Seeing As Jesus Sees [Part 23]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. There is a real victory that he's won on our behalf, and we're not just on the defense.

We're on the offense, and that's what we're talking about today, is seeing that victory, because Jesus is in a position where he has seen the fall of Satan. 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 with Pastor Alan today, as we are flipping through the pages of his brand new book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, and we're drawing some wonderful principles out of this.

It's out now, by the way. It's Seeing as Jesus Sees, how a new perspective can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. And if you get the book this month from any retailer, we'll send you a free video series when you let us know you've done so at SeeingAsJesusSees.org or PastorAlan.org. You'll receive a companion video course, a daily reading guide, and a group study guide as our thank you for supporting the launch of our new book and this important message.

Just let us know you've gotten the book at SeeingAsJesusSees.org, and we'll be happy to send this right out to you. Pastor Alan, as we're in the section on seeing the world, we're diving into the themes in this chapter on conquering, which is seeing the darkness defeated. And it's good to be with you.

Well, it's so good to be with you. Boy, I love these conversations, being in studio with you and just talking about a few of the highlights of the book and again, reminding our listeners, if perhaps you're new with us, that this is a book about a simple prayer that I've been praying for some years now. Some years ago, a friend asked and said, just mentioned off handly, I wish there were a book about seeing as Jesus sees. Seeing, what does he see?

You know, kind of like we said, well, what would Jesus do? But what does Jesus see? How does he see things? And I remember looking for such a book and couldn't find anything like that.

And not only did I not find a book, but I realized how little thought I'd given to such an important question. How does Jesus see? How does he see me? How does he see others? How does he see the world?

And maybe most of our problems arise from not seeing correctly. That's what the metaphor of being outside of Christ is, is about being spiritually blind, like being in the dark. And he came to be the light. And if you look and go, well, Paul, you know, what did he pray about mainly? Well, he prayed that our eyes would be open. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened to know the hope of our calling and to know the glorious inheritance we have in the saints and the incomparably great powers work. So many ways, the story of the scripture and the story, our story of being Christian is about our eyes being open. So what would happen if day in and day out and all different kinds of moments of the day, I just started praying, Jesus, how do you see this? Just a single, a single simple prayer, brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for transformation to unveil glory.

And I've been doing that, Daniel, for some years now, and it's really been helping. And that's what this book's about. It's about how you can have a spiritual and organic and real relationship with God, seeing as he sees. So we've been talking about how he sees ourselves, how he sees others.

And now we're in this section about how he sees the world. And I thought it was really important to include a chapter on how Jesus sees evil itself and the devil and to talk some about conquering. We have not had time to really tell one of the stories that runs through the book. Daniel is story of a girl that grew into a woman who was absolutely precious and part of our church, who became spiritually attacked in a most vicious of ways. You know, the spiritual battle's real, evil's real, the devil's real, and therefore demonic attack is a real thing. And we tell that story.

We don't have time or space for it here in studio to tell about it. But it's one of the things that will bless a reader so much to watch the unveiling of a story of a girl who had been demonically afflicted and lost her spiritual vision. Well, there is the story of that spiritual battle, but there is a victory call for us in God's Word. I think it was Vance Havner who said, I love to have a, I like the fact that I've got a Bible that begins and ends with the devil out of business.

I do think that sometimes, you know, we can have a mentality as Christians of like, well, let's just hang on and make it through this world. But I think there's a much more victorious message than that. In the book, I open up this chapter telling about our son Bennett on his senior year was on a high school golf team, made it to their division's national two-day tournament in Springfield, Missouri. That was a big adventure, long van ride out there from North Carolina and all the, you know, stuff that's fun for kids, hotel rooms, barbecue restaurants, golf on a bigger stage than they'd been on before. And the team was good, good enough maybe to even win. But the first day they looked nervous.

Bennett looked like he was not, he just wasn't himself. He couldn't make a putt, hit the ball poorly that first day. Joe, who was playing number two on the team, slices open and drive to a different fairway, shanked a chip shot on the next day. And that, the whole day went like that.

Everybody just played their worst. And that evening coach George gathered the team, said something I'll never forget. He said, guys, we play golf because it's fun. And I've never wanted you to feel pressure to perform.

We drove all the way to Missouri to play against teams from around the nation on this beautiful golf course. And I want you to have a good time. But he added, I've noticed you have a lot more fun when you play better than you did today. And I think it's just a great line. And I think that, that in some ways Jesus invites us into that. There is a real victory that he's won on our behalf.

And we're not just on the defense, we're on the offense. And that's what we're talking about today is, is seeing that victory because Jesus is in a position where he has seen the fall of Satan, not the final consummation that will come with a new heaven, a new earth, but he knows the victory. He's seen it. And I think that we need to get his perspective of the defeat of the devil, because it will change our level of confidence, our ability to walk in real spiritual authority, and to live out the victory that's ours in him. You talked in an earlier chapter, and even in our discussion here on the radio about it being like the storm being an adventure. So really, I mean, it's not to go into denial and say, well, this may not be fun right here, or the darkness that's rearing its head right now is not, it's real.

It's not pleasant. But when you can almost like zoom out and say, okay, but there is victory, we're going through maybe this rough patch here that doesn't look so great. But ultimately, there is victory. And that adventure you talked about, it's part of it, it really is. And it's about perspective. That's what this whole book is about. And the perspective and sometimes it's just that nuance, it's a slight shift in the vocabulary, or how you declare and you talk about your wife and in the women's study group where change the language, change the way that you are raising your kids and rearing your family from the defense.

