Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing—a biblical, faith-filled vision for your life. As surely as the ancient high priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat in the holy of holies seven times, you, child of God, has been covered seven times over with the atoning blood of Christ Jesus. He shall take some of the blood of the bull. He shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Leviticus sixteen fourteen seven.
The Hebrew number of perfection, completion. That's how many times Jesus bled for you. The droplets of blood from his sweat glands in the garden. The blood beaten out by the rod, the blood torn out by the whip, the blood from the brow by the thorns of the crown, the blood from his nail pierced hands, and his nail pierced feet, and the gushing from his impaled side—the blood, the atoning, redeeming, all forgiving blood of Jesus has been shed, not in part, but in full.
So you can be sure of His grace. May you walk today covered under the sevenfold blood of the Lamb. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Allen Wright. The best thing that could ever happen for you is to have your whole heart become enwrapped with wonder, such that you just could do nothing else except get hold of the Word of God.
So I want to talk to you about five ways to fall in love. With the Word of God, and the first is this: This happened to me many years ago, and I think if you're ever going to really love reading the Bible, this has to happen. Stop seeing the Bible as an instruction manual, and start seeing it as an epic good news story. 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 "Gateways to Grace" 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, which can be yours for your donation this month 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 eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. While at our website, please let us know how we may pray for you. Submit your prayer request to our prayer wall and be uplifted and encouraged as the community around this ministry starts praying for you and receive notifications as your. Request is prayed for.
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Okay, beloved, are you ready for some good news? Yes. Though we are talking about gateways of grace, the grace, the spiritual disciplines, so that we can build daily habits into our lives that help structure our lives with rhythms that allow the kind of space that is needed to grow and grow more and more like Jesus, as apprentices of Jesus. Though we speak of them as disciplines, when it comes to the matter of of reading the Scripture. There is a way that your heart can have something that's much greater than the mere sense of duty or even discipline.
You can fall in love with the Word of God. You can have your whole being wrapped with wonder. You can have the Word become to you like food, and it feels like a feast. This word that is so timeless and rich and true. We're talking today about how you can fall in love with the Word of God and incorporate this into the rhythm of your life, being in the Word of God.
I am. A person who just loves the Bible, and it's not just because I'm a preacher of the Bible; it's because I love this book, and I want you to love the Bible. We don't worship the Bible; we worship Jesus. But this book, who's The witness to Jesus, and full of His own Spirit, is something. Therefore, I could say we love it's God's word to us.
It's the only infallible rule of faith and practice. It's a book that is written over a span of centuries under different pens, and yet anyone who studies it long enough would recognize there's a mysterious way in which it is all woven together, and there's a thread, a scarlet thread that runs all. All the way through to the blood of Jesus Himself, and leads us into the conquering of evil and death. It's been deemed so powerful, this book, that whole nations have banned it and tried to stop it, but they can't. People will smuggle it in.
It has been deemed so authoritative that even Hitler and the devil himself have tried to misuse it. It has been banned and burned and blamed, but it always rises up, and it seems it cannot be stopped. There's something about this book that's unbeatable and undeniable. And it is so deep that the most erudite scholar cannot understand all of its fullness, and yet a simple child can receive its truth. This book is the best-selling book of all time, and I love the Word of God.
It's not for all those reasons that I love the word. It's because the word of God is the greatest story, the truest story that's ever been told, and its hero, and how the rescue and redemption is taking place. I love this word because it's like food to me. It's like a feast to me. It's like Delicious to my being, I love this word because it's so cleansing and purifying and healing.
I love the word of God because in it you meet the very person Jesus, and I want to show you how you too can learn to love the word of God. We're talking about spiritual disciplines. We're talking about gateways of grace. But the best thing that could ever happen for you is to have your whole heart become enwrapped with wonder, such that you just could do nothing else except get hold of the Word of God.
So I want to talk to you about five ways to fall in love with the Word of God, and the first is this. This happened to me many years ago. And I think if you're ever going to love reading the Bible, this has to happen. Stop seeing the Bible as an instruction manual, and start seeing it as an epic good news story. Jesus taught using stories, and I was so thrilled when I realized the Bible is not just a collection of stories.
But that the whole of it is one narrative that's explaining about the goodness of God and all of creation, and the problem that came with sin, and the devastation that it brought, and the heart of God to redeem, and His plan to redeem, and the hero who came and how He conquered. I love this because it is one big story.
