TONY EVANS HOUSE
Tony Evans - Living Faith
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Private, Christian, affordable, visit GCU.edu. You need somebody in your life who's not only willing to pray for you, but who's willing to be part of the solution to the very problem they're praying for. That's why the Bible says faith with our works is dead. You don't just wanna talk to God about it. You want God to use you to the extent that he can to do something about the thing that you are praying for. There's not too many of us who haven't felt like God made a mistake. And we wanna challenge it. Maybe we're too scared to say it, but we know what it is to feel it, to think it, and to even talk to other people about it. In fact, when something like this happens, you're too scared to feel too good about something nice that happens. 'Cause you get a little worried that something's gonna go wrong. It's not gonna be real, or it's gonna be snatched back. And so you wanna challenge, flag. Such is the case of our next experience with the Prophet Elijah as we look at experiencing the supernatural. Our goal is for the supernatural to become real to you, through you, for you, and from you. Now, merely as a theological concept, but as an experiential reality based on the word of God. Now, this woman has a lot to shout about. I mean, she was down to her last meal. The Prophet comes along, tells her what God says. She does what God says, and all of a sudden, she's living large. All of a sudden, the last meal becomes an introduction to a whole bunch of meals because of the promises of God. That had to be an exciting house to be in to see that supernatural move of God. But when you know it, just when there's something to shout about. Just when you wanna get your praise on. Just when you wanna celebrate the goodness of God and the land of the living, we come to verse 17. In chapter 17, verse 17, it says, and it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick, and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. Wait a minute. God saved this boy's life. He was down to his last meal, and he and his mom were gonna starve to death. God performs a miracle, he feeds them, and after a passing of time, the boy gets sick. And his sickness gets worse and worse and worse until there is no breath left in him. That's another way of saying he died. His sickness was so severe that life escaped him. That's our problem, that's the situation we're in. When God saved you yesterday and kills you today. So, now that we have our problem, this woman shares her perspective. So, she said to Elijah, verse 18, what do I have to do with you? Oh man, of God, I hope you heard that. What do I have to do with you? Translation, I don't want nothing to do with you. What do I have to do with you? I don't want to, yeah, I know you the preacher. I know you the man of God, but I want nothing to do with you. You have come up to me to bring my iniquity, to remembrance and to put my son to death. So, she's got a bad situation. She's feeling guilty over her sin that she thinks has caused this situation. So, let's get this straight. Her circumstances were controlling her theology. She was believing what she was believing because she was feeling what she was feeling. She's feeling disappointed. She's lost her son. She wraps those two up in a nice bow and she concludes that I'm going to believe this because I see that. I see my son's died. You're reminding me of my sin. And that's why I'm in this mess today. Let me start by saying, never let your circumstances determine your theology. Because when your circumstances control what you believe rather than what God says controlling what you believe, you will always succumb to your circumstances when those circumstances are negative. Now, let's make this clear. You do not skip the reality of your circumstance. The boy had lost his breath. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest. Life comes at you fast, which is why it's important to find some time to relax a little you time. Enter Chumba Casino with no download required. You can jump on any time, anywhere for the chance to redeem some serious prizes. So, treat yourself with Chumba Casino and play over 100 online casino style games all for free. Go to ChumbaCasino.com to collect your free welcome bonus. Sponsored by Chumba Casino, no purchase necessary. VGW Group, void where prohibited by law. 18 plus terms and conditions apply. - America, we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. By honoring your sacred vocation of education, you impact your family, your friends, and your community. At Grand Canyon University, our online bachelors, masters, and doctoral education degree programs, allow you to balance online coursework with observational and hands-on experience in the field. Find your purpose at GCU, private, Christian, affordable. Visit GCU.edu. - The boy was sick, the boy died. So you don't skip and make up something that's not true, but the truth of her circumstance was dictating what she was to believe about God, about Elijah, and not only about God, but Elijah, about her past. 'Cause her iniquity is all up in her face now. So here we have a dilemma. A dilemma we've all faced or no others who faced it. Elijah then takes Gopher, verse 19. He says to her, "Give me your son." Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living and laid him on his own bed. Mm. We got a hurtin' mama here. And any mother in this situation is gonna be hurting. But we've got a man of God here and he says, "Give me your pain. "Hend me your problem." Let me say something to you. Everybody needs somebody in your life who cares enough about you to pick up a burden that's too heavy for you to handle. Everybody needs somebody in their life who loves you, cares enough for you, understands your pain, who's close enough to you. The Bible says, "Bare ye one another's burdens." The great tragedy is if you don't have someone or if you refuse to be the someone. We have two extremes today in God's kingdom. We have people who are struggling with God who won't allow anybody in their circle to pick up their burden. And we've got Christians who are too selfish to be a burden bearer for somebody else. But this struggling woman had somebody close enough even though she was struggling theologically and struggling spiritually who didn't just give her a sermon he gave her a hand. He said, "Hend the boy to me." If the kingdom of God, if the church of Jesus Christ is gonna be authentic and real, then you're gonna have to have both parties. You're gonna have to have hurting people and you're gonna have to have men and women of God who pick up the burden. When it is crushing somebody and life has done them in. He says, "Hend the boy to me." He takes the boy upstairs to his room or his apartment and notice what happens. - Dr. Evans will be right back after this important announcement. - How we relate to and how we treat other people is a big deal to God. And that's why kindness must be prioritized in the lives of Christians, both to other Christians, but also to the society at launch to counteract the meanness and vitriol that is so evident in our world. That's why we at the Urban Alternative have launched the Kindness and the Culture Campaign. It's a campaign to incentivize Christians to at least once a week do a kind act for someone who needs it and to do it in a way that brings God and attaches, I'll save you to it. And you do that through praying with the person for whom you join the act and then sharing the good news of the gospel with them as well. We even have a tool you can use. It's our Kindness card. This is a card you can give a person after you've done an act of kindness, prayed with them, shared the good news. There's even a gospel presentation on the card so that they know that you care and that they can be incentivized to pass Kindness on to someone else. You can go on TonyEvans.org and find out more about the Kindness and the Culture Campaign. We would love to have you a part of it. After all, we should reflect the Kindness God has given us in Christ in how we serve others. (upbeat music) He takes the boy upstairs and he called to the Lord. Some virgin says he cried out. Now he's gonna pray a prayer here. He prays a prayer, he calls to the Lord, oh Lord, my God, oh Lord, my God. You have also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying by causing her son to die. So what he does is he brings the problem to God when she can. Prayer is earthly permission for heavenly intervention. Prayer is calling on heaven to address something on earth. It is calling on eternity to speak to a situation in time. He says, I need you to intervene on behalf of this woman who's in too much pain, too much theological confusion and spiritual frustration to intervene on her own or to meet you on her own. So I need you to do something. Then he stretched himself, verse 21, upon the child. - Okay, round two. Name something that's not boring. - Laundry, a book club, computer solitaire, huh? Ah, sorry, we were looking for Chumba Casino. (upbeat music) That's right, Chumba Casino.com has over 100 casino style games. Join today and play for free for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. (upbeat music) Chumba Casino.com. No more success at it, but we're greeted by law. 80 plus turns a edition of the plysy website for details. - Hold three times. Ooh, ooh, wait a minute now. He prays, first of all, he says, I'll bad the burden. This is too much for you right now. He then says, now, Lord, you're over life and death. You allowed this to happen. You caused this to happen. And then he lays on top of the boy, bounces back, comes back a second time and lays on the boy, bounces back, comes back a third time, and lays on the boy. Now, why? The number three in the Bible is used of restoration and resurrection. He lays on the boy 'cause we're dealing with, watch this, a dead situation. That means a situation that has no life of its own and that no human being could resolve because the thing has totally collapsed. He has no breath. He has no life left in him. That means he needs restoration or even stronger. He needs resurrection. Why does he place his body on the boy in order for this to occur? Let me translate. Lord, he needs life. He needs breath. I'm gonna lay my life on top of his death and I give you permission to suck my breath from me and exchange it and pour my life into his life so that he can piggyback on my life 'cause he has no life of his own. You need somebody in your life who's not only willing to pray for you, but who's willing to be part of the solution to the very problem they're praying for. He didn't just say, I'm praying. He said, I'm gonna give something of myself so that God can use me to help answer the very thing I am praying for. That's why the Bible says faith with our works is dead. You don't just wanna talk to God about it. You want God to use you to the extent that he can to do something about the thing that you are praying for. We got Christians everywhere it says, I'm praying for you, brother. I'm praying for you, sister. I'm talking to God, well, that's half of it, but the other half is, are