The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: Have you ever tried to drive with your eyes closed? Or drive looking backwards? Many of us are losing in our lives because we're looking in the wrong direction. You've got to be looking in the direction you need to go.

Guest (Male): This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. It's been said that if you put someone on a pedestal, they're likely to fall. But that's not an issue for the one who created gravity. Today, Dr. Evans explores why Jesus deserves our honor, respect, and reverence, and how it changes us when we give it to him. Let's turn to Colossians 1:18 as we join him.

Dr. Tony Evans: You know what life is? Let me tell you what life is in a practical way. Life is whatever makes you come alive. If you tell a teenager, "I'm going to get you your driver's license," they come alive. If you meet that person you've been looking for for a lifetime, you get giggly and showing pictures that nobody wants to see and all manner of things because you've come alive. That thing has made you alive.

People will even use that terminology, "I feel so alive." Guess what Paul said? He said, "For me to live is Christ." The thing that made him alive was Jesus Christ. If you do not feel alive, one of the problems could be an issue of focus. Christ has been dimmed or foggy. Your spiritual glasses have been fogged over, so you don't see him clearly. And therefore, you do not make your judgments in time based on a perspective from eternity. Therefore, you do not feel alive.

In fact, verse 11 of chapter 3 says that Christ is all and in all. He's everything. That he might have first place in everything. And when he does, when you get your heavenly focus right, three things can begin to work in your life. First of all, verse 15, the peace of God will rule in your hearts. And then verse 16, the word of Christ will dwell within you. And then verse 17, the name of the Lord Jesus will be your motivational inspiration.

Let's look at those briefly. First of all, the peace of Christ. That word "rule" meant a referee in a sporting event, a person who would call the shots, an umpire, if you will. Paul says about Jesus Christ that when Christ is your focus, then you will have an umpire who will sit inside of your heart to help you determine which way to go in life.

The peace of God will begin to rule when you're going the way he wants you to go. And when you're not going the way he wants you to go, the peace of God will not rule. That's why the Bible says that we are to not worry, but we are to pray. The peace of God will guard your hearts. It is that relaxed mental attitude that God gives because your focus is on him when you're moving in the way he wants you to go. So one of the ways you know God's will is the peace that he gives you.

One of your prayers every time you come before the word of God, whether in private or whether in public, is "make yourself at home." Pull out the drawers in my life, pull out the closets, go into the attic, go inside the dresser, make yourself at home and show me what I need to throw away.

That's why you want the word of God, when you sit under it, to cut you. You say, "but it might hurt." Only to get rid of poison. God's word only cuts to heal, even though it may hurt in the cutting. It only cuts to help, to let you know what's going on. It wants to biopsy your life.

Finally, in this point, the name of Christ. Name meant two things: identification and authority. It says in whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. A very important principle here is if you are to do it in word or deed, lip and life, you are to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To put it another way, there is to be no distinction in your life between secular and sacred. All things are to be done in his name, that is, in consideration of who he is and the authority that he has. He should be taken into consideration in your decision-making. And where he cannot be included, you ought to look at it with suspect eyes. Christ is to be exalted in our focus.

Guest (Male): And speaking of encouragement, Dr. Evans returns in a moment to tell us about a powerful promise we can count on, even if we haven't exalted Christ the way we should up until now. Before we get to that, though, I want to tell you how you can take the journey of a lifetime without ever leaving home.

I'm talking about the unique book Tony has released on experiencing Israel. It's packed with full-color photos that'll take you on a virtual guided tour of the Holy Land, with insights from Dr. Evans about the geography, history, and people of the land. This beautiful hardcover book is something you'll want to keep on display, but it's also a tool that'll bring a whole new dimension to your study of God's word.

If you contact us and request it right away, we'll send "Experiencing Israel" to you as our way of saying thanks for your contribution towards Tony's ministry. Along with it, we'll also include all eight full-length lessons in Tony's current teaching series, "Pursuing Christ." Visit us today at tonyevans.org for details on this special double offer, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Let's get back to Dr. Evans now with more on exalting Christ.

Dr. Tony Evans: Next, Christ is to be exalted in our family. Verse 18 of chapter 3 says, "Wives, be subject to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord." He starts off with wives and subjection. Let's clarify that he is not concerning himself with your ontological being. That is a great theological term that simply means the essence of who you are. God is not saying that you ladies are less than equal to your husband. The Bible says that women are equal to men. In 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 7, she is an equal heir, he says.

