Have you ever wondered if it’s possible for God—an omniscient, never-changing being who exists outside of time—to simply change His mind? Well, Dr. Tony Evans says the answer might not be what you would expect. In this message on the life of Hezekiah, learn how it’s possible for God to reverse His decisions when prayer is brought into the equation.
faith must always precede sight
once you put sight in front of faith
you’ve negated faith
faith is based on what you do not see
if you’ve got to see it first you won’t
see it
the euphemism of walking in the bible
means to live according to because
you’re moving with the mind of christ
you’re not just doing that on sunday
morning when it’s church time because he
wants to know that you want him so if
you’re in distress don’t let that drive
you away draw you near
closer
so that you like jacob and say i’m not
gonna let you go
until you answer me so welcome to the
file
[Music]
when you get close and want to live for
him want to please him want to honor him
want to exalt him want to draw near to
him then heaven opens up and he lets you
find him
he lets you find it
welcome to the fire
god tells hezekiah in
second kings 20.
it’s time to say goodbye
through the prophet isaiah he comes and
he says god told me to tell you
set your house in order or get your
affairs settled
make sure your will is intact
make sure your family understands that
it’s terminal
there will be no coming back from this
illness
you’re going to die
it is in this context that we read
that hezekiah
turned his face
to the wall
and pray to the lord
he was looking at isaiah
but now when he heard the news from the
prophet he turned his face to the wall
and the bible says he wept bitterly
he wept
and cried like a baby
to hear the bad news
that there is no solution
and there really is no solution
if god says you’re going to die
this came from god
god said it’s over
god said it’s
get your affairs in order what am i
going to do
if god says
it well the only thing you can do is go
to the god who said it
it says he turned his face to the wall
and he went to god
who decreed
that it was
over
so today
i’m talking to folk who think it’s over
whatever over means for you
and if you’re not in an over situation
keep living
you’re going to hit an over situation a
situation where it appears
to be terminal
hopeless
no solution
and god is right in the mix
we’re told hezekiah prayed
and when hezekiah prayed in verses three
and four
mainly verse 3
he says i walked before you
i was truthful
i gave you my whole heart
and i did what was good
you know what he gave god
a credit report
he says god
don’t you remember
that i hung in there when other folk
quit on you
then i followed you when other folk
ran away from you
that i stuck to the truth and didn’t buy
a lie
don’t you remember
look at my credit report
now when he asked god to remember
god does not have a memory issue god
doesn’t have a memory problem
whenever you see people asking god to
remember
it’s not because god forgets it’s
because they want god to pay special
attention
to it
god pay attention to this
i’ve walked with you lived for you
followed you
now here i have to put a parenthesis
because uh
he’s not a perfect man
in chapter 32 verses of second
chronicles verses 4 24 to 26
we’re told that he had some issues
issue of pride
and that pride got him sick
and god says you
this is it
but even though he had a flaw in his
credit report
when you looked over the whole of his
walk
there was spiritual consistency without
being perfect
on that day when you’re going to be in a
terminal situation
what’s your credit report look like
he gives him a credit report
and he says i have followed you
i have hung out with you i have
stuck with your truth
he turns to pray why
because god will put us in situations
where he is our only way out
where there’s no person you can talk to
no deal you can cut
it says he wept bitterly
but he matched his weeping with his
credit report
a lot of times we go to god with our
tears without a good report
and we wonder why he’s not responding
no he he had a great credit report but
he was in a
terminal situation
so he prays and he
cries out to god
one day if it has not come yet
you’re going to be i’m going to be we’re
going to be in a terminal situation
in other words a situation we can’t fix
and nobody else can help us
and the only out is god
you cannot decide on that day to change
your credit report
you have to have built that up along the
way
because you’re going to need to cash it
in on that day
hezekiah cries out to god
and says this is my report
and he’s crying for mercy
god then tells isaiah
who had gone out into the middle of the
court the word of the lord came to him
saying verse 5
return and say to hezekiah
the leader of my people thus saith the
lord god your father i have heard your
prayer and i’ve seen your tears no you
didn’t
i have heard your prayers
and i have seen your tears so the first
thing is he prayed
he gave something he gave god something
to hear
and it included his credit report
it says i’ve heard your prayer
but i’ve also seen your tears
i’ve heard what you said prayer
but i’ve also
seen how you feel
i’ve heard your words
but i’ve also read your heart
i’ve heard your speech
but i’ve also
felt
the depth of your pain
let me tell you something about god he’s
emotional
now we don’t talk a lot about the
emotions of god but we see it all in
scripture we see where god gets angry
the bible says the joy of the lord so he
can get joyful
the bible talks about god being pleased
or being pleasured
loving the feeling that all kinds of
statements
about god’s
feelings
you don’t just want to reach god’s ears
you want to touch god’s heart
because he’s a feeling kind of god
and he says i’ve heard your words but
i’ve also
felt your pain
what the bible says about jesus is he
came to sympathize
with our hurts that’s a that’s a feeling
thing
god just doesn’t want to hear you he
wants to feel you
and nothing enhances a relationship like
when what is said is also what is felt
because when the words
touch the heart
