The Urban Alternative - Tony Evans

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The source of all that you need is already on
the pub.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Doctor Tony Evans says, God is ready for you to
put his provision into practice.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
You don't need to ask for what you already have.
What you need to do is act on what you
already have.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. When you want
to make a big purchase, the smart thing to do
is to check your bank account to see what you
can actually afford well. Today, doctor Evans points out that
believers have access to a heavenly account that's overflowing with

(00:40):
God's blessings, and he says it's time to start drawing
from it. Let's join him in the first chapter of Ephesians,
as he explains, the first.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Thing I want to talk about is the author of
the Book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Paul, as we have come to know him, was not
his original name. His original name was Saul.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
He was from the tribe of Benjamin, we are told
in Philippians chapter three, So there's a great possibility that
he was named after another great man name Saul. Look
for example, at Philippians, Chapter three, and let's look at
Paul before he was Paul. As he recounts his life

(01:25):
when he was Sauld, he says in chapter three, verse four,
although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh,
if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
The flesh, I faugh more.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
In other words, if anybody's got a reason to brag,
don't come next to me, because your braggadociousness would be
made into nothingness when you stand next to me. I
was circumcised d a day. That means my mother and
father were religious. That got me out to the temple
on time. I was of the nation of Israel, the
elect pace. I was of the tribe of guess what, Benjamin.

(02:04):
Now that's very important because the Benjamites were one of
two tribes that stayed faithful when the other ten tribes
were renegades, and the first ones out to battle were
the Benjamites, so they were viewed as the bravest ones.
He says, I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. In
other words, some people were Jews, but I was a

(02:25):
Jew of the Jews. I exceeded the average Jewish young
man of my day as to the law of Pharisee.
But when they went looking for the krim de la
krim of the Jews to put in the highest position,
highest ranking position a Jew could reach during that time,
guess who they chose.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
They chose me.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
As to zeal, we'll talk about this in a moment,
he says in verse six, I was the persecutor of
the church. When they looked for who would be the
most committed Jew to get rid of Christianity, guess who
they chose me? Because I was at the top of
my game. And as to righteousness, which is in the law,
I was found blameless. In other words, when they went

(03:12):
looking for faults, they found no fault in me. What
he is insinuating here was that he had reached the top.
He had much to be proud of, or to put
it in the framework of Saul, he stood tall, he
had reached the pinnacle. But then one day he ran

(03:35):
into the lion of the tribe of Judah, and he
was reduced to size.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
And by the way God can reduce you to size.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
So this Paul, who used to be Sau, the author
of this book, participated in the punishment of Christians, having
been converted on the Damascus Road. God not only saved him,
but look at what the Book of Ephesians, chapter one,
verse one says God did to him. It says he

(04:09):
was an apostle. God not only saved him, but God's
graves reached down, raised him up and gave him a
high position. That says high position as you could get
an apostle. That meant you were a writer of scripture.
He says he was an apostle noticed by the will
of God. He wasn't going around looking for apostleship. But

(04:32):
God called him. He gave him a calling that he
could not renigg on by way of application. Sometimes people
ask me, how do.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
I know my calling? How do I know what God's
will is, what he wants me to do.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Let me read to you First Corinthians, chapter nine, verse sixteen,
in conjunction with what I just said about Paul's call
to apostleship. First Corinthians, chapter nine, verse six teen says,
for if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to
boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is

(05:10):
me if I do not preach the gospel. You see,
Paul's calling was tied to his compulsion or to use
another word, his passion. Now that leads to a second item,
and that is the audience.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
We talked about. The author, he's Paul. Let's talk about
the audience.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
He says in verse one, to the who saints who
are at Ephesus. The Greek word saint means to be
set apart for God's holy use. It's from the word
that we get holy ones from or sanctified from. It
means to be set off as special. A saint became

(05:52):
a saint when they became part of the family of God.
In the middle of emphasis was the temple of Diana,
the goddess of fertility. As such, they banked on this
female goddess to bless their crops and bless their money,

(06:13):
and bless their activity and their business and their kids,
and make everything productive. The economy revolved around the Temple
of Diana. When you read Paul coming to Ephasis, a
riot broke out because when folks started becoming Christians, they

(06:36):
stopped buying the Diana merchandise. Now, as you recall in
Revelation to this church will have a great problem. The
great problem is going to have is that they will
leave their first love that was written to the Church
at Ephesus. When you back up a few years, you

