Seeing As Jesus Sees [Part 2]

Pastor Alan Wright reading an excerpt from his upcoming book, Seeing as Jesus Sees.

Jesus, how do you see this? Some years ago, I started praying that little prayer throughout the day, and it's changed everything. Though most people focus on doing, it is seeing that matters. How we see ourselves, others, and the world shapes how we think, feel, and behave. When we see things wrongly, it wreaks havoc in our relationships and wrecks our peace. And when we miss seeing the grace all around us, it snuffs out wonder and joy.

We don't have to wander around duped and distracted. Jesus promised, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. When we see like Jesus, we experience his peace and joy. Some years ago, my friend mentioned that he wished there were a book about what Jesus sees, about how Jesus sees things.

I not only couldn't find such a book, but also realized how little attention I'd given to that profound question. And that's when I began asking Jesus for his eyes throughout the day. That little prayer, Jesus, how do you see this, is brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough to unveil glory.

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 am Daniel Britt, excited for you today to join us in the studio with Pastor Alan as we are talking about an upcoming brand new book release, Seeing as Jesus Sees How a New Perspective Can Defeat the Darkness and Awaken Joy.

Release date October 10th, when you preorder the book right now, today, and when you let us know that you've done that, we're happy to get to you as our way of saying thanks. A free audio book, a daily reading guide and a companion video course is our thank you for supporting the launch of this important message. Diving deep on this new perspective, Seeing as Jesus Sees Pastor Alan's new book.

All of this is over one hundred dollars in value, and it's yours simply for preordering and letting us know. You go to your favorite book retailer to preorder right now, and then let us know at this website, seeingasjesussees.org, seeingasjesussees.org, or simply pastorallen.org. What really changes us is not us trying harder to be more patient or to have a better understanding of someone or be more kind or any of these godly attributes.

What changes us often is just getting Jesus' eyes for the situation. And I thought about a story of a businessman who took his seat on a New York subway and unfurled his paper, and was ready to just try to unwind a little bit after a busy day. Suddenly three rambunctious boys get on the train and everything is unruly. They're loud.

They're bumping into pastors, grabbing at other people's papers. And the only thing that irritated the businessman more than these uncontrolled kids was a passive father who sat there motionless, inattentive, unconcerned. And you know how we all can think in a situation like that. Your mind is going and is like, why doesn't this father do something? Why doesn't he control his boys?

And then your mind goes, that's the problem with our country today, right? People not parenting. And what a bad parent he is.

How can he just sit there like that? And the more that he thought about this businessman, the more frustrated he became until eventually it was just bothering him so much that he had to say something. Excuse me, sir, sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people.

I wonder if you shouldn't control them more. And the businessman said that as if emerging from a fog, the father responded quietly and apologetically and said, oh, you're right. You're right. I'm sorry.

I should do something. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago and I'm not thinking straight. Children, calm down. Well, as all of our listeners could imagine, the businessman gulps and in an instant, and literally in an instant, he not only wishes that he could take his words back, but something wonderful happened really almost miraculously. In that moment of suddenly seeing it for what it really was, of seeing a situation with new eyes, what happened was that business traveler's frustrations and stress evaporated. His heart began spilling over with authentic compassion for the bereaved man. Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. Oh, I'm sorry for your loss.

What can I do to help you? And he meant it. It wasn't just that he all of a sudden thought he should show compassion. He felt compassion. It wasn't just that he thought I should be more patient with this businessman.

He was more patient. It actually changed him from the inside. And when I think about a story like that and I think about many stories like that in my own life, where your eyes are opened and you see something that you've been seeing inaccurately and now you see it clearly, you see it for what it really is, how instantly it can change you. This is how real change takes place in our life.

And interestingly, the businessman in that story was the well-known author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey. And he summarized the whole power of seeing a scene with new eyes. He said, everything changed in an instant. Frustration becomes compassion. Judgment can become mercy. Bitterness can become gratitude. Everything can change in an instant. And that's just what I want to say to readers and listeners everywhere. What if the very thing that is troubling you most or frustrating you most or confusing you most or robbing you of joy the most, what if it's not going to change by your striving?

What if it's not going to change by your personal improvement plan? What if what you really need is to see it with new eyes? So learn to pause.

Pray a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this? You're acknowledging I may not be seeing it accurately.

I want to see it like you see it. You're inviting the Holy Spirit to come and illumine a situation to do the very thing that Jesus said he came to do. And that is open the eyes of the blind to take us into the light, to be the light of life. The very thing Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. You're joining in one accord with God's word for something that he very much already has said he wants to do for us.

