Your main goal should not be the blessing you're looking for.
That's the fruit of what you're after. Dr. Tony Evans says we should be seeking the giver, not the gift. Folks want their blessing, but they don't necessarily want the God who blessed them, because when they get their blessing, you don't see them no more. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Crying out to God for revival can seem very spiritual, but today we'll hear from Dr. Evans about why there's something we should want even more desperately.
Let's listen in as he explains. 1st Samuel 7 is the story of Israel turning back to God. It's a story about revival.
Fundamentally, revival is God's return in his manifest presence to his people. It says the word of the Lord was rare in those days. God wasn't doing much talking. God wasn't saying much to people. And that's because there was a great breach, a great distance between God and his people because of their constant rebellion against him. Then Samuel, verse 3, spoke to all the house of Israel.
It applied to everybody listening to the sermon. If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Asheroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him alone, he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. There are a bunch of folk in here today who are having trouble with the Philistines. A Philistine is an enemy. It's anything out there that keeps you captured, trapped, tricked, travailed.
It's that thing that won't leave you alone. Life has grabbed you by the throat and is jerking you around and you are lamenting, you are crying out that God does something. But you're not getting a word back. The problem is not that God is not near.
The problem is the people are far. He says, Samuel spoke to the house of Israel if you return to the Lord. You say, but I have returned. I'm in church. That's like saying I'm near the ark. Let's define what he means by return. He says, you must return to the Lord, and how must you do it?
Here it is. Remove the foreign gods and the Asheroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him alone, then he will deliver you. Now wait a minute. In verse 2, we just saw they were lamenting after the Lord. They were crying, weeping, wailing. So evidently, tears are not enough.
They were sad, but it's not enough. Getting emotional about your need for God is nice, but it's not enough. He says you must return to God, and the way you return to God, he says, is by removing the idols.
That raises the question, because I know somebody here thinking, well, well, that doesn't apply to us. Well, let's define an idol. An idol is an unauthorized source to meet your needs. The moment you go to a, watch this now, an unauthorized source, something God has not approved, to address a need in your life, the Philistines, but you go to an unauthorized source to do it, you have brought another God into the equation. Many of us will cancel God's deliverance of the Philistines, because we're going to keep another God in the equation.
That cancels him. He says you are to serve the Lord your God alone, and then you get the blessing. He will deliver you. Your main goal should not be the blessing you're looking for. Now, the blessing is important. The deliverance from the Philistines, whatever that is, that's important, and you want that, but that's not what you're after.
That's the fruit of what you're after. He says if you return to the Lord, then the Lord will deliver you. Now, here's what most people want. They want the deliverance without the return. When Israel was delivered from Egypt, you know, that's deliverance, he said I'm gonna take you to a land flowing with milk and honey.
You know, we call that their destiny. But there's a great statement made, and you don't have to turn there, but in Exodus chapter 5 verse 1, here's the statement is made. Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, and they make the statement. They said God told us to tell you to let his people go, and then he says this, watch this, that they may worship me in the wilderness. Amen, ma'am. I thought we were gonna let God's people go so they could get to the promised land.
Not yet. Before they get to Canaan and after they leave Egypt, we're going to develop them in the wilderness, and the way we're going to develop them in the wilderness is I'm gonna put them in a situation to learn to put me first, to learn to trust me, to learn to walk with me, so that when they get to the promised land, they won't forget me. See, the problem today is folk want God to give them their blessing, but they don't necessarily want the God who bless them, and you know that's true, because when they get their blessing, you don't see them no more, because now they really got what they were looking for, and they weren't looking for God, they were looking for his deliverance. So the sons of Israel, verse 4, removed the Baals and the Asherah and served the Lord alone.
Baal and Asherah, that's like a husband and wife God team. They were the fertility gods, because they didn't just have idols to have idols, they had idols because they were hoping those idols would do something. In other words, they didn't fully trust God, so they brought in some just-in-case gods. But the people made a decision that day to return to the Lord, which meant removing the idols.
Any unauthorized person, place, or thing that you use to meet needs in your life, even if the needs are legitimate. Okay, so they did what God asked. They had a solemn assembly, because he called them all together.
Samuel says in verse 5, Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, that was the place of gathering for revival and renewal, and I will pray to the Lord for you. They gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and here it is, fasted on that day and said, we have sinned against the Lord. How did they sin against the Lord?
By including other gods. That's how they sinned. They had reflected itself in a lot of actions of sin, but the essence of sin was they were looking outside of the true God to meet their needs by bringing in other gods, and Samuel judged, he made a judgment on the sons of Israel at Mizpah. So now they're right before the Lord. They have returned to the Lord with fasting. They've given up a craving of the body.
Why? Because they were so desperate for God. They were willing to give up food or television or whatever it happens to be that will keep you from, listen, an unhurried time in God's presence. Have you ever noticed how rushed it is when you try to spend time with God? You ever notice that? You ever notice how it gets interrupted? How you get distracted?
