When you into trouble with the law, you don't need a law book, you need a lawyer. For the same reason, Dr. Tony Evans says that as important as the Bible is, it's no substitute for Jesus himself. God just doesn't want to give you a book, he wants to give you a person based on the book. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. There's a huge difference between knowledge and experience. Without that balance, you can wind up with a great education, but no real skills. Today, Dr. Evans explains why the same contrast exists between religion and relationship.
Let's listen.
So we've got two of Jesus' disciples on their way back home from Jerusalem, a seven-mile walk. Jesus, risen from the dead, comes alongside of them. But they didn't recognize him.
Now, they had been with Jesus. An extended period of time. But their emotional situation was so negative That even though Jesus was standing right in front of them, they did not recognize him. And Jesus says to them, What are you talking about? What is this thing that you're discussing?
And they say to Jesus in verse 18. Did you just arrive here? You don't know what's been happening in Jerusalem? He says in verse 19, well what things are you talking about? Pretending not to know.
They said to him, The things about Jesus the Nazarene, the prophet, mighty in word and deed, in the sight of God and the people. And then it comes to verse 21. We were hoping. What were you hoping? We were hoping it was he who was going to redeem Israel.
We thought he was going to deliver us. We thought he was going to free us. We thought he was going to redeem us. We thought he was going to heal us. And we are disappointed.
You ever been disappointed? When you thought God was going to do something and he has not yet done it When you thought he had made a promise that he himself has not kept? Has he ever disappointed you where you were hoping, you were banking on the fact that God was going to come through for you? Nothing. Not only that, not only are we disappointed in a hope that has not been realized.
But they go on to say in verse 24: some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also said, but they did not see him.
Now they looking right at him. But they say we can't find him. You ever look for God and not been able to locate him? Begged for his presence. And he was nowhere to be found.
That's the situation. Because their hopes and dreams have been dashed. and they couldn't find the Savior. And so they were on their long journey home. When Jesus, the rhythm Christ, shows up.
And they don't. No. It's him.
Now Jesus speaks, although they don't know it's Jesus speaking. O foolish men and slow. of heart. To believe. That's where we get our sermon title from.
Slow of heart. to believe. In other words, You're not taking the Bible seriously. Your faithlessness is because you are slow to believe in what God said because what you see and what God says do not appear to be matching right now. Because what God said in the prophets And what you see are two totally different things because of the circumstances, and you can't find Jesus.
So, what is written? and what is real appear not to be matching, you have lagged behind your faith, which has created a frustration, which I declare to be foolish. It's not that they didn't know the Bible. Because he says, you are slow to believe what the prophet said.
So it wasn't that they hadn't read it. It wasn't that they didn't know it. It's that they were slow to buy it. And their slowness to buy it created an emotional storm within them. Jesus then comes up and he begins teaching them the word of God.
So that's our situation.
Now it gets interesting. Because it says in verse 28, they approached the village where they were going, and he acted as though he. We're going. Father. Because what God wants to know after you have heard the word is, do you want him?
See, a lot of folk come to church for the word. who don't mind if Jesus keeps going after the sermon. They want the word, but not necessarily wanting him. That's why there's a disconnect in many lives between Sunday and the rest of the week. Give me the word.
Jesus, you keep on rolling. We're told here in verse 29, they urged him, saying, Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, the day is nearly over, so it's late.
So he went in to stay with them. Guess what? He only went in when invited. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens the door, Revelation 3, I will come in and sup with him.
He will not impose himself on you. He wants to know whether you want him. And he will only come if invited to do so. He not only wants to know will you come to church, he wants to know can he go home with you afterwards. Or are you satisfied to leave him here?
While you leave and say, nice Bible study, nice sermon. But now I'm going to go on with the rest of my day. I got some football to watch. I got some work tomorrow. I got this.
I got that. I got that. I'll pick you up next week, same time, same station, Jesus. I know where you're going to be next week. I'll be there too.
