Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing—a biblical, faith-filled vision for your life. May you see someone today through the eyes of Jesus, not seeing who they are today, but who they're destined to be tomorrow. Not what they have been, but what they can be by the grace of God. May you have the eyes that Jesus had when he saw a Samaritan woman scandalized by five ruined marriages, scarred by a ruined reputation, and scorned by religious leaders who ruined the gospel. Where others saw only the ruins of her life, Jesus saw a revival in her town.
He saw a woman filled with living water, bearing witness. To His glory, so I bless your spiritual eyes to see into the deepest potential of every friend, family member, or foe that you might Christ-like call forth their beautiful design. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Allen Wright wonder releases dopamine, this neurotransmitter that basically makes you feel joyful. I think that this is part of what's happening: is that when you take delight. And wonder and marvel at a gift that is around you, and let your soul think on it and meditate on it and appreciate it.
It causes gratitude. Where there's much wonder, there's much gratitude, and it's been shown that gratitude is the single most important practice for a joyful life. This is why anyone can have a wonderful life, because anyone can practice wonder. 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 are 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.
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That's the prayer wall at Pastor Alan dot org. We're honored to stand with you in prayer. More on all of this later in the program, but right now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Allen Wright. We're looking for something that would capture our attention again, because without wonder, we're bored.
And when we're bored, we're not at our best, are we? When we don't have true wonder, we look for the absurd or gravitate to the odd. Another symptom of the lack of wonder is just restlessness. We lose the capacity to appreciate the gifts we already have. If you were to take nothing else from why wonder is so important, it would be this: wonder is the capacity to notice with appreciation and delight gifts that are already at hand.
Anna, I really like this movie that starred Nicolas Cage and Taya Leoni. Called a family man, it's sort of like it's a Wonderful Life in that there is this character named Jack, who has become this hugely wealthy financier and president of an investment firm with a huge office in Manhattan. He had been maybe engaged or at least boyfriend girlfriend with a character named Kate. Played by Teo Leone. There's a scene in which they're young, and he's headed off to England where he's going to do an apprenticeship or something for a year, and it's a stepping stone in his in his career in finance.
And she says, "Don't go. I got a bad feeling about it." He said, "No. It'll just be a year." She said, "I'm worried about it." Off he went, and it was the end of their relationship. Is he became a highly driven workaholic, and and and you see him in his fancy apartment. And yet, an empty lifestyle, and his only relationships were one-night flings, and he had no real meaning in his life.
And he worked all the time, even on Christmas Day. But this angelic figure appears suddenly. Jack is going to be given what the angel called a glimpse. Kind of, ah, la! It's a wonderful life, where he's going to get a glimpse of what would have been his life had instead he married the woman.
And so suddenly, he wakes up, and he's not in his Manhattan penthouse. He's in a kind of small, messy bedroom in a New Jersey suburb. And in comes a toddler tugging at him to get up, and the baby that needs a diaper change. And there's his wife, there's Kate, as if they had been married for 13 years. And he wakes up in this, and suddenly he's not a wealthy financier; he is a family man.
And it just is delightful to watch him try to. Get used to this and hate it, and try to get back to his his previous life, until slowly but surely, he starts realizing the blessings that are in it. And there's this scene where he looks at her, he who is still thinking like I'm really this person that lives in Manhattan, but from her perspective, she'd been married to him this whole time. And he looks at her and he says, "You know, you're really a beautiful woman. You really are, Kate." So he said, "You, you always were, but you know, you've just grown into a beautiful woman." And he's looking at her like this, and she says, "How can you do that?" He said, "Do what?" She said, "Look at me as if you haven't woken up next to me every day for the last thirteen years." That's wonder.
What if you could look at your mate every day as if it was the first day? What wonder does is? It brings back appreciation for what's already at hand. It is a form of meditation and contemplation on the beauty that God's already given to you, and it's not far away. It's not on the other side of the world.
