June 26, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Some read it but don't hear it. Some read it
and hear it, but don't do it.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Doctor Tony Evans says, when you come ready to respond,
the Bible starts speaking personally, not just historically.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Bible reading will take on a new dimension because now
concepts will come off the page and you will hear
God relating to you, not just talking to the people
at Biblical days.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Clutter can crowd
out what really matters on our desks, in our homes,
and especially in our hearts. Today, doctor Evans explains why
Scripture can't do it's life giving work in us until
(00:44):
we clear away the spiritual distraction standing in the way.
Let's join him as he shows how growth begins with
making room for God's word.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Bible positions itself as a life giving document. It
means it is a life giving source. In other words,
it imparts life. If you want to live, there must
be a dynamic, meaningful relationship with the Word of God.
(01:17):
To understand the concept of life in the Bible, you
have to understand the concept of death. Ephesians chapter two
gives the coroner's report, And you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in which you formerly walked, according to
the course of this world, according to the Prince of
the power of the air of the spirit that is
(01:39):
now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them, we
two all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh,
indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
And we were by nature children of wrath, even as
the rest. The coroner's report is in the first three verses,
and he says, when you were outside of Christ, you
were dead. But you said that I moved, I walked,
(02:00):
I talked, I raised the family, I went to work.
How was I dead? Death has not anything to do
with simply existence. You can exist and not be experiencing
in real life. In fact, I am sure there are
people here today who merely feel like you're existing. You
(02:24):
go through the motions of life, but you know inside
you're not really alive. That's existence. The Bible says, outside
of Christ, men are dead now. They're at different states
of decomposition. And what many people do is they simply
trade one level of existence for another level of existence,
(02:48):
all still operating in the same graveyard. So you must
look at the backdrop of death having to do with
a spiritual dimension, where there it's no relationship with God.
You are dead. Jesus says, I have come to give
you life, and then on top of that, I have
come to give it to you more what abundantly. I've
(03:09):
come to give you abundant life. So Jesus come to
give you two kinds of life. He's come to give
you the reality of life, and then he's come to
multiply that and turn that into abundant life. It is
the job of the Word of God to move you
into life and then into abundant life. It's occurred to
(03:31):
me that the problem is not the need for more
Bible study. It's not the need for just more information.
It's not the need for more classes. There is a
bigger need for spiritual dialysis. Your kidneys. It's the job
(03:52):
of your kidneys to purify your blood by removing the
waste so your blood can do the job of taking
the good stuff to the rest of your body so
that you can be healthy. But when a kidney goes bad,
that means the junk in the blood is being filtered
throughout the body. Now watch this. If you got a
(04:14):
bad kidney, that's not filtering the junk in the blood.
It doesn't matter how good you eat. It doesn't matter
how many vegetables, how green they are. It does not
matter how many fruits, how right they are. All that
becomes irrelevant because there is no filtering process, and the
(04:38):
best diet in the world won't keep you alive when
there is no kidney working and you're not on dialysis.
If you're on dialysis, you gotta go two or three
times a week every week to keep the blood clean
so that real food can do its work. This is
(05:01):
real food. But why if we eating it at church
on Sunday, at church on Wednesday, and maybe reading a
Verse a day to keep the devil away all week?
In law, am I still dead on the inside because
there are impurities that have not gotten cleansed, and with
(05:21):
those impurities there, the good food can't stick. We know
those scriptures alive because of its power. I quoted it
Hebrews four twelve. The Word of God is alive and active.
It's powerful and shopping than any two edged sword, piercing
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. It gets
(05:44):
down to your gizzard. You know the Bible is alive
because it makes you uncomfortable. Have you ever been made
uncomfortable by the Word. If you haven't, that's because you're
not listening. The job of the scripture sometimes is to
(06:05):
make you shout, sometimes is to get you excited, but
sometimes to make you squirm, and sometimes to make you cry,
and sometimes to convict you, and sometimes to make you
want to run out of church. You ever felt like
(06:26):
God was just talking to you, like exposing you. You
ever felt exposed by the word of God. The Bible says,
the Word of God exposes you. Ever felt like sliced
open in public when your name was not even used,
That's because the Word of God is alive. But because
(06:47):
we don't like exposure, none of us do. It's easier
to stay away from it, either by not dealing with
it directly or not letting it deal with us. When
we hear it, we tune it out, and so it
(07:10):
loses its influence, It loses its connection. I've got a
cell phone, and the moment I detach it, it loses power.