(06:57):
can see Paul is already dealing with this issue of life,
because he says at the end of the verse four,
in love he predestined us to adoption his sons. He
ends the book in chapter six with a concern about
their love verse twenty three and twenty four. So love

(07:18):
is the major concern. The noun and the adjective of
the word love is used some twenty eight times in
this book. He is concerned that they maintain their love
for Jesus Christ because it is possible for a church
to keep on being religious and not be in love.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
With the Savior. Chapter one, verse twenty two.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
He put all things in subjection under his feet, and
he gave himself as head over all things to the Church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who feels
all in awe. So the Church is the completion of Christ.
You know why Jesus Christ said he had to leave,
because greater things we would do than he has done.
How can that be? Because we would be as b
But guess what that means. That means that the saints,

(08:02):
the body of Christ, is scattering all over this area
to be lights of Christ. When Jesus was here, he
was only in one place at a time. But he
has called us to be the church, the church in
this section of the community. He has called us to
be that we might be the fullness of Him, that
we might keep him being blown out all over the place.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
Guess what we are.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
We are a temple or the dwelling place of God.
You know what the temple was. It was where God
hung out. We are we are God's hangout. The Bible
says our body is the temple of God first Grinthian six.
But here he says, the corporate gathering of believers is
God's household or God's family, where God's collective hangout three

(08:46):
verse ten. In order that the manifold wisdom of God
might be made known through the what the church to
the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places verse
twenty nine. To Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to
the power that works in us, to him be glory
in the what in the church.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
The church is where God manifest.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
His glory, and it is the church which God uses
to manifest his will to the angelic world what he
calls in verse ten the rulers and authorities and the principalities.
That's the angelic world that God lets the angels know
what to do based.

Speaker 3 (09:26):
On the activity of the Church.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
In chapter four, he says that the saints might be
quit verse twelve to do the work of the ministry
to the building up of the Body of Christ.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
What we just saw, the body of Christ is the Church.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Guess what God wants the church, and wants the church
to be a place where people are built up, where
people are developed. People may come in here weak and
bent and broken and bruised, but because of the Church,
they are defined healing for their wounds, help for their
struggles problems, or solutions for their pain, encouragement for their discouragement.

(10:00):
They are to be built up by what by verse sixteen,
that which every joint supplies. So that means everybody's got
to be involved in building everybody else up. In other words,
this must be an environment, an environment where people are
developed and enhanced. That's the church, he says. In chapter five.

(10:20):
Look at chapter five he said, husbands love you wives.
Wives are submits to your husband. And then in verse
thirty two he says, this mystery is great, but I'm
speaking to you with reference to Christ and the what
the Church. He says marriage isn't about marriage. He says
marriage is about the Church. Marriage is about understanding that
there's another husband and another bride.

Speaker 3 (10:42):
Christ is the husband, The Church is the bride. Group.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
You and your wife don't march into eternity. Marriage is
over when your time on earth is over. Why because
when you have the real thing, you don't need the
illustration anymore.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Jesus will have his bride.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Doctor Evans will have more on the blessings that come
with being part of Christ's eternal family when it returns
with the second part of our message in just a moment,
stay with us.

Speaker 4 (11:06):
Impactful, amazing, intense, thought provoking. That's how just a few
students describe their experience since enrolling in the Tony Evans
Training Center. The best part is the Training Center is
wherever you and your online connection are going. Beyond a
Sunday sermon, these compelling Bible study courses take a much

(11:27):
deeper look at scripture, the Bible's writers, social issues of today,
and so much more. Log on today to learn more
at Tonyevans Training dot org. Tonyevans Training dot Org explore
the Kingdom anytime.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Anywhere when life feels too routine to be remarkable. The
Book of Ephesians reminds us that God does some of
his most powerful work in the everyday, and that's the
important reminder Tony gives us in his current sixteen part
study in the Book of Ephesians called Ordinary Holy Finding
God in the Mundane. In this collection, he explores how

(12:04):
our faith can thrive in the middle of life's most
commonplace moments. When you make a contribution to help us
keep Tony's teaching on this station, we'll say thanks by
sending you this complete two volume series on either CD
or USB flash drive, as well as instantly downloadable MP three's,
and as an added bonus, we'll also include Tony's powerful

(12:26):
book Kingdom Living, full of practical insights on how to
grow stronger in your walk with God. Get the book
and the Ordinary Holy audio collection along with our thanks.
Just request them when you make your donation online at
Tonyevans dot org, or let one of our resource team
members help you by calling one eight hundred eight hundred

(12:48):
thirty two twenty two anytime of the day or night
that's one eight hundred, eight hundred three two two two.
I'll repeat that contact information for you after part two
of today's message. Let's rejoin doctor Evans in Ephesians chapter one.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
Thirdly, the aim of the book verse three, that this
is the verse that you memorize. Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

(13:31):
First of all, he wants you acquainted with the source
of your blessings. Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything you need to be and
become all God wants you to be has been placed
on deposit in your bank.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
Account with your name on it.

