Tony Evans Speaks on Strength in Your Struggles (Preached 02/02/2020)

Tony Evans Speaks on Strength in Your Struggles. This sermon was preached on 02/02/2020 at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship.

approximately two weeks before cyst

Evans passed away she she kept calling

Jesus Jesus Jesus and then she said to

me write this name down he said write

his name down it wasn’t making sense to

me she was saying Jesus Jesus write his

name you’ve got to write his name down

so I found a piece of paper Elizabeth

was with me and in the bedroom and I

wrote down the name Jesus on a piece of

paper and showed her and when I showed

her the name Jesus she said it’s okay

now

[Applause]

[Music]

turn your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 40

Isaiah chapter 40 verses 27 through 31

why do you say old Jacob and assert o

Israel my way is hidden from the Lord

the Justice due me escapes the notice of

my god do you not know have you not

heard the everlasting God the Lord the

creator of the ends of the earth does

not become weary or tired his

understanding is inscrutable he gives

strength to the weary and who him who

lacks might he increases power though

youths grow weary and tired and the

vigorous young men stumble badly yet

those who wait for the Lord will gain

new strength they will mount up with

wings like eagles they will run and not

get tired they will walk and not become

weary and now Lord give me strength as I

seek to give your people strength from

your word help us no matter what we’re

going through to see more of you in

Jesus name all God’s people said

amen couple of weeks ago one of my

granddaughters stopped eating for four

days she refused to eat nothing that the

parents were doing was inciting her to

eat

of course now they’re becoming very

worried and very concerned and kept

prodding what is going on why won’t you

eat and then she said to her parents I

don’t know what’s happening to our

family the trials that we’ve gone

through had robbed her of her appetite

she said I don’t know what’s happening

to our family as you know these

seventeen months have been the most

difficult time of my life lost my

brother my sister my sister’s husband my

niece my father in November my wife in

December two weeks ago Priscilla had one

half of her left lung removed because

cancer was in the lung

my daughter crystal has a suspicious

growth that we’re trying to get some

clarity on so it’s been one thing after

another

in a concentrated period of time causing

my granddaughter to raise the question

in the words of Marvin Gaye what’s going

on so much so many tears so many

unanswered questions one thing after

another and many of you know what it is

to have one thing after another to

struggle with the pain of life’s

realities that are inescapable and if

you’ve not been here yet keep living

[Applause]

