The Faith Walk

Jonathan Evans: Are you out here living for a bag? Are you out here living for that legacy? Are you out here living for 15 minutes of fame? When you're gone, they're just going to say, "Next." People in the next city don't even know you exist. Who are you living for? What are you doing this for? Is it so you can get 15 minutes of fame?

Is it so they can see your social media stuff and just scroll up in three seconds? Is that what we're living for? "Appreciate you. Next." That's your greatness? No, God was after a kingdom legacy for Abraham. Let me tell you what a kingdom legacy looks like.

Guest (Male): You're listening to The Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry, Jonathan has two gifts for you. The first is the audio series that you're currently hearing called All Eyes on Jesus, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything.

The second part of this gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans called The Power of Jesus' Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith?

I'll tell you more about these later in today's program. Or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now, here's Jonathan with part two of his message, "It’s All About the Son."

Jonathan Evans: My dad and mom were already settled on Indiana. Then at the last minute when I'm already settled on what I'm going to do, you come in with a different word. How I know it's you is because they didn't just throw it off. They started struggling with it. As they struggled with it, my dad said, "Okay, well, if they're going to pay for it, why don't I just go ahead and apply?"

When they applied, they got accepted. That made the struggle worse. Now he got accepted but they got accepted on probation because they applied late. The professor said, "I still think this is the place." By faith, they changed from where they were going to where we are now: to Dallas Theological Seminary. While he was at Dallas Theological Seminary, Lois was doing everything else to make it happen.

They started a Bible study because they loved to teach the word. They just had friends over. Two men were hearing Dr. Evans teach the word and they kept hearing this kingdom worldview. They came to him. Mind you, he was already settled again that after he finished seminary he was going to go back to the East Coast to be an evangelist. Tony Evans was not trying to be a pastor. He was already settled on the idea of being an evangelist.

While he was doing this Bible study and these two men heard this kingdom worldview, they said, "Dallas needs that kingdom worldview and we believe that kingdom worldview from Dallas will go beyond Dallas." They went to him and said, "We think you should start a local church and not go to the East Coast." He said, "Oh, again? You all keep talking to me. I already was settled." But now he's unsettled again.

Now him and my mom are talking and dealing with this internal turmoil of whether they stay here or go to the East Coast. My dad was just going to be out there just teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. While that's a great thing, God had another thing. He's dealing with this turmoil and decides, "Okay, I'm just going to by faith, since I'm in Dallas anyway, I'm going to start a church in our house. We're already doing Bible study."

June 6, 1976, the church started in Dallas, Texas, in a house because of these two men who brought an opposing word from where Dad was already settled. He started teaching and people started saying, "I never heard it like this." The church grew out of the house and they had to go to the Bridegate apartment complex. God began to show that this is what he wanted them to do because it kept expanding and growing.

People were getting hungry for the word. From the Bridegate apartment complex, they moved to the Lutheran church right across the street from the YMCA on Hampton. That Lutheran church opened up the fellowship hall. Then God kept letting us see the glory of God happening in the church. It kept expanding and then we went to an elementary school called Adele Turner. They opened up their auditorium for the church.

There were struggles and roadblocks along the way. At Adele Turner, the church kept growing. People realized this teaching, this kingdom worldview that we now know is the kingdom agenda, is a whole another ball game. As the church kept growing and expanding, the board of the school said, "We don't want you all to meet here anymore." We didn't have anywhere to go.

Now we've got Pharaoh and the Red Sea and there isn't anywhere to go. My dad said, "All I've got is a staff. What am I supposed to do? I have nowhere to go." The elders and my dad and mom prayed. "If you're sending us this way, we need you to bless those who are on our side. We need you to make a way out of nowhere." This is miracle number one. That board had to vote to kick the church out.

They were going to lose the vote because there were two members that if they were there, the vote goes negative. On the day of the vote, those two members got stuck in traffic. There was an accident on the road that blocked them from moving at all. The committee said, "They're not here, we have to go ahead and vote." They voted and won the vote to stay at Adele Turner long enough to find the next place.

