Pastor Alan is on the road and you're invited. Check out pastorallen.org for more information. But if you live in the Carolinas, you're invited to a men's event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 27th. And if you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, join us at the Epic Conference open to all in late February. Plus, catch Pastor Alan preaching at Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas on March 1st.
All the details at pastorallen.org. Yeah. Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical, faith-filled vision for your life. May you have the eyes of an eagle, not a chicken. Chickens have eyes designed for pecking at the ground up close, eyes good for seeing those little up close things, seeds and bugs and such, but they can't see far, maybe half the football field.
But the eagle's eyes, they're made for the big view with clear focus. If you exchanged your eyes for an eagle, you could see an ant crawling on the ground from the roof of a 10-story building. An eagle can spot a rabbit from two miles away. Their superpower is an unusual ability to change both their eyes lenses and corneas. It's about the capacity to focus.
on the distance. Beloved, it's an unusual blessing, but you're no chicken. As you put your hope in the Lord this year, may you mount up with wings of an eagle and soar to the heights of God's goodness and focus with eagle-eye clarity on God's big vision, your big purposes. I bless you to remain undistracted by the bugs in the foreground so you can see the hope on the horizon. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright.
We're talking about the fight for focus.
Now, this could have been a distraction, but I decided to look up the vision of chickens.
Now, sometimes these things, you're preparing a sermon, sometimes they're just distractions. 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 Nehemiah, Dreamer, Builder, Warrior, 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. For a limited time, this can be yours for your donation to Allen Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org.
Or call 877-544-4860. Again, by phone, 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program, but now let's get started with today's teaching. Here. is Pastor Alan Wright.
Mm. We continue today in Nehemiah. This dreamer and builder and warrior, who last time we saw, faced such direct spiritual opposition. And the opposition comes different this time. It comes.
By way of manifold and repeated attempts to distract him from his mission.
So we'll call today the fight for focus. And I just want to read a couple verses, and then we'll. Throughout the sermon, we'll be going through Nehemiah 6, Nehemiah chapter 6. Verse 2. I like this in the new King James that Senbalat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.
But they thought to do me harm.
So I sent messengers to them saying, I'm doing a great work.
so that I cannot come down. Why should this work cease?
Well, I'll leave it and go down to you. But they sent. me this message four times and I answered in the same manner. Therefore, you and your mission are too important. to become distracted.
I want to begin today with a really powerful quote. It's um well Thought I had it here. I know I got it on the phone. You get this thing.
Alrighty. Oh, wait, one second. Just. One look. Text off to that.
And wow, the British Open scores are terrible. I can't even believe how golf pussies are.
So hard. One more Email a little email, just one s one second. And oh my, I didn't Whoa, things are really stirring in the political world today, and that's a...
Alrighty, um let's see, why did I get this phone out? How many times have you done that? You know, like you get your phone to do something. Or check the weather or do something, and then there are three or four things that get your attention and you deal with them, and then you can't even remember why you got your phone in the first place. Uh This world is crazy.
It's so distracting now. It's hard to do anything and keep your focus on anything, and it's getting harder and harder. And so today we come to great temptation that Nehemiah faces as he is rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. And he has faced direct spiritual opposition that would love to just fight him and stop it. And it didn't work.
We saw that last time. But now come. Several great terrible diabolical temptations to become utterly distracted and stop. the work of the mission. We're talking about the fight for focus.
Now, this could have been a distraction, but I decided To look up the vision of chickens.
Now, sometimes these things, you're preparing a sermon, sometimes they're just distractions. But chicken vision, you're going to be interested in this, that they do have. They do have the capacity to see about 50 meters, which is not terrible, right?
So if a chicken is in the end zone, you're at the 50-yard line, they can at least see a blurry something is there. That's not terrible. I mean, you've got some eyesight. but their eyes are really good at close up.
So they're designed to forage for seeds and insects in the ground. with those eyes. And because they're designed for that, they've got good vision on the color spectrum. They're really good at seeing colors. And they can see some ultraviolet rays or something that we can't see, so things stand out to them up close.
Their eyes are on the side of their head to give them. A wide field of vision. They can see 300 degrees around them. which is really good because chickens Well they're chicken. and they're always worried about somebody trying to attack them.
And so they have up-close vision for forging at little specs. And a wide field of vision so that they can stay constantly worried about who's going to attack them. And they have terrible night vision. If it gets dark, they can't hardly see a thing. That's the chicken.
So if you want to have vision that's mainly focused on a few little specks of food up close and always keeping aware of all the what-ifs of the bad things that could happen, then you need chicken vision. Or What we would like to talk about today, the vision of an eagle. Did you know if you exchanged your eyes for an eagle's eyes? You could stand on the top of a ten-story building. and see an ant crawling on the sidewalk.
An eagle can see a rabbit two miles away. Oh my god. It's partly because, you know, in the human eye, our lens changes. It somehow gets thicker and thinner to focus things. But of course we can't change our actual cornea.
