{"id":303870,"date":"2016-02-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord\/"},"modified":"2016-02-12T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-12T17:00:00","slug":"how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"How Blessed Is the Man Who Fears the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>guest: Tony Evans | Dr. Tony Evans shares about living with God&#8217;s Kingdom in your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your community life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Tony Evans shares about living with God&#8217;s Kingdom in your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your community life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-02-12.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"30.42M","filesize_raw":"31893493","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822,2827],"tags":[5957,4352],"podcast_series":[],"cwp_profile":[9392],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-303870","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","category-repentance","tag-kingdom-man","tag-kingdom-of-god","cwp_profile-tony-evans","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/303870\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/303870\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"0eTcvVyN4U\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord\/\">How Blessed Is the Man Who Fears the Lord<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/how-blessed-is-the-man-who-fears-the-lord\/embed\/#?secret=0eTcvVyN4U\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;How Blessed Is the Man Who Fears the Lord&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"0eTcvVyN4U\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Dr. Tony Evans shares about living with God's Kingdom in your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your community life.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-02-12.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>What\u2019s involved in being kingdom-minded?\u00a0 Here\u2019s Dr. Tony Evans. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Tony: <\/strong>You know, in my research and study, I\u2019ve discovered that God has broken down His kingdom into four categories: your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your societal, governmental, or community life. And the kingdom is simply your ability to relate those four areas to one another and all four to God\u2014that makes you a kingdom person. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Friday, February 12<sup>th<\/sup>. Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We\u2019ll hear today from Dr. Tony Evans about the impact we can have, as Christians, in our community. Stay tuned. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Thanks for joining us on the Friday edition. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You\u2019re going to hear it first, here on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>1:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014that God is not on sale at Wal-Mart<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>. [Laughter] You know, I want you to listen to this message because Dr. Tony Evans\u2014who is, not only a great friend, but also a <em>terrific<\/em> preacher\u2014is going to bring it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is a pretty good week!\u00a0 You stop and think about it\u2014Alistair Begg, John Piper, and Tony Evans. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>There you go!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>That\u2019s pretty stout!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Nothing is wrong with that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob: <\/strong>We have brought the <em>goods<\/em> this week on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>If you want to know the truth about life, you\u2019re about to hear it because this is going to apply to your life, your family life, your church life, and your life in the midst of the culture. This is the way to live life, and Tony Evans will explain how. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is, again, a classic message from Tony Evans\u2014a message that we first aired on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> 15 years ago. We thought, \u201cThis is one that deserves to be heard again.\u201d\u00a0 So, we\u2019re going to take a trip to Wal-Mart with Tony Evans and find out why God is not on sale there.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>2:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0[Previously Recorded Message]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Tony: <\/strong>Some time ago, my wife asked me to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some things for her. Now, you must understand\u2014this is not one of my favorite things to do; but being the godly husband that I am, I concurred and got the list from her as to her expectations. Not wanting to go to Wal-Mart any time of the day, I decided that I would go earliest in the morning in order to get in and get out. But on this particular occasion, when I arrived, I discovered that Wal-Mart was having a store-wide sale. People had shown up to get their goods at reduced prices, and they had shown up in droves. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt dawned on me, as I stood in line: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>3:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cYou know, that\u2019s what\u2019s wrong today. We\u2019ve got God on discount\u2014if we reduce our message, and limit our commitment to truth, and if we lower the standard low enough\u2014they\u2019ll show up because everybody likes a sale, even a God sale. But you give me a high and holy God\u2014whose standards do not change \/ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever\u2014\u2018Well, I might have to debate whether I want to <em>shop<\/em> at that store.