It's right there. It's right at hand, and when we lose our wonder, we not only become bored and restless and lose our energy for life, but we can become frustrated and angry. Everything's set up to make us feel this way. To look at what others have and that they have a better life than us, a more wonderful life. We say, and we're jealous and frustrated.
I think the brain that is designed by God to be full of wonder over even the simplest things and over the marvels of the gospel, when it doesn't have that, it is looking to satisfy it, and probably this is part of the root of substance abuse. I think a lack of wonder is at the root of much of our pride. You know, in one study, when travelers from 42 different countries were at Yosemite Valley, that beautiful, gorgeous national park, amidst all of that natural and transcendent beauty, they were asked in this study to draw a picture of themselves. A similar study was done in the bustling area of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. People were asked to draw a picture of themselves.
And what they found is that the people who were in Yosemite Valley drew pictures of themselves that were much smaller than the others. There's a kind of smallness that's not full of self condemnation, isn't there? There's a kind of smallness that's sweet and wonderful and real when you're in the presence of that which is great. It quietens the mind. And takes us to that delicious place of self-forgetfulness, that is very much like worship.
So, what I'm saying is, without wonder, something in the soul withers. But when wonder comes, there's great power with it. You know, we're learning so much about the brain, and I love reading about it. I'm no scientist, but the things that neuroscientists are discovering, and experiences of awe and wonder—they are now able to study this. And and any experience of awe activates the vagus nerve.
It wanders through your your your spinal cord and throat and heart and lungs and digestive organs. And there's something that's happening in the nerves' endings of your body. The heart rate slows down when we're in full of wonder. Orients your attention towards others, and prompts you to engage with the world. Yeah.
Any sense of wonder can activate the glands we call them tear ducts, and we've all experienced that.
So there's a a way that your body is wired to experience wonder. They're associated with lower levels of stress. Experiences of wonder. Therefore, there are some studies going on that see that the person who actively practices wonder and experiences wonder can have a decrease of cardiovascular disease. Using recent MRI imaging, we've discovered that when watching, say, an awe-inspiring video compared to something merely neutral, that it decreases the brain's default mode network (DMN), which psychologists.
Talk a lot about because this is where we get over rumination, and we need sometimes to quieten the chatter of the brain, don't we? Wonder releases dopamine, this neurotransmitter that basically makes you feel joyful. I think that this is part of what's happening: is that when you take delight and wonder and marvel. At a gift that is around you, and let your soul think on it and meditate on it and appreciate it. It causes gratitude.
Where there's much wonder, there's much gratitude, and it's been shown that gratitude is the single most important practice for a joyful life. This is why anyone can have a wonderful life. Because anyone can practice wonder. Wonder builds relationship. Also, for example, when participants standing near a large replica of a T.
Rex skeleton filled in the sentence "I am" in twenty different ways, they were less likely. Than participants in a controlled condition to define themselves in terms of individual desires, and they were more likely to define themselves in shared qualities with others. Wonder makes us feel more connected and, therefore, kind. More kind. In one study, they had people who, after looking up at awe-inspiring grove of tall eucalyptus trees, they had someone drop some pins nearby, and the people who had seen these big trees and wondered about them were much more likely to help the person pick up their pins.
Who thought maybe we just need more wonder in order to become more kind to each other? And we become connected in this way when we are full of wonder. We want to share it with someone. I like to watch sports, and lots of times I'll have sports on TV alone. But man, if my team does something marvelous, I want to text somebody that I think might be watching the game.
Did you see that shot? When I'm watching golf and I'm like, they just had a 35 yard chip in that's going to win the tournament. I'm like texting Bennett. Bennett, are you watching this? And then we just start texting each other.
Why? Because wonder wants to be shared. It's why we worship together. We're full of wonder. I like to worship God alone, but I much rather worship with you.
