Seeing Others for Who They Can Be [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright.

So the good news of the Gospel is that if Jesus would have such an unlikely conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well, not being restricted or hindered by who she was, her place in life, the problems of her past, or all of the protocol that would prevent him, if he could have that conversation, what kind of conversation could he have with you and me? 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, You'll See, as presented at Reynolda 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 Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org. That's pastoralan.org, or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. Years ago, he invited his parents to come visit him in New York. By this time, Gladwell had become world famous best-selling and wealthy author. So he put his parents up in one of the ritziest hotels where all the fabulous and famous people stay in New York just for fun. And after they'd settled in that evening, he went to meet them for dinner, and he said that his parents were not the type that watched much television, didn't read popular magazines. He said, my father knew three things, the Bible and math and gardening.

They were unaware they were in a place where celebrities were. Anyway, so Dad said, did you have a good afternoon? He said, yeah. He said, I had a most wonderful afternoon. He said, what did you do? He said, I met a stranger in the lobby and we talked for two hours.

So what did you talk about? He said, gardening. He said, well, you did enjoy that, didn't you? And Gladwell said to his father, said, what was his name? And his father said, I don't know.

Never found out his name. He said, but it was interesting. He said, people kept coming over and wanting to have their picture taken with him. And people kept bringing little pieces of paper over and asking him to write his name on there. I don't know why. And I was just thinking that celebrity, whoever it was, and Gladwell never knew, probably had the best afternoon he had in a long time that somebody didn't know who he was and could just talk to him about gardening.

There is something positive about admitting you don't really know because it opens up possibilities. It's interesting at verse four that Jesus leads the disciples through Samaria. The way it reads in the ESV is, and he had to pass through Samaria, but the actual Greek word here is a little word dei and it means it is necessary. It was necessary.

It is a word that Luke uses often. Like when he's, Jesus says, it is necessary that the son of man will suffer many things at the hands of the chief priests. So Jesus already had a sense that there was divine appointment here.

He lived poised for those appointments. And here's something that I don't know. And it's what I love for the image Pastor Chris used last week. There's some things we just have to put into the mystery bucket.

And here's another one to put in the bucket. Jesus was fully God and fully human. God is omniscient and knows everything. Human beings don't know everything. Did Jesus know everything?

It's a very intriguing question to scholars and theologians. We do know this. There's at least one thing Jesus didn't know. He said it in Matthew 24, 36 concerning that day and hour, the return of Christ, no one knows not even the angels of heaven nor the son, but the father only. Interestingly, there was a place in Mark five, you know, the story, the woman had the hemorrhage and she touched Jesus's garment and Jesus verse 30 perceiving in himself the power going out from him immediately turned around the crowd and said, who touched my garments? It seems like he didn't know.

It's strange. And Luke 2 52 says Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with man. So he's God and he is in perfect communion with the father. He said, only do what I see my father doing.

But he said, but my father shows me everything. So Jesus, I don't know, I just have to guess, but it reads to me this story like maybe Jesus didn't know it all except as it was developing and by the revelation of the father through the unction of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had, the Bible says without measure that he knew we just got to go through Samaria. And you have times like this where it's just, you are compelled by the spirit and you are unaware maybe why we're going this way, but we need to. And so they go through Samaria and he has this conversation and it reads as if Jesus just starts out as a thirsty traveler who needs a drink of water. And maybe it did.

I don't know. Maybe he knew everything that was going to happen, but it reads like he starts the conversation and he says a drink of water and then the conversation builds and where he begins to realize that the father wants him to reach this woman's heart and this is a divine appointment. And it just gets real beautiful real quick. When the conversation begins to build and she said well why are you a Jew asking me for water even speaking to me? He engages with her by arousing her curiosity with this statement at verse 10.