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is not only true of a secular godless society. It\u2019s, also, true of an evangelical church; unfortunately, sometimes, it\u2019s even true of me. As I\u2019ve thought about this discount god that we\u2019ve become comfortable serving\u2014the adjustable god\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>4:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014it also dawned on me that, perhaps, we are somewhat problematic in our worldview, as evangelicals \/ as Christians. Perhaps, a myopic perspective has dominated us so that we really don\u2019t fully see what God\u2019s plan is in history, which is why we are so comfortable with discounts, even with Him. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf I were to sum up what I believe the Bible teaches about what you and I are to be about\u2014the <em>sine qua non<\/em>\u2014the irreducible minimum that ought to govern who we are as a community of saints\u2014it is simply the word, \u201ckingdom.\u201d\u00a0 Kingdom is an interesting word\u2014we all use it. In order to have a kingdom, of course, you must have a king \/ you\u2019ve got to have a ruler. We don\u2019t debate that God is that ruler. In order to have a kingdom, you must, not only have a ruler, you\u2019ve got to have some rulees\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>5:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014you\u2019ve got to have some people over whom the king rules\u2014and that is those of us who claim Him, who know Him, who yield to Him. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNot only in a kingdom must you have a ruler and rulees, you\u2019ve got to have a realm over which the king rules. \u201cThe earth is the Lord\u2019s, the fullness, thereof, the world and all they that dwell in it [Psalm 24:1].\u201d\u00a0 So, it\u2019s a fairly comprehensive scope to this kingdom. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd in order to have a kingdom, you must have a ruler, rulees, a realm, and some very clear regulations so that the rulees, living in the king\u2019s realm, know the expectation of the ruler from the regulations that he has prescribed. When you have a ruler, with rulees, governing a realm with very clear expectations and regulations\u2014what you have is a kingdom. The kingdom is simply described in Scripture as the comprehensive rule of God over all of His creation. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>6:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think part of the problem why we have so discounted God is that we have so limited God to who we are and the ministry we have been called to fulfill, that oftentimes, we miss the kingdom. It is clear, sometimes, we miss it because it\u2019s so often that Christians cannot relate to one another across racial lines, or class lines, or cultural lines, or denominational lines. It\u2019s often very clear that we miss the kingdom because we miss the broad scope of what His purposes are in history. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat caused me to think: \u201cWhat is the order of the kingdom?\u00a0 How does this King in this kingdom rule His affairs in history?\u201d\u00a0 Through my research and study, I discovered that God has broken down His kingdom into four categories\u2014and in fact, only four: your personal life, your family life, your church life, and your societal, governmental, or community life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>7:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe kingdom is simply your ability to relate those four areas to one another and all four to God\u2014that makes you a kingdom person. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, this is a study that could take hours upon end. I would simply like to reduce it to Psalm 128, which lays out, in a very succinct summary fashion, everything you\u2019ve ever wanted to know about the kingdom but were afraid to ask. He says: \u201cHow blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and who walks in His ways. You shall eat of the fruit of your hands. You will be happy, and it will go well with you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe starts off by addressing your personal life. He says that, if you are going to be a kingdom person, it always begins with the kingdom within\u2014he calls it the fear of God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>8:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s an interesting Old Testament word\u2014it really combines two concepts. On one side, to fear God meant to dread Him for He was so high, and holy, and just; but then, on the flip side of that coin, it was to awe Him\u2014or hold Him in high reverence. When you mix together the dread of God with the awe of God, it simply comes out to mean: \u201cBlessed is he who takes God seriously.\u201d\u00a0 If the man wants to function in this kingdom, he\u2019s got to take the King very seriously: \u201cBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 There is always one test as to whether you fear God. It says, \u201cYou walk in His ways.\u201d\u00a0 The fear of God is not ultimately measured in the feeling\u2014it\u2019s always measured in the feet. If there is no adjustment in the feet, there is no fear in the heart\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>9:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014regardless of how inspired you may feel at any given moment. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cBlessed is everyone who fears God,\u201d because you always see them shifting the way they walk. Well, what he is simply saying is: \u201cIf you are serious about this kingdom, then, God must be the sun of your life\u2019s solar system, where the planets of your activity revolve around Him. You do not request that He revolves around you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, he moves to the second aspect of the kingdom\u2014the family. He says, after the individual fears God: \u201cYour wife shall be like the fruitful vine within your house. Your children will be like olive plants around your table.\u201d\u00a0 He goes from the individual\u2014not to the church, not to what\u2019s happening on the job, not to what\u2019s happening in the politics of the world, or why we ought to be concerned about what\u2019s happening at the White House\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>10:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014we need to make sure we are having sufficient concern for what\u2019s happening at our house. He says, \u201cIf you want to see whether somebody fears God and is in the kingdom, go to their homes.