The culture is offering us counterfeit carrots. It looks like the real deal. It looks like the authentic deal, but it's fake truth. Dr. Tony Evans says cultural deceit can't hide from kingdom truth.
God wants us so acquainted with the truth that it becomes obvious that's not part of it. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Living as a kingdom Christian takes more than willpower. It takes God's power.
Today, Dr. Evans explains how true strength begins with humble dependence on Him. Let's listen. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, He began with an opening phrase. The kingdom of God is at hand.
All throughout his ministry. He kept talking about this kingdom. This place Of divine jurisdiction. The word kingdom, as we have stated many times, means rule or authority. It is the sphere of divine jurisdiction.
from which God rules.
Sometimes it's called the kingdom of God when it's referring to the person.
Sometimes it's called the kingdom of heaven when it's referring to the location. But in both cases, it's referring to the sphere of God's jurisdiction. E r. When we open the book of Acts, Luke, the author. of the book of Acts.
Writing to Theophilus, the Man who Helped fund his research. Luke was a physician and he was used to research, and that's why in his writings, you'll see a lot of research activity. evidently funded by Theophilus. It says From the time of Jesus's resurrection. To the time of his ascension to heaven was forty days.
And during these 40 days, he taught them about the kingdom of God.
So, the very same message, when he came on the scene at 30 years old. Was the very same message after his death and resurrection that he wanted to communicate. to those who would be taking the message after he left. And for 40 days. He taught them about.
the kingdom of God. The reason why Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God, so that they would teach. us about the kingdom of God. Is so that we would understand the governance of God's jurisdiction, God's rule.
So that when Erit. thinking, errant ideas, errant philosophies. Eric!
Social orientation. When errant things come in, we understand what the rules of the house are. The rules the jurisdiction of the kingdom. Because there is a competing kingdom. The Bible says we have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his son.
He says there is a dark kingdom. An evil kingdom. A secular kingdom. And it wants to impose itself. and change house rules.
Change the sphere of the rule of God.
So he says, I'm going to teach you apostles about the kingdom. I want you, now that we've established the church, to teach the people about the rule of God. Why? Because he wants us to experience the power of the kingdom. He doesn't just want the information of the kingdom.
He wants the power of the kingdom to be made manifest based on the information of the kingdom. He says, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The job of the spirit. It is to bring the reality of the new jurisdiction into our experience. When Jesus was on earth, The expression of his deity always operated in the location of his humanity.
So people got healed where he was. People got raised from the dead where he was. People heard the sermons where he was. In other words, where his body was You saw the supernatural activity that he did. Because He limited the activity of his deity to the location of his humanity.
He was fully God, but he was also fully man. And as fully man, he had limitations. He said, but I've got to go. Because If the Spirit doesn't come, You're going to be worse off. Yeah, I'm gonna take it.
I would be worse off if Jesus was here today. Yeah, absolutely. If Jesus Christ was here, we would all be clamoring for his attention. Because the superstar, the king of kings, has entered the building. But the problem is.
The problem is Because of the limitations of humanity, he could not go to everybody's house. at the same time. It would be impossible not because he's not divine, but because he's limited. His Eternal spiritual activities to the limitations of his humanity. Jesus never went more than 300 miles from the place of his birth.
Okay. He was localized. In his humanity.
So he says, I'm going to send you another of the same kind. I gotta leave. Because when y'all disperse, I want to go home with everybody. And because I want to go home with everybody, I'm going to send an invisible. Power source.
to be available to you as though it were me. The Holy Spirit Is the continuation of the work of Jesus on earth on his behalf?
So that he could be everywhere at one time, and his purpose. It is to empower the kingdom's work in the life of his people. That's his purpose. You shall receive. Po All of us have electricity.
Yeah. Wow. Your appliances only work because of the power of electricity. Your lights come on because of the power of electricity. Your heat, your cooling works because of the power of electricity.
You are attached to power. If you have electricity, in your home as we all do you are connected to power In other words, there is power access. Assuming your refrigerator is plugged in. Assuming your toaster is plugged in, assuming your lamp is plugged in. That doesn't determine whether you have it.
That does determine whether you experience it. If you have come to Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, that doesn't mean you're experiencing it. You have been attached because the Bible says That you have been baptized by the Spirit of God, First Corinthians chapter 12, you've been dunked. Just like the physical baptism, the spiritual baptism, you've been placed into the body of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit that has entered the life of the believer. If you have a working refrigerator.
It has been constructed to work by electrical power. If the refrigerator is not working because it has not been plugged in. You can't get mad at the electric company. And say, y'all not doing your job. You can't get mad at the manufacturer.
If the refrigerator has been constructed properly. You can only blame yourself from non-connection. That's the only one you can blame is yourself for non-connection. Our lack of power is due to our lack of connection. Yeah.
