Sometimes it's going to seem like God has sent His angels to protect you. Other times it's going to seem like God has let the demons take over you. Dr. Tony Evans says the Lord has promised to give us all things, including some things we may not like.
But there's a bigger plan at work. When God is conforming you to Christ and delivering you to the all things, none of those will have the last word. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Jesus' death on the cross opened the door to our salvation, but it did even more than that.
Let's join Dr. Evans today as he talks about some of those fringe benefits. One day a wealthy man died. This wealthy man, he was filthy rich, and he passed away.
He had said in his will that he wanted to auction all of his wealthy goods off. Hundreds and hundreds of people gathered at the auction in order to be part of gaining some of this rare wealth that this gentleman had left behind. The auctioneer hit the gavel and said, first item, it is a picture of the wealthy man's son. It was surrounded by all the other things that would be in the auction that were viewed as much more valuable, much more precious, much more expensive. The auctioneer says, who will make the first bid for the picture of his son? No one bid it. They were waiting for the good stuff, the rare stuff, the expensive stuff. The auctioneer asked over and over again, is there a bid on the picture of the wealthy man's son?
The silence in the room. From the back of the room came an old gentleman, and the old gentleman walked to the front and said, I'll take the picture. He says, I just have a dollar, but I'll take the picture. Is there anyone else who wants to bid on the picture of the wealthy man's son?
No response. The auctioneer hit the gavel and said, sold. Then he hit the gavel again and said, the auction is over. What?
You kidding me? You got a guy who's paid a dollar for a picture of the man's son that has very little value? What do you mean the auction is over? That's when the auctioneer had the lawyer to come up and read the will of the father. The will of the father said, you are to auction all of my treasures. The first thing you are to auction is the picture of my son. Whoever gets the picture of my son gets everything else. Because I only want to give what I have to those who appreciate my son.
I have tied the value of everything else not to itself. I have tied the value of everything else to him. Romans 8 verse 32. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all. How will he not also with him freely give us all things? All the things that God wants to give you is connected to his son. All the things that God wants to give you.
Watch this for free. Will he not with him freely give you all things? He says it's free.
That means no charge. But he gives it with the son. Will he not with him freely give us all things? The all things that everybody wants doesn't come without this picture.
It comes in connection with the son. Everybody wants to be blessed, but they don't necessarily want to be blessed with him. They want all the stuff that God can give, but they don't want the picture of the son front and center. They don't want that to be first, but they want all the trinkets. They want all the valuables.
They want all the things that appear to have worth to it. They want the cars and the houses and the bracelets and the necklaces and the clothes and the bling bling and the bank accounts and I want to be blessed. I want to be blessed. But according to the passage, the all things that God has for you only come with him. It was the cross of the Christ that becomes the entryway to the all things that God has determined for your life. He says all things are working together for good, verse 28.
He says he wants to give it to you freely, verse 32. In verse 37, he says it again, but in all these things, we are overwhelmingly conquerors. Let me tell you how you know when all things is happening.
When the blessings of the cross are coming your way and are in your favor. When things that used to conquer you, you are now conquering. See, that's how you know all things are working. Because the stuff that used to be in charge of you, you're now in charge of it. The stuff that used to control you, you're now controlling it. The stuff that used to wipe you out, you're wiping it out. It doesn't mean there's no more stuff.
It means that the stuff is no longer calling the final show. Because in all these things, you are more than conquerors. I ain't any pro wrestling fans here. I hope all you know, that's purely entertainment.
Okay? Purely entertainment. It's prescripted. I hate to bust your bubble, but it's prescripted. In other words, it's already been determined who the conqueror is going to be. It's not like in a boxing match where you know, it's not predetermined unless somebody's throwing the fight illegally. Pro wrestling is prescripted. They have already prescripted this.
This is already been prearranged. But in the process of arriving to victory, you gotta go through a fight. Now it's already been determined if you were the one selected who will have victory. But the process there has ups and downs. Between the beginning, opening bell, and the concluding of the battle, there's going to be some bumps.
There's going to be some bruises. But all of these things are working together for a prescripted end. All of these things are being arranged for a predetermined conclusion. God has already predetermined your conclusion. He's already prescripted your life.
