Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical faith-filled vision for your life. Maybe your miracle is in the next cool dip into the Jordan. Proud General Naaman's leprosy had a cure. Washed seven times in the Jordan, Elisha instructed. Why seven immersions instead of one?
You'll have to ask God. Why don't our prayers get instantly answered every time? You'll have to ask God. Why do we need to bless others over and over? Why do we have to endure hardship after hardship?
Why do we need to Wait on the lore.
Well, we'll just have to ask God. But I bet old Naaman, he felt like a fool after the fifth dip or the sixth. This ain't working, we got better rivers back home.
Well, I bless you to keep on immersing yourself in the grace of God. Maybe you're a miracle. Is in the next cool dip. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Jesus is sharing his inmost heart on the eve of his crucifixion.
In John chapter 14, 15, 16, 17, we call in this series Abide. It's the heart of what he's saying: is that I'm going to stay with you, but in a different way by the Holy Spirit. 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 Abide, taken from John 14 through 17, as presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire broadcast today, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now, which can be yours for your donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries.
So, as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. At any point, contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.
More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here. is Alan Wright. Brothers and sisters, are you ready for some good news?
The Holy Spirit abides, dwells, makes his home with every single believer, and he is the best teacher. Ever. You have the best teacher in the world. abiding in you and with you. Golfers are strange animals, and sometimes on the practice range, they'll talk to themselves out loud.
Yeah, it's a spectacle. I've done it myself. You know, it's just a frustrating game. You're trying to hit that ball. No, no, not like that.
No, not that. I've done it. It's usually negative talk. It doesn't very seldom they go, ooh, that was beautiful. Way to do that one, Alan.
But they'll talk to themselves. And one day, I was next to a guy on the practice range who was talking to himself incessantly. It was hilarious. He was just every, I mean, everybody's like, no, keep your head still. Come on now.
Get the arm more straight than that. What are you doing? That's not it. That's, no, you're going to slice it every time if you do it like that. Stop that, right?
Get your feet a little wider. I mean, he was just talking to himself non-stop like that. And it just went on and on and on. And then finally, I couldn't help it. I busted out laughing because after a particularly long tirade of talking to himself like this, he just said, now you're just getting in my head.
Okay. Woof. Wait a minute. What are you even saying? I mean, he was alluding to that thing where somebody else could be talking to you and then they, quote, get in your head.
But he's like, I was already in my head, and then a voice went outside of my head, and then it came back in my head. I don't even know what that means. But I think all of us can relate at some level. It's like they got multiple voices going on in our consciousness. You know what I'm talking about, where it's like.
One voice kind of telling you, this is the way to go. Another going, no, this is the way to go. Think this way, or think this way. And sometimes you're like, what even voice is that? And one thing's for sure.
If If we were to be limited to just our own voice, Like what the spirit of the culture, the spirit of the age says, don't let anybody tell you what to do. Just listen to that inner guide inside of you. If all you got your own voice... It's going to be very limited. and probably lead you astray.
What we really need, of course, if we're ever going to grow in anything, is we need actual instruction and help. and good teaching. that will help us. Jesus is sharing his inmost heart on the eve of his crucifixion. In John chapter 14, 15, 16, 17, we call in this series abide.
It's the heart of what he's saying is that I'm going to stay with you, but in a different way by the Holy Spirit. And now we come to this section of chapter 14 where In many ways, he is introducing the disciples to the Holy Spirit. The third person, the triumph God. He's saying, here's how I'm going to be with you. I'm going to be with you.
spiritually. And what is assuring them is that you're not going to suddenly be without a teacher. Remember, rabbi, Jesus was known as a rabbi, means teacher. And in the New Testament, the word for disciple, mathetes, means learner. I like what John Mark Comer uses to call a disciple an apprentice.
That's what we are. You're learning a whole way of being. A whole way of living and thinking. And Jesus had been teaching them for three years. And he says, it's actually better that I go.
