Israel: The Risk of Faith, Part 1

A lot of us haven't seen God move yet because God hasn't seen us move yet. Dr. Tony Evans says if we're not ready to take the risk of faith, what we have isn't really faith. God says, as for me, I got my part down.

I'm just waiting for you to stop whining, crying, and do what I told you to do. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. Making choices isn't so bad when you have all the information needed to weigh your options. But when you're pinning your future to nothing more than blind trust, it's another story. The Bible calls that faith, and Dr. Evans tells us why it's a gamble that always pays off.

Let's join him for today's lesson. We're going through Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith. Today I want to talk about the risk of faith, for faith is risky business because you're having to make choices over things you do not see.

That's why people shy away from it. Faith is risky business. But without it, it's impossible to please God.

We've seen that. And so what God will do in order to nudge you or drive you to faith is box you in where that's your only option, because He wants to teach you and me and us to live by faith. God told the children of Israel that He was going to smite, verse 23 of Exodus 12, the firstborn in Israel, but if they would put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost of their home when the deaf angel came, He would pass over them.

Verse 23, He would not allow the destroyer to come into your homes to smite you. This was an unprecedented instruction. They had never heard this kind of advice before.

It had never been done before. So you could argue they could say, well, that doesn't make sense. I don't know what blood on the door has got to do with delivering me from Egypt.

I'm not going to do that. That would have been a bad decision, as the Egyptians found out, just because it had never been done before, just because you hadn't heard it that way before, just because you've never seen it like this before. Once God confirms it, it's in your best interest to take the risk that the most ridiculous strategy possible, coming from the living God, is one you ought to pay attention to. The instruction was to paint on the door the blood of the lamb, and when they saw the blood, when the angel saw the blood, he says, your home would be safe. If you were a Jewish firstborn, that might have been a nervous night for you. Dad, Dad, according to God, the firstborn in every house is going to die. Number one, did you put the blood on the door?

Because this is my life. I don't care how afraid the firstborn in that house was, the issue would not be his emotions. The issue is, is there blood on the door?

The issue is not his feelings, his frustrations, his insecurity. All that is real, but it would have nothing to do with the result. The result would be tied to the action of putting blood on the door, for faith is based on what you do, not on how you feel. When the angel came passing over, he wasn't peeking in the house, saying, who's nervous? He was looking at the door, and who believed the message about the blood?

It would be the blood that would deliver them, not their emotions. Anybody who felt good about it, and didn't feel like needed to worry about it, was going to feel bad by the next morning, because they didn't do what God said because of how they felt about it, or because they've never heard it before, or because it didn't make sense. He then goes on and tells them in Exodus, he says, you are to memorialize this for your children. Verse 26, when your children say, what does this mean to you? You shall say, it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who gave over the houses of the sons of Israel and Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes, and the people bowed and worshiped. He says, you are to teach this Passover thing to your kids, and you are to keep this Passover ongoingly. Now, why am I telling us this, and why is the author of Hebrews telling us this about faith?

Because the Bible says, 1 Corinthians 5, 7, Jesus is our Passover. If you operate in sync with Jesus Christ, the blood covers you. Everybody here today, on their way to heaven, is only on their way to heaven, because they're covered by the blood. When I stand before God, and God were to say, Tony Evans, why should I let you into heaven?

I just got one phrase, the blood. I have been covered by the blood. That is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ is what I am looking to for my eternal deliverance. Not good works, not being part of a church, not being a pastor, all that's nice, but I have nothing to do with my eternal destiny. My eternal destiny is tied to one thing. I let Jesus spread His blood on my heart, and I am saved by the blood.

But watch this. The blood did not simply deliver for eternity. The blood delivered them in history.

It delivered them from the Egyptians. See, a lot of folk who've been saved by the blood for heaven do not let the blood save them on earth. It's good for eternity, but it's also good if you operate in sync under the rule of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.

He becomes the deliverer who gives freedom from this, who gives deliverance from that, who gives peace that passes understanding, joy and tribulation, who takes you through the various ups and downs of life and makes you more than a conqueror. It says all that comes through the blood too. So if you're only looking to the blood for heaven, you're going to miss the power of the blood on earth. That's why Jesus says, if you deny Me before men, I will deny you before My Father who is in heaven.

But if you acknowledge Me before men, I will acknowledge you before My Father is in heaven. See, belief in God is not where your deliverance comes. Your deliverance comes through the blood, and that is your identification with Jesus Christ.

So if you are the only person who knows you're a Christian, you ain't covered. So Moses' job was to convince them to put the blood on the door. My job is to convince us, this congregation, to keep the blood on the door. That is, to keep your identification with Jesus Christ front and center.

Not just your belief in God, but your identification with Jesus Christ. That is where God's deliverance comes, not only for eternity, but in history. One of the reasons we take communion and one of the advantages you should use in taking communion is to call on the blood for whatever you need deliverance from in this life, because it is the blood. There is power in the blood.