because life has a way of throwing

curveballs

the unexpected sometimes you even get

hit by the pitch God’s people were

struggling in Isaiah 40 there was

struggling bad as this chapter

prophesied the Babylonian captivity and

it speaks about their struggle and they

asked in verse 27 or they say my way is

hidden from the Lord and the justice

dumi escapes the notice of my god what

they’re asking is God what’s going on

God where are you don’t you see my pain

my way is hidden from you you don’t see

what I’m dealing with because if you saw

it you would not let it happen like this

this way this long and this much the

justice do me it’s not fair this isn’t

fair

I shouldn’t be hurting like this crying

like this struggling like this

discouraged like this where are you God

and while we could all be spiritual and

pretend we never think that way there

are those times in our lives when God

seems to be conspicuously absent

unlocated Oh Joe put it this way he says

I look north and couldn’t find it

I looked east I look West I kept I kept

looking and I couldn’t find it the

absenteeism of God the sense that my way

is hidden from him he doesn’t see what I

see feel what I feel and understand what

I’m going through and while we can

intellectually know better it doesn’t

change the broken hearts the shed tears

or the enormous pain of life’s reality

these people thought that God had failed

them that if relinquished is on his

covenant promises there are those times

in life when it looks like God is

letting somebody put a rake over your

soul where you push the panic button and

you feel let down where you’re no longer

singing the gospel you’re singing the

blues

because sadness has overtaken you and

celebration is just not where your

emotions are they needed God to

intervene

in the circumstances that was causing

them pain I don’t know what your

circumstance is today probably most of

you have one or who’ve had one or you’re

headed toward one whether it’s

unfulfilled dreams desires that have not

come through pain that have not been

relinquished hurt that won’t go away

this is what they were facing where are

you God when my world is falling apart

when God speaks into their situation he

does not speak scientifically

technologically academically or

philosophically he speaks theologically

because he raises the issue in verse 28

do you not know have you not heard the

everlasting God the Lord the creator of

the ends of the earth does not become

weary and tired his understanding is

inscrutable he says when your world is

real evidence members of Oak Cliff is

falling apart this is not the time to

run from him this is the time to run

together

he says do you not know and then he

throws out theological concepts that we

must keep in the front to loba of our

minds his everlasting his understanding

is inscrutable and he’s creative

everlasting omnipotent omniscient

all-knowing all-powerful and eternal you

must retreat to the character of God in

the crisis of life regardless of the

emotion in the circumstances their

emotions are sad they want to know where

he is and when life hits you and you’re

looking for God and you don’t see him

you have to retreat to what you know

he’s everlasting which means he’s not

limited to time and space

he’s creator so his power is able to

oversee over all anything and his

admissions his understanding is

inscrutable he is the unforgettable God

let me serve notice on you right now God

is hard to understand he can be

extraordinarily confusing his

understanding is inscrutable it doesn’t

off always add up you think he’s going

this way and he doesn’t curve on you and

he doesn’t make sense

Deuteronomy 29:29 says God has secret

things things that he doesn’t tell

anybody

things that he chooses not to explain

sometimes he will explain sometimes he

will give you reasons other times he

will hold it close to the vest either

for a time or for all time you can ask

God a question but you can’t question

God let me say that again you can ask

God a question but you can’t question

God now what’s the difference

to ask him a question is to say God

would you help me to understand that to

question God is to challenge your

children can ask you a question but

that’s different than your children

challenging you when you ask a question

you may or may not get an answer when

you challenge you’re demanding an answer

God will allow a question he will not

allow a challenge his understanding

in scooter Bowl you try to figure out

what God has chosen not to reveal and

you’re gonna need all of Walgreens there

excedrin pm you’re gonna need all of

Walker to deal with the headache of his

in scoot ability he says you have to

understand this because if you do not

understand it when your world is

unraveling then you will fall prey to

the circumstances and not to the Creator

everlasting admission God who is

overseeing the circumstances I must

admit I have had my series of questions

why this why this much why this now why

this in light of all these prayers I

have had my questions and I’ve had to

back up because sometimes I move from

question to question II then I have to

jump back because I’m in territory I’m

not allowed to go in I can ask a

question

I can’t question because it is up to him

what he will explain and what he will

refuse to explain and if he refuses to

explain it it’s because it is sovereign

knowledge is best for us not to know it

don’t we do that we answer some

questions by our children and others we

don’t bother to answer because they

wouldn’t understand it appreciate it or

benefit from it maybe not then maybe