For the rest of the day, it's losing power, and
every time I talk on the cell phone, it's losing
more power until that comes a time when it's powerless
and I can't communicate at all. You know why, because
(07:30):
it's been away from the power to law. Satan's job
is to get us away from the word. So he
gets us away from the power. And when you've been
away from the power long enough, you don't hear anything
from God. You want to hear his voice, but you
(07:51):
can't hear because you've been You've been doing your own
talking to law. You've been doing the talking, not the
listening to the word of God. So what do we do? Say? Okay,
I want to live. I don't want to exist. I
don't want to go through the motions. I want to
be alive on the inside. Let me tell you a secret.
(08:13):
If you're alive on the inside, you can handle a
bunch of junk on the outside. See, the problem is
if stuff around you is dead and you dead too,
Now you got a double problem because now you can't
handle this stuff out here because you can't handle living
in here. But if you are alive on the inside,
(08:37):
you can handle a bunch of stuff on the outside.
How am I going to handle these children? How am
I gonna handle this, husband, How am I gonna handle
this job? How am I gonna handle this? How am I?
My stuff out there is dead. I'm living in a graveyard.
But the question is not simply are you living in
(08:57):
a graveyard? The question is are you living in a grave?
You can be alive in the most dead scenarios. Will
You've been made alive by God's word. Now, let me
show you. Let me show you one central verse, and
that is Revelation chapter one. Three things he says for
(09:21):
the word of God to give you this life that
it's designed to give you. Here it is verse three,
Revelation one, verse three. Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of the Prophecy and heed
(09:43):
the things which are written in it. For the time
is near. Somebody didn't see that. Let me read that
again to you. Now, blessed. Somebody say bless it. Everybody
wants a blessing. Well, let me tell you how to
be blessed. To be blessed means to be full, satisfied,
(10:05):
content and happy. If you are miserable twenty four to seven,
you're not blessed, because remember we said Proverbs ten twenty
two you know the blessing of the Lord, for it
has no sorrow with it. So if you miserable most
of the day and joy comes out and takes a
peek every now and then, okay, but you're just one
(10:26):
miserable creature. Blessed is he who reads, who hears, and
who heeds the word of God.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
If you're ready to trade misery for blessing, it all
begins with opening God's word. Up next, doctor Evans shares
how to start engaging scripture in a way that brings life.
Don't go away.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
The Bible makes it clear that you know when God
has cursed a land when its fathers are no where
to be found.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Doctor Tony Evan says that what becomes of then the
next generation of men depends on what happens with this one.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
How did please to see in their list who loved
God and who loved them?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out with the help of the Tony
Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdomman. It'll teach you
to see past the phony images of manhood that society
surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a
wife and family would want to follow. As with all
of our courses, there's in depth study material you can
(11:32):
work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive content
from Tony, tightly focused Q and A videos, and an
online forum where you can collaborate with other students. It's
almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check out
the free course called Kingdomman and the growing list of
other subjects waiting for you. Visit Tonyevans dot org today
(11:53):
and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
The message you're hearing today is part of Tony's inspirational
series The Benefits of Scripture. In these six powerful lessons,
doctor Evans unpacks what the Bible does for us, from
giving direction and victory to producing spiritual freedom, blessing and
life itself. It's a compelling reminder that scripture isn't just information,
(12:19):
it's transformation. We'd love to send you this complete six
part audio series as our thank you gift when you
support the Ministry of the Alternative, and as a special bonus.
Will also include the Tony Evans Bible Commentary, a comprehensive
resource where Tony walks through every passage from Genesis to revelation,
(12:39):
exploring the context, explaining the background, digging into the deeper meaning,
and showing how to apply what you learn. This exclusive
package will only be available for a limited time, so
visit us today at Tonyevans dot org to make your
donation and request or call our resource team any time
at one eight hundred thirty two twenty two. I'll repeat
(13:04):
that contact information after part two of today's message. Here's
doctor Evans once again explaining how to engage with God's
word in a deeper way.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Number one, find out what God says. Read. You pick
up the Bible and you read. Start any way you want,
because there's no one way you can read through the Bible.
That's one way to read. You can do an Old
Testament chapter, a New Testament chapter, you can read a
New Testament book. But he says read read regularly, not periodically.
