The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: You will know God is showing up to turn things around when he shows up in a way you can't explain. Dr. Tony Evans says God is way too powerful to be predictable. He will invade your ordinary with something extraordinary.

Guest (Male): This is the Alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Many people believe the mistakes of their past have wiped out their spiritual future. But today, Dr. Evans reminds us it's not too late for anyone as he begins a powerful series of messages about imperfect people who went on to do great things for the Lord. Let's join him.

Dr. Tony Evans: I want to start off with one of the most recognized characters in the Bible, a man named Moses. Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. He is one of the revered names in Jewish history. He is also a man who had to rebound. Let's start off reviewing very succinctly the life of Moses. He was born at a time when babies were being killed. Pharaoh had issued an order that all the children under the age of two were to be killed.

His parents, who had a lot of faith and knew that their child had been favored by God—scripture says he was a beautiful or favored child by God—put him in a little wicker basket and sent him down the Nile River, trusting God to deliver their baby boy. It just so happened that Pharaoh's daughter was bathing in the river when the wicker basket came her way. She saw the basket and saw the beautiful child and decided to take the child into her house, Pharaoh's house, and raise the child as her own.

Miriam, Moses's sister, saw what happened, went home, and told mama that Pharaoh's daughter had picked up her brother, your son, out of the river. Go apply for the nursemaid job. Wouldn't you know it? Moses's mother, Jochebed, was hired to raise her son in Pharaoh's house. Don't tell me God can't change things and turn things around. Acts chapter seven says he grew in all the learning of Egypt. In other words, he was living large. He went to the best schools, he had the best education, he had the best opportunities.

He's Pharaoh's son, so there's no financial worries. He's the best dressed, he's got the best ride, he's well-known. He would know about Egyptology and all the pyramids and all the great things of how advanced a culture it was. He was a man who was on the up-and-up, next in line to run Egypt. Acts chapter seven says about 40 years of age, he made a spiritual decision. And that is to suffer hardship with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of Pharaoh and his kingdom.

I know why he made the decision, because mama is whispering in his ear. See, mama had raised him. So mama is telling him, you aren't Egyptian. So don't just think because you're living uptown you're Egyptian. You were born with the people of God. So he comes to this spiritual decision to be associated, even though he had the opportunity to live large, with the people of God rather than Pharaoh and the culture and all of the evil associated with Egypt.

Exodus chapter two, verse 11: Now it came about in those days when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labor. He went out to his what? His brethren. Because mama had told him, those are your brothers. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his what? Brethren. He wants you to know twice Moses knew who he belonged to. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to the one offender, "Why are you striking your companion?" But he said, "Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and said, "Surely the matter has become known." Moses made a miscalculation. He saw an Egyptian messing up one of his brothers. He said, "I'm not going to let you get away with that because I have decided to associate with the people of God."

I'm supposed to be the one who's going to deliver Israel from Egypt, so let me start my delivering work right now. And he killed the Egyptian. He did what a lot of us do: use human understanding to accomplish a divine goal. Now he figured, I'm a hero now, because I have demonstrated where my commitment lies. He goes out the next day and he sees two of his brethren fighting. Two Hebrews are going at it with each other. Now he isn't trying to kill one of them. He's coming out saying, "Can't we all get along?"

That's what he says. He says, "Can we get along, brothers? Why do we have to fight?" Then one of the two who are fighting says to him, "Who made you prince over us? Now I know they made you prince in Egypt, but who made you prince over us? Are you going to kill us like you killed the Egyptian?" And he knew the matter had been made known. All he made was one bad decision, and his whole world collapsed. I wonder if there's anybody here who can look back over your life and you're still dealing with that decision. If not a lot of people who haven't missed shots and made decisions that years later you're still having to deal with.

Verse 15: When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. That's an African tribe, and he sat down by a well. Life as he had known it for 40 years is now over. It's over. When we find Moses in chapter three, verse one—watch this now—he is 80 years old. For he had been in the wilderness 40 years according to Acts chapter seven. So there has now been 40 years of repercussions for a decision 40 years ago.

Maybe your thing hasn't lasted for 40 years, but there are plenty of us who have extended repercussions, emotional repercussions or physical repercussions or attitudinal repercussions or relationship repercussions that we're still trying to work ourselves out of because of a decision a long time ago. Chapter three, verse one: Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. I mean, that's not the glorious job. That's not like being the son of Pharaoh and being next in line to run the nation of Egypt. He is shepherding sheep.