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe live in a day when all of us are concerned about the breakdown of the family\u2014as we should be\u2014but the primary reason for the breakdown of the family is that the family does not understand the kingdom. We have reduced keeping the family together to a social structure, and that\u2019s not why the family was created. That\u2019s not\u2014that\u2019s a byproduct. God told Himself, in the triune meeting in the counsels above, that: \u201c\u2019We will make man in Our own image\u2026male and female We will make them [Genesis 1:26].\u2019\u201d \u201c\u2019And what We\u2019ll do is place them in history. We will give them something We will give no one else; and that is, We will stamp them with the image of God [paraphrase of Genesis 1:27].\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>11:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>The reason God created family was so that there could be the replication of the image of God in history\u2014that\u2019s why the family exists. The family exists, not so that you can live happily ever after\u2014although that\u2019s a great byproduct \/ the family does not exist simply so that you go home to have company\u2014that\u2019s a great byproduct. The family exists so that the image of God can be spread throughout history. <br><br>God is so much in love with Himself that He wants to spread Himself everywhere He can find Himself, and He finds Himself everywhere. So that, when you and I have children\u2014if one of them goes to live in Florida\u2014and you want to know what God looks like in Florida, you can check out where those kids live because the mark of God has been transferred to Florida because the image of God has been <em>stamped<\/em> through the context of family. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>12:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf one goes to live in New York, and you want to see what God looks like in Manhattan, you can go to where those kids live because those families that raised those kids understand that the only reason God gave us those kids was so that we could stamp the mark of God on them so that God would be transferred when they started their own family. If one goes out to Seattle, the same thing. And if one goes to L.A., the same thing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou see, Satan has put the stamp of his character on his kids. God wants the stamp of His character on our kids so that the kingdom of God expands. That\u2019s the reason for families. [Applause]\u00a0 You see, Plato wasn\u2019t right about much. He was right about this: \u201cAs goes the family,\u201d he said, \u201cthat\u2019s the mark of a society.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAdam and Eve rebelled against God. Next thing you know, Cain kills Abel. By the time you get to Genesis, Chapter 6, the world is good for nothing except to be destroyed. When Paul discusses the family, he doesn\u2019t want to discuss social issues. He wants to discuss theology: \u201cA husband ought to love his wife like Christ loved the church.\u201d\u00a0 How did Christ love the church?\u2014to death. So, if you\u2019re still alive, you\u2019re not finished yet. [Applause]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tA guy said to me, \u201cMy wife is crucifying me!\u201d\u00a0 I said to him, \u201cWell, you said you wanted to be like Jesus; didn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>13:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tA man sanctifies his wife like Christ sanctifies the church. How long does it take Christ to sanctify us?\u2014a lifetime\u2014and He eternally secures us. We never have to worry about a divorce, and we make Him unhappy regularly. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt says, \u201cThis kingdom woman is within the house.\u201d\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t mean she doesn\u2019t use her gifts and skills. It means she\u2019s so kingdom-oriented, though, she never does anything outside that compromises the priority of inside. It says, \u201cYour children will be like olive plants around your table,\u201d\u2014not olive trees. It takes 15 years for an olive plant to become an olive tree; but if you nurture it right, it\u2019ll produce olives for 2,000 more years. If you\u2019ve ever been to Israel, you\u2019ve seen the 2,000-year-old olive trees. Olives are used for everything. What he is saying is: \u201cIn the kingdom, when you invest in the future, you invest in olive plants to become olive trees.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf I go through a metal detector, it\u2019ll beep. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>14:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019ll say I have metal on me. I take the keys out of my pocket, walk back through, everything is fine. Sometimes, I walk through that same metal detector\u2014it doesn\u2019t beep\u2014it doesn\u2019t beep at all. One time, it beeps \/ one time, it doesn\u2019t beep. Why does it beep sometimes and not beep other times?\u00a0 Depends on who set it\u2014depends on who set it. There is a setting there. Some people set it more sensitively than others. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have a generation of young people today whose consciences don\u2019t beep. Problem is\u2014they weren\u2019t set. And make no mistake about it\u2014the consciences of our children must be set by their parents\u2014not by the governments, not by\u2014it\u2019s the role of parents to raise the children. [Applause]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn the kingdom, when a man and woman fear God, and they bring it home, then, they are to take it, collectively, to church. He says in Psalm 128: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>15:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cThe Lord bless you from Zion.\u201d Zion\u2014oh, what a great word in Scripture\u2014Zion!