(13:41):
Read regularly. Why Because we're talking about food. You don't
eat periodically, So read regularly. That's Number one. Ken a
regular time in the Word of God, because guess what
it's alive. Secondly, here the words he say, but nobody talking.
(14:04):
I'm reading. What does he mean by here? Here? It
is internalize what God tells you from what you read.
Because God has something to say. He's not saying read
so I can teach you how to read. It's not
(14:26):
a course in phonics. Here has something to say. He says,
read and then listen. Boy. I love the way Jeremiah
said it. In Jeremiah fifteen, verse sixteen. He said, I
found your words and I ate them, and they were
sweet to me. To eat something, you have to chew
(14:48):
it right, gotta chew it. Then you have to swallow
it because the gold of the food is to get
inside you, not simply for you to be able to say, oh,
that looks nice, that smell nice, that has this in
it and that in it. You know, no, no, no,
he says, hear it, meaning and the Bible says, the
Book of Revelation hear what the Spirit has to say
(15:11):
to the churches. To hear the Word is to say, God,
i'm reading. You start talking, I'm listening. You develop that
mindset to the word, and you'll hear. Because now you
are saying, talk to me from the Word. Why won't
(15:34):
we hear from God more? Because we're not saying enough,
talk to me, I'm listening, which means to internalize that
you have to apply faith. You have to say, Lord,
I believe your word is true. I believe you have
something to say to me. I'm ready to listen. Then
(15:57):
Bible reading will take on a new dimension, because now
concepts will come off the page, and you will hear
God relating to you, not just talking to the people
in biblical days. Thirdly, heed the things which are written
(16:19):
in this book, or as James two would say, be
doers of the word. Not here is only easicul eighteen,
verse nine. He says, if you will do what I say,
ethic you're twenty verse eleven. If you will do what
I say, why is not the word of God working more?
(16:39):
Because we eclipse this process. Some read it but don't
hear it. Some read it and hear it, but don't
do it. Some don't read it, hear it, or do it.
Let me turn you to one other passage Luke chapter eight,
verse eleven. Now the parable is this. The seed is
(17:01):
the word of God, it says, using a farming illustration
food seed seed is the word of God. And those
beside the road are those who have heard. Then the
devil comes and takes away the word from their heart,
so that they may not believe and be saved. So
(17:21):
this is the non Christian who doesn't accept that the
devil snatches it before it takes root Verse thirteen. And
those on rocky soil are those who, when they hear,
receive the Word with joy, they shouting in church. And
these have no firm root. They believe for a while,
and in time of temptation or trial they fall away.
(17:45):
So they get excited on Sunday, but it never takes root,
so it doesn't last on Monday. It's gone verse fourteen.
And the seed, which is the word of God among thorns,
these are the ones who have heard, and they go
(18:05):
out on their way, but they are choked by the worries,
the riches, and the pleasures of this life, and they
do not bear fruit to maturity. In other words, they
get distracted. We've got too many television programs to see,
too many movies the seed, too many of this to do,
(18:28):
too many of that have to do, and we get
distracted from the seed. So the seed doesn't give life,
so we strangle you, ever feel like you to death.
Verse fifteen, he says, And the seed in the good soil,
these are the ones who have heard the word in
an honest and good heart, and who hold fast and
(18:49):
who bear fruit with perseverance. What's the difference between these
four folks. Let me tell you the difference. It was
the same seed, same seed, same seed in all cases,
different hearts. You know why some people are changed when
(19:09):
the seed hits. It hits a ripe heart. While some
can shout on Sunday and it doesn't go to Monday,
a temporary heart. Why something really are sincere, they really
need it. They walk forward, they dedicate themselves. But when
they walk out, why, because there's so much stuff out there,
it chokes it. Weeds are all over the place, so
(19:33):
they strangle. Here's how you'll know that you didn't hit it.
That it's happening, and it will happen every time. When
the word of God takes root in a heart that's
pursuing God, You're going to change stuff you've been trying
to change for years. God is going to change for you.
(19:56):
When a woman gets pregnant, life has been conceived on
the inside. When a person accepts Christ, life is inside
of them. But there becomes a hookup accord from mother
to baby for the purpose of transferring food. The baby
(20:21):
receives what the mother provides and changes occur. If a
woman is pregnant and there are no changes, something is wrong. Now,
all the changes won't be the same in every woman,
but every woman will have some change. Her shape will change,
(20:46):
Husbands can testify, her mood will change, taste buds will
Folks wanting pickles in the middle of the night. What
ice cream that they should not be eaten because cravings change.