He's had 40 years of making no progress. And the only job he can get is shepherding the flock of his father-in-law. Now at 80 years old, it would be easy to think it's too late. At 80 years old, it would be easy to think nothing's going to ever change for me. At 80 years old, it would be easy to think that my tomorrows will be like my todays and like my yesterdays, that nothing will change. I am forever doomed to this miserable shepherding life because that's the best I can ever hope for. I want to let you know today if you're still here, it's not too late.

Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will have more for us on how spending time in the presence of God can heal our past and redirect our future when he continues our message in just a moment. First, though, I want to tell you about a helpful resource that goes hand in hand with the series we've begun today. It's Tony's popular book, Kingdom Heroes, and it takes a close look at the lives of ordinary people in scripture who chose to trust God and saw him do extraordinary things through them.

If you've ever wondered whether your faith is strong enough or if your past has disqualified you from God's blessings, this book will help you see how God works through people who are willing to take him at his word. And right now, as our thank you gift for your support of this ministry, we're bundling the Kingdom Heroes book together with all eight messages in Tony's current teaching series called It's Not Too Late. This powerful collection reveals how God can step into any situation, no matter how off-track it may seem, and rewrite your story with hope and purpose. This is a limited time offer, so be sure to request this special package when you visit tonyevans.org. Or call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-800-3222, and one of our resource team members will be happy to help. That's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will return with more of today's message right after this.

Picture yourself surrounded by crystal clear waters, warm Caribbean breezes, and the kind of quiet that allows you to hear from God in a fresh way. This February 28th through March 7th, you're invited to join Dr. Tony Evans and friends for a seven-day Caribbean cruise, a journey of rest and renewal. You'll visit beautiful ports of call like Nassau in the Bahamas, the pristine shores of Grand Turk, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, even stopping in a private island designed for pure relaxation.

And in between, you'll enjoy peaceful days at sea, perfect for reflection, fellowship, and rest. Along the way, you'll experience powerful Bible teaching from Dr. Evans and other speakers, uplifting worship, and meaningful connection with a community that feels like family. If your soul needs refreshing and your spirit needs renewing, this is your invitation. Find out more and make your reservation today at tonyevans.org. That's tonyevans.org.

Dr. Tony Evans: Moses is hanging out in God's presence, and all of a sudden, a bush is on fire. But here it is, the last line of verse two and then verse three: yet the bush was not consumed. Verse three: So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burnt up." In other words, a bush on fire is nothing special. If you're in a hot wilderness, stuff gets dry and fires start. That's nothing unique about a fire in a bush in the wilderness.

What is different is a fire in a bush in a wilderness and nothing's burning up. Something's wrong with that. That's not normal. That's not expected. How do you know when God is ready to break through to your situation? Because he will invade your ordinary with something extraordinary. He will come to your normal with something abnormal. He will create a scenario you can't explain. When God creates a scenario that doesn't make sense, it's not supposed to.

You will know God is showing up in your miss-shot situation to turn things around in spite of the consequences when he shows up in a way you can't explain. Don't ignore God showing up in a way you can't explain it. The reason you can't explain it is because it's God showing up. And I can show you time after time after time, when God was ready to move in a situation that looked like it was too late, the thing that God always did was show up in a way that human understanding couldn't explain it.

So if you're in the mountain of God, you're in God's presence and you're looking for a change, look for what you can't explain. Because his ways are not your ways. His thoughts are not your thoughts. As high as the heaven is above the earth, that's how different you and God are. So when you see that difference, it's because it's God because he's not like you. Didn't I show up in a way that you could not explain? God did not reveal himself to Moses until Moses turned aside to look.

In other words, until he responded to what he had, God wouldn't give him more. A lot of us want more, but we haven't turned to look at what he's already doing. We haven't responded to what he's already doing. We wonder why we don't get more. We don't get more because he doesn't see you doing anything with what he's just given you. He's just given you something you ain't never seen before, and that's a bush that will not burn. You mean you're going to ignore that? You're going to turn away from that? Man can't explain it. If man can't explain it, you better look at it because it's God trying to show you something at another level.

It wasn't until he turned aside. When he turned aside, guess what he heard? He heard two words: "Moses, Moses." Moses says, "Here I am." Then he said—watch this now—"Do not come near here." Because he's on his way to take a closer look at this. God stops him and says, "No, don't come all the way over here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." Humble yourself. Go low in the presence of my holiness. I've got a plan for you.

