In the Midst of the Mundane

Today we live in a world of running Christians. Christians who have the first sign of trouble want to know how I can get out. But Dr. Tony Evans says God has another plan for us.

God is in the business of confronting Satan, not running from him. 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. Today on The Alternative, we're taking a trip back in time, back over four decades ago to September 1979, where an enthusiastic young pastor named Tony Evans is preaching each Sunday morning to a small but growing congregation meeting in a borrowed fellowship hall. Dr. Evans recalls how that fledgling Dallas community of believers got their start. I was taking a course from Gene Getz called Sharpening the Focus of the Church, about making the church relevant in a new world that we were in at that time. At the same time, Ruben Conner, who was head of the organization that was church planning, challenged me to start a church in light of some of the ideas I had about doing some things differently with church in a predominantly African American context.

So all this is hitting at the same time. That's when Gene Getz, who was the professor, who was also a pastor, said, if you want to start a church, our church will support you. And so after prayer and thought, we decided to start Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship while I was working on my doctoral degree at Dallas Seminary.

So on June 6, 1976, we took a Bible study that we were having in our home that was 10 people in the house, and we began Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship with the idea of having a biblically centered church that was relevantly addressing the issues of the day and in the community. Well, the next five years saw more and more demand for the cassette tape recordings of Tony's down-to-earth, no-holds-barred biblical messages. His sermons resonated not only with his congregants, but also with the many people listening on local radio stations in the surrounding area.

After prayerful consideration, the Urban Alternative was established in 1981 with the hope of impacting a wider audience with these life-changing messages. Today, we're going to revisit a message Tony preached prior to the launch of the National Ministry. And fittingly, it's about what we as Christians do in the long haul, not just how we respond when God is blessing us and doing the miraculous, but how we think and act in the sometimes unexciting times of day-to-day life, as Tony puts it, when the miracles become the mundane.

Let's join a much younger Tony Evans addressing those early church members with a lesson he's drawn from the book of Haggai, an important lesson that remains relevant to each of us, even today in 2021. Throughout the history of the Scriptures, God has always been able to get a people started good. They got on the other side of the Red Sea, and they were finally brought victorious. They offered sacrifices unto God, and according to the Scripture, they sang to Jehovah the song of Moses. And let God know how exciting it was to see that Red Sea open. God didn't have a problem doing that.

When they got on the other side of Jordan, they worshiped them. They praised them because, after all, that was a new and special deliverance. God always has a problem after the deliverance is worn down, after he's not pulling off those special miracles anymore, after he has stopped with the miraculous, and he has started with the mundane. I submit to you that the test of your Christianity and the test of my Christianity is not what we do for God in the midst of the miracle. It is what we do for God in the midst of the mundane, when there are no more miracles, when we have to exist day by day, and there is not the immediate answer to prayer, and there is not that special way that God comes through. Are we still faithful when miracles become the mundane?

I submit to you that that is the test of spirituality, that how much you know God is directly tied to how you live for God after God has already blessed you. In the book of Haggai, we're dealing with a prophet of God who's been called upon by God because there has developed a problem in your world. You see, God had performed a miracle. He had allowed those Jews who were now in bondage or then in bondage to the Medo-Persian Empire to be released. You remember, of course, the story of Nehemiah and the story of Ezra, when they were allowed to be freed and they were allowed to leave and they were allowed to come back to the land, at least a remnant of them. And when they got back there, they were excited, let's rebuild the temple, let's rebuild the wall, let's get things started again.

Boy, God has wrought for us a tremendous deliverance, let's get going. And they started. They started building the temple, they started to reconstruct the house of God. But just as they were about to get going on seeing God's temple built, the Bible says enemies came and disrupted the world. The Samaritans came and they interfered with the program.

Because the people became so agitated at the interference of the Samaritans into the rebuilding of the temple, because they became so flustered, they left the temple alone and said it's not worth the trouble to rebuild it, so what we will do is just leave it. Trouble determined their spiritual action. You see, one of the dangers in the Christian life is to think that when we have gotten over, when God has blessed, when God has come through for us, that we shouldn't have any more problems. We don't understand that living in this world for God means that we are living in antithesis to the kingdom of darkness. And it is the job of the kingdom of darkness to intrude on the kingdom of light and cause the kingdom of light to become as dark as the kingdom of darkness.

Satan's job is to make sure that believers become frustrated at living for God and therefore stop doing so. Thus, verse 2, says the Lord of hopes. The people says the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. Now what are they saying?

They're saying it is not time to rebuild this house yet. Why? Because there are too many enemies out there. There is too much trouble out there. There are too many Samaritans out there.

There are too many instigators out there. Why go through all this trouble to build God a house when we've got to go up against so much opposition to get that house built? I submit to you that what they should have rather said is we're going to build God's house because it's God's house.

And because it is God's house, we're going to go through whatever changes are necessary to make sure that nothing stops God's house from being erected. In other words, they should have come to the point where seeing God's house go up was more significant than running from the enemy to God. Today we live in a world of running Christians.