You met well when you got started, but it didn't last long. There's a reason for that. The reason for the interruptions and the distractions is because of how powerful it is, and I'll show you how. Look, he says, when they gathered together to get all this stuff straight, verse 7, now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the Lord of the Philistines went up against Israel, and when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. When Israel got serious, trouble came. There was a disruption taking place. Here they are, serious about getting right with God, and now the enemy is trying to disrupt it.
Why? Because the enemy knows how powerful it is. When the people of God get serious about God to return to God, he's up against something now. He's up against the fight of his life. The Bible says the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We are needing deliverance in various ways, all of us, by God, and the enemy wants to disrupt. He is going to seek ways to distract, to disrupt, to mess up an unhurried time in God's presence.
Why? Because he knows what that will produce. It will produce the deliverance you've been looking for for 20 years. One of the ways you'll know that your solemn assembly connected is prayers get answered. You're not just praying some vague prayer with some vague meaning.
No, prayers got answered. It says, and the Lord heard him. After 20 years, the Lord heard him.
Why? Because the people have returned to the Lord by getting rid of illegitimate acts that were designed to meet needs apart from God. So the Lord answered him. How did the Lord answer? Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, verse 10, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but, somebody say but, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. When we continue with Dr. Evans in just a moment, he'll talk about the spiritual lessons we can learn from the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Stay with us. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, they all want to claim that God is on their side, but Dr. Tony Evans says we all need to line up on God's side. The Word of God must trump your political alliances if you call yourself a Christian. In his booklet, How Should Christians Vote?, he explains what every believer needs to know before stepping into the voting booth. I kind of want to know where God stands, so I know where I'm supposed to stand as a child of God. I would think that would be any Christian's concern.
Believers depend on the Bible to guide our lives, strengthen our families, and structure our churches. Dr. Evans believes we need to stop changing books when it comes to politics. Whether it's immigration, taxation, abortion, since it's a nation under God, what does the God over us think about what the nation wants to do? Everything you need to sort through the spin, the hype, and the double-talk this election year and make a truly godly decision at the polls. Get your copy of How Should Christians Vote? For a limited time, we're packaging a copy of How Should Christians Vote? along with the 13 full-length messages in our current two-volume teaching collection, Turning a Nation to God.
These are available to you with our thanks when you make a contribution to help support the ministry of the alternative broadcast here on the radio and around the world. Together, this resource package will help you understand how to place God's agenda first when you cast your ballot, regardless of what you hear in the media, from the candidates themselves, and even from friends and family. Just visit tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222 to make the arrangements before this special offer runs out. And for those of you who want to go even deeper into this important topic, be sure to look into getting a copy of Dr. Evans' comprehensive book and Bible study on kingdom politics. Find out more when you call us at 1-800-800-3222 or when you visit us online at tonyevans.org. Details are right on the homepage.
I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's message, coming up right after this. The threat of global catastrophe looms over us. Earthquakes, fires. It seems like the world is falling into turmoil. Are you ready to face Armageddon? Dr. Tony Evans' latest book, Thy Kingdom Come, emerges as a light amidst the sin-ridden depths of our world, guiding you through the murky waters of uncertainty. Within these insightful pages, wisdom intertwines with revelation. You'll dive deep into the mysteries of enigmatic prophecy, where solace awaits the weary soul. Dr. Tony Evans' unparalleled mastery and deciphering the complexities of Scripture will ensure clarity in the face of confusion and illuminate the path towards hope. Arm yourself against the impending storm, and let not the hour of reckoning catch you unaware. Be prepared for what's to come by picking up your copy of Thy Kingdom Come at tonyevans.org. It comes with a bonus sermon series, Staying Right with God.
Do not be caught off guard. And now let's return to Dr. Evans for the second part of today's message. Tell God what you want Him to do, because they cried out to the Lord, save us from the Philistines. So they told God what they wanted God to do, but let me tell you what you don't want to tell God how to do it. The way God does what He does is unpredictable.
Who would have thunk it that God would cause thunder up in the heavens to be so loud, to be so boisterous, that it would cause havoc in the Philistine army and confuse them? God's got some confusion that He wants to cause to the problem that's been messing with you. But how He's gonna do it, you don't know. God has a million ways to hit the same bullseye. Tell Him what you want, but leave Him alone about how He does it, because His ways are not your ways. His thoughts are not your thoughts.
As high as the heavens are above the earth, that's how different He is than you. You simply return to the Lord, tell Him about the deliverance you desire, and then let Him in His own inimical way come down and invade the situation and cause havoc to hell. It says, and when Israel went out, verse 11, to Mizpah, they pursued the Philistines. The cities, verse 14, which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were restored to Israel. From Ekron even to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the land of the Philistines, so there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
Blessing number one is the blessing you asked for. He said, deliver me or deliver us from the Philistines. God created this thunder, confused the enemy, and delivered them from the Philistine, and that's the blessing you asked for. But when you read verse 14, they got bonus blessing, because it says they got what they didn't ask for. It says God not only delivered them from the Philistines, but went historical on them. Verse 14 says, God went back and got back the territory that had been lost years earlier and taken over by the enemy. Here's the good news when you return to God.