Does a mother have to say, oh, I want to change,
(21:07):
oh for a bigger belly. She doesn't have to request change.
All she has to do is feed the life within.
If she feeds the life within, change is inevitable. If
that change is gonna happen so that over nine months
(21:28):
she can't handle it no more, change is going to
dominate and take over and totally consume her. That's question.
Does this suit look okay? See? Is this suit okay?
I want to make sure I say, I know, I
know what you're asking now, where you're going with that? Right?
I just want to know is does this does look
(21:49):
like it is? Okay? Well, let me tell you about
this suit. Okay, this suit actually doesn't fit Okay, it
fits better. Let me tell you why the suit fits better?
Because I've been cutting out sweets, I've been eating more
vegetables and fruit, and I've been working out at six
(22:10):
thirty or seven o'clock in the morning. So it's hanging
better because I've lost ten pounds and I've lost Okay,
(22:33):
when I changed my diet, it changed me. When I
started eating better and eating right and exercising, it made
me better. And let me tell you something about change.
(22:56):
When you get a taste of it, you want to
keep it going, do I. When you get a taste
of it, when you feel what it feels like to
be alive, you want to live more. This gives the
Word of life.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Doctor Tony Evans, encouraging us to keep leaning into the
life giving power of God's Word. And if today's message
inspired you, don't miss the full six part series The
Benefits of Scripture. It takes you deeper into what the
Bible does for us, from giving direction and freedom to
producing victory and spiritual life. And as a special bonus,
(23:41):
we'll also send you the Tony Evans Bible Commentary and
easy to use resource that walks you through every book
of the Bible with clear, practical teaching and helpful insights.
Both resources are yours with our thanks. When you support
this ministry with your donation, visit Tonyevans dot com or
to make your request while this limited time offer is
(24:03):
still available, or call us at one eight hundred eight
hundred thirty two twenty two to connect with our resource
team again. That's Tonyevans dot org, or call one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two. When the power
goes out and we're suddenly surrounded by darkness, even familiar
(24:24):
spaces can feel disorienting. On Monday, doctor Evans talks about
the light of scripture, how which guidance brings clarity, confidence,
and direction when we need it most. I hope you'll
join us
Some read it but don't hear it. Some read it
and hear it, but don't do it.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Doctor Tony Evans says, when you come ready to respond,
the Bible starts speaking personally, not just historically.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Bible reading will take on a new dimension because now
concepts will come off the page and you will hear
God relating to you, not just talking to the people
at Biblical days.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Clutter can crowd
out what really matters on our desks, in our homes,
and especially in our hearts. Today, doctor Evans explains why
Scripture can't do it's life giving work in us until
(00:44):
we clear away the spiritual distraction standing in the way.
Let's join him as he shows how growth begins with
making room for God's word.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Bible positions itself as a life giving document. It
means it is a life giving source. In other words,
it imparts life. If you want to live, there must
be a dynamic, meaningful relationship with the Word of God.
(01:17):
To understand the concept of life in the Bible, you
have to understand the concept of death. Ephesians chapter two
gives the coroner's report, And you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in which you formerly walked, according to
the course of this world, according to the Prince of
the power of the air of the spirit that is
(01:39):
now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them, we
two all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh,
indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
And we were by nature children of wrath, even as
the rest. The coroner's report is in the first three verses,
and he says, when you were outside of Christ, you
were dead. But you said that I moved, I walked,
(02:00):
I talked, I raised the family, I went to work.
How was I dead? Death has not anything to do
with simply existence. You can exist and not be experiencing
in real life. In fact, I am sure there are
people here today who merely feel like you're existing. You
(02:24):
go through the motions of life, but you know inside
you're not really alive. That's existence. The Bible says, outside
of Christ, men are dead now. They're at different states
of decomposition. And what many people do is they simply
trade one level of existence for another level of existence,
(02:48):
all still operating in the same graveyard. So you must
look at the backdrop of death having to do with
a spiritual dimension, where there it's no relationship with God.
You are dead. Jesus says, I have come to give
you life, and then on top of that, I have
come to give it to you more what abundantly. I've
(03:09):
come to give you abundant life. So Jesus come to
give you two kinds of life. He's come to give
you the reality of life, and then he's come to
multiply that and turn that into abundant life. It is
the job of the Word of God to move you
into life and then into abundant life. It's occurred to
(03:31):
me that the problem is not the need for more
Bible study. It's not the need for just more information.
