When God Talks | Sermon by Tony Evans

Pastor Evans speaks on recent events in this message preached on September 3, 2017. Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.

as I listened to the news all last month

that seemed like the world was

collapsing weather with Charlottesville

or Korea or the transgender issue in the

military or the hurricane and we could

add numbers of other realities to that

in the words of a of an old school song

since I’m an old school guy it was a

ball of confusion that’s what the world

is today hey hey it was seemingly chaos

out of control and then I would hear the

pundits I would hear the news media news

men news women whether it was CNN or

MSNBC or Fox News or CMD C all give

their perspective on the ball of

confusion the chaos that was taking

place and what caught my attention was

how many people were using the phrase I

think volumes of human opinion trying to

make sense of a culture in chaos but

perhaps we don’t even have to go to the

national media to raise the question how

can I make sense you may have your own

chaos that you’re trying to make sense

out of well I’m going to take a risk

with you this morning

I’m gonna take a risk of trying to make

sense of what you see now the reason why

it’s a risk is because unfortunately far

too many Christians have more confidence

in the media than they do in the Word of

God

far too many Christians have more

confidence in politics than the power of

Scripture so I’m going risky territory

because some will not buy what I’m

getting ready to share and I risk

alienating you a risk I’m willing to

take others it’s risky because you’ll

buy it you just won’t like it but the

first goal is not to win friends and

influence people in the cultural sense

it is to give you God’s perspective

let’s start with the premise a key

premise the premise is cited for us in

2nd Corinthians 4:18 which says we do

not look on the things that are seen we

look on the things that are unseen so if

you can see it touch it taste it feel it

and hear it it’s not where you supposed

to start not because it’s not real it’s

just not the starting blocks if you

start with the reality of your face

senses and miss the invisible to make

sense of the visible see when you start

in the wrong place

don’t be shocked if you wind up lost or

to put it in a way that I regularly say

it if all you see is what you see you do

not see all there is to be seen Paul

says we don’t start with what we see

it’s real it’s there we see it but he

says that’s not where we start referring

to Christians he says we start with the

unseen so that is going to be my

starting point it’s going to be my

starting point about Harvey the

hurricane is going to be about my

starting point about Charlottesville and

racism because when I start with the

unseen I don’t have to start with I

think

I don’t have to start with I feel I

prefer because I have a sure word so

just bear with me I won’t finish this

today it will take me till next week to

finish this some of y’all might not come

back

but judging my statements by the Word of

God not by your personal ideas thoughts

and perspectives and most certainly not

by your television or your smart devices

the foundation where I want to start is

Hebrews 12 because in Hebrews 12 the

author of Hebrews sets it right out

front the premise of our time together

beginning in verse 25 see to it that you

do not refuse him who is speaking for if

those that not escaped when they refused

him who warned them on earth much less

when we escaped who turn away from him

who warns from heaven and his voice

shook the earth then but now he has

promised saying yet once more I will

shake not only the earth but also the

heaven this expression yet once more

denotes the removing of those things

which can be shaken as of creative

things so that those things which cannot

be shaken may remain when the hurricane

made it’s devastating presence out of

the Gulf of Mexico

the most important person at that moment

leading up to that moment and during

that time was the weather man or the

weather woman

they took over primacy over everything

else because we wanted to know inside

information on what they saw what they

prophesied what their perspective was

what they were predicting and people

listened to it not only in the areas

directly affected but all across the

nation our eyes were glued to the

meteorological reports for somebody to

answer somebody to answer Marvin Gaye’s

questioning what’s going on because we

knew that they had more information

about that sphere of knowledge about

karent’s and about winds and about

inches of rain than we do and they could

see what was coming and so we zeroed in

on the weatherman or the weather I would

like to suggest that when you look at

what’s happening in this world you need

to zero in on somebody who knows what

they talking about because you and I are

merely observers to what’s happening

around us the first thing I want you to

know is it says God speaks and verse 25

it says see to it that you do not refuse

him who is speaking God speaks in a

number of ways

his foundational way of speaking is his

word his written recorded word he says

in times past I spoke on earth that is

through the prophets he gave it to men

but he says now I speak from heaven

referring to him coming to earth from

heaven in the person of Jesus Christ

so God starts with his recorded word and

that is always where he starts but we as

parents know you can talk and kids still

not listen you can speak the word and

they still not pay attention you can

tell them what you want them to know and

they very well may ignore you therefore

God has another way of speaking and he

goes into these three verses and tells

you the second way God speaks and the

second way God speaks is by shaking

things up so the Texas he disturbs

things so when God sees that his word is

not good enough for the culture or for

the community or even for the Saints it

says he shakes things disturbs things he

interrupts things confuses things a few

weeks ago we dealt with sovereignty but

let me let me explain this now nothing

happens absolutely nothing happens that

is not either caused by God or allowed

by God in other words nothing just

occurs nothing just happens

even he made it happen or he okayed it

