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
[Music]
because you got to break you in order to
get all the good stuff in you to come
out for your good and His glory
so somebody oughta praise him that he’s
a God who breaks us in order to make us
[Music]
[Music]
hi I’m Lawrence Evans Tony Evans and I
want to invite you to pastors wives
cruise in 2020
February 22nd through 29 save the dates
I want to see you there
join me with my special friends our
daughters are gonna be helping me with
the program they’re actually going to be
speaking Priscilla Shire Krystal Evans
Hurst Debby titus mirror the Shepherd
Rosa Gonzalez and then Carolyn trill is
gonna bless us with her her music it’s
just gonna be a wonderful time so we
want you to join us and we want you to
give your pastor’s wife ant gift a gift
of rest relaxation and rejuvenation yes
and spiritual encouragement because
that’s what this special pastor’s wife
Cruz is about four passes appreciation
month I appreciate her let her know
she’s valued thank you appreciate her
husband and her and send them both for a
great time together because they need to
get away they need to be in carriage
they need to network they need to
fellowship and that’s what this cruise
is all about well they won’t be
programming for husbands there’s going
to be strategic program for wives but
there’ll be time when husbands and wives
can get together and enjoy each other
and enjoy the fellowship that will be on
the crew so February 22nd and 29th 2020
but you need to register now and get
your place it’s gonna be a great time
give your pastor’s wife a gift she
deserves it and she probably needs it
yes amen look forward to seeing you
February 22nd you already said that
tonight yeah join us on our cruise so
register at louis evans org slash cruise
I want to see you there god bless you I
want to talk to you today about the
process of brokenness to encounter God
process of him stripping you of
self-sufficiency so that you can
experience a new level of his reality in
your life and mine brokenness is when
God intervenes in your life through a
negative set of circumstances to attack
a flaw in your personality
there is a flaw in your humanity that
desperately needs to be addressed and he
recognizes that at the core of it is
independence and self-sufficiency and to
strip you and me of it he begins a
process of breaking us you have three
parts to you a body a soul and a spirit
first Thessalonians 5:23 you are made up
of spirit soul and body your body allows
you to function in the physical world
through your five senses through the
five senses you are able to relate to
the world around you your soul enables
you to relate to yourself your soul is
your personhood the reason why you know
you’re you and that you’re here is
because you possess a soul which is the
life principle that allows the body to
operate so your body allows you to
function in the world your soul allows
you to function with you your spirit
allows you to function with God so your
spirit is God your soul is you and your
body is the world around you everyone
who is born into the world is born into
the world with a scarred sould sin has
scarred our soul we’re born in sin
shaped in iniquity we are born flawed
now that shows itself at different
levels for different strokes for
different folks but there is a scarring
of the soul some of that was transferred
from your mother and your father and
that’s why we find ourselves doing a lot
of things our parents did because we
picked up some of the scarring from them
you didn’t just pick up their looks you
picked up their scars and then the
scarring is increased by things that
happened to us by circumstances that
overwhelm us by wrong done to us by
wrong done by us all of this adds to the
scouring of the soul this
scarring of the soul breeds independence
from God when a person accepts Jesus
Christ the Holy Spirit invades their
human spirit giving them the ability to
now receive spiritual data when the Holy
Spirit enters the human spirit the human
spirit which is now enthused by the Holy
Spirit invades the soul to transform it
and get rid of the scars he wants to
strip away the scars of the soul which
causes us to do all the wrong things we
do with our bodies so we do wrong with
our bodies because we’ve got scars on
our soul that the spirit wants to heal
so that we function in a way that brings
God glory and brings us good and so he
must break us
but he’s breaking us to remake us in
Genesis chapter 22 we have a breaking
occurring in the life of the patriarch
Jacob Jacob has a name and his name
means of trickster his name means he’ll
grab her his name means supplant her his
name means deceiver Jacob’s name fits
his character in the Bible names matter
we name people because we liked the name
in the Bible names were given to explain
the character Jacob was a born deceiver
from the time he left his mother’s womb
he grabbed his brother his twin brother
Esau is heel heel grabber he tricked his
brother out of his birthright
he comes to a crisis in chapter 32 the
crisis is that it looks like his brother
has gotten tired of him
and he’s going to kill him in chapter 32
verse 6 it says the messengers returned
to Jacob saying we came from your
brother Esau and furthermore he is
coming to meet you and four hundred men
are with him then Jacob was greatly
afraid and distressed and he divided the
people it says in the two camps to try
to make sure they didn’t kill everybody
it says in verse 9 the next thing he did
was say Oh God and then what you do when
you get scared enough oh God
lord have mercy o God of my father
Abraham and God of my father Isaac Oh
Lord who said to me return to your
company into your relatives and I will
prosper you I’m unworthy of all the
stuff you’ve done for me verse 10 and
then he makes his request in verse 11
deliver me I pray from the hand of my
brother from the hand of Esau for I fear
Him that he will come and attack me and
the mothers with the children what
happens verse 34 then Jacob was left
alone and a man wrestled with him until
