Seeing As Jesus Sees [Part 21]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. We've all grew up with, of a certain age, grew up with what would Jesus do, which is a noble question.

But the problem with that question is the same problem with the law. Just knowing what we ought to do doesn't enable us to do it. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new life. I'm Daniel Britt sitting here with Pastor Alan today as we dive into his brand new book titled, Seeing as Jesus Sees, How a New Perspective Can Defeat the Darkness and Awaken Joy. And we've got some great principles to pull out as we mine through the pages of yet another chapter here. Before we do that, I want to remind you that if you're out and you get the book or order it from your favorite online retailer, either way, when you buy the book, we'll send you a free video series when you let us know at seeingasjesussees.org. You'll receive a companion video course, daily reading guide, and a group study guide, all as our thanks for supporting the launch of our new book and the important message contained therein. All of this is over $100 in value, and it's yours simply when you buy the book at your favorite retailer, then let us know you've done so at seeingasjesussees.org or pastoralan.org. So Pastor Alan, as we are in this section of Seeing the World, Seeing the World as Jesus Would See It, and this chapter today is we're going to dive in and talk about is on braving and seeing the storms around us get smaller.

I like that. Daniel, it's fun to be in the studio, love talking about some of the concepts from the book. Of course, we're only touching on just little pieces of it here and there that we describe much more in the book, but it's a book about, well, as the title says, Seeing as Jesus Sees. I'm very interested in, for my own life and for everyone that I get a chance to talk to, to help with transformation of our lives, not by legalism or moralism, but by real gospel power. So, you know, we've all grew up with, of a certain age grew up with, what would Jesus do? Which is a noble question. But the problem with that question is the same problem with the law.

Just knowing what we ought to do doesn't enable us to do it. But boy, when our eyes are opened, it changes everything. And that's what the book is about, is that you can have fresh vision of something and see it from God's perspective. And suddenly you feel different. You discover peace, you discover joy, fears can melt away.

And as we talk about braving, about seeing storms through His eyes and how small they can become when you look through the Savior's eyes. This is a great, great example because life is, this world can be a really scary place. I read somewhere that researchers have identified 7,000 human fears.

And we're only born with two. The fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. And I've seen this to be the case with our now 11 month old little Mia, our first grandbaby, the fear of falling, which is good. You don't want to just crawl off of a cliff or a table or something. Right.

That's good to have. And loud noises, they'll have a startle reflex, but the rest of the 6,998 fears are evidently learned along the way. And guess when it comes to fear, boy, it'd be nice to be like a baby again.

And after COVID, anxiety skyrocketed some estimates up 270% during the early years of the pandemic. And so fear, lots and lots of fear. We'd all like to have less fear, be less afraid of this scary world and of things that can happen, all the uncertainties. And we need Jesus's eyes for that.

That's what we're talking about. I've grown up around the church and of course it's scriptural, but the phrase, the peace that passes all understanding, is that part of this? Yeah, because with the natural eyes, a storm can look really scary, but with spiritual eyes, if you're seeing it through Jesus' eyes, who is the master and Lord over the storm, then the storm seems smaller. And so natural understanding, there's no reason for peace, but with spiritual apprehension, with new vision, there's a peace that passes understanding. And I think God has told us over and over, don't be afraid. He doesn't want us being scared of the dark. We need reassurance that, okay, He can see.

It's almost like He can see what we can't see. And I tell the story of the book about a couple in our church, they had their second child. And then one day they heard their three-year-old boy singing in the baby's nursery and they peered around the corner to see what was going on.

And they saw their three-year-old son strumming on his toy guitar and serenading his sibling who was in her crib. And he's singing, there's nothing scary under your bed. There's nothing scary under your bed. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's nothing scary under your bed. I guess we all need a big brother like that. And he's like, what does she need the most? She needs to know there's nothing scary under there.

Where did you get that idea from? And so it's like, Jesus can see into the places we can't see. And He can see in the dark and we can't. And so, Jesus, how do you see this? It's really, I'm trying to learn and encourage all our listeners, start practicing that little prayer, especially when the storms of life come. Jesus, how do you see this storm? It's scary to me, but how do you see it? Yeah.

My wife grew up with a grandmother who, anytime she said there was a monster under the bed, the grandmother would come in to the rescue with a can of Lysol spray or air freshener and a brown paper bag to mask the label and say, this is monster spray. I'm taking care of it for you. You know, and I think you talk about the pandemic and I think that was probably one of the biggest storms we probably saw collectively, somewhat unifying, strangely enough, maybe because we were all going through a storm that we could all talk about and identify with. And so, as you wrote this chapter after the pandemic and to fill in the blank with whatever storm, put in whatever storm you're going through, it really is the opportunity to remind ourselves that Christ is in control and that He is bigger, as the old song says, bigger than any mountain. But with the storm, you see it the way Jesus sees it and He's ultimately in control.

