Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical faith-filled vision for your life. Open your heart to receive this blessing. You aren't confined by your past. You aren't defined by your failures. You can be refined by your mistakes.
You can be realigned by your disappointments. But your life isn't a cumulative account. Today is new, brand new. From now on, everything can be different. That's what Mary learned.
It's what she exclaimed with joy, from now on all generations will call me blessed. One moment of grace, one revelation of God's favor, and your life is repositioned, reframed in the assurance of your blessedness.
So I bless you to see your life from this day forward, from now on. Does something need to change? It can from now on. Does a new path need to emerge? It can from now on.
From now on, may you see only your blessedness In Christ. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Light. is the invention of God. It is the creative force of God.
And darkness is merely the absence This is important to remember in the spiritual battle that we face every day. And it's also important to remember when you're thinking about your life, And how much could change? just by a light turning on. 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 am Daniel Britt. Excited for you to hear the teaching today in our series, Empowered, 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. 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. More on this later in the program. But now let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Pastor Alan Wright.
Mm.
Okay, people of God, are you ready for some good news? Light. always dispels darkness. Always. And you are children.
Of light. In fact, Jesus said, you're the light. of the world. A tiny candle in the darkest room. will dispel darkness.
It's a series we call Empowered. It's all about how the The power of God is lived in and through the Christian's life, and I wanted to focus in on light because it's an image of revelation. How the revelation of truth, the unveiling of truth, can change. everything. I was an NC State student and a Carolina student trying to brag on their universities, and a Carolina student said, We've got this Moorhead Planetarium.
It's amazing. Our astronomers can recreate every hypothetical kind of sky and measure exact distances between the stars. We can measure exactly how far every planet is from the sun. The NC State student interrupted and said, see, that's the problem with you guys at Carolina. He said, y'all just sit around and think about things.
We do things, we're engineers. And said, in fact, we've got engineers right now that are working on a spacecraft to fly one day to the sun. He said, in fact, we believe that one day we can Send a manned spacecraft all the way to the sun. Carolina student interrupted and said, Wait a minute. He said, That's ridiculous.
He said, The sun is way too hot. Nothing can get near it. It will all burn up. A state student responded, See, this is why we're smarter than you, the state guy said. We're going to go at night.
Oh. Go Wolfpack. Anyway. Just saying. There's no such thing as bottling up some darkness.
and use it as a shield against the light. You could travel. If you could do that, you could just get enough darkness, and you could get as close as you want to the sun. It would block the. You can't do that.
And there's no such thing as shining a beam of darkness into a bright room. and making that room darker. doesn't exist in the cosmos. Light. is the invention of God.
It is the creative force of God. And darkness is merely the absence. of light. This is important to remember in the spiritual battle that we face every day. And it's also important to remember When you're thinking about your life, And how much could change?
Just by a light turning on. I mean in the darkness things don't look like they really are. When I was a kid, I had a poster over the red couch in my bedroom on Pinetop Road in Greensboro, and it had fairy tale scenes. I should have told somebody. I should have admitted, see, this is a pastoral issue.
If you have fears, tell somebody about them. But I just was too embarrassed, especially as I got a little bit older. I shouldn't have been afraid. On this poster. There were fairy tale scenes and it included the three little pigs.
the pigs were fine. The problem was it also had the wolf. You know the one that will huff and puff and blow your house down? That wolf? He was on the poster too.
And he was fine during the day. But at night, When my window was open in that unair conditioned house, And the moonlight on a warm summer evening would stream through the backyard, through the trees, and just enough through that window that it would come upon. That poster. That wolf would come to life. He would.
And I was pretty sure he was going to come and terrorize me. And every now and then I had to get up and just turn on the light, and then it was okay again. All you do sometimes is turn on the light. And sometime the answer is so near But feels so far away. What we're going to look at is a story.
A strange and beautiful story of disciples On the very first Easter day, who are absolutely depressed. And Jesus appears and they don't know it. Until they do. And when they break bread together which we'll do today. Their eyes were opened.
And it changed everything. If the light turns on, if revelation comes, Everything in your life can change. Even if no circumstances change. We're talking about one of the great ways that God empowers us, and that is through prophetic revelation and promptings of the Holy Spirit and Him opening up the eyes of our hearts. Let me just talk a little bit more about.