you got a thing going on in
he said i’ve heard your words
and i’ve seen your tears i
i feel you
what happened
he says i will heal you
on the third day you’re gonna go up to
the house of the lord meaning you’re
gonna get your praise on
you cry in the day but i’m gonna give
you a reason to shout three days from
now
i’m gonna heal you
wait a minute
it’s just a couple of verses ago he said
you’re gonna die
but it was just a couple of verses ago
and by the time isaiah got halfway out
in the courtyard
god watch this now
changed his mind
oh
did you hear that god
changed his mind
now this puts us in a theological
conundrum
the bible declares that god does not
change
god says i am the lord that changeth not
jesus is the same yesterday today and
forever
god cannot change he says that over and
over and over again in scripture
but we just saw god change
he said
you will die
thus saith the lord
a couple of minutes later you will not
die
thus saith the lord
so we went from a terminal situation
to a 15-year reprieve
and i was only in the center of a couple
of minutes
because i there just walked to the
middle of the courtyard
and the only thing that happened
between
what god said the first time and what
god said the second time
was a prayer full of emotion that’s the
only thing that’s happened
how can a changeless god
his immutability
change
god’s characteristics mercy grace
uh truth love
uh holiness righteousness omnipotence
omnipresence omniscience
veracity
uh god has
character qualities
those character qualities
are
unchangeable he will always be what he
has always been
you and i go through changes
we’re not the same today as we used to
be
god cannot change
his essential nature
but he changed
while god cannot change his nature
he can and does change his action let me
say that again
god’s nature cannot change
but his actions
may change
how then
does god change his action without
changing his nature
since his nature cannot change but his
action as in this case does change
so
god changes his mind
and he says you are going to live you
are not going
to die
he leveraged influence with god
so then
please notice something else
i’m going to deliver you verse 6.
i’m going to give you 15 years
and when i give you 15 years and deliver
you
i will deliver this city from the hand
of the king of assyria and defend the
city for my own sake and for the sake of
my servant david
okay watch this
when you’re in a terminal situation
and god changes his mind
and reverses something
and gives you a new lease
on life
whatever that terminal scenario is
it’s not just for you
see it’s not just for you
he says when i give you this 15 years
it’s not just so you can go out and
party
i’m giving you this 15 years because i
want to use you to deliver my people
from the attack of the assyrians
in other words
i i’m the only reason i’m turning this
array around is not only to give you
life because i know that’s what you’re
praying for but i also want to give you
purpose and i want to give you a new
opportunity to do something for me
see most of the time when we’re in a
terminal situation it’s only about me
myself and i and i want god to do
something for me
that is in my best interest and that’s
okay but it can’t be limited to you
when god gives you a new opportunity he
wants you to be a blessing not just be
blessed
and that’s a problem with a lot of this
blessing stuff out here today
i want to be blessed i want to be rich i
want to have this i want to have that
which in itself is not a problem unless
it’s by itself
unless it only involves you see the
prayer you need to pray is god i’m in a
terminal situation i need to affect
another part of your character i need
you to reverse this situation so that
not only can my situation be changed but
so that i can be a conduit to change
somebody else’s
so if it’s only about you then you
missing god said i got a bigger plan for
you than just you living 15 years i want
to deliver
and i want to deliver
the whole city
from the assyrians
so then he tells
isaiah
take a cake of figs
and he took them and laid it on the boil
and he recovered
okay so he’s dying from an infection
he’s got a boil
that’s going to kill him which means he
has an infection running through his
body
god tells the prophet
go get a fig cake
put the fig cake on the boil to suck out
the infection so that he can live
so god gives isaiah not the doctor
a medical solution
there has a coyote as the king so he can
get any doctor he wants
but because this was a spiritual issue
and not merely a medical issue god comes
up with a whole other plan to heal him
apart from the plan that the
professionals would use because if the
professionals could have used it he
wouldn’t be terminally ill in the first
place
god is not against medicine in fact all
the medicine you use is birth from
something god has already made so so any
doctor who’s using any medicine has got
to depend on something god has already
made to produce the medicine that we
take for our illnesses it’s nothing
wrong with using medicine it’s
everything wrong with using medicine
without god
see it started with god he got right
with god god said i’m going to hear you
then the medicine worked so he hears a
word from god
isaiah does
to help
a sick
king
he puts the it puts the fig cake on him
it sucks out the infection
and now
he’s healed
but oh hezekiah has a question
he says this
he says what shall be the sign verse 8
that the lord will heal me
okay
now he was just told the lord go healing
okay
but every now and again
you need to see something
okay
i heard what you said prophet isaiah
i heard what you said preacher
and i i like kind of believe it
but part of me is from missouri you got
to show me something
[Applause]
signs in the bible
were designed to confirm the word of god
god is not against confirming signs
he is against signs that are not synced
with his word
so his word can be confirmed by a visual
so isaiah says in the last couple of
verses he says
god told me to tell you this will be the
sign and you get to choose
do you want the sun to move forward 10
steps
