If you've never seen God show up at the last second, when you didn't know how it was going to work out, you don't know how your daddy works.
Dr. Tony Evans says God wants us to trust him completely.
He's looking for opportunities to let you know that you are covered.
This is the Alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Bobby McFerrin wrote and performed the catchy number one a cappella hit, Don't Worry, Be Happy.
Yet centuries before, Jesus had shared with his followers the antidote for anxiousness, the reason believers don't need to worry.
In today's message, Dr. Evans points out that God encourages us to prioritize the spiritual over the physical, a reminder that pursuing his kingdom invites his power into our lives.Let's listen in as he explains.
Jesus, in Luke chapter 12, speaks about, again, this thing called the kingdom.The kingdom is the jurisdiction of heaven.It is the governmental realm of God.Christians are in the kingdom.
But you can be a Christian in the kingdom, but not properly operating under the jurisdiction of the king.
So in Luke chapter 12, Jesus wants to speak to those who are in the kingdom about maximizing the benefits of the kingdom, since you're in it and these benefits are offered you by the king.
He says in verse 31, but seek his kingdom and all these things will be added to you. The word seek, as we've said in our sermon title, means to aggressively pursue.It means to go after in a very passionate way.
It means to prioritize the jurisdiction of God, the kingdom, as your driving force in life. Don't just be born in it, go after it.Grab all that it has to offer, seek or pursue.In Matthew chapter six, verse 33, it reads this way.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God.It adds the word first.You must seek it passionately as a priority.Oh, most people will bring God in, but rarely first.
It's after they've tried everything else, after they've talked to everybody else, after they've gotten everybody else's viewpoint.
And so he says, I want you to seek, that is to pursue, to make it a big deal, to go after the rule of God, to go after the prioritization of God.Now, why does this matter?
Well, he spent from verse 21 all the way down to verse 31, saying over and over again, do not worry.But worry consumes us.And it gets sophisticated, obsessive, compulsive, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress.
and a myriad of other definitions for worry.Yet Jesus commands us not to worry.He doesn't say don't worry.You ever had somebody tell you don't worry?Okay, it seems so.So you must not have nothing going on in your life.Yeah, that's what Jesus says.
He says, stop it.Stop worrying.Stop letting the concerns control you. Worry is like a rocking chair, gets you started, it just doesn't take you anywhere.He then says, first of all, when you worry, you worry about the wrong priority.
He says that in verse 21, for this reason, I say to you, do not worry about your life as to what you will eat or know your body as to what you will put on.He says,
Don't worry about your life, because life about your food, because life is more than food, verse 23.In other words, if you're worried about what you're gonna eat, he says, that's a secondary worry.
You ought to worry about whether you're gonna wake up to eat.Because if God doesn't give you life, eating is not your big problem.He says, don't worry about your clothes, You need to worry about whether you have a body strong enough to get in them.
He says, you worry about the second thing when there's a bigger thing that you really need to be concerned about.He says, let me help you worry.He says, I want you to study nature.
Because one of the things you find out about mother nature who was established by father God is that he built in to the operation of nature, its ability to care for itself.I mean, plants, fruit, vegetables have built in seeds to continue their life.
I mean, it's built in.The acorn becomes an oak, it's all built in. He says, if you study nature more than television, you'll understand how God works.He didn't get specific.He says, consider the ravens, verse 24, for they neither sow nor reap.
They don't farm.They don't have plows.They don't have CDs, mutual funds or American Bank of America bank accounts. He says, consider the ravens, which by the way are unclean birds.
For they neither sow nor reap, nor do they have storehouses or barns, yet God feeds them.Ravens be eaten every day and don't have a storehouse of worms.Because they assume God's gonna feed them.That's an assumption.So they operate that way.
He says, and are you not more valuable than them?He says, consider verse 27, the lilies, how they grow.They neither toil nor spin.But I tell you not even Solomon in all of his glory was not clothed like one of these.
He says, have you seen the beautiful flowers?He says, they don't have a singer sewing machine. They don't have a personal tailor, but every spring they be popping up, looking good, talking about how pretty they are.
He says, don't you understand how God has this thing working?It's built in.It's built in.The provision for nature is built in and God has built it in.
He says, based on what God has done in nature, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, based on what God has done in nature.
And then he says, all these things, the things that we worry about, the nations eagerly seek, but your father knows you need these things. but seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you.Ooh.