But how you fare in the ring on your way to victory is tied to whether you are fulfilling His purpose of being conformed to Christ and His cross. It's like the man who went on the cruise. The man is on the cruise and he only had enough money to buy the ticket for the cruise. And he sees all these people eating. He's starving because he don't have any money. And all these people are going back for seconds and he doesn't have any money. And he died on the cruise. And finally he says to the guy in the kitchen, he said, anyway, I can just get a sandwich.
You say get a sandwich. Don't you know that when you bought the ticket, the price of the food was included. It's built in to the price that's been paid. When God paid the price, the all things for your life was built in to the payment. The all things that God has purpose for you and planned for you is in freely and it's going to be given to you.
You don't have to go buy it, earn it, work for it. The biblical word is grace. He's giving it away.
Giving it away. He raises the question. He wants to know who will bring a charge against God's elect. Verse 33. When is God who justifies? Who's going to condemn you? Christ Jesus is the one who died. If they haven't died for you, they don't have that much say so.
See, here it is. The proof of God's love for you is never to be measured by your circumstances. When you measure it by your circumstances, you're going to question His love. Because the question would be, if He loved me, why would He allow this to happen to me?
See, that is a natural question. If He loved me, why would He allow me to go through this if He loved me? If you look at your circumstances as the measure of God's love, you will forever be questioning how much He loves you. Whenever you are tempted to question the love of God, He invites you to look at this. He invites you to the cross. He says, if I didn't spare my own son, if I loved you enough for that, then there are never to be a question ever again whether I love you or how much I love you. How much do I love you?
I love you to death. Then why am I in these circumstances? Because I'm connecting His death to the all things. I'm connecting His death to the circumstances. I am connecting His death to what you're going through.
I am connecting His death to conforming you to His image. It is your connection with Him. He will with Him freely give you all things. If you're not connected to Him, then you've got to go get it yourself. You've got to try to make it happen, force it to happen, and that's where we make mistake after mistake after mistake, problem after problem after problem, because we're trying to make happen what He wants to give.
We're trying to force it. Will He not with Him freely give you all things? It is your association with Him.
It is your connection with Him. That's why you want to hang out around the cross. You want to hang out around the cross because it's with Him. The one whose life He did not spare, the cross. The one He says who died for you, the cross. He says it is Jesus and your association with His death, burial, and resurrection that gives you access to all things. But that road to all things can get pretty bumpy. Dr. Evans will return to tell us more about that when he continues our message in just a moment.
The Bible makes it clear that you know when God has cursed a land when its fathers are nowhere to be found. Dr. Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next generation of men depends on what happens with this one. Our kids need to see men in their midst who love God and who love them. But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out with the help of the Tony Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach you to see past the phony images of manhood that society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a wife and family would want to follow. As with all of our courses there's in-depth study material you can work through at your own pace. Lots of exclusive content from Tony, tightly focused Q&A videos, and an online forum where you can collaborate with other students. It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone.
Check out the free course called Kingdom Man and the growing list of other subjects waiting for you. Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. What does it really mean to live in the power and blessing of the cross? Many believers recognize Jesus' sacrifice, but few fully understand how it transforms our daily lives. That's why Dr. Evans put together his book, The Power of the Cross, along with his two-volume, 14-part teaching series, Returning to the Cross.
These resources will help you go beyond surface-level faith and experience the benefits, blessings, and strength Christ secured for you. We'll send them to you as our gift when you make a donation to help support this ministry. Just visit tonyevans.org to request your copy, or call 1-800-800-3222. Our team is available 24-7 to assist you. But this is the final day we're bundling these resources together, so be sure to reach out right away. Again, that's tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222. Well, let's get back to today's lesson now with Dr. Tony Evans.
I wish I could tell you now, this road to all things is gonna be seamless, problemless, but you know my position on that, the Bible's position on that. That's a lie. And unfortunately, in the name of prosperity, many are preaching that lie. That's a lie. It's not a lie to prosper. That's not the lie. The lie is that the road there is without conflict.
But here's the promise. Again, verse 37, but in all these things, and how many of these things? In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer.
You know you're being conformed to the image of Christ when the things that are designed to pull you down and keep you down don't hold you down. See, rising from the dead is an overwhelming conquer. That's conquering death to the max. Then stepping on a cloud and rising up to heaven, that's overwhelmingly conquered. We've got financial trouble, job trouble, we've got trouble, and yes, trouble is trouble and bad times are bad times and loneliness is loneliness. But what he promises, he promises you will overwhelmingly conquer. Now watch this.
