Freedom for the Hurting Through Gospel Mercy [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright.

Beloved Peter, did you know that the third time that Peter denied Jesus, that third time before the rooster crowed, that Greek scholars make it clear the third time Peter cursed as he denied Jesus. 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 called Unleashed, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. You can find out more about it and even receive a copy of your very own for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer at pastoralan.org. Find out more about it and make your request or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Again, our website, pastoralan.org. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. He had decided that school grades weren't that good, and he knew what he needed to do. He was going to move to Yosemite and climb rocks and get some little job there. And so here he is. He's making the worst decision of his life, and he decided that since he'd become friends with Randy, he'd go by Randy's house and tell him, I'm going to be heading out and I want to say bye. So he goes by and he knocks on the door on a Sunday morning, and a groggy Randy comes to the door. And Bob said that he was going to head to Yosemite and so forth. And Randy said, are you going soon? And he said, yeah, actually I'm headed out right now. He said, I just want to come by and say I've enjoyed our friendship and I'm going to say bye to you. And Randy said, well, could you hang on just a second?

Let me just check on something. And Randy was gone for a few minutes, and he came back to the door and he had a tattered backpack and a sleeping bag under his arm. And he said, Bob, I'm with you. He said, what do you mean? He said, I'm going to go with you.

I'm with you. He said, right now? He said, yeah. So they got into Bob's VW Bug. Bob said he had $75, two red bandanas, and some climbing shoes. And off they went to Yosemite. And seeing as how they didn't have any money that night, they snuck into the back of a big tent that set up at the national park that you're supposed to pay to be able to sleep in.

And they snuck in the back of that and slept there. And the next day they ate some breakfast at the cafeteria in the national park. And Bob went and asked, he said, listen, have you got any jobs flipping pancakes or washing dishes?

I need some work. They said, no, we got no work. So they went and climbed some rocks and spent the next night. And the next day Bob said he went looking for more jobs. He went to the rock climbing, outfitting gear place and asked for a job.

They said, no, no. And he said he pretty much checked with every business he could find in the Yosemite Valley. And evidently there was no work there for a junior high school dropout with a red bandana.

And so the sun was setting and they are leaning up against the VW Bug. And Bob said to Randy, he said, you know, I don't seem to be finding any work. And Randy said, well, Bob, I'm with you. He said, you know, you want to try some more places? And Bob said, you know what I think I'm going to do? Looks like I've struck out.

I'm down to just a few dollars. I think I'll just head back and finish out high school. And Randy said, all right, Bob, I'm with you. So they drove back. And when they got back to to Randy's house, they went inside and were dropping off his things. And Bob said it was odd because he noticed that there were some half-opened presents lying around.

There was a microwave oven, half open, kind of lying there, some plates and pots and different things. And he thought, well, what is it? And he said, Bob's girlfriend was there at the house. And I mean, Randy's girlfriend was there. And Randy came in and the girlfriend said, hey, honey, welcome home. And Bob said he was trying to figure out this whole situation. And all of a sudden, it made sense to him.

Here's what he wrote. I felt both sick and choked up in an instant. I realized that these were wedding presents on the floor. Randy and his girlfriend had just gotten married. And when I knocked on Randy's door on that Sunday morning, Randy didn't see just a high school kid who disrupted the beginning of his marriage. He saw a kid who was about to jump the tracks. Instead of spending the early days of his marriage with his bride, he spent it with me sneaking into the back of a tent.

Why? Because Randy loved me. He saw the need and he did something about it. He didn't just say he was for me or with me.

He was actually present with me. What I learned from Randy changed my view permanently about what it meant to have a friendship with Jesus. I learned that faith isn't about knowing all the right stuff or obeying a list of rules. It's something more.

Something more costly because it involves being present and making a sacrifice. What I'm saying is that Luke 4, Isaiah 61 proves Jesus isn't repelled by your folly. He's drawn to you. He says, Alan, I'm with you. He's not so much this image that people have of this judge that's always measuring whether you're doing right or wrong. He is, at his nature, a father, a friend, the creator of the universe.