Yeah. It's a good thing when you're studying scripture to say, okay, let me, instead of just looking for principles that I can learn from this, which there's something to that in Bible study. And of course, it's always wonderful to study the scriptures and just to look at Jesus, but to look with Him means imagine yourself there. And what better story to imagine than being stuck in a boat in the middle of a hurricane on the Sea of Galilee and those kind of squalls, they can come up suddenly.

And just one of the things I do in the book over and over is just trying to take the reader into the story where you see yourself next to Jesus. So just for a moment with our listeners, just imagine yourself there, sails, tattering, wind is howling, and this 27 foot wooden fishing vessel that belongs to Peter, it seems like it's going under. And you're wondering, where's Jesus, the one who made us set sail on this ominous night, cause he's the one said, let's go over to the other side. And then suddenly you realize he's asleep in the stern. You feel like you're dying and Jesus is dozing, you're drowning and Jesus is dreaming.

And how do you feel? And then just imagine, you know, I think just really put yourself there. Suddenly you hear a disciple shouting above the howling wind and Peter's voice, teacher, don't you care? We're going to die. And Jesus comes forth and suddenly you're next to him shoulder to shoulder. And Jesus is looking at the storm. And for a moment, you see this tempest through the eyes of a man who has no fear of it.

He's looking at the peril of the ocean as if it were a puddle. And like a parent calming a child, he says, quiet, be still. And then it all stops. And you hear Jesus say, why are you so afraid?

And you know, I just love to take moments like that. Imagine myself there, because this is, this is part of the training of seeing through Jesus' eyes. But it's not something you just imagine yourself being next to Jesus. You really are next to Jesus. He's with you.

The God of the universe is with you. And you can speak to him and say, Jesus, I'm afraid, but you're not afraid. So help me see it like you're seeing it. Help me look with your eyes, even though I can't in my own natural eyes, see it. I know you in the spirit that you can.

And when you do, I think you begin to get a real deep sense of comfort. It's not that Jesus didn't say that the storm was real. He didn't say, oh, it's no big problem.

He just said, be still, I'm bigger than the storm. So it's not really like, it's not a denial of the storms of life. It's not a pretending that it's not a real obstacle. That's not what it is.

It's something much better than that. It is seeing through the eyes of the savior who is the creator, who has sovereign power over it all. And I think he invites us into that, Daniel. I think that we are invited into a vision of the scary things of this world through the eyes of Jesus, who is not scared of it at all.

Yeah. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder, and joy? What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing. For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is after all the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close, side-by-side with the savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you ordered a book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over a hundred dollars of bonus resources. To order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSees.org or come to our website, PastorAlan.org, and you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's call to discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus's eyes. The book is Seeing as Jesus Sees.

And by the way, we're talking about braving, seeing storms get smaller. It's from Pastor Alan's book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, How a New Perspective Can Defeat the Darkness and Awaken Joy. And by the way, if you buy the book right now from any retailer, we'll send you a free video series this month when you let us know at SeeingAsJesusSees.org. That's a companion video course, a daily reading guide, and a group study guide. All is our thank you for supporting the launch of Pastor Alan's new book.

It's valued at over $100, and it's yours simply when you let us know that you've already bought the book. SeeingAsJesusSees.org or PastorAlan.org. Now growing up, my favorite movie was Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And so when I see this chapter, Seeing Storms Get Smaller, and it's not to deny that the storm's not real, it may not be fun, but if I could see that the storm is smaller, I could live through it, I think. And that's by coming up next to Jesus. And I like the way you say, it's as if you are standing there and you look at Jesus and you see, okay, where has he fixed his gaze? Let me look in that same direction with him. And as long as I'm standing right beside him, I think it's going to be okay.

Yeah, exactly. Well, things that look so big to us when we're little, then we get bigger and they don't seem as big to us. So you're gaining a new perspective. When I was a kid, why I went to the haunted house in the first place, I don't know. And I was old enough, I don't remember my exact age, but I was old enough to know I shouldn't be scared of a silly haunted house, but I went with my big brother, David. And for some reason, the Frankenstein started following me around. He just saw me some little kid there and he decided he was going to just make me scared. And he terrorized me and I did my best to act like I was not scared.

I was like acting like I was cool and unfazed. But he would keep appearing around every corner. And finally it just got to me and I burst into tears. And my big brother, David, he was a little taller than Frankenstein. And I hear him whisper to the guy, hey, how about leaving my little brother alone? Can't you see he's scared?

And old Frankie left. And I tried to act like, oh, no, I wouldn't really cry. I just had something in my eye, you know, made it water. And, but I remember, I'll never forget that I was so glad my brother took up for me. It was like, I knew the Frankenstein wasn't real. And yet he just felt too real to me. And I got scared, but I was mesmerized by the look in my brother's eye when he looked at the monster differently than I did. So David was six foot one, and he looked at the Frankenstein and he saw nothing more than a relatively short guy in a costume. But I saw a monster twice my size. So when David spoke to that guy, he wasn't addressing a ghoul.