And those are the kind of prayers that I think God loves and honors and you can pray with such confidence. Jesus, how do you see this? And just pause and let the Spirit show you and see what he shows you. And sometimes, Daniel, just for me, in just the pausing in this busy, busy, busy world, I find that I'm refreshed just for taking a deep breath and letting God show me something. And then look again, take a new perspective. And then you find yourself saying, oh, I see.

I was blind and now I see. And it opens our eyes to wonder and what joy there may be. That's what this book's all about. The book written by Pastor Alan Wright, Seeing as Jesus Sees, How a New Perspective Can Defeat the Darkness and Awaken Joy.

Release date October 10th, 2023. And when you preorder the book right now, when you let us know, we are happy to send you a free audiobook copy of this book, along with a daily reading guide and a companion video course. And these gifts are our thank yous for supporting the launch of this brand new book. It's an important message.

We believe it wholeheartedly. And you can be a part of this team right now, this pre-launch team, when you let us know that you have preordered from your favorite retailer, online or in a store, and just let us know at SeeingAsJesusSees.org. That's SeeingAsJesusSees.org or simply come to PastorAlan.org if you've got that book marked.

And this is over $100 in value and it can be yours again as our way of saying thanks when you preorder the book right now today. So Pastor Alan, I have a little bit of a list I've been going over in my mind of what I think this book has many different ways you could take it. You can take How Jesus Sees and apply this to looking around at what's going on in our culture, you know, current events. You can use it to help us bless others by seeing how Jesus sees others in our lives.

Maybe a spirit of prayer to be spirit led or how to pray. Maybe even in our own lives, personally, taking this n-word, we can live with a renewed security and confidence if we could see as Jesus sees. Now, as a Bible teacher, would you be quick to say that Jesus might even answer the question, answer that prayer? Jesus, how do you see this? By taking us back to something that he revealed thousands of years ago. And if that takes us right back to scripture, I guess that's a win too.

Absolutely. Well, Jesus, how do you see this? And it is a real time where now if you could envision yourself being not just following Jesus, but you're shoulder to shoulder with Jesus. You're looking at life like he does.

And I think it's a prayer he loves to answer, but it's also a journey that's worth taking to look at the scripture stories of Jesus. And instead of, what do we learn about Jesus? Look through his eyes. Look at storms through his eyes. Look at a woman caught in adultery through his eyes. Look at Jerusalem through his eyes.

Look at all of life through his eyes. So this book is full of these kind of Bible stories and narratives from the gospel, where it is an invitation to stand next to Jesus himself in the pages of scripture and see. So I think we both learn to cultivate seeing more like Jesus by doing so through the word and also in the moment by moment, spirit led living. If you have been looking for a more powerful and intimate and direct relationship with the living God, wherein you are guided by him, you're able to be saying, I'm living full of the spirit and I'm living in the direction of the spirit and I'm hearing from God. If you long for that kind of spirit filled living, then this is a beautiful entry way to begin practicing Jesus. How do you see this?

That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder and joy? What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing? For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the Savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is, after all, the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study, where they're invited in close, side by side with the Savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus' eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit filled living isn't reserved for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit revealed vision. The beautiful hardcover book releases October 10th, but for a limited time, when you pre-order the book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. Simply pre-order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSees.org, or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Give us confirmation that you've pre-ordered the book, and when the book releases, you'll be given a free audio book from the publisher. And you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan. All these valuable bonus gifts are only for those who pre-order the book.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer, and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's Call to Discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book, and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus' eyes. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. In many ways, Daniel, this is a book that is all about Jesus, but it is at the same time about us learning to walk through a simple new spiritual discipline in the Spirit.

And I'm very, very excited about that, because there's no telling what God might show you. What might we be missing? What wonders might we be missing? What joy might we be missing? What needless frustrations might we be harboring?

What resentments might we be bearing that we don't need to? And I think that so much change in the Christian life is gradual, and it's in the words of Jean Peterson, a long obedience in the same direction. But there also are these moments of real insight, aha moments.

When things change, that never comes by us telling ourselves we ought to be a better Christian. Those come by actually seeing. Seeing's what matters. If a mom sees her spaghetti splattered two-year-old as a messy miracle from God, and she's like, oh, you're a mess, but oh, what a gift you are, well, she'll smile as she mops up the sauce. But if you see that little one as an inconvenience or a nuisance, then that's where we get frustrated and we begin to shame. If a husband looks at his wife and says she's a heavenly gift, he'll adore her.

But if you see her, if a husband sees her as some tiresome anchor, then you begin to avoid her. A young man sees his life as valuable and important. He'll take care of himself. But if someone sees his life as worthless and purposeless, then they become reckless. And so you can see that it might be that an impatient mother, an emotionally distant husband, or an unmotivated young man might wish that they were more caring or loving or energized. But all the wishing in the world doesn't change them. All the even setting goals and striving doesn't change them.