they break jacob is alone he’s alone
because nobody he knows and nothing he
knows can help him he’s by himself you
ever been in a situation where
you were all alone oh you you may have
had folk around you but you might as
well been by yourself cuz nothing around
you could make a difference he’s alone
he’s by himself he’s been stripped now
watch this
he’s got a problem his brothers after
him he prays to God after he prays to
God things get worse Alfie’s talked to
God somebody shows up at night and
wrestles him until daybreak verse 25 and
when he the stranger saw that he Jacob
had not prevailed against him hmm when
this stranger saw that Jacob wasn’t
quittin the Jacob wasn’t throwing in the
towel that Jacob wasn’t giving up the
Jacob wasn’t wasn’t just running away
when he saw he didn’t prevail against
him he touched the socket of his thigh
and the socket of Jacob’s thigh was
dislocated when he wrestled with him so
the man had to disconnect something and
make it worse see when God is trying to
break you he’ll make it bad but if
you’re not responding he’ll make it
worse he’s trying to move your core the
thing that you are counting on to be
able to deliver you verse 26
then he says the stranger says I didn’t
hurt you now let me go okay that means
that Jacob was holding on even with a
dislocated hip
so he’s hurting and holding that digit
he’s holding and holding it’s easy when
God is trying to break you to let go of
God it’s easy when God is trying to
strip you to say I don’t want it anymore
but Jacob said you’re hurt man but I’m
still gonna hold you he says I am NOT
going to let you go he says I am NOT
going to let you go verse 26 until
somebody say untell you bless me wait a
minute now all we know the stranger
doesn’t have a name this guy has come at
night when I’m already scared
this man is wrestling with me now this
man has dislocated me and I’ve gone from
trying to win a fight to trying to get a
blessing how do I move from fighting for
my life to saying bless me well the only
way you ask somebody to bless you is if
you have the know they have the ability
to do that when the stranger dislocates
his hip because it doesn’t happen till
then when his strength is gone it dawns
on Jacob this is not a human match it’s
a man but it’s not human there’s more to
this battle than just the fight I’m in
I’m in the fight of my life but there’s
more to this battle than the fight that
I’m in something spiritual is occurring
here that’s why I ask for blessing that
spiritual so he recognizes and he
doesn’t recognize it until the
dislocation happens that this is us for
so here’s what I don’t want you to do I
don’t want you to mistake the hand of
God for the hand of man
see cuz he’s rustling a man but he’s
really dealing with God if all you see
is what you see you do not see all there
is to be seen God may use something
physical to take you to a place that
spiritual he may use something that you
can see touch taste smell and hear when
he’s only invaded that to take you into
a place that gets him to have your
undivided attention and if you try to
push him off up here he gonna touch
something down there and he will fight
until you’re hurt bad enough I’m not
gonna let you go until you bless me you
know many times in the scripture Jesus
would pretend like he was going to keep
going the disciples were on the water
they were struggling Jesus was walking
on the water and when he got to the boat
it says and he kept walking like he
would pass them by in Luke 24 it says
when the disciples on no man’s Road
walked home and they finally got to
their house Jesus kept going until they
invited him back what Jesus is asking is
how bad do you want it do you really
want me verse 27 so he said to him the
man says to Jacob what is your name okay
to follow this I’m not gonna let you go
until you bless me oh you want to bless
him hmm what’s your name
remember naming him the Bible refers to
your nature your character not just your
nomenclature we do that with nicknames
like we call somebody slim that means
they’re skinny so the nickname is
reflecting something about them you call
somebody red because they got red hair
you know the nickname is described so we
do with nicknames what they did with
names we make it descriptive what’s your
name translation describe yourself to me
are you willing to admit your name are
you willing to acknowledge you are a
deceiver cuz that’s your name are you
willing to acknowledge that you are a
trickster are you willing to acknowledge
you are a Florida person who has lived
their lives using evil to get by cuz
it’s all wrapped up in your name but
what God wants to know is are you
willing to fess up to who you really are
when you’re alone with him when you’re
wrestling with him now
your name may not be Jacob maybe your
name is liya maybe your name isn’t Jacob
but your name is cheetah maybe your name
isn’t Jacob but maybe your name is
luster maybe your name isn’t Jacob but
your name is stealer
maybe your name isn’t Jacob but maybe
your name is racist what is your name
what is that character in your life that
is against the will and character of God
that keeps him from blessing you and he
will wrestle with you until you say your
name even if he has to dislocate your
hip to get there what is your name he
says my name is Jacob I’m the deceiver
verse 28 he says your name shall no
longer be Jacob I’m a change your name
meaning I’m a change your character but
your name will now be Israel for you
have striven with God and with men and
have prevailed God says I got a new
reality for you Jacob and that new
reality is you’re going to experience
what it looks like when I run the show
in your life God prevails you’re gonna
experience what it looks like when I
show up to turn something around cuz
it’s God’s prevail you won’t have to
live your life with trickery anymore you
will have to be a deceiver anymore you
will you won’t have to try to fix it
yourself anymore cuz imma change your
name see some of us have a name called
education because we think because we
got a BA and an MBA and a PhD that my
education has made me self-sufficient
