Dr. Evans discusses the importance of pursuing the God-given vision for your life. God is the ultimate planner and everything is part of His divine plan, therefore we should always strive to develop plans when we receive our vision or calling. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/drtonyev… If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN…

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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.

life

is like a coin

you can spend it any way you want

but you can only spend it once

you got one life

you can spend it any way you want like a

coin

but you only spent it once

make sure you invest it not just spend

it

when something that matters

God is the most planningest person in

the universe

sovereignty God has a plan

did you know in the mind of God Jesus

Christ was crucified before the

foundation of the Earth

because it’s part of a plan

all the way Jesus Christ is he’s walking

on Earth doing his thing

they try to get him he says my time has

not yet come you it’s not time for the

plan

the Bible says in fullness of time Jesus

was born of a woman under the law at

just the right time

because God is unfolding a plan

spiritual people plan

it’s not carnal to plan

if God has given you a vision he expects

you to develop a plan for fulfilling it

you get a vision for a new house

you want a new house

and you see it

you see the house you see the rooms you

see the layout you see everything

5 000 beautiful square feet

somebody been having some Visions up in

here 5 000 beautiful square feet of

house plush

that’s a that’s a that’s a vision

you see it

hopefully you can afford it

and so you’ve got this plan to fulfill

this calling so to speak for a new house

based on this Vision that you see and

you can see it

you dream about it it keeps you up at

night

I like to make one recommendation

that you get an architect involved with

this

because if you don’t plan that

construction

you’re going to wind up with the ugliest

5 000 square foot house

that you still got to pay for

because things have to be related to

other things properly

it must be planned he’s going to sit

down when we when we you know are

working on our building across the

street

we’ve been spending hours and hours and

hours and hours and hours planning

visions do not negate plans Visions

Inspire them

the 20th century will be remembered for

one of its greatest leaders Martin

Luther King

he embodies all of his principles

when it comes to this principle of

calling

there was a burden

the burden was for the ongoing

presence

of race racism Jim Crow

segregation

and injustices

in the nation in general in the south in

particular

a prayer meeting was called

to pray about what ought to be done

what would God have be done

to address this

need of people

the prayer meeting

was bigger than Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was the circumstance that

ignited it

but the reality is she was not the only

person that got bumped from the front of

the bus

she just was the one that got advertised

but that led

to a plan and the plan would we let’s

start with a bus boycotts

and it spread and it spread and all the

way as you see in the book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah prays all through the book he

says and my enemies came so I went to

God

he’s always praying throughout the book

because he doesn’t need God just to

start the vision he needs God to stay

with him in it

and I’ll never forget

seeing bull Connors with his dogs and

with the hoses and the people getting on

their knees

talking to God

there was a future oriented vision

and the timing was right

one final thought

your commitment to your vision

let me turn to another well-known story

in the Book of Numbers Chapter 14.

Numbers Chapter 14.

