We all like the idea of God getting us out of trouble, but have you ever considered whether God intentionally allowed us to get into trouble in the first place? Dr. Evans wants you to know that God can use crisis in life to draw us closer to Himself. When you are needing spiritual deliverance, you have an opportunity to know God and experience His power in a deeper way.
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.
you do not have to guess when God wants
to let you know he is God in a way that
you have previously not know you do not
have to wonder and follow Alice to a
place called Wonderland to find out when
God wants to manifest himself glory the
manifestation he wants to become visible
because the one thing that will happen
that will let you know God wants to
become more real to you at a level that
you’ve never experienced him before is
when you are in a crisis when you are in
a crisis what I’d like to suggest you
today is a crisis is not just a crisis
it is a crisis but it is more than a
crisis a crisis is an opportunity to
experience God epignosis
the experience of God at a level you had
not previously known him if you’re not
satisfied with just information more
knowledge academic acumen in the
religious sphere of life about God then
you’re a prime candidate for a crisis
now I know automatically hearing that
some of you are saying well I don’t want
knowing that well and I’m satisfied with
the service and a sermon but to miss out
on who God is is to miss out on how
great God is when God in the Bible
wanted to reveal
himself at another level you will find
this consistent pattern he would either
create or allow somebody else to create
a crisis people would find themselves in
situations they themselves could not fix
they found themselves in scenarios they
could not solve predicaments that they
could not unravel circumstances that
they could not circumvent the crisis
you’re in a crisis when your options are
gone when everything you thought could
work doesn’t work will you spit all your
money and you weren’t able to buy your
way out of it when you talk to all your
friends and they couldn’t hook up a
connection to resolve a problem when you
leaned on all the knowledge that you
knew about the subject with
over-the-counter doesn’t work and you’re
in a crisis you’re in a situation you
can’t fix you can call it what you want
you can call it a catch-22 in a pickle
on a Ledge between a rock and a hard
place or as one of my good friends calls
it a trick bag you’re in a predicament
anybody in a predicament anybody ever
been in a predicament
anybody here your life is a predicament
they’re just predicament I want you to
theology eyes your crisis I don’t just
want you to have it I want you to
theologizing I want you to put on some
glasses some HD glasses because they
sell those now and I want you to see a
little clearer in high definition your
crisis
crises come in all forms they come this
financial crisis whole bunch volcanoes
and that kind of crisis relational
crisis circumstantial crisis medical
crisis mean the one common denominator
is you can’t fix it it’s bigger than you
suppose just suppose not suppose that’s
that soft spoon God has you in the
crisis cuz he wants you to see him at a
level you’ve never seen him before
I like what Paul says it in second
Corinthians one he says God took us not
to death he says we were so overwhelmed
by crisis was so great we knew we were
going to die and then he says and God
did it so that we would come to know the
one who raises the dead see if you’re
not dying you don’t know what the
resurrection looks like cuz you don’t
need one it’s one thing to say he’s a
healer if you’re not sick there’s a
whole different ballgame but say he’s a
healer and you are sick it’s one thing
to say he’s away make up if you already
know your way it’s a whole different
ballgame and say he the way make up when
you lost it’s one thing to say he’s a
provider what is already in the
refrigerator and the freezer and in the
bank
oh somebody wanting a sermon today it’s
a hole love
thing to say either provider when you
don’t know where your next meal is
coming from
and like the widow of Zarephath you down
to your last knot God allows crises in
our lives
to reveal God in a way you have never
seen him before
of all the stories in the Bible that
reveal God allowing even crafting
manipulating a crisis for the purpose of
our experiencing and knowing him better
is the most famous story in the Old
Testament Cecil B DeMille the opening of
the Red Sea that story dominates the old
to Israel it’s repeated over and over
and over and over and over because it
was the premiere crisis of the children
of Israel and it was one they would
never ever never never never ever forget
when God wants to move you to a new
level to a deeper level of experiencing
him not just knowing about it
he will typically use a crisis now
