It may not look to you like God is doing much in your life right now. But in this message, Dr. Evans explains how putting on the “whole armor of God” will help you discover that there’s a lot more to reality than the part you can see.
and I want somebody to know this today
that sometimes sometimes your
difficulties are less about the Enemy
being against you and more about God
wanting you to show wanting to show you
what it looks like when he is for you
sometimes it’s about him finally wanting
his daughter’s eyes to be open so that
when he shows up they’re sensitive
enough to see him
years and years ago man my babies were
little I remember this because I
traveled to Memphis on one particular
occasion and I remember this because I
was exhausted I was so tired
um you know my kids were small at the
time and I happened to take this
particular trip uh by myself and I
traveled to Memphis and I remember being
so excited when the lady picked me up
from the airport that was a part of the
church that I was going to be
ministering at she took me to from the
airport to the hotel it was an early
evening I was so glad anybody ever been
glad to just go to bed at 8 pm
I could not wait I laid down on the bed
ready to get a good night of sleep and I
was jolted awake about two o’clock three
o’clock in the morning because there was
a train that went by right outside the
window of our hotel
the conductor of the train was sitting
on the horn as the long train blazed
right outside of the hotel where I was
sleeping I sat straight up in bed sort
of alarmed by the noise went and looked
out of the window and realized that
literally the train tracks were right
there and it was one of those very long
trains with a lot of cars that went
whisking by it took a while for the
train to finally pass by and settled I
tried to go uh back to sleep as best I
could
lady came back to pick me up that
particular morning because the
conference started I had to be there
very early in the morning so it was
about 6 30 or so anyway that I was going
to have to get up and get dressed and
get ready for a 7 15 or 7 30 pickup and
so I got in the car and I didn’t really
really say anything no big deal we had a
great day at the conference I went back
to sleep that night thinking of course
that the night before had been a fluke
and that that train wasn’t coming by
again went to sleep about 8 30 9 p.m so
glad to get a good full night of sleep
but 3 A.M you guessed it that train went
roaring by right outside the window I
sat straight up in bed not believing
that this was happening again and I
couldn’t even get back to sleep that
night I couldn’t wait for that sweet
lady to come pick me up the next morning
I sat down in the car and I said so hey
did you know that there is a train
that goes by about three o’clock in the
morning at least the last two mornings
that that I’ve been here that train has
gone by in the middle of the night woken
me straight up out of my sleep and she
had this look of complete horror and
regret written all over her face she
said I am so sorry I didn’t even think
about the fact that that train goes by
because those of us who live in this
community have grown so used to the
sound of the train that it doesn’t even
occur to us when it’s passing through
anymore
it occurs to me that those of us who
live particularly in this western part
of the world where the presence of God
has been so lavishly given to us where
on every street corner we see another
church with a pastor that preaches the
good news of Jesus Christ where we can
turn on Christian radio stations or go
across town to the Christian bookstore
where we live as women in a day and age
and generation where there have never
been ever in history so many bible study
resources by women for women what could
it be that we’ve grown so used to the
blessing of the presence of God that
when the train of God’s glory Falls when
God’s presence comes and marks and and
and permeates our presence that we don’t
even recognize it anymore
that God has so blessed us that we’re
too blessed for our own good
that we don’t see the Fingerprints of
God in our lives that when there’s even
just a hint of disappointment or
discouragement or frustration or
irritation in our life that we are
blinded to the fact that even when
things are dark the light of God’s
presence can still be found if we’ll
just open up our eyes
may we never be desensitized to the
presence of God
and if you have your Bibles and you want
to look with me at a passage of
scripture I’ll just read it to you that
I want to point out today if you still
you know actually use the Bible with
paper Pages like I do
or your iPhone your iPad any manner of
Inez is fine in Luke Chapter 2 there are
a group of people who are about to be in
the presence of God and they’re not even
going to recognize it
I will tell you as you turn to Luke
Chapter 2 that the author Luke wrote
this gospel and recorded these stories
really to show us how to have an
encounter with Jesus to not miss him
when his presence is near and by the way
this is our goal as Believers this is
the reason why he died on the cross of
Calvary so that we could not just know
about him but so that we can encounter
him we’re not just supposed to read in
the Old Testament about how he divided
the Red Sea or caused the walls of
Jericho to come tumbling down or met
with a man named Moses in the form of a
burning bush or showed up as the angel
of the Lord in a wine press while a
fearful timid Gideon was beating out
wine uh threshing wheat rather in that
wine press we’re not just supposed to
read about others that had an encounter
with Jesus we’re not just supposed to
see and applaud and experience the
testimonies of other people they’re
supposed to encourage us to realize that
if regular folks like that can encounter
honor him so can we
and Luke comes along and he writes story
after Story in his gospel to show us
that we can have an encounter with Jesus
these people that he is writing to and
that he’s writing about we’re in a time
of national Decay there is chaos
happening and swirling around them
morally and socially and you and I can
relate to that because they were not
just in a time of national Decay so are
we
our country is in a state of more social
Decay and decline than we’ve ever seen
before and the more God is marginalized
and segmented to the periphery of
society the worse things are going to
get the more he is completely ignored
and disregarded the more we’re going to
see the influx of chaos and destruction
but today I don’t want y’all to worry
about the White House I want to get to
your house
I want to talk about the destruction and
the Decay happening maybe underneath the
roof of your own home Luke is writing
not just then but now to people who need
a savior
folks who are waiting on a hero to show
up and rescue them
from the plight of their own
circumstances Luke was writing to them
but by the Holy Spirit he is writing to
us today for any of you who are in a
state of decline in some area of your
life where we’re seeing against the
backdrop of Darkness this need we have
for the Savior to manifest himself for
us to not just know about him from afar
applauding him and the testimonies of
other people but if anybody wants to
experience him themselves then Luke is
writing to you and I want somebody to
know this today that sometimes sometimes
your difficulties are less about the
Enemy being against you
and more about God wanting you to show
wanting to show you what it looks like
when he is for you
sometimes it’s about him finally wanting
his daughter’s eyes to be open so that
when he shows up they’re sensitive
enough to see him