If you want a kingdom legacy, then it can't just be about you. Jonathan Evans says God's favor is meant to flow through us, not stop with us. God is not interested in blessing a cul-de-sac. He's looking to bless someone who is going to be a conduit. This is the alternative with Dr.
Tony Evans, author, speaker, founding pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. Most of us want God's blessing. but we don't always understand what it's really for. Today, special guest Pastor Jonathan Evans explains why God's promises are never just about personal gain, but about advancing a kingdom legacy that ultimately points to God's Son. Let's join him as he begins.
In our history, we can look back and say that we have been. Blessed. But we understand because of the history, the real definition of a blessing. In American culture, we have a false definition of a blessing. We think a blessing is the favor of God.
to me. No, you missed half. The blessing is not just the favor of God to you. God is not interested in blessing a cul-de-sac. He's looking to bless someone who is going to be a conduit.
It's about a kingdom legacy. That's why the church is here and exists. It's for his kingdom so that it can be on earth a little bit more like it is in heaven. Let me tell you this story. It was 2006.
I was playing with the San Diego Chargers. And in 2006. They didn't have the rules back then that they have now.
Now they have rules to protect the person who's in the pads. Like, you can't practice when it's this hot. You can't go out there and do too many practices. You don't need to wear pads too much. They be kind of babying them now.
When I was playing, they could care less about your whole life. Training camp was a beast. We would practice two, sometimes three times a day in 100 degree weather. We had coaches back then that said water is for weakness. Like it was just a totally different ballgame.
We dreaded going out there because of how hard it is, and it was at the time. And I remember it like it was yesterday. By day four, the veterans started talking about retirement. By day five, the rookies, meaning me and the rest of the boys, were calling mom, saying, get everything ready. I will be home soon, gladly.
I'm trying to get up out of here. Because by day six, we had already been through almost 20 practices. You thought you had been there for three weeks only to look up to see that you still have five weeks left of this nonsense. And I'll never forget. Day six, we went out to practice, and everybody was feeling sorry for themselves.
Quarterback was throwing interceptions. Ladanian Tomlinson, for you football fans, was the running back at the time. He was fumbling the ball. People weren't tackling. Nobody was hitting anybody.
It was just terrible. I looked at the head coach and saw that he had taken notice, but he didn't say a word. He just watched the catastrophe happen. And then he let us go into the locker room and change clothes, and he didn't say anything.
So I thought. He understands what we're going through and he's letting us get away with one. That is until day seven, day eight came around. When we came into the team meeting room at 6:45 a.m. And you could hear the grumbling, groaning, and complaining go across the room.
And then the door slammed closed, and all went quiet because the elephant had just entered the room. For you football fans, you may know his name was Marty Schottenheimer. He was a tough coach. And this day I knew was different because he just paced and he looked. For five minutes, there was no talking.
He took the time to look at each individual player right in the eyes, almost as if to see what we were thinking. I went to the edge of my seat because I was wondering what he was going to say when he finally started talking. And then he spoke. He said, guys, I did not just cast a net. In hopes that the great players that I needed to win a Super Bowl with the 2006 San Diego Chargers would just so happen to, by luck, fall into it.
He said, that's not the way this works. You were hand-selected, cherry-picked, and chosen. By none other than myself. And he said, I'm Marty Schottenheimer. I don't make mistakes with who I choose.
I watched your game tape from beforehand. I knew exactly what you would do to contribute to this team so that we can advance and win like we're called to win. I've even given you a book that's been tried and tested over the course of my career. I know it works. I've given you a coaching staff that can teach it to you.
I've given you a field where you can practice it so you can execute it. And most importantly, I've given you a uniform with your name on it. Don't embarrass it. He said, I've given you everything you need to experience this promise. But you got to do something for me.
I can give you the book, I can give you the coaches, I can give you the field, I can give you a uniform. But if you're not willing to maintain its integrity, you'll miss out on the promise that I drafted you for.
Now stop wasting your time and my time. Enough's enough. Stop grumbling, groaning, and complaining because training camp is just a part of the promise. Stand up, strap on your pad, slip on your helmet, and meet me on the 50-yard line because the time for your greatness will start right now. Man, we went out there with smoke coming out of our ears and fire coming out of our nose.