Israel had expanded in Egypt and God was
ready for them to move now to a new
place called the Promised Land but they
had gotten comfortable where they were
they were in Egypt and everything was
going pretty good in Egypt the problem
is they could live comfortably without
God in Egypt and you can’t be
comfortable without God
many of you know non-christians who
don’t think much about God and I do it
okay David only God they got a good bank
account they feel they’re healthy
everything seems to be going well while
the children of Israel had become
comfort
in a place God didn’t want the mistake
so like a child when it’s time for them
to leave you know they need to leave
they don’t think they need to leave why
you believe when the food is free the as
free the heat is free the roof is free
and all you do is coming and going why
are you gonna leave you can be
comfortable so let me help some of your
parents out with the 28 year old still
living with you 48 year old still living
with you let me let me help some of you
out here you’re asking why won’t they
leave is too comfortable there’s money
not gonna leave so if you want to move
them on and move them out rawhide if you
wanna if you want to get them going
[Applause]
you’ve got to create discomfort tell him
you got to stop paying rent tell you got
to buy your own food tell you got to
split the utilities tell them you can’t
use my gas card anymore tell them you
can’t be coming in whenever you want to
you make it uncomfortable and they will
reconsider their position but if they
know they can live there till their
dying day ain’t going the way God wanted
his people to go somewhere he wanted his
people to leave Egypt where it was
comfortable and to go to the place a
promise where they would experience him
more personally and more deeply because
they can live without the experience of
God in Egypt so according to the book of
Exodus chapter 2 God allows there to be
discomfort God allows there to be
difficulty God allow there to be anguish
among the people of God because of
his desire to move them to a new place
in fact look at chapter 1 verse 8 now a
new king arose over Egypt who did not
know Joseph verse 11 so they appointed
taskmasters over them to afflict them
with hard labor and they built for
pharaoh new storage cities verse 12 but
the more they afflicted them the more
they multiplied verse 23 it came about
in the course of those many days the
king of Egypt died the sons of Israel
sighed because of their bondage and they
cried out and the cry for help because
of their bondage rose up to God things
kept getting worse so it says they cried
up to God now they’re not crying up to
God prior to things get bad have you
ever noticed you don’t cry up to God
when it’s okay you prayed in polite
press then Christianese prayers then
they’re the same old same old prayers
Lord bless me Lord bless my you know now
lay me down to sleep pray the Lord my
soul to keep if I die before I wake I
pray the Lord my soul to take and you
know those nice those nice sophisticated
studious prayers but when all hell is
breaking loose and things are getting
worse not better that’s a different
prayer that’s a different that’s a
different contact it says they cried and
their cry rose up to God what does that
tell us they were not crying out because
there was nothing to rise up because
things weren’t bad enough yet when God
wants to move you to a new experience
with him he will often not all the time
not only but often allow your life to
get a lot of theology that’s out there
because
Theology will tell you that the way you
know God is good is he’s blessing you
and they measure that by material
success well that is one way that you
know God is good but God is also good
when he precipitates a crisis because
the purpose of the crisis is for you to
find out stuff about him you never knew
to experience him at a whole nother
level
so a crisis can be as good as as good as
what you typically define as a blessing
getting fired
can be as great a blessing as getting a
raise no didn’t think about that a
downturn in your situation can be as
great a blessing and maybe even a
greater one then an upturn in fact
Hebrews chapter 12 says when God shakes
things up and causes things to be
disturbed it’s because he’s doing
something new that’s a New Testament so
don’t look at your crisis merely as a
negative thing that’s happened don’t lie
about it and say it’s positive if it’s
negative I just want you to understand
that God uses crisis to to expose
himself to us at a whole different level
these people cried out to God verse 24
of chapter 2 says so God heard their
groaning ‘he’s never groaned hmm and god
remembered this company with abraham
isaac and jacob god saw the sons of
israel and took notice of them he paid
special attention that’s what took
notice means he paid in that what you
want when you in a crisis you want