you stretched out? What are you doing within the capacity that God has given you because you're in the vicinity of my need? She didn't just go out and street. The man of God was in the vicinity, had a relationship 'cause he got them fed and now was willing to become part of the solution. God is looking for people who will talk to heaven and stretch out on earth, who will reach to glory, but also be usable in history. So he reaches up in prayer, but then he stretches out in sharing his life for the life of the boy who was lost. It says, he stretched out three times and he called to the Lord and said, oh Lord, my God, I pray you, let this child's life return to him. Verse 22, the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the life of the child returned to him and he was revived. Okay. She piggybacked off of the spirituality of somebody else because this is spirituality she didn't have right then. She piggybacked off of Elijah's spirituality and it says at the end of verse 22, the child's life returned. We read earlier, God took him. Step into the world of power, loyalty, and luck. I'm gonna make him an orphan, he can't refuse. With family, canollies, and spins mean everything. Now you wanna get mixed up in the family business. Introducing the Godfather at ChampaCasino.com. Test your luck in the shadowy world of the Godfather's slots. Someday, I will call upon you to do a service for me. Play the Godfather. Now at ChampaCasino.com, welcome to the family. No purchase necessary. VDW Group, boy repurhibited by law. 18 plus, terms and conditions apply. We read now, God gave him back. So what you just read was God reversing a decision. Stay with me now, theologically. God took him, God gave him back. In between taking him and giving him back was a prayer and a stretch. The prayer and the stretch caused God to hear and reverse a previous decision to take him. I want you to try God at a whole 'nother level for the supernatural. I want you to see God reverse a call in your life. Something that it looked like he said no to, something like it looked like it could never be fixed, something like it looked like it could never be changed. And because there was the right person calling on God and stretching out on the need, God reconsidered and reversed his decision. Well, how can a changeless God change his mind? Though the way a changeless God can change his mind is that you are now appealing to another part of his nature. If you're looking at this part of his nature, like looking at the sun at night, if you change locations, then you will be on the other side of the sun appealing to another part of his nature. So it's not that the sun has changed, it's that your rotation around it has changed. So now you are appealing to another point of his nature. God, you've got the right to destroy him, but I remember what you said in Genesis. You said in Genesis, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that you are going to keep your covenant. So while your wrath is just on this side, I'm going to spin around a little bit and come to another location of where you are so that I'm now facing the sun of your grace, the sun of your forgiveness. That's why repentance is so important because repentance means to change your mind in order to reverse your direction. So when I disobeyed God and now his just wrath or justice comes against me, but I don't want it anymore, I do an earth rotation and I kind of rotate myself around to another location in order now to sit in front of his grace and mercy because I have repented of my sins and now the changeless God changes his mind because I've relocated my position. (congregation cheering) So you can get the changeless God to change his mind. When you are in right relationship, she couldn't pray that way 'cause she was too conscious of her sin. She got Elijah to pray and do a rotation for. This was an exception because a prophet couldn't touch an unclean thing and if you were dead, you are considered unclean. Okay, so you couldn't touch anything dead without becoming unclean, but he lays out on the boy because God uses exceptions. God recognizes exceptions. He has his rules, but all through the Bible, he makes exceptions. He will do something to remember the ravens, the ravens, that was an unclean, that was an exception. In other words, he had a unique spin in this situation and so God makes exceptions when we cry out to him and stretch on him and seek him and watch this now. Oh, I like the way this thing, this thing ends up 'cause it ends up sweet, watch this. So what we have in verse 23, if Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, gave him to his mother and Elijah said, say, hmm, I need to do a sermon on sea. You say, see, look at this girl. Can you see? She says, he says, see, your son is alive. Oh, wait a minute, she downstairs, he goes upstairs. God performs a miracle that she's not a part of. She too messed up to be a part of it. She's too theologically confused to be a part of it, but she had in her circle, a man of God who would act on her behalf and watch this, who would be the deliverer of the miracle she needed. Okay, but it's not over yet 'cause in verse 24, it says, then the woman said to Elijah, now I know. How to have fun, anytime, anywhere. Step one, go to ChumbahCasino.com. ChumbahCasino.com, got it. Step two, collect your welcome bonus. Come to top a welcome bonus. Step three, play hundreds of casino style games for free. That's a lot of games, all for free. Step four, unleash your excitement. Woo-hoo! Ch-ch-ch-chumbah. ChumbahCasino has been delivering thrills for over a decade, so claim your free welcome bonus now and live the Chumbah life. Visit ChumbahCasino.com. The GW group, no purchases are recorded by law, see terms and conditions, 18 plus. (audience cheering) Oh, no, she didn't. (audience laughing) Girlfriend says, now I know that you are a man of God and that the Word of God of the Lord is in your mouth is truth. Wait a minute, a few verses ago, she called him a man of God. She identified him as a man of God, but she identified him as a man of God while being mad at God and telling him to get out of house. So she recognizes his position, but she says, now I know. Okay, watch this now. If she is only knowing that now, that means she did not know it before. 