Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing—a biblical, faith-filled vision for your life. I'd like to bless you to have the eyes of Jesus. To bless is to speak a positive vision in faith, rooted in Scripture that's empowering. Receive the blessing from John chapter one. May God give you the eyes of Jesus, so you'll see everything as He sees it, through Christ's eyes, as He promised Nathaniel.
You'll see greater things under a cloudless, open heaven. May you have the Savior's own clear vision, so that you'll see yourself more blessed than broken. You'll see others' potential more than their problems, and you'll see the world's hope more than its heartaches. God's grace. Is all around you.
You'll see when you have the eyes of Jesus. It changes your perspective, which changes your thoughts, which leads to empower you into new behaviors. That's the way grace works, and that's the gospel, and that is today's blessing. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Allen Wright. Good news that just comes to you like that is so powerful because.
It is replacing the bad news. 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 this series, "The Loved," a study of Romans chapters nine through eleven, is presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina.
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Here is Alan Wright. I said, "Are you telling me?" And she smiled and she said, "Yes, we're going to have a baby." Well, I'm wide awake then. Good news that just comes to you like that is so powerful because it is replacing the bad news.
So I think to have this wondrous desire to be those feet that share the good news. What Paul's saying here is remember and be in touch with just. The fact that gospel is good news, but at the same time, we are remembering that it is replacing or displacing so much of the bad news, and I'm not just talking about the bad news that surrounds us in this world. Although, aren't we weary of just constant bad news? And and part of what's engulfed us in this modern generation is that we hear about bad news in a second.
Something terrible can happen on the other side of the world. We hear it instantly, so we are riddled with bad news. But the the bad news that Paul has been addressing in Romans is much deeper than that. A problem that runs so deep that it's to our very core, and it is. The bad news of our own sin nature.
When I was in tenth grade, I tried out for the soccer team. All my friends thought I was a shoe in. I'd been playing soccer since I was a kid, and everybody said I was a decent soccer player. I was fairly quick. I had a decently strong right foot and pretty good ball handling skills.
And I tried out, gave it my all, thought that I'd done pretty well in the The tryouts, and there came this this important day where coach would post the list outside of his classroom door of all the people who made the team. I'll never forget that morning at Page High School, huddled around that sheet of paper on that wall and looking up to see my name there, and scanning down quickly, not seeing it, going down slower and looking and not seeing it, and other guys around me, my friends saying, "Yes, you know they made the team," and by Time I looked the third time and realized my name wasn't on it, and I just hung my head and people were patting me on the back saying, "I'm so sorry, Alan. I don't know why you didn't make the team, man." And just went home just with the bad news, and I remember being just so sad about it. And the phone rang that night. And mom said it's for you, and I went and picked up the phone.
He said, "Alan, this Coach Osborne." I said, "Hey, Coach." He said there was a mistake, and by error, your name was left off of the list today. I'm so sorry. He said it was supposed to be on there. You've definitely made the team, and he said I hope that you will come join us this fall for the soccer team. And I said, "Oh, absolutely, Coach.
Thank you so much." And got off, and just felt like I could float around the house. Because you see, good news is only good when it is understood in contrast, or in replacement of, or displacing of the bad news. And so, remember what Paul has been teaching us Romans three ten None is righteous; no, not one. No one understands. No one seeks God.
The problem, the bad news, is that we. In order to be in the presence of the Holy God, we need to be in right standing with God, and nobody is. Everybody's sin, and part of the problem is that we can't do a single thing to save ourselves. Remember Romans three twenty: For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in His sight, since the law through comes through the knowledge of nobody can be good enough.
So the problem is sin, and we're not in right. Standing, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot put ourselves in the right standing, and so it leaves us in a condition of sin that Paul says is like slavery. Romans six twenty. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
So the deepest problem is that people are not in right standing with God, and therefore don't have peace in their heart with God, and therefore no real peace in their lives. In their lives. Are engulfed, are are are swarmed by the by the the destruction that comes with chronically being under the slavery of sin and selfishness. And so, when you think about the goodness of the gospel, you are simultaneously thinking about the sadness and brokenness of humanity without the gospel.
So, thinking about The gospel that means good news, and think about the bad news, but then think about the gospel again, and think about what good news it is, and what makes it so good.
So here is where Paul quotes Isaiah fifty two seven. Let's look at that passage from Isaiah. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. And when Paul brings us over into Romans and quotes at how beautiful the mount, upon the mountains, are the feet of him who brings good news. That phrase, "who brings good news," is in Greek a verb that is absolutely beautiful, "euangelizo," and it is the announcement of the "euangelion," and so.
This comes from two two Greek ideas. EU, would you recognize that prefix? U, like in eulogy, which to speak well of someone, or even euphemism, which is to say we're going to try to say in a good way something that's bad.