He's with you. Here's another incredible implication from Jesus starting his ministry, quoting Isaiah 61. And this means that the nature of the ministry of Jesus, in its essence, is a ministry of mercy. That there's a longing in the heart of God to forgive sin. The desire to show compassion rather than resentment and love rather than hate.

And there's never been a time in which it's more important that we really understand this. Because there's so much hate in the world. And the idea that anybody would attribute to the message of the Christian gospel, hate, is absolutely the farthest thing from who Jesus really is. Who He is is the one who just loves, who just loves even those who are against Him. The captives, the ones that are captivated by sin, the ones that are oppressed of the devil, these are the very ones who don't know Jesus and His liberty and are often absolutely against Jesus. And yet, His love is so great and His mercy so rich that He longs to forgive.

He came knowing that He was dying for His enemies. This is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I would like for you to be praying for Asia Bibi, not her birth name but the name by which she's come to be known. A Pakistani Christian woman who in a nation whose laws declare it to be a capital offense if you blaspheme the prophet Muhammad. Let that sink in when you don't realize there's persecution of Christians. In Pakistan it's still a law. You speak words against the prophet Muhammad and you'll be hung to death.

And she was in the field gathering berries with two Muslim women. If you were in Pakistan as a Christian today, you will probably be no more than a trash collector or a sewage worker, a household servant, or maybe as Asia Bibi a servant in the field. They put you into a caste.

They put you, you can't get beyond this as a Christian. And many Christians there love Jesus and there's very few of them, but they they meet in church and they they love worshiping God together. And there was some sort of conversation that took place in the field in which Asia affirmed Jesus and the two women accused her of speaking blasphemy against Muhammad. And she was incarcerated. She said of the day that she was put into an eight by ten cell of solitary confinement with no windows and hearing the crowd she said, I no longer see them but I still hear them. The crowd who gave the judge a standing ovation saying kill her, kill her, Alu Akbar. The courthouse is invaded by a euphoric horde who break down the doors chanting vengeance for the holy prophet all is great. And she said I was then thrown like old rubbish into the van.

I had lost all humanity in their eyes. And for the better part of a decade she has been incarcerated this condemned woman as the appeals been going through the long dragged out corrupt system of court. During the time of this there are at least two government officials that tried to stand up for her. Koshar Market a Pakistani governor was vocal in defense of her and his opposition to the blasphemy law and he was assassinated in 2011. Pakistani Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti told reporters one time that he was committed to the principles of justice and was willing to die fighting for Asia's release and he also was assassinated in 2011. The citizenry wants her killed and the Supreme Court this past week found her innocent of blasphemy and acquitted her but there's been so much upheaval by riotous gangs blocking thoroughfares and demanding that she be beheaded that the government has agreed that they would do a review of the verdict which in the past has been shown to take years. And I just bring this up to say please pray for her but also to say can you see the contrast?

That's Alan Wright. We'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. This is what the Lord says, I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt on her ruins and the palace will stand in its proper place. Those timeless words from Jeremiah 30 reveal the heart of God. He loves to restore. In ancient times cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city.

The new city would stand higher with safer walls and a greater perspective. In Pastor Alan Wright's eight message CD album out of the ruins you'll discover how God can rebuild your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today we'll send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album or through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Now these are the final days this offer is being made available to you this month. Call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website PastorAlan.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. This woman who didn't even actually blaspheme Muhammad according to her own record but even if she had they want her killed. What did Jesus do when those around him spoke against him and cursed him or blasphemed him? I think of three instances. I think first of Peter. Beloved Peter. Did you know that the third time that Peter denied Jesus? That third time before the rooster crowed? That Greek scholars make it clear the third time Peter cursed as he denied Jesus.

He said I don't know the blanky-blank man. He blasphemed Jesus and denied him. What does Jesus do with something like that? He rose from the dead and he said to the women go tell the disciples and Peter. Don't forget Peter. I want to give Peter an embrace. Don't leave Peter out. Don't let him think that because he denied me and blasphemed me that he's left out.

