Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

When God shakes things in your visible physical realm, it's to reveal something in the invisible realm. Dr. Tony Evans says if your life is in turmoil, it could be good news from God.

Because chaos in the physical means I'm up to something in the spiritual if you draw near. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans. Author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative.

We've all learned recently how easily our idea of normal life can be turned upside down. But in this classic sermon, last presented over seven years ago on New Year's Day, Dr. Evans says even though the world can't offer us any real and lasting hope for the future, with God our eternity is secure. It's during these shaky times that we can stand firm on God's unshakable promises.

Let's join him as he presents a message titled, A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On. Second Corinthians chapter one and verse six. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. And our hope for you is firmly grounded knowing that as you are sharers of our suffering, so also you are sharers of our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we have a sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us.

He on whom we have set our hope and he will deliver us. Chapter four of that same book, verse 16. Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And then James, chapter one, verse nine. But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position, let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he passes away.

For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. So too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Paul has said here that even though you're getting older on the outside, you ought to be coming younger on the inside. He said in 2 Corinthians 4, he says though our outward man is decaying, Paul said, but I'm getting younger on the inside, even though I am decaying, getting older on the outside. What accounts for this? This perspective of Paul, and he says he was getting younger while going through affliction.

That doesn't seem to work. Because when we go on through affliction, we get older. We look at getting grayer, we look at getting more wrinkles, getting stressed.

But he says no. Though the outward man is perishing, is decaying, I am getting younger. And then it gives you the secret. I have learned to look on the things not seen, because the things that are seen are passing away.

Somebody missed that. He says what's keeping me young is what I'm looking at. Paul would say when the clock strikes midnight, I'm one year younger on the inside. Although I'm headed toward one year older on the outside, because I'm looking at something else. That is, I'm looking on things that cannot be seen. I have a spiritual perspective on my trouble.

I'd like to suggest to you that if you want next year to be a year where you get younger, you got to change what you're looking at. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying deny it. I'm not saying pretend like it's not there. I'm not saying act like it's not real. I'm not saying go into some sort of denial. I am saying you have to look beyond it.

Questions, how do you do that? How do you look beyond the reality of your pain? How do you look beyond the reality of your loneliness? How do you look beyond the reality of your struggle?

After all, it's real. How do I look beyond it? Well, first of all, whatever you are looking at, you can see.

Because you're looking at a situation, a circumstance, a person, a problem. You're looking at that thing that you can see. If all you see is what you see, you are not seeing all there is to be seen. If all you are seeing is what you can see, then you are not seeing all there is to be seen, for beyond what you see is what you can't see that you ought to be seeing.

Did you get that? If all you see is what you see, then you are not seeing all there is to be seen. Until you see what you can't see, you will not be able to see all that there is. Behind everything that you can't see is something for you to look at that you can't see. When God allows discontinuity in your world, when the cord gets clipped and the flow is not there anymore, God is up to something. See, unless you understand that, then all you will do is react to what you just saw because you didn't make the connection.

That there is something else beyond what I'm looking at. When God wanted to get Moses ready to lead the people out of Egypt, he put Moses in a trick bag. He put him in a situation where he came across a bush that would not burn.

That's a trick bag. That's a contradictory situation because God was up to something. He couldn't see it until he went over and investigated it and God revealed himself. When God wanted to tell Abraham, I'm ready to fulfill my promise in your life, he put him in a trick bag.

He said, now I want you to sacrifice Isaac, your son, whom you love. That's a trick bag. When things are falling apart in your world, God is up to something. The problem is you can't see it with this. You can't see it with the physical. Here's our problem. We don't make the jump from the physical to the spiritual.

We stay with the physical and therefore stay frustrated. Stay mad, stay angry, stay irritated because we stay in a realm that we're no longer obligated to. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. I love this passage. Verse 25, he says, See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking.

For if those who did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, Moses, much less shall we escape who turn away from him who warns us from heaven. And his voice shook the earth then, but now he is promising, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. And this expression yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we have an unshakable kingdom, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. What is he saying?

He's saying simply this. When God shakes things in your visible physical realm, it's to reveal something in the invisible realm. When you look beyond the tragedy and then when you read a passage like Matthew 24 that says when you hear of worldwide wars, when you hear about all manner of nature upheaval, when you see the earth grown, and even the passage quoted here, it says when I will, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, and the passage that's quoted from it says and I will disrupt the sea. When you look at all of that, when you connect that with the fact that there are going to be three events that usher in the coming of Jesus Christ, number one, the rise of Babylon, that's Iraq. Number two, the unification of Europe, that's already happened. Number three, which happened in 1948, Israel becoming a nation again.