God had told Moses I’m going to take you

to the promised land

in fact we’ll start in chapter 13. it

says I’m gonna take you to the promised

land and I’m gonna I’m going to uh send

you over there and I’ve got this thing

laid out for you this is the vision

you’ve never been there before you’ve

never seen it but let me give you the

vision

so my calling is for you to lead the

people to the promised land let me

describe let me let you see it it’s a

land flowing with milk and honey

that’s simply is the euphemism that

means this is a highly productive piece

of property

you won’t go hungry here it’s flowing

and I’ve already worked out the details

for you because I got some unrighteous

folk out there and I told him to dig

some wells so the wells have already

been dug

I I didn’t got the Sinners to lay it out

for the Saints when the saints are ready

to clean it

so it’s all laid out for you

I want you to see it dream it and now

I’m calling you to lead the people to it

but I want you to get a picture of it

first that’s the vision the calling was

to lead the people

now he says he says to them in Chapter

13 I want you verse two send out for

yourself men so that they may spy out

the land of Canaan which I am going to

give to the sons of Israel you shall

send a man from each of the tribes each

one a leader among them so you sent me

out 12 leaders

because the leaders are supposed to set

the pace for the people so he’ll send me

out 12 leaders who get out there and spy

out the land now despite out the land

was not to discuss

whether God was going to give them the

lamb

because he says no you spy out the land

which I am going to give you

so the vision is a sure vision

but I want you to be involved in the

process see what you’re getting into

because I want you to develop strategies

for taking over the land

then they came back all 12 of them

and we have the majority report and The

Minority Report

all right

let’s look at the the report verse 25 of

chapter 13. when they returned from

spying out the land at the end of 40

days they proceeded to come to Moses and

Aaron into all the congregation the sons

of Israel in the wilderness of parent

and kadish and they brought back word to

them and all the congregation showed

them uh the fruit of the land so they

went back and got a little sample we’ll

call this a vision sample

all right

and they said we went to the land where

you sent us and it certainly does flow

with milk and honey and this is the

fruit look how big these apples are this

is this land is like something we’ve

never seen before so so what God wanted

him to get was a little down payment

nevertheless watch out for the

nevertheless Folk

when it come to your vision let them

nevertheless their vision not

nevertheless your vision all right

nevertheless

the people who live in the land are

strong the cities are fortified they’re

large moreover we saw the descendants of

Enoch there

a Malik is living in the land of mcgav

they’re Hittites jebusites amorites they

living in the Hill Country then the

canines are living by the Sea and the

side of the Jordan in other words we got

problems

yeah the land is exactly what it says

there but you got to see these Folk

these folk are all over the place

The Minority Report is while what God

Said is true

it’s not practical

it’s true

the land is Flowing with milk and honey

but it’s not practical why because

there’s too much opposition

let’s listen to The Minority Report

verse 30. then Caleb quieted the people

before Moses and said we should by all

means go up and take possession of it

for we shall surely overcome it

Caleb said no no no no no no no no no no

no no God has already spoken it we’ve

already seen it it’s time to go get it

That’s The Minority Report

well let me tell you where Moses made a

mistake in my humble opinion

Moses made one mistake

he took a vote

you never vote on the will of God

don’t take votes on your vision

if it’s from God now if you’re not sure

it’s from God and you need some

counseling that’s right counselors

that’s one thing but when you know it’s

from God

it’s not up for a vote

it’s not up for a vote

but the men verse 31 who had gone with

him we’re not able we are not able to go

up against the people they are too

strong for us so they gave out to the

sons of Israel a bad report of the land

which they had spied out now they

started lying

making up stuff

scouraging Folk

look if you’re going to discourage folk

go by yourself and discourage you

don’t transport it

he says in verse 33 we saw him and we

are like grasshoppers we call this the

grasshopper mentality

where grasshoppers in our own sight you

know why because they weren’t looking at

God’s Vision they were looking at their

ability

that’s the problem

that’s the problem

now I am not a big person on I can’t I

can’t those words kind of like make me

nervous

when I hear folks say that can I get a

little nervous like that you know

because because for me to accept you

can’t you got to have a real good reason

now we can’t do a lot of things so I

know the things we can’t do but you got

to have a reason

don’t tell me you can’t because nobody

ever did it before the Wright brothers

were the first ones to fly nobody had

ever flown before I mean don’t tell me

you can’t because you’re a first don’t

tell me you can’t because you know

that’s a

that’s like the Dallas Cowboys saying we

can’t go anywhere because 11 other men

on the other side of the ball lined up

to stop us

and

that’s like the Mavericks saying we

can’t win because there’s too much Carl

Malone

and

that does not deny the reality that you

know there’s still areas in our society

that are oppressive and that are not

fair

but the issue is did the vision come

from God because if it came from God it

doesn’t matter how fortified Jericho is

[Applause]

is I can’t stuff

the question is is it a vision from God

so they got the Minority Report one was

optimistic one was pessimistic

they came they saw the same land became

the two different conclusions

but Joshua and Caleb could see what the

others could not

now let me tell you what happens when

you don’t accept your vision Chapter 14

verse 29 your corpses shall fall in the

wilderness

and guess what for 40 years they got to

go in circles in the wilderness because

they wouldn’t accept the vision don’t be

60 70 years you’re old saying you came

to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and you

still walking in circles

that you accepted

you accepted the least of your ability

you accepted the the lowest that you

could go you never dreamed a dream you

never saw anything bigger than you you

never you never saw that you could go

and fly high for God because he never

had the freedom to dream his dreams in

your head

you don’t have to turn there but some

tonight read Joshua 14 verses 7 to 12.

Joshua 14 7-12 This is 40 years later

and watch it Caleb is now 85 years old

he’s 40 years old when this happens he’s

85 in Joshua chapter uh 14 verses 7

through 11.

now they’re in the promised land under

Joshua

Caleb comes to Joshua and say Joshua

you remember

you remember you see all them other boys

they didn’t see it

so they all died in the wilderness

but now you and I are in the promised

land and he says Joshua I’m 85. I was 40

when this thing came down but I am as

strong now as I was at 40.

because even if other folks try to stop

God from expressing his vision through

you he will keep you around until he get

rid of them so he can still do through

you what he wants to get done

he says I am 85 years old I’m as strong

now I have continued to follow the lord

and then he looks over and he says

Joshua you see that mountain over there

all that Hill Country over there that’s

mine you give all that to me that’s my

that’s what I’ve been dreaming about and

that’s mine

now notice what he said at 85 he didn’t

say give me this rocking chair

thank you

give me this medical bed that goes up

and down he said give me this mountain

because I’ve enjoying this thing

said I’m old but I ain’t cold I’ma enjoy

this thing

that I’ve waited so long to get

there’s a long wait

when you get a vision it’ll change your

priorities listen to me listen to me

listen to me

life

is like a coin

you can spend it any way you want

but you can only spend it once

did you hear me

you got one life

you can spin it any way you want like a

coin

but you only spent it once

make sure you invest it not just spend

it

when something that matters

a goof off

on the high school football team

he hardly practiced he hardly worked he

hardly did anything he was just there

for the ride

it was the championship game everyone

knew the Goof Off wouldn’t play but he

was out there on the field and

he was a half back

and he was like full strength the only

problem is in the championship game the

first string got hurt the second string

got hurt and the third string got hurt

all in the first quarter

so now they’ve only got one half back

left it’s the old Goof Off

they called him into the game

and the boy goes crazy

the boy is running over people under

people around people the coach cannot

believe it he has never seen athleticism

like oh Goof Off

Watkins got into the boy

the game is over the coach comes to him

after the game and said look look I

excuse me I I have certainly underrated

you I know you’ve been around here a

long time I do not understand what I

just saw today how were you able to do

that

he said coach let me explain

my dad is blind

my daddy died yesterday

this is the first day he gets to see me

play

[Applause]

when you know Daddy is watching

it affects how you play

when you know Daddy is watching it

affects how hard you go when you know

Daddy is watching it affects your turn

determination I’m here to submit to you

as you go on in your life Daddy’s

watching

you play hard

because you’ve only got one life

you can spend it any way you can

but you only get to spend it once