Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder, and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets, and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
well good morning to everybody and happy
happy happy Father’s Day to all the
fathers out there we hope you have a
great day
and that this is the beginning of a
great new 12-month cycle of your daddy
hood and fulfilling your your role as a
father has never been a time when
fathers have been more critical to the
well-being of kind of like everything
than they are right now and so I’m
excited as a father to join with the
fathers to wish you this happy day and
mothers and kids make sure that daddy
knows that you love him you cherish him
you value him you respect him and yes
you are following him so so that’ll put
a little pressure on him to lead you in
the right way right but happy Father’s
Day and we’re excited for this special
day and what we want to talk to
specifically the men about is what I’m
calling the declaration of a kingdom man
we want you to make a declaration all
you men and fathers we want you to
declare where you’re coming from and you
know a kingdom man is a male who has
made the decision to operate
consistently under the governance of God
and other the lordship of Jesus Christ
and so that’s to be your posture a
father one day was correcting his son
you see his son had gone out and his son
had gone to the outhouse and way out in
the country and the son hated to go to
this outhouse he just hated it I don’t
know stood on the side of a creek and he
got so frustrated and having to go use
the outhouse one day they he just pushed
the outhouse real hard and it fell into
the creek well the father came to him
the next day and said son did you push
the outhouse into the creek
son said yes that I did it father took
off his belt to do a little correcting
but the son complained he said but Dad
George Washington told the truth about
chopping down the cherry tree that’s
when the father said yeah but George
Washington’s father wasn’t in the tree
you get the point the daddy was in the
outhouse when they got pushed over the
young man had made a bad decision
because he didn’t understand it
understand all the ramifications of its
choice we live in a day when choices
have to be made we live in a day in the
fork in the road when you look at what’s
happening all around us the chaos the
confusion the lack of clarity and voices
coming at us from all different
directions it’s time for men to make a
choice choice is the ability that God
has given each of us to make a decision
regarding the options that are before us
and with all the voices that we’re
hearing now it is time for men to make a
decision God has given us a will and he
does not make all of our decisions for
us he gives us the option like he did
the first man Adam but he gives us the
ability to make the choice that just so
we understand the theology of choice all
of our choices are within sovereign
boundaries like a football field
there’s sovereign boundaries their
sidelines goal lines those those lines
are not negotiable they don’t move but
on the field of play you get to choose
you get to choose which play you run God
is given us as human beings and yes
especially men the ability to make a
choice we will either choose his way or
our own way
we’ll choose God’s Way or man’s way
we’ll choose the secular way or the
sacred way the choice is yours now let
me let us all know we don’t get to
choose the consequences we only get to
make the choice the consequences are in
the hand of God and the reality is God
is waiting on men to make a choice he’s
waiting on men to choose him not just by
throwing up some God words but by making
the choice that their decision-making
will be consistent with his word and his
will and that will be the final word on
all subjects and I know we’ve got some
major cultural competing subjects right
now but he wants to know that his word
and his will and his way will determine
our choice
Isaiah three makes it clear that when
men don’t choose right the kids get in
rebellion the women can possibly take an
illegitimate authoritative role and it
says and then the men become neutered
and they become weak and they fall on
the sword today we have too many men
falling on the sword too many men who
have been domesticated meaning operating
in a way that is outside of your
divinely ordained responsibility and it
starts with a God choice that’s why I
love these two verses in Joshua chapter
24
let me read them now therefore fear the
Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in
truth and put away the gods which your
father’s served beyond the river and in
Egypt and serve the Lord if it is
disagreeable in your sight to serve the
Lord choose for yourselves today whom
you will serve whether the gods which
your father’s served which were beyond
the
/ gods of the amorite sin whose land you
are living but as for me and my house we
will serve the Lord
here’s a man Joshua who makes a choice
the context is that he is concerned that
the people who have left Egypt have not
fully left Egypt they still got a little
Egypt in them and this this Egypt that
is stuck with them will give them the