Speaker 1 (13:58):
God is saying, the soul of all that you need from.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
The time of your new birth to the.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
Time of your death and entrance in the glory is
already on deposit. Please notice the word blessed the second
down the word blessed jews ed, the tense that means
it is already taking place. Now, why is that important.

(14:26):
It's important because you don't need to ask for what
you already have. What you need to do is act
on what you already have. The Bible says the Colossians
two ten. You are complete in Christ. That is, all
the things you need have been deposited in your spiritual

(14:48):
bank account to deal with everything you will face the
He's not talking about giving you everything you want about everything.
He's talking about giving you everything that's on deposit. There's
another thing you need to know. So if you're gonna
withdraw from a bank, you do need to know one
little minded detail where the bank is located. Wouldn't that

(15:08):
help a little bit? Well, let's show where the bank
is located. Here it is, it is located where in
heavenly places. Here it is, This is where the bank is.
This is where all your spiritual blessings are located in
a certain location heavenly places. Now that sounds a little ethereal.

(15:33):
We don't know what to do with that. That's kind
of way out there. Well, let me give you another
phrase that may help a little bit. All your spiritual
blessings are located in the spiritual realm. Heavenly places is
another way of saying the spiritual realm. You cannot go
to the physical, earthly, secular realm and wind up with

(15:54):
spiritual withdrawals.

Speaker 3 (15:56):
The better you know the spiritual.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
The more big, glorious you're gonna be in the physical,
because the spiritual precedes the physical. A Christian is a
person with two relationships. We are earth bound because we
live in this body, so we have the limitations of earth.
But when you met Jesus Christ and we're adopted into

(16:20):
his family, you were heaven bound because you were seated
with Christ in heavenly places. The Bible declares that when
you became a Christian Philippians three twenty, you became a
citizen of heaven. The Bible says, our citizenship is in Heaven.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
Yet we know we still live on earth. Even though
we live on earth.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
The Bible says, you are to live on earth with
the values of your new citizenship, with the thinking, the
perspective of the orientation, the vantage point of your new citizenship.

Speaker 3 (16:59):
Don't become earth bound.

Speaker 1 (17:03):
Many of you travel on some of you, many of
you have passports, and you travel out of the country.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
No matter where you go.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
You are an American. You are an American no matter
where you go, because that is your.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Nation. Every place else.

Speaker 1 (17:18):
Is where you are, but it is foreign to your
ultimate citizenship. So it is you are a Christian wherever
you go, and while you may be living in America
or wherever you happen to live. The values of Heaven
must dominate to the degree that the values of heaven
heavenly places the spiritual system. Or to put it over here,

(17:42):
you need to read this Colossians three to one.

Speaker 3 (17:44):
If then you have been raised up with.

Speaker 1 (17:46):
Christ, then we just saw we were raised up with Christ.
Keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at
the right hand of God.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
We just saw he seated at the right hand of God.
Verse two.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
Set your mind on things above and not on the
things of the earth have died, and your life is
hidden with God in Christ.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
It's a mind thing. See that verse two. It's a
mind thing.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
God wants you living on earth, but with a heavenly mentality. Now,
spiritual blessings automatically brings in the role of the Holy Spirit.
The job of the Holy Spirit is the channel. Here
is the link between the bank. He channels the stuff
to you. That's why walking in the Spirit is going

(18:30):
to become a very important part of the book, because
He wants you to be in this mindset. That's why
he calls being spiritual and first Grindans chapter two, verse sixteen,
having the mind of Christ. It is a mind thing.
It's not the power of positive thinking. It's a real
mind because of living where you really are, because you
really are in heavenly places. You make believe there. That

(18:53):
is where you are spiritually, you really live there. No
matter what country you go to, any major country has
an American embassy, you have a problem in that country.
You go to the American embassy. Do you know what
happens when you walk into an American embassy? You're in America.

