Spiritual growth is guaranteed, but spiritual growth is not automatic. Dr. Tony Evans says growth happens when believers anchor themselves in God's truth. You've got to look to the coming. You've got to be tethered to scripture, and you've got to decide to grow.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. When you know company is on the way, you start looking at things around your house differently, cleaning up in preparation for their arrival.
Well, today Dr. Evans says the expectation of Christ's return should have that same kind of effect on us. Let's listen as he explains how taking God at his word transforms our priorities, perspective, and purpose. When you're on a journey, a long journey to a particular location, you'll notice something. The closer you get to where you're going, the bigger the signs are.
When you're far away, they'll give you a small sign on the side of the road about how many miles there are to go. But as you get closer, the signs get bigger. because they're getting more specific. In this 2000 year or so time from Christ. to his return.
The signs are getting bigger. And because the signs are getting bigger, we're getting closer.
Now the whole world can be held hostage. By the Middle East. on two critical things. fertilizer for food. and oil for function, because you can't do anything without both of those.
But the issue was how would that control the whole world? They didn't know it in the first century in this delay that they were not aware of because they were told to expect Christ at any time. Technology is a sign. that they didn't see. That you and I see.
So, understanding what the book of Revelations talks about, where a statue starts talking. And now we have AI. And so you got all of these dynamics. that give you signs. That We're getting closer to the destination of the return of the Lord.
without violating the principle of He can come at any time. Peter comes to the end. of his book and this chapter. Beloved, affectionately, since you look for these things. Be diligent to be found in him.
In peace, spotless. and blameless. He invites us to look for these things. He's telling them in the first century to look for these things. We're getting bigger signs.
So we should really be looking for these things. We're not looking for the city. We're looking for the exit. You're trying to get more specificity because of The bigger the signs are getting. He says, I want you to look for these.
things. I want you to be aware. Of what's happening around you related to what I'm talking about, the coming of the Lord. Says be diligent. to be found in him.
So he's talking about prophecy. but tied to practicality. He says, What prophecy ought to do is make you diligent to please him. Make you diligent to follow him. Make you diligent to serve him.
Some years ago, When we were building the building across the street, which is our Education Center. President George Bush who had been a friend when he was governor and now he's president. Said, I'm coming. He said, I'm coming. for the dedication of the building.
When the word got out. That the president was coming. Systems shifted. Extra. Work was being done to make sure things were in order.
How we looked even got more attention. Because The President was coming. Safety systems were put in place because the president was coming. See, when you know Somebody high and lift it up. It's coming.
Okay. Then you are more conscious. of the particulars of adjusting Two of them coming. He says, I want you to look and expect. The Common And make whatever adjustments in life.
in priorities and repentance. That needs to be made because he's Clubbing. I am coming back. And so he says, now adjust in light of the look. Let the look create an adjustment.
So prophecy is not, as we've said, just so you can fill out a prophetic calendar or preach prophecy sermons. It is because of the look, that is, because of the expectation. Make the adjustments. that are appropriate. to the return.
And then he says, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. Just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you.
So one apostle validates another apostle about the return of the Lord, tying it. to scripture. When he talks about the word of God earlier in the chapter, That Greek word is logos. This scripture word is graphhe. The word graphé means the writings.
It is the text of Scripture. But what you have in your hand is graphé. It's the word of God if you don't open it. It's the word of God if you don't read it. because it is the record of the word.
That's Graffe. Logos Which he calls the word of God. That refers to the content. an active meaning of the graphé.
So the graphé is the book. The logos is what it says, what it means, and what it does. There is another word, and that's rhema. We talk about having a rhema word. The word Ramap means divine utterance.
So The graph. Is just the book as the word of God, whether you engage it or not. The logos is the engaging, the life principle engagement of the graphhe. The Rhema, the utterance. is the logos from the graphé that is speaking to your personal situation.
See when people say I heard a Rhema word What that basically means is I heard something that spoke into me. They were talking about a Rhema experience. from your Logos teaching. as you opened up your graphé book.
So you opened up the graph, you gave the Logas, and they got the Rhema. And all of those are speaking about the word of God. Paul speaks to this issue. And he calls it salvation. Of all the uses of salvation in the Bible, only one-third of them refer to being converted.
The word For saved. can mean a lot of different things. depending upon The context The word being used. If you look at a word without the context, you might wind up being conned. Because Context informs meaning.
The word for salvation means to be rescued or delivered. But he's talking to Christians. He says, therefore, my beloved.
So he's talking to believers.