\u00a0 There\u2019s a hill called Mount Zion\u2014the holy hill. That\u2019s because, on the hill, sat the holy city\u2014the city of Zion\u2014and on the holy hill, in the holy city, sat the holy place of Zion called the Temple. You know what the Temple was?\u00a0 It was a place where a father took his family to let his family know, \u201cWe\u2019re part of something bigger.\u201d\u00a0 It was where a father took his family to let them know: \u201cFamily, it\u2019s not just about the four of us. We are part of covenanted group of people that goes way back to Ultra-Grandpa Abraham, passed on to Isaac and, then, through Jacob. We want to let you know there is continuity here, and there are people like us all over the place. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cAnd these people believe in the same God, have the same value system, and abide by the same law. I want to hook you up to them \/ I want to let you know: \u2018We are not in this by ourselves.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>16:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cAnd when you feel alone, and when you feel like everybody else is moving in another direction, I want to let you know there are a lot of folk who have not bowed their knee down to Baal: \u2018Let\u2019s go to Zion and get connected.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [Applause]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, you may say, \u201cBut you don\u2019t understand, that was the Old Testament,\u201d\u2014not according to the author of Hebrews\u2014because it says, when we come together to worship God, we come to Mount Zion, and we join angels, and the Old Testament saints, and the church of the firstborn to let it be known we are plugged into something bigger [paraphrase of Hebrews 12:22-23]. That\u2019s Zion\u2014that\u2019s something bigger. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYour nuclear family does not go to heaven as a unit\u2014you will die, your mate will die, your children will die\u2014but when Jesus Christ comes, He comes for His church because that is what this thing is all about. It is all about Zion. That\u2019s why there\u2019s no marriage in heaven\u2014you don\u2019t need illustration when you get the real thing. It\u2019s about Zion\u2014and therein, is one of my greatest burdens in ministry\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>17:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014the church. I mean, how can we have all these churches\u2014on all these corners, with all these members, and all these preachers, and all these deacons, and all these programs, and all these choirs\u2014and still have all this mess?\u00a0 There\u2019s a dead monkey on the line somewhere. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Audience: <\/strong>[Laughter] Yes, sir. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Tony: <\/strong>There\u2019s a problem in Zion!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Audience: <\/strong>Come on! Come on!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Tony: <\/strong>America has embassies all over the world. All over the world, you can find an American embassy. An American embassy is simply a little bit of America a long way from home. The values of America are located in the embassy. The staff of America is located in the embassy. If you are an American citizen, and you get in trouble in a foreign land, then, you can appeal to the embassy because it is there for your interests. If you want to move to America, you go to the embassy; and you make application because you want to become a citizen of this country. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat is the church supposed to be?\u00a0 A little bit of heaven a long way from home so that the values of heaven are experienced in history. If you want to know what heaven thinks about race, come visit Zion. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>18:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you want to know what heaven thinks about economics, come visit Zion. If you want to know what heaven thinks about the family, come visit Zion. If you want to know what heaven thinks about justice, come visit Zion because what Zion is\u2014it\u2019s an embassy of eternity, located in time, so that time reveals what eternity ought to look like or what eternity looks like so that you can emulate it in history. That\u2019s Zion\u2014it\u2019s Zion. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt is the place where the people of God understand, \u201cWe are connected.\u201d The suburban church can\u2019t make it in the kingdom without the urban church and the inner-city church. And the inner-city church and the urban church can\u2019t make it without the suburban church. No, you don\u2019t understand. No one church reaches any city\u2014it is the combination of those who hold faith in our Jesus Christ who decides that the kingdom is bigger than our location. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Audience: <\/strong>Yes. [Applause]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Tony: <\/strong>It is bigger than our location. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe closes by moving from Zion to the community: \u201cMay the Lord bless you from Zion.\u201d\u00a0 And then, he says: \u201cAnd may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>19:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014that\u2019s the city\u2014\u201call the days of your life. Indeed, may you see your children\u2019s children. Peace be upon Israel!\u201d\u2014that\u2019s the whole nation. Do you see where he went?\u00a0 He went from the individual to the family, from the family to the church; and then, when the church gives the benediction, it goes public. It goes public\u2014Jerusalem sees now. There\u2019s no room for secret agent Christians here. There\u2019s no room for spiritual CIA representatives here. I mean, everybody else is coming out of the closet; we might as well come out too. There is a call here for the public witness of the people of God. [Applause]\u00a0 What he is saying is: \u201cThat any church\u2014Zion\u2014that doesn\u2019t affect Jerusalem, the city, has missed the kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy time is up. Brothers and sisters, one day there is a big show coming to town\u2014God is the producer, the Holy Spirit is the director, Jesus Christ is the superstar; and it will be a worldwide production\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>20:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014it\u2019s called the kingdom of God\u2014but in the meantime, He left you and me here as previews of coming attractions \/ hot clips of the upcoming show. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Audience: <\/strong>Yes, sir. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Tony: <\/strong>So, when people see how hot these evangelicals\u2019 clips are, they may raise the question, \u201cWhere can they buy a ticket to the whole performance?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s when we can tell them: \u201cYou don\u2019t have to buy a ticket. The price has already been paid.\u201d\u00a0 [Applause]\u00a0 God bless you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Couldn\u2019t have said it better myself. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>There you go\u2014Dr. Tony Evans talking about living as kingdom-minded men and women. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>So, as a young man \/ young lady who, maybe, has been forced to listen to this broadcast by your parents, are you one of those kind of kingdom people?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>21:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you are a husband, a wife, a mom, a dad, a grandparent\u2014what about you?\u00a0 Are you about the kingdom?\u00a0 Are you evaluating the success of your life at how God is working in and through you to perform His purposes in your life?\u2014and in the lives of others? This is a <em>great<\/em> opportunity that you have for life. Don\u2019t miss Jesus Christ\u2014and giving Him rulership and authority in your life\u2014to make you all that He designed you to be. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>I ought to mention here that what we were able to play of Tony Evans\u2019 message today on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> was just a portion. If our listeners would like to hear the entire message, it is included in the online version of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. You can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, and hear the online version. And of course, you can download these radio programs for free anytime you like. Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com to hear Tony Evans\u2019 entire message, which is taken from \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPsalm 128. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>22:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, we have some friends who are celebrating their 22<sup>nd<\/sup> wedding anniversary today. You know, here at FamilyLife, we\u2019re all about anniversaries\u20142016 is our 40<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary as a ministry. But as we have said many times, it\u2019s not our anniversary we want to focus on\u2014it\u2019s all of the anniversaries that are happening, year in and year out, because of what God has enabled us to do through the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we want to give a shout out to Jeff and Connie Abdo, who live in Omaha, Nebraska, and who listen on KLCV radio\u201422 years of marriage today for the Abdos. \u201cCongratulations!\u201d to you guys. <br><br>We are hoping to help many of our listeners celebrate an extra special wedding anniversary this year. We\u2019ve got some ideas for you. In fact, if you\u2019ll go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, and give us your anniversary date, then, as your anniversary draws closer, we\u2019ll share with you some suggestions on how this can be your best anniversary ever. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>23:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve got some emails and text messages we\u2019ll send to you. Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and give us your wedding anniversary date; and we\u2019ll help you celebrate your best anniversary ever. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>And by the way, thanks to those of you who support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> and make all that we\u2019re doing here possible. We are hoping, during the month of February, that there might be 20 new families in every state where <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is heard who would step forward and say, \u201cWe\u2019d like to join you and become Legacy Partners with the ministry\u2014monthly supporters of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u201d If you\u2019d be one of those 20 in the state where you live, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click the link that says, \u201cDONATE.\u201d\u00a0 There is information there about how you can become a Legacy Partner. Or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and just mention that you\u2019d like to join us and be a Legacy Partner. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>Now, with all of that, we are done for today. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>24:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThanks for joining us. Hope you and your family are able to worship together in church this weekend, and I hope you can join us back on Monday. Barbara Rainey is going to be here. She has got a brand-new book we\u2019re going to be telling you about on Monday. It\u2019s called <em>Letters to My Daughters<\/em>, and we\u2019re going to spend time talking about the early years of the Rainey marriage. I hope you can tune in for it\u2014it\u2019s going to be a lot of fun. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2016 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/303870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303870"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=303870"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=303870"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=303870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}