Stop Blocking Your Miracle

You and I are blocking our miracles when human logic trumps what God says. Dr. Tony Evans says getting out of God's way starts when we turn our thinking upside down. In the natural, you see before you believe. But you will not see it in the physical until you believe it in the spiritual.

This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Today, Dr. Evans explains how we can sometimes be our own worst enemy when it comes to receiving the miracles God has planned for us. Let's join him as he begins.

What I want to talk to you about today. And what I want to challenge you with today is to stop blocking your miracle. I'd like to suggest to us today, based on the Word of God, That a lot of us haven't seen God. Come through because we're holding God up. We are delaying or denying His supernatural presence into our situation and into our circumstances.

Now let me explain what I mean by something that is supernatural. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you entered the realm of the supernatural. which means that you have access to that which operates outside of the natural. The problem is That we're so tied to the natural, we often misresist or deny the supernatural. Our story is a very familiar one in John, St.

John chapter 11. It is the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. I've mentioned that on a number of occasions, but today I want to take you on a little deeper journey into this story. To summarize, Martha and Mary have called on Jesus to heal their brother, Lazarus, who's sick. Jesus has said, his sickness is not unto death.

And Jesus delays going. to help their sick brother get better. During the interim of Jesus' delay, Lazarus dies. Jesus shows up. Too late.

He dies. After saying he wasn't going to die. after they had called on him. We have two frustrated sisters. Martha, the verbal one, says, Jesus, if you would have been here.

Our brother would not have done. Where were you when we needed you? Where were you when you called? We called on you and you, you know, we heard the sermon that things were going to get better and they've only gotten worse. Martha the quiet one.

Just went home and started weeping. And she too said the same thing. Jesus, if you would have been here. Our brother would not have died. That's the scenario of the story up until this point.

And if the truth were told, There are many here today who have been disappointed by the Lord. You've been disappointed with God.

Well, join Martha and Mary because they are disappointed with their Savior. Verse 38, so Jesus again, being deeply moved within, came to the tomb.

Now it was a cave and a stone was lying against it. Jesus was being deeply disturbed. By the pain, the anguish, the emotion. Of what he was dealing with in the life of Martha and Mary. In fact, In verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible, it says Jesus wept.

While Jesus sympathizes with our infirmities, Hebrews chapter 4. Jesus would never let his emotions govern his theology. She He would feel it. but he wouldn't let how he felt about it determine what he did. Because his commitment to God's truth.

had to override his emotions at the moment.

So he is crazy. Crying with her. But at the same time, he now seeks to address The problem.

So he comes to the tomb. And when he gets there, he issues a command, verse. Thirty-nine. Jesus said, Remove the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be a stench.

For he has been dead Four days. Jesus says Remove the stone. Martha says Just a minute, Jesus. He's been dead four days. Decomposition has set in.

And the place is gonna smell rotten. She did. What most of us do. When Jesus issues a command that we neither like nor understand. She enters the conversation with human logic.

Jesus, what you're asking is ridiculous. That makes sense. Move the stone and get all that stench on all of us. What are you asking? And Jesus said to her, Did not I say to you, Can't you hear?

I told you move the stone and You're discussing timetables four days.

Now depending on how much talking you want to do It's to the degree that you delay what God wants to do. And some of us have been talking for years. We've been talking for days, for months, for years. We've been talking the same stuff, and the facts are correct.

Now, sometimes the facts are wrong, but in this case, and in many of our cases, the facts are right. And we will quickly say, but you don't understand. Jesus, you don't understand. What you talking about, moving a stone, got nothing to do with the reality of this situation. This situation is a dead situation.

This situation is a stinking situation. This situation is a trap situation. I didn't ask you about tell me the situation. I just simply ask you to move the stone. Nothing will block the supernatural.

Movement of God in your life like your logic. Your education.

Some of us have educated ourselves out of the supernatural. We're just too smart for God. Too intelligent for heaven. Too brilliant. For the kingdom of God.

And so we live with our logic, and so we live only in the natural. Didn't I say to you? What did you say to her, Jesus? Didn't I say to you, That if you believe, you will see the glory of God. He didn't say if you see you would believe.

He said if you believe You would see in the natural You see before you believe. in the natural Not so in the supernatural. In the supernatural, if you believe you would see. What would you see? The glory of God.

What is the glory of God? It's God on display. The glory of God is God revealing Himself as God in your circumstance. The glory of God is when God advertises Himself. The glory of God is when God puts Himself or His attributes on a billboard so you can see God at work.

But you will not see it in the physical until you believe it in the spiritual. But how would we know if she believed? Her belief wouldn't be tied to her feelings, her emotions. Her belief wouldn't be tied to how excited she got in the Sunday church service. Her belief wouldn't be measured by whether she waved her hand in the air like she just don't care.

