Many of us are suffering today because of contemporary idolatry. But Dr. Tony Evans says our misplaced devotion invites divine disruption. God will let stuff go south. continually until he gets our undivided attention.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Every time God's people turned to idols, they lost their freedom. But every time they cried out, he raised up a deliverer. Today, Dr.
Evan shows how God's mercy can reverse years of defeat and how he often works through the most unlikely people with the simplest tools. Let's listen as he explains what it means to trust God with what's already in your hand. Men want idols so that they don't have to answer to God. but they want to keep religion. Because they want to keep religion.
But they don't want to answer to God. They create idols. They're primitive idols. And they are American idols. Yeah.
Success can be an idol, money can be an idol, power can be an idol, people can be an idol. And we have seen so far that the primary name of the idol in the book of Judges and throughout the Old Testament is Baal. And they looked to Baal for fertility, fertility of agricultural fertility, animal fertility, human fertility.
So they looked to him while still. keeping God in the neighborhood. And this generation, the next generation. As we saw in chapter 2, verse 10. did not get transferred to them the faith of Joshua's generation.
And when they moved away from God. There was Disintegration in the culture. Verse 9. When?
Somebody say when? When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord. The Lord raised up a deliverer. for the sons of Israel to deliver them. Translation when they got desperate enough.
When things got bad enough, God will let stuff go south. continually until he gets our undivided attention. Until we understand that our idols cannot deliver us. Until we stop looking to the idols. to be our source of deliverance.
when they were the cause of our problem. And many of us are suffering today because of. contemporary idolatry. The illegitimate placing of a competing deity. Outside of the true God.
of the Bible.
So God raises up Oaten Hill. And the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. He went out to war. And the land, verse 11, had rest for 40 years. But what happens when everything is good and easy and God is blessing me right now, right now?
There's no war, no trouble. There's plenty of money in the bank, and everything is easy. I'm not sick, and all of that.
Well, Verse 12, never sons of Israel again. Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
So the Lord strengthened Eglon. The king of Moab against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.
So, their consequences, their circumstances had to do with their spiritual departure.
So what happened? God raised up. An enemy The king of Moab. And they defeated Israel, verse 13. And possess the city of the palm trees.
That's the region of Jericho. And the sons of Israel served Elon the king of Moab eighteen years. Why would it take 18 years? to wake up. We can stray so far from God.
that we're not even conscious of how far we've gone. and how long we've been gone. It takes 18 years. For them to say, wait a minute. How about we take this thing to God?
How about we Bring this back to the true God, and you can get so used. to being a slave. that you don't even look to the deliverer. When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer, a savior for them. Ewed.
The son of Gerah, the Benjamite, you made a sword which had two edges. Verse 16 says. He presents The tribute To Eglon. King of Moab.
So it comes about when he had finished presenting the tribute that he sent away the people, but he himself turned back. Yeah. From the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, I have a secret message for you, O king. I got a secret. I want to tell you this secret.
And he said. Keep silent and all who attended. Him left him.
So everybody who was attending the king, because I have a secret message, so I don't want anybody to hear this.
So Eglon wants to hear the secret. But the secret has been set up by the tribute.
So he gives him this this ornate gift.
So somebody gives you a gift, you're feeling pretty good about them. They get ready to leave and they say, Oh, but I got a secret, something I want to tell you.
Well, you're much more apt to listen to what they have to say because they've just done something really, really good for you, and so. Eud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Hebrews said, I have a message from God for you. And he arose from his seat. Because what is this message from God?
He would stretch out his left hand. Took the sword from his right thigh, which would not have been expected. Because the left hand was under his cloak. and thrust it into Eglod's belly. He had a message from God for him, all right.
The handle also went in after the blade. And the fat closed over the blade. This guy is fat. I mean, it totally encompasses. The knife or the dagger is probably an 18 incher.
are 18 inch more of a dagger size. And it totally encompasses him because this guy is so fat. Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the door of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
So he leaves the chamber, locks the door. When he had gone out, his servants, Eglon's servants, came and looked. And behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. And they said, He is only relieving himself in the cool room.
Okay, verse 25. They waited until they became anxious. Why hasn't he come out yet? But behold, he did not open the door of the roof chamber.
So they're trying to hey king, king, he not opening the door, he not saying anything. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead. Because he would have killed him, of course.