But the eagle can change both its lens and its cornea. It's eyes changing shapes to be able to see and focus way in the distance. And you know how we go into a dark room, and our pupils will dilate, or a bright room, they constrict. It's an involuntary, reflexive thing. The eagle can do it on purpose.
Just gonna I'm gonna dilate my eyes right now. Also, this is very cool. They have an extra set of eyelids. They got kind of regular eyelids. like ours, but they also have Hey.
Set of eyelids that's clear, totally transparent.
So they can close that eyelid and protect their eye. and see just as clearly. which helps them. If they're diving up to speeds of 200 miles an hour and they can't afford to blink. Because they're watching where they're going.
and they never divert their attention. From it. An eagle can spot a fish under the water from hundreds of feet above.
So Ah, there's some advantages to having chicken vision if you want to peck around on the ground and stay aware of all the problems. But Isaiah didn't prophesy: those who wait on the Lord will mount up with wings like chickens. Yeah. We're learning about vision from Nehemiah. And Nehemiah was a visionary.
It would be a mistake if you read the memoir of Nehemiah and start thinking, like, well, he had this big project of leading a great people to do a great thing that was famous for it. It's more important that we think about everyday life and everything God calls us to. All of us in one way or another are being given vision by God. It might be how you're reaching out to a neighbor. It might be how you are being a blessing in your family.
It might be something at your workplace. All of this includes being able to see. By gods. direction, what it is we're to be doing with our lives. And once you see it, We saw last week If you start implementing that vision, there's going to be spiritual attack.
Nehemiah experienced that. But also there's going to be, and I think it is, not just the Noise of the world. I think it is diabolical in its origin. There's going to be temptation to be distracted. and maybe now more than ever.
So, if the takeaway message last time when there was direct spiritual attack against them, Was that there's this beautiful verse that says, and they did the work with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. That's Alan Wright. And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Parents, are you ready for some good news? You can have a low-pressure, high-expectation home by God's grace.
If you want your children to be their best without hounding, threatening, or pressuring them, there's good news. God's grace works in parenting. Shame and pressure offer only fleeting motivation while creating long-term, toxic anxiety in a child's heart. But children thrive in the environment of grace.
Now, for the first time, Alan Wright has joined with his wife Ann to produce eight video sessions that blend humor, deep gospel insights, and loads of practical advice to equip parents and grandparents to raise their children in homes filled with grace and blessing. Use the videos for personal growth with your spouse or with your small group. The DVD album comes with a detailed study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power of God.
the gospel. 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.
Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Today we're going to take away from this I'm doing a great work. And I cannot come down. I'm doing something too important.
to be distracted. The fight. for focus. Let's look at this chapter. Verse 1.
Now when some balat And Tobiah and Geshem the Arab, these are the three enemies that keep showing up all the time. and the rest of our enemies. heard that I'd built the wall and there was no breach left in it, although it Up to that time, I had not set the doors in the gates.
So the project's getting near its end now. It's starting to come to its fruition, but it's not complete, and they're still trying to stop them from the building. Sambalat and Geshem. Sent to me saying. Come.
Let us meet together at Hekaferim in the plain of Ono. but they intended to do me harm.
So there's discernment here. Your spiritual discernment. I think Nehemiah had a gift of spiritual discernment. Because, of course, there's nothing wrong with meeting with people who differ with you. In fact, Oftentimes, it's a mark of maturity.
I talk to our leaders all the time about this. Many, many times we're called go towards people that disagree with you and don't be afraid of that.
So there's a place for collaboration, there's a place for iron sharpening iron. But this this isn't that. These are established enemies that have already directly opposed the very will of God and have proven themselves to be absolute enemies. And Nehemiah knows they haven't suddenly changed. They said, let's go meet at the valley of Ono.
It's a lush valley about 20 miles to the north of Jerusalem. It's almost like saying, come and take off a few days. Maybe we've had our issues in the past, but let's go and we'll meet. Our treat. We'll meet at the Ritz, we'll hang out by the pool.
We'll talk through some of our differences. Let's just go meet at the Valley of Ono. And I'm sure that every preacher who's ever preached on this text has said, when you're tempted to go to the valley of O-No, just say, oh, no.
So I'm glad I've got that out of the way. We know that that's got to be there. Maybe we just talk about it a little bit more. And so maybe Nehemiah is a little tempted to go and just take a few days off. But the temptation is a lot deeper than that.
The real distraction. when we have this consistent conflict in our lives where people are disagreeing with us, disagreeing with the vision, disagreeing with this and that. At some point it wears on you. And here's the real temptation to distraction. And that is where we start feeling like it's up to me.
to go and fix the mixed up people. You can fix the mixed up people. God can. But wow, it is distracting. to feel like that you have a responsibility to go and try to fix Sambalot.
and Tobiah. Yeah. Yeah. You will get so pulled away from everything God has for you to do in life. If every time that someone Can poke a button inside of you and pull you away and distract you and get you to oh no.
Boy, I've had too much of this. I'm speaking from experience on this. And there's this part of me, too. That even when I know I'm really right about something, that instead of just sticking to the mission of what I'm right about, I also want to go over here and fix this mixed-up person. I don't know why it came to mind, but I was remembering.
