Accessing Your Spiritual Resources

Everything we need has already been supplied by the One who has called us for living the Christian life. Dr. Tony Evans says the key to accessing God's blessings is recognizing what He's given us.

So what we need today is not more blessing. What we need is more insight into the blessings we already have. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

It's possible to be rich and still live like you're broke, especially if you don't know what you actually have. Today, Dr. Evans explains how believers can tap into the spiritual power, wisdom, and hope they already have access to, whether they know it or not. Let's listen as he unpacks Paul's prayer for eyes to be opened to the resources God has already provided. Fundamentally, you and I have to understand that when we were saved, God deposited in us everything we needed to become full spiritual adults and to be able to have access to everything that God has provided for us. Let me show you just a couple of passages to remind you of this foundational truth. 2 Peter 1 verse 3 says, seeing that His divine power has granted to us most things pertaining to life and godliness.

Is that what it says? All things are everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. So everything we need has already been supplied by the One who has called us for life and godliness, for living the Christian life. Turn with me also to Colossians, the book of Colossians chapter 2 verse 8. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy, empty deception, according to the tradition of men.

Don't just follow what people say, according to the elementary principles of the world, because the best the world has is A, B, and C. It's kindergarten thinking. He says rather than according to Christ, because that's in the spiritual university, for in Him, Christ, all the fullness of DNA dwells in bodily form. In Christ is God. All of God that makes God God is in the person of Christ. And guess who you have if you're a Christian?

You have Christ. And in Him, you have been made complete and He has had over all rule and all authority. So He emphasizes the fact that we are complete in Christ, totally complete in Christ. So don't settle for any philosophy that makes what you have in Christ make you feel like you're incomplete.

He says that's not true. So what we need today is not more blessing. What we need is more insight into the blessings we already have. And that leads us to our passage today, which is Ephesians chapter one, verses 15 to 23. Ephesians chapter one, verses 15 to 23, where Paul wants us to access our spiritual resources. He wants us to access our spiritual resources.

He begins by affirming them. He says in verse 15, for this reason, I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus, which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers. Now, I want you to notice three things about these introductory verses. Number one, I want you to notice that this church had faith in the Lord Jesus and love for the saints. They had these twin dynamics, twin dimensions of the Christian life. They had the vertical faith in Christ.

Then they had the horizontal love for the brethren. And that serves as the foundation for realizing your spiritual resources. If there is not faith in Christ and love for the brethren, then there is not fellowship with God. And if there's not fellowship with God, you're in no position to receive, to receive what God has to give you in terms of your spiritual blessing.

You won't be able to access it without it. Now, please notice the third thing, and that is what Paul is doing. Paul is praying. He says, I don't cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. So he introduces prayer. If there is faith in Christ and love for the brethren, then there's freedom in prayer. And if there's freedom in prayer, then what you have open is the communication line to get you into this realm called heavenly places.

Actually, you're already there. That's the realm of spiritual influence. Heavenly places is the realm of spiritual activity and prayer is what links you to it.

It is the line that brings heaven to earth and earth to heaven and interfaces the two. So he lays this foundation and then he comes with a number of things that I want to bring before your attention today about what he prays for, which is what we ought to pray for if we want to access our spiritual resources. That is, if we want to be able to get a hold of, claim all that was provided for us at the moment that we received Jesus Christ. The first thing he prays for is in verse 17.

Let me read it. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. The first thing that they pray for, which is the first thing that we should pray for, is the knowledge of God's person. The knowledge of God's person. The better you know God, the better you will know your resources from God. The less you know God, the less you will know about your resources from God. So his prayer is that there might be in these believers in Ephesus, there might be a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God. To put it another way, the knowledge of God is the basis for the knowledge of everything else. If you want to be able to access all that God has given you and all that God has for you, then you must get to know God. Please notice, hold your finger here and turn with me to a well-known passage in the book of Romans.

Romans chapter one. What happens when there is not the right knowledge of God? For the wrath of God, verse 18, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world is invisible attributes, his eternal power, divine nature, has been clearly seen being understood through that which was made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened.