or do you want the sun to go back 10
steps
translation this is the first
daylight saving times in history
do you want to spring forward
or fall back
god offers him a daylight saving time he
says i’ll speed up the time or i’ll slow
down the time you choose
hezekiah says well speeding up the time
i’m not sure i’m going to buy that
because that one looks too easy that’s
what he says
he says let me take the harder one let’s
see you back up the time
now they didn’t have watches and clocks
like we do they had more sundials
and ahab step was a sundial
so as the afternoon went on
the sun would roll up down the steps and
it would expand as the sun got brighter
so when he asked for the sun to go back
he’s asking for a regression of time
he’s asking for the son to do opposite
to what the son does he says because
that’s the harder thing
now here’s the question
why did god give him that sign well i
mean
he could have said i’ll just show you a
sign or he could have given
but he used the sun
for the sign
well you remember now that the issue is
assyria is going to attack
the name of the assyrian god is
asura a-s-s-u-ara
that’s the assyrian god and he’s the god
of the son
so he gives him a sign
tied to the ministry that he wants him
to perform once he’s healed in other
words it’s not just any old sign
it’s a relevant sign
because i’m going to show you and the
sign i give you about your healing
that the job i’m getting ready to give
you to take care of the assyrians i can
handle their god and if i can handle
their god because their god is supposed
to be the god of the son but i’m gonna
tell their god what’s gonna happen with
the sun and their god’s not gonna stop
me from doing what my son what i want
done so so their god is gonna know that
when i come up and i show up their god’s
not gonna be able to help them against
you when you are healed doing my will
because i’m gonna beat their god
so all this was tied to a sign
and the bible says as the khan said let
it roll back and it rolled back
ten steps
time went backwards
god has you for a greater kingdom
purpose
and he wants to use you
even if he allows a terminal situation a
situation that looks hopeless
so i want to challenge you as we wind
down
here’s my challenge
change your credit report
change your credit report
because when that time comes
you want to be able to say to god god
look at my credit report
i haven’t been perfect i have failed
but lord i have picked up and i have
decided to surrender to you
to pursue a relationship with you to
love the lord my god with all my heart
my mind my might and soul
to serve you and to serve others
god i am yours
i am yours and the good thing about a
credit report
is that they will allow you to let it
change
they’ll allow bad credit to become
medium credit to become awesome credit
so no matter how bad your credit report
used to be change your credit
so that when terminal day comes you can
offer god something he can respond to
have you ever needed god to reverse
something
things were going south and they were
going south real fast
and you needed him to turn it around
to
put you in a whole different course take
you north because
you hurt him going south
well i’ve got good news you can you can
change god’s mind
you see god has a space
in his dealings with his creation
that allows for
flexibility in his decision making
when conditions
have been met
a lot of times we’re headed the way
we’re headed in negative realities
because either we’ve put ourselves there
circumstances has put us there maybe
even other
people have put us there and he calls
for a certain response
and that response
touches
another element of his character
maybe he had to act in judgment or
discipline or even wrath
because of what we are dealing with at
the time
but when we respond accordingly
he can now attach our request to his
loving
goodness
and mercy
and grace
and kindness
and when he attaches that request
to the other parts of his attribute
then he can
change his previously decided
uh
result because he’s relating it to
another aspect of his being
so don’t let your circumstances define
how things end
appeal to god the bible is full of god’s
reversals
the bible says that god repented for
example in
nineveh when jonah preached
and he repented and changed his mind
about their destruction
but he repented because they repented
when they shifted he shifted
so there is some fluidity with god
not in terms of his character
but in terms of his methodology
so i don’t want you to throw in the
towel i don’t want you to give up i know
it may be bad
i know it may be challenging i know it
may be difficult
but it’s not over
because if you will appeal to god and
meet the conditions
that he has set forth in
faith obedience and prayer
you’re talking to him
you’re being honest with him
and you’re sharing your request with him
and then you trust him to change the
direction
you will be surprised at how willing he
is
and how actually he’s excited he is
to turn a 180 on you
and move you in a whole different
direction
because
of his mercy his grace and his love
and his willingness to respond
to our obedience
god bless you
as you watch him
turn it around
for you
[Music]
when you’re in the spirit
but the bible calls the spirit a wind
a wind it blows
my opinion nobody’s opinion when it
conflicts with god
is to be considered as truth the bible
says let god be true and every man a
liar
mother nature doesn’t work without daddy
god
that’s because truth
doesn’t just
because if it comes from god it’s truth
because god has absolute standard by
which reality is measured
[Music]
i’m standing here in alaska one of the
most glorious places in god’s great
creation and i want to invite you to
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for the alaskan cruise we’re going to
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in god’s word and in god’s creation
we’re going to enjoy great fellowship
great fun great food and i’m looking
forward to meeting and greeting you on
our tua alaskan cruise
register to be there can’t wait to be
with you
[Music]
[Music]
you