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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually. #tonyevans #tonyevanssermon #Transformation

when you say God has all of me when you

say the world has none of me you have

done the greatest single thing you can

do and that is clear up your confused

mind you see the reason why we’re

confused is because we are divided James

has a word for that he calls it

double-mindedness

we’re trying to live in Two Worlds at

the very same time

[Music]

I love Paul because

because his commitment was so deep and

we’re all growing in this but his

commitment was so deep you could never

intimidate him

they came in one time and said we’re

going to kill you he said that’s cool to

die again

I’ll be better off let’s get over with

that nonchalant about it we’re not gonna

kill you we’re gonna let you live

he said that’s cool to live is Christ

you see if you kill me I’m gonna go live

with Christ if you let me live I’m gonna

stay here and serve Christ

so I said well well now you’re too cool

for that so so let me come up with

another we’re not going to kill you or

let you live we’re gonna make you suffer

he said that’s cool because I reckon

that the suffering of this present time

is not worthy to be compared with the

glory that shall be revealed unto me

you let me you you you you you kill me

I’m gonna go to be with Christ you let

me live I’m gonna stay here and serve

Christ you make me suffer I’m gonna get

more reward from Christ so it don’t

matter to me it’s all Christ anyway

it was a total consuming

life for Christ

and that is your worship

God wants you to deliver to him you and

me

that’s the first thing and positioning

yourself

there’s a second thing God must own all

of you verse two the world must own none

of you

be not conformed to this world

the word Greek word for conform was what

a Potter did with clay

a Potter takes clay and he squeezes it

here shapes it here moves it here so

that the Clay comes out looking like

what the Potter intends

so if the Potter wants a cup he squeezes

it so it’s shaped like a cup or a bowl

or salsa or a plate

he said don’t let the world squeeze you

here mold you there so that you wind up

looking like what it says you ought to

be

you know one of the reasons many of us

haven’t found out our calling because

we’ve been letting the world teach us

what success is

and since we’ve been following what the

world’s definition is we’ve been

climbing to the top of the ladder

discovering it’s leaning against the

wrong wall

we’ve discovered it has not answered our

reason for being it may give you money

it may give you a house it may give you

cars it may give you clothes but it

doesn’t give you a reason for being

and your calling is your Divine reason

for being

you have a reason to get up in the

morning

because you have a calling to fulfill

and a charge to keep

so don’t let the world be a Potter over

your life

what do we mean by world the Greek word

for the word world is cosmos

we get our English word cosmetic from

that word

the Greek word Cosmos meant to arrange

or to put in order

so when a lady goes before a mirror and

says let me put on a face she’s very

biblical at that point

for some things need to be rearranged

moving right along the cosmos

can be more formally defined as

that system headed by Satan that leaves

God out

to be worldly you don’t have to be a

drunkard or a drug addict

to be worldly you don’t have to be gay

or or some other kind of uh perversion

that you would make a big deal about all

you have to do to be worldly is excuse

God

you know you often get that college

students often ask this question but not

limited to them about the gray areas of

life

can we do this can we do that

well the easiest way to answer that is

to remember whatever you do God is doing

with you is he having as much fun as you

are

or must you leave him outside

the cosmos is a kingdom headed by Satan

that opposes

the program of God

you know it’s worldly because it doesn’t

want God in it

that that means it’s the world now you

have to live in the world you cannot

operate as a Hermit somewhere

you must live in this world

but God does not want this world

squeezing you and molding you so that

its value system becomes your value

system its goals becomes your goals its

dreams become your dreams and if you

spend all of your time letting this

world Define your calling you’ll never

hear God’s calling

because the kingdom

that you are called to

is in total antithesis to the kingdom

that you were called from

and if you want to stop spending your

wheels year after year after year

and I’m not talking about your job and

your career we’re going to talk about

that how does your career relate to your

calling but I’m now talking about a

sense of purposelessness

reason for being

you must clearly identify which kingdom

you’re hanging with

if you’ve been reading the papers lately

then you know the name Robert Hansen

he was an American FBI agent working for

the Russians

he was selling our secrets to the other

side

they denied him Baal

they would not Grant him bail because of

his treason

and the evidence against him

you see he like many Christians belonged

to one Kingdom but serviced another

do I need to say that again he like many

Christians belonged to one Kingdom but

service another

and the kingdom that he serviced is out

to get this one

many of us belong to heaven but we

regularly service hell

and we wonder why God won’t bail us out

of our circumstances

why he won’t bail us out of our

situations why should he let you go free

when he knows the secrets of his kingdom

are going to be made available to the

kingdom of another

why should he call you

to know

that your service for him will be used

to help the enemy overcome him

if such were possible