But when it talks about subjection, it is talking about function. Just as Jesus Christ is functionally subordinate to the Father, yet he is equal to the Father, the wife is functionally subordinate to the husband. She has a head that covers her, although her ontological essence, the essence of who she is, is equal to that of her mate. The issue of submission is an issue of function, not an issue of essence.

He says be subject to your husbands, but please notice there are moral limits: "as is fitting in the Lord." What he's saying is that Christ is to be exalted in your relationship to your husband because your relationship to your husband ought to reflect your commitment to the Lord.

Look at the life of Abraham. He made a number of very cataclysmic mistakes in his life. He wasn't everything that Sarah wanted. He was short when it came to some of the qualities. He was a wimp when he needed to be strong. He didn't handle things like a real man of God many times ought to handle them. He fell short.

But it says that Sarah honored his position as head. The Bible says that she got a miracle. In her case, she was 90 years old and never had a baby. She always wanted to have a baby and couldn't get pregnant. She didn't get pregnant until she honored her husband. She didn't get the miracle for her until she honored God's chain of command with him.

Does that mean you just do whatever he says, whenever he says it? No, there are limits. It says, "as is fitting in the Lord." In other words, he cannot demand of you to do anything that displeases God. So there is a limitation of the authority, even though it must be honored and recognized.

"Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them." Love is where you sacrifice for the well-being of another. So the question every man has to ask here who is married is: what have I given up for my wife lately? What has it cost me to be her husband? What sacrifice have I made? Because the Bible says we are to love our wives like Christ loved the church. How did he love it? He gave himself up for it. There was a sacrifice involved.

The test that we face as men who focus on Christ is: what sacrifices are we making for the well-being of our mates? What things are we giving up for their betterment? You see, many men have the idea that to be a husband is to be a dominating tyrant, a boss. And that's not the love that Christ showed.

Christ's love was sacrificial. Or to put it simply, you should be outserving her. A simple way to test that is list all the things she does for you, list all the things you do for her, and see which list is longest. Most men have the idea that she's here to serve me. She's there to help you, the Bible says, but your love for her should outserve her love for you.

A wife is a mirror, and she reflects back what she is receiving because she was made to respond. Now, does that mean everything that's wrong with her you caused? No, she may have brought a bunch of stuff into the relationship. But your job is to sanctify her, Ephesians 5, and help fix it up. If she's worse now than the day you married her, you're looking in a mirror. And you're looking at your own failure. So don't get embittered against her. Check yourself and fix what's broken in you.

"Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord." Disobedience to parents was viewed in the Bible as rebellion against God. Children are to be obedient to parents. This is, of course, children who are still in the home and still under the authority and protection of the family. But with limitations: "well-pleasing to the Lord." Children are not obligated to obey parents that are attempting to get them to act in rebellion against God because there is a higher authority than the parent, and that is the Lord.

Fathers, the reason he doesn't say mothers is because in the Bible, the father oversaw the home, although the mother managed the details. So mother is implied although not stated. "Fathers, do not exacerbate, frustrate, or irritate your children, that they may not lose heart." The number one thing that your children should know about you if you're going to exalt Christ as a parent is the encouragement they received, not the criticism that they received.

Now, you ought to criticize wrong. But when they put the two next to each other, the thing that they should remember about us as parents is that what dominated was not the criticism, but the encouragement. Many of us are angry with our mothers and fathers right now because we don't remember any encouragement. All we remember is, "you can't do this," and "you're never going to be that," and "you're no good." Negative, negative, negative all the time. They have become embittered. That comes because that becomes indelibly imprinted. So while you should criticize the wrong, go crazy over the right so that they see that you are an environment of encouragement.

Fourthly, Christ is to be exalted in our fields. Fields meaning fields of employment, how we function in the marketplace. We looked at family, but now he goes to fields. "Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you'll receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a master in heaven."

Our application today is more in the line of employer and employee. If you are an employee and you work for somebody, please notice verse 23: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men." The end of verse 24: "It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

If you and I would make one simple shift in our thinking, it will revolutionize tomorrow morning at 8:30 when you have to get up and go to work. You may not like your job. You may not like the people you work with on your job. They may not be treating you fairly and you may be seeking another one. Nothing is wrong with that. The Bible says if you can make your situation better, 1 Corinthians 7, feel free to get a better situation. Fine.

But in the meantime, you ought to go to work tomorrow morning not working only for your boss. Verse 24 says, "It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." When you go to work, stop thinking in terms of the man, whoever that is, that you work for and begin your day tomorrow with devotions. Say, "Lord, for the next eight hours, it would please me to serve you. I've got to make some widgets here. I've got to type some letters. But tomorrow, when I go to work, I'm going to type my letters for you. I am going to do whatever this job is for you. I'm going to stop thinking that I'm doing it only for the company or only for the boss. I'm going to give you my eight hours tomorrow."

