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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