Because when I go then the helper is going to come. The Holy Spirit's going to come. And here, what we see in this beautiful text is that part of what the Holy Spirit's going to do is the very heart of Jesus as a teacher, is he's going to continue to teach you. He'll teach you all things you need to know. And he's going to remind you of everything.
that I've been teaching you. The truth of my word will be constantly refreshed in your memory by the Holy Spirit. This is an extraordinary promise and one that is worth focusing in on. We're going to look at several sections of our text. But I mainly want to think about the Holy Spirit.
And if you are new to getting to know who the Holy Spirit is, then. you'll be delightfully, wonderfully nourished to realize that he is the best teacher. Ever. What makes him such a wonderful teacher, the Holy Spirit, is that he's not a teacher off in the distance. He's not like.
To call the Holy Spirit teacher is not to say it's like you go to a class. and somebody gives you a lecture. Instead, this is live-in teacher. This is the Holy Spirit abiding in and with the heart of every single believer.
So you In a sense, if you can think of the disciples following Rabbi Jesus to be with him. This is better. This is every moment, every day. in the morning, in the middle of the night. You have The Spirit of Jesus.
who has the heart of a teacher. Remember, Jesus had said, Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. He said, in my father's house, in this image of a big estate, talking about heaven, there are many, many rooms, there are many abiding places. And I go and I prepare a place for you, and I'll come back and I'll take you to be with me where I am.
That the promise of John 14 is that you're always going to be abiding with him. And so I want to look back first at this verse 23, which is actually part of the text from last week. And it helps us to understand what's so wonderful about the Holy Spirit as a teacher. Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he'll keep my word. My Father will love him.
So he's been talking about a love-attachment relationship. Where in that love, the love is the thing that is motivating all obedience. And we will come to him. This is the Trinity he's speaking of. We will come to Him and make our home with Him.
You will know that you belong. you will no longer be like an orphan. He had said, I won't leave you as orphans. That's Alan Wright. and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series.
Are you ready for some good news? In a world filled with confusion and false advertising, Jesus knew exactly who He was and exactly what His work would accomplish. He did not leave us guessing. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. What if the Christian life is not about striving harder?
but about abiding. Living with God, not just under Him or for Him. But in him. Living as secure, spirit-filled children of God, not as spiritual orphans. Living with the Holy Spirit as our live-in teacher, helper, reminder, and guide, so we do not have to rely only on our own voice.
This month's featured resource from Pastor Alan is Abide, Experiencing Jesus in John 14 through 17, a powerful digital audio series that explores Jesus' most intimate words to his disciples. Through teaching from these chapters in John, you will discover the freedom and confidence that come from living in Christ's finished work. As our thanks when you give today, you will receive digital access to abide, experiencing Jesus in John 14 through 17. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.
Now these are the final days this offer is being made available to you this month. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4525. 4860. That's 877-544-4860.
Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. You'll no longer be feeling like you're disconnected. And you'll not have that sense of insecurity where you wonder, if your future is going to be okay.
But instead, you'll have this warm sense of just permanent belonging to me. This is what the Holy Spirit does. This is why Paul called him the Spirit of adoption. I got to be in Detroit last week and it's our annual denominational meeting where we were meeting at actually the mother church of our whole denomination and the new executive leader of our denomination is a man named Dean Weaver. And he's a longtime friend.
He had been a pastor in Pittsburgh for a long time, and then he took on this position and went and sat up towards the front with Rick and Pat Peacock. First, we sat down, but there was this dude in front of us, looked like he was seven feet tall. We were like, we got to move. And so we moved a little bit. But after the songs were over, I went up to give Dean a hug and say hi.
And he's like, oh, hi. He said, hey, here's this guy you wrote about in your book.
Well, I had told a story about Dean Weaver in The Power to Bless because it touched me so much. It was about a young man named Tommy. And I didn't realize that this tall guy there was Tommy. He had been a collegiate basketball player. And his dad, Tommy's dad, had gotten uh Involved with drugs and was gone.