How? you can be really near something. And in the dark. It's like you're not even next to it. If you were to Talk to my family about being lost ever.
Everybody immediately would say, Spirit Lake Road. If you were in my family to see somebody who's riding around in circles. and can't seem to get where they're going, somebody will chuckle and say, Spirit like road. If somebody's just on a treadmill and they're Whole life seems to be spinning and nothing's happening. They'll say, Spirit Lake Road.
It's a story of when I was in fourth grade and Disney World had opened just one or two years before that, and we took a big family trip to Disney World, my mom, my aunt, my cousins, and my two brothers. I don't know how we all fit in one station wagon, but we did. This was back when we were so stupid, we would just have no seat belts on, and kids would crawl around the station wagon. We drove down to somebody's house that My Mother knew somebody that was loaning us their house in a little town 45 minutes away from Orlando. That's the only way we ever did anything when I was a kid.
It's like we're not staying at a Disney resort, we're staying at Mr.
So-and-so's house. But they let us have their house, and we were glad for that. We drove down there, and we unloaded everything into the house, and we went to bed. We got up early the next morning. And we drove to Disney World.
And we went to Disney World all day long until it was dark and we were tired. And we came back to go to the house. All I can remember from my fourth-grade perspective is lying in the back of that station wagon, wrestling with my brothers, and then trying to fall asleep. It was only a 45-minute drive. We should have been back at that house, but we kept driving.
I noticed like, we're just driving forever. And then I started hearing the adults are talking to each other and I realized. We're lost. Yeah. And then I knew we were lost when my mother pulled over and asked somebody about this address on Spirit Lake Road.
And they said, well, you go here and you turn here. And so they went, they turned there and went down and drove around. For another hour. Until we found somebody else and asked them about this address on Spirit Lake Road. And so we drove around the same neighborhood again and around the same area for another hour.
until they stopped and asked another person. We're just looking for convenience stores that are open and just any random person that might still be awake to ask them. That we stopped and asked multiple times. I called my brother Mark, who just has a better memory than any of the rest of us, because I thought maybe we drove around for four or five hours. He said, no.
He said, we drove for nine hours. I said, it can't be. He said, no, nine hours. It was now the wee hours of the morning, and we're still trying to find this place where we're staying. And a deputy sheriff, God bless him.
appeared on the scene. And my mother said, oh. We have been driving around all night. trying to find this place. And all our stuff is in the house.
It wasn't like we could go find some hotel room. We didn't even have any stuff. And he said, I know that man, and I know that house, and I know where it is exactly. Follow me. We were rejoicing our Savior had come.
And we followed him. Right down those same places where we'd been driving for nine hours. And my mom's going, this isn't it. And he pulls into the driveway. And I hear my mom talking to my aunt, going, this isn't it.
And he gets out of the car and they said to the deputy, This is not the right place. He said, Well, this is Mr.
So-and-so's house. I know him personally. And he said, Come up to the door. While they're walking up to the door, my mother said, This isn't it. And she got the key out and put it into the lock.
She said, this isn't it. And she turned the key and opened the door. She said this couldn't be it as the door creaked open and we looked and saw all our luggage there. We've been riding up and down the same street saying that's not it for nine hours. It looks so different at night.
Spirit Lake Road. Because the fact of the matter is you could be right next to your haven. And if it's dark, You don't know it. And it's like you don't have it. You just need.
A little bit of light. These disciples on their walk to Emmaus. find themselves absolutely despondent. And they don't realize the Savior. is alive and next to them.
That's what the story is about. Can you imagine if you've been part of those early disciples and have watched and engaged with Jesus in ministry for three years. and seeing the hope and the power. That the Messiah had come.
Now, they still had kind of a geopolitical kingdom in mind like Israel's Prestige is going to be restored and a king in Jerusalem. And so when they watch Jesus. Be scourged. and beaten and marked and crucified. and put in a garden tomb.
There's hardly a word to describe that level of disappointment. Despair. Like when all of your hopes feel dashed. Everything you built your life on. Seems Gone.
