Just like Dad

You can be chasing after a whole lot of things in life and run right past your reason for being. Jonathan Evans says our closeness to Christ isn't measured by our accomplishments but by our family resemblance. It's important for us to know that the reason why we're here is to be just like Dad. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas and president of The Urban Alternative. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Well, today Jonathan Evans explains why it can also be the strongest demonstration of devotion as he talks about what it means to be made in the image of God. Let's join him. Today, I want to take a little time to talk to you about being just like Dad. About being just like Dad. If you know anything about my father and you hung out with me for a little while, it wouldn't take you long to start making those comments that I hear a lot. Boy, you just like your daddy. You move like him. Your mannerisms are like him. When you smile, I can see him all in your grill. You just like your father. There's so many things about you that reminds me of who he is.

The question on the floor today is when people see you operate in your life, do they know to whom you belong and who you come from? Do you share his DNA seeing that he created us to bear his image, not our own image, but bear his image and understanding that we were created to be just like Dad? To have his mannerisms move the way that he moves, think the way that he thinks, and go about life the way that he has created us to go about it so that we can be people who are image bearers of our father. To be just like Dad. I don't know if you know it or not, but if you don't understand that you were created to bear his image, as the word says, you can be chasing after a whole lot of things in life and run right past your reason for being.

Because it's important for us to know that the reason why we're here is to be just like Dad. Not that long ago, I was an executive producer of a Christian hip-hop album with a friend of mine who wanted to produce one, and he walked into the studio and he created the album over a series of months, and then we mastered it, then we mixed it, and then they gave us this master CD after we created everything. Now, I wanted to pass out the CD, so what I did was take it to a master duplicator so that I can get duplicates and replicas of the master. I put the master in a master duplicator and then got out a whole bunch of blank CDs.

I put the blank CDs in the other units, and what I wanted to do was burn what was on the master onto the blanks. So when I passed out the copies of the master, people would listen to it and basically have the master. Now the copies are not the master, but they're so much like the master that when you hear it, you might as well be listening to the master. We're supposed to be copies or replicas of the master. We're supposed to bear his image and burn off on us who he is so that when people see us, they see the master.

Now don't get it twisted. You and I aren't the master, but we're supposed to be so much like him that even though we're not him, people see him. Our job is to be just like Dad. Look at what he says in Genesis chapter 1, 26. He says, then God said, let us make man in our image. I have to stay on this word make or create for us to really understand this because when I was reading the word for myself and I looked at it, let us make. How does God make or create?

If you want to understand who you are, you have to understand the creative nature of God or a little bit about how he creates or the theology behind how he creates. When God creates or when he makes, he only creates that which he is. He does not create that which he's not. He only creates out of his nature. He doesn't create that which he's not. He only creates that which he is. For example, God is an omnibenevolent being, meaning he's all good.

We say in the church, God is good all the time and all the time God is good. If you look at the creation account, any time he created something, he would back door it by saying and it was good and God saw that it was good because God can only create out of his nature and he is a good being. Another thing is that in 1 John chapter 1, 5, he says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Come back to Genesis chapter 1, you will see that God said, let there be light. He never said, let there be darkness. If you look at the creation account, God didn't create darkness. Darkness existed only because of the absence of light. If I take the light bulbs out of this room, you will automatically have darkness.

I don't have to call someone to ask them to come install darkness. All I have to do is deactivate the light and it will automatically be dark in the room because he is light, in him there is no darkness at all. So you see that he created what he is, he didn't create what he's not. Therefore you also can't believe that God created evil because there is no evil in him. A lot of people think because evil exists and God is the creator of all things, that he also created evil or had a hand in that, but you can't believe that because God only creates out of his nature. He doesn't create that which he's not, therefore why does evil exist? Because God is good, evil can only exist when decisions are made apart from him. Just like darkness, darkness only exists because of the absence of light, not because he said let there be darkness.

For evil only exists, Adam and Eve brought evil into the world because they made a decision apart from God. So therefore he allows it but he did not create it. So it's important for us to understand, if we're supposed to understand who we are, it's important for us to understand first the nature in which he creates. There's another thing when I was reading the text for myself that I saw and thought about just in that word create.

