Until the Bible in general. The big solar. Can become the sharp dagger. You won't see its power. Dr.
Tony Evans says the more precisely you handle God's word, the more powerfully it works in your life. As long as the book is the Bible, but you can't pull out specific utterances and cut with precision. then you'll be a general Christian and you'll get general results. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.
It's easy to feel strong when there's no pressure on you, but Dr. Evans says real spiritual strength only shows up when life pushes back. Today, he takes us to the wilderness with Jesus to show how the written Word of God can anchor us when temptation hits hardest. Let's join him. We have any fans of pro wrestling?
Now, I hope you understand. That the winner is selected before the match.
Okay. It has been predetermined who's going to win what. They have decided that.
So no matter how bad a guy is being beat. In the ring. He knows. When this is over, I win. Because the victory has been predetermined in advance.
So even though they are in a battle, the one who has been predetermined to win is fighting from victory, not for victory. Because it's already been determined. how this thing is going. If you are in a battle. Jesus wants you to know he's already declared you winner.
Because you are in a battle That has been predetermined that you would win. But you are still in the battle. He wants you to have this stand-firm mindset because you understand that you're fighting from victory. and not for victory. He then goes through the The various armor of God.
that we have been told to put on. truth and righteousness and Your feet shy, but the gospel and faith. Then it comes to verse 17. But the helmet of salvation. And then crosses over to our focus today.
The sword of the spirit. And he says, and what I'm talking about is the word of God. He calls the word of God the sword of the spirit. There are a number of words for sword in the New Testament. That referred to what a Roman soldier would use in battle, because that's his mindset.
The Roman soldier, he uses the armor of God. These swords were used sometimes, they were so heavy, you had to swing them with both hands, flailing about. to hit the object that you are fighting against or the person. who you're fighting against. But that's not the word used, Kia, for soar.
There's another word for sword in the New Testament. And it's from a Greek word that referred to a dagger. A dagger six to eighteen inches. That would be drawn not out of this long sheath, but sometimes just stuck down in the belt and lifted out. The sword was used for Flailing about.
The dagger was used for precision. It was this word that was used of Peter. when they came to arrest Jesus and it says, and Peter took out his sword and cut off the servant's ear. It wasn't because he missed. And just happened to hit the ear.
When you pulled that out, it was for a precision cut. When he speaks about put on truth, he's talking about the general use of the Bible, the whole of the text. But when he calls the sword of the spirit It was used for close hand-to-hand combat. In other words, he's saying you need the sword of the spirit when the devil's up in your grill. It's just a hand-to-hand combat when you're face to face with the enemy.
The enemy is all up in your stuff. He's all up in your business. He's close. He's all up on you. Have you ever had the devil all up on you?
Not on you, but on you. Just all up on you. You can't shake him. You can't get rid of him. He's just all up on you.
He's everywhere around you. At that point, you need the sword. He calls it the sword of the spirit. Because it's the sword that the spirit uses for this kind of. Close up conflict and close up battle.
Where you are facing a specific thing at a specific time about a specific problem. That's Too big for you to handle. You need the Dagger of the spirit. It is the Spirit's dagger because it is what the Spirit uses. To wage face-to-face battle when you're in a close-up conflict in the war zone.
When you get a believer who is under the control of the Spirit. who knows how to handle a sword. There's no battle or round that they can't win. Which is the word of God? We need to talk about the word word.
Again, there are a number of words in the New Testament for the word word when referring to the Bible. One main word is the Bible is called the logos. That is the embodiment of the expression of God. But that's not the word word here. The word here is the word rhamma.
The word rhema is a reference to specific statements. in the Bible. Not the Bible in general, but specific statements from the Bible used as needed in a particular time regarding a particular battle where you need to make a particular stab. Until the Bible in general. The big sword.
can become the sharp dagger. You won't see its power. As long as the book is the Bible. But you can't pull out specific utterances. Statements.
and cut with precision. Then you'll be a general Christian with a general Bible. Knowing general truth. and you'll get general results. He says the Bible is the sword that the Spirit uses, which is the rhema of God, the specific use of scriptures.
To know the Bible is important. Generally, for the purpose of using it specifically. You follow that? The reason why you want to learn the Bible generally... It's so that you can use it specifically.
Unfortunately, we do not have people who are reading it, learning it, hearing it, also using it. And therefore they do not see its ability to cut. Sharply. Matthew chapter 4. Jesus is perfectly in God's will.
And God leads Jesus. To meet the devil.
So you gotta think about that for a minute. He's perfectly in God's will. He's the eternal Son of God. He just comes off of a celebration. This is my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased.
God says, I'm pleased with you. And then we're told the Spirit. Led Jesus into the wilderness.
So, you got the Trinity working together. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for the purpose. A battle. with the devil. He fasts 40 days and 40 nights.
He's hungry. The devil comes to him. And the devil Praise on his weakness. If you are the Son of God, command these stones become bread. Jesus has a legitimate need.
He's hungry. He's been fasting 40 days and 40 nights. He has a legitimate need and he has a legitimate desire. Because you need to eat. If you haven't eaten in 40 days, you definitely need to eat.