After the vote, those two members ran in the door. Too late. The vote is already over. When you start going in what God is telling you to do, he will bless those who are on your side and remove those who are not on your side because it's not even about you. It's his story and he's not going to mess up his story. But that's not all. Once we got to Adele Turner and started growing, we outgrew that facility.

My dad and mom spotted, along with the elders, an A-frame building that's on our property now. They spotted it but couldn't afford it. There was a church called Faith Bible who was in that building. They decided all of a sudden that they were going to relocate. My dad asked, "How much for that building?" They said that building's going to cost $200,000. Back then, $200,000 was like saying $2 million. We had nothing of the sort.

The elders, Tony Evans, and Lois faced another problem. They were growing out of their space and had to figure out where to go. They didn't want to be a membership with no home. My dad went and talked to a guy privately in his office and told him about the conundrum. He felt like God spoke to him about that building. While he was talking to this guy, another guy passed the door and then that guy came back and stood in the door.

My dad was evangelically ticked off that this guy was intruding on his conversation. He didn't know who this guy was. Then the guy leaned against the doorframe. My dad said, "Who are you?" Then the guy came in and sat down in the chair. He started asking questions about this building that cost $200,000. My dad started explaining to him what he was trying to tell the other man.

When you go and do what God has called you to do, he will send angels unaware. This guy was asking questions to Tony Evans. Tony Evans didn't even really want to answer his questions because he was trying to talk to the first man. But God was moving. This guy asked how much he needed and asked for the philosophy. My dad broke down the kingdom agenda. This dude took out a check, wrote $200,000, handed it to my dad, and walked out of the door.

My dad has never seen this dude since because when you go, God will show you where he's taking you and give you the promises of God. We have a testimony of God's faithfulness, miracle after miracle in order to make this thing work. We started over there and then it kept growing to where you're sitting right now because of the faithfulness of God. If he does not go, this birthday has a testimony.

God made people uncomfortable all along the way. When I came of age, I said, "Dad, how did you do that? Tell me how you did that." He told me to go read Hebrews chapter 11 and tell him what I saw. I asked why he couldn't just tell me. He said, "No, you go read it for yourself." Hebrews 11 says, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen."

Verse four says, "By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain." Verse seven says, "By faith, Noah built that ark." Verse eight says, "By faith, Abraham obeyed even though he had no idea where he was going." Verse 11 says, "By faith, Sarah conceived." Verse 22 says, "By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob." Verse 24 says, "By faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter."

Verse 31 says, "By faith, Rahab hid those spies." I closed that book and said, "Dad, I get it. He did it by faith." He said, "Bingo, boy. That's how it works. It works when the people of God are willing to walk by faith and not by feel."

Guest (Male): More of The Faith Walk with Pastor Jonathan Evans in a moment. When life leaves you feeling spiritually dry, pressured by culture, or unsure of your purpose, All Eyes on Jesus will help you refocus on the one who changes everything. Today, with a gift to support the ministry of the Urban Alternative, Jonathan wants to give you a copy of his eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus.

What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Also included with your gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans, The Power of Jesus' Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. Both the book, The Power of Jesus' Names, and the eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus, are a gift for you to thank you and show our appreciation for your continued support.

It is listeners like you who make this program possible. Our 24-hour resource request line is open at 1-800-800-3222. Let one of our team members help you at 1-800-800-3222. Or get all the details at tonyevans.org. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Now, let's get back to Jonathan with the rest of today's message.

Jonathan Evans: Whether you feel it or not, he's making you uncomfortable and he's telling you to go. I know you're thinking about it and you're feeling it. You've been thinking about it for weeks and you've been justifying why you shouldn't do it. I will not show if you do not go. It's on you. Free will, your choice. You can determine what you do but you cannot determine what God gives.

"Go to a land which I will show you." That's faith. 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. All of the young people, and some of us older, who are trying to make a name for yourself and you are out here looking like a fool doing all this dumb stuff on social media, you are building a legacy of quicksand. You're wasting your life.

People look at all that stuff you are putting on for three seconds and then they scroll up. God says, "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." When I was the chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys about 10 years ago, we were about to go play the Cincinnati Bengals. I walked up the steps to get on the plane.