My point is simply this. If you do not do anything with the knowledge about God, then you will not gain the knowledge of God. If you do not do anything with the knowledge about God, and therefore do not gain the knowledge of God, you will have your foolish heart darkened.

In other words, instead of evolving, you will devolve. Another spiritual resource is the prayer to know not only God's person, but God's calling. Please notice the book of Ephesians.

Chapter one, verse 18. So that you may know what is the hope of his calling. When the Bible talks about hope, the Bible is not talking about our use of the word hope.

We say, I hope so. That's not the biblical meaning of hope. In the Bible, hope is a firm conviction.

It is being convinced of something. Hope is a confidence in Scripture. Please notice Ephesians chapter four, verse four. He wants you to know the hope, and he ties the Holy Spirit to that.

What's he talking about? Well, when God saved you, he called you. You were called and chosen for salvation.

God didn't call you unto nothingness. He called you to assure hope, a certain confidence. Christian hope in the Bible is a dynamic force, not a philosophical concept. The Bible calls it in 1 Peter 1, 3, a living hope.

The hope is not only confident, it's confident because it's alive. Your hope as a Christian is tied, as you'll see in a moment, to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, if Jesus didn't rise, we can all go home.

But if Jesus got up from the grave, what's the problem? He's going to outline that in a moment. You can live in confidence because he's called you to that. He's called you not only to salvation, he's called you to service. You can be confident that your calling will eventuate into everything that God has for you, both in time and then eternity, because that is your hope. And your hope is your confidence. Hope in the Bible is the opposite to despair.

That's why the old folks could say, I'm going to wait till my change comes. That was hope. It was a sure confidence, but they had a sure hope.

Not I hope so, maybe so, maybe not. It was a confidence. When you understand your hope, it will change your emotions. When you believe because I'm called and I belong to Jesus Christ by salvation and I'm willing to serve him by service, that God is going to lead me, guide me, direct me through this living hope because I got a person clearing out the way.

He will turn your weed garden into a rose garden. It's like the flowers blooming when God opens up, when you understand you have a hope. And this is not some psychological power of positive thinking. This is the reality of biblical thinking.

It's a real hope. And that's why you can spend so much time, brothers and sisters, giving thanks. You can give thanks.

The whole world is falling apart. You can start off with, Lord, before I get to my messed up world, let me give thanks. And I want to give thanks for my hope that my messed up world is not the last word. The last word is my living savior. And since the last word is my living savior, I'm going to stand in the midst of this mess with confidence. Confidence in the living Christ. You know what you just did?

You wrote a withdrawal slip. You wrote a withdrawal slip because now you're acting on your hope, your new standing in Christ, this dynamic force. That kind of confidence grows stronger when we truly understand what's available to us in Christ. When Dr. Evans returns in a moment, he'll take us deeper into Paul's powerful prayer for spiritual insight. First, though, what you're hearing today is part of a powerful series from Tony called Ordinary Holy, Finding God in the Mundane. This two-volume, 16-message collection will help you discover how God does some of his most life-changing work through the most ordinary moments of life.

You'll learn how the truths in Ephesians can reshape your perspective and renew your spiritual strength, whether you're at work, at home, or simply going about your day. You can get all 16 full-length messages as our gift when you make a contribution to help keep Tony's ministry going strong on the air, online, and around the world. And for a limited time, we'll also include his encouraging book, Kingdom Living, full of practical biblical insights to help you grow deeper in your walk with God and discover your identity in Christ. Just visit us today at tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222. Make your donation and request this special resource package. But don't wait. This offer will only be available for a limited time.

I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's message. So, he prays for the knowledge of God. He prays for the knowledge of their calling. He then prays for the knowledge of their riches, of God's riches on their behalf.

Notice the end of verse 18. What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? God wants you to look at this relationship as a relationship of wealth. And not only that, but in Ephesians, he refers to us as his riches. God views us as so valuable to him, as any parent would view their children, that he looks at us as his wealth. The Bible always views the gaining of children as the gaining of wealth because to gain children meant to gain more productivity.

