our way through the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5, we continue to encounter what Jesus has to say about “LEARNING THE WAY OF BLESSING”.
Today we are recognizing that peacemakers both receive blessing and bring blessing: BLESSED AND A BLESSING ARE THE PEACEMAKERS.
When I think of who I have known that I would describe as a peacemaker, I think of many mothers.
When there are multiple children in a household or only a few, there are multiple disputes and misunderstandings. How many times has an exasperated mother exclaimed, “Could we just have a little peace around here”? In a desire for peace, it is not effective to just sit back and hope that things get worked out so that there can be a measure of peace. This would be like a mother with squabbling children reclining in a chair with chaos all around her and hoping that somehow those in conflict would learn to get along and to then make her life more peaceful.
Being a peacemaker involves taking intentional action that will help to bring peace.
When someone rolls up their sleeves and moves into the midst of disagreement to assist people in listening and caring and respecting each other, that is being a peacemaker.
A peacemaker is an active role! I will always remember a plaque on the wall of someone who really did fight for peace. It expressed this truth: PEACE LIKE WAR IS WAGED!
Every mother knows the
truth of this statement. Every one of us who has interactions with
other individuals knows the truth of this statement. It takes
concerted effort to make peace. It is an activity that certainly
requires God’s Divine assistance!
Retreating from unsettled
relationships and circumstances may bring some temporary peace, but
it is not lasting.
Those who do, with dependence on God and strong determination, decide to confront situations where peace is absent and to help to make peace will then not only be blessed, but will also be a blessing.
It is important to notice the second part of Matthew 5:9 Peacemakers “will be called children of God.”
This will be both by God and by people.
Peacemakers will be recognized as showing a likeness to God. Just as children have a similar appearance and mannerisms to their parents, we as God’s children are to remind people of our Father in heaven.
It is both a blessing and a huge responsibility to be a peacemaker and to thereby point attention to God who affirms peacemakers as His children.
Our examination today of Psalm 119:65-72 can assist us if we are serious about being willing to take on the task of being peacemakers and thereby both being blessed and being a blessing:
65 Do good to Your servant according to Your word, Lord.66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,for I trust Your commands.
Aren’t those things that the Psalm writer is praying to be taught in verse 66 essential to being a peacemaker? He is asking God to teach him knowledge and good judgment.
Think
again about a mother entering a dispute between her children. If she
doesn’t have knowledge and know the background of what has caused
the disagreement, she cannot be a peacemaker.
Anyone who does not
have good judgment cannot be a peacemaker. In fact that individual
lacking the good judgment that comes from God, is likely to make
things worse instead of better.
Please be praying for those currently in positions of leadership to have both knowledge and good judgement. As we know, on several fronts, there is a great deal at stake.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,but now I obey Your word.68 You are good, and what You do is good;teach me Your decrees.
Do you know what I see in verses 67 and 68 that is helpful for anyone trying to be a peacemaker?
It
is the necessity of learning from our mistakes. The Psalmist refers
to a time when He went astray, when He moved away from God. Now He
has learned from that mistake and chooses to obey God’s word and
wants to learn more of God’s decrees, God’s way. This positions
him to help others discover the potential for peace with God and for
him to reveal to others what God is like.
What else can we
learn about the blessing of being a peacemaker from Psalm 119?
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,I keep Your precepts with all my heart.70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,but I delight in Your law.71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.
Even though there are those who will criticize us and try to smear us with lies, peacemakers must hold on to the delight of God’s way and being true to following God.
Ultimately the truth results in peace, but as we know it can be a complicated process.
Sometimes, our only consolation will be to know that we are sincerely trying to do the right thing and not to respond with a mean spirit that blocks rather than opening up the way to peace.
I think here of being out driving and finding a barricade on a road or street that prohibits passing because of some kind of major construction. When a relationship is in upheaval, it is like having an impasse on the road to peace. It is only when the construction gets completed that the road to peace can be opened up again.
Does that ring true for you and your experience?
Finally, we look at verse 72:
72 The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
God’s ways do lead to peace and this is a gift much more precious than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
You can have an individual with a large fancy home, a huge property and multiple vehicles to drive, but if that person does not have the peace of God then that person is extremely poor.
How then will God use us to serve Him by being peacemakers?
I love the possibility of God being encountered in meaningful ways in all the places where people are choosing to help people to come together instead of to be in stand offs with each other.
Yes, there is blessing for those who are peacemakers and will then be called the children of God. There is also profound blessing for others that results from peacemakers who take initiative and enter the scene to work hard with God’s help to bring peace.
As we know the peace of God in our hearts, may we engage as peacemakers in our world where the peace of God is so desperately needed! We cannot sit back and wait for peace to occur, we must, by God’s grace, make peace happen as people are reconciled to God and to each other!!