I hate to say it like that, but that's the only way I know it. Running Christians, Christians who at the first sign of trouble run. No, I can get out. Christians who rather than say, how can I stay in this situation? Bring God to bear on the situation so that I have reversed the situation we no longer see. Now we live in a day where Christians who get into problems want to find the fastest exit door to get out of the problem. What God may have in mind is the place himself in the problem to be an alternative to the problem so that God has an influence on the problem.

So that the problem no longer is a problem. What God is about is bringing to bear divine influence in the midst of satanic eruption. The way the Bible puts it is that when Satan rears his head, God in the same timetable, in the same process, will raise up a standard against him. In other words, God is in the business of confronting Satan, not running from him. For God, the essence of who you are and what you are about is not in how well you say it, it's how well you do it.

It's does your performance match your talk? Are you willing to stand in the kingdom of darkness? Are you willing to stand at home when the darkness is erupting because you're living with an unsaved mate? Are you willing rather to retreat, to stand in the midst of that situation and demonstrate God like God has never been demonstrated before? Rather than run from that job, are you willing to stand in the midst of that job and say to that job that although this job is attempting to rule me, I am no longer ruled by anything other than God, so I am going to bring God to bear in this job.

I am not going to be made a runner, I am going to be made a winner because through Christ all things I can do. Then the word of the Lord, verse 3, came by Haggai the prophet saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? See, let me try to paint the picture. They laid a few bricks on the house of God, but a little trouble came. Haggai comes into town and visits the Jewish neighborhood. He notices that all their bricks are up.

He notices that they have two car garages. He visits a few living rooms and notices that the walls have been paneled. So they didn't just live in the house like it was. After they got in, they constructed it and made it a glorious place to walk into. No, there wasn't no bare living rooms in Jerusalem or very few because they had lined the walls up. I'm talking about no cheap paneling.

I mean, they had those walls looking nice. So God answers that question with the question. He says, You do have time to build my house. Well, let me check your calendar and see what you have time for. Oh, I noticed you had time to put that tile down on your kitchen floor.

I wonder where you found that time. You see, when people tell me they don't have time, that's not what they're telling me. They're saying I don't have time for that. So what they are telling me is that something else I am about takes more priority than what you are asking me to do. What bothers God is that they didn't have time for him, but they did have time for them. That's the problem.

The problem is spiritual priority. When a Christian tells me I didn't have time to have devotions, the next question ought to be, What did I have time for today? Did I have time to watch TV? Yes. Did I have time to eat three meals a day?

Most definitely. Did I have time to do some other things that I wanted to do around the house? Yes. Did I have time to talk on the phone for 30 minutes?

Yes. If you had time for you, there is no reason you should not make time for God. God says, Did you have time for you? Explain to me how you can't have time for me. I'm sure glad God does not operate on that equation, because if he did, we'd be in a mess. I don't have time to let oxygen flow today. I don't have time to keep the earth spinning on its axis today.

I'm a little busy. If God operated like that, we'd be in trouble. That's why the Bible calls him faithful, because he can be counted upon. And we are a priority with him. God's people are a priority with him.

He makes time for us. Well, Dr. Evans will have more for us in just a moment from this notable sermon preached back in September of 1979. But first, I want to let you know that the lesson you're hearing today is part of an historic four-volume collection of messages we've put together, spanning 40 years of ministry here at The Urban Alternative. We're calling it Tony Evans Top 40. And for a limited time, we'll send you volumes 3 and 4 of this significant set of messages as our way of saying thank you for your investment in us, which enables us to continue investing in you.

That's 20 full-length messages, including several we won't be able to present on the air this time around. You can make the arrangements to get your own copy of this collection on CD or digital download when you visit us at tonyevans.org. That's tonyevans.org. Or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222. Our resource center is open 24-7.

Once again, that's 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that information for you after part two of our message and this. Coming to theaters this November. I'm here in Bethany, the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead. I'm here in the place where it's believed was the tomb from which he walked when Jesus raised him from the dead.

Dr. Tony Evans brings the New Testament Gospels to life as he visits the locations of Jesus' earthly ministry, connecting them to their significance for humankind today. What do you think has died in your life? Maybe hope has died. Your relationships have died. Maybe your dreams have died.

Guess what? Jesus is still the resurrection. He can take things that are dead and bring them back to life again. November 15th, 16th, and 17th. Travel with Dr. Tony Evans on a life-changing, eye-opening journey with Jesus.

Find theaters, showtimes, and learn more at tonyevans.org. Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Now think about it. Now what he is saying, the Hebrew idiom, consider your way, has the idea of examining what in reality is taking place that you may not be noticing. That when we take from God what belongs to him and give it to us, we are receiving what we just took from God. See, that's the natural thought. The natural thought is, the money I should give God, if I keep it from me, I have more money. The time I should give God, if I keep it from me, I have more time.

See, that's the equation in normal ways, but let's look at how God analyzes that equation. You have sown much, but you have harvested little. You eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied. You drink, and there is not enough to become drunk.

You put on clothes, but no one is warm enough. And he who earns, earns his wages to put it into a purse with holes. Now he has said quite a bit, the essence of that is when you rob from God, God does not lose, you lose.