And of course, in a farming community, the more hands, the more you could reap from the crops, the more money you could sell the crops for, the richer you would become. Well, that's how God views you and me. He views us as part of this great wealth. And the redeemed to God are worth more than the universe itself. And so, we are rich to him and we are rich in him. And so, we ought to live like we are wealthy, spiritually.

And then that will affect us in different ways, materially. So, let's look at the next verse, verse 19. He tells us we ought to pray to know God's power. Now watch this one. This is a doozy here.

And what is the surpassing greatness of his power? Toward us who believe in accordance with the working of the strength of his might. And you said you wanted to quit? You wanted to throw in the towel? You wanted to give up? Never! He says you need to go to prayer and find the surpassing greatness of his power.

What good is wealth, riches, that you're too weak to use? Like a little boy was trying to pick up the rock. He said, Daddy, I can't do it. Father said, pick it up, son.

You can do it. He said, Daddy. He kept struggling, straining. I can't do it, Daddy. And he's grunting and straining some more. This sheer exhaustion fell on the ground.

Why are you punishing me so much? I can't do it. I used all my strength. He said you couldn't have used all your strength.

Boy, you never asked me to help. That's what we do. We grunt and groan. Cry and then wind up wanting to know why God is nowhere to be found.

And he was never brought into the process. It's in accordance with his strength. It's in accordance with his power. You are a powerful person. As you sit here listening to my voice, if Jesus Christ is in your life, you are powerful. How powerful is this power that you and I have? Well, let me show you how powerful it is. Verse 20, which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead, seated him at his right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion.

That's deep. Let me tell you the three kind of powers you have. One, inside of you, right now, you have resurrection power. Because the power in you is the same power that got Jesus up from the dead as resurrection. Let me tell you the second kind of power you have within you. You have ascension power. Because the power that got Jesus up from the dead is the power that ascended into heaven and seated him on the right hand of the father. That's ascension power.

That's not all. Let me tell you the third kind of power you have. Dominion power. Because it's power over every rule and every authority and every dominion.

Okay? That's ruling power. So everybody in here who names the name of Jesus Christ is potent with power. Resurrection power. When it looks like you've been knocked out of the race, when it looks like you're down and out, you can get up off that canvas. You never have to succumb to your circumstances. You no longer have to say, I'm okay underneath the circumstances. You can get from underneath there.

Because that doesn't mean the problem will go away. It means you will resurrect out of the grave that is your problem. But you don't just have to get up out the grave. You can ascend to heaven.

You'll see that in chapter two because we've been seated with him in heavenly places. So now you not only get up from under it, you rise above it. That's ascension power. Not only do you get up from under it, resurrection power, rise above it, ascension power, but now you can walk on top of it, dominion power.

Dominion means rule that you walk over top of it. I remember I'm a James Bond fan. I like James Bond. The reason I like James Bond is because I like the gadgets.

You know, they be coming up with all this stuff, all these gadgets. And I remember one of the, I don't know whether it was Sean Connery or one of them old James Bond movies. And James Bond was being chased by these guys with machine guns. And they came in this water that he had to cross or else they were going to kill him. And he had a problem because there was a bunch of alligators in the water. So the guys coming with him went from machine guns and his alligators in the water, they go short enough to kill him if he stays there. He's got to get across the water. But when he gets on the water, well, the alligator is going to eat him up because there's a whole slew of them in the water. So he's going to catch 22.

He's going to lose either way. But he came up with a genius idea. He walked on top of the alligators across the waterway. So he got across there.

I remember seeing that, you know, younger dad said, boy, you bad. You just too bad. All right. Well, that's dominion power. To have stuff that would eat you up and you walking on top of it, getting where you need to go.

Hey! That'll preach, won't it? That's resurrection power. That's ascension power. That's dominion power. In other words, Satan no longer can defeat you unless you let him. Because Jesus Christ has been raised far above all dominion. So we are with him far above all dominion.

Chapter two, verse six. Since we are with him, then since he can't defeat Jesus, he can't defeat us unless we let him. That's why he must win by deception.

He can no longer beat you by power. He can only deceive you into doing it. He cannot make you do it anymore.

So don't don't ever give me that line. Devil made me. No, he duped you, tricked you, deceived you. He did not make you.

