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 that you want. This is the alternative Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, 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 that outlaw. Verse five says in those times there was no peace to him, who 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 conflicts 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.

The Washington Democrats and Republicans are at each other's throats. That is conflict and adjusts in silence for a while and it bounces back on and on and no personal conflict, family conflict, cultural conflict on them or the owner or the 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 him.

I would've thought with all this confusion verse six what 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 them 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 that 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 him 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 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, place, 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, and God can't be second decay will not be second enough to know how to be number two so anything that becomes your source is your God. They didn't have the true God, but they have religion 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 that sleep race where Mark, comes God.

When people get offended when you correct that blackness with the Bible without get offended when you correct that whiteness with the Bible because their race is more important than God's where they wind up worshiping blackbean beautiful white being right rather than both having to be biblical without the race schedule source of your ultimate identity, your race is an idol and you are a false worship.

Politics is a design I when you think God rides the Baxa but don't do on politics is a design I know when you will more Democrat God when you're more Republican than God and not secure, 43, God says how do you bring to the throne of your king and set it next to my throne points when God speaks elephants deficit down and… The backup is okay to be a Democrat. It's okay to be a Republican as long as the Bible can overrule leave both God has spoken on this issue in the body must adjustment the kingdom of God. Why were they worshiping a false God, what verse three tells us like a big thousand was not a teaching priest teaching priest didn't say there were no preachers said they were talking about not talking smack says because the trees were teaching that nobody true God wants 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 is spoken. You're just what it says not what you think we are people of tampering with the word of God and ultimately it's because they're 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 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 raggedy when it came to their bill of God. God is been dumbed 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. Leaders Reaven friends Dr. Evans will tell us when he comes back in a moment to continue this first lesson in a 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 consecrate master thesis Alaska this coming 6 to 13 experiences and supplant paradise. Tony Evans anywhere in the not an extremely simple tampering with serious economies like tiny experiences in the sink. Creativity unfolded from Dr. Evans and either get this teacher on the sixth of the kitchen today because rinsing filling a plan to reserve your spot if you like this will and personal distress. My 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 another 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.

Then ask the Holy Spirit to take your obedience to what God says and bring about change in your home difficult when translators come to me that my church is falling apart until thick Bible. So what God says about whatever the cause of the church falling upon you practical steps for applying the word of God.

Whatever the situation is that after Holy Spirit to take the obedience based on his word and bring about unity, harmony, and up benefit to the church. What happens if information is found in the pot you don't change books you take to save up 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 like all emissions immigration all these issues with the Bible has answers to all those issues with the Bible and yet simple answers to correctly answer the don't cause the life of God always answers because change books that have to have all these long meetings to try to come up with solutions but no change books.

You show the what God says about withdrawing the nation practical steps to limit what God says in the nation after Holy Spirit to take their obedience and to bring about change information because God knows how to do that in the whole nation.

When folks pay attention to what he says and begin to implement that what we got of the generational focal change books. Use this book for something use human understanding for other things is popular opinion of the things and they wind up living in distress. The Bible has become for many people, like the Queen of England. She's got position but no Powell so will carry will hold it up will put on our phones but it doesn't have authority and trust me God knuckles get the church house to fix the White House if you 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 take away stuff that the book of Revelation closes with a curse because it is anyone who adds to this word open takes away from when we try to mix human opinion with divine revelation just confide in the first so I'm trying the first thing he says is there was no law there was no law. See, when there's no true God no teaching priest, no rules, people make up their own rules that you have no rules or 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 2112 when you feel it when you don't feel it is to what I wanted was to when you like it wanted one equals two. When you don't like how long you been raised to believe one and one equals three. Because there is a mathematical axiomatic reality that wanted one will always be to just the way it is.

So when it comes to studying math you have to adjust your mathematical formula to the stated axiom of what one and one equals okay show where you want to go to people that want to play. I want to push the bike he would see.

Sounds like that's that's the right direct okay do it again.

I want to see okay now you want to press press a Christian see him started pressing okay now present Christian see, but it's the same day. That's because truth just if your natural C is still true to say your president still see because of the constant God is true no matter what your Christian because God has absolute standard by which reality is measured. We will just truth. We want to make truth relevant okay to be relevant as long as you not changing true and truth is whatever God says something about when he speaks that's truth of God says it, that is the word about science just has to catch up with Vicki doing good you can eat candy that don't recall the says that was no law that was no standard and postmodernity. Postmodernism, that is the essence of postmodernism, postmodernism, which is the core of today simply says there are no absolute truths. You just make it up as you go along. So marriage is what you say. How you were born is not well so you got hold of classification which means you got a whole generation of children will be raised. Computers, because even if you thought you knew you were you get around the wrong foot. Not long enough for now confuse you about. So you say this this thing is a big deal and the tragedy is we have teaching priest will we have members in charge of the florescent. Well, think of all that know what you think with what God says what God said.

Now, having said that I was still like, without compassion, we are to be compassionate we are to grow. People can work with people but is compassion without compromise is not just compassion with compromised his compassion without compromise because people need to be taught and guided and helped but you don't dumb down God standard use a little dumbbell God standard for money for popularity notoriety, no rules will rules your own rules. No standard was their solution. Now that you understand how were worth the spiritual government. God has caused it. 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 let it get bad enough, long enough to wake up. Don't let 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. But in their distress when things got deep enough that enough long enough, says they called on the Lord God. What is Elohim is Powell that's in the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth that Yahweh or Jehovah's relationship see everybody will Elohim (all gift Elohim social policy structure policy, but not everybody wants Jehovah see everybody wants God's power, but not everybody wants God's relationship to get the power if you want the relationship.

You don't want to see what 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 on the access to power. Just like you can go to God and say show me your problem why you do not pursue a relationship when they return to the Lord God. He let them find when I kiss, a small town, we play hide and seek.

When a really small.

The conference really couldn't confirm because I got had no way that they could locate me and then after a while they would get like really frustrated looking and looking they can find.

When I got like really frustrated and want to quit want to give up cannot hear them, on data, on where you I'd make a little noise, or I ruffle something I give them a clue to where I was. In other words, when they got down enough, I'd make myself locatable.

Sometimes God has to let you get down long enough before he makes himself located so you say I'm struggling and I can find them all.

God what you little Honda but I'm struggling what you know because he wants to know that you want him and not just wanted stuff to go to church to get God's work of God. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with a humorous personal story that 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 our 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 was coming up next time.

If God already knows everything. Why would he ever have reason to change his mind will find out as Dr. Evans takes a look at when and why the Lord chooses to be flexible right now though he's 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 at which I was accustomed girlfriend was moving a little slow. That emphasis so in both what is the particle is a part in a roller coaster that did this roller coaster would like a lot to begin.

Like was going to jump off and turn real quick. I say give me two tickets we got on the roller coaster for two. The while I got closer she got the ride was over.

You thought only one person got home it was not about to take it.

I bought two tickets to create distress because I knew the worst things got closer, she get six sometimes God has to put us on a roller coaster ride so the removal/I don't 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 him want to honor him want to exalt him And opens up the alternative with Dr. Tony made possible by the generous contributions listeners like you