It's not the need for more classes. There is a
bigger need for spiritual dialysis. Your kidneys. It's the job
(03:52):
of your kidneys to purify your blood by removing the
waste so your blood can do the job of taking
the good stuff to the rest of your body so
that you can be healthy. But when a kidney goes bad,
that means the junk in the blood is being filtered
throughout the body. Now watch this. If you got a
(04:14):
bad kidney, that's not filtering the junk in the blood.
It doesn't matter how good you eat. It doesn't matter
how many vegetables, how green they are. It does not
matter how many fruits, how right they are. All that
becomes irrelevant because there is no filtering process, and the
(04:38):
best diet in the world won't keep you alive when
there is no kidney working and you're not on dialysis.
If you're on dialysis, you gotta go two or three
times a week every week to keep the blood clean
so that real food can do its work. This is
(05:01):
real food. But why if we eating it at church
on Sunday, at church on Wednesday, and maybe reading a
Verse a day to keep the devil away all week?
In law, am I still dead on the inside because
there are impurities that have not gotten cleansed, and with
(05:21):
those impurities there, the good food can't stick. We know
those scriptures alive because of its power. I quoted it
Hebrews four twelve. The Word of God is alive and active.
It's powerful and shopping than any two edged sword, piercing
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. It gets
(05:44):
down to your gizzard. You know the Bible is alive
because it makes you uncomfortable. Have you ever been made
uncomfortable by the Word. If you haven't, that's because you're
not listening. The job of the scripture sometimes is to
(06:05):
make you shout, sometimes is to get you excited, but
sometimes to make you squirm, and sometimes to make you cry,
and sometimes to convict you, and sometimes to make you
want to run out of church. You ever felt like
(06:26):
God was just talking to you, like exposing you. You
ever felt exposed by the word of God. The Bible says,
the Word of God exposes you. Ever felt like sliced
open in public when your name was not even used,
That's because the Word of God is alive. But because
(06:47):
we don't like exposure, none of us do. It's easier
to stay away from it, either by not dealing with
it directly or not letting it deal with us. When
we hear it, we tune it out, and so it
(07:10):
loses its influence, It loses its connection. I've got a
cell phone, and the moment I detach it, it loses power.
For the rest of the day, it's losing power, and
every time I talk on the cell phone, it's losing
more power until that comes a time when it's powerless
and I can't communicate at all. You know why, because
(07:30):
it's been away from the power to law. Satan's job
is to get us away from the word. So he
gets us away from the power. And when you've been
away from the power long enough, you don't hear anything
from God. You want to hear his voice, but you
(07:51):
can't hear because you've been You've been doing your own
talking to law. You've been doing the talking, not the
listening to the word of God. So what do we do? Say? Okay,
I want to live. I don't want to exist. I
don't want to go through the motions. I want to
be alive on the inside. Let me tell you a secret.
(08:13):
If you're alive on the inside, you can handle a
bunch of junk on the outside. See, the problem is
if stuff around you is dead and you dead too,
Now you got a double problem because now you can't
handle this stuff out here because you can't handle living
in here. But if you are alive on the inside,
(08:37):
you can handle a bunch of stuff on the outside.
How am I going to handle these children? How am
I gonna handle this, husband, How am I gonna handle
this job? How am I gonna handle this? How am I?
My stuff out there is dead. I'm living in a graveyard.
But the question is not simply are you living in
(08:57):
a graveyard? The question is are you living in a grave?
You can be alive in the most dead scenarios. Will
You've been made alive by God's word. Now, let me
show you. Let me show you one central verse, and
that is Revelation chapter one. Three things he says for
(09:21):
the word of God to give you this life that
it's designed to give you. Here it is verse three,
Revelation one, verse three. Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of the Prophecy and heed
(09:43):
the things which are written in it. For the time
is near. Somebody didn't see that. Let me read that
again to you. Now, blessed. Somebody say bless it. Everybody
wants a blessing. Well, let me tell you how to
be blessed. To be blessed means to be full, satisfied,
(10:05):
content and happy. If you are miserable twenty four to seven,
you're not blessed, because remember we said Proverbs ten twenty
two you know the blessing of the Lord, for it
has no sorrow with it. So if you miserable most
of the day and joy comes out and takes a
peek every now and then, okay, but you're just one
(10:26):
miserable creature. Blessed is he who reads, who hears, and
who heeds the word of God.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
If you're ready to trade misery for blessing, it all
begins with opening God's word. Up next, doctor Evans shares
how to start engaging scripture in a way that brings life.