His mom did the best she could, but she wasn't around.
So Tommy didn't have. Any parents that he was in close touch with, he was kind of on his own by this time. And he started hanging out some with the Weavers. He did a ministry internship, and they just started having him over to meals, and they had him to some holidays. And this is the way Dean is.
I mean, they got this big family. They already had six grown kids, a couple of were adopted along the way. And Tommy would just come over and see this family, and he's like, What you know, watch them laughing and picking on each other and having food together and just, you know and he said, what is this? And he said, this is this is family. That's what we call family.
And he said, we sure enjoy having you around, Tommy. And it's not a sight you see every day, you know, this kind of, you know, middle-aged white Presbyterian pastor and this six-foot-nine African-American guy that's all hanging out, but they were just, you know, all part of it. Time came that Tommy was going to go to Memphis and was going to do a ministry internship. And he came to Dean. He said, I'd Got a little problem.
He says, It's time for me to renew my driver's license, and I don't really have an address to put down. And he said, Well, won't you put this address down? Tommy said, Really? He said, Yeah. He said, Besides, he said, If you come back around Thanksgiving, he said, We got an extra place at the table.
And homie said, really? He said, yeah. And he said, and if you come at Christmas, Dean said, there'll be some presents under the tree for you. He said, Thanks. He came back at Christmas, and at the end of celebrating together, and they all Sitting around Tommy with the family and open presents and all that.
And Dean said, Tommy, we got something we want to mention to you. He said, We've all talked about it, we all voted. Said, we found out. that in Pennsylvania there's not a age limit on on adoption. We really like having you around and wonder if you would be interested in being adopted and becoming a weaver.
Yeah, grown guy. And I said, Well, well, I'll think about that. And then The next time they saw him, some months later, It's being said of you. Thought about our offer? And he didn't say anything, he just rolled up his sleeve.
and show him his arm. And he'd had tattooed on his forearm the word weaver. And so I got to meet him. He's a tall guy, and he's a great guy. He said, I said, thanks for letting me tell your story in the book.
He said, I'll come down there sometime. I said, You ought to. It was great. God, I'll not leave you as orphans, Jesus said. leave you with no place of belonging.
I'll tattoo you to my heart, and I will be with you forever. I know this is an unsettling night, Jesus is saying. He's predicting his own crucifixion. He's already told him in a little while you're not going to see him anymore. The disciples are worried.
What he was saying is that this is what love does. It ends up just we're going to be at home with one another.
So, the thing you need to know about the Holy Spirit as your teacher is that He's not. A scholar in a classroom that you go get a lecture from. He's your live-in Best friend. really, really wants to help you. and teach you.
And he knows everything. He knows it all. And he's very gracious.
So, this leads to the second point I would want to see from this text about why the Holy Spirit's the best teacher ever, and that is that. He is in it to help you. That's what a good teacher does. The word that Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit. Jesus' favorite word for the Holy Spirit is transliterated as parakletos.
In Greek, this comes from two Two. To a prefix para, like parallel, like coming alongside. And from this verb kaleo, which is to call. The same word from which a voice comes. And so a parakletos.
Sometimes you'll hear it just translated to paraclete, means literally one called alongside.
So this was in the ancient Greek and Roman systems. This was the idea of a lawyer. It's called alongside of a defendant. I get the image of like a coach that comes right alongside to help speak into the athlete. You can do this.
Maybe some of you have had a trainer where it's like You're doing your exercises, and they're like, okay, give me two more of those. And like, if you were on your own, you wouldn't do them. But, you know, there's this voice, like, you can do it. This was right there really near you. It's like the best teacher in the world, an instructor, that's right there with you for this purpose to help you.
And I want to just emphasize this because I think that a lot of people have had some bad teachers. You know, that shamed you for getting an answer wrong, or made you feel intimidated, or made you feel nervous about being in the class, or were just not a good teacher. And the Holy Spirit's not like that. I was thinking about some of my worst teachers.