Now watch this now as we close. The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I've heard their cry." Verse eight: "I came down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians." Verse nine: "Now behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me. Furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians have oppressed them. Therefore, come now, I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." What? Oh no, he didn't.

For 40 years, he was being prepared to be a leader. For 40 years, he was out of leadership, kind of. He was actually still in leadership; he was just leading sheep, because sheep are dumb. As far as he was concerned, it was too late. But what God did was give him 40 years of uptown preparation, then 40 years of downtown preparation. The second preparation came because of the miss-shot, but God was still going to use it all because he was getting ready to lead the sheep of Israel out of Egypt into the promised land.

What I'm saying is even in the consequences, as painful as they are, God is so great he can hit a bullseye with a crooked stick. He can take lemons and still come up with lemonade. He can take a mess and still create a miracle. It does not justify wrong decisions; it does not relieve all the consequences. But God is so big he's not even willing to let your mess mess him up. But hold it, there's one other thing in this passage. He doesn't get called back into service until something else happens.

He says, "I have heard the cries of my people, and now I'm ready to deliver them." Here's something you all have to know, we all have to know. God is always doing more than one thing at a time. You're not the only one he's working with. Moses, I'm working with you over here in the desert by yourself. But I got a whole nation over here who hasn't cried out to me yet. And I'm not going to deliver them until they cry. They're enjoying Egypt too much. But one day, it's going to get real bad and they're going to need me.

So while you're over here dealing with your issue, they're over here dealing with their issue. I'm going to work with you over here in your issue with some sheep while I'm waiting on them over here to know that they need me. The last three verses of chapter two say that when they couldn't take it anymore, they cried out to God. When they cried out to God, chapter three, verse one says, "Now Moses was watching the sheep over here." So while he's working with Moses, he's working with them to bring one broken man back to one broken nation. God is always hooking stuff up.

So what happens? He goes into God's presence. He responds to God's person. He gets God's program. And then he's going to experience God's power, because he's going to turn that mama out. He's going into Egypt with power he never knew in the desert when he got back on the page with God. Nothing wasted with God. All I'm trying to tell you is it's not too late. Don't be satisfied with where you are in the wilderness, even if it was your mistake that got you there. It's time for a rebound.

But you've got to be in his presence in order to see the marvelous thing that he's doing, in order for you to turn and look in that direction, in order for him to call you by name so that he can recommission you to service. And then, when God brings you back, you'll have a testimony of what God can do when it looked like it was too late. A while back, I went to McDonald's. I ordered one of them numbers, and when I ordered one of them numbers, they asked me, "Do you want it supersized?" They said, "Do you want it bigger?" I said, "No, give me regular. Just give me regular." She asked me again, "Are you sure you don't want to supersize it?"

I said, "No, just give me regular." And I got regular and drove off. Of course, they offered me supersize. If you're tired of regular, regular living, ordinary living, God is offering you supersize. He just supersized Moses. Moses 40 years ago was waiting to be king. Now he says, "You are my man, and I am going to use you to set my people. I'm going to supersize you." Don't be satisfied with sheep when God is ready to supersize you for something better. It's not too late, but it only is that way in his presence.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans reminding us that it's not too late to make a spiritual comeback. Today's message, looking at the life of Moses, is part of Tony's current eight-part series, It's Not Too Late. You can get the full-length version of this lesson along with all the others in this series, including content we won't have time to present on the air, when you request this collection along with a donation to support the ministry.

And as I mentioned earlier, for a limited time, we'll also include a copy of Tony's popular book, Kingdom Heroes. Together, these resources will encourage you to trust God deeply and remind you that no matter where you've been or what you've faced, he's still able to do something meaningful and significant in your life. Get all the details and make your request today at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where someone is always available to assist with your request. That number again, 1-800-800-3222.

Now, if you find these messages from Dr. Evans helpful, you'll appreciate listening to the Unbound podcast, where Tony engages in thoughtful discussions with other spirit-filled men and women. You can find these conversations on his YouTube channel or wherever you stream your favorite podcast. There's an old saying, "Cheaters never prosper," right? But tomorrow, Dr. Evans talks about one cheater who did prosper once God took him through a process of challenge, change, and growth. Be sure to join us for that.