I saw something on TV not too long ago that caught my attention. This man was in a fire, and it burned a large part of his body, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They laid him on a bed. You could see all of the burned tissues, and then they went and they poured on top of him a bucket of leeches. And so this guy has leeches all over him, all over the burns of his body. They said, the leeches will eat the dead skin. The leeches will eat death. They will eat the dead skin. Then he went on to say, the leeches also suck blood. So when the leeches eat the dead skin and begin sucking blood, they will draw blood up to the skin, so that while they eat the bad skin and suck up the blood, the blood being sucked up by the leeches will produce new skin at the place where the bad skin has been eaten.

When they poured it, all I saw was ugly. But what I didn't understand was it would be through the blood. In this ugly scenario that this man would get his life back. I know talking about the blood of Jesus may seem weird to you, but if you ever hook up with the blood, as weird as it sounds, like the leeches on this guy, when God starts doing his blood work in your life through your identification with Jesus Christ, he can destroy the death that's killing you and suck up the life that he wants you to have, which is why Paul said, I can be crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. It's Christ who lives in me, the life which I now live.

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So don't be embarrassed by the blood, because it is the Passover lamb, the blood that gives you life. Life to come, but also covering now. But you got to identify with the blood.

You can't just think about it, talk about it, discuss it, and study it. It's got to be on the door. It's got to be visible. So is your identification with Jesus Christ visible, or are you a secret agent saint? Is it visibly clear that you follow Christ? Not just believe in God, but that you are a Christian?

Or if accused of being a Christian, would you be found innocent of all charges? Dr. Evans will be back in a moment with the turning point in Abraham's story as he continues this message from his current series, Heroes of the Faith. And we're excited to let you know that Tony's newest book, Kingdom Heroes, goes hand in hand with the material being covered today. Together, Heroes of the Faith and Kingdom Heroes focus on two very powerful words, by faith. You'll discover how otherwise ordinary people became the best known characters in the Bible just by acting as if God was telling the truth. What does it take to live a life of faith today where we live?

What do we say to a culture that insists that seeing is believing? How can we learn to trust God when our fears and feelings tell us not to? Find the answers when you get a copy of Tony's two-volume, 13-message audio collection on CD or digital download, and his brand-new book, Heroes of the Faith. For a limited time, when you request the audio series and the book, we'll also include a companion Bible study to maximize your understanding and application of this material. The entire faith resource package is our gift to you in appreciation for your generous contribution to help Tony's ministry reach out with the love and truth of the gospel. Just visit us today at tonyevans.org, or call us at 1-800-800-3222, make your contribution, and let us send you the Heroes of the Faith and Kingdom Heroes book and study package as our thank you gift.

Again, that's tonyevans.org, or call us day or night at 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will be back with more of today's lesson right after this. We were at the Garden Tomb, and we had communion, and we talked about the resurrection. Dr. Tony Evans recalls what happened when he led a group of first-timers on a trip to the Holy Land. People began to weep as they understood afresh the crucifixion, and that's one of the things that I think comes out of going there is a fresh encounter so that things have gotten dull or stale.

It has a way of injecting new life and new reality into your experience. Now you can have that experience yourself, thanks to Tony's new movie coming out this November, Journey with Jesus. What I'm hoping is that through this experience and with that movie, I will be there with you, and you will be there with me. Journey with Jesus, November 15th, 16th, and 17th, in a theater near you. I look forward to the fellowship we're going to have together through the film.

For locations, showtimes, and more, visit tonyevans.org. He now goes on to the second of these three events. He says in verse 29, by faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, drowned. Now, according to chapter 13, verse 17, now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near. For God said the people might change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. Hence, God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. The miracle is going to happen at the Red Sea. But the Red Sea is not the direct route to the Promised Land.

So they are paying Egypt, the Promised Land is here, and God takes them down by the Red Sea to bring them back up to the Promised Land. Has God ever taken you way out of the way? I mean, God, I need you to take me from A to B, and He winds up taking you to Z to F to R to C to L to M to Y. You going all over the place. It says He did not take them on the short route.

Now watch this. They wound up at the Red Sea, it says, because God led them there. So God led them the long way around. So if you are following God and He doesn't seem to know the shortcut—because God, why you gotta take this long? Why we go to go this route?

Why we gotta—you know, why is it not happening quicker? It says He did it on purpose. And even though the children of Israel didn't understand it, God had a reason for not taking the short route. So if God is taking too long for what you're looking to Him for, trusting Him for, believing Him for, He's taking long on purpose. And as He leads them the long way around, Pharaoh has second thoughts.

Chapter 14, verse 5. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of mind, change of heart toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done that we have let Israel go from serving us? We must have been out of our mind to let all that extra help go.

What were we thinking? So he takes 600 chariots, verse 7, to go after them. Okay, watch this, watch this. Stay with me, folks. Verse 8 says, The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly.

Watch this. It says, And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. So when Pharaoh said, Go get him, God told Pharaoh, Hurry up.