special attention okay you don’t want a
general god when you in a specific
crisis you know general is good
when I’m generally okay when I am in
specific chaos
I need a specific guard for my specific
situation
it says they called on God and he
remembered his agreement with them by
the way there’s a whole nother subject
but God has an agreement with you it’s
called the New Covenant
this was the Abrahamic covenant that was
the Old Covenant that promise that he
made to Abraham that he was going to
protect his people God has a agreement
with you if you’re a Christian today is
called the New Covenant that’s his
agreement and his agreement is to seek
your good even if you’ve got to use bad
to do it that’s why you can fall in love
with Romans 8:28 all things work
together for good to those who love God
and are called according to his purpose
God is for you even if he has to use
negative to prove it even if you use
negative to prove it don’t resist God in
a crisis run to him in a crisis cuz the
crisis is for him to expose himself at a
level that you’ve not seen him before so
they call him God well when they cry out
to God it says God noticed them now
Moses was pastoring his flock the
of his father-in-law did : Oh God this
says God noticed me my affliction is
getting worse the people are treating me
bad they’re ruining my life
things are not going well now Moses was
pastoring the flock of his father-in-law
Jethro that doesn’t seem to connect but
you know the story
Moses is uh pastoring his flock and he
comes across a bush that does not burn
okay the burning bush it was the non
burning bush because bush is not burning
it’s on fire but it’s not burning
that’s called ladies and gentlemen a
contradiction a bush that does not burn
is a contradiction doesn’t make sense
it doesn’t compute guess what Moses says
Moses I gotta look closer at this cause
I’ve never seen this before this doesn’t
make sense if you will fire you supposed
to burn he walks over there to the
burning bush
God says take off your shoes Moses you
on holy ground watch this now Moses went
over to a contradiction and God was in
the middle of the contradiction God was
in the middle of the thing that didn’t
make sense
God was in the think see see maybe you
ought to run to your contradictions and
not from them because God was right in
the middle of something
that didn’t make sense take off your
shoes
you’re on holy ground God go into a
situation that didn’t make sense and now
tell them now go tell Pharaoh let my
people go
okay chapter 2 we need help God goes
over unbeknownst to them to a man named
Moses tell Moses I’m choosing you to go
tell Pharaoh answer my people’s prayer
see God may have your solution over
there dealing with their own
contradictions and he just needs to
create what I call divine intersection
between your need and your crisis and
his solution so you know if the story
Moses goes to Pharaoh he says Pharaoh
God said let our people go Pharaoh says
no he says no nine times the tenth one
was a doozy we said no once too much and
now God kills all the firstborn of the
Egyptians he preserves the life of the
firstborn of Israel the Passover which
leads us to our everything I just went
over with the introduction which leads
us
which leads us to our main scripture
really chapter 13 and 14 these two
chapters are pregnant and they are a
preamble to your crisis to your Red Sea
experience Pharaoh knew he had to get
rid of these people watch this now
God forced the sinner to set the Saints
free by allowing the sinner Pharaoh
Egypt the world to free his people so
they do that verse 17 of chapter 13
now when Pharaoh had let the people go
God did not leave them by way of the
land of the Philistines even though it
was near for God said that people might
change their minds when they see war and
return to Egypt
hence God led them around by the way of
the wilderness to the Red Sea
oh this is this is sweet freedom they
finally get freedom after the tenth
plague Pharaoh can’t take it anymore
he says y’all get out of here not only
did he say y’all get out of here they
gave him the money for the trip try the
Bible says they wanted to shout they’re
so bad in Chapter 12 that they took off
all they go all the jury all this silver
all their wealth and turned it over to
them not only do we want you to leave we
gonna pay the fare get out of here
so God now what’s this surprise for the
journey when he delivers them out of
their former crisis and then it says God
did not lead them the near way in other
words God didn’t show them the closest
route because the Philistines were there
and he knew if they ran
to the Philistines they would be so
afraid so intimidated then we want to go
back to Egypt so he took them watch this
he took them the long
all way around you don’t feel like God
is taking you the long way around
you finally get delivered you finally
