Jesus had to die to bring about peace. Dr. Tony Yavin says, just like the Lord, we have to confront the root of what divides us if we're going to be peacemakers. If you're not willing to address the sin, then you're not willing to fix the conflict. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. Everybody wants to enjoy peace. but how many of us are willing to do what it takes to make peace. Today, Dr. Evans takes us to Matthew chapter 5 as he talks about the blessings waiting for those who are ready to tackle the root of the conflict.
In the nearly 4,000 years of recorded human history, There have been only two hundred and sixty eight years where there was no war.
So war is normal. But war is not only normal for nations, it's normal for many of us.
Some of us are at war with ourselves. In fact, we're at war with the three people, me, myself and I. And can't none of them get along with each other. Internal conflict. Battling within yourself.
You've got your own personal civil war. You fighting you. Then there is domestic wars. And while everything looked like it was going to be good before you got there. One hour after the honeymoon.
It became apparent, I just walked into a war zone. Because of the perpetual conflict. There is other kind of relational parents and children.
Some of you are in a war zone at work. Conflict with supervisor or manager, employee, or co-worker. Then of course there are the social wars. Racial. conflict That goes on for centuries between groups, whether it's black or white.
Those polar ends or or other kinds of Racial conflicts and their social conflicts due to class. the rich in battling the poor. Or vice versa. And you kind of get afraid when there's peace. Because you know it won't last long.
Because there's a war waiting to happen around the corner of your life. Yet we find in this scripture. A blessing. Blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the sons of God.
What is a peacemaker? The person who makes peace. What is peace? Peace is harmony. Where conflict used to exist.
Peace is where Harmony has replaced Conflict.
Now, let's get this straight. This is more than a truce. Because you can stop physically fighting but still live in a Cold War. Peacemaking is resolving conflicts with the truth. By exposing and addressing the sin.
leading to a right relationship being established. with the combatants. To be a peacemaker. is to be someone who rather than running from the conflict, faces the conflict. but he does it with the truth.
And he does it, or she does it by exposing and addressing the sin. that has led to the conflict. resulting in a right relationship. Between the combatants. A peacemaker is more than a peacekeeper.
It means resolving the reason for the conflict.
So that when you step back. The combatants can still now get along. Because there's been real resolution to the problem. Peace must always accompany righteousness. You cannot have peace.
If righteousness is not included in the discussion. To be a peacemaker is to be one. who is involved in creating Harmony where there is conflict.
Okay. He says there is a blessing. to being a peacemaker. When a person becomes a peacemaker, rather than a troublemaker. It says they shall be called the sons of God.
Now, please don't misread that. He didn't say they will be the sons of God. He says they will be caught. the sons of God. The key word here is Called.
What does it mean by called? Wow. To say somebody was the son of something. was to reflect on their character. He says, blessed are the peacemakers.
For they will be. Called or recognized to be Sons of God. because they are reflecting the character of their dad. Who is a A God of peace. Which means that when you're not a peacemaker, you don't look like your daddy in heaven.
When you are fermenting That which does not contribute to peace. When you are contributing to Conflict. You don't reflect the character of the father, so you're not. Called a son of God, even though you might be a son of God. And if you're not called a son of God, that means you're not recognized to be such.
You might legally be such. But God doesn't recognize you as such. And people who are in line with God don't recognize you as such either. Because you can't be called the son of God. Because you're not acting like a son of God.
Because you're not making peace, you're fermenting war. Blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the Son of God. You say, well, What difference does it make? Whether or not somebody Calls me the Son of God.
Whether somebody recognizes me as the Son of God, as long as I know I'm the Son of God.
Well To be called the Son of God. is the recognition you share the character of God. Which result in you having access. To God. You see, the reason why you want to be called the Son of God.
It's because you want to have access. sense to the God who called you that. Let me put it another way. If God can't call you his son, or daughter, because you're not acting. thing like His son or daughter, because you're not a peacemaker.
Then you lose the Access. That sons and daughters have who are in sync with daddy. If you're not in sync with daddy and he can't call you a son, That means you don't have the same act. Access to daddy. as somebody he can call a son whom he's proud of.
Blessed are the peacemakers. The devil's agenda is to create conflict. It is in his best interest to create conflict. Why? Because he knows God is the God of peace and God is the God of unity.
So he creates conflict in order to separate. and cause there to be a breach. in our fellowship with God. That's why there's so many one-anothers in scripture as to how believers ought to relate to one another. It's not just so we can all get along, it's so that we can have access.
says to the father. In the book of Acts, chapter one. It says the believers were all there in one accord. If Jesus were living today, he'd drive a Honda because his people. were in one accord.
They were in harmony with one another. And the Bible says. Because they were in high Harmony with one another, the spirit moved in a supernatural way, doing supernatural things among the people because they were not functioning in conflict, they were functioning in harmony. The Bible says that a husband, 1 Peter 3, 7, cannot go to God in prayer if he's in conflict with his wife because God won't listen to his prayer. He's not called the Son of God.