'Cause she says, I know now that you are for real. But wait a minute, did you just have a miracle? When God fed you, how come you didn't know it then? When God fed you and you ran out of food? What do you mean you know it now after God came through for you a long time ago? What do you mean you know it now? After God fed you when you didn't have any food? What do you mean you know it now? After God gave you a job, put food in your stomach, gave you a raise. What do you mean you know it now? Something happens in our lives, even though God did something for us yesterday. Over time we forget how good he is and how powerful he is. So guess what God does? He lets something die. He lets something go south. He lets something not do well. To remind us that he's a right now God. He's not just a yesterday God. He's not just a tomorrow God. He's a right now God. So he puts you in a situation where you need him right now. He puts you in a situation to remind you that for God who came through yesterday hadn't died on you, hadn't gone to sleep on you. He lets things die. Oh, one other thing before we close. You say this is the Old Testament, not quite. 'Cause in Hebrews chapter 11, when we talked about the Hall of Faith, it says able had faith and Noah had faith and Abraham had faith and Moses had faith and Sarah had faith. But then you come back down to verse 35 and it says folks had faith where the women had their loved ones brought back to life. Guess who he talking about? He talking about this woman. But wait a minute, it gets sweeter than that. When Elijah raises up this boy, there had never been a resurrection in the Bible before 1 Kings 17. 1 Kings 17 is the first resurrection in the Bible. Now why am I telling you that? That means that Elijah couldn't look back and see where God had done it before. He couldn't look back and find a testimony of somebody God had raised from the dead and say because he did it then, he can do it now. He didn't look back and find a reference point for resurrection. So I love that. 'Cause even though your situation is your need, even though you can't point to anybody who's been where you are, God may wanna use you to be the first person he does something special with. He does something new for him. He does something supernatural for him. He wants to use you to be the first in a line of miracles. So either be in Elijah or be a widow, but hook up so we can see the supernatural because he says in Hebrews what he did in the Old Testament, he's good for today. We are looking at the life of Elijah to discover the supernatural and I don't want you to miss the point. His name means Yahweh is my God. This woman had every reason not to believe 'cause the money was funny. She had every reason not to believe 'cause she's down to her last meal. But because the Word of God through the prophet of God was delivered to her, she now has the choice. Do I settle for my last meal? Or do I believe the Word of God? The answer to the question is, do you want the supernatural? Or do you wanna live on what you can see and the flower you have in your hand? - Hello, it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on chumbacassina.com. I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing. They were also playing Chumbacassina. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumbacassina is home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free any time, anywhere. So sign up now at chumbacassina.com to claim you're a free welcome bonus. That's chumbacassina.com and live the Chumbalife. Sponsored by Chumbacassina, no purchase necessary. VGW Group, void word prohibited by law, 18 plus terms and conditions apply. - When you are convinced that what comes from this pulpit or any pulpit for that matter is truth from the Word of God and that's the criteria, not the preacher. But it's truth from the Word of God. The question now is, are you gonna act on it? Because nothing happens for this woman until she moves. - It is important that we keep faith alive. To have a living faith, a faith that has life in it, a faith that works. Meaning we bring God's perspective into the equation. It's not just that I believe something because I believe it. In fact, if you do not have an object of your faith, sufficient to what you're believing for, then your faith may very well be a dead faith. That is, it has no life attached to it because it has no actions attached to it. If you want to see your faith come alive, what faith act are you doing to demonstrate you're serious about what you say you're believing? If your faith is only in your speech, it won't live. If it's in your feet, it will become alive. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Hello, it is Ryan and we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses. So sign up now at ChumbaCocino.com. That's ChumbaCocino.com. 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