Not because anything was different other than our perspective. We had realized now why we had been called. And I want you to understand that God has a kingdom legacy. He has over 8,000 promises in the Bible. He has given you a book that's been tried and tested.
He knows it works. He's given you people who can explain it to you. He's given you a culture where you can practice it in. Most importantly, by the blood of Jesus Christ, he's given you a uniform with your name on it. But he can give you all of that.
And have promises that he's already given and set aside for you that you miss out on if you're not willing to maintain the integrity of what you've been given.
So I know there's trials and hardships along the way. But we cannot be a church that continues to whine, grumble, and groan, and complain. We've got to step out on faith to experience his promise. And the last time I checked. Yeah.
He doesn't make mistakes with who he chooses.
So if you're in this room, it's because you're called. And that's when I realized when I had Left the NFL in 2009. I was lost. I didn't know my whole life was in the game. And I prayed to God.
I said, God, help me understand what I'm supposed to do. What do you have for me? Why am I here? And he knocked on the door of my heart. And he said, You remember that speech Marty gave you back in 2006?
I said, Yes, sir. He said, Haven't I said the same thing to you? Those that he foreknew, he already predestined to be conformed into the image of his son. And those that he predestined, he already called. And those that he called, he already justified.
And those that he justified, he already glorified.
So, what then can you say? If God is for you, then who in the world can be against you?
So, I got to take you to these three verses if I can have a moment. In Genesis chapter 12, he calls a man to greatness. A person in the Bible who you know well. And he says, I'm going to give you a great nation. I'm going to give you a great name.
I'm going to bless those who are on your side, curse those who are not on your side. In you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. That is a monster promise of God. But first. I need you to leave your country, leave your relatives, leave your father's house, and go to a place you've never been before.
This is why many of us miss out on our promise because we'd rather be comfortable than be called. Go forth from your relatives and from your father's house. to the place where I will show you. The key word here is the smallest word. It's cold.
Go. Two letters is the hinge. I went to my dad's room and I was studying the passage. This was a long time ago. I went to my dad's room and I was studying this passage.
I said, Dad, let's do a word study on Go.
So we did a study, two hours of exhaustive study on the word go. Yes. Mint go. It literally rendered, don't stay where you are. In other words, it's not a hard word to interpret.
So, why is it when God speaks, it's such a hard word for you to interpret? I've been telling you to go your dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. I need to say something to you. That if you don't go when God is speaking. You will miss out on the promises he had for you.
God, listen to me. God can make promises you never see. Ask the first generation of the people of Israel. They had a promised land and got cut off. Because they kept talking about Egypt.
They didn't have the faith enough to step into what he had for them. He kept his promise and just gave it to the next group. Because he's going where he's going. You have to decide if it's with you or without you. Go.
I know. The fear thing. I have it too. But God has not given you the spirit of fear. It comes from somewhere else.
We believe the word of God is God-breathed. That means not only do we believe it, but we believe that every word is appropriately positioned for your interpretation. That means when you study this and you see that the word go comes before the word show, that means you think, in order for God to show, first I must. That's how you interpret it. Most people want God to show.
before they go. But God can't disagree with himself.
So, the reason why he's not answering your prayer is because your feet are stuck in the mud. And until you go, he won't show so that he can remain integral to himself. You want to know. That the grass on the other side of the fence is as green as what you currently are standing on before you move. And you're going to miss your promise.
When Jonathan returns in a moment, he'll explain why waiting to move may cost the very legacy God wants for you. First, though, what you're hearing today is the opening message in a powerful eight-part teaching series from Pastor Jonathan Evans called All Eyes on Jesus. In a world filled with distractions and competing priorities, this series calls us back to the central truth of our faith. that everything God is doing ultimately points to His Son. As we've already been discovering today, keeping Jesus at the center brings clarity to our calling, confidence in our decisions, and direction for our lives.