You can't overwhelmingly conquer unless there's something to be conquered. He who did not spare his own son, the cross, has already on deposit all things, all that he has purposed for your life. All that he has purposed is now on deposit.
It's now on deposit, but it comes with him, with the son. What do you mean, Paul? Paul says, let me help you out. I am convinced that's called Holy Ghost Conviction and then he gives polar extremes. He gives the extremes of both ends because, watch this, life is full of extremes. So he goes from one extreme to another extreme.
Why? To catch everything in between. So your stuff is in this verse. First of all, there is an extreme of existence. Neither death nor life.
That's an extreme. Death is one extreme, life is another. Some days you feel full of life. Other days you feel like a dead man walking. One day you get up full of joy. The next day you just, death is all around you.
Your existence doesn't seem worth it. He says, when my son makes you an overwhelming conqueror, death nor life, the down times and the up times won't have the last word. Not only will there be an extreme of existence, there'll be an extreme of spiritual realities. Because he says, no angels or principalities. Sometimes it's going to seem like God has sent his angels to protect you. Other times it's going to seem like God has let the demons take over you. Sometimes it's going to look like heaven is on your side. Other times, like Job, you're going to feel like God has let Satan through to mess you up. He says, angels, that's the good stuff.
Principalities, that's the bad stuff. He says, sometimes it looks like God is all over you and the other time it looks like hell is all over you. But when God is delivering you to all things, by connecting with your son, neither scenario will define you. Neither things present nor things to come. He says, what you're going through now or what you're going through later, that will no longer define you because you're going to become an overwhelming conqueror. He gives another extreme, an extreme of space.
Neither height nor depth. Some of us have high highs and low lows. Sometimes you want to praise Him and sometimes you feel like cursing God and dying. You're at the highest high. God's been so good. And then you're at the lowest low. I'm just trying to make it. But he says, neither height, the highest high, nor depth, the lowest low. When God is conforming you to Christ and delivering you to the all things, none of those will have the last word. You're going to be stable. Why?
Because you're an overwhelming conqueror. And then he closes with these words. Neither height nor depth, and in case I left anything out, nor any other created thing. I think that covers everything, doesn't it? If it's created, that's people, stuff, circumstances, situate. If it's been made, it is not final.
If it's been made, it's not final because that means there is a maker greater than the maid. Neither height nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of Christ, and here's his point again, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Dr. Tony Evans, with an encouraging reminder in this final installment of our series, Returning to the Cross. And he'll come back with a powerful illustration to finish out our message in just a moment. But first, I want to remind you about the special offer I mentioned earlier. You can receive all 14 lessons from the two-volume Returning to the Cross series, along with Dr. Evans' companion book, The Power of the Cross. This exclusive resource package is our gift to you when you support the alternative with a financial donation.
But today is the final day to take advantage of this bundled offer, so don't wait. Visit tonyevans.org for details. You'll find everything right on the home page. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-3222, and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.
That's 1-800-800-3222. Sometimes life's defeats are the wake-up calls we need to break through our pride and remind us of our deep dependence on God. Tomorrow, special guest Pastor Jonathan Evans shares the story of a biblical figure who had to learn that lesson the hard way, and he'll share how we can avoid making the same mistake.
Right now, though, Dr. Tony Evans is back with his final illustration for today. One day a lady was caught in a hailstorm. It was coming so big and so thick and so hard that she was not able to make it indoors. A man saw her caught from the inside, and he ran out and draped himself over her, and the hail meant for her plummeted him till he could finally get her inside. The woman thanked him.
One thing led to another, and they fell in love, and she married him. And she said, every morning I wake up, I look over at him, and he's still got some of the scars of the hailstorm. Every time I touch that scar, I am reminded of how much he loves me. Those scars are beautiful to me, because I know that if he was willing to do that, he'd got me covered for anything else that comes down the line. Even when you get to heaven and you stand before God, you're going to stand before him with a new body.
You will be flawless. There will be one person still with scars, because Jesus said after he rose from the dead to Thomas, and he was in his glorified body, touch these nail-print hands, touch the scar on my side. In his glorified body, he's still going to carry a scar. He will be the only person in heaven scarred. And every time you see him throughout eternity, you will be reminded how much he loves you. He doesn't want you to lose sight of those scars right now, because those scars right now mean you will be an overwhelming conqueror. Not just get by. You're going to get over in Christ Jesus who loved you and gave himself for you.