Now Egud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped.
So while they were waiting for him to finish, Eve slips out. He escapes. And then they find out, but by the time they find out, EU is gone. It came about when he had arrived that he blew the trumpet. The hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.
He said to them, Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands. We have a 18 year Reversal. And it's an interesting reversal. It's an interesting reversal that brought in a lot of. A lot of things.
God raised up Eglon in the first place. But when the people cried out, God raised up Ehud, and then God gave them the victory over the Moabites.
So, please note: God is in all these contingencies. Including the strategy. that he who would use It was important that Eglon was fat. We tend to look at God only with the big things. And not the little things along the way that fit into the story.
And the Bible is full of them.
So, keep your eyes open, not just for the big stuff, but for the little stuff. The little things that God does along the way before you even get to the big victory. But none of that happens until they got right with God.
So they struck down the Moabites. And nobody escaped. Yeah. Verse 30, so Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. and the land was undisturbed for 80 years.
80 years. And none of that happened until they cried out. But this is the illustration of mercy and God reversing consequences. This is a reversal. As you are dealing with our own consequences.
Our responsibility is to make sure we're right with God. Peace. and to seek him for a reversal. He will choose whether it's a reversal or a limitation or an enduring, but we at least must position ourselves. When Dr.
Evans continues in a moment, He'll introduce us to someone who discovered that God's power can transform the everyday into the extraordinary. Stay with us. The thing about serving an infinite God is that no matter how much you know about Him, there's always more to learn.
So, whether you're brand new to Scripture or an experienced ministry professional, there's something for you at the Tony Evans Training Center. You'll find online courses covering core concepts of the faith. Working at your own pace and schedule, you'll dig deep into the historical context of the book, uncover the key teachings, and learn how to apply them in real-world situations. There's lots of exclusive content from Dr. Evans to keep you interested and motivated, and an online forum where you can ask questions, get answers, and collaborate with other students.
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Well right now, let's get back to Dr. Evans with more of today's message. We're introduced now to an interesting figure, one we've talked about before. Only two verses that relate to him in the whole Bible. He's one that you would miss.
But it's one that I really love. I talk about him in the book Kingdom Man. Shemgar. Verse 31. After him, After Ehu'd, came Shemgar.
The son of Anath. Who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox gourd? And he also saved Israel. It is amazing how in one verse, So much is packed. Shimgar is a farmer.
We know he's a farmer because he has an ox gourd. An ox gourd is a Pointed pole? With a real sharp point on one end to gourd the ox when they started slowing down or stopping, you would prick them. Gourd them along, push them along. or make them Giddy up a little bit because it slowed down.
So the ox gourd was used for gourding, pushing the ox. Alone. On the other end was a, like a little chisel. For them to dig up roots out of the ground for their planting.
So they would dig.
So they have the point on one side and this chisel on the back side to clear away stumps or small things that would interfere with the planting.
So because he has an ox gourd, we know his occupation is a Farmer.
So he's kind of an ordinary Guy. We're told That he struck down six hundred Philistines. with his act scores. That that's very interesting. How do you kill 600 folk?
This guy is picking them off a few at a time. Please. He's seeing two or three of them together and he's taking care of them and he's doing this.
So this is happening over time. Even though he was an ordinary man, because he's a farmer. He was dissatisfied with the way things were. We got these 600 Philistines out here creating havoc, turning our community into a desert, keeping us locked up in our houses. And I am not satisfied to live like this.
Shimgar. Used what he had. In some way, he turned this Oxgord into a Tomahawk missile. In other words, he turns something ordinary into something extraordinary.
So I want to ask you a question. I want to ask me a question. I want to ask us a question. The question is, what is that in your hand? That's a question.
What is that? See, a lot of times we're looking for something else, and when I get bat. And sometimes. We don't see the potential of what we already have. And we're out there getting mad because we don't have more.
When, if we use what we had and ask God, how can I take what you've already given me? You don't have somebody else's gift, but how can he take what he's given you? and multiply it and Jesus took a little boy one day who only had some sardines and crackers. That was all he had in his hand. And all of a sudden, 5,000 men, not counting women and children, that's 15 to 20,000 people.
are eating from sardines and crackers. And there are 12 baskets full left over. Because what that boy had was more than he knew. And everybody in here, what you have is more than you see. You just have to ask God to give you eyes to see it.
