Jesus Christ is not promising that you won't have periods of loneliness, but he is promising you never have to be alone. Dr. Tony Evans says God has extended to each of us an extraordinary gift. He offers us intimacy, a dynamic closeness with the creator of the universe. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.
Tony Evans. Hearing stories of what God has done for others can be incredibly inspiring, but that raises an important question, what has He done for you lately? If you need more than a second or two to come up with an answer, then listen in as Dr. Evans presents this powerful message on intimacy with God. Let's join him as he begins.
The mythical story. is told of Tantalus. Tantalus was a king. Who had been found guilty of giving the secrets of the Greek gods? to mortal men.
His punishment was to be placed in the river called Hades. The water came up to his chin. And hanging above him were Branches of voluptuous fruit, dangling over his head. The punishment, however, was this. Every time Tantalus got thirsty, and lowered his chin to drink water.
the water would recede. And every time Tantalus reached out, To grab a piece of fruit, it would rise.
So The refreshment for his First was right there at chin level. Food for his stomach was right above his head. But the harder he tried The less he got. The punishment for his crime Was to be in the vicinity. of a blessing and not be able to get it.
The point is simply if you reach out. for fulfillment. In the things of this life, You'll discover it's just out of your reach. For nothing in life was designed to give you the fulfillment of life. That is, except God.
Everything else. is but a cheap invitation. The thing you and I cling to most to give us meaning. Zip. Purpose.
We find we have to keep hoarding it in because it so quickly eludes us. And that's why one of the great needs of the Christian life. Is the need for Intimacy. Closeness with God. Where God is not way out there, and some ethereal concept that we know about.
But he has been personally expressing himself in here. Way we know him. And not just his name. Four things I want to share with you today. The first is from Matthew chapter 9.
Verse 15. The problem of intimacy. Why does it exist? Why is it? That often God seems so far away.
This was a concern of the disciples. When Jesus was leaving and Jesus had to say, Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. I go to my father's house to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will return again.
to receive you unto myself. The question was, how are we going to make it with you not here? We've been used to you being here for three years. We've walked with you, talked with you, hung out with you, and now you're going to disappear on us? How are we going to make it?
Will you not hear? Matthew 9, 15 states the problem another way. Jesus said to them, Yeah. The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. Ken Bay?
But the days will come. When the bridegroom is taken away from them, And they will fast. In other words, when Jesus Christ left his disciples, That meant that there was going to be a gap. physically because he wouldn't be here. They didn't need to fast when he was here because Intimacy was based on proximity.
He was there in their midst. But when he left. He said, you will need to fast. In order to bridge this invisible chasm of my absence, you can't be with me right now physically. But I will make a way.
For you to be with me spiritually, when the bridegroom is taken away, you will fast. That is? Fasting was the way by which God would provide ongoing connectedness. to the disconnectedness that we experience trying to operate in the spiritual realm. Oftentimes, this connectedness we know as Aloneness.
Now everybody gets lonely. There's a difference between being lonely and being alone. Loneliness is a temporary feeling of being by yourself. It comes, it goes. Aloneness, on the other hand, is a permanent feeling of being by yourself.
A single person can be lonely, but they don't have to be alone. One is temporary, one is longstanding. Jesus Christ is not promising that you won't have periods of loneliness. But he is promising you never have to be alone. He offers us intimacy.
A dynamic closeness with the creator of the universe.
Now, I know we've got a lot of people fasting for breakthroughs. We've got people fasting that God will bring about a deliverance in some area of your life, and you should do that. But this goes beyond that because now you're not fasting for a breakthrough, you're fasting for the breakthrough word. In other words, you're after God. Not just what he can do for you.
You want to know who he is. You're like Moses who said, God, show me your glory. You're like Paul who said, that I might know him. And the power that raised him from the dead, you're after a person. You've heard about God, but you want to know who he is.
How do you know when this is what you need to fast for? How do you know when it's time? to give up food in order to get God. Or to give up some other craving in order to get done. How do you know that it's time in my life for a fast?
To give up food for a day or a meal one day a week or whatever the arrangement is, how do I know when that time has come? Look at Revelation 3. Verse fifteen. Jesus says, I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold, and I would that you were cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Jesus here says, I want you to be hot. or cold, I don't like lukewarm. On a hot day, you want a cold glass of water, a cold glass of Coke, a cold glass of tea, iced tea. When was the last time you got up, woke up in the morning, and asked for?
A lukewarm cup of coffee. Or a lukewarm cup of tea. You know why you don't ask for lukewarm? Because it doesn't refresh. is wet.
But it is not addressing the problem. If it's hot, you want cold. If it's cold, you want hot because it addresses the problem. You know you need an intimacy fast. When you are so-so.
Neither heart. Me the coal. You're just there. He's just going through the motions. When it's cold on the outside, you're not burning on the inside.