That's why the devil wants to stir things up in the house. He's not just after you not getting along. He's after stopping you from having acts. As children of God to heaven, because He can't call you His son, because you're not a peacemaker. You're a conflict contributor.
Over and over again, this issue of God working in the midst of his people, Matthew 18, verses 19 and 20, says when two of you or three of you agree. You're on the same page. You're operating in harmony rather than in conflict. It says, Jesus is in the middle of you. He comes down and takes his place in the center place where the agreement is.
So it is in the devil's interest to break up the agreement.
So that you're not peacemakers, so that you can't be called the son of God, so that God can't respond to your desires and requests.
So, some of us are actually blocking the movement of God in our lives for one week, one month, 12 months, 12 years, and we keep doing it because we live in conflict. Our life is a war zone. And it's due to a refusal to be a peace. Maker. He says, Blessed are the peace makers.
They will be called the sons of God. A peacemaker carries a powerful testimony of the power of God. Many of you remember the true story of a man outside of the White House in the mid-1800s, sitting on a park, the park bench, and he was crying, he was crying, he was crying. A little boy came up to him and said, What's wrong, sir? The man told him, I've got this big family issue that only the president can solve, but they won't let me go in to see the president.
Little boy took him by the hand and said, Follow me. He walked past the guard, past the inner guard, walked to the Oval Office. He said, This man wants to talk to you, Dad. President Lincoln. President Lincoln said, Thank you, son.
My son brought you here. Have a seat. In other words, when he could call him his son. That gave him access. They shall be called the sons of God.
When Dr. Evans continues our message in just a moment, he'll elaborate on that critical component required of being a peacemaker. First though, you can dig even deeper into today's subject when you take advantage of the powerful resource bundle we're featuring right now. It's Tony's current series called How to Be Truly Blessed, a 10-message collection that unpacks what Jesus really meant in the Beatitudes. You'll discover how God's definition of blessing looks very different from the world's.
and how true joy is found in aligning your life with Him. And as a special bonus, we are also including Tony's book, Praying Through the Names of Jesus. It's a devotional guide that'll help you experience the Lord's presence, provision, and power through the many ways He reveals Himself in Scripture. Both of these resources are yours with our thanks when you make a contribution to help support the ongoing work of the alternative. You can get the details and make the arrangements instantly at tonyevans.org or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you.
That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. All right now, let's get back to Dr. Evans for more of today's message.
So This thing. of being a peacemaker. is critical. to divine recognition of your son or daughtership. which is critical to your act.
Yeah. Answer prayer. Hearing from heaven. Watching God solve problems before you arrive. Then folk will call you the son of God because you obviously got a connection they don't have.
So that that question should lead to One other question. How do I become a peacemaker so I can be called the son of God, so I can experience the access?
Now, watch this because we're going to throw you a curveball here. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13. Button. In Christ Jesus, You who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our Peace.
Who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in himself he might make the two into one new man, thus establishing Peace. and might reconcile them both in one body. to God through the cross. By it having put to death the enmity. He came and preached.
Peace. To you who are far away and Peace. to those who are near for through him we both have our Access, remember I just talked about access? In one spirit to the who? Father, which means you're a son or daughter.
So son or daughter It's tied to access. Access. Engages the Holy Spirit.
So that you can enjoy the peace. Thanks. That Jesus came to give you. But how do you get to the peace? He says the way you get.
To the peace, watch this now. is by The blood of Christ.
Now stick with me now. Don't leave me. You say, well, what's that got to do with me fighting with me, me fighting with my mate, me fighting with my coworkers? It has everything to do with it. He says, the way Jesus gives peace.
Is through the cross. But wait a minute. The cross, the blood of Christ. It's a place of judgment. That's a place where judgment took place.
The cross is a painful place. The cross is a hurtful place. The cross is a place where there's nails in your hand and a spear in your side, and blood is gushing out in your body. The cross is a nasty place. See, the cross isn't a pretty place.
At the cross, you don't say, can't we all get along? At the cross, you don't say, you know, bygones are going to be bygones, peace at any cost. You don't say that at the cross. At the cross, judgment is occurring. But what is being judged at the cross?
Sin is being judged at the cross. The reason why the cross is nasty and ugly and bloody is because at the cross, sin is being addressed. And judge. But because of the blood, shed by Jesus. At the cross.
Sin got judged so peace could be offered. The only reason. You and I, as Christians, have peace with God is because of a nasty, bloody cross. That nasty, bloody cross that crucified our Savior, thus judging our sin, opened the door for peace with God. Guess what?
The same blood. That solved the problem us have us having peace with God.
Solves the problem of us having peace from God.
so that we can have peace with others. It's the same blood. Why? Because the same blood that Judge sent on Calvary is the very same blood that Judge sins today. It is because we leave the blood on the cross.
