Nothing can happen to you outside of God's will. Did you hear that? Nothing can happen to you outside of God's will. Dr. Tony Evans talks about how God uses his angels to back up that promise.
We all say it's not what you know, but what? Who you know. Same thing when it comes to the spiritual life: it's not only what you know, it is also who you know. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.
The Lord is much more than just a friend in high places, and His angels are much more than just messengers. Today, Dr. Evans explains how the work of angels fits in with the will of God. Let's listen. In Hebrews chapter 1, verse 14, a scripture we have peeked at before.
But I want to look at it again. He makes a statement in verse 14 by saying, and are they not all? Ministering spirits. set out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. Are they referring to the angels he References in verse 13, are they angels?
not ministering spirits, servants of God. Sent out. That is, they are. Sent out by God to render service. To act on the behalf of those.
And for the sake of those Who inherit salvation. That the job of angels It's to serve. To serve you and me. The inheritance of salvation. But he is saying that we have available to us an army.
They are set out as needed by God to minister. To serve those who are inheritors of salvation.
Now with that verse in mind, turn to To John 1, St. John 2. Chapter 1. Philip, verse 45, finds Nathaniel and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets spoke. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
We found the prophesied Messiah. Nathaniel said, you got to be kidding. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Wait a minute, you say the Messiah is from Nazareth? Nathaniel said, I've been around here a long time and I haven't seen anything good come out of Nazareth yet.
Philip said, don't take my word for it. Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming.
So Nathanael is on his way to Jesus and said to him, Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. He is an honest, non-deceitful fellow. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? We've never met before. Jesus answered and said, Before Philip called you.
When you were under the fig tree. I saw you. Nathaniel answered him. Rabba. You are the son of God.
You are the king of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you, That I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. He tells Nathaniel because of your affirmation You're going to see.
Heavenly activity. A carrying In your life and in before your very eyes. Ascending and descending Upon the sun. of man. This statement of a letter.
Or of Jesus, where angels are ascending up and down. is really from a story in the Old Testament. Genesis chapter 28. Verse 10, and Jacob departed from Bathsheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set.
And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he had a dream. And behold, a ladder. Was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending upon it.
You and I. If we are like Nathaniel, can yet deceive what was promised to Nathaniel. Which is The activity of heaven operating on our behalf. by virtue of God's angelic host. Because remember, Everything that happens on earth is precipitated by something that has preceded it that has already happened in heaven.
So if you are going to have on earth That which gives you victory here, it must come from a connection. That you have in heaven. We all say, if not what you know, but what? Who you know? Same thing when it comes to the spiritual life.
It's not only what you know, it is also who you know. This ladder that is on earth. is ascending up into heaven. The problem with many of us is we either don't have a ladder Have a ladder, don't know where the ladder is. or have a ladder, know where the ladder is, but don't have the strength to get to the top.
The connection is that what's on earth must link you to what's in heaven. One of the great tragedies today Is that many of us, even in this room right now, don't know the promises that God has made. based on his own name and his own character that he is committed to fulfilling. if those promises we would claim in relationship to having access to this letter.
Now why is that important in the spiritual battle? Because many of us are living defeated because we don't know the promises of victory God has given us. And one of the things Satan has done is he's kept us spiritually ignorant of the promises of God. And because of that ignorance, we're discouraged when we ought not be discouraged. We're complaining when we ought not to be complaining.
Many times when we should be giving thanks, we're fussing because we don't know what God has promised. If we knew what God has promised when we're in a difficult situation and we knew the promises of God, we would be getting on our knees saying, Lord, I'm in a mess, but I want to thank you for your great and precious promises. I want to thank you that you are bigger than my problem. And right now, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I claim the promise. All right.
You can't claim what you don't know. And that's why a working knowledge of the word of God is critical to your experience of the latter. That is access to heaven. From Earth. This is why you can relax.
Because when heaven is properly linked to earth, or better yet, earth... Your life is properly linked to heaven. Nothing can happen to you outside of God's will. Did you hear that? Nothing can happen to you outside of God's will.
When you are in God's will, He will keep you for whatever He has for you. You don't have to get jealous. You don't have to get frustrated. Nobody can take what belongs to you. What's yours is yours.
when heaven is properly linked to earth. or earth is properly linked to heaven. He won't. Keep you. Many of us won't call on God for what God is willing to do, waiting to do, because we don't see that He's able to do it.
We don't see this ladder. That connects us from heaven to earth. And so, what do we do? We quit, we give up, we run, or we say, I can't. God says, greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.
The devil deceives us and says, greater is he that's in the world than he that's in us. We see what the devil says. We don't see what God says.
So we act out his will rather than God's will. Matthew chapter 4. Remember Jesus? What the devil? He tells the devil no.
Be gone, Satan. Verse 11. of Matthew 4, and the devil left him. And behold, angels came and began ministering to him. feeding him, encouraging him, providing for him.