You got an hour and 45 minutes with me. Hey. When you go to a restaurant You go in and they hand you a menu. The menu gives you a written description of what the restaurant offers.
Sometimes you can salivate just reading the menu. You look at a menu that's written right, going, I mean, it looks so good. You want some of this. In fact, sometimes you can't figure out what you want because it all looks good.
So you look at the menu and say, mm. Boy, but I like that, but I think I might want that. Ooh, that looks good. Not only do you have a written description, you have somebody who comes over. and does an exposition of the menu for you called a waiter.
Or a waitress. They explain what is written so you can understand it. They not only explain what is written, they have a Q ⁇ A section. Do you have any questions? But after you've read it and salivated over it.
After you have uh heard the message proclaimed by the waiter. about how good it is. You do not then say thank you. And get up and leave. The reason you do not say thank you and get up and leave is that's not really why you came.
It's needed because you came. But it's not why you came. You did not come to read about food. Nor did you come for somebody to explain what was written. to you.
You came to experience what was written and explained in your taste buds. You came for a meal, not for a menu. You came for an experience, not just the smooth-talking waiter. You came for the reality of what the sign says. Far too many of God's children are satisfied with the menu.
Let me read it. Others are satisfied with a waiter. Who can explain what's on the menu? But that means if all you get is a menu and all you get is a waiter, you're still leaving hungry. Because you've not gotten what will satisfy.
And what will satisfy is a person, not merely a page to be read or taught or explained.
So watch this now. Because all this is set up for something much more. The written word and the living word have joined forces. And now They have invited Jesus to stay. And now What was written becomes alive.
You see, when you're into trouble with the law, you don't need a law book, you need a lawyer. When you have a medical need, you don't need a medical book, you need a doctor. When the criminals are after you, you don't need a penal code. You need a policeman. In other words, you need what is written to become alive for your reality.
God just doesn't want to give you a book. He wants to give you a person. based on the book. And until you make that connection. The emotions of hopelessness will rule.
Because the Bible by itself does not change the life. It is the vehicle through which the living Christ uses to introduce you to him for the changing of the life.
So unless you pursue the person, you won't understand the page. Three things happen. Three things happen. Let's look at them. Number one.
Verse 30 says, when they reclined at the table, he took the bread and blessed it. Breaking it, he began giving it to them. Their eyes were open and they recognized him. They began to see things. differently.
Now wait a minute. They didn't recognize them in the Bible study. And they ended the Bible study. without recognizing him.
So you can study the Bible and still not see him. A second thing happened. They not only saw things differently, They felt things differently. Notice what he says in verse 32. They said to one another, were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road and explaining the scriptures to us?
Oh, burning. Wait, man. I thought they were sad. A men are glad. Because when they were studying the Bible, they could feel that volcano rising up in their soul.
They went from sad to, uh-huh. That's all right. I heard that. Yeah. You know, that thing is rising in there, and it says, Did not our hearts burn?
They went from a coldness to being on fire. They felt differently.
So they saw differently, they felt differently, and thirdly, they acted differently. Because according to verse 33, they got up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem. And found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, and they said, The Lord. has really risen and has appeared to Simon. Let me tell you how you know when Jesus has become real to you.
You know when Jesus has become real to you when you can't keep it to yourself. When that thing hit them, who they were talking to and who was doing the Bible study with them, they got up that very hour. That we ain't taking a shower, we ain't changing clothes, we're sweating all that, but we got to go tell somebody. You ever ran into a person who's in love who can't shut up about the person they're excited about? Because they bring them up when you don't want to bring them up because they are excited about the realization of the relationship.
Christ wants to be so real to you, nobody has to ask you to bring him up, beg you to bring him up. Struggle with you to bring them up. You can't help yourself. When you know that the grave is empty and the Jesus who died is alive in your situation. You say we've seen him.
And he's real. We heard him for ourselves. We've seen him. We felt him. And we can't help but Talk about him.