He says, when it comes to the ravens, when it comes to the flowers, God does it.When it comes to you, your daddy does it.He switches from God to father.What the problem is, is many of us have not yet learned to relate to God as father.
We relate to God as God. And as God, he's got the power.He's got omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence.He's got all of these attributes because he's God.But he says, no, when it comes to you who are in the kingdom, he's daddy.
And he says, and daddy knows you need these things. but you won't experience what daddy knows you need if you're not pursuing dad's jurisdictional environment called his kingdom.He says, seek daddy's kingdom and the needs will be met.
So if you're not seeking the kingdom where daddy lives, then you don't have access to what he has built in already in advance to supply. Why?
Because you are, watch this, you are doing the opposite because he says in verse 30, for all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek.In other words, you done gone secular on him.And once he sees you call the culture your daddy,
Once you call the unbelieving realm your daddy, once you make the society that is separate from God your daddy, then your daddy says, well, let them take care of you.
If you're going to abandon my kingdom to have this world's kingdom, then don't come to your daddy, because you've decided to live in another house.
So let that house, let that culture, let that unbelieving, secular, godless world cover you, because you'd have made me second. Cause that's what the Gentiles do.That's what the ungodly do.That's what the unrighteous do.They pursue their own agenda.
I have a kingdom agenda.I have a kingdom realm.I have a divine jurisdiction.And in this house, daddy rules.And he says, and daddy knows what you need and it will be added to you.
When we return with more of today's message, we'll hear about one of Dr. Evans' dietary deal-breakers.Stay with us for that.
In the meantime, if today's topic of making God's kingdom a priority has struck a personal note with you, we invite you to check out Tony's thought-provoking paperback, One Kingdom Under God.
Through the pages of this book, you'll begin to see the world as God sees it, helping you discover your unique role and purpose within His kingdom.
You'll also want to explore the 12 full-length messages from our current Unleashing the Kingdom series.
We're excited to offer the book, an entire two-volume audio collection, and a special resource bundle that we'll send to you along with our thanks when you make a donation to help support the mission of the Alternative.
For more information on this exclusive offer, visit TonyEvans.org or contact our resource team at 1-800-832-22. They're ready to assist with your request anytime, day or night.That's tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.
We'll return to Dr. Evans 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 in 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. comes with a bonus sermon series, staying right with God.
Do not be caught off guard.
Okay, many of you know, I don't eat fish.Okay, I don't eat fish.I hate fish.I despise fish.I know fish is healthy for you.I like fish, but there's a reason I don't like fish.
When I was a boy growing up in Baltimore, many times my father did not get work as a longshoreman, a stevedore, on the docks in Baltimore, where he unloaded and loaded boats.
You were part of what they called gangs, and you were called in based on the ships coming in.So if no ship was coming in that was part of his gang, part of his group, that was to unload the boat, he wouldn't be called.
And sometimes his group wouldn't be called in for weeks or months. So to make sure that his family ate, particularly during times when there was no money coming in because his group wasn't called, he would go fishing.
But not with a fishing rod, but with a net.Because he didn't know how long this was going to last.So he would take a net and go fishing, and he would catch herring. Now, if you don't know about herring, let me tell you about herring.
Herring are little fish with a billion bones, tiny bones.He would catch all of these herrings.We had herring for breakfast, herring for lunch, herring for dinner, herring for dessert,
We ate herring, herring, herring during those times, and that is why I learned to despise fish, okay?Because I had to eat herring during those times.But my daddy was gonna make sure whatever he had to do, to make sure his family ate.
He was going to do that because we were under his jurisdiction.So daddy was gonna do what daddy had to do.God says, my kingdom is my jurisdiction.And if you let me be daddy, I know how to make sure things are addressed.
He says in verse 32, he says, I know you're stirred. Because he says, be not afraid, little flock.He says, I know what I'm saying to you is scaring you right now.Can I put this whole thing on God like that?
And then he says, for it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. He says, the reason you don't have to be afraid is he's looking for opportunities to show you he's daddy.
He is looking for opportunities to show you he's in control and got this thing worked out.He's looking for opportunities to let you know that you are covered.Doesn't mean you don't meet your normal responsibilities.
It means you don't worry as you meet them and you don't go outside of God to meet them.
He says, you just do what you naturally are supposed to do, and where you have legitimate concern, that's fine, but you don't let that control you, because I gladly give you the kingdom if you're seeking the kingdom.
But if the king and his kingdom, his governance, guidance, and jurisdiction is secondary to you, then what you're saying is you don't want him to be your daddy. Your father.