Because there's nothing wrong with the company. The company's perfect. There's nothing wrong with the construction because every believer receives a new nature, and that new nature is already set up to receive the power from the company.
So, if you got the power of the company, and if you're a Christian, you have the new nature, but there is no power, it's because there's a plug-in missing. Because you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, when the Holy Spirit is doing his work. in and through you. I found out I have a problem. I found out yesterday.
I don't like cold. I don't like cold. I don't even like cool. I like hot.
Okay, I prefer I will. I will drive. with a hundred degree heat with the windows down. to get fresh air, because I don't want air conditioning blowing on me a lot.
Okay, so that's just my faux pie.
Okay, so I don't like them. I went to turn up the heat in my house. Yesterday on the on one side of my house and It didn't come on. I put it up higher. It didn't come on.
It didn't come on. So I got to get that looked at. That happened a few years ago. Where I had a problem where the heat wouldn't come on.
So I called the air conditioning eating guy. He came over and I thought I needed a new unit. He said, No, your unit's fine. It says your igniter. is not lighting the pilot.
So that it's getting in through the unit, creating the flame to produce the heat. It says, I know you think there's a unit problem, but. This night is just a little piece of thing. He says, but this little piece of thing. Gets everything moving.
The parts are there, it's all working, but because your igniter is not. Connecting like it needs to connect, the unit is not doing what it was created to do. God has given every believer an igniter to go into the new nature of the unit of your conversion to produce the kingdom of God results. But if the igniter is not igniting Then the results are not occurring, so the power is not being realized. He taught the kingdom of God.
And he says, with this information I'm going to give you. The Spirit of God will produce. Power. Dr. Evans will have more for us on the power the Holy Spirit produces when he returns in a moment.
First, though, I want to tell you about an exciting new opportunity to go deeper with today's message. Tony's Unleashing the Kingdom series is now available, along with his newly released book called Unleashed and the Unleashed Bible Study Guide, including access to special companion streaming video lessons from Dr. Evans. These resources were designed to help you genuinely understand how to live under God's rule, so you can fully experience His kingdom blessings right where you are. You'll be among the first to receive these new releases when you make a donation to support the alternative.
Visit TonyEvans.org today to request your copy of this exclusive Unleashing the Kingdom package or call 1-800-800-3222 anytime. Our team is available 24-7 to assist you. That's 1-800-800-3222.
Well, doctor Evans returns now with more of to day's lesson. In John chapter 16, verse 12, he says, I have many more things to say to you. But you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own initiative But whatever he hears, he will speak.
And he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine. and disclose it to you. All things that my father has are mine. Therefore I say that he takes of mine and discloses it.
To you. Yeah. God has given every believer An access line. Of disclosure. That's what the verses say.
So let's walk through this. Jesus says, My father discloses to me. I download from daddy. When I download from Daddy, The Holy Spirit downloads from me. The Holy Spirit has a Google search engine.
It downloads from the Sun. And reveals it to you. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Not only is it a download of data. But it is a download of data with a GPS system.
Because he says, I will guide you into all truth.
So there is a GPS, there is a guidance positioning system at work. In the life of the believer who is plugged into the spirit, you're now in sync. And that sink will not only give you the information it will give you the directions He says, and it will guide you. Steer you. Is there a qualification?
Is there something that has to be operating? He says, Yeah, as long as you know the spirit is the spirit of truth. If you don't have kingdom truth, You don't get spirit power. A lot of people want spirit power who are not committed to kingdom truth. Once you abandon The truth.
which is God's perspective on any subject. I don't care what the subject is. When you abandon that, you cannot then ask for the spirits. Engagement. Power.
Presence, enablement. He's not available because you're operating on false data. There is a virus on the line.
Now, I know I didn't step way out here, so y'all tell me if I'm wrong, but it sounds right to me. There's a virus on the line. And the moment That you I, we, or us. Bring into Divine jurisdiction. The kingdom of God where he rules.
I've said it earlier. Your kids, your teenagers come in and say, but my friend said. And what their friend said is not what you said. They're saying something antithesis. to your teaching, your training, and the jurisdiction of your kingdom.
You let them know your friends don't live here. This is not their house.
So you can't expect. Me to accept their worldview in this house when it doesn't agree with our worldview. But we live in a world today where Christians are being culturalized rather than kingdomized. And you hear us. buying into secular thinking.
