If God is for Us [Part 3]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. Have you ever tasted a moment of peace that passes understanding? Like, I shouldn't have any peace right now, but I just feel the peace of the Lord right now. You ever tasted it?

If you've ever tasted that, you know what that is? A deposit of eternal glory. It proves that exists in perfection forever. 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 Providence as presented at Granola Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout today's 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. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper in your study as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. The doctor comes in. He's my friend. He's been my friend forever, but he still said, Have you been eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day and doing your exercises? No, haven't, Doc. Okay.

He makes some notes. Lie on this table and let me put a cold metal instrument on your chest. Thank you for that, doctor. And we won't speak of why the gown opens in the back.

We're not even going to talk about that. And you leave and you say, Well, let's make an appointment for next year. Well, let's make an appointment for next year. Isn't it amazing how thoughtlessly, in a sense effortlessly, we submit, yield, obey those that we believe are totally for us? As soon as I don't think you're for me, I'm not going to share my life with you.

I'll guard myself. But if I believe you're for me, at some point, I'll say, Here I am. Obedience and yieldedness in the Christian life with God does not arise from fear of God's punishment, but through confidence, assurance in his love. If God is for us, we can give him everything. It's always been God's plan.

He's always intended to bless you. Jeremiah prophesied it, Jeremiah 32-40, I'll make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good for them. And listen to this, I will put a desire in their hearts to make them good for me. I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

I will never stop doing good for them. And listen to this, I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. How is God going to get you to worship him and never leave you? He's going to give you assurance after assurance after assurance after assurance that he's got a big Easter bag for you.

Look here, find the magic egg. He is assuring you. He is giving you himself. He is giving you his word. He is guiding your steps. He is making circumstances work together for your good. He is designing a big setup in his providence to show you that he's for you.

How do you know somebody's for you? I mean 100% for you. How do you know? Whoa. Stop and just think for one moment. Think of somebody you're totally for. Maybe it's a family member. Maybe it's a family member or friend. Just think of them.

I can't help it right now. I'm thinking of Mia Joy Wright. Five-week-old Mia Joy Wright.

I rocked her to sleep yesterday. That's fun. Think of somebody.

You're totally for them. Also, when you do this, think of someone in your life who you would say that person has been, is, and always will be totally for me. You've got somebody like that.

What are they like? How can you tell? How can you tell someone's for you? Well, deep down, it means they thoroughly want what's good for you. They earnestly want you to, in the best sense of the word, prosper. They want that, and there's not one shred of their being that doesn't want that, and you can tell partly by the way that they celebrate because they truly celebrate you. Let me tell you one little way.

Here's how you know who is totally for you. You can tell them good things that have happened in your life, and it's not bragging because they're not going to feel the least bit threatened by it. You've got to have some people like that, but to be honest with you, you've got to have some people like that. To me, that's what family is for. It's like, if my child calls and tells me in Washington, I just got a surprise promotion at work. That's not bragging.

That's my flesh and bone. That's like it happened to me. You see what I'm saying? You can tell by a celebration. You can tell by a celebration. You know, it's like when you watch a sporting event, you know, you're pulling for somebody.

Every now and then it's weird, and you're sort of divided. I was sort of like, I went to Carolina, but I love my weight in Forest Deacon, so I'm sort of a little divided in watching this game. How does Carolina keep pulling these things out this year? But anyway, some years ago, some years ago, I was with my brother David who also went to Carolina, and as you know, Carolina people have a hard time pulling for Duke, but my father-in-law went to Duke. My wife sort of likes Duke.

This is before I had a son who went to Duke Law School. This is before that, and we are together watching the national championship. I can't remember what year it was, but it was back in those years where Duke seemed like they're winning it all the time, and Duke's playing for the national championship. Carolina had been long out of it, and so my father-in-law was there watching, and for his sake, my brother and I said, we're going to try to pull for Duke. We're going to try, and so we acted like we were pulling for Duke, right, and I was doing a pretty good job of it, mainly by being quiet, and Duke was going to lead him like, okay, okay, you know, and my father-in-law's there, and he's gripping the thing like that. Well, then at one moment, and my brother David had been doing a good job with this until it got to a key moment in the game, and a call from the ref went in favor of Duke. You know, it was one of those block charge calls, and it went in favor of Duke at his key moment, and David just, all of a sudden, he lost his mind, and he just said, that wasn't a charge, and we realize you've been pretending this whole time that you're pulling for Duke, but now we can tell by what you celebrate or don't celebrate who you're really pulling for. You can tell if someone cannot celebrate good things in your life, they're not for you.

