Here's Pastor Alan Wright with Today's Blessing: a Biblical Faith-Filled Vision. for your life. I bless your spiritual eyes to see tomorrow's promise today. The Lord has good plans in store for you. Plans for your welfare, not for evil.
to give you a future and a hope. That's the promise of Jeremiah 29, 11. May you live in joy now because of tomorrow's blessings. May you delight today in future glories. Your hope isn't pie in the sky.
It's already prepared. already promised. already procured. A hope. A future.
For sure. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. I would say peace is inward serenity, well-being, and calm. untarnished by the ups and downs of life. or maybe simplest put.
an untroubled heart. in a troubled world. 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.
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More on this later to the program. But right now. Let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Pastor Alan Wright. And a lot of times, what happens is that the heart, this deep inward command center of our being, Is feeling troubled, and we haven't even identified what is going on.
Or why are we even feeling that? And it's It's unsettling at best. Debilitating At worst. In October, I was at a theological roundtable in Texas for a couple days. We sit around a bunch of pastors and we talk about Texts intensely all day long for a couple days.
It's wonderful. And we're taking a break. At lunch, sitting around, and someone brought up a book written by secular.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. I'll be referring to it in a moment, called the anxious generation. And was talking about what social scientists and psychologists are now calling an epidemic. especially in a young generation of anxiety. And while This participant was speaking, it just an image came up in my mind, just like.
It's hard to describe how little spiritual moments happen, but it just. came out of nowhere seemingly, and I saw this picture Of us putting a hand gently on a thousand shoulders. and saying, don't be afraid. And in coming days and weeks, I realized It was the Lord instructing me towards this for our New Year's blessing and for a whole sermon series. that is upcoming.
I want to just call it the untroubled heart. It's about discovering the calm of Christ. I feel so spiritually pregnant with this. about what God's going to do. I felt like that when the Lord started showing me that this was the New Year's blessing in the new series, that it came with promises.
I felt like he was giving me some promises that. This is going to help a lot of us. get more freedom from that unsettled feeling that I was describing. And it's going to help. To Break free to a new level of joyous living that they hadn't been having.
And for some, I think there's a promise. that there's going to be a cure. for anxiety disorder. All of that and more. I think's in front of us.
It is such a relevant thing for us to be talking about in coming weeks. Jonathan Haidt in his book, The Anxious Generation, this Secular social scientist and psychologist at NYU. starts his book with this word picture. and says, imagine that you had a 10-year-old daughter. who was being recruited to be part of the first human settlement on Mars.
And You didn't know about it, but she wanted to go. And you find out about it. and wondered, had any of the scientists thought it through? Like what might happen to a child developing Muscular and skeletal system, if they're raised on a different planet. that has very low gravity.
And you realize people don't really know how that's going to change the structure of. that adolescent's growing years and what their body will be like afterwards. or that nobody really thought through. what it would be like to not have the same kind of shield around an atmosphere that the Earth does and experience more ongoing radiation and what it might do to a child's brain or something. And so, of course, you as the parent would say no.
You can't be part of this. other planet where we don't even know how it's going to shape you. And yet Haidt says that's what's happened. But it's not that our kids got raised on Mars, but they got raised on a new digital planet. And he points to the convergence of two technological advances that happened around the same time in 2009 and 2010.
Two things happened. iPhone developed a forward-facing camera, selfies. And The social media platforms develop their algorithms for likes.
So all of a sudden You could take a picture of yourself, instantly post it, and immediately get feedback on whether it was liked or not. And he argues convincingly that. Those that were maybe ten years old at that time, and then. had their adolescence through that. whole time.
Their brains got wired differently, and he calls it the great rewiring. of our youth. This all points to the reasoning, he argues convincingly. for what's been called an epidemic of anxiety. I could give you so many statistics, but I'm going to give you just one.
Here it is. A 2023 study of American college students found that 37% of students said they felt anxious always or most of the time. and 31% felt anxious. about half the time.
Now just pause and think about that. of our college students. that age group. 70%. Feel anxious.