And when it's hot on the outside and the fire of trials are burning you, you don't have a sense that God is cooling you down on the inside. You just There. There's not a Christian who doesn't experience just being there. If you live in this world, there are times when you just dare. When you're not hot, you're not cold, you're there.
The fire of God has been diminished to less than a flicker. And it's just there. In fact, there is no fire, it's just smoke. That means there's a need for intimacy. And look what Jesus offers in verse 20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me. He's talking about a meal. Dine. He says, I am knocking on the door of your life. How do you know I'm knocking?
Because you've gotten lukewarm. No fire! No hot, no cold, you're just there.
Well, you're just there, I'm knocking and letting you know something is missing.
Something is missing. How do I know Jesus is knocking? Because you're hearing what he's saying on the other side of the door.
Something is missing, something is missing, something is missing, something is missing. No, you don't need drugs. You don't need a girlfriend. No, you don't need a party. You need to open the door.
He says. We hear somebody say something is missing. And we go to the back door. Jesus is knocking on the front door and he is saying, let me in and I will come in and dine with you.
Now, Jesus told his disciples in John 4, he says, I have food to eat that you know not of. Jesus has got stuff to serve you that you've never eaten before. He is appealing to intimacy. Open the door, avail yourself. How do I open the door?
We've been told when the bridegroom goes, fasting. Fasting is open the door by pushing the physical in the background. Pushing the spiritual to the front, giving up on the desires of the body in order that I might gain an intimacy of the spirit. Dr. Evans will share more about building a closer relationship with the Lord when he returns in a moment with the second part of this message on fasting for intimacy.
Now, if you're ready to dig deeper into the principles Dr. Evans is presenting today, be sure to request a copy of his two-volume series on fasting. It explains how saying no to your physical appetite can sharpen your spiritual one. creating a hunger for God that the Lord is only too happy to satisfy. For the next few days, you can get all 14 full-length messages in this series as our gift.
when you support the ministry of the alternative. Along with this audio collection, we'll also send you a special bonus, our Hope for the Herding leader kit. including the Hope for the Hurting book, study guide, printed material for six study sessions, teaching videos, and more. This study unveils God's purpose and power during times of suffering. and helps us realize God is working on our behalf in ways we might not easily see.
This is a great package for a small group study or even for your own personal growth. To request your copy of this bundle, visit us today at tonyevans.org. Or call us at 1-800-800-322. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or by phone at 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night.
Dr. Evans will return with more of today's lesson right after this. Faith isn't something we set and forget. It's good to be reminded of who we live for. The Unbound podcast with Dr.
Tony Evans digs deep into questions of faith and purpose with guests like Gary Thomas. The reality is, it's foolish to live for any other name than Jesus's because it's not for us to be remembered. Our goal should be to make people remember the name of Jesus. Faith, clarity, conversation. Listen now to the Unbound Podcast.
You'll find the new Unbound podcast with Tony Evans on his YouTube channel. or on your favorite podcast platform. Right now, let's get back to today's message. All of us have interviewed for jobs, or if you're a supervisor, you've interviewed others for jobs. And you know, you always start with a resume, right?
You want To see Who the person is, their name, their background educationally, their Their work performance. Then you call up for references. You find out what other folks think about him. Right? But usually, that's never enough.
Usually, In addition to the resume and in addition to the references, you want a Personal interview. Because there's nothing like seeing the person sitting in front of you, expressing themselves, how they look, how they articulate themselves. You want that personal contact to confirm that this is the person for the job. I want to submit today that God has a rather exhaustive resume. He's got 66 books worth of experience.
And he's been on this job an awful long time. And it's a resume that anybody can get anytime they want to because it's been publicly displayed. Not only does he have a good resume, but he's got good references. If you ask Adam, he'll tell you what kind of God he can be when he creates in Eden. If you ask Moses, he'll tell you the kind of God he is when you're caught between the Red Sea and Pharaoh.
If you go ask Samuel, he'll tell you what God can do. If you call up Joshua, he'll give him a good word. If you ask David, he'll tell you how God can show up when Goliath is in your face. If you ask Peter, he'll tell you how he enables you to walk on water. If you ask the New Testament saints, you'll get good references.
But that's not enough. I want a personal interview. I want to know what it is when he sits right in front of me and I see him for myself. I don't just want to hear other folk testify that he's a bridge over troubled water. I want him to be my bridge over troubled water.
I don't just want to hear other folk testify about the power, the glory, the greatness of God. I want to watch it for myself.
So what is the process? Yeah. cultivating this intimacy. I like what Psalm 46.10 says. The King James Version, I think, says, be still and know that I am God.
The new American standard says, cease striving. and know that I am God. The Tony Evans translation says, chill. And no. that I am God.
Shut out the world around you. and simply be alone with him in his presence, which is what fasting and prayer offers. It offers time alone with God. Instead of the clamor of the noise, instead of the noise of the restaurant. I give up my meal.
I go to my quiet place and I chill. With God. It is being in his presence. Freeing the Holy Spirit up to begin speaking to your inner man. And letting you hear, maybe for the first time in years, I love you.