They're jealous of you, and if somebody is going to be totally for you and completely celebrate your prosperity, they've got to be so secure in themselves that nothing threatens them because they feel better for you having had your success. This is our God. He is not threatened by your blessedness. He died to give it to you, and the more you receive it and walk in it, the more glorified He is.

If God is for us. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. 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. Ever feel like something's holding you back, as if you lack an important key that could change everything?

Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing might be the timeless power of blessing. We all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. Without it, we'll never rise to our God-given potential.

With it, we can let go of the past and move forward confidently under the favor of God. If you'd like to replace every curse with blessing in your life, and if you'd like to learn how to speak life and empower the people you love, contact us today to get Pastor Alan Wright's new Amazon bestselling book, The Power to Bless. And when you do, for a limited time, we'd like to send you four additional life-changing resources to help you discover the power to bless. We'll send you Pastor Alan's video masterclass and study guide called Speak Life, and we'll also include Pastor Alan's new video course, The Power to Bless, perfect for small groups or individual devotions.

It also comes with a study guide. Contact us today to get Alan Wright's beautiful hardcover book, The Power to Bless, and receive the four additional life-enriching resources. It's time to learn how blessed you are in Christ and to discover the power to bless. Learn more at PastorAlan.org.

That's PastorAlan.org, or call 877-544-4860. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. You can also tell if someone's for you by the way they sacrifice for you.

It means they actively work towards your good. We go down and visit the grandbaby on Saturday, and we've done it for the last few Saturdays, and you know they're still in that mode where they're getting two hours sleep at a time, and we don't just go to hug and kiss the grandbaby, though that we do. But Ann says, y'all need some groceries? Yeah, we do need some groceries. All right, we'll stop by the grocery store.

Went and found the most wonderful Harris Teeter in Charlotte, biggest one I've ever been in. Everything costs twice as much as the ones here. Got about three bags of things, you know, $150, three bags or so. Y'all want to get some supper? We'll order in. How about that?

Yeah, I'll go pick it up for you. And Ann's over cleaning up the kitchen, wiping the counter down, helping. Yesterday, they finally, first time five weeks, they said, you know what? Baby seems happy. Maybe we'll go out and do something for about an hour.

Y'all go right ahead. We're right here. You know somebody's for you because without thinking about it, they're sacrificing for you. So if you know who's most for you, think about who has sacrificed the most for you. The gift of Jesus Christ is inexpressible because Christ is God, and He is therefore of infinite, immeasurable worth, and this is what God's given for you. If God did not spare His only begotten Son, if God does that, you can know that He'll give you everything else. That's what Paul is saying here. It's an argument from the greater to the lesser. He's saying He made the ultimate sacrifice and gave you the infinite gift, so why would you ever think that He wouldn't give you something in addition to that?

I think it was D.L. Moody who said it's like if you went into a jewelry store and the jeweler loved you and decided to give you the most expensive diamond in the entire shop and you were walking out after having been just blown away by this lavish gift of something worth tens of thousands of dollars and you said, could I have a small box to put it in and a bag to carry it in? You wouldn't expect Him to say, well no, I'm not going to give you that. He already gave you His treasure. Of course He's going to give you something to carry it in.

If God is for us, I think we can join hands in this prayer room and ask Him to help us in our current struggle and He is not disinclined to do so because He already has proven that He's for us by the gift of His Son and He has given us His own life through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul says elsewhere in Ephesians 1 verse 13, in Him also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in Him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. He is the deposit. He is the guarantee.

He is the earnest. He's whatever word you want to use here in today's lingo in the real estate market. He is the non-refundable due diligence fee. That's the way it works in today's real estate.

You're buying the house, you put down a due diligence fee wherein during the due diligence period you have the right to withdraw from the contract but your due diligence fee is non-refundable. And so when the market has been such a buyer's market as it is, the amount that people are willing to put down in due diligence has risen. And back in the day you know people put a thousand dollars earnest money down or something that's it and they just pull out but it's a different market.

We have been through so much you know sadness this year. My mom's death, my father-in-law's death, so we've sold two houses this year. Just sold Ann's dad's house, beautiful house down in our neighborhood, little house that a lot of people wanted. So we sold it first day, went for more and we asked. People put down $7,500 due diligence fee and had a due diligence period. Realtor called us five hours before the due diligence period was over and said I don't know why but they're withdrawing.