So the question I'm asking you is, what is that in your hand? Stop looking at what's in my hand. And I got to stop looking at what's in your hand. What has God placed in your hand? And have you given it back to him for his usefulness?
So he used what he had. Ordinary man, farmer, And he saved Israel. A whole nation got delivered. By a farmer. Yeah.
Here we go again. It's been 80 years. Chapter 4. Then the sons of Israel again did evil. In the sight of the Lord, after Ehu died.
And the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan. Who reigned in Hanzor? And the commander of his army was Cicero.
So we We're in this cycle now of Walking away from God, which virtually always meant walking to idols. And let me say something about idols. The reason why men want idols is because of what they want the idol to do. But the other side of that is They were in control of the idol. See, you were the dictator to the God you created.
As opposed to being the servant of the true God.
So that made that made idolatry easy.
So They walk away from God again. The sons of Israel, however, verse 3, cried to the Lord. Because J-Ben. had nine hundred iron chariots. And he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for 20 years.
Anybody here tired of the devil suppressing you?
Now, Deborah, a prophetess. The wife of Lapid off. Was judging Israel at that time.
So here we are introduced to a female judge. She is a gifted judge. Because she's a prophetess.
So you know everybody else is called a judge she's called a judge and a prophetess Let me tell you what a prophetess does. A prophet, man, prophetess, woman. A prophet or prophetess is a person. Who communicates God's will? about a specific scenario you are facing.
They take from God and apply it to your scenario. You can read the Bible without a person, meaning a person to explain what the Bible means. But a prophet Throughout scripture, go to people and tell them what now they ought to do. with the word.
So, it's not just giving you the Bible, it's giving you the application of the Bible to your particular scenario. The Bible says in First Thessalonians chapter five. to despise not the gift of prophecy.
So in the New Testament, the gift continued to exist. And that is. to be able to hear Applied to you. The word of God to your situation. This has fallen on Bad times today for two reasons.
Yeah. One.
Well, for more than two reasons. One is people making themselves profits. who've never been given that role. That's one. Two People who argue that the Bible is sufficient and make no allowance for prophecy.
Or three People who prophesy. but it's not connected to the Bible. You regularly see prophets in the Bible say, thus saith the Lord.
Okay.
So there's starting with God. Mm-hmm.
So it has to be biblically sound. It cannot be contradicting. Biblical revelation. But it goes beyond that in terms of personal application. And that becomes a prophetic word because it's you're talking now to me about where I am.
based on the word of God, but you're giving that to me.
So don't dismiss.
Now you you have to try the spirits so you don't believe everything everybody tells you. But don't dismiss A spiritual person. Coming to you. With thus saith the Lord. and it is relevant to your reality.
Now you may raise the question. How will I know that it is God's word to me?
Okay, which is a fair question. How do I know just because it sounds good, they have a scripture? But how do I validate its relevance to me that it's really from God so that I act on it? Because you act on the wrong thing from the wrong person. you could be up the proverbial creek without a paddle, okay?
So I want to give you the secret to that. God confirms himself with two or three witnesses. regularly throughout the Bible you will see a matter is confirmed by two or three witnesses. that is, two or three confirmations.
Okay, now confirmations can come in a lot of different ways. Confirmation can come from something you read. Confirmation can come from something you hear, but it takes it and reinforces it. In two or three ways.
So when you hear something that could be true, It could be God talking to you. simply ask God for the confirmation. Dr. Tony Evans. Talking about how God's Word has specific relevance in each of our lives, even today.
Too many Christians are living desperate, defeated lives because they don't recognize the power God has delegated to His people. But the Bible has a lot to say on the subject, and that's the message in Tony's powerful book, Kingdom Authority. As I mentioned earlier, you can get a copy of this book, along with all 12 lessons in his current two-volume teaching series on Judges. They're yours with our thanks when you support the Ministry of the Alternative. Make the arrangements today by visiting TonyEvans.org.
You'll even have the opportunity to upgrade this deal by adding the Companion Kingdom Authority Leaders Kit, if you'd like. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222.
Sometimes God's call comes when life feels impossible. On Monday, Dr. Evans shows how God equips ordinary people to do extraordinary things, even when the task seems overwhelming. Join us as he uncovers how faith and obedience in the small things. prepares to overcome major struggles.