Many years ago, the kids were little and we were on the Summer Family Beach vacation. At Ocean Isle Beach and all the cousins, all these kids are out playing in the ocean and they're riding their boogie boards and jumping waves and laughing and they're out there. And I'm just kind of watching it, you know. Glad they're having a good time. protector mode of everybody stay safe.
And As guy goes up and takes his fishing rod and tackle, And plants down right there. where our kids are and cast a line out there right where they're all swimming. I've had a hook in me before. It is not fun. And I've been to the emergency with a kid at the beach more than once, and that's not fun.
And I was just like, what? Is this guy doing? Why don't you just go 20 yards down the beach where there's nobody swimming? Hurry, what do you. It's thinking so.
My mission was kids be safe and have fun, and so I'm gonna have to go talk to the guy. You know, and either that or try to move a whole bunch of kids, and it's like it'd be easier for him to just take your fishing rod over there.
So I start walking over to the guy, and while I'm going, I don't know how your flesh does, you, but mine just starts feeling like I would really be righteous. In not only solving this situation and making sure everybody's safe, but setting this guy straight. Because what kind of idiot throws his line right out in the middle of a bunch of kids? And I'm like starting to walk over there, like I'm all, you know. And I'm just so thankful the Holy Spirit looks after me sometimes.
And I just felt this voice inside of me go, Alan? I'm like, yeah. And it was kind of like this. You got room to hear from the Holy Spirit right now? I don't know.
I'm going to sit to this guy straight. And this inner dialogue, and I think I hear this voice: it says, What's your goal? I'm like Keep the kids safe, make sure they have fun. And it's like, don't forget your goal. Are you on the beach today to try to fix This person who was insensitive, not even thinking about it, is that your goal?
Or you want to walk up and down and fix everybody on the beach? Go fix all the idiots on the beach today.
Okay. Yeah. Remember your goal. Praise the Lord, I was able to at least put down the flesh because I also had this vision. I'll be on the front page of the Brunswick Beacon the next week, pastor in a brawl on the beach with fishermen.
It's just, that's the way distraction works. Your mission is to drive safely from point A and arrive at point B.
Somebody pulls in front of you in traffic and nearly hits you, but you're a good enough driver and defensive enough, and you divert the car and you miss being hit by them. Mission accomplished. You're still safe. But now there's the added mission. Of riding up on his bumper for the next mile and putting everybody at danger just so he'll know.
that you're putting him to shame, because you're going to fix that idiot also. Can you imagine how after all of the Constant prodding and poking and Just After Sambhat finally says, Let's just talk about it. And Nehemiah goes, maybe this is my chance to finally. Set these guys straight now. The second kind of Distraction.
Is it verse 5? If there's first a big temptation to go fix the mixed-up people. Boy, there's a temptation to dispel all the made-up rumors. That's Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message today, the fight for focus from the series Nehemiah. Please stay with us.
Pastor Alan is back here in the studio sharing his parting good news thought for the day. In just a moment, I don't want to pressure my kids, and I sure don't want to shame them, but I do want them to try hard and be all they can be. That's the desire of every well-meaning parent. For over a decade, Alan Wright has been teaching all over the nation about the toxic effects of shame and the amazing power of the gospel of grace to heal and set free.
Now, for the first time, Alan has been joined by his wife Ann to produce a video series about shame-free parenting. It's called Good News for Parents: Raising Grace-Filled Kids in a Pressure-Filled World. The eight DVD video sessions are chock full of humor, deep gospel insight, and loads of practical advice. Use them for personal growth or with your spouse. They're also perfect for use in your small group.
The DVD album comes with a detailed step-by-step study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power of the gospel. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you to day'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 Well, Pastor Alan, just going on the title of the teaching alone: the fight for focus.
Now, whether, and this is a formal diagnosis, but whether you have the formal diagnosis or not, I think we've all said we have experienced at least a touch of what they call ADD, where we are fighting for focus, get back on track, don't look out the window at the squirrel so often.
Well, in today's world, who among us cannot identify? with this phenomenon you pick up your phone to Do one item, and then you've answered two or three texts, and you look at a couple emails and a notification that came in, and you go. Why did I even pick up? I know. I'll have times I've sitting at the computer and I'm like, I'm going over to.
Look up something on the internet that I needed to find by way of research. And they say, yeah, no, it's like, What was I even researching here? Right. The pull, right? We all feel it.
The pull on our attention. Because that's not just what Media and social media is trying to do, but it's like life itself. And if we can't Learn to deal with the distractions. And the MI has got some important lessons for us. And helping us with that.
If we can't learn to deal with the distractions, we'll never really be able to walk out the call of God.
So we're learning about getting vision and call from God. And Nehemiah Who got this powerful call? But He not only faced spiritual opposition, he faced the really tough fight, and that is to stay focused on the task at hand. 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 pastoralan.org. Today's Good News Message is a listener-supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.
