Tony Evans - The Detours of Provision
Remember, your blessing includes you, but it's not only about you. Detours. Detours are distractions from the original intended route that you had planned to go. They take you off the beaten path. It takes you longer than you had planned to be using to arrive at where you are hoping to go. If you're here today and you want your destiny, I would not be being fair to the Word of God if I didn't tell you that there are going to be dry spots where nothing appears to be happening, and you find yourself stuck. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ today, you have a destiny. I'm telling you to let you know that when God is ready to move, it don't take long.
You see, what we've tried to explain to all of us during this series is that on your way to your destiny, there will be detours. There will be places you didn't plan to go, people you never planned to meet, situations you never thought you would be in, even mistakes you never thought you'd make, predicaments that you never thought would be your problem. And it would all be allowed by a sovereign, providential God. As long as you and I choose to live with a small god, the circumstances of life will dictate to us. But the moment you expand the meaning of God to this all-encompassing, sovereign person, where nothing gets to you unless it passes through his fingers first, then all of a sudden, you may not like the prison, the pit, the problem, the predicaments that you're in. But because you've attached them to God's sovereign plan, because you understand there is a blueprint in heaven with your name on it, and it is all designed to bring you to your destiny.
Every believer, every Christian has a divine design for your life. It may be a little foggy right now, may be a little clear. It may not have been totally manifested for any number of reasons. But nevertheless, you have one, and don't leave earth without it. Rarely, let's state it again, rarely does God take you from where you are to where he wants you to be in a straight line, why? Why on your route to your divinely designed purpose for being, your destiny, does God bounce you around all over the place, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes ugly? Number one is to develop your character. He wants to make you a better person, and he never does that without tests. Tests are adverse circumstances that God causes or allows in order to develop us spiritually. It's a test, and nobody gets away from them.
You say, "How long do I have to be in this test"? Till you pass. Because God believes in retesting. But there is a second reason for the detours, and it is the reason of our message today, that God allows detours on his road to destiny in order to prepare those who he wants you to impact when you arrive at your destiny. Let me say it another way. Destiny always involves you benefitting others beyond yourself. Let me say that again. Your destiny isn't only about you. So, if it's all about you and nobody but you, and the only three people on planet earth is me, myself, and I, you're not yet arrived at your destiny. Or even if you've arrived at it, you won't know it 'cause your destiny is never only about you.
Look at chapter 50 of Genesis, the summary chapter we've used for this whole series. He says in verse 19, "But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for I am in God's place. As for you, you meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring about this present result,'" watch this, "to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide," there's our word. "'I will provide for you and your little ones.' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them". He said, "God brought me here to provide for you". Because your destiny is never only about you. He is carrying you to your destiny for you not only to be blessed, but for you to be a blessing. We've explained many times the definition of a blessing because most people, or far too many people, are only getting half the definition. They want God to do something for them, not necessarily to do something through them.
A blessing is experiencing, enjoying, and extending the goodness of God in your life. So, if your blessing stops with you, it won't be there long. Because God is looking for conduits, not just cul-de-sacs. Places he can work through, not just people he can come to. Your destiny involves you. And the gifting, the calling, the purposes God has given you, but he wants you to understand it's not only about you. Because you're citizens of another country, of another kingdom if you will. You represent another king, and he wants his anthem played. He wants you to know you're part of something bigger.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not hating, I know that you want God to do something to you, for you, in you. You want God to bless you in a certain way. You want him to change something in your life, better something in your life, improve something in your life, reverse something in your life. I know you need God for you. But your destiny cannot only be for you. He says, "God brought me to this place to provide for you". In other words, he had somebody else in mind when he was bringing me my destiny. So, here's how it works. There are two reasons why you can delay your destiny, where God wants to take you. One reason is you have not passed the test. You keep failing the test, so God can't move you to the new grade 'cause you haven't passed the test from the previous grade.
So, you keep failing the test, so he has to keep retesting, so that can delay your destiny. Or you're so selfish, I'm so selfish, we're so self-centered that he can't use us for the benefit of somebody other than us. And if he can't work through you 'cause you only want him to work to you, that can delay the arrival of your destiny. James chapter 1 says, "True religion manifests itself in ministry to others". Now, you have to understand God is always doing more than one thing at a time that involves you. It involves you, but because it's not only about you, he's manipulating different things in different places at different times until it's time for the hookup. He's doing something over here that you don't know anything about. All you know is what you're dealing with right now.
Turn to chapter 41. Let's back up and come forward again. In chapter 41, let's back up to chapter 40, verse 23. Remember, in the Bible, there were no chapters written. We added chapters in order to be able to find things quickly. So, you can kind of just read straight through, particularly the stories in the Bible. The verse 23 of chapter 40 says, "Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him". Here Joseph is in prison, he interprets the cupbearer's dream. He tells the cupbearer, "Remember me to Pharaoh". And the cupbearer forgets him. Have you ever been in a situation where it looked like God was answering your prayer, and the reverse happened? You thought you had an answer, and the exact opposite to the answer occurred, and you want to know, "God, why you want to do me like this"?