happening because if anything could

happen that he didn’t cause or didn’t

okay he would not be in control of all

things and again that’s why there is no

luck there is no chance there is no

happenstance there is no fate

non-christian words cuz we’re sovereign

God God speaks in shaking disturbing the

words shaking shook the earth in verse

26 yes was well shake the earth verse 27

things which can be shaken it means

there is a major interruption that

disturbs the natural order of things

we define shaking again it means an

interruption and how things are supposed

to go

he says when things are interrupted and

you can’t do anything about the

interruption because it’s outside of you

look then when you when you are signing

the insurance policy when they used to

have insurance

when you sign your insurance policy they

have a clause in there called acts of

God that clause means if this happens

don’t blame us and don’t come looking

for money boss cuz this was outside of

our control this was an act of God that

we should not bear responsibility for

when the text says god shakes things up

he’s referring to accident and you know

God is shaking it cuz you can’t fix it

and you don’t know anybody else who can

because it has been orchestrated by God

himself

therefore when things get shaken

disturbed you get messed up over

something that wasn’t supposed to happen

first question Democrats Republicans and

independents it’s not first a social

question it’s not first class question

something else is going on over here

when something gets shaken that’s not

supposed to happen in our world and in

your life when God shakes disturbs

interrupts is cuz he’s talking

he says do not refuse him who speaks

through shaking I am growing up as a boy

in Baltimore regularly on Friday night I

went over to my grandmother’s house

grandfather’s house to eat crabs if you

are from Baltimore you eat crabs this

comes with the territory of living in

the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay crabs

are a social gathering point when I went

home to visit my father a few days ago

we set the plan to go get the crabs

because that comes with the territory so

I would go over my grandmother and

grandfather’s house to get my crabs and

sometimes I’d spend the night now if I

went over all Friday and spent the night

that means Saturday morning I’m getting

up to watch cartoons and my favorite

cartoon was Mighty Mouse

all somebody remembers Mighty Mouse here

he comes to save the day that made that

Mighty Mouse is on the way there was

something about that mouse that caught

my undivided attention he was a hero

Rhoda Mighty Mouse but don’t let it

start storming with thunder and

lightning

when Mighty Mouse or one of the other

cartoons are planned

cuz then my grandmother would tell me I

got to turn off to tell somebody had a

grandmother like that

my grandmama would tell me you got the

you better turn off that television I’ll

save my grandma why I got to turn off

television Mighty Mouse get rare hurts

somebody watch I got to turn off the

television now and her hands would

always beat us because God is talking

she says God is talking because he’s

interrupted your regular programming

when God interferes with the regular

programming of life called being shaken

it’s cuz he’s talking he says in verse

25 do not refuse him who is speaking

well that assumes number-one you know

he’s talking because if you just assume

it’s a storm you just assume it’s a

weird election you just assume the

racial situation is as it you’re just

looking at what you see

you haven’t started with what God might

be saying so unfortunately far too many

people and unfortunately far too many

Christians are starting in the wrong

place it’s not in a Republican place or

a democratic place or or meteorological

place that’s not where you start you

start with what is he saying and he says

not only much you understand that he is

talking you must understand what he is

saying when he speaks that’s why we ask

people do you understand me because they

might hear you but not understand you

and then when you understand what he’s

saying he says in verse 25 and don’t

refuse me watch this when I warn you

from heaven he connects his speaking to

a warning when it involves shaking God

speaks when he interrupts the normal

processes of things that you can’t fix

because heaven has something to say to

earth that God wants you to pay complete

attention to and his purpose in his

speech is always the same he’s

separating he speaks to separate isn’t

that where verse 27 says this expression

yet once more denotes the removing of

those things which can be shaken as I’ve

created things so that those things

which cannot be shaken may remain

okay when God shakes your world when he

rocks your world with something that

interrupts your world or the world it is

because he is in the process of creating

a correction thus the phrase warning

what is he trying to correct any in his

speech first by his word and then by his

shaking he is trying to correct the fact

that the physical has trumped the

spiritual it’s always that that’s always

going to be the message in some form or

fashion so he’s trying to get things

back in its right location so he shakes

the things that can be shaken that is as

of created things the things that are in

the physical world he shakes them so

that the things that cannot be shaken

may remain he’s putting things back in

his rightful place he’s after a

correction so I’m gonna take a risk here

and make a make a a prophetic statement

that the reason you have Harvey is

because you had Charlottesville

folk out there fighting racism rising

his head reaction crashes people taking

sides folk are divided which is against

God i’ma talk more about that next week

well which is against God so God said oh

I know how to get them together

[Applause]

dan gonna fight no more when I come up

in here so all of a sudden he calls on a

man named Harvey and he says Harvey I

want you to come in there and I want you

to teach him can’t we all get along

because we’re gonna make this thing so

bad that will be asking about

color or class or culture

cuz when you’re drowning you don’t clear

that it’s a black man saving a white man

or a white woman saving a white girl

[Applause]