I can't wait to see Peter. And he reinstated Peter and Peter preached the Pentecost sermon. What does Jesus do when people are against him? I think of Passover night the Last Supper. He knew for sure Judas was going to betray him that night and he still took the towel and the basin and knelt and washed his betrayers feet. What does Jesus do when he hung on a cross and he was being crucified in the most tortuous form of execution known in history and where he has almost no breath left because he is suffocating and can no longer sustain his weight so that the diaphragm can work and he can get a breath. He decides to take the little bit of breath that he has left and say Father forgive them.

They don't know what they're doing. The anointing of Jesus is an anointing of forgiveness. It is anointing of mercy and the more you have this same anointing of the Holy Spirit in your life you start realizing you don't want to live your life by resentment.

You don't want to be propelled by any form of hatred for God is love and God is forgiveness and the power of the gospel sets captives free by the shed blood of Jesus wherein anyone can be saved. Let me just give you one more implication of this that he began his ministry this way from Isaiah 61 in Luke 4. It means that he is anointed in the sense of there being a special power or capacity of grace for someone who is truly hungry for God. He says elsewhere Jesus does that a physician doesn't come for the healthy but for the sick. And I take this to mean that God loves every person and the power and grace of God is for any person who wants to receive him but it's only those who know that they need him that actually appropriate or experience the wonder majesty and power of that grace.

It's sort of like saying every illustration falls short but it's sort of like saying if someone takes an antibiotic and they're already healthy and don't have any infection then the antibiotic doesn't do anything for them. But if you have a life-threatening illness that could be treated by an antibiotic and you take the antibiotic you experience the power and the grace of the antibiotic. And what this means is that as odd as it seems your best qualification for receiving from God is your need for God.

A.W. Tozer put it plainly, God waits to be wanted. When I was a kid my preacher had several times a friend of his come preach who I didn't realize till later was quite famous, Major Ian Thomas. And one time Ian Thomas was speaking to a minister's gathering and he said to the ministers what does God expect from you? And all the ministers tried to give their best theological answers and some said obedience and some said servanthood and some said giving and some said you know all these different things. He let them finish speaking they said well what what do you believe God expects from us?

And he smiled he said failure. He didn't mean by that of prophetic utterance like you're gonna be a failure. What he meant was that you got to understand the love of God is so great that he already knew that Peter was gonna deny him and he loved him. He already knows the ways you might mess up this week and he loves you and he's with you and he's drawn to you and he has compassion for you.

Do not disqualify yourself for your great sin or your small sin the blood of Jesus has come to cover every sin so that you would be utterly and completely set free. I look over there and not only has Sam dropped the wafers but he's down there picking them up and I look and this normally very serious smart PhD pastor who has been in this tense thing and now he's bungled the whole thing and I look over and if you ever had this happen to you the worst moment for it to happen he got tickled. Just that the irony the irony of the whole thing you know that he just had this debate and he preached an extinction of intension and he's down here and he's the one that dropped the wafers and he's down there hiding his face under the table because he is laughing uncontrollably and I just thought you know what I'm glad it is not I but if it had been I I want to remember Luke chapter 4 the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because his anointed me on account of which I'm proclaiming good news to the people who are messing up and that's the gospel. Alan Wright in today's teaching freedom for the hurting through gospel mercy. It's in our series titled Unleashed and Alan is back with us in just a moment sharing a parting good news thought for the day.

Stick with us. This is what the Lord says I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt on her ruins and the palace will stand in its proper place. Those timeless words from Jeremiah 30 reveal the heart of God. He loves to restore. In ancient times cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city.

The new city would stand higher with safer walls and a greater perspective. In Pastor Alan Wright's eight message CD album out of the ruins you'll discover how God can rebuild your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today we'll send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album or through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

Now we are in our final days of offering this special product. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website PastorAlan.org. 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 a click away at PastorAlan.org. Back here in the studio to share Alan's parting good news thought for the day. On this teaching Alan it's freedom for the hurting through gospel mercy. It is for the sick that the doctor comes. It's for the hurting. It's for those that know they need God. A.W.

Tozer. God waits to be wanted. It means therefore that perhaps your greatest qualification to have the empowering presence of God in your life your greatest qualification is simply this you need him. Yeah and the more you're aware of it the more you're going to draw into his incredible grace. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at PastorAlan.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 PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.