see some blessing you finally see some
something-something you finally look
like God is answer your prayer and now
you got to go the long way around not
the direct route listen if God is taking
you the long way around nobody taking a
long time to finish what he started it’s
because he knows their problems on the
direct route see the fellow signs that
was a problem
it was the quick way it wasn’t the best
way the quick way the quick solution to
whatever it is you’re facing it’s not
always the best solution that’s why you
gotta follow God because he’s got inside
information that you know you’re not
aware of you don’t know what you’re
gonna run into if you go the natural
route the direct route which would have
been along the Mediterranean Sea that
would have been a great little trip you
know along Mediterranean you know with
all that gold the jurian all that stuff
that’s living large we would’ve gotten
to our destination quick Oh
God says that’s not the best route now
watch this God says I’m gonna taking the
long way around verse 4 this is critical
verse 4 of chapter 14 thus I will harden
Pharaoh’s heart and he will chase after
them and I will be honored through
Pharaoh and all his army and the
Egyptians will know that i am the lord
let me tell you about this phrase i will
harden Pharaoh’s heart a hard heart
means a heart that is resistant to the
will of God it is a heart that is
refusing to submit to the authority of
God it’s a hard heart that is a refusal
a hard heart is not a struggling heart a
hard heart is a refusing
it’s a heart that says I don’t care what
God says let me explain how God judges
God judges by taking a hard heart and
making it harder cuz in Chapter 8 we
already read Pharaoh hardened his own
heart
so since Pharaoh hardened his heart God
said you ain’t seen a hard heart yet I’m
gonna let your heart get even harder the
Bible says in Romans chapter 1 that the
wrath of God is revealed on all
unrighteousness and then it says and he
gave them up God’s judgment is giving
you more of what you want until what you
won’t now controls you see people think
was God’s judgment him getting you he’d
been getting you know one of God’s
primary ways of judging is giving you
more of what you want Israel said we tie
early this we tied a manner we don’t
want manna
we don’t want manna we want meat we want
meat we won’t be satisfied God till you
give us quail we want quail
we’re tired of this cornflakes from
above we want quail we know what matter
anymore and so they crumbled and
grumbled and grumble the quickest way to
a hard heart is complaining they
grumbled and grumbled and grumble and
grumble grumble until God couldn’t take
it anymore
God couldn’t take it anymore a lot of
you have children like that no matter
what you get or make a plane complain
complain complain complain guard
couldn’t take anymore he says okay I’m
gonna give you me I’m gonna give you me
and more meat and more meat and more
meat okay you want me I’m gonna give me
some meat man
quail started dropping out the sky just
just Birds just have heart attacks and
just dropping out the sky and just quail
all over the place he gave them so much
of what they wanted they couldn’t have
any more because they were resistant to
divine authority
help them along never had a mother say
when you crying I’m gonna give you
something to cry for let me help let me
help a little sister out let me help a
little brother out since you gonna cry
why don’t we just give you more reason
for it and so he hardens Pharaoh’s heart
and says what’s this now when I harden
his heart he will chase after them the
way man God my prayer is get Pharaoh
off my back that’s my prayer tell my
boss leave me alone change my mate tell
my tell my situation to go away that’s
my prayer God we gonna make it worse I’m
a hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he won’t
stay home I’m a hardened Pharaoh’s heart
so he chases you I am going to make your
situation worse now what’s frustrating
about this is he just said answers one
prayer by raising her Moses setting us
free from Egypt and then I’m back in a
brand new crisis but after the first
crisis I’m praising the Lord I’m free
we’re free we’re not to live in Egypt
anymore I got some money in my pocket
Egyptians have paid me well so I’m
excited now
you thought God just answered your
prayer you run into something else
a few minutes later a few days later a
few weeks later and you want to know God
where did this come from well God showed
you a little something earlier he wants
to show you a biggest up now because the
reason for a crisis our point is is to
give you a deeper more experiential
knowledge of God’s not information but
experiential he says imma make him chase
you
why are you going to do this God God
tells you in verse 4 so that I will be
honored by a fool
this fool is gonna know that I’m God
okay now so so the king of Egypt told