propensity to want the blessing of God
without choosing god well what the
benefits of the promises of God without
the selection to the submission and
service to God and so he wants to make
it clear you’re not in Egypt anymore and
even in the world in which you are
living and the way you are surrounded by
a secular culture by the Emirates
don’t let the place where you’re living
in define the decisions that you make
we’re hearing voices all over telling us
who we are how we ought to operate what
we are to think how we ought to move
what we ought to say how we ought to
feel and those voices are coming at us
hot and heavy on the street in the media
Joshua says look I have made a decision
that my decisions will be defined not by
the culture around me but by the Christ
inside of me by my commitment to the
will and the word of God he knew that
pressured by the culture the culture
they came from Egypt and the environment
they were in the Emirates there would be
the propensity to spiritual compromise
it is disheartening to see the
generation of men today who are
spiritually compromising
they are one way in church but then they
go secular when they leave Church they
leave what God thinks and what God says
and will allow what man thinks and what
man says to override the authoritative
Word of God which means they’re not
Kingdom men and they’ve not made a
kingdom declaration this does not deny
your realities your humanity but it does
say they’re subject to a greater
Authority he does not want them to play
with idols and Idol is a noun an
unauthorized now person place thing of
thought that you look to as your source
now today we have American idols they’re
sophisticated it can be technology can
be politics it can be your race it can
be your education it can be your income
can be your career it can be anything
that Trump’s God and your decision
making anything or anyone including you
that can overrule God means that is an
idol in your life you need to understand
God has an exclusivity clause
he can’t be second and he will not allow
any other competing deities not if you
want him in the vicinity my great
concern with all the cultural turmoil
we’re going through is that we’ll want
God pray to God while having competing
idols that we are entertaining when you
do that you have exited God in spite of
your church attendance in spite of your
prayers in spite of your cultural
nuances you want God we need God right
in the middle of it and we need some men
to declare we don’t need an undecided
voter right now we need somebody who are
voting for heaven every time yes we mess
up we make mistakes we sin and God has
given us an antidote for it called
repentance where we turned the other way
and turn back to God
actually to do it but for all that we as
men are facing today and his father’s
you better have God on your side and God
doesn’t want your just voting in private
many people today many men today won a
cafeteria God the kind of God where you
pick and choose when you want him and
when you don’t want it that’s not the
kind of God he is and that’s not the
kind of men he’s looking for as you’ve
heard me say many times he’s if you’re
20 to 30 God is looking for a man so he
doesn’t have to curse the land but
because he couldn’t find one the land
was cursed our culture could be cursed
because the men are nowhere to be
located so if your man not a male a man
you can be a male and not a man because
you haven’t made the decision the
declaration it’s time to make your vote
heard for heaven to overrule history it
relates to history it operates in
history but it’s designed to overrule
history when history is not on God’s
side now let’s look a little closer at
Joshua’s declaration first of all it is
a personal declaration he says as for me
as for me this decision cannot be made
by somebody else for you as a father as
a man as a husband you’ve got to make
the decision this is how I roll
this is where I’m coming from I am first
of all a Christian I am first of all a
follower of Jesus Christ
my first allegiance is to the God of the
Bible his way his word his wisdom his
will as for me now in a culture and
chaos that can be a little tough
decision because folks will want you to
make their decision in order to be
accepted
in order to be popular too many men
today I like jellyfish jellyfish can be
a little they can be cute colorful but
they have no substance no backbone they
just go with the carrot they don’t they
don’t take a stand and I don’t mean
being men I mean I don’t mean being mean
but I do mean being clear that I follow
Jesus Christ everybody else is saying
who they follow why should we be
ambiguous as men about who we follow he
says as for me then he broadens it and
my house he takes responsibility for his
family he doesn’t ask for vote he
doesn’t ask do y’all agree with me
no he makes a declaration why because in
the Bible the father would be held
responsible by God for the direction of
his family I am the God of Abraham Isaac
and Jacob the Bible says he doesn’t ever
say I am the god of Sarah Rebecca and
Rachel not because women aren’t critical
and strategic they’re absolutely
necessary but the one who would be held
accountable and responsible would be the