Half or more. of the time. I'm going to say, is that little feeling that I felt driving away from the golf course? which is a silly little story and a mild little angst. That feeling is what our young people the study says.
are feeling pretty intensely almost all the time. This is extremely relevant. Not just because so many of us are facing this kind of angst in the world. but it's also extremely relevant. Because if it's not your issue, I guarantee you it is for somebody very close to you.
We all need to learn how we can help one another. We all need the grace of God. It's relevant also because anxiety is just particularly destructive. We'll learn more about that in coming weeks. Irma Baumbeck said worry is like a rocking chair.
It gives you something to do, but never gets you anywhere. Ha ha ha ha. But anxiety doesn't just take you nowhere, it takes you backward. That's the thing I hate about it. Is it it it it When we're worried, we get weary.
And when we're weary and worried, we're at our worst, aren't we? And it hurts us physically. We're learning a lot about that. Our cardiovascular system is damaged by that kind of anxious stress. It hurts.
Our relationships. And then there's this, it just feels awful. I want to feel more like I felt before the guy yelled at me on the golf course. You know, don't you? I'd like to live with that kind of freedom, and I want that for everybody.
And that's what Jesus wants.
Sometimes humor helps and people who deal with anxiety have found humor can help. And I came across some tweets of people trying to describe what's going on in their brain when they're anxious and as funny but telling. Here's one who wrote this little dialogue: anxiety. Hey, what are you doing? Me.
Nothing, just relaxing. Anxiety. Would you like to think about all your failures? Me, what, no. anxiety and away we go.
Or somebody wrote this.
Somebody tweeted this. Anxiety. They hate you. Me. Who hates me?
Anxiety. They This part of what's diabolical about this is it's so vague sometimes. What am I even feeling and why do I feel this? You know, if we didn't do anything else except just Help one another to get more honest about what's going on and get away from the surface, surface, surface, surface down to the heart of what's going on in us and loved each other right in the middle of it, we'd have a lot of healing. Or this final thing, somebody tweeted this.
Great news. I found the cure for my anxiety. All I need is for everyone I know to tell me definitively that they aren't mad at me every 15 seconds forever. 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 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. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again.
Is Alan Wright? But the main reason this is relevant is because it's so relevant to God. Jesus really cares about this. God really cares about this.
Someone has suggested that there are 365 times in the Bible God says, fear not, one for every day. I don't know if that's exactly accurate, but there are that many, it's a lot. Paul said in Philippians 4, verse 6, do not be anxious about anything. Jesus said similarly, don't be anxious about tomorrow, but then in his own life, he exhibited. Extraordinary calm.
whether sleeping in a storm or not panicking when 5,000 hungry people are in front of him. are facing His own cross. And then he gets this very intimate discourse with the disciples, probably the most. Intimate discourse that we have on display is in John 14, 15, 16, 17, where you see... how Jesus is really interacting and dialoguing with his disciples before Jesus' crucifixion and departure from the earth.
And in this intimate discourse, He says I don't want you to be troubled. I'll leave you. Peace. My peace I give you. It's like you're saying This is what I want for you.
It's an amazing promise. It's just extraordinary that Jesus would even say this. Peace in the Bible is much more than the absence of conflict. Shalom is the word in the Old Testament, and people greet one another that way in Israel. Shalom, shalom.
It means well-being. Your life be well ordered. There's an interesting place in the Old Testament where David, King David, is inquiring about the progress of the military campaign, and he asks, how is the shalom of the war? How's the peace of the war? Which really proves that That it's not about just the absence of conflict.
Conflicts are going to happen. But it's about how Well Are you? In the midst of it. The biblical notion of peace is not superficial. It's not a denial.
We're not going to do anything that's going to gloss over this pain. And one thing we're surely not going to do is judge anyone for experiencing anxiety. It doesn't help to go, well, you've got nothing to be anxious about. That doesn't do it. And God's not superficial about that.
He's talking about the deepest way. In fact, Through the prophet Jeremiah, God had to correct some of the faults. prophets that we're trying to tell people. that everything was just fine and dandy. And Jeremiah 6, 14, they have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, peace, peace, where there is no peace.