And you have worldwide terrorism and you have this upheaval in the seas and you have CNN who can make it worldwide at the minute that it happens. You understand that your redemption draws nigh. Now, on the top of that, when you compare the fact that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day, 2 Peter says, then all you got to do is make the computation. If a thousand years is as a day and Jesus died 2,000 years ago, then that means it's been two days based on God's timetable. Well, now that all of these things are happening in the prophetic table, and now that we are day number two based on a day as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day, and you put all that together, you understand that while something physical is happening, something spiritual is going on. Do you remember what happened when Jesus was born?

When Jesus was born, Herod said, kill the babies. All the baby boys two years and under, why was Satan trying to get in there? Because God was up to something. God was doing something, and so the devil was active. You have to begin, I have to begin looking at the spiritual, not at the physical.

Dr. Evans will come back with more about looking beyond what we can see in a moment. That's coming up after this reflection on 40 years of God's faithfulness. Little did I know that he would take humble beginnings and turn it into an international ministry. Now on over 1,400 stations daily in 130 countries around the world, reaching hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people with the truth of God and now using social media in all manner of ways. It would impact individuals and families and churches and even communities who would take us on all levels of society from the homeless person to the White House and bringing God's truth. I praise God for 40 years of His favor on us. Tony has said that the more people who meet Jesus, the more lives will be transformed.

It's a simple equation, and it's the driving purpose behind this ministry. None of what we do here would be possible without the faithful contributions of people like you. And that's why we'd like to say thank you when you make a donation to keep this ministry going by sending you the final two volumes in our current series, Tony Evans Top 40. The complete collection includes 40 classic messages covering some of the most important topics in the Christian faith, and we're featuring 20 of those full-length messages from volumes 3 and 4 right now. Just visit tonyevans.org to make your contribution online or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and make the arrangements to get this special resource package before time runs out.

Of course, if you missed your chance to get the first two volumes earlier this summer, you can still make arrangements for the complete package. Once again, visit us at tonyevans.org to find out more. I'll repeat all our contact information for you again after Part 2 of today's message and this. Dr. Tony Evans talks about his first trip to Israel. A photograph became a motion picture so that I was now seeing in living color the atmosphere, environment, the feel, the excitement, the learning of what the Bible describes. Now you can have that same experience along with Tony in a new motion picture coming to theaters in November, Journey with Jesus.

A lot of people want to go to Israel, and it is an expensive trip, and we did not want those people denied the experience that we had while being physically there. You'll travel with Tony as he explores actual sites where the most powerful events in the Bible took place, not just helping you see them, but understand what they mean and how they can change your life. We want this to be a biblical experience, not merely a sightseeing tour. Journey with Jesus in theaters November 15th, 16th, and 17th.

Visit tonyevans.org for locations, showtimes, and to learn more. Well, Dr. Evans is back now with more about why we need to see the shakeups in our life from a spiritual perspective. This is taken from the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 20.

It's repeated again in Deuteronomy chapter 5. God came down onto the mountain and shook the mountain. The Bible says there was thunder and there was lightning and the stuff was flashing, and the people said, we ain't going over there. We ain't going—all they saw was the physical. God says, come near.

Guess what they said? They said, Moses, you go and then tell us what God said. We ain't going. Moses said, don't be afraid. God is shaking things up here because he wants you to come near. They said, you go, we're not going. And God says to Moses, you send them back to their tents and you come to me.

And the Bible says, and Moses went to God and God told Moses his secrets. If he's created or allowed chaos in your life, that's because he's trying to get your undivided attention and your bad situation is great news. You got to change how you're thinking. Your bad situation is great news. In fact, he says in Hebrews 12, show gratitude because chaos in the physical means I'm up to something in the spiritual if you draw near.

You won't see it as long as you stay at a distance, as long as you say, well, it's bad, so I'm staying at a distance, as long as you just depend on what Moses is going to say and you don't draw near yourself if you're discouraged, if you're downhearted and you're struggling with it and you don't understand it and you don't want it. I'm going to ask you to do something hard. I'm going to ask you to give thanks.

Say show gratitude. I know what you're saying. You're saying, but pastor, that don't make sense. Let's say you got a lady who's pregnant. The worse the contractions are and the closer they get together, the better the news is.