I looked around the corner on the plane and all these big dudes were crying. Jason Garrett, who was the coach of the team at the time, grabbed my arm and brought me back down the steps to the tarmac. He said, "Jonathan, at 3:00 AM, we had a player get in a car accident and pass away." These players were in turmoil because we were on a plane trying to play a football game and their teammate literally just passed away in a car accident.

He told me, "I don't know what to do about this. You're the chaplain. You do it." I wondered how I was going to handle this. I got on the plane and I told everybody from Jerry Jones to the back of the plane to take a knee. When mortality kicks in, your status goes away. We prayed and I went around and hugged people, just loving on people. We got to the hotel and I was nervous because I had prepared a message and you can't do that message now.

It didn't connect and had nothing to do with anything. God put me in a position where I was standing up in front of a group of people and didn't have an idea. That's not a good feeling. But he said, "You have to go in there anyway. This is why I've called you." When I asked what I was supposed to say, he told me to just give them the gospel. We just taught the purity of the gospel in light of what happened.

A lot of players who never come to chapel came that day and about 10 of them accepted Christ. That was a great thing. But here's the part that bothered me and gave me perspective. At game time, we took the field, put our toes on the line, and got ready for the national anthem. They asked for a moment of silence for Jerry Brown Jr. and then said, "All right, it's time to play football!"

I said, "What? It's time to play football?" I looked at DeMarcus Ware, who's a Hall of Famer, and I told him all that Jerry meant to this team and all that he did in college and the NFL only got 20 seconds of silence. Then we played a football game. I told him he's going to be in the Hall of Fame, but after he's gone, people are going to give him 20 seconds of silence and move right along.

Or you can go on this field and play for King Jesus because he has an eternity. You have to pick one. I went to Dez Bryant that same day. I asked who was number 88 before him. He said Michael Irvin. I asked if he was good and he told me he was a Hall of Famer. I asked him if they just unstitched his name off the back of that jersey and stitched Dez's name onto it. He said he didn't like where the conversation was going.

In this world, they're going to look at you and say, "Thanks for what you did. Next." Are you out here living for a bag or for that legacy or for 15 minutes of fame? When you're gone, they're just going to say, "Next." People in the next city don't even know you exist. Who are you living for? What are you doing this for? Is it so you can get 15 minutes of fame?

Is it so they can see your social media stuff and just scroll up in three seconds? Is that what we're living for? "Appreciate you. Next." That's your greatness? No, God was after a kingdom legacy for Abraham. This is what a kingdom legacy looks like. "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, and I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just praise the Lord."

After over 5,000 years, we're still singing about Abraham. That seems to be greatness to me. What is this passage really about? How was Abraham actually great? God told him if he goes, he would be blessed. In Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed. God made a promise in Genesis about all the families of the earth experiencing a blessing.

When Abraham goes, God gives him a promised son named Isaac. Isaac has a son named Jacob. Jacob has 12 sons that become the 12 tribes of Israel. From those 12 tribes comes a King from the genealogy of Abraham named Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ comes, he dies not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. Last time I checked, you're a Gentile.

Without Abraham's obedience, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have experienced the salvation of the Lord. What God was doing was bringing about the promise of the Son through the obedience of Abraham that would genealogically tie him to the Messiah. That's what made him great. If you want greatness and you aren'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. If you want a kingdom legacy, you obey God. Your life is about Jesus Christ. Whatever gifts, skills, and talents he gave you, you give Jesus. You speak at your job and you're giving 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. You start building a kingdom legacy through the training camp and 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 a stage. You don't have to be on camera or doing a song and dance on social media. Hopefully generations from now people will be able to say that they are glad to be a part of your legacy. 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.

Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you: an eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus, and a book, The Power of Jesus' Names. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Through Dr. Evans' book, The Power of Jesus' Names, you'll discover how the name of Jesus reveals his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today.

We're also including Jonathan Evans' All Eyes on Jesus audio series, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. Discover how to deepen your faith, stand firm in difficult times, and live with confidence in God's calling. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Both resources are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative.

It's our way of showing appreciation for the continued support of listeners like you who make this program possible. Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. Thank you for listening to The Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. The Faith Walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.