never these people are in crisis

and in this chapter a chapter worth

reading over and over a chapter I’ve had

to read as I’ve wrestled with these

months of one thing after another to

just read a few verses from chapter 40

verse 18 to whom then will you like in

me who were you like in God or what

likeness will you compare with him he

says as for the idol of craftsmen casted

he says don’t go away from God to

something God made cuz that’s idolatry

who were you liking me you gonna go to

something I made and try to get from

something I made information that I’m

not giving you he says in verse 22 it is

he who sits above the circle of the

earth and its inhabitants are like

grasshoppers who searches out the

heavens like a curtain and spreads them

out like a tent to dwell in he sits over

the earth he not in it he’s over it

verse 25 to whom then will you liken me

I’m the incomparable one that I would be

that I would be his equal says the holy

one he says let me help you I lift up

your eyes verse 26 and see who has

created these stars the one who leads

forth their hosts by number he calls

them all by men you know how many stars

there are there are millions of stars he

says 1 I created them all – I got a name

for each one of them and I’ve never

forget forgotten any one of their names

thirdly because of the greatness of his

might and the strength of his power no

one of them is missing

they’re not allowed to fall out of

heaven he created up named them and told

him to stay there so he is powerful to

make stars but he’s personal to know

each one by name so he’s the big guard

up there and he’s the intimate guard

down here he’s the real God who created

you but who still know your name we call

that transcendence of their eminent

involved down here and he says who do

you know that can do that to whom were

you like in me when my world your world

our world is collapsing as life would

have it happen unfortunately he says you

run to this God not from him you don’t

go to anything that competes with him

which is idolatry you know position him

in an inferior location just because

life has collapsed on you a low view of

God in a crisis means the crisis will

control and on you a high view of God in

the crisis means that the crisis has no

longer the last word do not settle for

the creation don’t go looking at the

Stars for your horoscope he says I made

those stars they don’t dictate your

future I dictate your future

I am a king and I’m not a Burger King

where you get to have it your way he

says I want you to recognize me even in

the crisis of life but we live in a day

of the dumbing down of God a God who

only exists to bless us help us deliver

us empower us but not a God who can

dictate to us we live in a day where if

I give you your two hours you ought to

be happy God and so when the world caves

in and we’re not used to dealing with

the character of this God we got all

these blame games on God because He is

God when times are up and I had to

remind myself he is God when times are

down he is God when babies are born and

he is still God when mates are deceased

he has to be still God in both scenarios

for you to make it through any scenario

he must be God and treated and respected

as such and so he says do you not know

in this chapter he says I run the

nations the nations are like a drop in

the bucket and the rulers I control them

lay like a speck of dust so there’s only

one God and he’s not applying for the

job

so when life caves in as it has for me

these 17 months for my family over this

past year and I’ve had to true

confession wrestle with God

these were my questions is my way hidden

from the Lord I’ve had to wrestle with

God I’ve had to retreat to what I know

about him in spite of the circumstances

I faced you don’t deny the circumstances

but they don’t have the last word so

what do you do is anybody here right now

where life is caved in on you recently a

lot of you what do you do how do you how

do you move in this scenario he tells

you he helps you out he says at the

beginning of verse 31 yet those who wait

for the Lord will gain new strength he

says when life caves in my way is hidden

from the Lord the justice the fairness

do me this is not fair what happened

it’s not fair this happened now it’s not

fair I’m going through this it’s not

fair he says what I want you to do is

wait on the Lord now the question is

what does that mean the Hebrew word for

wait is very picturesque all of you

ladies know it and if this was years ago

I would say only you ladies know it

but today ladies and men know it because

the word wait means to plant the hair

it was to plot their women women or men

plot the hair they intertwine sections

of hair so that they are tied together

in a tight way when you straighten your

hair it’s loose and hanging down when

you pluck your hair it has been

intercalated and tightly tied together

so that it is no longer subject to the

blowing wind because it has been

tightened together by pride it was used

of a rope where the strands were

intertwined to make a stronger rope so

when he says wait on the Lord

he’s not talking about passively sitting

down doing nothing he’s talking about

not in your life intertwining all of

your life so that everything is wrapped

and intertwined with him

so that there is a church and the rest

of my week it’s God I got started on

Sunday morning but my stuff is so messed

up my situation is so deep I’m going to

plant my circumstances track my

decisions crop my goals and intertwine

them with you Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday and back again