See, when they're way apart, that means you've got a long time. But when they start getting closer, you can give thanks because the faster the pain comes and the more pain there is, that means the closer you are to a delivery. You're getting ready to give birth to something. God is going to give birth to something in you even though you're going through labor pains right now, even though you're going through contractions. You want to say, Lord, what are you saying to me? Through this situation, through this circumstance, it's not fair, it's not right, I'm tired, I'm angry, but I want to thank you that you are up to something that I can't see.

He says show gratitude. During a storm, who do you draw near to? The weatherman.

Anybody look at the weather channel? You draw near to the weatherman during a storm, you don't refuse him who's speaking. When the weather is bad outside, you want to draw near. You want to say, Mr. Weatherman, see when it's sunny outside, you may glance at the weatherman, but when it gets cloudy and things look a little shaky, then you draw near to the weatherman because you want to hear what the weatherman has got to say.

You don't refuse him who's speaking. If your skies are cloudy and right now your way is dark, God says draw near. Don't stay back from me now. This is the time to get close. I'm the weatherman of your life, and I can tell you which way this thing is going.

Don't refuse him who's speaking. Just because you see thunder and lightning and cloudy and everything is chaotic. God told Israel, I want to reveal to you my glory.

I want to show you that I'm God. You ladies, when you cook, you have a timer. That timer goes off when you anticipate the food being ready. You know how long the timer should go because you know how long it takes to cook the food.

And if it ain't ready, you'll reset the timer. If you're tired of God resetting the timer every year, every year, somebody ought to be saying, I'm tired of going through this over and over and over and over. You say, why isn't God answering my prayer? Well, James tells you, because a double-minded man shall receive nothing from the Lord. As long as you're coming with two minds, a little bit of God, a little bit of you. It says that the children of Israel didn't fear God, so they didn't draw near, drag your pain with you.

If it's too heavy, ask somebody else to help you drag it with you. They say, we're going to take this thing to the cross. We're going to get this thing dealt with. I'm tired of losing. I'm tired of being defeated. I'm tired of being a victim rather than a victor. I'm not going to be under the circumstances anymore.

I'm going to walk on top of them. Why? Not because the problem has gone away, because it might not go away. I'm looking beyond the problem, the things you can't see. I'm ascertaining the spiritual purpose in this. Until you make the connection that there's a spiritual purpose here, as much as it causes a struggle, as much as it hurts, then you're delaying your change coming.

You should go forward being one year younger, because you are now looking at the spiritual cause of a thing. You're saying, Lord, what are you up to? What are your purposes through this?

I don't understand it all, but I want you to express to me. I want to hear from you this year. I don't want to waste any more years.

In fact, God, I need you to do something else. I want you to give me back the years that the locusts have taken away. I want those years back. The years that the devil took from me, I want them back. I want the joy that was stolen from me, I want it back. I want the love that I never had, that I needed. I want all those years I missed.

I want the happiness, I want the victory. Everything that was robbed of me, you said you'd give it back. If I drew near to you, God wants to give it back to you. And I believe somebody here is going to give it back. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment to lead us in a closing prayer that will help us put our pressures and our problems into perspective.

So stay with us. Once again, this classic New Year's Day message is part of our current featured resource, Tony Evans Top 40. And as I mentioned earlier, all 20 messages in Volumes 3 and 4 of this collection are our gift to you when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. Just drop by TonyEvans.org where you can get all the details and make your donation online. Again, that's TonyEvans.org.

Or you can call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you with your request. Well, tomorrow Dr. Evans will talk about the prerequisites for connecting with the incredible power God has given us as He helps us to understand who we are and who we aren't. Right now, though, he's back with a final thought from this timeless New Year's Day message. Just take a moment before the Lord and say, Lord, I'm not refusing You. I'm not going to resist You. Obviously, You've let all this happen for a reason, connected me with this or that for a reason, and I'm not going to give it up.

Show me that reason, Lord. Lord, we show You gratitude right now. We show You gratitude. We want to thank You. I want to thank You for the reasons for the struggle, for the reasons for the pain, for the reasons for the problems, for the reasons for the difficulty. I want to thank You for the reasons.

I don't like the pain, but You are doing something I can't see. I thank You for the reason that You're going to turn all this around and You're going to give me back what the enemy tried to take from me and he can't have it no more. I'm not going to go into this New Year miserable. I'm not going to go into this New Year complaining. I'm not going to go into this New Year mad all the time.

I'm not going to go into this New Year with an attitude. I'm going to go into this New Year showing gratitude, because God is up to something that's beyond what I can see. So bless the name of the Lord right where you are. Thank Him for His glory. Thank Him for what He's going to do in the New Year. Thank Him for how He's going to do it for you. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.