Divine Double Take [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright.

And I think to have the eyes of Jesus is, is mystical and mysterious because what he does is he enables you to see what you could not see, to give attention to where you would not have paid attention, and to be able to see the miraculous where you would have not believed it before. That's how faith grows. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, You'll See, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org. That's pastoralan.org, or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. Research has shown our feelings, maybe just a little bit, but they get hurt if we're walking and we see the face of a stranger who glances at us but refuses to make any eye contact with us. Interestingly, other studies have shown that when you are making eye contact with someone, it's harder to concentrate on other things.

People don't do as well in tests like word association tests and so forth if they have just a video of a face that's making eye contact with them. Our pupils that dilate and constrict, they have a capacity, without us realizing it, when we are making eye contact with someone, they have a capacity to mimic the pupils of the person's eyes that we are engaged with. When you look into someone's eyes for a long time, strong emotions begin to happen and through eye contact, research shows, we can read emotions perhaps better than any other way. Eye contact is complex because not all cultures value the eye contact in the same way. For example, though in Western cultures, when you meet someone and shake their hand, it's considered a sign of confidence to look them in the eye. But in some Eastern cultures, like in Japan, you make a glancing eye contact and then divert your gaze because it's considered rude to look too much and too deeply into someone's eyes.

Perhaps because when you fix your gaze with someone else's gaze, something very intimate is happening, isn't it? Something almost mystical is happening. So Peter is just walking along, sees a man, stops, does a double take, and now he begins to gaze at him and tells the man to look at us. What is happening at us? What is happening is a revelation, a revelation from God. He's seeing something. All we can say is that he's seeing it through the eyes of Jesus. He's seeing somehow that God's anointing presence is there, that God is there ready to do something wonderful.

This is a revelation. It's the way he's seeing the man. And what happens is that Peter very simply experiences faith. He looks through the eyes of Jesus and they are eyes of faith.

Here's what we read at verse 16 again. And his name, by faith in his name, Peter says, has made this man strong whom you see and know. And this is what I want you to notice, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health and the presence of you all. And look at this, the highlight, the faith that is through Jesus.

Wow. What he's referencing here is something more than faith in Jesus. He's referencing a faith that is through Jesus. It is to say it is like having Jesus' own faith.

It is to say that you can, Christian, have the Spirit of God in you, mystically abiding with you, that somehow in that communion, which we can't put full words to explain this, but in that communion of Spirit unto Spirit, deep calling unto deep, that Jesus shares his vision with you. And if Jesus sees a man who is lame from birth, and what Jesus sees is that there is going to be a healing that's going to take place, and what Jesus sees is that all things are possible, what Jesus sees is that healing is on the way, that in the seeing of it through the eyes of Jesus, Peter now sees it himself, the faith that is through Jesus. And so faith is really something that you see that others may not be able to see, but the reason you see it is because of revelation. This is why it's so important to understand the Scripture says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

A revelation of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, a revelation means the unveiling, the being able to see something that previously you couldn't see. And that's what faith is. Faith is not trying to conjure up mental assent to doctrinal truths.

Doctrine is exceedingly important and it's exceedingly important to study theology, I believe all that. But what faith is, is more like a gift. It's something that comes to you in the same way if there was something that were hidden and then suddenly the curtain was pulled back and you saw it. You see it, and so therefore in the Spirit you see it and therefore you can believe it, and you do believe it. And so what Peter did that day, he wasn't walking around saying, I wish I had more faith to be able to pray for the sick, I just wish what I need to do to get more faith.

That's not the way it works. Instead what happened was he was just walking to go to worship and he saw a man and he just acknowledged him. Maybe he was thinking about flipping him a coin, I don't know. Instead, he did a double take because he saw with new spiritual eyes through the faith of Jesus. It's like having Jesus' own faith. You see as he sees, then you have belief the way he believes. Wow.

Have you ever just believed something because you could see it in your mind's eye, you could see it happening, and maybe other people didn't? We saw a good movie not too long ago, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, is a story of a boy, William Kamkamba, who in Malawi in the mid-2000s along with others, his family, a farming family, was suffering from a severe drought. And he was one of those kids who liked to tinker around anytime they could find at the junkyard, any little electronic thing, he liked to try to tinker with it. He got known for being able to fix people's radios and he would salvage things when he could.