the people that had fled fair on the
servants had a change of heart toward
the people cuz his heart is now hard and
they said what have we done we’ve let
these people go from serving us what
were we thinking why do we let them go
and give them our money so he tells me
verse 6 get your chariots ready we go on
after these folks we’re gonna deal with
these folk so verse 7 six hundred
chariots all the other chariots of Egypt
all the officers over them and the Lord
hardened Pharaoh’s heart verse eight
king of Egypt and he chased down the
sons of Israel then the Egyptians chased
them with horses and chariots verse nine
now all of a sudden we come to verse 10
as Pharaoh draws near the sons of Israel
look and behold the Egyptians were
marching after them and they became
spurred very frightened as the sons of
Israel oh watch this now what do they do
cried out
remember last time the crowd they cried
out cuz they’re in a crisis God has
become God becomes really important in
the crisis being all fancy it’s not your
concern in the crisis in a crisis you
want your the crisis you need trying to
be cute and no crisis you’re not trying
to be all so sullen look at all
sophisticated and spiritually
that ain’t a crisis mm-hmm any trying to
be sadiddy’ in a crisis in a crisis you
okay who’s listening see some people’s
like well you know I don’t like to pray
around people it ain’t bad enough yet if
you get bad enough you don’t care who
listening if it gets bad enough you
don’t care all the people hearing you if
it gets bad enough you don’t get because
you are now desperate for God and god
guess what wants you to be desperate for
him they cried out because they are
scared to death they cry out and they
say the Moses in verse 11 were there no
graves in Egypt if we’re gonna die we
couldn’t leave died died back home
you got us dying out here in this
wilderness it would have been better for
us verse 12 to serve the Egyptians that
cause when they were in Egypt they would
cry out get us up out of here up out of
here but they’re in a crisis Moses he
stands before the people he says do not
fear stand by and see the salvation of
the Lord which he will accomplish for
you today for the Egyptians who you have
seen you will never see them again
forever and the Lord will fight for you
while you shut up
okay when he sense why you are silent he
does not mean no talking he means no
talking like you were just talking a
minute ago a verse ago wouldn’t be
better if we go back to itza because we
went back to Egypt we were had graves in
Egypt we can serve the Egyptians shut up
shut up shut up
that’s the silence he’s talking about
he’s not saying my mother couldn’t
whisper to her son and her father
couldn’t say in a word to his daughter
no he’s saying that foolishness you’re
just talking about two verses ago
why went you know why can’t we go back
to Egypt and I told you when we were
back to Egypt in other words complaining
about the very thing they asked for
complaining about the very thing they
asked for get us out of here God get
somebody if you shut up you’ll see the
salvation of the Lord
what’s the implication if you keep
talking you’re not gonna see nothing if
you keep complaining you’re not gonna
see anything if you keep grumbling
you’re not gonna experience anything if
you keep blaming God rather than looking
to God you’re gonna be disappointed in
so we can see what God can do you will
not see them again
I love verse 15 verse 15 you might call
a conundrum say conundrum in verse 15 he
says the Lord said to Moses why are you
crying to me tell the sons of Israel to
go forward now why would I call verse 15
a conundrum because I can find
Moses is crying why are you crying to me
just talking to the people around me
[Music]
[Music]
let me tell you what’s going on here
Moses he’s standing up and saying listen
God’s gonna fix this he’s a bridge over
troubled water
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
see Moses was crying too but Heaton
later so he can’t show it sometime I’ll
be up here and I’ll be scared too
[Applause]
he says why are you crying to me tell
the people much much where there’s a red
see there’s a red see where are we going
Moses verse 16 lift up your staff
stretch out your hand over the sea and
divide it and the sons of Israel shall
go through the midst of the sea on
driving I’m gonna show you something
Moses I’m gonna show all of Israel
something I put you between a rock and a
hard place I put you in a bad situation
cuz you gonna see something you ain’t
never seen before you’re gonna
experience something you’ve never
experienced before I want you to do
something I want them to do something I
want you to hold out your rod the rod
that you used to leave sheep with that I
told you to throw down that became a
snake and he told you pick the snake up
by the tail and it became a rod again
yeah that rod that they used to call the