You will find that to exalt Christ in your field of occupation will revolutionize your ability to function properly and with joy. Joy comes from the inside, not from the outside. So if you are lacking joy, it's not because you're in your miserable circumstance, it is because you have no stability working on the inside. Go to work tomorrow exalting Christ: "The Lord Christ I serve."

What good is that going to do? A lot. Verse 24 begins with: "knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward." Suppose the Lord is waiting to better your situation only after you've learned to be content with him in your situation. Some of you are never going to get out of your situation if the Lord is going to reward you only at the time when he can trust you to work for him and not for people. Change your focus, get your joy, and look for your reward.

If you are an employer, you too have a master. You may own the company, but there's somebody who owns the world on which the company dwells that you run. "Masters, grant your servants or slaves justice and mercy." You be equitable in your dealings and fair with your prices and your compensation, knowing that you too have a master in heaven. Just like God has brought you up, he can take you down.

If you are a cheat, if you're unjust, if you treat employees like animals and like tools rather than with dignity as people, then you are an evil master and evil employer. You are not exalting Christ in your workplace. Exalting Christ in your workplace doesn't mean that you do a poor job but you tell everybody about Jesus. It means that your love for Christ shows up in the quality of your work. It means you don't do half-hearted jobs and sloppy business. You honor the Lord Christ in what you do and how you do it because of the one for whom you do it.

Israel, they were slaves in Egypt. They wanted to get out and they couldn't. But one day the Bible says, but God heard their cry. That's when he raised up Moses. Listen to me. God may not hear your cry until he becomes your only hope and focus. Do what you can, but let your exaltation be of Christ.

The simple principle here is this tonight: the higher you exalt Christ, the higher Christ will exalt you. Or to put it in the words of James 4: "humble yourself underneath the mighty hand of God." I like that. He doesn't just say humble yourself under God. He says, "humble yourself under the mighty hand of God," and he will exalt you.

The greatest way to humble yourself under God is through the exaltation of Christ. Exalt him in your faith. He deserves it; he's God of gods. Exalt him in your focus. Run everything through the grid of the glory of Christ, and then let the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ be your guide. Exalt him in your family. And then exalt him in your fields where you work every day, and then watch heaven come down.

If you and I will exalt Christ, we can see him in closing give us back the years that the locusts have taken away. Locusts come in and they eat up all the crop. They can do devastating damage. They swarm in and they can pick a field clean in a matter of hours. In fact, they can pick a field so clean that you never think anything can grow there again.

But I like the way Joel says it. He said if the folks would humble themselves before God and give him the glory, he would give them back not only what they lost, but the years that the locusts have taken away. Because when a farmer loses his crop, he didn't just lose his crop; he lost years of productivity and income. So if Satan has sucked away years from your life, the Lord can give you back those locust years. How? Exalt Christ.

Guest (Male): And exalting Christ begins with a step of receiving his forgiveness and committing your life to him. It doesn't matter what you've done or how good a person you might be. It's all about what Jesus did on the cross. And despite what people sometimes say, the Bible makes it clear that there's no other way to heaven.

Tony would love to tell you how that relationship can be yours. Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link that says Jesus. You'll find answers to your questions, a simple prayer that can change your life, and free follower resources. While you're there, be sure to take advantage of our current special offer. It begins with Tony's current teaching series, "Pursuing Christ," a comprehensive look at what it means to develop personal intimacy with Jesus and realize the benefits of a life committed to him.

As I mentioned earlier, we'll send you the full-length versions of all eight lessons in the "Pursuing Christ" series, along with Tony's stunning book, "Experiencing Israel," as our thank-you gift when you make a generous contribution to support Tony's ministry here on the radio and around the world. Visit tonyevans.org for details on this special double offer before time runs out, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Team members are standing by 24/7 to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. We'll return in just a moment.

What do you do when life puts your faith to its limits? On the Unbound podcast, Dr. Tony Evans invites honest voices to talk real life struggles. Curiosity led to vulnerability which leads to intimacy. The Bible becomes alive to you in your personal experience. Unbound with Dr. Tony Evans. Listen now. You can find the Unbound podcast on all the major podcast platforms.

Broken bones sometimes need to be re-broken before they can heal properly. And there are times when our fractured spiritual life requires the same drastic procedure. Next time on The Alternative, Dr. Evans shares how one biblical character's life changed after going through that process. I hope you'll join us.