Touching Heaven to Change Earth

Let's get down long before he makes himself located Dr. Tony Evans talked about God's purpose behind our problem and wants to know you. This is the alternative Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative when your only options are bad one doesn't seem to be any way out of the circumstances you're facing. Dr. Evan says God may have you exactly where he wants you why. Let's find out. As we join him for today's lesson 15 were told in verse three. For many days. Israel was without the true God without a teaching priest of without law. Verse five says in those times there was no peace to him went out to him came in for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the land nation was crushed by nation and city by city for God troubled them with every kind of distress. It says that was no peace to him who went on to him came out. No peace means they were living in conflict is conflict in says city rose up against NH and nation rose up against nation that was cultural conflict will say city urban conflict racial conflict community and police conflict. On and on in our cities where safety is a big issue that is conflict that is nation rose up against nation, international conflict right now Washington can get along Washington Democrats and Republicans are at each other's throats. That is conflict and adjusts silence for a while and it bounces back on and on and no personal conflict, family conflict, cultural conflict alone and on and on and many disturbances.

It says affected all the inhabitants of the land. You and I are affected by not only what's happening with us. But what happens to others that affect us many disturbances. That was the situation but here's where it gets interesting the end of verse six says for God troubled him for God troubled him with their distresses in the first six women I would've thought with all that chaos it was that the devil troubled them.

I would've thought with all this confusion verse six. What is by saying the devil troubled them with every kind of distress, but it says God troubled Jamal to mess with your thinking a little bit because a lot of things you blame it on the devil is God. There was no peace the family disintegration, conflict, urban conflict, international conflict, God said, if you will blame somebody blame me for a lot of us of blaming the wrong person because here's how it works in the world.

If God is your problem. Only God is your solution. God hears the calls. Only God is that you you say but wait a minute.

How can all this evil be given over to God because God uses the devil to carry out his dirty work because even the devil is not the devil.

The devil is God's devil of the devil can only do what God allows him to do so even if the devil is messing with you with my divine permission for God troubled with every kind of distress we put it another way, the spiritual always precedes the natural the spiritual governs the natural the heavenly determines the earthly.

So if you have an issue on our that has been caused by heaven, trying to solve it on earth is a waste of time if it's an issue on earth caused by heaven, God troubled them. You need to come to earth to fix the issue on earth that heaven is responsible for it. Even if it's a problem because they were living at distress. What most people do is spend all their time on earth trying to fix her with the problem didn't originate in or on earth for God troubled them with every kind of distress or as I like to say everything visible and physical is preceded by something invisible and spiritual. So if you want to fix the visible and physical. You must address the invisible and spiritual.

That is the root of the visible and physical that you are needing to address for God troubled them with every kind of distress.

He gives three reasons. In verse three for this calamity for many days, that is for an extended period of time. Israel was without the true God. Israel was not without religion. Israel was not without church attendance. Israel was not without choir singing. Israel was not without religious programming.

It says Israel was without the true God. The key word is the word true that The name of God. They Praying to God for Religious activities that were doing all of that without the true God. Evidently you can have church without God evidently quiet without God preaches without God's programs without God carried on their religious activity, but with out the truth of body attended church with God.

The biblical word for a false God is the biblical word for a false God, and I will is getting now person. Please see all thought that you look to as your source and I will is any person, place, thing, or thought, that becomes your source you look to it first for your solutions that that figure you look to first as your source is now your God in Third World countries, we would condemn their idolatry. They may worship trees or rocks or nature. The sun we would condemn that. But in the West. We have designer items will worship trees and rocks. We have American items look at some items that we have that have replaced the true God. We got the I love all, let's see race where Mark, trumps God when people get offended when you correct that blackness with the Bible without get offended when you correct their whiteness with the Bible because that race is more important than God's where they wind up worshiping blackbean beautiful white being right rather than both having to be biblical whenever your race schedule source of your ultimate identity, your race is and I know you are a false worship. Politics is a design I where you think God rides the Baxa but don't do on politics is a design title when you're more Democrat than God when you're more Republican than God and not to kill 43 God says how did you bring the throne of your king and set it next to my throne, like we, when God speaks elephants got to sit down and got the backup. It's okay to be a Democrat.

It's okay to be a Republican as long as the Bible can all believe all about God has spoken on this issue and the party must adjustment the kingdom of God worthy worshiping a false God, what verse three tells us is like a thousand was not a teaching priest teaching priest didn't say there were no preachers to say they were talking about not talking smack says because the priests were teaching maybe nobody true God was the purpose of the declaration of God's word is to tell you what God says not endorse what you think you don't know enough to think when God spoke, you're just what it says not what you think we are people tampering with the word of God and ultimately it's because that not enough people in the pulpit declaring the land the Lord to give you human opinions.

My opinion nobody's opinion when it conflicts with God is to be considered is truth. The Bible says let God be true and every man alive, but because the Pope. It's gotten raggedy when it came to proclaiming the word of God. The people were raggedy when it came to the bill of God. God is been down in the culture because it dumbed down in the church about his problems that we have in our culture is because the church Christians have not risen to the occasion to be what God is called us to be and is just showing up in the public square. So what is our responsibility as leaders Reaven friends Dr. Evans will tell us when he comes back in a moment to continue this first lesson series called igniting kingdom. Prayer this two-volume 12 message collection will teach you how to pray with the power that can move mountains, solve problems, heal relationships and even change God's mind.

Contact us today and get your own copy of this complete audio series on CD or instantly downloadable MP3s along with our thanks when you make a contribution to help keep Tony's teaching coming your way on the station get a copy today when you visit Tony Evans.org or reach out to our resource Center for some in person help at 1-800-800-3222 that's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will be back right after this God's great masterpieces Alaska this coming 6 to 13 experience in this paradise Tony Evans anywhere in the not an extremely simple tampering serious economies and experiences in the sink.