2000 years ago, and don't apply to blood today in the 21st century that we live in a war zone rather than in a peace zone because we do not allow the blood to address the sin, because that's the only thing the blood addresses. The blood doesn't address personality. The blood doesn't address racial color. The blood doesn't address how much money you make. The blood doesn't address what kind of clothes you wear.
What the blood addresses is sin.
So, if you're going to be a peacemaker, you must be willing to get bloodied through the addressing of sin so the blood of Christ can bring about the peace that you want to happen. If you're not willing to address the sin, then you're not willing to fix the conflict. It is only in addressing the sin that you address the conflict.
So, what people want to do is they want to skip the cross part, but get the peace part. You can't get the peace pot. without the blood part. Jesus had to die to bring about peace. You have to deal with the same thing that Jesus died for, sin, in order to bring about the peace.
The problem is. People don't want to deal with the sin.
Well, if you don't want to deal with the sin, you can't have the peace. While you will have tribulation in the world, if you're willing to be a peacemaker God's way, it won't stop stuff from being around you, but it'll stop the stuff from being around you from overcoming you. Blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called the sons of God. You know I know a lot of you are like me. I am a mayonnaise guy.
I'm not a mustard guy.
Okay, I will send the sandwich back. if it has mustard on it. And I didn't know it in advance, I will send it back because I'm a mayonnaise kind of guy. I give a pass to a hot dog. That's the only thing that gets a mustard pass.
Other than that, I am a mayonnaise type of guy.
Now Mayonnaise, or to be Sadidi, uh mayonnaise. Is Really? A product that that operates in contradiction. You see, because mayonnaise is finally made up of oil and water. And oil and water do not agree.
All in water. Can't get along. Oil and water can't maintain fellowship. no matter how much you stir oil and water together they're going to retract and go back to their old world because oil and water don't like each other. Oil and water don't know how to function together in the same space.
And no matter what you do, oil and water just does not work. You can't force it. because it's not natural and to try to make it happen won't work.
Some of you. are in situations of oil and water. And you've tried everything you can to make this thing work and it keeps just jumping back to where it was. No matter how much energy and effort, because you're trying to make this thing work and it just won't work.
Well, mayonnaise is fundamentally. All in water. The problem is. Oil and water can't get along.
So guess what the makers of mayonnaise did? They created an emulsifier.
Now, an emulsifier is something that takes two opposing objects. Pulls them together so that they can relate in a way that they could not relate on their own.
So, in order to have mayonnaise, you got oil and you got water, but you have the emulsifier of eggs. They put eggs in mayonnaise. Egg reaches out and grabs oil. Egg reaches out and grabs water. Egg pulls oil and water together.
thickens them up so you and I can eat some sandwiches. Eggs reach out. and they emulsify oil and water, causing that which is totally different to be able to get along. when it comes to your conflicts no matter whatever they are The blood of Jesus Christ reaches out on one side. The blood of Jesus Christ reaches out on another side.
pulling together that which could not normally get along. The blood of Jesus Christ in your conflict is your emulsifier if you're willing to deal with the sin that is causing the separation. The blood works today. Dr. Tony Evans.
talking about the only true path to peace. And he'll return in just a moment to share a final illustration with us. First, though, I want to let you know that the message you've been hearing is called Blessed are the Peacemakers. If you'd like a copy of the full-length version, including portions we didn't have time to share today, you can get it as a part of that special offer I mentioned earlier, the complete 10-part audio series, How to Be Truly Blessed, along with Dr. Evans' insightful book, Praying Through the Names of Jesus.
These resources are our way of saying thanks for your generous support of the alternative. helping us continue to bring this teaching to you and others around the world. You can make your donation and request right now at tonyevans.org. or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. where team members are standing by 24-7 to help with your request.
Once again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Everybody wants to be liked. But tomorrow, Dr. Evans will explain that popularity comes with a price. and it's steeper than you might think.
For right now, though, he's back with this final thought. Alfred Nobel. Swedish Epithist. created dynamite. His intentions were awesome when he created dynamite.
He wanted to create an explosive that you could move rock to build roads and. Get things out of the way to build buildings. He wanted to create a force that was powerful. that would make life better. The problem is People took his creation.
And used it. for destructive purposes. to kill people. to make war.
So depressed. Did Mr. Nobel get? that his good invention was being used in a wrong destructive way. that he took nine million dollars.
Put it in an account. and began to award people for promoting peace. We call it the Nobel Peace Prize. What motivated him? was the fact that what he intended.
was being used wrong. And he wanted to award those who were doing what his intentions were. And when they get the award. They become known as Nobel Peace Prize winners. They become internationally known because they're called by that name.
And they're called by that name because they made peace. They didn't make war. God is looking for some Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Some folks he can bless and award. Because instead of making war, they're making peace using his methods. The blood of Christ to do that. May this church be full of winners. who God calls sons and daughters.
of God.