Because remember, you got resurrection power, ascension power and dominion power. But you know what he says? He says to those who believe.

See, unless it's mixed with faith, you won't walk on top of those alligators because you won't believe you can. And as long as you can say I can't, when God says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Paul says, then you won't. That's why Paul wanted to know him. That's why he says, look, that's why he says that it is in accordance to the strength of his might. That's why he wanted to know Christ, Philippians 3 10, that I might know him. The knowledge of God produces spiritual vitality.

Satan wants to keep us hooked up because of ignorance, sin and disobedience. So we have to pray to know God's power. Finally, we must pray to know God's purpose. Verse 22 and 23. He hath put, God the Father, has put all things in subjection unto his, Jesus the Son's feet. Everything, all things, and gave him as head over all things to who?

Church. Notice, God did not give Christ as head over all things to the all things. He gave Jesus head over all things, but only to the church. So only we have this power. Only the church has it. But Jesus is over all things, and that's why we are supposed to be everywhere.

Notice verse 23. Which is his body? Now, what's a body? A body, you know the job of a body. A body only has one job.

What's the one job? Do whatever the head says. Did you know that's the only job your body has? My arm is moving because my head says move. My brain tells my arm to move. When people's brain go, guess what? Their bodily functions go because the body only works when the brain is telling you what to do. When the spinal cord, when that attachment to the spinal cord is broken, the body can't function properly.

Why? Because the message from the brain is not getting to the body properly. We are Christ's body. What are we supposed to do?

Whatever the brain says. Our job is to implement in history. Now, please notice this. We are his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. We complete Christ. We are his fullness. Does that mean Christ is not complete?

Yep. In what way is Christ not complete? Well, he's complete in essence. He's still the son of God. But he's not complete in function because he's determined to work in history through his body.

So he will only work in history through the church. The church has the power. We have the power. We have the riches.

We have the knowledge. We have the word, the spirit, all of these great ingredients. We have it and we are the fullness of him. But guess what he fills? He fills all in all. He doesn't just fill the church.

He fills everywhere. Because he's sovereign over everything. But he only does it through the church.

So God has placed history in the hands of the church. He's placed your history in your hands. He will give you the power. He will give you the energy. He will give you all of that. But he will not do it for you. He will simply do it through you. He will do it through you. The president of the United States sits in Washington, D.C. in the Oval Office at the executive chair.

But he'll influence the whole world. Jesus Christ sits on the right hand of the Father. But through the church he influences the whole world from the executive seat.

He is enthroned in Washington. Christ is enthroned in heaven. He sits as sovereign and he wants you to know God's purpose. And God's purpose is what? To bring all things under the lordship of Jesus Christ. That's God's purpose. The same purpose that was defined for us in verse 10.

With a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of time. That is the summing up of all things in Christ. That's God's purpose.

All things. Let everything be brought under Jesus Christ. So I'm going to tell you now, you will have no power if you're ashamed of Jesus Christ.

None. Because God's goal is to bring everything under Jesus Christ. You will have no power if you will not relate how to please Christ in the ordinary things you do.

Because God is trying to bring everything under Jesus Christ. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Everything is to be done for Jesus Christ, to Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the sum total of God's program so that all things are under him. Dr. Tony Evans, encouraging believers to live daily in light of the spiritual resources God has promised and provided. Now don't forget, our lesson today comes from Tony's series called Ordinary Holy, Finding God in the Mundane.

A 16 part journey through the book of Ephesians. It's a powerful look at how God's presence and purpose can shape even the most routine moments of our lives. And for a limited time, when you make a contribution to help support the alternative broadcast ministry, we'll send you this complete two volume audio collection as our gift. Along with a special bonus, Tony's practical and insightful book, Kingdom Living.

Designed to help you grow spiritually and live with greater purpose every day. This exclusive package is only available for a limited time. So visit tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222 soon to make the arrangements. Again, that's tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. You don't have to be rescued unless you're in danger. And spiritually speaking, we all are. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans unpacks the incredible grace God offers that saves us, lifts us, and gives us a brand new identity in Christ. Be sure to tune in.