He was for a little while enrolled in a private school, but because his family could not afford to pay the tuition, he was kicked out of it. But through his persistence and cleverness, he got permission to go into the rudimentary library where there were a few science books and he studied everything he could about electricity, about anything that resembled any kind of electrical engineering. And one day he came to his father and he said, I think I have a solution for the drought. He said, I could build something that would harness the wind and produce electricity. And he found a little pump that he'd salvaged from the junkyard.

He said, I could connect it to that, put it into the community well, and it will pump the water out into pipes that can irrigate. And his father at first was very hesitant, didn't believe him. And the boy said to his father that the only way I could do this would be to use the bicycle that his dad had as one of his only possessions. And after a while, finally, the father lets him use the bicycle. It's all based on a true story. And so William Kokumba, he built a windmill using his father's bicycle and other materials and connected it to a pump.

It generated some electricity and it saved the community from the drought as they pumped water and irrigated their fields. He just felt strongly why that they could do it. Why? Because he saw it. I'm saying that that's the way faith is. It is not about contriving.

It's not about trying harder. It is about seeing. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Let us help you give a gift that money can't buy. Give someone your blessing, a positive biblically-based faith-filled vision for their life. In the beginning, God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply because in God's design, blessing isn't the reward for productivity.

It's the fuel for it. Now, more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing, and we're here to help you craft it. This month's special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing. The easy step-by-step instructions are biblically-based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing. So this Christmas, give someone you love a present not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower. Write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card.

They'll never forget it. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month, we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless. Today is the final day we're offering this special product. Call us at 877-544-4860 or visit PastorAlan.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. So if you want more faith, then ask Jesus for His eyes. Ask Jesus to show you what it is that He sees. And oh, what a beautiful story. Peter just turns to the man and he takes his right hand and he says, I don't have any silver or gold. Maybe he looked up at those giant bronze doors that were not like the other gates overlaid with silver and gold, but these were more valuable, solid bronze. Maybe he looked up and he said, I don't have any silver and gold any more than these gates do.

But what I do have, I want to give to you. And he took him by his right hand and he invited him to stand up. And as he did, a miracle took place. And what a beautiful picture it is after that Acts 3 verse 8 where he's leaping up, stood, began to walk.

And I love this. He entered the temple with them, maybe for the first time. Scholars dispute this, but it could be that his lame condition by some had considered that he couldn't go into the temple. He goes into the temple leaping and praising God. And it is a fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah from long ago that the lame man leap like a deer.

He's leaping around like a deer and he is overjoyed. He is beside himself and it is a powerful story. And what's interesting is that it bears amazing similarity to a miracle story with the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 14. Acts 14, at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and he was crippled from birth and he had never walked. And he listened to Paul speaking and Paul, look at this similar language, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up and he began walking. What's really interesting is how similar these stories are to an account in Luke's gospel where Jesus heals a paralytic. Luke 5 verse 18, behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, man, your sins are forgiven you.

And then a moment later, he said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, rise up and walk. And when everyone saw the faith, and he said, and saw the man had picked up immediately, he rose him up, picked up what he'd been lying on and went home glorifying God and amazement seized them all. And they glorified God and were filled with all saying, we have seen extraordinary things today. In other words, the very first miracle in the New Testament church bears almost identical resemblance to a miracle of Jesus himself.

What is this saying? It is saying, beloved, that God wanted us to know right from the beginning that as the church of Jesus Christ was born after Pentecost and the Holy Spirit had come, who is the spirit of Jesus himself, that every single believer is filled with the spirit of God. And so Jesus was still very much alive, but he is being, he is at work through his church. He is at work through the people of God.

And there's Peter, who's just going to worship, but he has the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus in him. He sees a man who's been lame since birth and he does a double-take and then he fixes his gaze on him and he sees with the eyes of Jesus. And what he has is he has new eyes of faith. He has faith because he's seeing the man through Jesus. He's seeing not only faith, having faith in Jesus, but faith through Jesus.

And when he speaks, therefore he's speaking as one who has full confidence of the authority that's in Jesus's name. What we're learning from this, the first miracle that is recorded in the New Testament church is that the ministry of Jesus, just like he healed the paralytic, the ministry of Jesus has not stopped. The ministry of Jesus is continuing. And the ministry of Jesus continues through Peter. And then later we see a very similar story with the apostle Paul, because it's not just those first disciples, but Paul also. And so it continues, the ministry of Jesus Christ continues. And I think to have the eyes of Jesus is mystical and mysterious because what he does is he enables you to see what you could not see, to give attention to where you would not have paid attention and to be able to see the miraculous where you would have not believed it before. That's how faith grows. I've seen many miracles in my life.

