Here's Pastor Alan Wright with Today's Blessing: a Biblical Faith-Filled Vision. for your life. I bless you to be as Manasseh. Forgotten troubles the name means. You are not defined by the pain of the past, but by the plans of God.
Though Joseph's first thirty years were riddled with sorrow and disappointment. God's triumphant providential plan for him eclipsed. the adversities of home and of Egypt. God may not plan for you to govern a nation like Joseph, but. He's always intended for you to, as Paul said in Romans 5, reign in life through Jesus Christ.
You can forget what lies behind and As Paul said in Philippians 3, press on toward the goal of the prize in Christ Jesus. Yesterday is over. But the rubble of your past shall not be wasted. Beloved You are a Manasseh. The troubles of your past do not define you.
They refine you. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental. It is your new permanent residence. You're not a tenant.
You're a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb. His heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort, whatever our present spiritual accomplishments. It is who he is. Yeah.
It is who Jesus is. This is his actual heart. Heart. And that's his offer. 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, The Untroubled Heart, as presented at Renolda 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 Allen Wright Ministries.
So, as you listen to today's teaching, today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Just contact us at pastoralen.org. That's pastoralen.org. or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.
More on this later in the program. But right now. Let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Pastor Alan Wright. As of a man who had a traumatic upbringing and then was raised in a foster home.
that was somewhat stern, but a father who was up in the wee hours making the fire and taking care of all and I love that line. What did I know? What did I know? Of love's austere and lonely offices What do we know of The amazing provision of God. At some point, you just come to a place in your life that you join with the psalmist.
And you just say, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that's within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. And you just are trying to think of it now. Because you've grown up in the Lord and you're maturing in Him. Bless the Lord, O my soul, forgetting all of His benefits, He who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases and redeems my life from the pit.
Oh, that I could know everything that God has done. Because if you set it in your heart and in your mind to think. on all that God has done. Then, what happens is you're immersing yourself into the mercies of God, into the goodness of God, into the glories of God, into His love for you. And what it does is it.
It builds your trust. that God provides. Take heart. I've overcome the world. But he's speaking not just about a provision, he's talking about an authentic partnership with God himself.
That's what Jesus is offering. Dallas Willard has written so much about Spiritual growth and uh was one time With a group of pastors, and he said, What one word would you use to describe Jesus? And they went around the room and Some said loving, some said merciful, some said truthful, some, you know, all. And they said, What would you say, Dr. Willard?
And he said, Relaxed. Yeah. Maybe not the words that you would have thought of, but you know, so many of the stressful scenes in the gospel, if you go back and read them with that in mind, what was that stress like? And on the whole, you would look and see Jesus was Calm. 5,000 people that are hungry, and the disciples said, We got to get them out of here before they all get into a bad way.
He said, No, you give him something to eat. Or in the middle of a storm taking a nap, or in his own. Trial and persecution, his remarkable calm. You just see it. It didn't mean he wasn't under duress.
He sweat blood from the stress of it all, but. There was a peace. This is a mark of Jesus' life.
So when he says, My peace. I give you. It's just astounding that we could have a share of that. Paul said in Philippians 4:7, the peace of God. which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts.
And your minds in Christ Jesus. It's the peace of God. It's God's. own peace, a share of his heart. Because the plan of God in the beginning was to have partnership with us.
I want you to think about that. He is the creator of the ends of the earth. Yeah. He's He is in and of himself unapproachable light. He is.
Glory, glory, glory, holy, holy, holy and he He made us to have partnership with him. Genesis 1:28, God blessed them, Adam and Eve, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea. He's granting a co-rulership of the earth with With these creatures that he made, I'm just astounded by this to think of it.
So, I guess when Bennett was 13, I trained him to mow the lawn. Up until that point, I mowed the lawn for 21 years. And uh he got a little allowance for mowing it. But I'd still have to say get out there and mow the lawn. And I taught him how to keep to do it and how to stay safe.
And he mowed the lawn. And then he went to college. And I was back to mowing the lawn again. I lost my cheap lawn mowing. And so we were partners, father and son, right and right lawn maintenance.
