A Challenge Toward Authenticity, Part 1

Just because you haven't charged Dr. Tony Evans says the Lord knows not being authentic matter how together we hear the outside got the look that you will have and the worst part about it is celebrating faithfulness. This is the alternative Dr. Tony Abbott, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oakland Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative is pretty easy to spot a Christian who looks the part, but not as easy to spot one who lives the part believer who is authentic through and through you discover how to become the kind of disciple today as Dr. Evans takes us to Revelation 314 for today's lesson. I am sure many of you, like myself, have been to Universal Studios, either in Los Angeles or in Orlando, Florida with the kids were small, that was one of the places we went on vacation and we got all the people mover and there was a tour guide. The tour guide took us down streets and towns where movies were made at Universal Studios.

Some of the towns were responsible for some of the famous movies and they told us what movie was filmed there to explain to us as we were going down the people mover. Don't let these buildings for you. If you look behind them. There was nothing if you're looking at a façade looking at a construction to make you think you're in the city when you're not really in the city because if you are not open the doors there's nothing there because we know how to build things to give you the impression that there's something real going on here like hamburger that looks well done on the outside but when you bite it is wrong on the inside it's TV to create a camouflage to look like something is more real than it ought to be our final church to the final body of Saints is Laodicea Bible Fellowship Leon Maciel was a wealthy city no for three things, some 25 miles southeast of Philadelphia last city and last church.

Laodicea was known for its finance industry, its banking industry. It would be akin to our common day Wall Street. It was a very wealthy place to live and work and raise a family was also known for its fashion industry in New York you would call it the fashion district where they made fancy clothes that would go out to the retailers to sell the general public. Not only was it a financial district in a fashion district but the city of Laodicea was a pharmaceutical district.

It was known for its medical industry, particularly when it came to eye diseases.

It was specializing in the sample the eyes to improve the site of those struggling with C.

That is why you will see three areas finance fashion and pharmaceuticals referred to in Revelation chapter 3 verses 14 to the end of the chapter Jesus as he does in each one of these churches introduces himself as he wants you to see them now. The ruling came and head of the church, he says in verse 14 to the angel of the church at Laodicea right the amen the faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, says this before you get to know what he wants to say what you know doing the talk.

He says to the church at Laodicea and our church today. I am the amen amen means so be it. So that the way it is case you hear amen means the final word on the subject.

So when Jesus says listen because the amen is talking is basically saying I don't care what anybody else said to you.

Okay whatever folk told you I really care what you're telling himself. I am the amen on the final word on the subject. I am the faithful and true witness, so I will give you the testimony of witnesses, a testimony and what I tell you is don't be the true, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God. You see in a moment why he defines himself this way. I am the beginning of the creation of God not revealed the beginning of the creation I need you existed before the creation that you begin to Jesus Christ the client himself to be the pre-creation existing prior to creation. That is because he is always existed, is the second member of the triune Godhead and the one who's responsible for how history operates. So what is saying before you get time to what is said is pay close attention because I know what I'm talking about.

I am the amen I am the final testimony witness and I am the one who existed prior to you even being having established himself to the church at Laodicea. He now makes his complaint. This condemnation he says in verse 15. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold and wish you were or cold. So because you are moving along and neither hot nor cold. I will spit you out of my mouth. The problem at Laodicea Bible Fellowship of lukewarmness you are not, then why is saying this, you have to understand Leon Maciel's unique location on one side of Leo Visio, the city was topless, which was akin to hot Springs, Arkansas. You've ever been a hot Springs, Arkansas.

You know, the heated water that comes up from the earth. The steam that shows up because of the heat and that water is used for healing and refreshing our opulence was the hot Springs, Arkansas the day and water flowed down the Laodicea but on the side of Laodicea was the city of Colossae where we get the book. Colossians and water came down from the mountains into Laodicea when the hot water came down from Annapolis and the cold water came down from Colossae.

They met at Laodicea, and when the hot and cold water. The water now became cool when you reach Laodicea so Jesus Christ uses this geographical reality to express a spiritual reality operating at Laodicea Bible Fellowship.

You are neither nor cold, we can appreciate that on a hot summer day.

You want a cold glass of water on a hot summer day.

You want a cold glass of lemonade on a summer day. You want a cold glass of tea sweet tea because they don't want to be refreshed on a hot summer day, but on a cold summer day. You want a couple hot chocolate on the call seminary that hot cup of coffee or tea. It moves you well. In other words, and cold designed to meet in the to address the situation. Depending upon the web. I'm sure you don't go to a restaurant and ask you, do you want a warm cup of coffee do you want a warm glass of tea you wanted cold because it wanted to be refreshing. Jesus writes this charge through its pastor and he says you tell them know about.

They are neither hot coffee. They're not call that glassy.

They all will. In other words, they are unacceptable. I want to isolate glass only in his coffee. What I know is lukewarmness he says lukewarmness that is there stagnant spiritual state there in between Christian commitment their mixture that has made them unusable, unspiritual is unacceptable how unacceptable is Jesus I want to spew out my mouth. The phrase to spew out of the mouth means to involvement. Jesus says of Laodicea Bible Fellowship yard make me sick.