Speaker 3 (19:14):
You know that.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
You know when you walk into an American embassy because
embassies are sovereign territories belonging to the country. Embassies belong
to the country that has the embassy. It does not
belong to the country in which the embassy is in.
So even though you're in England when you step into
the American Consulate, when you step into the American Embassy,

(19:39):
you're in a piece of America. Yep, you're on Earth.
But God wants you to step into the heavenly embassy.
He wants you to develop a mindset that thinks in
terms of your heavenly status, not your earthly status. And
this is a transforming concept. God told Youjsha and Josh

(20:00):
were one, three and four. Every place you set your foot,
I'm going to give it to you. He didn't have
to go ask for it. He just had to set
his foot. God had already taken care of it. I said,
I would give.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
You the land. But yeah, that giant's in the land.
I know that. Don't worry about that. Just walk you.
Just do what I say and develop my mindset. Don't
let my words.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
Pass out of your mouth, he said, so when you
and I operate out of this spiritual realm. He ends
verse three by saying, of chapter one, the blessings are
in heavenly places. Guess what in Christ? In Christ? Then
why do we have to add this? In Christ? Part

(20:39):
power of attorney? You know what power of attorney is.
Somebody has the authority to sign for you, and it's legal.
Every time you write a withdrawal slip from the heavenly
bank account to get one of your spiritual blessings, Jesus
has to sign off.

Speaker 5 (20:52):
On it.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
Because it's got to be in Christ. He has the
power of attorney. You rte the check, you go to God.
God says, do we grant this request. If it's in Christ,
you got it. If there's the power of attorney where
Jesus signs off on it, you have a rich account.

(21:17):
It'll cover you from new birth to death. Now nobody
knows how long that is. By hoever long it is,
God have God, you cover.

Speaker 2 (21:23):
The doctor Tony Evans reminding us that through Christ we
have full access to every spiritual blessing God's deposited on
our behalf more than enough to cover every need we'll face.
But we can't enjoy the benefits of those deposits if
we haven't opened up that heavenly account. Here's Tony to

(21:46):
talk about how to do that.

Speaker 5 (21:47):
One of the things the Bible is clear one is
that men are not saved by works. This is so
confusing to so many people. Some people say, I'm trying
to make heaven my home. Some people talk about how
they are keeping the Ten Commandments. Other people talk about
they're better than their neighbors. None of that makes you

(22:08):
acceptable to a God who demands perfection. Anything less than
perfection is unacceptable to a holy God. So guess what
God did. He came up with a perfection program. He
took his perfect son, he who knew no sin. Let
him die for the sins of the whole world, and
he will make a credit exchange. He will exchange your

(22:29):
sin for Jesus's perfection if you come to Jesus for
the transfer. But he will only do it if you
come to Jesus. He won't do it if you try
to earn it. So would you come to Jesus right
now and ask him to make a transfer, to transfer
your sin to him, and to say you want his
righteousness applied to your account, that you receive that righteousness.

(22:52):
You give him your sin in exchange for the gift
of eternal life. If you will tell him that now,
if you will believe on him to be your savior,
he will give you eternal life, salvation from sin. Heaven
has a final destiny, and the beginning of a new
experience of God operating in your life. All that for free, friend.

(23:15):
It doesn't get any better than that.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
As doctor Evans has shared before, no matter how dire
your earthly circumstances are, God has the last say and
is in complete control. Make sure you've aligned yourself with him,
and you can find out more when you visit Tonyevans
dot org and follow the link at the top of
the homepage that simply says Jesus Well. As I mentioned earlier,

(23:39):
today's message is part of Tony's sixteen part series on
Ephesians called Ordinary Holy Finding God in the Mundane. It's
available as our gift to you. When you make a
donation to help support the ministry of the Alternative. You
can receive it as an instant digital download, as well
as on CD or USB flash drive bundled along with

(24:01):
an added bonus, Doctor Evans's powerful book Kingdom Living. Just
visit Tonyevans dot org to make your donation and request
these resources, or call us at one eight hundred eight
hundred thirty two twenty two that's one eight hundred eight
hundred three two two two, or online at Tonyevans dot org.

(24:22):
We don't always understand why things happen the way they do,
but that doesn't mean they're random. Next time, Doctor Evans
takes us behind the scenes of history to reveal God's
eternal plan and how each of us fits into it,
get sure to join us