When God disappoints you, it's on purpose. I hate to tell you that. I hate to tell me that. When God disappoints you, he disappoints you on purpose. It says the cupbearer forgot him, after he had saved the cupbearer's life through interpreting his dream. How long was he forgotten? 'Cause he's in prison. Oh, by the way, he's not only in prison, it says he's in the dungeon. The dungeon was the hole underneath the prison. So, he's not at the bottom, he's beneath the bottom in a dark, dirty, decrepit location called the dungeon. And he's there for having done nothing wrong. So, he's an innocent person in a bad situation that God allowed. You may be asking the question, "I don't know why God allowed this. It's not fair, or it's not right. It's taking too long". That's his situation. Verse 1 of chapter 41, "Now it came about at the end of two full years that pharaoh had a dream. And behold, he was standing by the Nile".
So I won't go into all the details, but pharaoh has a nightmare on Elm Street. He's got this dream that literally terrorizes him, and he can't understand it. So, pharaoh calls the professionals to interpret the dream. Verse 8, "Now in the morning, his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men. And pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was not one who could interpret them to pharaoh". Okay, stick with me now. Joseph is languishing in a prison, in the lowest part of the prison called the dungeon. Pharaoh, who doesn't even know who Joseph is, has a dream that keeps him up all night and troubles him. And he calls the paid professionals to help him figure out his nightmare. The paid professionals can't figure out his nightmare.
Joseph doesn't know pharaoh. Pharaoh doesn't know Joseph. The cupbearer knows them both 'cause the cupbearer was in prison with Joseph, and he worked for pharaoh. What happened? Verse 9, "Then the chief cupbearer spoke to pharaoh, saying, 'I would make mention today of my own offense. Pharaoh was furious for his servants. He put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. We had a dream the same night, he and I. Each one of us dreamt according to an interpretation of his own dream". Verse 12, "Now a Hebrew youth was there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard. And we related to him, and he interpreted our dreams. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, but he hanged him".
All of a sudden, the cupbearer's memory comes back, bing. "Wait a minute, pharaoh, you had a dream, you couldn't interpret it, it scared you to death. Two years ago, I had a dream, scared me to death. And there was this Jewish kid in jail who interpreted my dream, and it came about just as it happened". When does the cupbearer remember Joseph? 'Cause remember, we read he forgot him. He remembered it when it was God's time for a hookup to occur. God created a nightmare over here while Joseph is in prison over there. And he doesn't allow the negative event of Joseph to change until the nightmare occurs over here, and he brings to remembrance... see, God knows how to bring stuff back up in people's mind. He brings it back to the cupbearer's mind about Joseph. And watch this 'cause I want to make a big point, a big point, a big point. It says, verse 14, "Then pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon, where he had shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came to pharaoh".
Now, here's what I want you to know, don't want you to miss this. Joseph had absolutely no idea about the dream, had never met pharaoh. He doesn't know what's going on. He's in a hole all by himself. But in less than 24 hours, his world changes. In 24 hours, he's released from prison. In 24 hours, he's given a shave. In 24 hours, he gets his clothes changed, he gets brand-new clothes. Let me show you what else happened in 24 hours 'cause I'm going somewhere with this. Forty-one, chapter 41. After he interprets the king's dream, verse 41 of chapter 41. "Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.' Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck". It says, "And then he rode him on the second chariot," verse 43. "And they proclaimed before him, 'Bow the knee,' and he set him over all the land of Egypt".
All this happened in 24 hours. Guys, let's review 'cause I see some of you saying, "Where you going with this? Where you going with this"? I'm going somewhere. He's in jail. He's forgotten in jail. He's in the lowest part of jail. He's at the bottom. He doesn't know pharaoh, he doesn't know about the dream, he doesn't know about anything. All he knows is that the cupbearer who I helped forgot me. All of a sudden, somebody comes opening the cell door, says, "Here's a Gillette razor, shave. Here's some nice clothes, change, take a bath. You're going before him 'cause we need your gifting. We need what God has given you because the professionals can't do it".
So, he took his gift that he only got to use in jail, he took the gift that he used in jail, and now he's using it at the White House. He interprets pharaoh's dream, and what does pharaoh do? Give him a signet ring, puts a gold chain around his neck, gives him his own wardrobe, gives him his own limousine service, a chariot. Makes him second in command, and now everybody in Egypt is bowing their knee to Joseph. This is in 24 hours. Now, why am I telling you that? I'm telling you to let you know that when God is ready to move, it don't take long. When he's ready to change your situation, he can do it suddenly, immediately, out of nowhere. Where that come from? Wow, bam, boom. That God could... so, don't get upset that you don't see anything 'cause you're in a dark dungeon. 'Cause God is doing something over here that you don't know the first thing about until it's time for God to create a hookup.