That's what they're feeling. Is there walking on the road to Emmaus? They're having this conversation. And Jesus, they don't know who he is, appears. And says, what are you guys talking about?
They say, Are you the only one, only visitor Jerusalem does not know the things that have happened here? What things? Jesus said. Jesus is intriguing, isn't he? They said concerning Jesus of Nazareth.
Prophet mighty indeed and word. And then the text, verse 17, this is the picture of them standing still, looking sad. This is what hopelessness does to you.
Okay. You just stop. And you're just sad. Hopelessness means I just don't feel like putting my foot in front of the other. And they said.
Verse 21. We had hoped. He was the one. to redeem Israel. We had hoped.
But now we don't have hope. Can you just not Hurry past this moment and just pause here. and take in this irony. For these disciples It is the most despondent Sad day. It is the worst day of their lives in their minds.
in their minds. It is the worst day of their lives. And yet, It is the greatest day in history. Because Jesus has come forth out of the grave. Jesus has proven that every one of his promises were true.
Jesus has defeated death itself. Jesus has assured heaven for every believer. Jesus has made a public spectacle of all the powers of hell in the heavenly places. Jesus is triumphant, risen, and the king of kings and lord of lords. And he's right next to him.
It's the greatest day in history, and for them, because of their. darkened minds at the moment It feels like the worst day of their lives. What if To the worst moment of your life, you're standing right on the dawn of the. Best thing that ever happened to you. It is possible.
Sometimes you just need to turn on The light. I'm taken by this Jesus of ours who comes and walks with these depressed disciples on Resurrection Day. He is seven miles north of Jerusalem. And I think, what would I be doing if I had been raised from the dead? I think I probably would have found Herod.
and just gone. I'm back. At the very least, Gather a huge crowd on the temple steps in Jerusalem and make your point. Told you so. But not our Jesus.
He will show forth, the texts will later tell us, many signs and wonders and evidences of his resurrection. But here we see him on Resurrection Day. Walking with the depressed. If you are depressed, There's something about who Jesus is. Yes.
He wants to be near you. And he's not in a hurry. He's not scared of your despondency. He is familiar with grief. He is acquainted with rejection.
There is value. In being like these disciples and admitting your disappointment. It's like grief. You can't really go around it. You go through it.
It's not an invitation to wallow in it. But it is an invitation to be honest.
So much I've seen over the years of pastoral ministry. that healing begins when We are able to admit What we are feeling, and then pause long enough to go, why am I feeling that way? Um It's complex. That's Alan Wright. Our good news message today from the teaching, The Power of Light.
It's in the series Empowered. And I encourage you to stay with us because Pastor Alan is back here in the studio sharing a parting good news thought before we leave today. 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. God's always been there. In every moment you narrowly escaped from danger, in every moment you were surprised by a blessing, in every moment you just knew the direction to take. God was there. Your life is defined by countless moments of God's grace.
Perhaps they've been covered by the sands of time or have just gone unnoticed in the rush of life, but your life is full of God moments. When you make a gift today, we'll send you a special bundle, both Pastor Alan's heart-stirring book, God Moments, and a CD album containing all his audio messages on the subject. Make your gift today and start your spiritual treasure hunt to uncover your God moments. How you remember yesterday will determine how you live tomorrow. 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 to share Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day as we come to this part of the teaching, the power of light. We've just kicked it off today, and there's so much more to come. But today, Pastor Alan, what's our good news thought?
Well, one of the great images of power. is light. Yeah, I wish I understood more about physics. I don't. I can't wrap my mind around it.
Light is a steady. Reliable force of energy that is moving at the same pace. Yeah. Always. It's the fastest thing.
They're just mysteries to light. But this we do know Everywhere that there's darkness, if you can bring some light, you'll dispel darkness. Yeah. So let's just start with that: that this is the great power of God, is that Wherever there is deception. And wherever there is The darkness of misunderstanding, and wherever there is confusion, whatever that might be.
If you bring light, which is God's loving revelation, into that, It's very, very powerful. There's no such thing as darkness. Overcoming light, but there is always a thing of light overcoming darkness. Very, very hopeful and powerful image for us as we get into the power of light. 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.