rod of Moses that now is called the rod
of God that’s thick you hold it out over
the water you tell the people to march
everybody’s gotta exercise faith you
March even though it doesn’t look like
there’s any place to go I want you to
act in faith I want you to go forward I
want you tomorrow you don’t see what I’m
gonna do I just want you to watch hold
out your rod and I will do the rest let
me explain something to experience
spiritual deliverance you must exercise
the faith that you can all they could do
is march they couldn’t separate the
water that was in God’s ballpark but
Moses could hold out the rod and they
could move forward as far as they could
go then it happened
God said the Egyptians will know that I
am the Lord and I will be honored by
Pharaoh and his chariots the angel of
the Lord came before the camp
the pillar cloud Luba for them the army
of the Egyptians verse 20 is the cloud
of darkness yet it gave a light at night
thus the one did not come near the other
Moses stretched out his hand verse 21
the sons of Israel went through the
midst of the sea watch us now you really
hear sermon on this we all know they
went through the sea but there’s another
miracle year there’s a miracle that the
water divides okay Charlton Heston Cecil
B DeMille I got you on that one the
water did divide but if the other
miracle dry land dry land dry lay the
land is not supposed to be dry if you’re
gonna see people to see you can’t roll
carts and animals and you can’t do that
on that kind of muddy surface you can’t
move two million people who are being
chased in a smooth way unless the land
is dry so while it is awesome that God
whipped up the win and cause there to be
a wall that block the water it’s a it’s
also staggering that the ground is hard
hard enough for them the role of
different wagons over and what they
carried all their goods in to be able to
walk on it that was a miracle
they went over on dry land and the
waters were like a wall
the Egyptians verse 23 pursued verse 24
and the Lord looked down on the army of
the Egyptians through the pillar of
cloud and verse 25 he caused their
chariot wheels to swerve he made that
chariot wheels drive with difficulty so
the Egyptians said let us flee then Lord
the Lord said hold out your rod Moses
and the water comes back together and
they returned verse 28 and covered the
Egyptians and the sons of Israel verse
29 walk on dry land and the Lord say
Israel that day from the hands of the
Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians
dead Israel here it is saw the great
power the Lord had used against the
Egyptians the people feared the Lord and
they believed in the Lord and in his
servant Moses well here it is when they
saw his power what kind of power
delivering power because they were in a
pinch up a creek between a rock and a
hard place when they witness his power
it’s not enough for you to come here
every Sunday to hear me say he’s got
power you already know that you can tell
yourself that but when he put you in a
crisis and you get the seat of power
that you talk about here about amen
about tell others about but you see it
with your own eyes oh now you know him
for yourself you know him well for
yourself you’ll let you get to the
bottom you don’t let you get down to the
last bill he’ll let you think you look
like you’re gonna lose your home he’ll
let you get fired you’ll let the things
go well he’ll let go sometimes go left
circumstances not appear to be in your
favor but instead of grumbling and
complaining and making your heart heart
you ought to say God you have now
created an opportunity for me to see you
at a level that I have never witnessed
you before and I’m looking to you to
overcome override deliver turn tweet
flips twist to override the Egyptians in
my life that’s a different testimony
June 11 1963 George Wallace stood at the
front door of the University of Alabama
and he said of two Negro young people
you ain’t coming in here he was backed
up by the police force he was backed up
by the citizens and he said segregation
now and segregation forever you ain’t
coming in here but the white house which
is up north from Alabama the white house
said oh no oh no no the University of
Alabama is going to be integrated so the
National Guard was sent from up north to
the state of Alabama to watch the two
students into the school they surrounded
the students and said it’s time to go to
class the students were in a bad
situation because they were surrounded
by the Egyptians they were in the name
of segregation but there was a word for
applause the words of Washington was
they up to the door George Wallace
I love this option open up
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because he’s able to do exceedingly
abundantly above oh you can ask one
thing in the middle of a crisis
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