Her belief wouldn't be measured by whether she flipped the pew, said, praise the Lord, liked the service, said amen. All that would be irrelevant. Her belief was measured by whether that stone moved. Because as long as that stone was still there, she could go to church all year, praise God all year, sing songs, join the choir, become an usher, lead a small group. She could do all that.

But if that stone was not moved, she was worshiping in unbelief. A lot of God's children worship in unbelief. Because they'll praise the Lord but not touch the stone. The measure of faith is acting like God is telling the truth. You measure faith by your feet, not by your feelings.

So if you feel faith, but your feet haven't moved, you're faithless. It is obedience to what God says, even when it goes against your human understanding, even when it goes against your college professor, even when it goes against your degrees, even when it goes against popular opinion, even when, I mean, when our kids come in and say, but my friends say, hey. Your friends? But it got to do with it, this they ain't your mama. Yo, daddy, I'm gonna keep what your friends say.

You and I are blocking our miracles with human logic that, even if it's correct, Trump's what God said. You have just done what Matthew 13 says. He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

So you will be limited, I will be limited, we collectively will be limited to the natural. When we do not move the stone. That is, when we do not act on what God has said, whether we understand it, can figure it out, like it or not. And that is what often happens with Christians limiting us to the natural. Because we can't figure out how God's going to do this.

We can't figure out where this is going to come from.

So Didn't I say to you that you would see with your own eyes, but you won't see the supernatural till you believe, and you believe by doing what I told you to do? And God is saying, I'll wait. I'll wait. Until you decide to believe. Dr.

Evans will return in a moment to help us unpack that idea. First, though, don't miss your chance to get a copy of Tony's current series, Believing is Seeing. It explains why most of us have an upside-down view of how faith affects reality. In these eight lessons, you'll discover ways to see more of God's supernatural influence in your life. How to experience more of heaven on earth.

and how to avoid losing trust when times get tough, and a whole lot more. And if you contact us right away, we'll also include Dr. Evans' brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith, 180 days of scripture-based encouragement designed to help you stay steady and confident in God no matter what you're facing. For a limited time, we are offering all eight messages in the Believing a Seeing sermon series, along with your own copy of Anchored by Faith. They're a thank you gift for your contribution in support of the alternative.

Visit Tony Evans.org, make your donation online, and let us send this special package today. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222. where resource team members are standing by 24-7 to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222.

Well now let's get back to our message. Here's Dr. Evans. Let me tell you something about the will of God. God has a Revealed will.

That's what he says in the Bible. And he has a secret will. Deuteronomy 29:29 says that the secret things belong to God, he hasn't revealed them.

Now here it is. You cannot get to God's secret will if you've ignored His revealed will. Another word. If he says move the stone or whatever it is in your situation he tells you to do. But you have to see what he's gonna do before you move the stone.

You'll never see what he's gonna do because he'll keep secret his secret will until he sees you believe his revealed will.

So if you don't do what you know he said, he won't show you what he's up to. in secret in the supernatural realm. And you can't figure it out ahead of time because he's the unfigure-outable God. His ways are not your ways. His thoughts are not your thoughts.

Isaiah 55.

So you can't figure out: well, what is he going to do? How is he going to do this? Before I move this stone, let me try to figure it out. That's an Excedrin PM headache.

Now watch this. Verse 41.

So they removed the stone.

So they See, some of y'all missed that.

So they Remove The stone. Notice Jesus was talking to her. But she didn't move the stone. They move the stones. Why did they move the stone even though he's talking to her?

She needed somebody to help her. Move it. Cause it was too heavy for a woman to move. What I'm trying to say is Some issues are too big for you to handle by yourself.

Some stones. problems, difficulties. Are too tough. You've done it too long. You've been in it too deep.

It controls you, owns you. You're addicted to it. It's a stronghold. Because if you could have moved it by yourself, it would have been moved by now.

So there were people who were brought alongside to help her move something she could not move herself. That's why you need community. That's why you need people around you to help you move stones you can't move. Because God won't move until the stone is moved.

So, if you cannot move the stone, get some people who care about you enough, who are crying with you enough, who love you enough to put their hands on your stone that you gotta move. Everyone in here should either Be getting help to move a stone or be helping somebody else to move a stone. Because if you're helping somebody else... That means you got some folk who can help you. That's what church is supposed to be.

And so They help her. Move the stone. It's going to get deeper now.

So they removed the stone.

Then Not until They did what God said do. Did the next part take place?

So the order matters.

Some of us are asking God, when? God is saying, then. How long then? Where are you, God? Waiting on them.

I'm waiting on you to do what I told you to do.

So that I can do What I'm gonna do. And we are now introduced to a doctrine in the Bible. It's called the doctrine of divine intercession. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 That Jesus Is our intercessor. The Bible says in Romans 8, 27, The Holy Spirit is our intercessor according to the will of God.