It's the seeing that changes. And I think this in many ways, therefore, is a real replacement of, instead of saying what would Jesus do, which I think is the wrong question, because it's sort of like trying to live by the law. What is it God would have me to do? Let me try harder to do it.

It's powerless. But to say let me have your eyes, to let me see the way you see, is to actually invite an internal transformation that becomes supernatural, but it flows automatically and naturally in our lives. And that's what I want for Christians everywhere. Pastor Alan's new book, Seeing As Jesus Sees, and that title is where you go. SeeingAsJesusSees.org or simply PastorAllen.org, if that's easier to remember.

Just let us know you've pre-ordered and we're happy to send this your way. Spending some time on today's broadcast in the studio with Pastor Alan and unpacking the themes of this book and really celebrating what will become the release date of this October 10th, quite soon. And Pastor Alan, does it ever get old? I mean, you've done this, you're an experienced author now, right? You can hang your hat on that title, but you've got a new one coming out. There's still some butterflies, still some excitement. So much excitement, so much joy, and so many ways, Daniel. This book, I feel like I have spent more time in prayer and writing and editing and thinking about it because it really is sort of a story. It's my story. It's anyone's story who is on a journey from darkness to light. It's also the story of a young woman who I call Joy. And Daniel, it's got some very direct and powerful and honest descriptions of a young girl who loved the Lord but was demonically attacked and real spiritual warfare that hindered her from seeing herself through the eyes of God. And she began to see herself in every other way through the lies of hell. And how God gave me the privilege of coming alongside of her and her family to help minister, it is a story of a journey of someone who became so blinded by all this that she found herself in the hospital and wasn't eating. Is revelation from Christ strong enough even for her? The book tells that story.

So it's a book that, yes, I've got the butterflies of excitement. Most of all, I just want this truth to everybody. I want to help, I would like to introduce a whole new simple spiritual discipline, a little prayer that can be prayed, a breath prayer, just short enough for one breath but deep enough to change everything in your life. Jesus, how do you see this? You know, it welcomes a massive shift in focus. And sometimes we think, oh, the main thing I need is much better circumstances.

What if what you need is a better perspective? I was thinking, I tell early in the book about an instance years ago, my middle brother Mark and I went out to play golf and we got linked up with a stranger we'd never played with. He was playing terrible. I mean, I can hit some bad shots, but he was hitting the ball. Every time there was a chance to hit it in the water or the woods, the ball went in the water or the woods, he was playing awful.

I don't remember him hitting a good shot. But he was so happy. In fact, I might say he was one of the happiest golfers I've ever been around. And finally, somewhere in the middle of the round, my brother Mark, who braver than most, he just finally spoke up. He said, well, to the man, he said, you might not be playing the best golf ever, but you sure do seem happy.

And I'll never forget it. The man said, oh, I am. He said, I just came from the doctor. They thought it was advanced cancer, but the report instead has come back benign. He said, it's just so good to be out here playing.

And he told us more. He thought that he had maybe only months to live, but further diagnosis, and they realized it was benign. He was going to be okay.

He didn't care whether the ball went in the water. He was so glad to be alive. What if we could live with that sort of fresh perspective? What joy might be available to us? We need the eyes of Jesus. Alan Wright, with good news from his latest book, Seeing As Jesus Sees.

Please stay with us. Pastor Alan is joining me back here in the studio, sharing a parting good news inspiration to See As Jesus Sees in just a moment. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder, and joy?

What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing? For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the Savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is, after all, the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing As Jesus Sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close, side by side with the Savior, to see themselves, others, and the world through Jesus' eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living isn't reserved for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. The beautiful hardcover book releases October 10th, but for a limited time, when you pre-order the book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. Simply pre-order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSeas.org, or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Give us confirmation that you've pre-ordered the book, and when the book releases, you'll be given a free audiobook from the publisher. And you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing As Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

All these valuable bonus gifts are only for those who pre-order the book, so place your order today with your favorite online book retailer, and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's Call to Discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book, and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus' eyes. Now here in the studio with Pastor Alan Wright, with closing inspiration directly from his latest book, Seeing As Jesus Sees. Here's Pastor Alan Wright.

There's a big difference between reading a brochure about the Grand Canyon and seeing it with your own eyes. Jesus wants to show us the canyon of His grace. He yearns to fill us with His Spirit and show us the beauty He sees. That's why He was eager to take the cross, bear our sin, and make us right with God. He longed to send His own Spirit, promising He will guide you into all truth. It's why He inspired Paul to pray, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He's called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. God delights to open our eyes to wonder. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.