on Sunday I’m not gonna just straighten

my hair and Sunday and let stuff blow it

all week long I’m gonna plant this thing

so that it is no longer subject to the

circumstances I am going to wrap up tile

and

tangle up my lights because when things

get bad enough the problem will leave

you alone I mean I wake up in the middle

of the night I break out in tears two

and three times or four times throughout

the day I see a picture it throws me off

I hear reference it throws me off so I

don’t need what happened on Sunday I

need to be tied up with the God I let

one Sunday or we go to wait on the Lord

is a hook-up that you don’t want to be

disconnected from in addition it means

to not go outside of God to fix it

because the temptation when you’re in a

crisis that is knocking you down is to

look for other options when you don’t

think God is doing anything they said my

way is hidden from the Lord maybe we

don’t see God doing anything because we

haven’t planted our lives around it we

just we just paid him a visit on Sunday

and therefore the waiting is waiting

without his presence being experienced

in our pain and I know we don’t like the

way that red lights we don’t want to

wait at the doctor’s office we don’t

like the engine idle we don’t like the

plane to be just hovering and yes it is

real that when your life collapses on

you god is hard to find us like the

pilot and the small plane was flying

some passengers the engines begin the

sputter there was one parachute he put

on the parachute went to the door

they said where are you going he said

I’m going to get help I’ll be right back

sometimes it feels like God bails out on

you when you’re in a crisis but when you

look at Scripture Sarah had to wait for

a baby Noah had to wait for a flood

Joseph had to wait longer in prison

Martha Maria the way for resurrection

the disciples had to wait for the Holy

Spirit we’re waiting for the return of

Christ

hannah has a way for a Baby Ruth has a

way for a husband you find people but

when the thing happened that God wanted

to happen

those people were connected only when

that connection was there when they had

planted themselves did they experience

whatever God was going to do in their

situation how do you know that you’re

waiting on God this way because the

majority of your time you spend in

worshiping not complaining you spend

your time worshiping and not complaining

why because God inhabits the worship and

praise and adoration of his people

so I’m 130 verses five and six says you

wait on the Lord with his word if you’re

hurting today and life is collapsed you

read Isaiah 40 you read psalm 42 you

read the Psalms are a great thing

because it has so many different

scenarios but you you you go over God

remind me of who you are I need your

character I need your presence I’m

looking to you I’m wrapped up in you

because my circumstances have wrapped me

up

lamentations chapter 3 verse 25 and 26

talked about how good it is to wait on

God for His divine intervention however

he chooses to do that and if you wait

this way you’re not passively sitting

down doing nothing you’re just not going

outside of God to fix it and you’re

entangling yourself you’re planting

yourself with him you’re not

straightening your hair so the

circumstances blow it you are planting

it so that it is tight because that’s

how desperate you are and by the way

it’s sometimes difficult to decide to go

to God when you’re in it you need to

have the practice of planning before you

get in it so that when you’re in it

you’re ready for it

see some folks want to get close to God

coz they’re in a crisis the idea is to

get too close to God before you hit the

crisis so you’re already prepared for

the crisis when it hit because the

service was already close to God she

could cry out to him she could see him

she could praise him even though life

was ebbing from her body she didn’t have

to find him they were already hooked up

and planted when life fell apart what

will God do in your questions not

questioning but questions when you don’t

cross that line well he doesn’t promise

to answer every question he doesn’t

promise

to give you an understanding of

everything as bad as you want it it’s

his sovereign prerogative how much he

gives

but she holds but he does promise you

something he says those who wait for the

Lord will gain new strength hmm new

strength that means strength you don’t

currently have because as you know when

you’re in a crisis strength drains from

you

crises send us to bed make us not want

to get up wake you up in the middle of

the night it sucks your energy when it’s

a deep one or a series of one that won’t

leave you alone it just like an illness

it just drains you but he says if you

wait on me I will give you new strength

we all have charges for our phone that’s

because they lose strength they run down

the power leaves so what we do is we got

to take it and put it on the charger to

get new strength as the phone sucks in

the electrical power it becomes new

again

the phone works but it can work without

the power but because of life all days

it loses power but when you let it wait

on the charger

they gotta wait it’s gotta gotta sit

there and wait when you let it hang out

hooked up with the purchase new strength

and when God gives you strength you’ll

see it in one of three ways he tells you

in verse 31 they will mount up with

wings like eagles

the first way that God gives me strength

is his divine intervention when an Eagle

kicks out an eagle it the first time a

baby eagle it’s trying to learn the fly

usually the first time it can’t fly

because it hasn’t doesn’t know yet how

to fly so it’s just flailing trying to

make it anybody’s flailing trying to

make it but what the ego will do when it

sees the eaglet falling and it’s not

gonna make it the eagle swoops down

opens its wings and catches the eaglet

on the wing and lifts it back up to the