If you've never seen God come through, if you've never seen God hand something over that you couldn't make work yourself, then you haven't seen your daddy at work.
If you've never seen God show up at the last second, where you didn't know how it was gonna work out, you don't know how your daddy works. If you've never seen him, just in the nick of time.I remember when I was going to drop out of seminary.
I was in seminary.Sister Evans and I, we had three kids then.And I was going to drop out of seminary because trying to work part time, trying to do seminary was just too much because I couldn't make enough money.And we sat down at the dinner table.
And a decision had to be made that day.It was a Friday.And I said, what do we need to just get by our emergency right now?She said, right now, we desperately need at least $500.This was back then in the 70s.It would be $5,000 today.It's $500.
She said, just to eat this weekend and to do it, we need $500.I said, OK.If God does not provide us $500 today, I will resign seminary for this semester, take a full-time job, and then try to go back next semester.So it was down to the day.
We sat at the dinner table, and we prayed to our father. I went to seminary that day.You have mailboxes at the seminary.I went to the mailbox.I opened the mailbox.There is a letter in the mailbox.I pull out the letter in the mailbox.
I open it up, five $100 bills.There was no name on the envelope.It was just an envelope with five $100 bills.
Years later, a man comes up to me and he said to me, do you remember coming to seminary and seeing a letter in your mailbox with five $100 bills?I said, yes.He said that morning when he was praying, the Holy Spirit told him,
to put an envelope in our box with five $100 bills.It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.I sat on the back steps of our education building.
Once a month or so, I would sit on the back steps and I would look out over the golf course.And I said, Lord, this is prime property. in our community, what would it be like if the kingdom owned it?This was a segregated piece of property.
What would it look like if the kingdom owned it and use it for kingdom purposes, community development in the name of Jesus Christ?But Lord, you're gonna have to give that to us because they made it clear they wouldn't sell to us.
So I put it in the hands of the Lord, prayed about it about once a month when I would happen to be over there for something else.Three groups applied to buy it. All three groups fell through for different reasons.
They called and said, do you still want to buy it?That's why we own it.Because God gave it.He gives the kingdom, but you'll never know it if you don't pursue the kingdom.You must seek the kingdom first.
And seeking the kingdom first begins with a personal relationship with Christ.Here's Dr. Evans once again to spell it out.
One of the things the Bible is clear on is that men are not saved by works.This is so confusing to so many people.Some people say, I'm trying to make heaven my home.Some people talk about how they are keeping the Ten Commandments.
Other people talk about they're better than their neighbors.None of that makes you acceptable to a God who demands perfection.Anything less than perfection is unacceptable to a holy God.So guess what God did?He came up with a perfection program.
He took His perfect Son, He who knew no sin, let Him die for the sins of the whole world, and He will make a credit exchange.He will exchange your sin for Jesus' perfection if you come to Jesus for the transfer.
But He will only do it if you come to Jesus.He won't do it if you try to earn it.So would you come to Jesus right now and ask Him to make a transfer, to transfer your sin to Him,
and to say you want His righteousness applied to your account, that you receive that righteousness, you give Him your sin in exchange for the gift of eternal life.
If you will tell Him that now, if you will believe on Him to be your Savior, He will give you eternal life, salvation from sin, heaven as a final destiny, and the beginning of a new experience of God operating in your life. all that for free.
Friend, it doesn't get any better than that.
As Dr. Evans has shared before, no matter how dire your earthly circumstances are, God has the last say and is in complete control.Make sure you've aligned yourself with Him.
You can find out more when you visit tonyevans.org and follow the link at the top of the homepage that simply says Jesus. Well, as I mentioned earlier, today's lesson is part of Dr. Evans' Unleashing the Kingdom sermon series.
And I don't want you to miss your chance to receive the two-volume collection on CD or digital download, including all 12 full-length messages.As a special thank you for your contribution to support the Alternative Ministry,
We'll also include Tony's impactful book, One Kingdom Under God.This exclusive offer will only be available for a limited time.So be sure to visit TonyEvans.org to make your donation and request your resource package today.
You can also reach our 24-hour Resource Center at 1-800-HELP. 1-800-3222 for assistance.Again, that's TonyEvans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.You know, it's hard to thank someone for a gift when you don't know who sent it.
Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans will bring us a biblical reminder that every good thing in our lives comes from just one source.I hope you'll make plans to join us for that.
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