Yeah. And Satan is aware of the legitimate need that Jesus has. It is a legitimate need. It has a legitimate desire.
So Satan offers to meet the need.
So Since you are, if you are the Son of God. Turn these stones into bread. Jesus says, it is written. Man shall not live by bread alone. But by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
In other words, here's his point. To review, man does not only live by what he gets to meet his need, man also lives by where it came from. In other words, if is the source. as appropriate as the substance. Right.
Now Jesus could turn stone into bread. I mean he could make bagels, croissants. English muffins. He could create. A bread basket that would be otherworldly.
The problem was he would have created the bread basket. at the request of the enemy of God. In other words, he would have met his need illegitimately. And Jesus says, Even though the need is real, I'm hungry. Man does not only live by getting his needs met, man lives by getting his needs met in a divinely Authored way.
That verse, of course, is taken from Deuteronomy chapter 8. Israel's going through the wilderness.
Okay. And they're hungry. They're hungry.
So Jesus goes to an Old Testament parallel, and that's why you read the Old Testament. You read the Old Testament to look for a situation close to what you're going through. You say, why do I read my Bible? You don't just read your Bible because you're supposed to. You read your Bible to find out from the Logos the Rhema that you need.
You read your Bible to find out from the general truth of the Bible what the specific principle, precept, or verse is that God wants you to use for the situation you are currently facing. But even armed with that specific biblical truth, the fight isn't always easy. And Dr. Evans will show us why when he returns in just a moment. Stay with us.
Ladies, don't miss your chance to join our virtual audience for the Desperate for Jesus Conference, July 25th through 26th. Gather your friends, small group, or all the women of your church for an empowering experience made just for you. Through dynamic speakers and powerful worship, we will equip you to leave a lasting legacy, telling the next generation of the Lord's praiseworthy deeds. Visit dfjconference.com to register for the live simulcast. That's dfjconference.com.
A quick note that today's message is the final installment in Tony's inspirational series, The Benefits of Scripture. In these six powerful lessons, Dr. 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 Just information, it's transformation. If you missed any part of this series or would like to get the complete set of six full-length messages, we'd love to send them all to you as our thank-you gift when you support the ministry of the alternative.
And as a special bonus, we'll also include the Tony Evans Bible Commentary. A comprehensive resource where Tony walks through every passage from Genesis to Revelation, exploring the context, explaining the background, digging into the deeper meaning, and showing how to apply what you learn. This is the final day we'll be offering this exclusive package to our listeners, so visit us right away at tonyevans.org to make your donation and request, or call our resource team anytime at 1-800-800-3222. Repeat that contact information after part two of today's message. Here's Dr.
Evans once again. Verse 5 says, Then the devil took it. That's interesting. Sure. Not the devil asking, will you join me?
It's the devil took him. You ever been in a situation where it looked like the devil taking you? jerking you all around and you seem like powerless.
Well, guess what? He took Jesus.
So you know if he took Jesus, he's not going to be easy on you. Took him to a holy city and made him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, and then remember, it is written.
Now the devil quoting the Bible. The devil says, Well, I read the Bible, and my Bible said he will give his angels charge over you. And on their hands, he will bear you up. Lest you strike your foot against a stone. My Bible tells me: if you jump, he'll catch you.
Come on, that's in the Bible.
So, the devil uses the Bible to carry forth his agenda. Remember, the devil's first conversation with a human being was about half God said.
So he does not mind using the Bible. The second attempt was to have success without God. What did he tell him? Jump off the pinnacle of the temple. That's a 400-foot jump.
400-foot jump. Why was he telling them to jump? Jesus came to be king of the Jews. Where is he at the temple? Who's in the temple?
The Jews.
So if all the Jews see you jump off the temple, they're going to know you're the Son of God. When all these angels grab your feet and ease you on down to earth, they're going to know you're the supernatural son of God. And if you jump off the temple and the angels intercede, then you don't have to go to the cross. You can have success. Without the cross.
You can avoid all that if you just do the jump thing. And I got Bible to back me up. Jesus is the answer? It is written. On the other hand.
In other words, I'm not going to let you take one verse. Skip the rest of the verses and pick the verse that you like. You don't back God up in the corner so that he has no other option but to perform a miracle to get you out the mess you create. Finally, the devil took him. to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to him, all these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me.
I'm going to give you significance without God. Why? Because I'm going to give you the kingdom of the world and their glory. Boy, doesn't that sound appealing? I'm gonna be somebody.
I'm gonna have all this stuff. The kingdoms? But more than the stuff, I'ma have their glory. It's called in the Bible the pride of life. I'm going to have recognition.
Folk gonna know my name. I'm gonna be somebody. Now, there's nothing wrong with men recognizing you as long as you don't have to go to hell to get the recognition. See, he says Everybody's gonna know you if you fall down and worship me. Yeah.
That's all of the temptation when you are being successful. Because the more successful you are, the greater propensity. to want to receive the accolades of men. Then you start taking that glory for yourself. You begin believing your own press clippings.