man you remember God asked Adam Adam
where are you Adam where you at yeah I
know you
your wife was involved with this but but
I’m holding you responsible the Bible
says in Adam all died not in Adam and
Eve because God held the man responsible
it’s the essence of a kingdom and he
accepts responsibility under God he’s
under Authority that’s why he’s in
authority he’s not this autonomous
person out there floating and
never-never-land
as for me and miles the kids don’t get
to make the final decision when God has
spoken your mate as much as you should
love her does not get to make the final
decision when God has spoken that God
told Adam
cuz you listen to your wife and you let
her overrule me chaos is gonna come in
your life in your home and in your world
cuz I don’t even want your wife to
overrule me he says even he says even my
household my family spoke for his whole
house we need men who will leave their
families men the Bible talks about the
household of the man the household of
David because he was held responsible
doesn’t mean it’s your fault that mean
you are the one to blame it you means
you’re responsible if it’s broke you set
in motion the systems to fix it to lead
it out of brokenness you get the help
you need if you are unable to do it
yourself but have you made this
declaration to your wife and children as
for me because I’m gonna set the pace
and I’ma set the example and my crib my
house this is how we roll and we don’t
vote on this because this God’s house
it’s the place where he rules it’s for
me and my house have you made that
declaration not only in word but visibly
they see that this is how you there’s
your wife have to wake you up to go to
church I’m gonna tell Matt if you have
to go to work I’m talking about because
you want to sleep in and send them that
means you aren’t being responsible for
the spiritual leadership does she always
have to lead in prayer and lead in
devotions that’s because you haven’t
accepted the spiritual leadership you
say but she knows more than me that’s
got nothing to do with leadership
leadership has to do with the position
you take and the posts you hold so that
it is clear that I represent God for the
covering of this house and please
understand me this is a covering
statement because unless a man lets God
cover him he can’t properly cover his
loved ones he says as for me and my
house my family
no not not not not not the neighborhood
that they don’t control what happens in
this house
now your school chums they don’t they
don’t control the kids who will often
come home and say but my friend said
hold it hold it if what your friends
want and what your friends say and what
your friends think disagree with God let
me guide you in love and kindness not in
vitriol
but in clarity as for me and my house we
don’t go that way
we don’t do those things we don’t use
profanity in this house because this is
God’s house we don’t allow that program
programming in this house it’s God’s
house we we represent God in this home
why because we want to be covered by God
in this family far too many men what God
to cover their lives the family their
career and their money when they fail to
visibly represent him personally and in
their homes but notice what else he says
he says he doesn’t know what the people
are going to do if it is disagreeable in
your sight to serve the Lord let me tell
you what I’m gonna do so he’s speaking
to everybody he’s not just talking to
himself not just talking to his family
he’s talking to the whole nation so he
not only makes a personal commitment he
not only makes a family declaration he
makes a culture wide declaration if it
is disagreeable to y’all let me tell you
what I’m gonna do what we need is some
men with spiritual backbone who love
themselves properly who love their
families and who love the world in which
they live but are inextricably clear
y’all may not want to go where I’m going
my race may not want to go where I’m
going my class
not want to go where I’m going my
culture may not want to go where I’m
going but let me tell you where I’m
going whether or not you agree with me
or not he says it may be disagreeable to
you you may not be wanting to go where
I’m going but let me be clear he says as
for me and my house we will serve the
Lord
so he wasn’t just giving a private word
he was giving a public declaration we
need men to go public for their
Christian faith we’ve got some big
issues before us don’t we we’ve got all
kind of pandemics we got a health
pandemic a racial pandemic a police and
community pandemic
we’ve got clashes going everywhere well
you know the best resolved of these
pandemics is godly men taking their
place and speaking about what God says
about racial injustice what God says
about order what God says about healing
wounds what God says about how we relate
to other people what God says about the
role of government what God says about
how institutions ought to operate
because guess what God has something to
say about all of it he’s not left any
issue that we’re struggling with void of
a world view and of a divine
illumination but he says I’m gonna serve
God even if it disagrees with all of
y’all
now you don’t disagree to be