He'll not only answer your prayer, but he'll go historical on you. He'll go back and give you Joel chapter 2, which says he can give you back the years that the locusts have taken away. Some of us have lost months and days and weeks and years. We've gone from this situation to that situation. We've missed opportunity and benefits, and we wish we could do turn back the hands of time.
But you can't turn back the hands of time, but what you can do is let God go back, grab time, and bring it back up here and restore what was stolen from you. It says he will give you back the territory that the enemy has stolen. That's good news. That I can get what I asked for, and I can get what I lost.
That's good news. He says, return to me, and I will return to you. Y'all remember Jack and the Beanstalk? Jack was a little poor boy who lived with his poor mama, who was a widow in a little cottage. Jack had a cow. A paddler came along and offered to exchange the cow for some beans. Jack makes the exchange and trades off his cow, which they use for milk for beans. Jack plants the beans. The bean becomes this incredible bean stalk that rises from the ground, goes through the clouds into the heavens.
Jack sees this stalk go up that high, and he doesn't understand how that bean could get that big and grow that tall. He had to climb the beanstalk. Jack begins to climb the beanstalk, goes through the clouds because it's so high, gets to the top of the beanstalk, and there's a castle.
How can there be a castle at the top of a beanstalk? The fairy comes along and says to him, this castle used to belong to a knight and his wife, and they had a little baby boy. But a giant came along, killed the knight, making the mother a widow, and she had to be relocated with her baby boy.
And that baby boy is you, Jack. That mother is the widow of the knight. He said that the giant took everything that belonged to the knight and his widow and the baby boy and kept it for himself in this castle. Jack said, you mean everything in this castle is mine? Everything in this castle belongs to me?
He said, yes, but it's in the hands of the enemy. It's in the hands of the giant. Jack snuck inside the castle, and he saw a hen that laid golden eggs. Jack said, that's my hen laying them golden eggs. Now the giant sensed something was wrong.
He said, FIFA, fo fo. I hear the blood of an Englishman. He said, whether living or whether dead, I'll grind his bones into bread. But he couldn't find Jack because Jack had hidden. When the giant went to sleep, Jack stole a hen, walked down the beanstalk, and took the hen to the mother. The next day, Jack went up there again, saw the giant count bags of money.
Jack said, that's my money. Jack waited until the giant went to sleep, took all his money back, came down the tree, gave it to his mother. Jack went back up the next day, and Jack just kept grabbing stuff that the enemy had stolen and brought it back down and gave it to his mother. The last time Jack went up, Jack walked into the castle, and the giant saw him. The giant came after him. Jack ran, got on the beanstalk, harried down the beanstalk. The giant was coming after him. Jack took an axe, chopped the bottom of the beanstalk. The beanstalk fell over. The giant broke his neck.
The giant was dead, and everything that the enemy had stolen was now recovered back to Jack, all because there was a beanstalk that had been planted that grew up. The Bible says in John 15 5, Jesus says, I am the true vine. If you learn to climb up on Jesus, who came down to earth and went up to heaven so you could have back what the enemy has stolen away from you, if you stop staying on earth and make your way up to the heavens, you'll discover that the enemy has your stuff up there, but you now live in heavenly places so you can go up there and get it, and then you can say to the enemy, FIFA 4-4. I got the power of the only begotten son.
You can make your claim to what the enemy has stolen from you. God is calling you to return to him so he can give you back what the enemy has taken. Dr. Tony Evans, talking about how we can restore and refresh our relationship with God in a message from his classic two-volume archive, Turning a Nation to God. This timely sermon collection can serve as a great discussion starter for your small group or Bible study, and you can receive all 13 messages as our gift on either CD or digital download when you make a donation to help support the ongoing work of the alternative broadcast ministry. And if you do that right now, we'll also send you a copy of that helpful booklet you heard about earlier, How Should Christians Vote?
This is not a list of candidates, parties, or propositions. Instead, it aims to help you align your voting decisions with God's priorities as you evaluate the people, policies, and practices that your vote will support. You can request these resources online at tonyevans.org or give us a phone call at 1-800-800-3222, where one of our friendly team members is ready to help. And don't forget, if you're ready to go even deeper into this important topic, be sure to ask about Tony's Kingdom Politics book and Bible study package, available as an additional resource to complement the Turning a Nation to God sermon series. All the information is available online at tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Have you ever tried to get your point across to someone who simply wasn't paying attention? Next time, Dr. Evans will talk about how God experiences that kind of frustration with us. I hope you'll be back with us.