I learned anything about klu klux klan I

heard anything about white supremacists

I haven’t heard anything about all right

cuz you see when you in a war you don’t

care about the color class or culture of

the man fighting next to you as long as

he’s shooting in the same direction so

what God has done is he blows through a

great but if you don’t know that all you

see is a story or you see its water

rising and and dams being let loose and

all you see is a homeless situation but

what you don’t see is God is reacting to

something out of water and the big

tragedy is that Christians and churches

don’t see it either so we we allow

politics to illegitimately divide us we

let Democrats and Republicans divide us

and so God sits on the backs of donkeys

or elephants no he’s the king of kings

and Lord of lords and he’s out for a

whole nother agenda God is saying when I

shake things up because I got something

to say when Jesus was with his disciples

on the Sea of Galilee in mark 4 it says

there was a storm there was a storm they

panicked because this was something they

couldn’t control Jesus got up and said

oh he of little faith

why because you didn’t get the reason

for the storm the reason before the

storm had a spiritual purpose to it so

let me let you in on a secret for your

personal life your family life our

church and most certainly for the world

watching here’s the secret when God

creates a disruption in your world when

he rocks your world and it’s outside of

or control he is speaking and he’s only

saying one overriding thing something is

out of sync and I want you to get that

thing right so that the spiritual

Trump’s the physical so that the the

things that aren’t created Trump’s the

things that are created so that eternal

Trump’s time heaven Trump’s earth noise

you’re not ignoring it you’re not you’re

not pretending it’s not real it’s just

not when you start you always start with

the question when God shakes off God

what are you doing what are you trying

to tell me what are you trying to teach

me what are you trying to clarify to me

you know when you when you go through

when you go to a funeral

all of a sudden spiritual things comes

real important anything about your job

you know think about your people you’re

not thinking about you know you think

about that could be me because funerals

have a way of disturbing your natural

existence because it shows you something

eternal as it worked

God allows things to happen or causes

things to happen depending upon the

scenario in order to wake us up to his

reality but if you are looking for it

you’re gonna refuse him who’s speaking

because you don’t even know he’s talking

you just think oh poor me this is what

happened to me you’re not looking at it

starting with the work of God so he has

to tell even these Christians he’s

writing to he says do not refuse him

who’s speaking just because God has

shaken your world he’s shaking your

world because he’s trying to accomplish

something when a woman is in labor when

a woman is in labor she’s in pain

she’s hurting but the only reason she’s

hurting is because the seperation is

about to occur it’s painful because the

separation is in movement but the only

reason of separation is is coming is

because new life is seeking to a

marriage God wants to do something new

he wants to do something different he

wants to bring about a correction and

sometimes that involves labor pains

hurricane pains political pains social

pains economic pains to bring about a

correction but without this perspective

then you ignore the shaking and all you

see is what you see and therefore the

eternal doesn’t get a hearing it doesn’t

get a voice and that only means if you

don’t hear the word and you’re not

listening to the shaking then he has to

take it to the next level because you

apparently even not listening or you

don’t want to hear and that always

starts with the household of faith see

we will never get it together out there

until we get it together in here me what

why in the world that we think God is

gonna fix the White House when he can’t

even get a hearing in the church house

got this backwards cuz cuz God’s people

do not want to place the spiritual above

the physical

now let me be more specific

since we are wrestling with the current

realities of Houston that’s on the table

today and in the consciousness of the

culture I’ve alluded to it but I want to

be more specific

there is no such thing as impersonal

forces of a mother called nature

okay let’s get this straight I’m glad to

give hurricane named Harvey Katrina you

know a guy and a girl what you know what

they’re doing they’re establishing

personhood to the store and giving it a

human name okay well that is personally

to the store but in a hobby and it ain’t

Katrina there are no impersonal forces

of nature now I know you heard that and

biology and you you heard all that okay

so if you if you took this sermon if you

took this sermon so far and you went out

and you said no they don’t know what

God’s behind all this and somebody asks

you to prove it from the Word of God cuz

you’d approve it or would you you just

be said well my pastor said itself okay

so let’s go to Scripture so the one you

know that I’m not making this up and to

that you can defend what is being said

let’s look first at job chapter 37 that

comes before solos job chapter 37 verse

3 says under the whole heaven he lets it

loose and his lightning to the ends of

the earth after it avoids Wars he

thunders and his majestic voice and he

does not restrain the lightning when his

voice is heard God thunders with his

voice wondrously during great things

which we cannot comprehend for the snow

he says fall on the earth and to the

downpour and the rain he says be strong

he feels the hand of every man that all

men may know his work then the beasts go

into the lair