So Jesus wants to go deep with this. The Diagnostic Manual of Psychiatry says that fear is an emotional response to a real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is an emotional response. to a real or perceived future threat. It's sort of that angst of what might happen. I'd like to offer a definition, but I want to say also, I feel so much like I did twenty five years ago when I started learning about shame and preached this big series, and it became such a big part of our ministry, that I'm just on a journey with you.
And so this definition could change, but I would say peace is inward serenity, well-being, and calm. untarnished by the ups and downs of life. or maybe simplest put. An untroubled heart. in a troubled world.
Heart is what we're talking about, what Jesus is talking about, Proverbs 4. It says, above all else, guard your heart. For everything you do flows from it. Paul says to the Colossians, let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Heart.
Talking about some deep inward command center in our life. Years ago, Gordon MacDonald wrote this book, bestseller, called Ordering Your Private World. And in one of the early chapters, he tells a story about a friend of his who was an officer on a U.S. Navy. nuclear submarine.
And one day they were at sea and there were a lot of ships that were passing in the area and passing overhead. And the duty officer had to make a number of violent maneuvers to avoid collisions.
So the submarine was moving about a lot, but things were in good shape. But the captain who'd been in his quarters came rushing to the bridge, that command center. and breathlessly said, is everything okay? And the duty officer said, everything's fine, sir. Yes, sir.
And the captain looked around And saw that Everything was in good order. and went back to his quarters. And I like what MacDonald writes about that. He writes: all around that submarine, the potential danger of collision was lurking. It was enough to make any alert captain show concern.
But that danger was outside. Down deep inside the sub was a quiet place where there could be absolute control of the ship's destiny. And that's where the captain instinctively headed. On the bridge, the center of command, there was not a hint of panic. only a calm and deliberate series of actions being carried out by a highly trained crew Of seamen doing their jobs.
Thus, when the commander appeared on the bridge to assure himself that everything was in order. It was. I think that's a good picture of what The Bible probably means by the heart. like a command center. when life is really jarring.
and turbulent. There's a way that we could look to that inmost center, that... control center, our heart, and ask, is everything okay? And if it is... Then we're fine.
I don't have time to say much about this now, maybe at a future message, but. Heart seems to be in the Bible distinguished from spirit or soul. Spirit is that regenerated, alive self that lives forever that's within us. We're spiritual beings, and we're born again with a new spirit. Alive to God, and the soul seems to be the mind and emotions and personality, the way we think.
And I read this week in a classic word studies of the New Testament, one scholar suggested something that a ministry friend of mine suggested years ago. That The heart might be that kind of link between spirit and soul. Maybe. How those things that we experience of God and Spirit get communicated to our minds. But the heart is this deep, deep place.
that is kind of determining how all of our life and thinking is going to go. Troubled comes from a Greek word that means to stir vigorously or violently. Don't let your heart be all stirred up. It's almost like you can almost feel that physically sometimes when you have anxious things going on in your heart. Your heart almost physically feels stirred.
And afraid actually is a word that means the kind of cowardice that keeps us from moving forward. Don't let your hearts Be troubled. or afraid. Peace I leave. I leave you peace.
Pastor Alan Wright, and today's good news message: Discovering the Calm of Christ. It's from our series, The Untroubled Heart. And we're back here in the studio in just a moment with Pastor Alan, sharing a parting good news thought for the day for you. Stick around. 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 to click away at pastorAllen.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 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. Back here now with Pastor Alan, and the series is The Untroubled Heart. And as we're in the middle of this teaching, Pastor Alan, discovering the calm of Christ. That sounds good to me.
Calm is a beautiful word because life can feel so chaotic. And I just want to say to all of our listeners: if you are like so many. who have felt the increasing pressures of life, and it has caused your heart to be something other than calm. Jesus promised. is for you.
And he really wants you to hear this and really receive and believe him. That he wants to give you his own peace. We're not talking about a program. We're not talking about some just plan of action. We're talking about something more wonderful and mystical than that.
It's a share. In Jesus, his own heart, and his own heart is untroubled, and that's what he wants for you as well. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-477. 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.
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