When we find that kind of excitement, the question becomes, what do we do with it? And how do we hold on to it? Doctor Evans will return with answers in just a moment. First, though, time is running out to receive our exclusive faith-building bundle, starting with Tony's current teaching series, Believing is Seeing. This eight-part collection will help you deepen your trust in the Lord, see more of His supernatural work in your life.
and stop unintentionally blocking the blessings he wants to give you. even in the midst of life's storms. Along with these audio messages, you'll also receive Dr. Evans' brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith, a resource designed to help you stay grounded and grow in confidence as you walk with the Lord. Right now, we are offering this complete bundle as our thank you gift when you make a donation to support the alternative ministry.
Don't miss out. Visit TonyEvans.org to make your request or call 1-800-800-3222 where our resource team is standing by 24-7 to assist you. That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. I'll repeat that information after the second part of today's lesson. Here's Dr.
Evans. And so now. I want to give you the secret. I want to give you the secret sauce. What brought all this about?
Some of it was brought about by the Bible study because they said, Did not our hearts burn as he talked with us along the way?
So they got fired, but Fires can die out quickly. Whatever energy you've gotten from our worship service, some of you will find it dies out before you get off the parking lot. Especially if somebody Cut you off.
Well the kids get on your nerves. Hello. Fires can die out. But this is not just a die-off fire. These guys are on flame.
This is burn, baby, burn stuff here. What caused it? Watch this. We know it's important because it's stated twice. It says In verse 30, When he had reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed it.
And breaking it, he gave it to them. Verse 35. They began to relate their experiences on the road and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of bread. They said we had two experiences. One experience was on the road.
Because he was teaching us the word, the written word, on the road. But the other experience was at the table. When he broke the bread.
So he broke the bread, and when he broke the bread, of course, they saw his hands. because he's breaking the bread. He had just died and risen from the dead.
So he's got nail prints in his hands.
So when they see these nail prints. They know it's the Saviour. They did not recognize him on the road. They said the road was good because we caught fire on the road. the experience was at the table.
When the church met in the New Testament, it says they met for the breaking of the bread. Why? Because it would be at communion, that's what breaking your bread means. That God would allow himself to be reached at the most intimate level. Let me illustrate it as appropriately as I can say it.
What communion is supposed to mean Is the same thing that sexual intimacy is for a marriage. It is the closest. Deepest Most intimate expression of oneness possible physically and emotionally between a couple. You can be married but not be intimate. You can be legal but not be close.
But in sexual intimacy, there is a coming together. that brings you closer than any other moment in the sacredness of the relationship. What sexual relationship is to marriage, communion is to the believer. That is the closest point at which Jesus relates to you. You can be a Christian.
but not be intimate. You can come to church, but not be intimate. You can go home, but that doesn't mean there's a happy place to be. What God is inviting you into is a sacred intimacy with Him that is only available in that context. That is why in 1 Corinthians 11, beginning with verse 23, he explains how important this is and he explains why.
He says when you eat and drink you eat and drink my body 1 Corinthians 10 says, when you eat the bread, you share my body. When you drink the blood, you share my blood. And what that means is you enter into a place of intimate blessing with me, unlike any other Christian experience you have. It is unlike Bible study. It is unlike coming to church.
It is unlike listening to the choir. It is unlike preaching the word. Yes, we want you to come with your Bibles. Yes, I'm going to try to be the best waiter I can and explain it, but that won't give you a meal. He takes his body and makes it your body, and you merge together at the breaking of the bread, which is why we offer communion every week, because we want to give you this special moment with Jesus Christ where he becomes more real to you than any other time in your life.
And it is that moment. Unlike any other moment in the life of the church. when God wants you to see Him with your own eyes.
Now most people don't get it and the reason why most people don't get it is most folk don't show up for it. Jesus, I want to be married to you. But I don't want to be spiritually intimate with you. I don't want to get that close. I just want to be in the same house.