You know why you're hearing me right now? You're hearing me because we got a loudspeaker. But this cord that I have on, this mic I have on, isn't plugged in anything. But you see, It's functioning as cordless because in the air there are waves.
Sound waves. Um They're invisible. Can anybody point me to a wave? Show me a sound wave. You can't show me a sound wave.
But you know it's working. You know why? You know, the sound wave is working because I have a tool. We have a receiver. That can pick up on the wave.
We've got an instrument that can hook us up with the invisible, so the invisible becomes visible.
so that what you couldn't hear without the instrument you can hear but the waves are there all the time God is invisible. And if you start looking for him, you're not going to see him. But if you have the right instrument, you'll pick up on the wave. You'll pick up on the wave, and he offers us an instrument when he offers us fasting and prayer. Finally.
Anna and a man named Simeon have been looking for. the Christ child at his first coming. All the prophets had prophesied that the Messiah was going to come. Simeon gets the word, Messiah is here. And blesses Mary and And said to Mary his mother, verse 34: Behold, the child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign.
to be opposed. He gives a prophecy concerning the child, and then we are introduced to a lady in the temple named Anna. There was a prophetess. Anna, the daughter of Thidio from the tribe of Asher, she was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage. And then as a widow to the age of 84.
And she never left the temple serving day and night with fasting and prayer.
Now, we're introduced to fasting by this lady called Anna.
Now, don't read this too fast, there's something here. This widow, so she's by herself. She's not married anymore because her husband has died. She's a widow. Lives in the temple.
Well, she didn't physically live in the temple because the temple didn't have rooms to live in. But it meant she was at the temple daily. It was a part of her ritual. She was always there. Why was she there?
Fasting and praying. What was she fasting and praying for? We know because of what verse 38 says. And at that very moment, she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of him to those who were looking for the redemption of Israel. What's that mean?
She was saying, Lord. I want to see this redemption. You promised way back in Genesis 3, 15 that there was going to be a Messiah who was going to be born. You promised in the prophet Isaiah, it would be born of a virgin. You didn't give the exact date of the birth, but I just want to pray and fast to let my eyes see it.
She was asking for a needle in a haystack. She was saying, let me be one of the ones who get to see Messiah with my own eyes. And he or she in this occasion in Luke 2 gets to see Jesus Christ, the baby that had been born in the manger.
Now, why is that important? Because she got to see what other folks never saw. You see, when you're close to God, he'll let you in on stuff that other people can't see. He'll let you in on private conversations. In fact, one of the rewards in Revelation 2 is that people who are close to God, he calls the overcomers, you shall get access to the paradise of God where we have private conversations.
When you're intimate, see, when you're close to feet, people, they tell you secrets, right? Why do folks tell you secrets when you're close to them? Because they know they can trust you with the information. Because they know you're out for their good. When you're intimate, God will tell you things.
The reason why God won't tell many of us things is we don't know him well enough yet. You ever have people get in your business and be asking you personal stuff, and you have to say, I don't know you. Who are you? You're not always in my business.
Well, the reason why many of us don't hear from God is God said, I don't know you. You are a stranger. Yeah, I see you once a week at church, but I don't know you. I don't know you. We are not intimate.
He goes into details, telling you and I how long this lady was there.
Now, watch this now. She'd been there for years. And some of you have been waiting on God for years. Let me tell you what fasting and prayer did for this lady. It not only let her see it, even though it was later in her life.
It gave her the strength to keep coming during the weight. The beauty of fasting and being intimate with God is even when you don't know how long it's going to take him to give you your breakthrough. He'll make it so that you can wait till it's time. Intimacy will give you the power of... Patience.
It'll let you keep waiting till your change comes. What will it take for you to build a closer, more intimate connection with Christ? Part of the answer is spending more time in God's Word. And a good place to start is by visiting our website, tonyevans.org. It's packed with Bible study resources on just about any topic you can imagine.
books, booklets, C D's, videos, and more. including a huge selection of downloadable resources and a link to the Tony Evans Training Center. TonyEvans.org is also the place to go to take advantage of that special offer I mentioned earlier. Remember, if you contact us and make a donation right away, We'll send you the entire 14 message series Tony will be wrapping up this week on the subject of fasting. It's packed with additional content we haven't had time to present on the broadcast.
And as an added bonus, we're including our Hope for the Herding leader kit. that features the Hope for the Hurting book, Bible study, teaching videos, and more. These resources are all yours along with our thanks for your donation to help keep this listener-supported program coming your way. Just visit TonyEvans.org before time runs out to make the arrangements. or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night.
Again, that's tonyevans.org. or by phone 24-7 at 1-800-800-3222. Most people think of fasting in terms of what we don't do, which is eat. But the Bible reveals a more active side to fasting. Outlining behaviors that demonstrate our sacrifice goes beyond simply giving up a meal.
Be sure to join us tomorrow. as Dr. Evans talks to us about fasting for justice.