We'd like to send you the complete All Eyes on Jesus audio collection as our way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to help support the ministry of the alternative. And for a limited time, along with all eight messages, we'll also include a copy of Jonathan's motivating book, Your Time Is Now. which challenges you to stop delaying obedience and step fully into the purpose God has placed on your life. Together, these resources will encourage you to live with greater focus, faith, and spiritual urgency. You can get all the details online at tonyevans.org.
or by calling our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that information for you after the second part of today's message and this. How do you make time for the Bible? The Unbound podcast with Dr. Tony Evans asks questions like this every week with guests like Rachel Myers.
I got very into health a couple of years ago. I found myself on a Saturday morning getting out my calendar and blocking and booking to be at the gym. And I just thought, why am I not doing that for Bible reading? Because with my workouts, it was a non-negotiable window. Listen now to the Unbound Podcast.
You can find the Unbound Podcast on most of the major podcast platforms.
Well, let's get back to Jonathan now for the second part of today's message. Go to a land. which I will show you. That's faith. And when you go.
I'm going to take care of your legacy. I'll make you a great nation. I'm going to give you a great name. Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So all of the young people, some of us older. who are trying to make a name for yourself. And you out here looking like a fool. Doing all this dumb stuff on social media. Building a legacy of quicksand.
You're wasting your life. All that stuff you're putting on, all they do is people look at it and they give you three seconds and then they scroll up. God says, no, no, no, you don't bless you. I bless you. You don't give you a great name.
I give you a great name. You don't position you. I position you.
Okay.
When I was with y'all, y'all need to hear this. When I was, well, I still am, the chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys. This was like 10 years ago. We're about to go play the Cincinnati Bengals. I walk up the steps to get on the plane.
I look around the corner on the plane and all these big dudes are crying. And I'm like, uh-oh, what happened? Jason Garrett grabs my arm. He's the coach at the time. He brings me back down the steps to the tarmac.
And I was like, what you finna cut the chaplain? I'm just the chaplain. You can't cut me. I was confused on what was about to happen.
So he looks at me.
Okay.
And he says, um. It's 10 a.m. at the time. He said, Jonathan, at 3 a.m., we had a player get in a car accident and pass away. These players are in turmoil because we're on a plane trying to play a football game, and their teammate literally just passed away in a car accident.
He said, So, you mean, I don't know what to do about this, man. You're the chaplain. You do it. I said, me? Yeah.
I said, Tony Evans, how do I handle this? I don't know how to handle this.
So I got on the plane. And I said everybody from I was nervous. Everybody from Jerry Jones to the back of the plane, everybody take a knee. Because when mortality kicks in, your status goes away.
So then we prayed and I went around and hugged people, just do just Just regular ministry, just love on people. We got to the hotel. And I didn't know, I was nervous, man, because I had prepared a message, and you can't do that message now. It doesn't connect. It ain't had nothing to do with nothing.
So now God put me in a position where I'm just like. Thank you. You know you know the feeling of standing up in front of a group of people you don't have no idea? That's not a good feeling. But he said, but you got to go in there anyway.
This is why I've called you. And I said, but what am I supposed to say? He said, Jonathan, man, just give them the gospel. You don't need to come up with all that. Just give them the gospel.
So I went and we just taught the purity of the gospel. in light of what happened.
Now, a lot of players who never come to chapel came that day. And about 10 of them accepted Christ. It's a great thing. But here's the part that bothered me and gave me perspective that I want you to have. At game time, We took the field, we.
I was there. We took the field, put our toes on the line, getting ready for the national anthem. And they said, let's give a moment of silence to Jerry Brown Jr. All right, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. It's time to play football.
Yeah. It's time to play football. I looked at Demarcus Ware, who was on the team at the time. He's a Hall of Famer. And I said so.
All that Jerry meant to this team, all that he did in college and the NFL. And you know what we just did? We just gave him 20 seconds of silence. And then now we're going to play a football game. I said, so you're going to be in the Hall of Fame.
But you know what's going to happen after you're gone? The people are going to give you 20 seconds of silence. And then they're going to move right along. Yeah. You can go on this field and play for King Jesus because he has an eternity.
You gotta pick one. I went to Deb Bryant that same day. I said, Who was number 88 before you? He said, Michael Irvin. I said, Was he good?