I want to know you're going to take care of my needs. I want to know you're going to bless me. I want to know you're going to, but getting us all into each other. I ain't trying to do all that. It says, at the table, at the breaking of the bread, that's when he showed up, and we saw him.
In fact, the highest point of worship is not the sermon or the singing. That's why he says. And he explains why he says, and when you break the bread. In 1 Corinthians 11, he said, You proclaim my death till I come. But the question is, proclaiming death to who?
Two. Who am I talking to if I'm claiming his death to his gun? I'm talking to who? Who am I proclaiming it to?
Okay, let me explain. Jesus died on Friday. He arose on Sunday. He went to hell on Saturday.
Now you've heard sermons about Friday. The death. You've heard sermons about Sunday, the resurrection, but not many people have heard sermons about Saturday, the visit to hell. The Bible says that on Saturday, that is between his death and his resurrection, Jesus went to hell and preached victory to the spirits incarcerated there.
So what Jesus proclaimed was I win, you lose, the cross was victorious, I'm a rise tomorrow, there's victory in the meal. There's victory at the table. It doesn't come just because you've learned the word. The word is the precursor for the recognition.
So the issue is do you want church or do you want him? Do you want religion or do you want a relationship? Dr. Evans will return in a moment with a final illustration about the difference between catching a glimpse of the Lord and knowing Him up close and personal. First, though, today's lesson is part of Tony's powerful teaching series, Believing is Seeing.
Don't forget, you can receive the full-length messages included in this eight-part series as our thank-you gift when you make a contribution to support the Ministry of the Alternative. And if we hear from you by Monday, will include an extra bonus, Tony's brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith, designed to help you stay grounded in God's Word and grow in confidence as you approach each new day. We want to invest in your spiritual growth, and your financial support allows us to continue bringing this teaching to listeners everywhere.
So visit TonyEvans.org today to make your contribution or call our resource team at 1-800-800-3222. We're here 24-7 to help with your request. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. Dr. Evans says, many of us with 20-20 eyesight lack the vision to see what God is doing right in front of our faces.
But he's got the perfect prescription to clear things up for us. And on Monday, he'll talk about what it takes to see the supernatural. Right now, though, he's back with his final story to wrap up our program. one vacation, we went to Niagara Falls. There are two sides to Niagara Falls.
There's the American side. And the Canadian side. Our hotel was on the Canadian side. We got there at night. We went to our hotel room.
I pulled back the curtain and way out in the distance. You can see Niagara Falls. It's way out there. You could see it, but and it was impressive, but that's about it. The next morning we got up, had breakfast.
On the Canadian side, there's a park. We went to the park on the Canadian side. Oh, this is different than a hotel room. The hotel, I could see it and it impressed me. From the park, I could hear it and be affected by it.
Because now I was a lot closer. And see, a lot closer, I could hear the thunder of the water coming over the precipice and falling into the basin. And it would the wind would blow some of the water up all the way across the street, and we would get dots of water on our head. Because We were closer than the hotel room. Of course, there's another way you can see the falls.
It's called the Maid of the Mist. That's a little boat down in the basin of the fall.
Now, if you get in that boat, they're going to give you a raincoat and they're going to give you an umbrella because now you're getting ready to get drenched. And the reason why you're getting there to get drinks is that you've gotten too close.
So, you're going to expect that thing to just overwhelm you.
Some of you are satisfied to see Jesus from the hotel room. He's out there somewhere. I know he's real. I can see him long distance.
Now I can't hear him and I'm not affected by him, but I'm just impressed with him. There's some people who want to see Jesus from the park. You want to get up to the park and you want to hear a little something, something, and every now and then feel a little something come your way. But then there's a whole bunch of people that's not satisfied with the hotel room. You're not satisfied with the park.
You want to be in the basin because you want to be drenched by his glory. You want to be drenched by his power. You want to be drenched by his greatness.