Secular thought. Because we like it, because it seems so right and fun, even though it goes against kingdom truth. He says the power of the Spirit is tied to the teaching of the kingdom. And when the the spirit who is the spirit of truth knows that we're operating under divine jurisdiction based on divine truth, we now have access to spirit enablement or power. Many people want to hear from Jesus, which happens through the Spirit.
who don't want to be under the jurisdiction of the kingdom. They want to bring the kingdom of the culture into the kingdom of God, and then they want the kingdom of God to adjust to the kingdom of the culture. And so you hear them compromising their views, compromising their perspectives, because that's what they like. That's how they were raised. That's their viewpoint.
That's what they taught them in school, and all that. The moment it goes against the kingdom of God, it goes against the spirit of God. And once it goes against the spirit of God, there is no power because you're no longer plugged in, even though you have the equipment. And when that happens, he says. You shall be verse 8.
My witnesses. Yeah. When The truth of the kingdom, God's viewpoint. We come underneath it. We operate by it even though we live.
In the culture. Yeah. We operate by the principles of the kingdom. When they want to teach The agents how to spot counterfeit money. They don't teach them that by showing them counterfeit money.
They teach them by showing them and making them indoctrinated on. The authentic currency. They make them so acquainted with the authentic currency. that now they can recognize Any counterfeit. Because it's not consistent with the authentic currency.
The culture is offering us. Counterfeit currency. It looks like the real deal. It looks like the authentic deal. It looks like it's right, it's real, is all that, but it's fake money.
God wants us so acquainted with the truth. That we can recognize the error, the lies, the deceptions, not because we know all of them, because they keep changing every month, but we're so acquainted with the truth. that it becomes obvious That's not part of it. When that happens. When you see the Spirit of God manifesting itself, he says, And you will be my witnesses.
Now what does a witness do? They testify. What? And when you're in court and you're a witness on a witness stand, you're giving testimony. You're declaring something.
When the Holy Spirit is doing his work, Because you've come under the jurisdiction of the king and his kingdom. You're flying his flag over your life, home, family, church, your sphere of influence. When the Holy Spirit begins to do his work, you're going to have a testimony. See, one of the reasons we don't testify is because we don't have a testimony. And if you don't have a testimony, you don't have anything to talk about.
You can't tell. You can't say to nobody, this is what God did for me. This is how Jesus invaded my circumstance. This is how God turns something around. You got to piggyback off of the testimony of other folk because you don't have a testimony yourself.
But when the Holy Spirit begins doing his work, because you've been tied and tethered to the truth of the kingdom, he says you're going to have something to talk about. You have something to talk about. And you know, when God really does something, you can't keep it to yourself. You gonna testify. of who God is and what God has done.
Do you be my witnesses? You won't have a problem sharing your faith. You won't have a problem talking about what the Lord means to you. You won't be ashamed of people criticizing you because you're identified with Christ and don't just stay generic God. Because you'll be able to say, if you knew what I know.
You would tell it from the rooftop. Where I was and where he brought me from. What I was in and how he got me out. You're going to testify because you have experience the talk. Dr.
Evans will return with a simple illustration to wrap up this message in just a moment. But first, if you're ready to experience the kind of power Tony's been talking about today, If you've never taken the step of asking Jesus Christ to be your personal sin-bearer and guarantee you a place in heaven for eternity, Take a few minutes to visit TonyEvans.org today. Click the link at the top of the page that says Jesus. We have some helpful resources there. and a personal message from Dr.
Evans that lays out the good news God has for each of us. Again, that's at tonyevans.org.
Now, a quick reminder about that special resource package I mentioned earlier. The full Unleashing the Kingdom audio series, plus Tony's brand new Unleashed Book and the Unleashed Bible Study Guide with streaming video lessons, are available as a part of one of the most comprehensive teaching packages we've offered. You can be among the first to receive these powerful new resources when you make a donation to help support the alternative broadcast ministry. Visit TonyEvans.org today to make the arrangements or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Where team members are ready to help you any time.
That's 1-800-800-3222 or go online to tonyevans.org. We don't get to choose whether or not we'll have problems in life. They're inevitable. But on Monday, doctor Evans points out the Bible does promise believers a unique and powerful way to deal with them. I hope you'll join us for that.
But right now, let's listen as he wraps up today's message. And close it, you know. We all have passports. If you travel, you have a passport. Passport identifies your citizenship.
No matter where you go in the world. If you're an American citizen, you have an American passport. That passport will let them know in France, in England, in Italy. In China. I belong to America.
Now, I'm in your country. But this a visit. I don't belong here. And my passport will testify. That this is not home.
This is not where I live. Too many Christians are leaving their passport at home. When you go to work tomorrow, carry your passport. When you're in your community, carry your passport. When you're with your friends, carry your past forward.
When you're hanging out with the guys, carry your passport. I'm with y'all. But I don't live here. I have another country. I live down here, but I operate from up there.
And if you don't believe me, here's my passport. It's in Jesus' name. I make my declaration.