Don't go away.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
The Bible makes it clear that you know when God
has cursed a land when its fathers are no where
to be found.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Doctor Tony Evan says that what becomes of then the
next generation of men depends on what happens with this one.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
How did please to see in their list who loved
God and who loved them?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out with the help of the Tony
Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdomman. It'll teach you
to see past the phony images of manhood that society
surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a
wife and family would want to follow. As with all
of our courses, there's in depth study material you can
(11:32):
work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive content
from Tony, tightly focused Q and A videos, and an
online forum where you can collaborate with other students. It's
almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check out
the free course called Kingdomman and the growing list of
other subjects waiting for you. Visit Tonyevans dot org today
(11:53):
and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
The message you're hearing today is part of Tony's inspirational
series The Benefits of Scripture. In these six powerful lessons,
doctor Evans unpacks what the Bible does for us, from
giving direction and victory to producing spiritual freedom, blessing and
life itself. It's a compelling reminder that scripture isn't just information,
(12:19):
it's transformation. We'd love to send you this complete six
part audio series as our thank you gift when you
support the Ministry of the Alternative, and as a special bonus.
Will also include the Tony Evans Bible Commentary, a comprehensive
resource where Tony walks through every passage from Genesis to revelation,
(12:39):
exploring the context, explaining the background, digging into the deeper meaning,
and showing how to apply what you learn. This exclusive
package will only be available for a limited time, so
visit us today at Tonyevans dot org to make your
donation and request or call our resource team any time
at one eight hundred thirty two twenty two. I'll repeat
(13:04):
that contact information after part two of today's message. Here's
doctor Evans once again explaining how to engage with God's
word in a deeper way.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Number one, find out what God says. Read. You pick
up the Bible and you read. Start any way you want,
because there's no one way you can read through the Bible.
That's one way to read. You can do an Old
Testament chapter, a New Testament chapter, you can read a
New Testament book. But he says read read regularly, not periodically.
(13:41):
Read regularly. Why Because we're talking about food. You don't
eat periodically, So read regularly. That's Number one. Ken a
regular time in the Word of God, because guess what
it's alive. Secondly, here the words he say, but nobody talking.
(14:04):
I'm reading. What does he mean by here? Here? It
is internalize what God tells you from what you read.
Because God has something to say. He's not saying read
so I can teach you how to read. It's not
(14:26):
a course in phonics. Here has something to say. He says,
read and then listen. Boy. I love the way Jeremiah
said it. In Jeremiah fifteen, verse sixteen. He said, I
found your words and I ate them, and they were
sweet to me. To eat something, you have to chew
(14:48):
it right, gotta chew it. Then you have to swallow
it because the gold of the food is to get
inside you, not simply for you to be able to say, oh,
that looks nice, that smell nice, that has this in
it and that in it. You know, no, no, no,
he says, hear it, meaning and the Bible says, the
Book of Revelation hear what the Spirit has to say
(15:11):
to the churches. To hear the Word is to say, God,
i'm reading. You start talking, I'm listening. You develop that
mindset to the word, and you'll hear. Because now you
are saying, talk to me from the Word. Why won't
(15:34):
we hear from God more? Because we're not saying enough,
talk to me, I'm listening, which means to internalize that
you have to apply faith. You have to say, Lord,
I believe your word is true. I believe you have
something to say to me. I'm ready to listen. Then
(15:57):
Bible reading will take on a new dimension, because now
concepts will come off the page, and you will hear
God relating to you, not just talking to the people
in biblical days. Thirdly, heed the things which are written
(16:19):
in this book, or as James two would say, be
doers of the word. Not here is only easicul eighteen,
verse nine. He says, if you will do what I say,
ethic you're twenty verse eleven. If you will do what
I say, why is not the word of God working more?
(16:39):
Because we eclipse this process. Some read it but don't
hear it. Some read it and hear it, but don't
do it. Some don't read it, hear it, or do it.
Let me turn you to one other passage Luke chapter eight,
verse eleven. Now the parable is this. The seed is
(17:01):
the word of God, it says, using a farming illustration
food seed seed is the word of God. And those
beside the road are those who have heard. Then the
devil comes and takes away the word from their heart,
so that they may not believe and be saved. So
(17:21):
this is the non Christian who doesn't accept that the
devil snatches it before it takes root Verse thirteen. And
those on rocky soil are those who, when they hear,
receive the Word with joy, they shouting in church. And
these have no firm root. They believe for a while,
and in time of temptation or trial they fall away.