Some years ago, Anne gave me a birthday card that was so sweet I kept it. It said, "You're my once upon a time and my happily ever after," and I love it. I keep it out not just to remind myself of the love of my sweet wife, but to say it to Jesus also. Because he is my once upon a time, and my happily ever after. His story is the story that is the best story.
Frederick Beikner has said, when we say "once upon a time," that we're talking about a time that is before time, or a time that is not time because it's so different. We're going to be transported. If we say "once upon a time," it's like being transported into some alternate world, a different realm. And when you think of the Scripture like that, that you're being transported into the great epic story of God's love. Us in Jesus Christ, then you enter in.
I don't care what page you're on. You enter in and you go. What part of the story is this? And where is Jesus? And and where am I in this?
That'll change how you read Leviticus. It'll change how you read Ezekiel. It'll change how you read Isaiah. It'll change how you read the Proverbs. It'll change how you read the Gospels.
It'll change how you read Paul. It'll change how you read the Book of Revelation. It's one story. Which means it is so much more than a mere instruction book. There is a lot of wisdom and a lot of instruction in the Bible, but it is not primarily an instruction book.
It is the story of God redeeming us. I get many complaints that I have not been showing enough pictures of our grandbaby, and I apologize for this. She turns two. In a little over a week, where has the time gone? And so, she doesn't know this, but one of the presents that we have for her is sitting in a big box downstairs in our house.
It is a toddler-sized grocery shopping cart. Because evidently the Nana Puddin went with her one time to some store, and they had a little toddler-sized grocery cart, and she loved it and pushed it everywhere. And so there's a box down there, and I haven't opened it yet, because I know it's going to be a thousand pieces. It's probably come over here from some foreign country, and it's going to be translated into some instructions that I'm not going to be able to understand. How many people have ever tried some instructions?
You're like the people that translate this don't really speak English. One time we had something very difficult to put together, and I was struggling with it, and none of it made sense. And there was one line in particular we laughed about. It said, "One time fits all." That's become a phrase in our house. One time fits all.
Like what does that mean? It doesn't mean anything. But so you just say it, whatever you want to say. One time fits all. And so I'm dreading opening up this box and looking.
But I hope that it does have an instruction manual, and I hope that it's clear enough, you know, because you need it. We we we we almost got divorced the week after our honeymoon by me trying to put together a gas grill and read the instructions for it. I am thankful for the instruction manual. But if the Bible is nothing but an instruction. Manual.
It doesn't make sense of how the psalmist would speak of it. Psalm one nineteen. How sweet are your words to my taste? Sweeter than honey to my mouth. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Nobody says of their car manual. My car manual is sweeter than honey to my mouth. No one says of the gas grill instruction booklet, it is greater than all the spoils of all the earth and the joy of my own heart. And even the psalmist, who didn't even have the gospels, just had the witness of the Torah and the prophets, and said, "But I love your word." It's got to be more than a mere collection of principles and instructions.
Start seeing the Bible as more than an instruction manual, and start seeing it as the the story of God. I've used this illustration before. I just can't think of a better one. How foolish it would be to take some great epic story and reduce it to principles. Which is what we often do with the Word of God, like taking Cinderella and trying to reduce it down to some morals.
Can you imagine like that? The preacher says today's text is taken from the Book of Cinderella, chapter one, verses two through forty-eight. Let's all turn there together. The title of my message is "Tough Times Produce Tough People." Tough times produce tough people.
Now. In our text today, we observe that Cinderella had an especially tough life. In the first place, her beloved mother died. That's a tough ordeal. Then, to make matters worse, Cinderella's father married a woman who had no affection for her new stepdaughter.
But instead, Lady Tremaine abused Cinderella emotionally and forced her into menial labor. Cinderella's stepsisters made matters even tougher as they demeaned her daily. Cinderella had. A tough life, but notice how well she handled it. Here are three principles for staying tough during tough times.
Number one, Cinderella remained positive. She kept a good mental mindset. Remember, attitude determines altitude. Point number two, I've preached a little bit myself. I've used that line before.
Point number two, though she was alone. Cinderella made friends with the animals. Furry friends are forever friends. If you look hard enough, you can find others to help you through your struggles. And point number three: Cinderella made the most of her time.