Now, most teachers are in it for the right reasons, and they're really good. They wanted to help, right? We got a lot of teachers in the church, great teachers. But some are just bad. I had a teacher, and College, I studied literature and it was a poetry class.
This guy was just terrible. He just, he just, he just like he just, his whole point was to just show how dumb we were and how smart he was, you know, that kind of thing. And one of the things he'd do is he'd call students up to read a poem in front of the class.
Well, reading a poem is not easy. Because Reading a poem correctly with the right flow and voice intonations means you have to understand the meaning of that poem or you won't read it right. And then some people just aren't very good at reading in front of other people, right?
Some people are horrified by doing that. It doesn't mean you're not smart, it's just not your thing. But he would call people up to read it. And I remember, you know, we were a few weeks in the class. He had a girl up there reading a poem and she didn't do it right.
And he's like, not like that. Do it again. Do it again. Until finally she was just in tears. And I just thought You know, I was just so young and insecure, and you know, I couldn't, no way was I going to say anything to him.
I mean, he's the authority. But if I am who I am now. And I was in there, I'd have gone over there and slapped him silly. Sit down. You think this is being a professor, is making girls cry because they didn't do it right?
This isn't teaching. I got uh I need some therapy about that still, don't I? I tell you, I was thinking about one of the other worst teachers I ever had. I really had one really bad seminary professor, but this guy taught ethics, was just. He was someone right.
It just didn't, the class didn't make any sense. Like, I thought ethics was really important. You know, we were gonna talk about stuff like abortion and about, you know, all this stuff, and we were gonna, like, fear all this. And instead, it was just, I don't know. And I got to the first exam.
I studied really hard. And I went in, and I'm like, what? Is this? And that question, I'm like, literally, this was a question. This is one of the questions.
In our third week of class, we watched a video about abortion, and there was a female narrator. What color dress was she wearing? Yeah, why? What? I don't know.
Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message, best teacher ever from the series, abide. 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. 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 pastoralen.org. Are you ready for some good news? In a world filled with confusion and false advertising, Jesus knew exactly who He was and exactly what His work would accomplish. He did not leave us guessing.
He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. What if the Christian life is not about striving harder? but about abiding. Living with God, not just under Him or for Him. But in him.
Living as secure, spirit-filled children of God, not as spiritual orphans. Living with the Holy Spirit as our live-in teacher, helper, reminder, and guide, so we do not have to rely only on our own voice. This month's featured resource from Pastor Alan is Abide, Experiencing Jesus in John 14 through 17, a powerful digital audio series that explores Jesus' most intimate words to his disciples. Through teaching from these chapters in John, you will discover the freedom and confidence that come from living in Christ's finished work. As our thanks when you give today, you will receive digital access to Abide, Experiencing Jesus in John 14 through 17.
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.
Now, these are the final days this offer is being made available to you this month. Call us at 877-544-452. That's 877-544-465. 4860. or come to our website, pastorallen.org.
Sitting here now with Pastor Alan as we place the bookmark here as best teacher ever as we continue our series on a Bible taken from John chapters 14 through 17 and some parting words of Jesus. I just was thinking as I was preparing this message about some of the best teachers I ever had. I was just, you know, I hope that listeners, as you're listening to you, think of some of the best teachers you had, and maybe think of some of the worst teachers too. You know, what are the qualities of a really good teacher? I was thinking about that a lot.
And then let your mind go to the Holy Spirit, who is the one who teaches us. He'll teach us what we need to know. He's the best teacher ever.
So whatever you've seen in the best teachers you've ever had, the ones who knew how to communicate truth to you in a went some way, the ones who knew how to relate to you and connect to you, the ones who were able to be gentle with you when you didn't get it at first, the ones who were able to reveal things and make it understandable to you. You think about the best teachers you ever had. And then you think of this, the Holy Spirit is the best teacher. Ever open up your heart, Jim. He's ready to teach 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 pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.