lair and remain in its den out of the

south comes the storm and out of the

north the cold from the breath of God

Isis made and the expanse of the waters

is frozen also with moisture he loads

the thick cloud he dispenses the cloud

of his lightning it changes direction

turning around by his guidance that it

may do whatever he commands on the face

of the inhabited earth so so far there’s

no such thing as impersonal weather

whether it’s caused by a personal God

but why verse 13 weather for correction

or for his world or for loving-kindness

he causes it to happen so mr. Harvey or

miss Katrina was simply obeying father

God because he causes it to happen so

147th verse 18 says the same thing that

God is behind the weather lamentations

chapter 3

right after Jeremiah verse 31 for the

Lord will not reject forever for if he

causes grief then he will have

compassion according to his abundant

loving-kindness for he does not afflict

willingly or grieve the sons of men so

he causes it but not because he’s trying

to be mean he’s trying to fix them and

then I love Amos I love Amos coz Amos

chapter 4 verses 6 to 8 says this for I

give you also

cleanness of teeth and all your cities

and the lack of bread and all your

places you have not returned to me to

cleanse the Lord furthermore I withheld

the rain from you while there were still

three months until harvest then I would

send rain on one city and on another

city I would not send rain one part

would be rained on well the part not

rained on would dry up so two or three

cities would stagger to another city to

drink water but would not be satisfied

yet you have not returned to me declares

the Lord I didn’t let it rain and you

wouldn’t return to me I let it rain too

much you wouldn’t let it return to me

you stuck in long gas lines because you

wouldn’t return to me you just you just

inconvenience but you don’t get the

message it’s not about the water it’s

not about the gases by me I have never

heard so much talk about prayer every

time I television on the pagans praying

atheist praying the white house praying

everybody praying everybody talk about

prayer God is all over the place let’s

talk to God God all of a sudden you are

getting all this attention because I

told Mr Harvey to show up all of a

sudden he’s not being pushed to the side

so you can praise him voluntarily or you

can praise him mandatorily but God is

gonna get the glory

one way

but if you’re not looking at what

happens through those eyes then you all

only deal with what you see then you

will be limited by that one Lord

Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 13 hope you

see it’s not impersonal it’s personal

when he utters his voice there is a

tumult of waters in the heavens and he

causes the clouds to ascend from the end

of the earth and make lightning for the

rain and he brings out the winds from

his toils now you got lightning you got

wind you got rain sound like a hurricane

to me and it says he causes so you must

personify not because God is being mean

I know you’ve got those boys I said Oh

God must be jel you just can’t

automatically saying that but God is

using what he allows to bring attention

back to him because he’s always seeking

to make the spiritual more important in

the physical in one act he addressed

racism in one act he adult so he

addressed a separatism

in one act he made people who were

enemies become brothers for a little

while in one act he made people care in

one act he showed you when God moves it

doesn’t take long doesn’t take two

hundred and forty years it doesn’t take

seminars and workshops

it just takes people seeing a need

responding to what God did to overcome

what men are unable to resolve when you

start looking at your life that way and

your circumstances and ask the god

question first responding to his word

into the circumstance now you’re hearing

from

most of you in here at some point in

your life have vomited regurgitated

oh let’s get down to it you throw up the

reason you throw up is because something

is wrong food poisoning or a virus or

bacteria something that write something

I write and all of a sudden there’s

discomfort in the belly discomfort in

the belly and you things are not

look next time you want to throw up

don’t fight it don’t fight it

cuz what your belly is trying to tell

you is the separation needs to occur so

you you try to hold it in you keep in

transformation from a carry and so yeah

I know it hurts and I know it’s

uncomfortable but but it wants to escape

it wants to get out now I will concede

it is messy

vomiting regurgitating yeah that’s messy

doesn’t smell right it doesn’t feel

right it’s messy but all it feels so

good after you get it out when God wants

society to vomit when he wants culture

to throw up when he wants a separation

to occur he he brings about discomfort

not because he’s just being mean but

what he is saying is you got me in the

wrong place you got me in the wrong

place you too you didn’t you didn’t put

me on to the side somewhere so I’m gonna

let you know I’m not a sideline kind of

deity I’m not a sideline kind of God so

he will make a culture throw up so that

things can be made right now I’m not

unaware that this might not last long

but God’s got some other names out there

he

but it starts with us being the people

of God responding to his correction in

our own lives so that he can use us to

affect a world that is in chaos

now if Jesus is getting ready to come

back

that’s the vomit if Jesus is getting

ready to come back that all this chaos

is supposed to be happening to set the

stage but if Jesus is not yet ready to

come up he’s allowing this chaos to

bring about correction but if you refuse

him who is speaking

then the ante gets

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you

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