So EU means good, and from the Greek angelos, which is sometimes translated angel, but is actually In meaning, messenger, and so, you evangelion is a good message, and that's what gospel means. And to preach the gospel is to proclaim that message. That's what it means to to preach. That's what the word is here. It is a a frequent word in the New Testament.
Let me give you a couple of examples. Luke chapter two, verse ten. You know this verse well. And the angel said to them, to the shepherds, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. That is, you angelizo, I bring you this good news." And Jesus takes this and applies it to his own life and the ministry that has been entrusted to him as the Son of God, Luke four eighteen, and he is referencing a passage from Isaiah also and says the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
So He's anointed me to Preach or proclaim or share. This is you angelizo. It is to share the gospel. This gospel that we share is so good. Gospel, good news.
That it's everything within us should be at all times feeling like Anne is a little girl. Open the painting. Open the painting. Open the painting. Like if you had some huge, huge prize that you were able to give to somebody you love.
That's the way. That's the way this word conveys. It's this glorious news, and the picture is of a herald or a courier carrying a message, perhaps from the king to his battle troops, that says there's been a peace. Treaty that's been reached, cease fighting, or it could be that it is a herald that runs from the battle to the king and says the victory has been won. In this case of Isaiah, it is a picture of the time that would arrive when there would be a herald, someone that would run with the message and tell the exiles in Babylon that their suffering was over and that restoration was at hand, and they would be returning to their homeland.
This is the kind of joy, the kind of nature of the message of the Eunangelion that is being talked about by Paul. It is so good. And I just think that instead of like saying ourselves, "Oh, we need to witness more." Oh, what we need is we need more awareness and delight in the savor and the beauty and the wonder of how good this gospel is. Remember everything that Paul said about how much we need the gospel, but then remember what we've been learning about this gospel. Romans four twenty three.
Our problem was we weren't right standing, but Romans four twenty three. But the Words of it was counted to him to Abraham were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us, speaking of righteousness, counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. That what happens in the gospel is that God gives us the very righteousness that was Jesus's, so that He looks upon us as if we are as righteous as Jesus, and thus by this grace we're put in right standing with God. Which means Romans five one: since we've been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, and that means we're not stuck in our sin anymore.
Romans six six. We know that our old self was crucified with him, in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so we would no longer be enslaved to sin. We're no longer in Christ. We still sin, but we're no longer slaves to sin. We're no longer destined to sin.
We're no longer under its bondage. It's about that resurrection life. Romans six five. For if we've been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be reunited with him in a resurrection like his. This gospel is of of a promise and assurance that there is resurrection life already happening inside of us as believers, and that we will one day be raised from the dead, just as Jesus was, and that we will reign with Him forever.
It's about freedom. Romans eight. This glorious. If you can't remember anything else good about the gospel, just go to Romans eight. Romans eight one.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. And remember the gift of the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Romans eight twenty six. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray as we. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us.
Remember that we in Christ are adopted as heirs. Romans eight fifteen. You did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. And the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ. And remember the assurance that is placed upon assurance that's placed upon assurance. Romans eight thirty eight. I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else. In all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Think about how much God has done for us in Christ, and how much, therefore, His finished work means to someone who does not yet know it. But to think of the goodness of the gospel and how good the gospel is is to also think about. Not just what he has done, but what Jesus continues to do. Romans eight thirty four. Christ Jesus, the one who died, more than that was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
He is, in the words of one preacher, before the Father, constantly pressing the refresh button of our justification. He is praying for us. He is interceding. Imagine if you were in your house and you heard a voice in the next room praying for you, and you went in, and it was Jesus Himself. He is advocating for us.
He is continually pleading our case and advocating for our blessedness. The very nature of God is why the message is so good. It's what Jesus has done. It's what Jesus continues to do. But it is this good news is about who God is.
Think about God. When you think about those that you want to share with, think about just who God is. This is what people need to know. They need to know the nature of God, His heart towards them. People don't understand this about God.
God's holy. God is just, but the heart of God is mercy and kindness. When Moses asked to see God's glory, and God hid him in the cleft of a rock, because God's glory is brilliant. Blinding. But when God announced His presence and announced who He is, this is what He said in Exodus thirty-four, verse six: "The Lord passed before Him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord.' That's Yahweh, Yahweh, the covenantal name of God.
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression." And sin, he's talking about his heart. He's talking about this is who I am, and this is what I want to do, and this is what I'm inclined to do. When he speaks about his justice, it's almost as an afterthought. But who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, the children's children to the third and fourth generation? It is to say that we have good news because of what.