Jesus answered her if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. Can you imagine what it was like for Jesus just walking around knowing what he knew? He knew what he was going to do on the cross. He knew the thoroughness of how his blood was going to be shed for the payment of sin and the cleansing of the conscience. He knew that on the cross he was going to be opening up the holy of holies to both Jew and Gentile and to anyone that would call upon his name who would be saved. He knew the power of the holy spirit to enliven and wake up the dead. He knew of glory to come from whence he had come to this earth the glory that awaits every person in Jesus Christ. He knew all of this and everything more. He's God and everywhere he went he's interacting with people who know so little. The only thing I can I'm trying to think what what can I compare this to imagine that you're a physician today modern medical science you've gone to one of the best medical schools let's imagine there was a time machine and you could go back 200 years to help people because 200 years ago just 200 years ago medical care was just pathetic wasn't it they were putting leeches on people can you imagine you go to the doctor say ah good bring out the leeches they would get the scalpel out for people that were running favors and bleed them thinking if we could get the bad blood out then you'll get better and they were just ruining their chances by just bleeding out all of the germ-fighting cells in their blood and it was just terrible thank God we live today you know I mean it just but imagine that you were a physician from today and you went back 200 years ago you meet with a physician in 1800 and you're seeing a patient who's got a fever you're looking at it you're going ah this is a routine uh probably strep infection in the throat I can see it I can smell I know it is just need to get a simple antibiotic this thing will be cleared up within 24 48 hours but the physician in 1800 says hand me the scalpel we're going to bleed this person what would you say you'd be sitting there going just 200 years have passed when you got medical not you'd be sitting there going if you knew how much I know you would not ask me for a scalpel you would ask me for germ theory and antibiotic you would ask me for my medical books you would ask me to teach you but sometimes you're in a position where you don't know enough to even know what to ask for if you think leeches are going to cure somebody you don't know how to ask for an antibiotic if you knew who you spoke to Jesus said if you knew he said you would be a different conversation I wouldn't be asking you for water you'd be asking me and the water I have to give is springing up from eternity it is the life of the Holy Spirit that's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series want to give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget let us help you give a gift that money can't buy this Christmas give someone your blessing a positive biblically based faith-filled vision for their life in the beginning God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful to multiply because in God's design blessing isn't the reward for productivity it's the fuel for it now more than ever someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft it this month's special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing the easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing so this Christmas give someone you love a present not found in stores a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card they'll never forget it when you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastorallen.org today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright he knows things about her he says go and call your husband she says I don't have one he said that's right you had five man you're living with now it's not your husband and you know if you just read this and you don't know Jesus you'll think he's just shaming her here but he's clearly not because guess what if people shame you what do you do you want to get away from them and not come back but instead what she does is she scurries off to the village as fast as she can because she wants to tell people I love verse 28 so the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people come see a man who told me all that I ever did can this be the Christ they went out of the town and they were coming to him she forgot about needing natural water left her jug there she just wanted to get back and tell people even though she was a scandalized woman in the noontime hour she went back and she started telling people come and meet this man I think he may be the Messiah you know something about the way he interacted that he was just loving her while at the same time saying I know some things about you and she knew it was supernatural the townspeople began coming and this is where Jesus says look I tell you lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest what you might see as a despised Samaritan Jesus is saying I've got huge faith for them there's going to be a revival in this town there's going to be a blessing that goes forth through this woman to all these people look see it anybody can change anybody can be saved anybody can be used by God oh about six or seven years ago some of you had a chance to meet Hilda she was here in our church she gave testimony briefly and it was very unlikely unlikely that Hilda would have been here because it's very unlikely that Hilda ever been in any church sharing anything she grew up with an alcoholic mother and alcoholic father she saw her father abuse her mother and cut her the parents were father was taken away the mother was not available she went moved in with her grandfather who turned out to be an alcoholic as well she went through this hard life of abuse she mothered a daughter and when the father was not relinquishing all the rights to the daughter she assaulted the father and that was what first landed her in prison while in prison she met a heroin supplier that became her chief avenue for heroin and she lived addicted to opioids and she began selling drugs in order to support her habit it was a cycle of incarceration that took her from state to state until she wound up in Coleman Alabama by her own testimony she became the meanest woman in the jail because she had become so brazen in her spirit and so bitter in her soul and she never wanted to be beaten up by anybody so she beat up everybody else she had had some religion in her life and it had left her feeling burned and she wanted nothing to do with it but there's a sweet pastor one of the sweetest pastors you'd ever meet named Bobby Hill in Coleman Alabama whose congregation had started a practice of taking the materials that I'd written called Shame Off You a book and a workbook into the jail they had found that it had been so effective with the inmates and healing shame and setting people free from bitterness and drug addiction and that the sheriff