So he's not telling them. to get saved again. He's talking about another kind of salvation. And that is the salvation of prophecy. or the deliverance that he says Paul talked about.
So since Peter has given us permission to invoke Paul, Let's invoke Paul. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Paul is speaking. And in chapter one. Verse 10.
And to wait from his son from heaven. who he raised from the dead. That is Jesus. Who rescues us from the wrath to come?
So here, Paul says that we're waiting for Jesus. to be rescued from the wrath. Not through the wrath. Not after the wrath. But from the wrath, and guess what?
The day of the Lord is the day of judgment, we're told. It's the day of God's wrath. We're waiting to be delivered from the wrath. Paul talks about it even further in chapter 5. After talking about the rapture in chapter 4, verses 13 to 18, he comes to chapter 5.
And he wants them to be informed, verse 3: while they are saying peace and safety. Then destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child. But you, brethren, are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief.
So what's happening to them is not happening to you. He says, verse 9, for God has not destined us for wrath. But for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So he says that God is delivering us from the time where his wrath is occurring. Therefore the rapture. And the goal is that, verse 10, we will live together with him.
So. The point is Paul says We have not been appointed unto wrath. And the day of the Lord is a time of wrath. which is one of the arguments for the pre-tribulational rapture. that happens simultaneously with the beginning of wrath, which is the day of the Lord.
When doctor Evans returns in a moment, He'll clarify an often misunderstood phrase in one of the Bible's most familiar salvation passages. Today's lesson is part of a special three-message series called The Sure Word: Living in Light of Prophecy. Recorded live at this year's Kingdom Leaders Summit. These messages reveal how biblical prophecy isn't just about knowing what's coming someday. It's about allowing God's truth to shape our priorities, our decisions, and our spiritual growth today.
We'd like to send you this complete audio series as our thank you gift. when you make a contribution to help support the alternative. and along with it will include Thy kingdom come. A powerful book from Dr. Evans, where he explains major prophetic themes in Scripture.
and shows how understanding God's plan can help us live with greater hope and spiritual confidence. Just visit TonyEvans.org for details or call us at 1-800-800-3222-222. or one of our resource team members will be happy to help. Again, that's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two. Dr.
Evans will return with more of today's message right after this. Sunlit beaches, calm blue waters, and a week set aside just to breathe again. That's what's waiting for you on an unforgettable Caribbean cruise with Dr. Tony Evans. From February 28th through March 7th, you'll set sail on a seven-day Caribbean journey, visiting Nassau, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Relax Away Half Moon Cay, a private island known for its peaceful beauty and white sandy shores.
This time of year, the Caribbean offers the perfect escape, warm weather, gentle breezes, and a setting that invites you to slow down and truly rest. And while the destinations are incredible, what makes this cruise truly special is what happens on board. You'll experience powerful Bible teaching, meaningful worship, and authentic connection with friends and family of the urban alternative. It's a chance to step out of the routine and step into renewal. Come be refreshed, encouraged, and renewed.
Find out more today at tonyevans.org. That's tonievans.org. We all love Romans 10, 9, right? He says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be.
Saved.
Okay. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, results in salvation.
Now what we hear is salvation, you're naturally thinking conversion. But he makes a distinction. In verse 10, He says, if you believe. You are righteous. You are made righteous.
Well, once you're made righteous, you're converted. But he says when you confess. You're saved.
So he gives two things in there. You got to believe to be righteous, but you have to confess to be saved. Back to Peter. He is concerned. That We don't listen to false teachers.
He says that. in verse 16 that the unstable distort The untaught, distorted. He is making a point. That people get under the right kind of biblical guidance. Because there are so many voices.
I'll tell you a little story of a trip I took. I had to go to Fort Worth to preach. Fort Worth is 30 miles west of Dallas. Back then it was a fax that told me the location of the church. It was written.
This is the church. This is the location. These are the directions. I got in my car and began to drive down Highway 20. I looked at my notes.
And It said, this is the exit. Got off. On the exit. Turned left. and began driving.
But I didn't see the church. And I'm driving. Until now. I'm in the country.
So if The church without here Dr. Doolittle was the pastor because all we saw were animals, sheeps and goats, and And so I'm out there in the country. I said, this can't be right. This can't be right.
So I turn around to come back. And I stop at a store. And I say, I'm looking for this church. I said, I'm looking for this name of this church. And he gave me directions.
That sent me further out of the way. I pull up to a light. Another guy pulls up beside me. I wind down my window. This is before GPS and all that.