One of the ways, believers, that you get heavenly prayers answered here on earth is through angelic staff. God says to whatever angel is responsible for your well-being. Take care of him. Meet that need. What are the conditions?
For God. to let you see a ladder. If you're going to see heaven. Open up. And the supernatural presence of God on your behalf.
Through his angelic host. You're going to have to take seriously The word of God. He said, Nathaniel, because you Believe You will see. Jesus saw angels because he said Satan, this is what the word says. This is what the word says.
This is what the word says. Okay? Many of us are not seeing heaven open because we're saying, this is what I think. This is what I think. Uh-uh.
You won't see heaven. Unless you are operating out of the perspective of God's word. You must say to yourself, When you're faced with things that contradict the word of God, that that contradiction is a lie. It's a lie when Satan says that you are bound. It's a lie.
You have been set free in Jesus Christ. You thank God for what the word says instead of thanking Satan for what he says. And whenever you believe Satan, you're thanking him. If you're having a problem with drugs, That problem is real. That problem is not a lie.
The problem is real. But its authority over you is a lie. Satan, you do not have authority over me. I've let you dupe me. You cannot dupe me no longer in the name of Jesus Christ.
According to the word of God, I can overcome this. Not in my own power, in God's power, but based on his word. Satan runs from the word. He can't handle the word. It burns him.
To handle the word. And that's why he wants to detract us from the word. When doctor Evans returns in a moment, He'll talk about the difference between faith in God's Word and faith in God's Son. Stay with us.
Sometimes the clearest moments come when you step away from the noise. and give your soul room to breathe. This February, you're invited to experience that kind of renewal on a Caribbean cruise with Dr. Tony Evans. Join Dr.
Evans and Friends of the Ministry February 28th through March 7th for a seven-day journey from Fort Lauderdale. You'll visit Nassau, the unspoiled beaches of Grand Turk, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, along with peaceful days at sea and a relaxing stop at Half Moon Cay. Together, these moments create the perfect setting for rest, reflection, and spiritual growth. And on board, you'll experience inspiring teaching, uplifting worship, and meaningful connection. This isn't just a vacation.
It's an opportunity to return home refreshed, refocused, and renewed. Don't miss your chance to be part of it. Visit tonyevans.org and make your reservation today. That's TonyEvans.org. And while you're on the website, be sure to check in to getting Tony's powerful book, Warfare, Winning the Spiritual Battle.
It explains why the struggles we face in life often have deeper spiritual roots. and why lasting victory requires more than human effort alone. In this practical and encouraging resource, Dr. Evans shines a light on the enemy's tactics. And shows how to stand strong against the unseen battles behind fear, discouragement, temptation.
relational conflicts, addiction, and more. If you contact us right away to make a donation in support of this ministry, We'll send you the warfare book, along with the complete two-volume audio series, Angels, Good, Bad, and Ugly. Across all 12 full-length messages, Tony answers some of the biggest questions about angels, demons, spiritual warfare. and the invisible realm that impacts our everyday lives. This is a limited time offer, so visit tonyevans.org today to make the arrangements.
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Well right now, here's Dr. Evans with more of today's message. In chapter 2 of John, read with me. Verse 23 and 24.
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name beholding his signs which he was doing.
Now watch this. But Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them. For he knew all men. Jesus had on his hands secret disciples. They believed in his name.
And according to John 20, if you believe in his name, you're saved. But what Jesus would not do, now watch this. is entrust himself to them.
So you got a contradiction here. They believe in him. But he doesn't entrust themselves to him. Why? Because A lot of them were like a lot of us.
They wanted to follow Jesus from afar. They wanted to be secret service saints. And as a result, the result is Jesus would not entrust himself to them. Or to put in the words of Matthew 10: if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my father. If there is no public...
representative of Christ in the world. then there will be no private blessing from Christ. to you and the world. You cannot be A secret disciple and see heaven open. A lot of people want public blessings, but they want to be private Christians.
They want public display of heaven to solve their problems, but they don't want to be a testimony for Jesus Christ. Let me show you a verse. 2 Corinthians 4.18. While we look not At things which are seen. But at things which are Not.
See For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen or eternal. Put it another way. If your life is driven by your five senses, you are not a mature Christian. If you are driven by what you hear and see and touch and taste and smell, if you are driven, By that, it's not that those things are wrong.
is that those things are not enough. The focus of your life must be derived from the invisible world. You say, but how do I see that world? Colossians chapter 3, verse 1. If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. It's a mind thing. Hebrews chapter 11, that's the great chapter of the people of faith, and that's what this is all about. Living by faith. Talking about Abraham.
Abraham was called verse 8. to go to a place to receive an inheritance. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, in a foreign land, dwelling in tents. Verse 10. for he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and builder was God.
You see that? He functioned in time because of an eternal viewpoint. His eternal viewpoint affected where he lived. how we lived and how he operated. His nephew Lot Saw Earth.