said that he saw it work and he said so do as much as you want to and talk about Jesus as much as you want to so they did for a long season and they were leading these uh these small groups with the shame off you materials and Hilda was invited in and she didn't want to come but she said later those people from that church were the most authentically loving people I'd ever seen in my whole life so eventually she came and got into the small group and she said she was so mad and she hated it at first and came to a chapter that is called for the want of a mom and a dad and she said we got done with that study that day and she said I went back to my cell and I cried for two hours and she said I cried out to God and I said if you're there I really do want you and I need you but it can't be like the religion I've seen before she said I didn't feel the arms of God and nothing nothing seemed to happen and I fell asleep crying myself to sleep that night and I woke up the next morning and I was in the restroom and cellmate looked at me and said Hilda what has changed about you and Hilda said what and the woman said you're smiling Hilda said she looked in the mirror and she was smiling and she realized something had changed and that in the middle of the day she opened her bible and her eyes fell on a passage in which she read the words from Jesus my peace I give you not as the world gives you I give unto you and Hilda said she felt peace for the first time in her life Hilda not only finished that shame off you group but she went again and again until I think she knows the materials better than I do and she began leading groups in the Coleman county jail of women for shame off you and did so for years changing women's lives when she got her parole she sent Ann and me an email and it said I wanted you to know I got parole today she said but know this God set me free long before I was set free you never know you never know I think sometimes we look at people and with our preconceptions we have dug a rut and put them into it as if they can't get out Jesus never did that Jesus never did that Jesus is so powerful to see through all of our checkered pasts and our weaknesses and problems and to see what we can be so the good news of the gospel is that if Jesus would have such an unlikely conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well not being restricted by who she was her place in life the problems of her past or all of the protocol that would prevent him if he could have that conversation what kind of conversation could he have with you and me and if he could use her for a revival an authentic revival doesn't it mean he can use anybody anybody the bliss of the gospel is this you and I do not bring anything to the equation except for our need for God we do not bring any of our own righteousness we do not bring any payment of any type we do not bring any sacrifice to offer Jesus has paid the entire price it is his spirit that does the miracle of making dead people come to life spiritually we are born again by his power not our own so what is it that we bring we bring the recognition that we know very little and that we are very hungry and we're very thirsty so in the end this is a story about spiritual thirst because it is the only prerequisite for coming to Christ it's the only thing you need the only thing you need is to know that you need him I love the new living versions translation of Isaiah 55 verse 1 is anyone thirsty come and drink even if you have no money come take your choice of wine or milk it's all free is anyone thirsty come matthew 5 jesus began his ministry by saying blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied john 7 on the last day of the feast the great day jesus stood up and cried out if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink and the whole big story finds its conclusion in revelation 22 22 verse 17 the spirit and the bride say come let the one who hears say come and let the one who is thirsty come let the one who desires take the water of life without price living water is available to you and me and to everyone you encounter for free if you can look at an optical illusion drawing and see either an old woman or a young woman if your brain can do that what might happen if you start saying jesus how do you see this person you might see that all things are possible you might see the most unlikely be completely transformed by the power of the gospel jesus sees perfectly we don't so ask him he'll help you and that's the gospel alan wright today's good news message seeing others for who they can be from the series you'll see and pastor alan is back with us in the studio with a parting good news thought for today in just a moment want to give someone a present this christmas that they'll never forget let us help you give a gift that money can't buy this christmas give someone your blessing a positive biblically based faith filled vision for their life in the beginning god blessed adam and eve and then told them to be fruitful to multiply because in god's design blessing isn't the reward for productivity it's the fuel for it now more than ever someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft it this month's special offer from alan wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft a meaningful blessing the easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing so this christmas give someone you love a present not found in stores a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in a package under the tree or put it in your christmas card they'll never forget it when you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries this month we'll send you this booklet as our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor alan.org so pastor alan today's parting good news thought on the conclusion of this particular teaching would it be the encouragement that's here of being able to be an encourager to others well just think about how many times in our life we just skip right by us a conversation with someone because we have made assumptions yeah in its worst form it's outright prejudice and and or in other instances even in people that we know and and we know well and and are the person that is most needed to love them we get little judgments that form and jesus just didn't have this he saw people uh right through everything he saw it he saw yes he saw all the sin but what he saw was the seed of what could be and that's what he spoke to and it just is a wonderful thing daniel if you can begin to believe that maybe something wonderful could happen in someone that in this case is through a samaritan woman a revival comes to her town and nobody would have been able to see that but jesus so when you interact with folks say jesus how do you see this person and how do you see this situation it'll change everything and everything and you can become a profound encourager when you see what jesus has eyes today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Alan Wright Ministries