So it has to be God's will, of course. God just doesn't do everything we want because we want it, but there are a lot of things in God's will He's waiting to do. After he's seen faith in action. Then Jesus said, Raised up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Ooh, ooh, that that that ooh.

You oughta felt that one. You oughta felt that one. Watch this now. Father? I want to thank you.

That you have heard me.

Now, okay, let me say it one more time. I'm gonna say it a little slower this time because I want to make sure you get this. Father. I thank you, Father. That you've already heard, and we've already talked about this.

When they sent word to me about the need of a miracle, You and me, Daddy, had a meeting. And in our meeting, when we discussed this, We agreed. That when we saw faith, We were going to do a supernatural work. You and I have already had this meeting. But even though you and I have had the meeting in the spiritual realm.

They're not going to see what we agreed on in the physical realm. Until the bridge of faith is built.

So that my intercession for them becomes you bringing to pass what has already been agreed on.

So why is that important for you to know? That your supernatural miracle, whatever is in God's will to do, has already been agreed on in the spiritual realm. That means you do not have to beg God to do something that is in his will to do. It's not you waiting on God if he's agreed to it. It's him waiting on you to move the stone so he can let you see what was already previously agreed on.

This is the intercession of God. What a great truth. That God stands like a defense attorney between the client and the jury to plead your case about something that's already been agreed on in the spiritual realm. That's why the Bible says he's already been to the end and then he backs up to the beginning.

So he already knows where this thing is going. But faith activates it. in your experience.

So let's now bring this to a conclusion. We are in a stinky situation. Cause he's been dead four days and he stinks. We're in a trap situation. Because he's been locked down Behind a stone.

that a whole group of people have to move. He's not only in a trap situation and a stinky situation, he's in a dead situation. Are you trapped? Does the scenario stink? Is the only hope for this thing a resurrection?

You qualify. for the supernatural. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus! Come on! It says he came forth.

But he didn't come forth walking. He came forth shuffling. Because he was still tied up. He was still wrapped in death cloth.

So watch this now. He was alive. But he was not liberated. Cause he was still tied up.

Now he had a miracle. The miracle was what was dead is now alive. But guess what Jesus did? He called a small group. He said, I want y'all.

to untie his legs. And I want you to unhook his arms. I want y'all to unwrap his head because I want. the other folk to participate in my miracle. God just doesn't want to do miracles that exclude you.

He wants to do miracles that include you. You are part of the miracle. He did enough to get it going. He says, I want y'all to finish it off so that you can see how I can use people in the lives of circumstances to do what they can do. I'll get him alive.

Y'all can at least unwrap the boy. You and I are participants. That's why 2 Corinthians chapter 6 says, we are workers together with him. He will do what we can't do. He wants us to do what we can do so that we become partners in the supernatural miracle working process.

Dr. Evans will have a final comment about why the miracles God gives us are more about furthering His agenda than ours when He returns in a moment to wrap up this lesson. As always, if you'd like a copy of today's message, we'll be glad to tell you more when you ask about the title Stop Blocking Your Miracle. Better yet, dig even deeper by getting all eight lessons in Tony's current series, Believing is Seeing. It's a look at how to reinforce your faith.

and see more of Heaven's power on display. This special collection also includes bonus material we won't have time to present on the air. And for a limited time, along with the Believing is Seeing audio series, we'll also send you Dr. Evans' brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith, 180 Days of Encouragement in Scripture-Based Prayer. to help you stay steady and confident in God no matter what comes your way.

This exclusive resource bundle is our thank you gift for your contribution to help support this broadcast. Make the arrangements before time runs out by visiting Tony Evans. org. or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. It's open 24-7.

That's 1-800-800-3222.

The Christian life was never intended to be lived alone. God designed us to be part of a family of faith. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans focuses on the reasons that connection is so important. Right now, though, he's back with a final comment to wrap up our time together.

God doesn't do miracles just to show off. He doesn't do the supernatural to flex his muscles. He does the supernatural so that his name will be known. Many believed on him. That's the problem with a lot of folk coming to church looking for a blessing.

They're looking for what God's going to do for me. I want a new house, new car, new clothes, new this, do something for me, bless me. I want my blessing. I want my blessing, my blessing. And then after God does something, he gets no notification, no glorification.

You're not witnessing. You're not talking about him. You're not giving him the credits. You're not responding and giving. You're not doing anything.

You're just talking about your blessing. He doesn't just bless you for you. He blesses you for his name, his glory, your impact, your testimony, your ministry. Not the redeemed of the Lord say so. When you get your supernatural, you better open up your mouth and you better declare the greatness of your God because only your God can go into your grave and raise you up and give you life.

You better give him the glory to his name.