The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: I wonder, has anyone in this place adopted the doctrine of demons and forgotten to be grateful?

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans talks about how the enemy's influence can blind us to blessings.

Dr. Tony Evans: It is the doctrine of demons that causes us to lose sight of the goodness of God.

Guest (Male): This is the Alternative Broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

Dr. Tony Evans: Even though we're blessed with abundance, it seems we're never satisfied with what we've got. And that makes us vulnerable to the enemy. Today, Dr. Evans explains the advantages of a grateful heart and its power to help you defeat the doctrine of demons. Let's join him.

Let me read it to you. It says, "But the spirit expressly says that in the later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience as a branding iron. Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer."

He makes a correlation between demonic activity and ingratitude. So the problem is that false teachers under the influence of demons were keeping Christians from fully enjoying what God had provided. If your Christian life is negative, if your Christian life is measured by only what you can't do now that you are a Christian, you have been duped by demons. The Christian life should be made up more of what I enjoy under God rather than what I can't enjoy under God.

Now, let me give you a biblical illustration of this lack of gratitude that shows up as the demonic doctrine. Remember Eve in the garden? Satan, who's an angel, head of all the demons, got Eve to question the goodness of God. Satan got Eve to focus on the one tree she couldn't eat from, rather than the 1,000 trees she could eat from. If you live your Christian life with ingratitude, if you only look at what you don't have or can't have because you're a Christian, then you're missing out on maximizing your spiritual potential.

Look how important this was to God. Deuteronomy 6:10: "Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself."

We'd say today, "check yourself," lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall fear only the Lord your God and worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the people who surround you, for the Lord your God is in the midst of you, He is a jealous God. Otherwise, the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off of the face of the earth.

I wonder, has anyone in this place adopted the doctrine of demons and forgotten to be grateful? Have forgotten to live a grateful kind of life? He's not just saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." He's talking about a grateful heart. Give thanks with a grateful heart, and that ought to be an orientation. It is the doctrine of demons that causes us to lose sight of the goodness of God.

Secondly, the priority of Thanksgiving. He says the second half of verse three, "which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth." That's a powerful verse. The most grateful people in all of the world, according to verse three, should be those who believe and know the truth. He says those Christians who really know who God is and what God does and has done ought to be the most grateful people around.

Because they know that every good and perfect gift comes from above. We're going to look at that in a moment. What people want today is they want the goodies of God without being grateful to the God from whom the goodies come. They want to enjoy the benefit of God. Listen, there is nothing that you enjoy now that cannot be traced back to God.

If you are enjoying the home you live in, then that means you are enjoying a home that somewhere in it has beams made of wood. That means it was taken from somebody's tree that's located in some place on some parcel of land. And you can always trace it all back to the provision of God. If anybody knows that God is the source of all good, it ought to be Christians, and therefore we ought to be thankful.

We shouldn't have to be begged to give gratitude. We don't need a holiday to have a Thanksgiving session. It ought to be a way of life because we know it comes from God. So Ephesians 5:20 says, "Always give thanks for all things." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you." Turn with me quickly, hold your finger here, but turn to Romans chapter 14, verse six.

"He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord. He who eats, does so for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. And he who eats not, for the Lord, he does not eat, and gives thanks to the Lord. For no one lives for himself and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."

He is saying you give thanks to God because God ought to be the central and sum total of your life. When you get up in the morning, you ought to give thanks. And the first thing you ought to give thanks for is that you got up in the morning, that God has given you another day of life, and for that you give thanks. It's not automatic. Look at the obituary section. And you ought to give thanks.

Now you might say, "Well, I don't feel like giving thanks. I mean, He's been getting me up hundreds of mornings." But you don't want Him to miss one, do you? He says our life belongs to the Lord, and that ought to be the sum total of how we focus. We must be able to give thanks. Of course, the classic story of this, as you well know, is the story of the ten lepers.

Ten lepers, all of them with this debilitating, ultimately fatal disease called leprosy. A sort of cancer of the skin that cause you to lose feeling in your limbs and your extremities, and your fingers would waste away and your hands would waste away, you'd be eaten alive. That's what the disease of leprosy did to the skin. It would literally eat you up alive. Jesus Christ came passing one day, and all ten said, "Have mercy on us, son of David. Heal us."