To harden your heart means to make you do more of and make you do it faster of what you intended to do in the first place. God hardened the heart and said, Yeah, you ought to go get him. You ought to hurry up and go get him before they get out of here. Go get him now. If I was you, I wouldn't have let him go either.

Go get him. God led him the long way around. God told evil Pharaoh, Go get him. You ever feel like God is more on the enemy side than yours? You ever feel like God is more on your unsaved employer side than yours? You ever feel like God is more on your unsaved co-worker side than yours?

You ever feel like God is more on your unsaved family member side than yours? You're praying and you're looking to God, you're trusting God, and they're coming after you. The problem is coming after you.

The difficulty is coming after you, and watch this, and they're coming after you right after you were just blessed. You didn't put all this money in my pocket. You done given me living large. I can move out of that apartment to the house.

I can move out of that used car to a new car. I can move out of those old rags to a new rag, and all of a sudden, I'm going to die. Not only am I going to die, but you done told a man to kill me. You done hardened his heart, because his heart already said, Go get him. And God said, Oh yeah, go get him.

And I mean, get him. Watch this now. When the people see the army coming after them, they do what Christians do today, verse 11. Then they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone and we may serve the Egyptians? For if we have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here in the wilderness. They did what we do on God when it doesn't look like God is working it like we expected it.

We want to double back. It says they were scared, and God was behind it. He led them the long way, and He helped Pharaoh run after them. But Moses said to the people, now pay close attention. Okay, so this is the congregation of Israel.

It says the they in Hebrews. Moses is like the pastor. He says, Do not fear. Doesn't that sound like a good pastor? You're all scared. The pastor mounts the pulpit and says, Do not fear.

Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord. What else is a preacher going to say? Congregation is scared about inflation. They're scared about crime.

They're scared about this. He says, Stand back and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again forever. What he's basically saying is, Trust the Lord. Y'all ever hear me say, Trust the Lord, and you think, Let's get practical? Yeah, you thought I trusted the Lord and stuff. Get ready to kill me, and you're talking all that spiritual stuff.

Give me something for real. He says, Trust the Lord. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. Now look at the first phrase in 16 and the first phrase in 17.

Now watch this. He says, As for you. Somebody say, As for you. As for you.

But look at the first phrase in verse 17. As for me. As for you.

Then he says in 17, As for me. As for you, lift up the staff. As for me, I will harden the Egyptians' heart to go after you. You do what I told you to do. You leave me to do what I'm supposed to do.

Don't worry about me. I got my part, but I'm not going to do my part till you do your part. A lot of us haven't seen God move yet because God hasn't seen us move yet. God says, As for you, you do what I told you to do. And as for me, I got my part, but my part will only move after I see you move by faith. So Moses, you pick up your rod, and you hold it out. You do what I put in your hand to do. And then you have a double miracle.

Because verse 21 says, Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so that the waters were divided, and the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea as on the dry land. That's two miracles. Hope you know that. If you've never gambled on God and seen what He could do, when only He could do it, then maybe that's why God may not be real in your life. Because you've never bet on Him.

Oh, the little stuff maybe. The stuff you could do even if there was no God. But you've never bet on Him in a crisis when He boxed you in between a rock and a hard place, when He put you out on a cliff, when He put you on a ledge, when you were in a pinch. Many of us are waiting on God when God is waiting on us.

And God says, I am not going to move, and you will not see My hand until I see you roll the dice in My favor. There's a third miracle Dr. Evans wants to tell us about, but that we'll have to wait for tomorrow's program. Right now, a reminder that today's message, Israel, the Risk of Faith, is part of Tony's current series called Heroes of the Faith. Don't forget, for a limited time, we're making this two-volume, 13-message collection on CD and digital download available to you, along with his brand-new book and study guide, Kingdom Heroes.

They're our gift to you when you help us keep Tony's teaching on this station with your generous donation. Just visit tonyevans.org to get your copy of this powerful package. While you're there, take a moment and sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional.

Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or call us at 1-800-800-3222, and let one of our friendly team members assist. Our resource center is open 24-7, so call any time.

Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Well, if you've been listening to the broadcast for any length of time, you've no doubt heard, we're in the midst of celebrating 40 years of God's faithfulness to the ministry. We're blessed by your well wishes and want to quickly share one of the comments we've recently received. Hi, Pastor Skip Heitzig here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I want to say congratulations to Dr. Tony Evans. He is one of the most remarkable and respected leaders in the ministry in this generation.

Not only is he a remarkable pastor and teacher and author, but he stayed at the task and is celebrating 40 years in the ministry this year. A wholehearted congratulations from me and from our fellowship. We consider you a hero in our common faith, Tony, and thank you for upholding the standard of biblical expository preaching and exalting the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for your years of service to the Lord and to His people. Congratulations. From all of us here at The Urban Alternative, we thank each of you for your continued support and encouragement. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans will tell us more about how the biggest gamble you could ever take can actually be a sure thing. Be sure to join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative, celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.