I've seen many, some are very, very close at hand. Many healing miracles in our own church are miracles in my own family. I haven't seen, I have not yet seen with my own eyes, someone who was paralyzed, who was healed by God, but I've been very close to seeing it because a friend of mine, a pastor was in a meeting where it happened. To a precious woman named Delia Knox, who in 1987 on Christmas day, she was in a terrible accident that left her paralyzed. And she continued for 22 years, her ministry from a wheelchair, a beautiful singing voice and a ministry along with her husband, Bishop Levi Knox. And 22 years later in 2010, she went to a revival meeting and in the middle of the meeting, while no one was praying for her, she'd been a recipient of prayer many times, but nobody was praying for her at the moment. There was worship that was taking place and she began to cry because she began to for the first time in 22 years begin to have the feeling of sensation in her legs. And so she called people over and all of this is called on video and you can watch it yourself on YouTube. My pastor friend had the video going and recorded the whole thing.

He watched it. She began to feel sensation in her legs and soon they began praying for her. And over a period of, I think a couple of hours, she first began to stand up and put weight onto her legs for the first time in 22 years as they gave her assistance. And by the end of the meeting, she was walking on her own. And it was just, I think within a few days, she went home to go see her mother and with just some moderate assistance, she put on high heels and walked up the steps to go see her mother.

And to this day, she is fully healthy. Here she is with her husband and with some of her friends and she continues her ministry. The ministry of Jesus Christ continues. It's a healing ministry. It's a ministry of love. It's a ministry of good news. It's a ministry of help for the poor. It's a ministry of compassion. It is a ministry of teaching. It is a ministry of proclamation. It is a ministry that does not stop.

Why? Because Jesus said to the disciples, he said, it's better if I go away because if I go away, then I'll send a helper. The Holy Spirit will come and he will move in and through your lives and he will abide with you. In other words, Jesus said, here's what's going to change. My ministry, as you see it now, it will continue, but I won't be physically on earth. I'll be spiritually on earth and I'll be with you.

And so what this means, beloved is absolutely marvelous and mystical. I don't even know how to put words to it, but it is to say this, that every single Christian has the Holy Spirit and every single Christian therefore can pray a simple prayer and say, Jesus, Oh, spirit of Jesus within me, let me see as you're seeing and, and, and cultivate this little spiritual practice of having him direct your attention. And sometimes what will happen is that he'll give you a divine double-take that there'll be someone that you wouldn't even have paid attention to a suddenly you realize I'm supposed to stop and pray for this person.

Or suddenly you'll realize I'm supposed to show an act of kindness to this person. Or maybe you're supposed to stop and listen or whatever it might be that the Holy Spirit wants to do. And sometimes it's a dramatic miracle.

And sometimes it might be something that you might say it seems so small, but it would be life-changing for a person. It is remarkable, but true through the eyes of Jesus, you can see miracles in the making. And that's the gospel. Alan Wright, today's good news message, divine double-take. Here at the conclusion of the series you'll see. Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio, putting a final thought on this series and our teaching today.

Stick with us. Let us help you give a gift that money can't buy. Give someone your blessing, a positive biblically based faith-filled vision for their life. In the beginning, God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful to multiply because in God's design, blessing isn't the reward for productivity.

It's the fuel for it. Now, more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft it. This month's special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing. The easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing. So this Christmas, give someone you love a present not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower. Write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card.

They'll never forget it. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month, we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless. Today is the final day we're offering this special product. Call us at 877-544-4860 or visit PastorAlan.org. Back here now with Pastor Alan. So what is your prayer for everyone listening after an entire series like this? You'll see. I would like to pray that Jesus would give you fresh vision and I don't mean just fresh vision like that you could see a greater vision for your life. I mean His own vision. That we've seen over and over, week by week, that there's a way that Jesus sees that changes everything. And our invitation, having the mind of Christ, being led by the Spirit of God, is to see with Jesus's own eyes. To see as Jesus sees is to see others and yourself and the world entirely differently. And as we've seen today, it means that you will begin to see miracles in the making. I think so much Daniel that life with God is not about us going around and trying real hard to be like Jesus.

I think it's much better than that. I think it is getting Jesus's own eyes that then naturally instinctively causes all of our thoughts and behaviors and longings to line up with it. You can have Jesus's own vision. You'll see. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.