nest one way God gives you new strength

is by swooping into your situation

grabbing you and lifting you out of it

it’s when God supernaturally intervenes

and blows your mind by turning something

around by switching something by

reversing something and that’s when you

get your praise own that’s when you say

isn’t God good all the time all the time

God’s good cuz he came out of nowhere

and with eagle’s wings lifted you out of

it that’s one way that God gives new

strength there’s a second way God gives

new strength they will run and not get

tired

God gives new strength when he doesn’t

slow down and take you out of it he lets

you run through it he says you go run

you’re gonna run but I will give you a

second win so you can keep going

I’m going to let you run a Michaels

swoop down and make it disappear but I’m

going to let you run through it all of

you who get on a treadmill knows what it

is to run and you know what it is and

one of the ways you can run longer when

you’re on a treadmill then you would

normally run is if you’re watching TV I

always turn on the news when I’m on the

treadmill why because by focusing on the

news I can go longer with the breathing

if I’m just there and I don’t have

another focus I’m thinking about running

and so when I get tired of running I

give up but with the news on with the

focus on it allows me to run longer than

I would normally run and I get a second

way says if you focus on me even though

you’re running I will give you a second

wind so you can go further with this

situation further with this pain further

with this problem then you thought you

could go cuz I’m gonna give you a second

winner then there’s a third way he gives

you new strength it says and they will

walk and not become weary the first way

is he swoops down just take you out the

second way he doesn’t swoop down he lets

you go through the process of running

but he gives you the ability to keep

going

the third way you can no longer run he

says they are walking they’re walking on

the third way when you’re on the

treadmill and you’re running and you

finish running they’ll tell you don’t

jump off they’ll say you have to walk

you have to walk

in order for things to settle down you

have to walk for the benefit of the

heart slowing down because if you just

jump off with the heart beating you

haven’t given it a chance to make the

adjustment on the pace you see sometimes

life gets so hard you can run and you’ve

been left to walk the first way is God’s

divine intervention the second way is

God’s enablement to keep going but the

third way when you can’t run anymore

because you are now too tired you’re

left to walk that’s divine encouragement

that’s when God doesn’t change the

situation he changes you in the problem

you doesn’t he doesn’t fix it he doesn’t

turn it around like you pray but he does

something in you that that no longer

matters that that no longer is the

situation he’ll bring a person in your

life to give you an encouraging word

he’ll bring a song on the radio to

inspire you there’ll be a sermon that

you thought was prepared with only you

and mine that’s when all he’s doing is

just encouraging you nothing has changed

except you because sometimes God puts us

in a position to accept something he

doesn’t intend to change and so all you

can do is walk because your running

ability is over but in all three ways

he’s given new strength

strength you know I would love to say he

only does the Eagle thing but that’s not

true there plenty of times you know you

swoop down and just switch it overnight

I would love to say that boy he’s gonna

give you something to focus on so he

gonna get you through and you’re gonna

have to win to run but sometimes life

just gets tired and you know get up and

go with gotten up and gone but what he

wants to do it let you know I am there

with you and what you’re going through

they that wait upon the Lord will get

new strength and so I say to you today

and I say to me don’t you give up run to

him not from him in the crises of life

something I have to remind myself to do

every day now to run to him because I

got to tell you he didn’t swoop down and

do what I asked him to do and we ran

through every option available to man to

fix it and so I’m walking

but in all three he gives me strength

I’ll close with the story you’ve heard

this for but the little girl who went

shopping with a mother and she went up

the cookie aisle and those daughters was

in the cart she said mommy please give

me some chocolate-chip cookies

mother said I can’t you know you’ve had

too many sweets today darling no

chocolate-chip cookies today

she went down another aisle the daughter

said mommy I really want some

chocolate-chip cookies I told you I’m

not getting any chocolate-chip cookies

you had too many sweets today mother

went down another Oh mommy you don’t

understand I need some chocolate-chip

cookies

no what you need is a spanking because I

told you stop worrying me about

chocolate-chip cookies the mother got in

the checkout line the little girl stood

up in the car clasp her hands looked up

toward heaven and said god I learned in

Sunday school that if I called on you

you would meet all my needs and I need

some chocolate chip cookies but my mama

won’t get me any chocolate chip cookies

Jesus the lady in back of the mother

said what would that woman get that girl

from chocolate chip cookies the woman

got in barriers we’ve got a whole bunch

of chocolate chip cookies the girl stood

up and said thank you Jesus

for answering my prayer and get me

chocolate chip cookies there’s somebody

here today in the checkout line you

ready to throw in the towel you better

to give up you you you on your last leg

but before you give up check up because

if you check up with God he has a way of

giving you new strength the ability to

keep going

I needed you need it we need it as we

fight the battles of life together let’s

stand to our feet

you