Now, 'cause see, that's not the point of the sermon. But see, y'all like that part of the sermon. 'Cause see, Joseph got bling now. Joseph is the man now. Joseph is living large now. Joseph has been blessed with stuff, having used his gifting. And now, he is out of the pit and in the palace. The problem today is most people are satisfied with that definition of blessing. I got more stuff, better job, more money, better car, nicer clothes, nicer house. Remember, your blessing includes you, but it's not only about you. Look at chapter 45, the story continues. He's now with his brothers. He's forgiven his brothers, and remember that forgiveness is easy when you know God is using it. And here's what he says to his brothers, who have been now faced with Joseph, who's now over them. Verse 5 of chapter 45, "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve your life".
Watch this now. You sold, and while you were selling, God was sending. You see that? You were selling me, and God was sending me. You thought you were getting rid of me, and God was preparing to use me. You thought you were messing over me, and all you were doing were blessing me. If they would have known that their brother was going to wind up being their provider, they would have never sold him. But God let them sell him so that God could send them in order to preserve them. He says, "God did this to preserve life". Verse 6, "For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will neither be plowing or harvesting". Here it is, "God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance".
And he goes on to say in verse 11, "There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all you have would have been impoverished". Guess what the man says? "He didn't just send me here to live in a bigger house. He sent me here to preserve you. He sent me here to benefit somebody other than myself". So, here it is. When God blesses you spiritually, that's the most important blessing. When he blesses you materially, when he blesses you circumstantially, when he blesses you influentially, when he changes your status in life and he removes you from that negative situation, keep your eye open for the blessing he wants you to be, not just the blessing that you have. Because the shortest way to cut short your destiny is to only be thinking about you and not the reason that God blessed you, which is always to be a blessing to somebody beyond you, beyond you.
The crisis of pharaoh, the crisis in the culture... and by the way, Egypt is not a Christian nation, pharaoh is not a Christian man. He is a believer in a secular world, in a secular society. So, all of you who are working for non-Christians, you're working for pagans, people who don't know God, God knows how to send nightmares. God knows how to create opportunities in a secular environment. So, stand for God 'cause you'll find out in the last sermon that that was the key to Joseph's life. He didn't apologize for his faith just 'cause he was in a secular environment, see? He didn't hide his Christianity in order to be accepted by pharaoh. 'Cause we got too many secret agent Christians. And God can't use you if you're gonna hide his name, if you're gonna hide the association with him. And so, now it's opened up.
Now, this opportunity to be a blessing has been exposed. I began to do some research. And as I looked to the Scriptures, it became clear to me that this was indeed the pattern. God would take personal detours, positive and negatives. He would then do something in their life that turned their situation around. And then he would use them to benefit folks outside of themselves. God told Abraham, Genesis chapter 12, he said, "Abraham, I want you to leave the land of your parents, and I want you to go to a land that I will show you, but I'm not gonna tell you about it in advance. I just want you to walk by faith". He says, "I'm gonna show you".
Now, if you follow Abraham's life, he goes through 25 years of detours, 25 years of good, bad, and ugly. And some of the ugly was real ugly. He goes through 25 years of detour before God and he are ready to come through, before God has set things up where he has grown up enough and responsive enough for God to do what he's going to do. And then God said to Abraham, "And when I bless you, through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed". He says, "Abe, I got a big plan for you, but you're not ready for it yet. It's going to take you 25 years for you to be ready for what I want to do with your life. But when you come around and grow up and begin to respond to me like I want you to respond, I'm going to work through you. And when I do my thing through you, it's gonna blow your mind 'cause it's gonna touch the whole world".
God's got a world for you to touch. How would a little boy know that giving Jesus sardines and crackers would give a Moby Dick sandwich to 25.000 people? Because when your destiny is given to Jesus's hands, he's not only going to use it to fill you up, he's going to use it so you can be a blessing to others. So, don't be satisfied to be blessed alone because your destiny becomes realized when you decide to be a blessing as well.
How do you know when you're on a divinely ordained detour? When God has allowed your life to go in directions that you didn't plan on, but he has done so with good reason. Well, one of the primary proofs of detours is when God gives you glimpses of his presence in the midst of your crisis. When he shows up in unexpected ways through people, through circumstances, through situations to let you know. He's giving you a wink. He's in the vicinity, even though he hasn't changed the situation. Look for his presence in spite of the problem, and you will discover he is with you even when things don't seem to make sense.