disagreeable you don’t disagree because
you want to be different no he’s talking
about a God focus and not only in words
he says to them it’s who you serve he
keeps using this word serve
it’s who you obey it’s who you submit
yourself to it is absolutely critical
today that we have a generation of men
who lovingly caringly and responsibly do
what a good quarterback does you know
quarterback is the lead guy he takes the
ball from the center he’s got to drop
back in the pocket and either throw it
or hand it off the defense has one goal
to stop him to sack him before he can
throw it off or hand it off to hit him
so he’ll think twice about the next play
and one thing a quarterback has to be
willing to do is take the hit because
he’s going to get hit because there’s a
side out there that doesn’t want him to
succeed there’s a culture out there that
doesn’t want men of God to succeed
there’s a culture out there that doesn’t
buy a biblical frame of reference it
doesn’t buy God’s point of view and a
quarterback has to understand that while
our goal is to move forward there will
be resistance and that’s why you need
God on your side for yourself your
family and if we’re gonna make a
difference for healing and unity and
oneness and justice and righteousness in
a broken world God is waiting on men
he’s waiting on men to take their stand
for him and to do it on all three of
those levels and to do it collectively
he’s calling folk to join him there was
a little pygmy standing over a
rhinoceros the rhinoceros was there dead
huge beast of an animal he was standing
over the rhinoceros and a man said when
he saw him he said well who who killed
that rhinoceros the pygmy said well well
I did it’s that way little guy you kill
that big rhinoceros say yeah I took him
down he said how did you do that the big
one said I did it with my club wait a
minute you killed this rhinoceros with
your club since how big is your club he
said I got a hundred other dudes in my
club the God wants you to be part of a
club a posse posse of godly men not
perfect men but men are pursuing God and
men who will hold tenaciously to his
will and his word and his way that’s why
he says I’m going to serve Him I just go
to church I’m going to serve Him
he gets them to make a covenant covenant
is a divinely created relational bond we
told that the people made a covenant
with God they came and they they
collectively decided verse 25 so the
people so Joshua made a covenant that
day it’s an agreement it’s a decision
following a declaration we need men of
the kingdom who are also men of the
covenant they are pursuing a growing
intimate relationship with their King
while simultaneously coming underneath
the rulership of that King they’re
drawing closer to him personally while
representing him publicly that’s what we
need today healers in the land and
repairers of the breach a covenant and
football
everything is related to where the
football is first down where you put the
football
outside where you are in relationship to
the football out-of-bounds where you
carried the football touchdown that the
football across the plane of the goal
field goal did the football go between
the uprights in other words nothing
matters except as it’s related to the
location and the handling of the
football that’s what the Covenant is God
relates to us based on how we handle the
relationship are we relating to him and
are we ruling underneath him that’s
football and of course it comes in
different situations in different ways
through varying expressions but it ought
to be clear it’s the football
it’s the Covenant it’s the agreement
it’s my declaration you have a choice I
have a choice maybe you’ve made bad
choices with regard to your own life and
direction perhaps you are an abandoned
abandoning father perhaps you’ve walked
away from your role as a husband and a
father and you failed
well I’ve got a good news for you God
gives cover mental renewal he provides
men the opportunity to get back in
alignment with him you go to God and you
repent you say God I failed as a husband
I failed as a father I failed as a man
but today as for me and to whatever
level I can give in my situation my
house and I’ll make sure that when I go
public people know appropriately done
that I am a follower of Jesus Christ now
God will pay attention to that decision
that choice and so the question is what
do you choose what do I choose
Elijah the Prophet has asked the
question how long will you hope between
two opinions second Kings 18:21 it once
know how long you gonna go back and
forth on this how long you go you’re
gonna ride the seesaw God one day
everybody else the next day or even my
own private opinion he says how long you
gonna keep going back and forth up and
down in and out I want you to I want you
to just Claire today whom you’re gonna
serve that’s the kind of men God is
looking for the kind of fathers he’s
looking for now you have a choice I have
a choice
I can choose God or choose myself I can
choose God or choose the wrong direction
of my family I can choose God or choose
the wrong direction of my culture do you
have a choice and God will give you the
freedom to make that choice