The guy winds down his window. I said, I'm looking for this church. Oh, he says, Oh, I know where that is. You go down to the next light, you turn left, and you'll run right into it. I went down to the next light.
Turn left. I'm now in a neighborhood. Nothing here but houses and houses and I wind up in a cul-de-sac. I decided. To pick up my sheet, I pulled over to the side.
And I said, let me look at this sheet more carefully. And then it said. In small print. Turn right. When I got off, I turned left.
That's called lean into your own understanding. I turn left. because I didn't pay close attention to what had been written. If I would have paid close attention to what had been written, I would have turned right. When I went back where I should have turned right, the church was one block up the street.
In other words, I was closer than I knew. But I was one leaning on me and then leaning on folk. Rather than leaning on the word. But when I return to the word. I got to my destination.
And I didn't lose any more time.
So he is appealing to the graphé. Which gives you the guidance of the Logos so you can apply it to your own trip, your own ministry. your own outreach. And so He wants you. Personally and ministerially, to cause people.
to value The Return. How many of you paid for your kids' college?
Okay, a bunch of you. You paid in one way or another. What that means is you expected them to study. You didn't pay for parties. You didn't pay for drugs.
You paid for them to study.
So if they were partying all the time. getting failing grades all the time. They were not appreciating the price that you paid. They were not valuing the sacrifice you were making to get them their college degree. What he is saying is, I want you to value the return of Christ so much.
that it affects you. and that it changes you. And that it reprioritizes you because you. value it that highly. You embrace it.
And when you do that. You're giving the return of Christ its freedom to impact you, your life, your thoughts, and your priorities. He says in verse 17. You therefore beloved.
So he's got another therefore. In light of what I've said about false teachings, about the need for truth from scripture, and about the coming of the Lord, you therefore, knowing this beforehand. Be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men. and fall from your own steadfastness. I don't want you to regress.
Why would he tell Christians this? Because they're his beloved. Because Christians can regress.
Okay, Christians can go backwards. Christians can lose their impact. I pray that you don't regress because you've lost sight of the return and you've lost sight of the truth of scripture. And that leads him. to a famous verse.
That you've all preached on, I am certain or referenced. Instead of falling back. Grow in the grace. and knowledge. of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. He says, I want you to. Grow. I want you to progress in the faith. You've got to look to the coming.
You've got to be tethered to scripture. And you've got to decide to grow. Spiritual growth is guaranteed, but spiritual growth is not automatic. You don't automatically grow. You have to decide to grow.
Until that decision is made. Not only won't you Stay where you are, you will regress. Because static equals regression. Unless there is the decision to grow. or to develop in your Christian experience.
So his call is to grow. But the question now is. How do we grow?
Now, this is related to every church, every pastor, every ministry, because that's what we do. We encourage spiritual growth. We encourage spiritual development. But he gives a summary of spiritual development in an interesting way. He says, I want you to grow with respect to two things.
Grace. and knowledge. These are the two towers. that facilitate spiritual growth.
Now, how does one know when one is growing? The way you know that someone is growing is that they're changing. The proof of growth. is change. If there is no change, there is no growth.
The change happens in decision making, priorities, not doing this. Start doing that. You are Changing. to facilitate the growth. or the changes we want to happen in our lives, in our ministry.
There must be an understanding of grace. as it relates to the knowledge. of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yeah. Dr.
Tony Evans, explaining how an understanding of biblical prophecy and God's grace. helps us live a life with renewed purpose. If you've missed any of the messages the last few days, I'd encourage you to take advantage of the special package of resources we put together based on Tony's current series on prophecy. You can get all three full-length audio messages in this collection called The Sure Word, Living in Light of Prophecy. along with Tony's companion book, Thy Kingdom Come.
a look at key prophetic themes revealed in Scripture. Together, these resources will help you understand God's future plan. An understanding that will give you greater hope, confidence, and spiritual readiness. They're yours with our thanks when you make a contribution to help support the Ministry of the Alternative. But this is a limited time offer, so be sure to request it today at tonyevans.org.
Details are right on the home page. or call us at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two where our resource team is standing by ready to help twenty four hours a day. Again, that's Tonyevans.org. or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. And one final reminder, in addition to these daily lessons from Dr.
Evans on the alternative broadcast, He also leads meaningful and timely discussions with special guests on his Unbound podcast. You can listen to these conversations whenever and wherever you hear your favorite podcasts. It's possible to know the Bible, but still miss the one the Bible points to. Coming up on Monday, Dr. Evans explains the difference between simply studying Scripture.
and truly experiencing the living Christ through it. Be sure to join us for that.