Jesus had compassion on the ten, spoke the word and said, "Go show yourself to the priest." And as they walked to show themselves to the priest, the Bible says their skin became like the skin of a baby. They were totally healed and totally transformed. So they began talking to one another. "Look at us! Looking good! Look at us! Finally, people can come close to us now." For lepers were quarantined.

But while they were on their way, one of the lepers remembered something. The scripture says he hadn't said thanks. He had been totally transformed and hadn't said thanks. So he stopped, did a 180-degree turn, went back, fell down before Jesus' feet and said, "Thank you. Thank you for healing me. Thank you for demonstrating your power. Thank you."

And then Jesus asked a question. He said, "But were there not ten?" Did you hear the question? "Were there not ten? What happened to the other nine?" I'll tell you what happened to them. They were so busy enjoying the blessing, they forgot the blessor. They were so busy enjoying the goodness of God that they forgot the God who had been good.

And it is possible as Christians that we have so much blessing from God that we forget the blessor because of the enjoyment of the blessing. Whenever you love the blessing more than you love the blessor, it's idolatry. You are worshipping the gift, not the giver, and that is idolatry.

Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will have more for us on the power of praise in just a moment. First though, I want to tell you about a great pair of resources we've put together as a way to follow up on what we're learning. It includes Tony's insightful book, *Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle*, along with his current two-volume teaching series, *Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly*. In the *Warfare* book, Dr. Evans explains why many of the struggles we face are rooted in an unseen spiritual conflict, and shows how we can overcome the enemy's attacks using the authority and power God has provided.

And through the 12 messages in the *Angels* audio series, Tony provides biblical insights into some of our biggest questions about angels, demons, spiritual warfare, and the invisible realm affecting our lives every day. It's a powerful study for personal growth, family discussion, or small groups. This package is available now, but only for a limited time, so don't wait. Make your donation and request online today at TonyEvans.org. Or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 where a friendly team member is ready to help with your request. That's 1-800-800-3222.

Sometimes the clearest moments come when you step away from the noise and give your soul room to breathe. This February, you're invited to experience that kind of renewal on a Caribbean cruise with Dr. Tony Evans. Join Dr. Evans and friends of the ministry, February 28th through March 7th, for a seven-day journey from Fort Lauderdale. You'll visit Nassau, the unspoiled beaches of Grand Turk, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, along with peaceful days at sea and a relaxing stop at Half Moon Cay.

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Dr. Tony Evans: Let's rejoin Dr. Evans now in 1 Timothy chapter 4. Notice in verse 4, the provision of Thanksgiving. "For everything God created, or everything created by God, is good. And nothing is to be rejected if it is received with," what? Gratitude. And this is in the same passage that's talking about demons. If there's something that's not good, that means it's been tampered with by the devil or by you.

Because when God made what He made, remember creation? Genesis 1, and God said it was good. It was good. It was very good. God doesn't make junk. And as a result, he says everything from God is good. Satan wants you to believe God is holding out on me. Listen to me. If God is holding out on you, it isn't good. You say, "But it looks good, it tastes good, it smells good." A Baby Ruth is good, but that don't mean you need it.

In other words, goodness has to do with intrinsic quality, not external enjoyment. Now, let's see something about God real quick here by looking over a few pages to the book of James chapter 1. One of the great, great verses on God's immutability, His changelessness. Chapter 1, verse 17: "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above," that is from God, "coming down from the Father of lights," that is the Father who created the luminaries in the sky, the stars, the moon, the sun.

That's the Father of lights. He created the lights in the heavens. It comes down from the Father who created the starry skies. Now get this last line: "With whom," talking about the Father, "there is no variation or shifting shadow." With whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. To understand the phrase "shifting shadow," you have to make the link to "Father of lights." Because as the earth rotates around the sun, it turns in such a way that a part of the earth is no longer facing the sun.

We call it nighttime. That is the shadow, that is the darkness that comes because of the rotation of the earth around the sun. Now, the sun has not changed. The sun is full of light, the sun is full of power, but the earth changes and therefore a shadow or darkness or nighttime comes across the earth. He makes that comparison here when he says, "With the Father of lights, there is no variation or shifting shadow." We call this the immutability of God. That is that God is consistent.