you remember Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade it’s one of my favorites of the
Indiana Jones movies and he’s looking
for the Holy Grail his father has been
wounded and his father is dying but if
he can get to the Holy Grail dip it in
water and pour it on his father’s wound
his father will be healed here’s a son
trying to save his father to get to the
Holy Grail he’s got to make a lot of
decisions he’s got a he’s got to get the
name of God right he’s got a he’s got a
bow to his knee he’s got to take a step
of faith yeah
he’s got he’s got some challenges to get
the Holy Grail the question is is he man
enough to take up the challenge is he
man enough to take the risk is he man
enough to take the hit he’s got a he’s
got a choice to make he makes some
interim choices that gets him into a
into an enclave
where there’s this this guard of all of
these Grails these cups and they’re
everywhere
he’s got a he’s got to choose but which
one is the Holy Grail which one has
divine substance tied to it which one
will get heaven to change earth so his
father can live because he’s got a
plethora of options but which one does
this man choose he looks around he looks
around he’s confused because all of them
sound right look right seem right but
then all of a sudden he notices
something there was a one wooden one one
wooden one in the midst of all the
glittery ones the golden ones the silver
ones
the brass ones as this wood one and he
remembers Jesus was a carpenter he dealt
with wood so he goes over and he picks
up the wooden one but there’s another
man in there who picks up one of the
shiny ones one of the this looks like
it’ll work one he goes first and dips it
into the water and drinks it and in a
matter of minutes he disintegrates the
wooden one wasn’t impressive it wasn’t
something that you would be all excited
about but he knew it was the one that
Jesus would authorize that God would
validate he dips it he drinks the water
from it and he sees that he remains
whole he rushes it back to his father
pours it on his wound and his father is
healed and comes back to health as you
get to make your choice today there are
a lot of pretty options out there and
they’re good rings they seem right sound
right look right feel right but the
question is isn’t the choice Jesus would
authorize
because it’s not the choice that Jesus
will authorize all you go see is more
disintegration more failure more
frustration more emptiness ah but if we
could get some men even if you’re the
son who needs to help your father out
that’s okay to like indeed they had to
do is father dr. Jones and you get the
Jesus Grail right even though it’s not
as fancy and it’s not something
everybody else would choose it’s the one
that will work and you see when you
leave when your life and your world is
falling apart you want something that’s
working you don’t just need something
that’s pretty that won’t work
and so I’m calling on all men to make a
declaration to decide which way you’re
gonna go from this point forward because
God’s gonna ask you about your choice
when you stand before him he’s gonna
want to know why didn’t you choose me
why did you choose everything else but
me then you’ll have to give an answer at
the judgment seat of Christ if you’re a
Christian if we can get enough men get
enough club to go public with Jesus for
justice and righteousness for equity and
holiness then we could begin to see what
God will do when he intervenes into the
pandemics that are unraveling us as a
society because they can’t get enough
men to step forward in closing there
were two young men one day who were
always wanted to trick their professor
the professor was really smart he always
had an answer for every question so
these two young men said look let’s
let’s see if we can stump our professor
let’s catch a bird a tiny bird and put
it in our hand and then ask the
professor is the bird dead or alive if
the professor says the bird is dead
we’ll open up by hand and it’ll fly away
you
be wrong if the professor says the bird
is alive we’ll squeeze it and crush it
in our hand and show him a dead bird so
there’s no way he can win we can get it
he thinks he’s mr. know-it-all we can
get it let’s get him they found a little
tiny bird and brought it to the
professor and said professor we want to
challenge you is this bird dead or alive
the professor looked and studied the
fist for a moment and then he looked at
the two young men and said they they
said to them gentlemen you asked me the
question is the bird dead or alive the
answer is in your hand you’ve got a
culture that wants to trick you and trip
you up but the answer is in your choice
do you choose to follow him or not not
asking you do you choose to be religious
I might ask you do you choose to go to
church I’m not even asking you do you
choose to pray and read your Bible I’m
asking you do you choose to follow him
it includes those things but it includes
a relationship submitting to rule if
that’s your choice then we ought to know
about it your family ought to know about
it
your friends ought to know about it the
culture ought to know about it and when
God sees it you’ll see God act through
it to make a difference in your life and
in our world