The word create means that God is the creator, he's the maker, he's the creator and everything else is creation. In other words he's set apart, he's distinct, he's incomparable, he's in a class all by himself. What I'm not saying though is be wholly set apart, unique unto yourself. Because most people live life like that, I want to be, young people they understand it as the I'm going to do me spirit, it's the I'm just going to do me. If you look at our culture today, everybody is just being who they are but it's not unto God, it's to their own image bearing.

So however they want to look, however they want to dress, they call it swag, whatever swag they want to put on the floor, you just got to accept it because that's just who I am. But when you operate that way separate from God, what you're doing is putting yourself right in the middle of sin. Because God is good, anything separate from him automatically is evil.

So when you operate disconnected from him, it puts you right in the middle of sin. When I look at that word creator, it shows me that he is distinct and set apart and he only creates that which he is, not that which he's not. But let's look a little bit deeper in the verse here, he says, let us create man in our image and in our likeness. And then he says, I like this, he says, and let them rule.

Why would he say that? It tells you in verse 27, because God created man in his image. In the image of God, he created him.

Male and female, he created them. The reason why he told Adam and Eve that they were supposed to rule is because they were supposed to be just like that. And God is a ruler.

Remember, God only creates that which he is, he does not create that which he's not. So when he created man and told man to bear his image, he's saying and giving him rule, he's saying, you're supposed to be just like that. So if you're supposed to be just like that, and I am a ruler, I am a king, and I have dominion over everything, then I'm going to give you a domain in which to have dominion.

Because he said, let them rule. Your rule is defined as taking every opportunity within your garden to advance his kingdom and his name using the unique gifts, skills, and talents that God has given us. You are not ruling if you take advancing his kingdom and his name out of that definition. Most people are taking every opportunity within their garden to advance their name and their image using the unique skills, gifts, and talents that God has given you. That is not a definition of ruling, that is a definition of existing. God should be involved in everything you do in bearing his image.

If you're disconnected from him, you have automatically lost your rule. He has placed us all in a garden. He has placed me in a garden, he's placed you in a garden. That is your situations, your family life, your ministry life, your work life. He has placed you there so that you can rule it, not so that it can rule you.

A lot of us are being ruled by our gardens because we have disconnected ourselves from the image. Not that long ago I went to Target and I don't really like going shopping, but I'm just trying to be a good husband. And my wife will tell me to go in there and look for stuff, but I don't like it because I get lost.

I can't find stuff. She's used to the store and all that. I'm not like that. I get lost and then when I'm in the checkout line, she wants to send text message, oh, go get this too. Now I got to get out the line. Go get J2 a 3T shirt. Go get the ironing board.

Our iron just broke and overheated. What are you talking about? Let me check out of here. But when I get lost in the store, what I'm doing is looking for someone with a red shirt on that has a Target logo on their shirt because I know if you have a Target logo on your shirt, you have a bigger kingdom called Target that has given you the authority to tell me how to operate on this floor. That logo authenticates your activity. Without the logo, you're just as lost as I am. But with the logo, I know that you are backed by a kingdom called Target. You've received instruction and they have given you authority to rule in that realm.

A lot of Christians are operating disconnected from the logo. And if you're disconnected from the logo, you're just as lost as everybody else because you're not backed by the kingdom and the kingdom only backs those who are willing to be connected to the logo. You have to stay connected to his image in everything that you do within your garden to understand what life is really about and have purpose in your life and really rule the garden that he has placed you in.

He said, let them rule, not let the garden rule over them. When Jonathan Evans continues in just a moment, he'll tell us about a time when he personally found himself disconnected and lost. First though, if you need to make a stronger connection with God, get a copy of Tony's helpful book, God Is More Than Enough. Too often, God is the last one we appeal to when we find ourselves facing struggles and hardships.

But when you trust him to meet your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, he gives you more than enough to handle the ups and downs of your life. We're excited about the positive response to this book and the lives it's already changed. And that's why we're bundling it together with Tony's current teaching series, The Lord's Prayer. This collection of messages contains eight full-length lessons that cover different aspects of prayer, including the link between being forgiving and being forgiven, the importance of talking to God about what He wants, not just what we want, and many others. Right now, if you make a contribution to help keep Tony's teaching on this station, we'll send you the powerful book, God Is More Than Enough, along with the complete series, The Lord's Prayer, on CD and instant digital downloads as our thank-you gift. But this special offer runs out soon, so be sure to contact us right away. All the details are waiting for you at tonyevans.org. Or you can call us day or night at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you with your resource request.

Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Jonathan Evans will return with more of today's message right after this. There are songs about togetherness, standing side by side, united. We hear a lot about unity, but no one really knows what unity truly is or the power of oneness in Christ united. In his guided prayers and new devotional book, Stronger Together, Weaker Apart, powerful prayers to unite us in love, Dr. Tony Evans shows you how unity is key to spiritual victory and how standing with others in prayer leads to a stronger and impactful life and nation.

Find out more about Stronger Together, Weaker Apart at tonyevans.org, tonyevans.org. As an NFL athlete, I played in the NFL for about four years, but I found myself depressed. I found myself broken. I found myself chasing after the next check. I found myself doing a whole lot of things, but there was still emptiness in it. There was no fulfillment in it. Now don't get me wrong, I was saved.

I knew Jesus, but I was still in a garden and the garden was breaking me even though you would think it's a great garden. Isn't this the National Football League? God, isn't this my dream?

Isn't this what I really wanted to do? But when I was in NFL Europe, I wanted to walk right off that football field. And I told my coach, Coach, I can't do it anymore. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. He said, I really want you to stay. I said, I have my flight booked already at 11 a.m. I'm out of here.

I already decided that this is not for me because I'm broken in this garden. He said, well, you can't leave at 11 a.m. because you have to do an exit physical before you leave and we do those at 11 a.m. And then I talked to my dad and my dad said, don't you think it's interesting that you couldn't leave when you wanted to leave? I said, you always got something spiritual to say. When I'm down and I'm out, you always got something spiritual to say. But I listened to my father and he said, I want you to go to one more practice because there's something with you not being able to get out when you wanted to get out. And I said, OK.

I went out to practice. And when I tell you I was distraught on the football field because there was an emptiness even though I was in a garden called the NFL, I wanted to take my pads off while I was running through the drills and just throw them on the 50-yard line and walk right off the field. But I prayed to God and I said, God, if you want me to be here, if you want me to be here, then you have to give me peace that surpasses all understanding because right now your boy is broke.

I'm broken right now in this situation. So you have to give me peace if you want me to be here. That's the first time I prayed a prayer like that while in the NFL. I never included what he wanted.

I was only thinking about what I wanted. When I prayed that prayer, when I tell you I broke huddle and the next time I put my hand on the ground, I knew I was going to be there the whole season because he gave me peace that surpasses all understanding. I went to my head coach and I said, Coach, I'm going to be here.

He said, what happened? I said, I included God and God let me know the reason why I was there is not for me, it was for him. So that season my teammates started calling me rev and two guys got saved and guys were coming to my room and they were asking about their wives and asking about what's going on in different relationships and what does God's word say about this and what does God's word say about that? And then I started enjoying football.

Now football was no longer ruling me, but I was ruling it. But it was only because I finally connected God to what I was doing. Disconnected from God, I was a broken brother, but connected to God, I was ruling my realm.

You cannot rule your realm disconnected from the image you're supposed to be bearing. But if you're dealing with a situation that looms large in your life, God is bigger than that. There was a man named David in the Bible, you go to 1 Samuel, he wasn't looking at what all the other Christians were looking at. All the other Christians were looking at Goliath. David wasn't looking at Goliath. David was one of the Christians that stood out in his uniqueness because while everybody else was looking at the giant, David was looking at God. Saul said, here's my armor, now go out on the battlefield and handle your situation. David said, no, no, no, no, I don't know anything about your armor. God has created me a little bit different than he's created you.

So I can't go out there and try to handle this giant your way. What was the tool that God gave Adam and Eve that he's also given to us for them to rule their realm well? He gave them his word. That's what he gave.

He said, Adam, you name all the animals and whatever you name them, that's what they will be. He gave them authority. He gave them a word of responsibility.

Hey, you keep it, you guard it. He gave them a word of freedom. Hey, you're free to eat from any tree. He gave them a word of regulation.

Don't eat that one, though. God gave them a word of instruction in order for them to rule their realm well. The problem was is that the main tool that God gave them was attacked when slick came into the garden. Satan slithered up into the garden and he said, hath God said, and gave them a contradictory tool that would not benefit them in ruling their realm. And God didn't make us, he didn't build us to take another word. He only built us to bear his image, which means abiding by his word.