Creativity unfolded after Evans and either gave this speech on the sixth of because rinsing filling reserve your spot if you like this will and personal distress responsibility is to take the word show you what God says about whatever you dealing with give you practical steps to apply what God said. Then ask the Holy Spirit to take you practical steps of obedience based on what God said to bring change in your life if you came to me with your family and your family is falling apart. I'm supposed take the word of the legal believe is posted word show you what God says about what you're doing with your family give you practical steps to implement what God said about what you're dealing with and ask the Holy Spirit to take your obedience to what God says and bring about change in your home. If a group of translators come to me that my church is falling apart until take Bible.

So what God says about whatever the cause of the church falling apart you practical steps for applying the word of God.

Whatever the situation is that ask the Holy Spirit to take the obedience based on his word and bring about unity, harmony, and up benefit to the church.

What happens if you donation is found in the pot you don't change books you take the same since the Bible says God created government and you show them the pause based on the word of God, of what the nation is about life issues. Immigration all these issues with hillocks.

The Bible has answers to all those issues with… The Bible and the simple answers to critically answer the door because of the life because change books that have to have all the long meetings to try to come up with solutions but no change books you shuttle God says about withdrawing the nation practical steps to limit what God says in the nation Holy Spirit to take their obedience and to bring about change in the nation because God knows how to do that in the hall nation. When folks pay attention to what he says and begin to implement that what we got is a generational focal change books. Use this book for something use human understanding for other things is popular opinion of the things they wind up living in distress. Bible has become for many people, like the Queen of England. She's got position but no Powell will carry will hold it up will put on our phones but it doesn't have authority and trust me, God is get the church house to fix the White House if he can even get his people to pay attention sometimes is not that we did not a word we mix it. Bible says you do nullify my word with your tradition when you start adding stuff that I didn't and taken away stuff that the book of Revelation closes with a curse because it is anyone who adds to this word open takes away from it. When we try to mix human opinion with divine revelation just confided occurs. So I'm trying the first thing he says is there was no law there was no law when there is no true God. No teaching priest, no rules, people make up their own rules that you have no rules have their own made-up rules. No people come up with for what lesson I know my truth. Truth know this is the truth was not truth wanted one equals 211 equals two. When you feel it when you don't feel it to okay how long you been raised to believe one and one equals three. Wanted one will always be to just the way it is.

You have to adjust your mathematical formula to the stated axiom of what one on one equals we want to just truth. We want to make truth relevant okay to be relevant as long as you not changing truth and truth is whatever God says something about what he speaks. That's truth of God says if that is the word about it. Science just has to catch up was their solution. Now that you understand how were worth the spiritual government. God has called you don't know anybody who can fix unless it's God using that person.

Verse four gives us a solution. Verse four says, but in their distress, they turn to the Lord God of Israel, they saw him and he let them find him keyword distress in their distress, they turn to the Lord God of Israel is the same word in verse six God calls their distress resources but in their distress, they turn to the Lord God, which means God will lead bad enough, long enough to wake up. Don't let us to let us get into all the consequences about since it will let you go down and down and down and down. Still, the only way you can look he won't let anybody fix it. Any money be able to get you out of the distress go down distress when things got deep enough that enough long enough, says they called on the Lord God. What is name is Paulo that's in the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth that Yahweh will Jehovah's relationship sleep. Everybody will Elohim to reprint all GF Elohim Georgia Power structure policy, but not everybody wants Jehovah to everybody wants God's power, but not everybody wants God's relationship you can get the problem if you don't want the relationship.

You don't want to see what you want. Deliverance you don't want closeness, but you want blessing financially. You don't want closeness that you want God to get you out of the situation when they wanted a relationship that got access to power. Just like you can go to God and say show me your problem why you do not pursue a relationship. Sometimes God has to let you get down long enough before he makes himself located so you say I'm struggling and I can't find them all God will do little Honda stride length what you know because he wants to know that you want him and stuff to go to church to get God's gift doctrines will come back in a moment with a humorous personal story illustrates how God uses stress to draw us closer to him first so don't forget you can get all 12 lessons from Tony's two-volume audio series igniting kingdom prayer there. Yours is or thank you gift when you make a donation to help keep this listener supported teaching coming your way each day make the arrangements today by calling 1-800-800-3222 or visit Tony Evans.org you can sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional and browse through a huge collection of helpful books and other biblical resources.

That's Tony Evans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Throughout history, there are certain things that haven't changed one of those is that people still need the Lord today is much as ever.

Dr. Evans believes when we share kindness with one another were doing was a good thing and a godly thing that helps point those around us to God's kingdom, we encourage you to look for opportunities to be his ambassador for your deliberate acts of kindness each day will coming up tomorrow. Dr. Evans will explain why Christians often have a hard time realizing they have all they need to overcome life's problems right now though his back to wrap up today's message with a humorous story from his younger days. So God created his sister Evans not met her she was not responding at the rate to which I was accustomed girlfriend was moving a little slow that this is not so involved what is called Winokur music part and a roller coaster did this roller coaster would like a lot to begin. Like was going jump off and turn real quick. I say give me two tickets we got on the roller coaster for two. But while the ride got closer she got out of town. The ride was over. You thought only one person got home it was about to take about two tickets to create distress because I knew the worst things got closer to get sometimes God has to put us on a roller coaster ride so the removal/I don't know distress that you away closer so that you like Jacob and say I'm not going let you go until you answer me when you do that when you get close to want to live for him want to please you want to honor him want to exalt him.

Draw near to him, and opens up the alternative. Dr. Tony brought possible by the generous contributions from listeners like