And then the partnership was over. I was glad to have his partnership to mow the lawn because I had a lot of other things to do and I didn't like mowing the lawn. That's not what God's partnership with us is like. He didn't have us. He didn't make us because he needed some help.
We don't partner with him because. God is in some kind of lack. Or that there's something he just doesn't enjoy doing, so he'd rather have us do that. Instead, the one who has all dominion and perfectly enjoys his own triune being. Desired a shared dominion with humanity and a shared mission.
It just says something about who He is, and it says something about who we are and how we've been made, that He wanted that kind of partners with us.
So, to revel in this then is to open the door to reveling in this pathway to our peace: is that God really does want us to share in His own resources for the job.
So, right and right, lawn maintenance, Bennett, you mow it, I give you the mower, and I get the gas for you. Is sharing his life with us. He's sharing his resources of who he is with us. And so he wants to convey to us the peace by which he himself lives and ministers. Wow.
In John 14, it's a very important thing. Verse 25, the verses that precede... our core text for our New Year's blessing. Look at this at verse 25. I've told you all these things while I'm with you.
But the helper This is the parakletos, the word that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit. His own spirit. But the helper will teach you everything. and will cause you to remember all that I told you. This helper is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name.
I leave you peace. My peace I give you.
So The link is between the Presence of the Holy Spirit. and him partnering with us Paul offers this insight in 1 Corinthians 2. We have received Not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God. that we might understand the things freely given to us. Puritan writer Thomas Goodwin said of this text, it says that by having the Spirit, we have the mind of Christ.
The Spirit dwells in Christ's heart. and ours. and passes on Christ's thoughts to us, and our prayers and faith to Him. Let me read Goodwin's words again. By having the Spirit, we have the mind of Christ.
The Spirit dwells in Christ's heart. and ours. and passes on Christ's thoughts to us. And our prayers and faith Damn. We're speaking of divine mysteries.
We're speaking of profound spiritual things. But Jesus is in this way Bringing us into partnership of his own peace. My peace I give you.
Uh That's Alan Wright. and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears. You've believed it in your mind.
Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book, Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ, the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you, to win you, and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman, you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like.
For any woman who has searched for true love, What you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman, renowned author of The Five Love Languages, says, the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart. Accept Christ's proposal, enjoy his embrace, revel in his love. After all, it's a match made in heaven.
It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries.
Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. day's teaching now continues. Here once again.
is Alan Wright. What's most important about this offer is that It is through the agency or the means by which it happens is his own presence. The helper will be with you. His own spirit. Sometimes the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is called the Spirit of Jesus.
or the Spirit of Jesus Christ. If you want to understand who the Holy Spirit is, that's probably the best. Way to begin is He's the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus is with us, just not in physical form, but in spiritual form. And All of this means to become convinced not only of His provision and his partnership with us, but his very real presence.
Famous Puritan author Of Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan. loved John 6, 37. And he wrote a whole book about it. called Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ. John 6, 37 and the ESV says, All that the Father gives me will come to me.
And whoever comes to me I will never cast out. Bunyan, of course, was Using the King James Version, which renders it, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. That is a phrase we don't use anymore, in no wise cast out. No wise is a way of being faithful to the Greek language of this verse.
which has a double negative. Because it really means I will not I will not cast out. Not Not ever is the way it reads. I will in no wise. And Bunyan wrote of the verse, They that are coming to Jesus Christ.
are oftentimes heartily afraid that Jesus Christ will not receive them. This observation is implied in the text. I gathered it from the largeness and openness of the promise, I will in no wise cast out. For had there not been a proneness in us to fear casting out, Christ needed not to have waylaid our fear, as he does, by this great and strange expression. in no wise.
And Bunyan writes, I love this. But I am a great sinner, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. But I'm an old sinner, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.
But I'm a hard hearted sinner, say you I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. But I'm a backsliding sinner, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. But I've served Satan all my days, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.
But I've sinned against light, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. But I've sinned against mercy, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. But I have no good thing to bring with me, says you.
I will in no wise cast out, says Christ. This then is the sharing of the peace of Christ, is that he is certain that he will not cast you out. And to trust him is to become certain of that same truth. It is to know that he wants not just to be your provision and to be a partner with you in mission, but he enjoys your presence and wants you to enjoy his presence and he offers it to you and therein there is peace. Wow.