He saw all the money that could be made in Sodom.
So he moved to Sodom based on what he could see. Abraham stayed where he was because of what he saw. Lot saw this world. Abraham saw God's world. Lot made a decision about his world or about the physical world.
And he lost everything. Abraham made a decision about the spiritual world and he gained everything. because he was looking through spiritual sunglasses. Not only that, look at verse 13. Talks about people who died in faith without receiving the promise, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and aliens on earth.
For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. He is saying People Who love God who live according to this eternal perspective. Even go to their graves thinking this way. Knowing that whatever God doesn't give him in time, he's going to make up for in eternity. That there will be no loss.
By those who follow Christ. Verse 27 of Hebrews 11. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. Tell my Moses, for he endured as seeing him who is what? Unseen.
Moses didn't do it a lot because he saw him who could not be seen. Let me close in Genesis 28. When he saw heaven and earth come together for him. He worshipped. That's what he did.
He worshiped. Verse 16, and Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God.
Now he's out under the stars. He says, no more, this is God's house. And this is the gate of heaven. Listen, when God comes through for you, don't wait till next Sunday to worship. Turn right wherever he came through for you turn it into church All right.
Pray them? Where you are? Don't wait to praise him. When he comes through for you, you stop where you are and you praise him, okay? He says, This is the house of God.
This is the gate of heaven.
Now, watch this.
So, Jacob rose early in the morning. took the stone that he had put under his head.
Now all he had was a pillar. That wasn't a good pillar either. Got this hard stone pillar that he's laying his head up against. He took the stone and he put that, he put on his head, he set it up as a pillar and piled oil on its top. Oil was a way of sanctifying.
dedicated. He said, this used to be a stone. This ain't no stone. This God stone. It became dedicated to God.
And he called the name of the place Bethel. It's the dwelling place of God. Then Jacob made a vow. He recommitted himself, saying, If God be with me, will keep me on this journey I will take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, I will return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. Up until this point, Jacob said, I'm my own God.
I can do it my way. It's my thing. Do what you want to do.
Now he says, God, you're the God. Anyone who connects heaven and earth like this, you're in charge. And finally, in verse 22: And this stone which I have set up at the pillar will be God's house. And of all that you give me, I will give you a tenth. This was before the law.
He says, I'll tithe everything you give me back to you. because I saw heaven and earth come together. Is heaven way out there somewhere and earth way down here? That's a dichotomy Jesus doesn't want. Do you know right after he told Nathaniel this?
With the disciples looking on, it says they were invited to a wedding in Cana. Chapter 2. And they ran out of wine. Guess what they saw? Heaven and earth come together.
Bring me some water pots full of water. Brought him some water pots. Water was changed in the wine. And they said, we ain't never had no wine this good. The part of the story is that Jesus Christ let them see heaven and earth come together.
the miraculous intervention of eternity into time. in your life and in mine. But let's not let that be a theory. Let's let it be an experience. Are you ready to experience a real-life relationship with Jesus?
Here's Dr. Evans to explain how it can happen for you right now. If you've been listening to our broadcast and you have not personally trusted Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins so that He can give you the gift of eternal life right now, I want you to go to God and transfer your trust from any and everything else except the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins and arose from the dead. In fact, I'm going to say a little prayer, and you can repeat it after me. You just have to mean it for yourself.
Heavenly Father, I know I'm a sinner, but I am and that I can't save myself. I believe Jesus Christ, your Son. Died on the cross. in my place for my sin and I now am trusting him alone to forgive me. and to give me the gift of eternal life, that he promised to give to any one who came to him for it.
Thank you for saving me. and help me from this day forward. to live a life Pleaving to you. Congratulations. Welcome to the family.
God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with Dr. Evans, we encourage you to get involved in a good Bible-teaching church so you can grow. We also invite you to visit Tonyevans.org and click the link that simply says Jesus. You'll find some great resources there, along with some personal comments from Tony.
TonyEvans.org is also the place to go for details on getting his current two-volume teaching series, Angels, Good, Bad, and Ugly. This 12-message collection Explores what Scripture really says about angels, demons, spiritual warfare. and the unseen activity taking place around us every day. And remember, if you make a donation to help support the ministry, We'll send you the complete audio collection along with the powerful companion book I told you about earlier, Warfare, Winning the Spiritual Battle. But be sure to contact us soon because this special double offer will only be available for a limited time.
That web address is tonyevans.org. or let one of our team members help you when you call 1-800-800-32-22. That's 1-800-800-3222. The messages we present each day here on the alternative are originate from Dr. Evans' sermons.
But outside the pulpit, he engages in candid conversations with special guests on his Unbound podcast. You can listen to those any time on your favorite podcast platform. God created the angels to watch over us. but their help comes with certain conditions. Tomorrow, Dr.
Evans talks about how angels operate. and how to make sure we had their support when we need it. Be sure to join us.