He didn't build us for anything else. If I take my Altima and I put diesel fuel in it, it's not going to work. I've got to put regular unleaded. If it's not regular unleaded, then instead of driving along and ruling the road, the road is going to be ruling me because I'm going to be bumping along because I put the wrong thing in the tank.

Too many times we're putting the wrong thing in our tank because of all the competing words that have entered our garden and wondering why we're bumping along in life. God has created us to rule his realm based on the uniquenesses and gifts that have been bestowed upon us. When the Cowboys run out on the field with that logo and they've got all of these different talents and they've got all of these different uniquenesses and all of those different things, they still only have one job. Their job is to bear the image of the playbook. When I played football, you signed your contract and you went straight to that 500-page playbook and you had to learn it, memorize it, eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was what you had to operate by. It wasn't partial life.

It was whole life. In training camp, you get up at 6 a.m. You don't get back to your room until 9 p.m. and all you're thinking about is that playbook. Are you executing the playbook? All coach wants to know is are you executing the playbook? I gave you this logo.

I gave you this contract. Your job is to be an image bearer of the playbook. If you're not doing that, you're embarrassing the organization. Then what's going to happen is after the game is over, you have to come back to the meeting room. You come back to the meeting room.

All football players don't like the meeting room because then it displays your flaws to the whole team. The coach pulls down the screen. He turns on the overhead projector. He grabs his little remote and it has a red laser on it and he points out every little good thing you did, every little bad thing you did, and the whole team is sitting in the room to watch your flaws because he wants to know whether you were bearing your own image and doing your own thing or whether you were bearing the image of the Dallas Cowboys. That's your job. Your job is to go out there and use your uniqueness for yourself. Your job is to go out there and bear the image of this playbook. God is calling us to bear the image of the playbook. He has given us a logo, said that he has created us in his image for his rule to bear his playbook and his word. That is the tool that he has given each one of us to rule our realm.

Without that tool, you're not ruling, you're just existing. And there will be a day, it's in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, there will be a day that we have to go before the judgment seat of Christ. We're going to go right back to chapter 1 because your coach is going to want to know whether you were bearing his image or whether you were out on the field of play doing your own thing. And he's going to pull down the screen. He's going to turn on his cosmic overhead projector.

He's going to grab his mouse and he's going to say, sit down, let's review the film. And when he sits down and reviews that film, you want to know for sure that you took his word seriously. That you didn't take it casually, that you, what the Bible says, feared the Lord. Feared the Lord doesn't mean trembling and scared. Fearing the Lord means taking him seriously.

Were you bearing his image or were you out on the field doing your own thing? My prayer is that we rule our realm within our garden using our uniquenesses and using the tool called his word. If you don't have the kind of relationship with God Jonathan Evans described today, if you don't know what it means to be a real Christian and are still looking for a reason to call God your Heavenly Father, here's Dr. Evans to tell us why it's so important. The greatest need in all of our lives is for the forgiveness of sins.

And there's only one person who can do that. That's Jesus Christ. That's why He died on the cross and rose from the dead, and He offers forgiveness of sins. If you're carrying guilt for what you've done, fear for what you've done, Jesus Christ is right here, right now.

If you go to Him, confess your sinfulness to Him, and trust Him to forgive you, He will do it on the spot and also grant you eternal life. Find out more about what it means to start a personal relationship with God. Visit tonyevans.org and follow the link that says Jesus. You'll find everything you need, including a personal invitation from Dr. Evans and some free resources to get your new life started off right. While you're there, you can also request a full-length copy of today's message from Jonathan Evans.

It's called Just Like Dad, and it includes material we didn't have time to present on the air today. You can also make arrangements to receive those other powerful resources I mentioned earlier, Tony's life-changing book, God Is More Than Enough, and all eight messages from his current series, The Lord's Prayer, on CD and digital download. The entire package of resources is yours as our thank-you gift when you make a contribution to help keep this broadcast coming your way each day.

Again, this is a limited-time offer, so don't put it off. Visit us today at tonyevans.org to get all the details. You can make your contribution and your request online at tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members assist you.

That's 1-800-800-3222. God has promised to provide for our needs. Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans will take us back to The Lord's Prayer for a look at how we present those needs to the Lord and how He responds when we do. I hope you'll join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.