Someone else that sees at least something of what I feel like I'm seeing about the beauty of His holiness and the marvels of His grace and what He's done for us. You know what wonder does? Here's part of the power. It reminds us that we aren't God and that there is a God. This is what Paul's saying in our text again at verse 34.
Who's known the mind of the Lord, or who's been His counselor? Or who's given a gift to him that he might be repaid? He's God. Wonder reminds you of that. This verse in Romans reminds me of God talking to Job after Job has had all his questions for God.
God, in a sense, cures Job's soul by asking Job questions in Job thirty-eight. The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. This huge whirlwind—it's like a tornado. It'll get your attention. You don't see that every day.
And then God starts speaking. Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dressed for action like a man, and I'll question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of this? Tell me, tell me, Job, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurement? Surely you know, Job. Who stretched the line upon it, or what where its basis sunk, or who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, he goes on like this throughout the whole chapter. Because there is an invitation to wonder, is an invitation to healing of deception, and peace comes in when we let go of pride and just wonder at the nature of God.
There's something that's calming about enjoying what you can't understand, of being satisfied by what makes you marvel. Psalm one thirty-one. Oh Lord, my heart's not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. I don't occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous. He's saying, I just got a lot of things.
I just have to go. That's marvelous, and I'm just full of wonder about it. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother. Like a weaned child is my soul within me. I'm just nourished by being in your presence, God.
And I don't understand it all, but I'm really quieted by thinking of it. The famous words of Psalm one thirty nine, O Lord, you have searched me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in behind and before. Lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge. Is too wonderful for me.
It's high; I can't attain it. I think all this is saying is that, beloved, what wonder does is keeps you from the agony of idolatry. A. W. Tozer says that the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.
What wonder does is it thinks about. The amazing intricacies of God's design and His grace, and ultimately, it takes us out of idolatry and wonder, sends us into doxology, into praise. That's what Paul's doing here, into adoration. This is what he's expressing here. Oh.
Verse thirty three: The depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and inscrutable His ways.
So, if wonder is that powerful, and if a lack of wonder makes the soul wither, isn't it an enterprise worth undertaking to make space in your life every day for wonder? You can put this into practice. I would suggest thinking about big things. You know, think about that which is bigger than you, and just marvel at it. I like to think about it: our sun, our star, ordinary sized star, ninety-three million miles from Earth, ten thousand degrees on its surface, vast, vast compared to the Earth.
It's just so much bigger than the Earth. We think the Earth's big, but it just—you could put a million Earths into the Sun. It's just hard to wrap your mind around that. But if the Earth were like a golf ball, then the Sun would be like a school bus. You'd have to fill up a whole school bus with golf balls, as large as our Sun seems to be.
It's only a medium-sized star, Pastor Alan Wright. Our good news message: A wonderful life from the series "The Gateways of Grace." I encourage you to stay with us because Pastor Alan is back here in the studio, sharing his parting good news thought for the day 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 in the studio with Pastor Alan, and we're in the teaching a wonderful life in the greater series, the Gateways of Grace on the spiritual disciplines. By the way, I love a grace teacher who can dive in and with great thought and care about spiritual disciplines.
This is a good series.
Well, when you open up a gate, you're going into something. Yeah, that's why we call it Gateways of Grace, and wonder is one of those gateways. Right, and so it is, and I put. As a discipline, the practice of wonder. You know, little children, my three-year-old granddaughter Mia, she doesn't need a discipline of wonder.
Little children don't have the attitude of "been there, done that." Yeah, everything's new. Right, it's wonderful. Yeah, to discover a small frog. Yeah, along the sidewalk. It just can fill a child with wonder.
Yeah. Well, so can it for us too. The fall leaves that begin to turn in the North Carolina mountains. Why do we make a drive up to go see them? Right.
Right. They don't. It doesn't make us any money. It doesn't produce something. What does it do?
It just floods our heart with wonder. It's something so beautiful. Right. Fill your life with wonder, and you fill your life with joy. Yeah.
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