Jesus has done what Jesus is doing, and what Jesus will do, and just the very heart of God is good news, as Dane Ortland shares in his beautiful book, Gentle and Lowly. In the summer of 1740, Jonathan Edwards, the Perhaps greatest theologian in America's history, and the voice of the Great Awakening preached a sermon that was exclusively for the children in his congregation in Northampton. And imagine the great theologian is going to preach to just those little kids up through through fourteen years old. And he had written up across the top of his page, all it says is August seventeen forty to the children. What would he say?
And interestingly, the great theologian and preacher took as his text Matthew ten thirty seven, in the King James version, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." An unusual text because usually, moralistically, we try to talk to our kids, honor your father and mother, be sure and show love to your parents and respect to them, and so forth. But when he was was speaking to the children, the first thing that he wanted to say. Was that there is no greater love that can be known than the love of Christ, and he wants them to be in touch with that. Here's what he preached: the words of Jonathan Edwards to the kids. There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ.
He is one that delights in mercy. He is ready to pity those that are in suffering and sorrowful circumstances. One that delights in the happiness of his creatures. The love and grace that Christ has manifested does as much exceed all that which is in this world as the sun is brighter than a candle. Parents are often full of kindness towards their children, but that is no kindness like Jesus Christ.
What he's saying, the great evangelist, maybe the greatest spokesperson of the gospel in the history of our country, saying that what we want to put, starting with our kids, people in touch with, is the very heart of God. The very love of Christ—it's a love that defies description. But if people can understand the loving nature of God, then they are on their way to receiving the good news of the gospel. And then, after you think about the gospel, and then think about the bad news it needs to replace, and then think deeper about what makes the gospel so good, think about the privilege. That's what he's saying, I think, to us here, the privilege of heralding this good news.
Look back at Isaiah fifty-two seven. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation. Publishes literally in the Hebrew here, Yeshua, which becomes the name of Jesus, Yeshua, Hamashiya. The Messiah, the Savior, publishes it. It's a term I, I think of because I I like to write, and I've spent a lot of time over the last couple years writing a new book that Baker Books is publishing.
So. They didn't create the content, but they're publishing it. They're they're taking it. They're appreciating it. They're editing it.
They're holding it in certain ways. They are packaging it. They are going to market it. They're going to distribute it. They're going to do all they can to help as many people as possible.
Help it. That's what the publisher does. The publisher doesn't create the content. The publisher distributes the content. How beautiful is the one who publishes?
This is a Word that one of our prayer ministers came and shared with me just last Sunday before service when we were praying, and she says, "I've got a word from the Lord for you." Not knowing that I'd be preaching here this week, but came to Isaiah 52, and how beautiful are the feet of Him? Such beautiful feet are those that are publishing peace, publishing salvation. Alan Wright. Today's good news message. Such beautiful feet in our series, "Beloved," a study.
Of Romans, Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio as he shares his parting good news thought for the day. Just a moment here at Allen Wright Ministries, there are many resources and opportunities available in our partnership together with you as we live abundantly in Christ and see our lives in a whole new light. Here are Daniel and Pastor Alan with more info. One of the central focuses here, Pastor Alan, is on blessing—the power of blessing—and and if it's powerful, why not make it daily?
So the daily blessing, right now through email, it's free and it goes to tens of thousands. And my friend, you could be part of receiving this daily blessing in your inbox as well. What is a blessing?
Well, a blessing is a positive vision that's spoken in faith, rooted in Scripture, that helps shape your identity and empower you to become everything. God created you to be. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and then the very first thing He did was He blessed them. He sees that we rise up to meet the kind of vision that's been spoken over our lives, and a lot of us Daniel have missed out on the blessing. A lot of people maybe didn't have a father who knew how to bless, maybe didn't have a mother who had been steeped in the sounds of speaking life, or had teachers or coaches, and so it's a great way to start your day or.
To conclude your day by having a blessing that you just take it in, and in many ways it's like I'm standing in for that person in your life that you needed to bless and maybe didn't, and speaking a blessing, and you just take it in and receive it, and it becomes nourishment. It's not just inspiration; it's impartation, and it's absolutely free. You just go to PastorAllen.org, give us your email address, and we'll get you signed up along with the thousands of others that start their day. Connect with us right now at pastorallen dot org. That's pastorallen dot org.
Back here in the studio to share Pastor Alan's good news thought as we continue to place a bookmark here, but we'll pick back up with more teaching. The title: "Such Beautiful Feet." Wonderful news does something to you, doesn't it? It releases a kind of energy, purpose, joy. It what it's saying is that. The good news itself has a power to it, and the good news is only good news in as much as it's replacing some bad news, and so this is what the gospel is.
There's bad news, and Paul's been very plain about the problem of sin, but the good news that replaces it is so wondrous that well, anyone who carries that good news. Is caring the greatest blessing a man? Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.
