When you audit a college class you want the information without the responsibility. You don’t want the work of it, just the knowledge about it. You cannot do that with the Cristian life, you cannot audit it. You may be inspired but you won’t be changed because the transformation in your life has to be activated by obedience and without that it becomes information with no credits.
After watching video, scroll down to see related videos.
Video Highlights
Here are some highlights from this message about when you feel like giving up from Tony Evans.
Revelation 3:7 says, “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” God describes himself as he who is holy and true. To be holy means to be set apart as unique special or one-of-a-kind holy not to be put in a class with anything else. Isaiah 40:25 says, “God is holy.” So when Jesus declares himself to be holy, he declares himself to be God. I am not only holy, I am also truth. I am the real deal and anything that contradicts me is false and is a lie and cannot be trusted. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life so everything is to be measured by it’s inconsistency and compatibility to him and if it’s incompatible and inconsistent with God it is wrong no matter who told you.
Isaiah 22:15-25 talks about the steward who has a key. Jesus has the master key and he can get in any door, all the doors are available to him. Jesus with the master key has access to every door and authority over every door. If we don’t get that we are going to think people are in charge. They may have a key to a door, but they don’t have the master key. Matthew 28:18 says, “All authority has been given in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 16 states, I’m going to build my church and I will give my church the multiple keys while he possesses the master key to every door. If you skip God’s way to get done whatever it is you’re trying to get done, then don’t just call on God to use his master key when you’ve ignored the key he gave you. He does not want you to skip the responsibility he’s giving you and simply call on him because he has the master key. He will share his authority with you when you are consistent with him. Jesus has the master key and when he opens the door he doesn’t care who you are, where you come from, how much you have or what degrees you possess.
At 13:17, Tony addresses the importance of keeping God’s word:
In order for his key to work for you and me and for his church, he says you must have kept my word, obeyed me, and not denied my name. So one of the reasons many believers are not seeing God come through is because they do not keep his word, or they deny his name. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. Jesus says when you deny me on earth I will deny you before my father who is in heaven. When you confess me on earth I will confess you before my Father who is in heaven.
At 18:07, Tony talks about the importance of humility:
That’s why we get so messed up trying to get folks to open up the door and create the opportunity. Their connections, give us the money, and we do it all to open up doors and Jesus is sitting there with a master key. You better keep yourself small in the eyes of God. Pride cometh before the fall and you need to understand that humility is a big deal to God. Jesus says I open the door and nobody will shut the door I open. I don’t care what the name is and how much power they wheel and how much money they have. God likes to come in suddenly. So that when it happens there is no debate on who caused it to take place. It becomes inextricably clear that this was heaven invading history.
At 31:48, Tony concludes his message waiting on the Lord:
Just obey Him, don’t deny his name and then wait for the Lord. Wait upon the Lord because he comes suddenly and once you have this perspective you’re free. There are allot of Christians that just show up to see what the choir is singing, what the preacher is preaching and just come for the show. But there are some folks who want to serve in ministry, help other people and give to the advancement of the cause of the Lord and there you have some superstars. They may be unknown folk, but you can count on them and depend on them. If you want God to say well done my good and faithful servant you need to leave the stands and come out on the field.