Dane Ortland's beautiful book, Gentle and Lowly, he's reflecting on all these things and reflecting on. this passage and reflecting on John Bunyan's words, and he has this to say. It's exquisite what he says here. Have you considered what is true of you if you are in Christ? In order for you to fall short of loving embrace into the heart of Christ.
both now and into eternity. Christ himself. would have to be pulled down out of heaven and put back in the grave. His death and resurrection make it just. It's now the right thing, the just thing.
For Christ never to cast out his own. No matter how often they fall. But animating this work of Christ is the very heart of Christ. He cannot bear to part with his own. even when they most deserve to be forsaken.
But I Raise your objections. None can threaten these invincible words. Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. For those united to him, the heart of Jesus is not a rental. It is your new permanent residence.
You're not a tenant. You're a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb. His heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort, whatever our present spiritual accomplishments. It is who He is.
Is It is Who Jesus is. This is his actual heart. And that's his offer. Through a mystery. What is being offered to us?
is a kind of attachment with God. That is very much like The Son's attachment with the Father. and the Spirit's attachment with the Son. Here's where ultimate peace starts coming into our hearts. I'm coming to you, Jesus.
Trusting that you will in no wise cast me out. There is an et oneness that is being offered. What a mystery. He's like In that sense, if we're children of God and He's the firstborn of all creation and the only begotten Son of God, and we are children of God, then he is very much like a big brother. For us.
Some years ago, we had a family in the church who. Had a three-year-old and they had a new infant. and the infant was asleep in his crib. and they heard their three-year-old in the room. in the nursery.
having gotten his little toy guitar. And he was singing a song for his little baby brother. standing next to the crib, Singin. There's nothing scary under your bed. There's nothing scary under your bed.
There's nothing scary under your vent. Yeah. Because He probably had wished he'd had that song sometime before and had wondered. But he also had come in as a wonderful inspector. And I'm sure he had looked under the crib.
No, there's nothing scary there tonight. There's nothing scary under your. Very. You trust in God, trust also in me, Jesus says. You already believe in him.
You can believe in me. In this world, you're going to have troubles. But take heart. I've overcome the world. I've looked, there's nothing scary under your bed that I can't handle.
So here Here's my heart. Let it be mystically wed to yours. I'll leave you peace. My piece. I give to you.
I don't give it to you as the world gives.
So don't let your hearts be troubled. Or afraid. That's the offer of Jesus. And that's the gospel. Um Pastor Alan Wright, today's good news message, the fix for false alarms.
It's from our series, The Untroubled Heart. And I encourage you to stay with us as Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio, sharing his porting good news salt for the day in just a moment. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Alan Wright's Daily Blessing.
It's free, and just a click away at pastoralen.org. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears. You've believed it in your mind.
Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book, Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ, the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you, to win you, and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman, you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like.
For any woman who has searched for true love, What you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman, renowned author of The Five Love Languages, says, the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart. Accept Christ's proposal, enjoy His embrace, revel in His love. After all, it's a match made in heaven.
It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allan Wright Ministries.
Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back here in the studio now with Pastor Alan at the conclusion of this teaching, the fix for false alarms. I think C.S.
Lewis alluded to this in one of his writings, basically paraphrasing that when you go down your future worries, right, you start looking into the future of your mind and worrying about something, God's never there. He's never there as the fixer. And there's a lot to be said for that. Those false alarms seem to be all around.
Well, someone once told me years ago, and now my wife and I use it often, that God doesn't give grace for hypothetical situations. You know, it's like, I would like your grace, Lord, for what I'm actually facing, but I'd also like to have grace for anything that's probably not going to happen, but that I could theoretically worry about.
So then I don't have to worry about it. I think what the Lord's saying is, no, my mercy's new every morning. Yeah. God's going to provide that. And so, maybe one of the first questions you could ask of the Lord is: when you feel your inmost being, your heart fluttering with worry.
Lord, is this something that really is needing action? Or is this a false alarm? And come back to the truth of God's word and come back to the love of God. and let him calm your heart. Thanks for listening today.
Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-577-1. 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.
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