had dinner last night with my daughter

and future son-in-law

and if I were to put this discussion

into that framework we talked about the

exchange of Kingdoms

for when she gets married she will move

from my kingdom

to his kingdom

and I was listening to him tell her how

things will be

in the New Kingdom

she would then often look at me

when there was a graphic difference

in Kings

and all I could tell her was

after April 14th

you have to follow this new King in this

new kingdom

because we’re going to have holy mess

if she tries to bring me into her new

kingdom

so it is God has saved us into a new

kingdom

he doesn’t want you running back to Papa

the Old King

when you’re in the New Kingdom

especially for money

he says be not conformed to this world

don’t let this world

control you

so all of you must belong to God none of

you must belong to the world but we’re

relating this to calling because this is

positioning you

he then gives a third thing in chapter

two excuse me chapter 12 verse 2 be

transformed by the renewing of your mind

be transformed by the renewing of your

mind

renewing of your mind key

the word transformed in the Greek text

is passive

passive means it’s not something you do

it’s something done upon you by another

if I say I I went to the store that’s

something I did if I say I was taken to

the store that’s passive somebody else

took me

he says be transformed the passive

in other words

when you say God has all of me when you

say the world has none of me you have

done the greatest single thing you can

do and that is clear up your confused

mind

you see the reason why we’re confused

is because we often live in a world of

spiritual schizophrenia

we are divided James has a word for that

he calls it double-mindedness

we’re trying to live in Two Worlds at

the very same time

he says but when you’ve cleared the

static when when you’ve arranged things

properly then there will be a process by

which the Holy Spirit begins to work on

your mind because you will discover your

calling in your mind

that’s where the will of God will be

revealed to you God will deal with your

thinking

do you know the main the way that the

Holy Spirit speaks to you today

beyond the word of God that’s the

foundational way but the main way he

illuminates or or applies the word of

God to you is in your thoughts

he wants to get access to your mind

because really as a man think if that is

what he is

he says you need a transformed mind so

the holy spirit is free to give you his

thoughts

that’s a great great promise in John 15

John 15. he says if you abide in me and

my words abide in you then you can ask

me whatever you will and my father will

do it

that seems like a pretty open-ended deal

right you abided me my father abides my

word abides in you and then ask me

whatever you want and and it’s gonna be

okay

how can he leave it so open it’s very

simple

the holy spirit because he’s part of the

trinitarian godhead always and only

thinks what Jesus thinks because these

two are one

Jesus only thinks what the father thinks

because the Jesus and the father won

whatever the father is thinking Jesus is

thinking it at the same time the holy

spirit is thinking it because all three

are one they are one in essence they

operate simultaneously

and always in agreement

so when the father thinks something the

Holy Spirit thinks something

because Jesus is thinking the very same

thing

now when you get on your knees and pray

in order for it to come out of your

mouth it must first come from your brain

you must think it before you can speak

it

so that whatever you pray for has to be

thought first

now watch this

when the Holy Spirit transforms your

mind

you begin to think his thoughts after

him

you begin to think what he is thinking

in you because he is recording over the

old tape that you used to listen to

and his thoughts Holy Ghost thoughts are

now transforming the tape recorder of

your mind so that you are now thinking

differently but whatever you are

thinking that the holy spirit is

thinking in you Jesus is thinking it at

the same time because Jesus and the Holy

Spirit are one but whatever Jesus is

thinking that the holy spirit is

thinking and that you are now thinking

the father must think it too because the

Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit all

are thinking the same thing at the same

time and that same thing is now being

fought in your mind therefore when you

get on your knees to pray for it they’ve

got to answer it because they made you

think it in order to ask it in the first

place

[Applause]

God wants to transform the thoughts

and then he says and you will prove

that’s a great word it means you’ll see

worked out

a great Lynch word a great transitional

word you’ll see unveiled

proven demonstrated

the will of God

in other words you position yourself

a good quarterback

can hit a receiver even though he’s got

the enemy teams defensive back riding on

his back if the receiver is positioned

right

one of the things they look for in

receivers is not only speed Michael

Irvin was not the fastest receiver but

he could get position

and therefore he was a Target you could

still hit

God can hit you

if you’re positioned right

and you will see proven worked out

the will of God

you will see God guide you through your

new thinking into his plan

if you are a sailor who knows how to

handle a sailboat you understand trying

to get the wind to change directions is

not a good idea

you might be out there a long time

you have to adjust

your sale to the direction of the wind

and then the Wind Blows the boat in

concert to where it’s going God wants to

give you a calling but only if your

sales are set to the direction he’s

blowing

to where he wants you to go

what he wants you to do

what he wants you to be