well I’m gonna tell you now God’s gonna
change your name some of us have a name
called money because we define our
sufficiency by our bank account and by
our credit cards but I want to tell you
now if you want to experience God he
gonna try to change your name some of us
have a name called our relationships cuz
we got all the hookups we need to get to
where we want to go do what we want to
do but be what we want to be but if you
want to experience God he’s gonna change
your name by letting the relationships
fall through and not being able to pull
off what you thought they would be able
to pull off in order to experience God
he will strip you of your name in order
for you to know that God prevails that
the spiritual Trump’s the physical and
that you and I are not sufficient within
ourselves
verse 29 then Jacob asked him and said
please tell me your name you asked me my
name
tell me your name listen to the man’s
response but he said why is it that you
ask me my name see a lot of us get like
Marvin Gaye what’s going on God says you
ought to know by now everything you
didn’t try it out it blocked every
contact you made I didn’t stopped every
time you think you don’t have have
anymore dance I let something else break
down you ought to know my name by now it
ought to be clear who you’re dealing
with and so it dawned on him
so Jacob named the place verse 30 penny
L before he said I have seen God he knew
his name now I have seen God face to
face yet my life has been preserved coz
they could have killed me see if you
only knew what God could do that he
didn’t do doesn’t do some of us should
be dead right now
but because of the goodness grace and
favor of God he brought you out brought
you through when you were thinking you
are going to lose your mind
[Applause]
he said I’ve seen God face to face and
I’m alive to talk about it so if you
still here
he ain’t finish oh but here’s where it
gets good here’s where it gets good
let’s bring it to a close here’s way it
gets good
now first 131 the Sun rose upon him just
as he crossed over Penuel and he was
limping on his thigh
because Hebrews 11 verse 21 says that
when he blessed his grandchildren in
order to bring them blessing he had to
lean on his staff so years later he’s
still limping years later he’s still
limping
so if jumped if Jacob came on the stage
today and you say why you’re limping
Jacob would have to say I’m limping
because I’ve been blessed I’m limping
cuz I’ve been blessed cuz a few years
ago I was independent I was
self-sufficient I made it happen all by
myself God broke me down he separated my
socket and every time I get up and try
to go somewhere I’m reminded about my
weakness I’m to mind that about my
dependency I’m at mine I’m aligned and
reminded that I can’t make it without
him
[Applause]
God is reminding me you better not get
the bed here boy cuz you do happen over
here I can’t dislocate another one if I
have to so you better remember you are
totally dependent on me and he says and
I’ve been blessed but what was the
blessing when he said I want to be
blessed he one time by something general
he was on my verse 13 where he says you
promised that you would make of me a
great name and you would give me a great
land you see your blessing is something
God has already planned to do in the
past that he’s not free to do yet cuz
you are not broke down far enough for
him to be free to do it so the blessing
is not something new if some role that
becomes new to you when you are made
ready to receive it
so some of us in here need to start
limping and say God i’ma break my whole
socket so you don’t have to break my
socket so that I can be totally
dependent on you
no in closing if you remember years ago
when you were growing up they used to
have them piggy banks now you slap their
piggy banks with a little slit at the
top and you would put your coins in the
piggy bank to save your money when it
was time to get your money you shot the
piggy bank you took the pig you turned
it upside down and you shook it now the
reason you shook it was because there
was something valuable on the inside
that you wanted to come to the outside
and so you shook it the harder it was to
come out the harder you shook it because
you wanted the money but it was stuck on
the inside and you needed it on the
outside so you shook it after a while
you got tired of shaking it because it
wasn’t coming out like you wanted to so
you went and got a hammer and you took
the hammer and you broke the piggy bank
cuz you got tired that it wasn’t
responding to the shaking God will start
by shaking you cuz there’s something
valuable in you but if you don’t respond
to the shakin he goes to get a hammer
cuz he got to break you in order to get
all the good stuff in you to come out
for your good and His glory
so somebody oughta praise him that he’s
a God who breaks us in order to make us
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recently in Kenya I had a divine
encounter it was a missions trip and
while I was invited to benefit others
they benefited me by letting me see in a
foreign land how real God can be and so
I got impacted because I met God at a
new level and that’s what God wants from
each of us he wants for each of us to
have a divine encounter with him that
takes us above the normal and the
ordinary and run the smack dab into the
extraordinary the Bible is full of
divine encounters Moses encountered God
at the burning bush
Abraham encountered God when he was told
to do the unthinkable the sacrifices on
son Elijah encountered God with God
provided through a widow an unexpected
source
Jacob encountered God when he had to
wrestle and get his name changed and his
character fixed so look for God to give
you the opportunity to encounter him it
will not come through the normal it will
come through the extraordinary it will
come through the unexpected but it’s
always designed to give you a bigger
more personal experience with him divine
encounters look for yours because it
will forever change your life
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you
you