And Jesus says this is the amen talked. This is the one not tell you what you won't hear, tell you like it really is. This is the one with the final witness, making the declaration because you need a little cold, I keep doing anything with your spiritual condition reflect your geographical location. It is lukewarmness.

It is stagnant and I can't do anything with. So it's possible to be a church that makes Jesus sick sure what causes an ineffective lukewarm church.

Dr. Evans will have the answer for us when he returns in just a moment.

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You say I am rich I am self-sufficient. I got it going on got my job got the money got my car got my house got my close so on. The church is not stop.

I go to Laodicea Bible Fellowship because Christians do go there because I need Jesus.

I don't have to fulfill my religious obligation you become so successful in your financial district fashion district.

Your pharmaceutical district that really made me you just placate me you don't made me you just using me. You don't need me, you just him and giving the impression that you are close to me and y'all make me sick. He says to the Laodicea Bible Fellowship that you have allowed what is now the definition of success in the world to give you the definition of success in the church. You think because you got money in your wallet. You think because you have a nicer close the Knights of because the nicer job that God has you. You wouldn't fall into this false theology, that stuff must be a blast when actually you know stuff made me sick and you make me want to throw up and spew you out my mouth because you have brought the world into the church instead of letting the charge.

Define who you are and how you function in the world.

That is the problem with prosperity theology because what it says is all messed up. God must be blessed you if I got a new job. I must be blessed with more money must be blessed to have a nice house must be blessed as I must be blessed when Jesus is the very thing that your calling a blessing that's making me sick because it's made you think you more than you really are is made you think you're all that and a bag of chips it's made you because you've got stuff from the you allow the world to tell you whether your success. You allowances to tell you whether your successful you allowed to graze on the wall to tell you if your successful promotion in the marketplace to determine whether your successful but I'm a man, and I would tell you like it is like it is.

You all may be one throw up that don't get mad at the preacher I'm just Jesus says you make me want to spend you out of my mouth. They were manually the spiritual by the physical say that again they were manually the spiritual by how things look in the physical. I am wealthy, I got this going on so I must be blessed.

That is the physical and the more you have. Camouflage is the spiritual so that you spiritual must be okay because we got this coping in the physical and because the coating looks good. The inside must be okay because I wasn't close to God's like this one closer.what I have be where I am at the education that I have this be okay if I wasn't close to God. It came in portrait and we live in a world that knows how to make. Boyd knows how to make the camouflage to make you think you more than you really because if you can hang out with those people go to those places by those things live in that location. This car must be a success in Jesus says to the church.

You are an abysmal failure. Second, ever.

Verse 17 you do not know you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Not only are you wretched but I don't care what you like. Account looks like your pull, says LTL. When you click to a close genetic so you see, the district financed fashion pharmaceutical what you think you can see what your expensive glasses on your black Jesus says not what you think about you is read delivered in a dream world see what's really going on and was really going on is you don't know how messed up you will see the black bars to be blind and I know it's bad to be met. But it's mostly negative and not know you undressed the baseball but it says you don't know how poor you will. It's bad nonstop and you don't know how messed up you all messed up you while you're so messed up you don't know how messed up you will and was got to stop is that you to erase the spiritual and so because you will see things from my perspective. You don't see things correctly and you on the phone telling you you sent you successful. You accomplish what you believe in them and they are not the amen they are not the faithful witness, and no the worst in the world is you are not telling you the truth.

God says I don't play those games, tell you what I see and what is not good player church as long Christians come to church or Bible Fellowship, but your playing games committed to me, not dedicated to make what you're doing is coming to showtime at the church you come for the performance of the choir. The performance of the preacher you come for the firemen, but when it comes to your commitment.

You try to satisfy the public. You try to satisfy the success of Wall Street and replace out there because you got a good, but I will give you the amen disobedient. The final word.

The conclusion and what I say is the bottom line is that you don't see you like a beautiful call on the showroom floor of an automobile dealership with no engine. You got to look but you don't have the reality and the worst part about it is you don't even Dr. Tony Evan with some important biblical teaching on being authentic. More on this topic for us tomorrow as it shows what we can do to rise to the challenge. In the meantime, let me remind you to take advantage of our special year-end package the best of Tony Evans, 20, 21, 20 of Tony's most popular messages on CD or digital download plus your choice of one of three popular and powerful books and devotionals you can get the details and select your favorite bonus resource@tonyevans.org this special package is yours is or thank you gift when you support Tony's work here on radio and television, as well as with pastors, their families and churches around the world. Get Tony's best so you can be your best make the arrangements today when you visit Tony you have in stock or we can find a huge selection of great life-changing gifts for the people you care about.

That's Tony Evans.org or call our 24 hour resource Center at 1-800-800-3222 that's 1-800-800-3222. A lot of us go to great lengths to give the impression that everything is okay and we've got it all together with Dr. Evans this time spent trying to fake it to make it is meaningless when there's no connection with God in eternity. Be sure to join to begin tomorrow as he continues our look at a challenge toward authenticity. The alternative with Dr. Tony have brought to you by think of an alternative celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you