He said, Jonathan, come on, man. He's a Hall of Famer. I said, he's a Hall of Famer. That means he was good. He said, yeah, he's a Hall of Famer.
Why are you asking me this? I said, you mean to tell me? That they just unstitched his name off the back of that jersey and stitched your name onto it? He said, Man, I don't like where this conversation is going, bro. I ain't feeling this.
He's saying. In this world, just in case you didn't know. They're going to look at you and they're going to say, Thanks for what you did.
Next. Yeah. And you out here living for a bag? You out here living for that legacy? You out here living for 15 minutes of fame?
And when you're gone, they just gonna say next. People in the next city don't even know you exist. Who are you living for? What are you doing this for?
So that you can get 15 minutes of fame?
So that they can see your social media stuff and just scroll up in three seconds? That's what we're living for. Appreciate you.
Next. That's your greatness, huh? And reach that. God was after a kingdom legacy for Abraham. Uh let me tell you what it looks like.
Kingdom Legacy. Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. Don't act like you don't know it, and I am one of them, and so are you.
So let's just praise the Lord. Arms down. I don't do that part. I'm grown. Yeah.
You mean to tell me after over 5,000 years we're still singing about Abraham?
Well, that seems to be greatness to me. Yeah. What is this passage really about? How was Abraham actually great? Tell you.
In you, Abraham, if you go, I will show and I'll bless you. And in you, Abraham. All the families of the earth. Will be blessed. How in the world?
Is God making a promise in Genesis? about all the families of the earth experiencing a blessing. Because when Abraham goes. God gives him a promised son named Isaac. Then Isaac has a son named Jacob.
Then Jacob has 12 sons that become the 12 tribes of Israel. Then from those 12 tribes comes a little bitty Israelite king from the genealogy of Abraham named Jesus Christ. And when Jesus Christ comes, he dies not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. And the last time I checked, you're a Gentile.
So without Abraham's obedience, you wouldn't be here. Without Abraham's obedience, you wouldn't have experienced the salvation of the Lord. That what God was doing is bringing about the promise of the Son through the obedience of Abraham that would genealogically tie him to the Messiah, that would make him great. Therefore, if you want greatness and you ain't connected to Jesus, you missed it. The whole thing is about Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who would come out of the obedience of a man named Abraham.
So If you want a kingdom legacy. You obey God. And your life is. Is about Jesus Christ, whatever gifts, skills, talents he gave you. You go to school and you're giving Jesus.
You speak at your job. You're given Jesus. You're not just doing it from your mouth, you're doing it from your life. You can't have a contradiction in the two. And you start building a kingdom legacy through the training camp.
Through the hardship. That's why you were drafted, and God doesn't make mistakes with who He chooses. You're here for a kingdom legacy. Right where you are. It doesn't need to be on a stage.
The slaves in Matthew 25 that had the five talents and the two talents got the same well done. It doesn't have to do with no stage. You don't have to be on cameras, and you certainly don't have to be doing a song and dance on social media. Hopefully. generations from now.
People will be able to say so and so had many sons. And many sons had father so and so. And I'm glad to be one of them. You may not see your impact. That's okay.
God will show you later. Just be steadfast. unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. and know that it will not go in vain.
Pastor Jonathan Evans, encouraging us to stay faithful. And trust God to bring lasting fruit from lives fully devoted to His Son.
Now, a full-length version of today's message, It's All About the Sun, is available if you'd like to explore this foundational truth more deeply. Or you can receive it as a part of Jonathan's complete eight-message series, All Eyes on Jesus, where he walks through Scripture to show how God's plan, from beginning to end, centers on Christ. This entire audio series is available as a digital download or on C D or USB flash drive. Along with Jonathan's encouraging book, Your Time is Now. and we'll send them all to you as our thank you gift when you make a donation to support the Ministry of the Alternative.
These resources are designed to help you refocus your faith, renew your passion. and move forward with purpose.
So get all the details at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or call our resource request line at 1-800-800-3222. and one of our team members will be glad to help. That number again, one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.
Sometimes following Jesus doesn't lead us away from the storm. but rather straight into it. Tomorrow, Pastor Evan shows how Christ's Word carries power. even during those times when our lives feel out of control. I hope you'll join us.