Now watch this. If you have nighttime in your life, you've been turning. You've been like the earth. Listen to me. You say, "But how can I not turn when I have a bad day? How can I not turn when I lose my job?" I'll tell you how you don't turn. You don't turn by giving thanks. You see, giving thanks points you back to God regardless of your circumstance. What we do is we turn to the circumstance and become a shadow with our back to the sun.

Even though it's nighttime by the hour, keep facing the sun so that the consistent light of God, where there is no shifting shadow, can continue to radiate on you despite your circumstances. Look for the goodness of God because no matter what you're going through, it's always there. And that's why Job said even in his dark hour, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

And finally, the power of Thanksgiving. 1 Timothy 4:5 says, "For it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." Sanctified, to set apart for God's unique usage. When you take the good things that God gives and give God the glory that He deserves, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Turn to John 6. Let me show you what I mean. Verse 5: "Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes and seeing a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread that these may eat?'"

Philip says in common everyday English, "I don't know." There are 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Jesus says, "Phil, where are we going to get food for these folks?" Verse 8: "One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 'There is a lad who has five barley loaves, five little pancakes, and two fish, but what are these for so many people?'" Or to put it another way, "Jesus, let's be practical." Any of you like that? Real practical people.

They had forgotten who they were talking to, that's number one, and they forgot Thanksgiving. Now watch this. Jesus comes over, said, "Have everybody sit down, and let's give thanks." If you catch anything, catch this. Philip and Andrew only saw what was lacking. They only saw what they didn't have. They only saw what was missing. They only saw the negative. They saw what couldn't be done.

But what Jesus saw was what God had provided. All God had provided was five barley loaves and two fish. But what they needed were hundreds and thousands of barley loaves because it not only says that everybody ate, it says everybody ate all that they wanted. So they weren't just lacking a few extra pieces of bread here. We're talking about a factory of bread, we're talking about a fishery here. They are in desperate need.

Jesus could have said, "Lord, how come you didn't provide more money? How come you didn't provide more food?" He could have complained and fussed. He said, "Lord, thanks. I want to thank you that even though it's two fish, it's the two fish you supplied. I want to thank you, even though it's only five pieces of bread, you supplied it. Now I'm going to be grateful for what I have, but I just need to tell you, I need more. I thank you because whatever the son asks, you give."

Jesus Christ closes His prayer, opens up His eyes, and they have more bread than they can eat, more fish than they can eat. What did Jesus do uniquely? Only thing I can see in this whole passage, He didn't say hocus pocus. There were no magic acts in here. Verse 11 says Jesus did one thing: gave thanks. Giving thanks is powerful. He sanctified five loaves and two fish, and they began to reduplicate themselves.

You say, "But everything is wrong in my life." No, there is something right. God has done something for everybody in this room. And so you need to give Him the praise. You don't have to read it now, but sometime when you get a chance, read 1 Chronicles 16, verses 7 to 36, and listen to the saints give God thanks. If you and I begin to give God thanks, Satan must vacate the premises. We must give Him thanks.

Christians ought to give it up. They ought to give God the praise due His name, and let that thing spread and watch the fish multiply. So let's give it up. Give God the praise that's due His name. If you increase Thanksgiving and decrease complaining, your circumstances will begin to change because when you increase complaining and when you don't enjoy what God has given, you have adopted the doctrine of demons. Idolatry. Those who love God give thanks.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans, explaining why gratitude isn't optional for Christians. Today's lesson is the latest installment in his current two-volume teaching series, *Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly*. This 12-message collection explores what scripture really says about angels, demons, spiritual warfare, and the unseen activity taking place around us every day. And remember, if you make a donation to help support the ministry right now, we'll send you the complete audio collection along with the powerful companion book I told you about earlier, *Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle*.

But be sure to contact us soon because this special double offer is only available for a limited time. Visit us at TonyEvans.org. Or let one of our team members help you when you call 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222, or online at TonyEvans.org. And one quick note: you can hear Dr. Evans host insightful conversations about the issues of life with special guests. Listen to the Unbound podcast anytime on his YouTube channel or on your favorite podcast platform.

You may picture the devil as a cartoon, complete with horns and pitchfork. But the Bible paints a different picture. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans explores the background behind Satan's rebellion and how that fight affects you and me. Be sure to tune in.