The clock will strike midnight for you one day. Are you ready, y'all? Let me just give you this little pointer. A way that you could tell preaching that's not really gospel centric, if you could listen or preach something and come up with three good points and all like that, and you basically don't need a bloody cross and an empty tomb and a powerful Holy Spirit flowing in your life. That's not really gospel preaching.
If you could just take three points and just as well put the name Buddha or Muhammad or or Mother Nature behind it and just still apply the principles, you haven't really gotten the gospel, have you? The Bible is not this instruction book where we come in and try to just glean out some principles. How silly it would be to say that's what Cinderella is about. Cinderella is not about how tough times can produce tough people. Cinderella is about a person who had no chance because of her weak place in life, and yet there was a prince who found her, and there is authentic love, and there is magic.
And transformation, and she became what she was always destined to be by a power beyond herself. That's what it's about. The Bible's not just about these morals, despite all the wisdom and instruction that's there. And I'm not saying don't glean it, glean it, but never forget it's one big, beautiful story. Find yourself in it.
And find the Savior in it. Tim Keller has said there are two ways to read the Bible. The one way is to read the Bible as if it's basically about you, what you have to do in order to be right with God. In which case, you'll never have a sure and certain hope because you'll always know you are not quite living up. You'll never be sure about that future.
Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing's not about what you must do in order to make yourself right. But what God has done to make you absolutely right with God, and Jesus Christ is saying, unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you'll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it's all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You know that you can have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything.
The first way to fall in love with the Word of God is to stop seeing it as mere morals, principles, and instructions, and see it as the beautiful story that it is. Here is the second way: start seeing Scripture as spiritual food, and bring your deepest appetite to it. First Peter chapter two, Peter says, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that you may grow up into salvation." This is like saying, if you've ever seen a newborn wake up in the night crying, wanting only one thing—milk—you can become like that. If indeed you've tasted, he said, verse three, that the Lord is good. When you get a taste, Jesus said in John six, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven." He's talking about the miracle of the manna in the wilderness.
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst." Over and over, you see in the Bible these these this image of the Bible being like food.
Nowhere more powerfully and stark than in Ezekiel chapter three, where the Lord sometimes gives his prophets these strange things to do to teach object lessons. And Ezekiel three one, he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, speaking of the word of God, and go speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you, and fill your stomach with it." And then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message: Five ways to fall in love with the Word of God.
It's from the series "The Gateways of Grace," and I encourage you to stay with us because Pastor Alan is back here in the studio sharing a parting good news thought for our day. Here in just a moment. What if growing closer to God isn't about trying harder?
So often, we approach spiritual growth with a list of things we need to do. Pray more, read more, be better, but what if the secret to spiritual transformation isn't found in greater effort, but in experiencing more of God's grace? In his book *The Gateways of Grace*, Pastor Alan Wright invites you to discover a fresh perspective on spiritual growth. Through timeless practices like scripture, prayer, meditation, wonder, and rest, you'll discover how to create space for the Holy Spirit to work in your life. These spiritual disciplines aren't obligations that earn God's favor.
They're gateways that open our hearts to experience more of God's goodness, peace, and transforming grace. When you give to Allen Wright Ministries, you help share the gospel with listeners around the world. And when you give today, we'll send you Pastor Alan's book, *The Gateways of Grace*, as our thanks. To discover these aren't just disciplines; they're gateways. Step through them and discover the grace that's been waiting for you.
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 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. Back here now in the studio this year, Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day. I don't think we've gotten through all five.
We've just hit the surface here, but placing a bookmark, Pastor Alan, on five ways to fall in love with the Word of God. There's so much we could do an entire series just on the spiritual discipline of Scripture reading, but I just thought that the beginning point of this, rather than all of the different ways that we could consider approaching the Word. Of God, that the first and foremost is to fall in love with the Word of God. The way the psalmist speaks in Psalm one nineteen, how sweet are your words to my taste. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
So much of this has to do with seeing the Bible not as some instruction book that is full of just rote rules or principles, but to see this as the great narrative of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, and then start letting your appetite for this great story grow and increase. If you can see the Word of God as one big story, I think you're going to be drawn into it more and more, and that's where falling in love with the Word of God begins. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty.
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 dot org. That's PastorAllen dot o r g. Today's good news message is a listener supported production. Of Allen Wright Ministries.