He was just talking to the ordinary guy inside the scary looking costume. And I wonder if it was like that a little bit for the disciples that day at sea, the storm was real, huge by human standards, but small to God. In the same way, my brother was surprised that I was frightened in a silly haunted house. I think that's why Jesus was probably genuinely surprised. He said, why are you afraid? I was like, you know, you're with the one who created all of this.

There's nothing to be afraid of. And yet it was a big seismic storm. So both things can be true at the same time. Something could be real and the storm is real. And from our perspective, it really is scary, but from his, it just isn't. And so what we need is his perspective. Yeah.

Yeah. And you talk in this chapter, not to just go into denial. We talked about that, not to just avoid it and pretend that it's not there. And I liked the way that you even wrestled through in your own parenting, this time with Abby, your daughter of the dog that was barking outside and the story you tell there, the different options that you had that you could have gone with. I had to include that story in the book.

I'll never forget it. Little cute Abby. It was a, it was, I remember it was a February afternoon, but it was very spring-like. She was three. And I was back in the backyard in the hammock.

We love to get in the hammock and just swing and talk. And all of a sudden, a dog barked in the distance and she's, she says, hold me tight, dad. I said, what's wrong? She said, a dog barked. I'm scared.

I said, there's no reason to be scared. She's like, I want to go inside, daddy. We go in and, and wonderful. And she looks at me like, what are you two doing inside? It's this beautiful balmy winter day.

You don't get many of these. And I walked over to her. I said, well, a dog barked, she got scared. And, and, and she wanted to come in and mumble back something like, well, this is ridiculous.

Little girl needs to be able to enjoy playing her own backyard. And she gave me that look, you know, that it says, fix this. And she said, fix this. Yeah.

Yeah. And so she, you know, she might as well have said, hey, you preach truth to thousands to set them free. You better figure out a way to set your daughter free from this silly fear of dogs.

But it raised the interesting question. How do you cure a two year old or three year old from a fear of dogs? I started with, you know, the logic, Abby, let's go back outside and play.

The dog is very far away behind a fence. She said he could get out. Well, she had a point there. It's not impossible. It was unlikely the dog would get out of his own own yard, but, but it's possible.

In fact, we see dogs on the loose in our neighborhood sometimes. So I couldn't lie. I couldn't tell her that dogs never get out of fences.

So I had to change my strategy. I said, Abby, dogs are nice. Puppies are sweet. She said they might bite. Well, I couldn't lie. I couldn't, again, I couldn't say they never bite. I remember how my brother Mark dove into a dog fight one time to save our beloved Brownie from imminent death and he got bit bad.

So I thought about just saying Abby dogs don't usually bite, but then I was like, do I really want to plant that in her mind that they sometimes bite, but you know, you never know which one's going to be a biter. So now I finally get, you know, desperate enough. I just had to call forth a scripture. I said, Abby, the Bible says, God gave us a spirit, not a fear, but a power and love and self control.

Let's say that verse together. So she said it aloud and personalized that I made her say it. And I said, say it like this.

I am not afraid of dogs because I have. And she said, I don't want to say that. I said, why? She said, cause I am afraid of dogs.

Finally. I just said, okay, let me pray for you. And we went, we went and stayed inside because I didn't have anything but superficial answers for evidently. Well, I think that there's a way that we try to deal with our fears at too superficial of a level. And I don't think God ever wants to deal with it like that. It's more like a healing of a fear. When you see through his eyes, the only real way that Abby was going to not be afraid of dogs would be to grow up some so that they didn't seem so big and so scary. Now, yeah, she would be acclimated, be around dogs.

And then of course we got a beagle of our own and she became the biggest dog lover of them all. But it's like seeing the world differently when you grow. And I think that part of growing up as a follower of Christ is learning to look with him at life. And through that you grow and you just begin to see things differently. So what once was scary is not scary anymore.

That's maturing. Allen Wright, our good news message from the pages of the book, Seeing as Jesus Sees. Hey, stick with us. Pastor Alan is back joining us here in the studio, sharing a parting good news inspiration to see as Jesus sees in just a moment. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the Savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is after all the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, Allen Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close side by side with the Savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you ordered a book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. To order the book, visit seeingasjesussees.org or come to our website, pastorallen.org. And you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's call to discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Allen Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus's eyes.

Here now with closing inspiration directly from his new book, here's Pastor Alan Wright from the pages of Seeing as Jesus Sees. Jonah was also caught in a storm at sea. He was also asleep in the boat. And the others on the boat pleaded with Jonah to do something. Sounds a whole lot like the story of Jesus in the boat in the middle of the storm, except the press Jonah told the sailors, hurl me into the sea and it'll quiet for you.

Cause I know it's because of me. This great tempest has come upon you, but the squall that arose on the sea of Galilee was never going to destroy the disciples. No earthly storm could sink you either. Now you're made for eternity. Jesus was the better Jonah. He himself hurled himself into the tumultuous waters of guilt and shame so that you could be forgiven forever. So Jesus is with you and he sees it as the one who has paid the price to give you ultimate victory.

Ask him for his eyes and he'll show it to you. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.