(17:45):
So they get excited on Sunday, but it never takes root,
so it doesn't last on Monday. It's gone verse fourteen.
And the seed, which is the word of God among thorns,
these are the ones who have heard, and they go
(18:05):
out on their way, but they are choked by the worries,
the riches, and the pleasures of this life, and they
do not bear fruit to maturity. In other words, they
get distracted. We've got too many television programs to see,
too many movies the seed, too many of this to do,
(18:28):
too many of that have to do, and we get
distracted from the seed. So the seed doesn't give life,
so we strangle you, ever feel like you to death.
Verse fifteen, he says, And the seed in the good soil,
these are the ones who have heard the word in
an honest and good heart, and who hold fast and
(18:49):
who bear fruit with perseverance. What's the difference between these
four folks. Let me tell you the difference. It was
the same seed, same seed, same seed in all cases,
different hearts. You know why some people are changed when
(19:09):
the seed hits. It hits a ripe heart. While some
can shout on Sunday and it doesn't go to Monday,
a temporary heart. Why something really are sincere, they really
need it. They walk forward, they dedicate themselves. But when
they walk out, why, because there's so much stuff out there,
it chokes it. Weeds are all over the place, so
(19:33):
they strangle. Here's how you'll know that you didn't hit it.
That it's happening, and it will happen every time. When
the word of God takes root in a heart that's
pursuing God, You're going to change stuff you've been trying
to change for years. God is going to change for you.
(19:56):
When a woman gets pregnant, life has been conceived on
the inside. When a person accepts Christ, life is inside
of them. But there becomes a hookup accord from mother
to baby for the purpose of transferring food. The baby
(20:21):
receives what the mother provides and changes occur. If a
woman is pregnant and there are no changes, something is wrong. Now,
all the changes won't be the same in every woman,
but every woman will have some change. Her shape will change,
(20:46):
Husbands can testify, her mood will change, taste buds will
Folks wanting pickles in the middle of the night. What
ice cream that they should not be eaten because cravings change.
Does a mother have to say, oh, I want to change,
(21:07):
oh for a bigger belly. She doesn't have to request change.
All she has to do is feed the life within.
If she feeds the life within, change is inevitable. If
that change is gonna happen so that over nine months
(21:28):
she can't handle it no more, change is going to
dominate and take over and totally consume her. That's question.
Does this suit look okay? See? Is this suit okay?
I want to make sure I say, I know, I
know what you're asking now, where you're going with that? Right?
I just want to know is does this does look
(21:49):
like it is? Okay? Well, let me tell you about
this suit. Okay, this suit actually doesn't fit Okay, it
fits better. Let me tell you why the suit fits better?
Because I've been cutting out sweets, I've been eating more
vegetables and fruit, and I've been working out at six
(22:10):
thirty or seven o'clock in the morning. So it's hanging
better because I've lost ten pounds and I've lost Okay,
(22:33):
when I changed my diet, it changed me. When I
started eating better and eating right and exercising, it made
me better. And let me tell you something about change.
(22:56):
When you get a taste of it, you want to
keep it going, do I. When you get a taste
of it, when you feel what it feels like to
be alive, you want to live more. This gives the
Word of life.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Doctor Tony Evans, encouraging us to keep leaning into the
life giving power of God's Word. And if today's message
inspired you, don't miss the full six part series The
Benefits of Scripture. It takes you deeper into what the
Bible does for us, from giving direction and freedom to
producing victory and spiritual life. And as a special bonus,
(23:41):
we'll also send you the Tony Evans Bible Commentary and
easy to use resource that walks you through every book
of the Bible with clear, practical teaching and helpful insights.
Both resources are yours with our thanks. When you support
this ministry with your donation, visit Tonyevans dot com or
to make your request while this limited time offer is
(24:03):
still available, or call us at one eight hundred eight
hundred thirty two twenty two to connect with our resource
team again. That's Tonyevans dot org, or call one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two. When the power
goes out and we're suddenly surrounded by darkness, even familiar
(24:24):
spaces can feel disorienting. On Monday, doctor Evans talks about
the light of scripture, how which guidance brings clarity, confidence,
and direction when we need it most. I hope you'll
join us
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