Because if you don't force yourself. to take the mindset of a servant. Then you will get the big head. And Jesus says, the greatest of you will be your servant.
So that you must intentionally look. It's okay to be blessed. It's okay to enjoy your blessings. But the moment that you lose a servant's heart. Because you bought into the glory.
You've adopted the the mindset of hell. And he says, be gone, Satan, for it is written. You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Jesus says, get out of here. One, because Jesus already knew that the kingdoms were going to be his anyway.
They weren't going to be his now, but there was going to come a time when, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess.
So the kingdoms are going to be his. See, here's what you have to know. What you have to know is. In the will of God, what's yours is yours, and nobody else can have it.
So you gotta know that.
So, Satan can't offer you anything God is not going to intend to give you anyway. And if God's not going to give it to you, please know you don't want it. Because after you've had it and enjoyed it, and play with it long enough, it's going to turn on you. He says Begone, Satan. Yeah.
And what's the principle? If the Son of God needed to use the written word, To deal with the devil. And he wrote it. Then, how much more do you and I, who have never written any word, need to use the same word? when we're faced with hand-to-hand combat.
He reaches in and pulls out the appropriate verse. Because it's the dagger of truth. Satan says, do this, Jesus says. Mm. Satan said, How about this?
Jesus says, Hello. Shhh shoot. You know? When the Spirit of God Takes the word of God in the hands of a committed Christian, he's gonna leave his mark. The tech says, and Satan left.
Why? Because Satan can handle the word of man. He can't handle the word of God. He loved to know what you think. Every time you say, well, I think, he's a gotcha.
Because he can handle the word of man. All Jesus did was quote the Bible. He reached back in the Old Testament and quote the Bible.
Now, if Jesus had to do that. Because he knew that the only thing the devil was allergic to is the word of God. How much more do you have to? There is a closing point I need to make here. One that's not often mentioned, verse 11.
Then the devil left him. Three strikes you up. And behold, angels came and began to minister to him.
Now I got a question. Where them angels been all day? The angels show up. After the battle.
Well, why can't I have an angel when I'm being attacked by another angel? I got a demon, I need an angel to help me. It says the angel showed up after the battle. And minister to him. Because sometimes God leaves you alone with his word.
And he wants to know: do you trust my word? Do you believe my word? And will you use my word and just believe me? I know you're hungry. Trust my word.
I know it's taking long. Trust my word. I know Satan is offering you something that looks good out there. Trust my word. And you quote the word of God in the midst of your battle.
And it will come to a point where Satan can't handle it anymore. He'll be cut up too bad. Because every time you use the word, it cuts him. And when you come forth as pure as gold. I will send my angels and minister to you.
Now, what do the angels do to him?
Well, he's hungry.
So that means you gotta eat. He's under attack.
So that means he gets peace and rest. In other words, the angels met his need. God held the angels off. Could it be that God is holding the angels off till you get around to his word? And when you get around to his word, then it can say, okay, angels, now you can go take care of business.
But I can't set you free to take care of business because they won't use my word. They don't believe my word. They go to church, but they don't use the word. They take the Bible to church and it sit up on the coffee table the rest of the week. Dr.
Tony Evans, challenging us to use the Word of God if we want to realize spiritual victory in our lives. And he'll return to wrap up today's message in just a moment. First, though, I want to encourage you to get a copy of Tony's full six-part series, The Benefits of Scripture. It takes you deep into what the Bible does for us, from giving direction and freedom to producing victory and spiritual life. And as a special bonus, along with this powerful teaching series, we'll also include the Tony Evans Bible Commentary, an 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.org to make your request right away. This is the final day we'll be offering this special package on the broadcast. Or call us at 1-800-800-3222 to connect with our resource team. Again, that's tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.
God promises believers rest, and some people think that means taking a break from responsibility. But in the Bible, rest means entering into something the Lord has already prepared for us. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans explains how God's rest can let you experience the kind of peace and power that rises above life's challenges. Right now, though, he's back to wrap up today's message with this closing illustration.
911 is an emergency number. 911 connects you. To a whole system. Of support. Even if you don't get to talk.
They got this thing so worked out. Where it will come up on the computer, the address of the emergency. And if they can't get a response, then there will be a dispatch. To your house. The dispatch will have in it a policeman or policemen or women.
Who will come equipped? to address your situation. But not only that. If they discover the problem is too big for them. They have Communication devices.
And all they gonna say is. Backup! You will have a whole slew of cards. out in front of your house all because you remembered Nine one book. That's all you had to remember, because when you remember 911, the system took over.
And brought to you everything you needed to deal with this intruder into your life and into your world. What God wants you to know is you got a telephone number. When you are being in face-to-face combat with this being that's too big for you to handle, you ought to pick up 9-1-1. Or better yet, it's it is written. And when you pick up it is written, That will connect you to a whole system of support that God will bring to your aid.
And they got back up so that everything you need to face, whatever you face, is already in the system. If you use the rhema words, which the Spirit of God will take. to make a mark. on your enemy. The scripture is powerful when used.