He said you're kidding. And they said no. And we said, well okay. And we really weren't that worried about it because we got to keep the $7,500. Said all right, well we'll just you know put it back on the market, take a couple days, spruce it up a little bit, put it back on the market. So a few days later we put it back on the market, sold in one hour for an even higher price than what the other people had paid. And they said listen we're going to give you $10,000 in due diligence fee and we'll close next week with cash. We said okay. And it started rolling around next week and I was sort of hoping they'd back out too.

Got a good little income here just collecting old deposits. But if someone were to give you the entire price in due diligence fee, they aren't backing out. They've bought it.

They just haven't consummated the contract yet but they've bought it. The Holy Spirit isn't a fraction of God. He is God and He's only inside of you.

He is non-refundable. He is inseparable. He is never going to leave you. And when you receive Jesus, you receive the Holy Spirit and His first glorious delight is to start telling you in a thousand different ways you're a child of God, to bear witness with your spirit, to commune with you in such a way that you know and that you are assured that you're His forever and that you have an inheritance. He is the assurance of God.

You are His and the love of God is evidence that there is perfect love that you'll have forever. Have you ever tasted a moment of peace that passes understanding? Like, I shouldn't have any peace right now but I just feel the peace of the Lord right now. You ever tasted it?

If you've ever tasted that, you know what that is? A deposit of eternal glory. It proves that exists in perfection forever. Have you ever had a true joyful moment despite your circumstances where you just laughed and you just had joy anyway, maybe joy unspeakable?

Have you ever had a time where you just had a toddler-like belly laugh of joy for no good reason except you just had joy in your life? That is a deposit of what is to come. He's proof the Holy Spirit in His love and joy and peace is proof that God is for you and He's never going to stop. This great love of God is something that has started with God's mysterious act of choosing us in Christ, of calling us, Alan, with force in His call and irretrievable attractiveness in His call and Him doing all the work of justifying us and He's so certain that we will be glorified that Paul just says, and we've been glorified, even though it's still to come.

It is what John Piper calls an unbreakable golden chain. God knows it. God calls it. God causes it to happen. God justifies. God saves you and God glorifies you and no adversity and no adversary can break that chain. God will do it and that's why in the end Paul can say, when I think about all of these things, I've just grown to be positive of this. Nothing can separate us from the love of God and the more Paul says that I think about all of this, the more certain I am certain I am that I'm really not a victim.

I'm really more than a conqueror. We are for our cities and for one another and for this world because it all started with God being for us. God is for you and if God's for you, by comparison, nothing can be against you and that's the gospel. 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. Ever feel like something's holding you back as if you lack an important key that could change everything?

Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing might be the timeless power of blessing. We all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. Without it, we'll never rise to our God-given potential.

With it, we can let go of the past and move forward confidently under the favor of God. If you'd like to replace every curse with blessing in your life and if you'd like to learn how to speak life and empower the people you love, contact us today to get Pastor Alan Wright's new Amazon bestselling book, The Power to Bless. And when you do, for a limited time, we'd like to send you four additional life-changing resources to help you discover the power to bless. We'll send you Pastor Alan's video masterclass and study guide called Speak Life. And we'll also include Pastor Alan's new video course, The Power to Bless, perfect for small groups or individual devotions.

It also comes with a study guide. Contact us today to get Alan Wright's beautiful hardcover book, The Power to Bless, and receive the four additional life-enriching resources. It's time to learn how blessed you are in Christ and to discover the power to bless. Learn more at PastorAlan.org.

That's PastorAlan.org or call 877-544-4860. Back here now with Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day at the conclusion of not only this teaching, but coming to the end of this series on providence. And what's your parting good news thought for today? If God's for you, then He's a whole lot like I was describing my wife who prepared giant Easter bags for the kids. She not only wants them to get their bag, but if they need to find a coin to exchange for that bag, then she's going to be committed to make sure they find their secret egg with the secret coin in it because she needs them. She wants them to receive the fullness of what she has prepared for them. And listener, God has prepared the vastness of His spiritual inheritance in Christ for you, and He wants you to be able to walk in it. And so providence means that God is at work, not only laying up this spiritual treasure, but helping you into it.

So you can trust Him and you can take confidence in that God's totally for you. 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.