When anything that belongs to God is ripped from God, you wind up the works for the thievery. You see, when I don't spend time growing in my spiritual life, I'm the one who gets more tempered when things go wrong. I am the one who loses patience. I am the one who gets frustrated. I am the one who can't handle life. I am the one who can't deal with my boss. I am the one who can't deal with my maid. I am the one who can't handle the school pressure.

I am the one who loses. When you don't have time for God, you're really saying, I don't have time to become all I am supposed to be. God is able to take a little and make it a lot if it's in his hands.

You remember? He took two loaves of bread and some fish and he fed 5,000? Well, he didn't have a lot to work with.

He had a little boy's lunch. But because the lunch was turned over to the Lord, the Lord took the lunch and made it sufficient. When you put God first in your time, in your energy, in your efforts, in your giving, in whatever field, when you put God first, you don't lose. Now that's a matter of faith.

You've got to try it. But there is a way in which when you leave God out and you pursue what you want, God may give you what you want, but not allow what you wanted to happen because of what he's given you to take place. A classic example in Israel, they didn't like the manner that was flowing down from heaven. That was heavenly food, food directly from God. We don't like that. We want some quail. We want some beef. We want some steak. We want the real thing. God says, okay, now you sure that's what you want?

We want what we want. And the Bible says God gave them quail and then some more quail and some more quail. So everywhere they looked, they had quail. Now for the first couple of weeks, that quail was good. But the Bible says he sent them quail, but the quail gave them meat in their soul.

It can show you all kinds of people who have paid astronomical prices for success. Their families are gone. Their character is gone. Their reputations are gone. Their health is gone.

They have accumulated. Their bank account looks great. What they've invested in looks tremendous, but it's in a bag full of holes. They can't use it because it doesn't meet the main ingredients of living. You see, you cannot buy joy. You cannot buy peace. You cannot buy happiness. You cannot buy meaning. You can buy everything around them, but you cannot buy those things. Those things come from God.

Haggai says no one is warmed when you put your wages in a purse of holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts. Verse 7, consider your ways, examine what you're doing, and get your priorities straight.

Go up to the mountains and bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified. In other words, forget you. Think about me. Go get the wood and start building again.

You look for much, but behold it comes little. When you bring it home, I blow it away. I'll let you bring it home, but I'm going to blow it away.

Why? Because the Lord of hosts, because my house, which lies desolate while each of you runs to his own house. I like that word run. After they get off work, they run home. You ever driven down a highway, people trying to get home?

You know, all kinds. I got to go home. Run home!

We're going to buy a new dining room set. Run to see it. Don't you see what he's saying? He says you have time to run to your boss. You have time, he says, to run to your house. You have time to run for your own purposes.

But you don't have time to run. Paul says the Christian light is equal to running a race. And in that race, the one who wins is the one who continually faithfully runs for God. And you know something about this race? It is not a 50-yard dash.

It is a 26-mile marathon. You see, the Christian race is not determined by how well you ran this Sunday. And God does not give you brownie points because this Sunday you made it.

God does not give you extra credit because this Sunday you were on time. God looks at over your life how well you ran. He does not want to know who the first ones are out of the starting block. He does not want to know who was leading during the first 50 meters. He wants to know who can finish the race.

In other words, as the Bible puts it, the race is not given to the swift. Not talking about people who start off looking good. We deal with people all the time who start off great. They make great promises. They tell you all that they're going to do. From this day on, I'm going to live for God. They'll start off having devotions today.

They'll start off giving you great things. They'll even add some little extra things in and try to make some sacrifices. But the Bible says the race is not given to the swift. Nor is it given to the strong. Because you drop in an extra check one week because you've got an extra little blessing. God ain't flipping in heaven.

Just because you help out when we move into the new building and you help clean one Sunday or one Saturday to help get the building ready. God's not necessarily moved because the ladies gather and they help fix the food for a special occasion. God is not going to extra frenzies. It's not given to the strong. The race not given to the swift. The race not given to the strong. The race is given to the one who endures.

Who God can depend on over the long haul. That's no different than what your bosses want at work. You're not impressive to them because the first week at work you made it on time. They're looking at you from the year standpoint.

They're evaluating how you did over the long haul. What God wants is a group of people who over the long haul can be depended upon. Who over the long haul He can trust.

Who over the long haul will make Him their priority. Dr. Tony Evans with an important thought for us as we consider how we should respond to God even in the midst of the mundane. Now if you'd like to hear the full length version of today's classic message along with many other significantly powerful messages from Dr. Evans spanning 40 years of international ministry, it comes as a part of our current featured resource, Tony Evans Top 40. As I mentioned earlier, all 20 messages in volumes 3 and 4 of this collection are our gift to you when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching here on this station and on other outlets like it around the world. To get your copy, just drop by tonyevans.org where you can receive the details and make your donation online. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can call our 24 hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you with your request. You know, it's not uncommon these days to hear talk about racism. But next time, Dr. Evans will point out that cultural evils are always rooted in spiritual sins and that overcoming them requires embracing a lesson learned at the cross of Christ. Be sure to join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.