Tanner Iskra I always love that. And when she teaches other moms, ladies, you know, we're not on the defense. Don't settle for mediocre spiritual life or a marriage that just limps around. Don't raise your kids on the defense. You know, don't just say, I hope they make it through. No, you know, let's teach our kids.

They have a mission. And she'll talk that way to the ladies she teaches every week. Ladies, you're more than conquerors.

I like it when she talks that way. We're not here just to muddle through. The preacher of my youth wrote a book on Ephesians and I loved his title. It's called In It to Win It. And there's a kind of spiritual authority that we need to embrace and we can see through Jesus's eyes and it gives us this whole new confidence. So if you say, all right, in the middle of spiritual battle, Jesus, what do you see? How do you see this? I think what he begins to show you is his defeat of the devil and who you are, your genuine authority in Christ.

And that's part of what is so hard for us to see with natural eyes is we don't feel it. We don't see it ourselves, but Jesus is like, this is who you really are. And this is what I've done for you in the defeat of Satan. So far in this section on seeing the world, we've kind of come through the sobering part of seeing the world as broken and mourning that tearfully, and then seeing the world as stormy and finding peace when we see it as Jesus sees. And this is coming up with like, okay, this is time to stand flat-footed, square your shoulders back and say, okay, this is time to conquer.

This is time for confidence. And this is not, again, we've said this so many times, this is not done just by mustering emotion or just by what you would call maybe only psychology and saying it's just a mindset. It really, it's real, as you've said. It's real because it's empowered by the Holy Spirit. Chris- I think when you really get a sense of spiritual authority in the spiritual battle, it's not just that you would be enthralled with a sense of, oh, look, like the disciples who came back and said, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And, you know, they came back and told that to Jesus, and you might expect Jesus to go, wow, isn't that really cool, you know? But instead, this is the place where he surprises them and says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, which is a metaphor for demons and forces of evil and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

So there he says it. But then he adds this, but nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. So the disciples come back. They're celebrating the power that they've seen go forth in Jesus' name. But Jesus is saying, I want you to see something even higher. He's saying, I've seen Satan fall like lightning, and I've seen your name etched indelibly in the book of life. So seeing a demon flee is a cause for joy, but seeing Satan permanently cast down from heaven and seeing yourself permanently etched into the book of life in heaven, that's a way greater joy. And that's where we begin to have a sense of authority. You're seeing this, you're seeing that Jesus has won the decisive victory, and you're seeing yourself as a child of God who has an eternal destination. Your name is written in the book of life and you're God's.

Well, this changes everything and gives you a sense of real authority. The book is Seeing as Jesus Sees, and it's a new perspective, how it can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. It's out now. And if you buy this book this month from any retailer, we'll send you a free video series from Pastor Alan when you let us know that you've received the book. So buy the book, then let us know you have it at seeingasjesussees.org or pastorallen.org. Then you'll receive a companion video course, a daily reading guide, and a group study guide as our thank you for supporting the launch of Pastor Alan's latest book and this important message. Again, contact us at seeingasjesussees.org. On this topic today of conquering and seeing the darkness defeated, that makes me think of the illustration that is often told of Satan as the dragon and the dragon has been defeated, but his tail still swishes.

So you can get startled by the swishing tail. Very much so. And it's very easy to fall into the natural eyes saying it doesn't look like there's been much of defeat at all. But I know this just in all of my interactions, both personally and with others in the spiritual battle, that the number one weapon of our enemy is deception. And always the devil wants to look bigger than he is, make his threat seem bigger than it is.

It's a battle to try to make us become afraid and it's rooted in deception. 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, 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 in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you order the book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. To order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSees.org or come to our website, PastorAlan.org, 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.

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's eyes.

Alan Wright So what do we need? We need truth. We need to see with Jesus's eyes. We need to see about this world and the adversities that we face that Jesus has conquered. And so it is in the disarming of Satan that we are fully equipped for victory. He has disarmed. He has displaced.

The enemy has no more opportunity for those who are in Christ to accuse because Jesus himself took our penalty and we are therefore free from that penalty and free from condemnation and free from accusation. And Jesus wants us to see that. He wants to see all of this, right?

I saw Satan fall like lightning. I've seen what I've done. I want you to see it. I want you to know it. And I want you to take your place. I want you to put on the whole armor of God. I want you to walk this out. I want you to sense it and to feel it and know it down to your toes that you're in Christ, that you are mine, that you are not on the losing team. You're on the winning team. And that when you have a direct confrontation with evil, you have authority to rebuke.

You have authority to take your stand. Well, all of this, I think, flows out of new vision. Jesus is our own vision in our life. Jesus, how do you see this battle? How do you see this adversity? Jesus, how do you see this spiritual attack? Jesus, how do you see the evil?

And he's not frightened by it. He's came and already defeated it. Seeing as Jesus sees how a new perspective can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. Pastor Alan's latest book and seeing the world and seeing yourself as a conqueror by seeing the darkness defeated is what we're talking about today. And Pastor Alan, you were given some temporary authority years ago. High school tennis coach gave you some authority. And well, you tell the rest of the story in the book.

Yeah. Well, we'll give a little piece of this story that the book is a good place to laugh some also. I mean, we talked about some serious things and deep theology, but there's plenty to laugh about also. And when I was in high school, Bill Brown's a tennis coach, but he's also the assistant basketball coach. And we had a good basketball team at Page High School. And so when the basketball season ran long, he wasn't available for the first week or so of tennis practice. And so when I was a senior, he asked me if I'd oversee the tennis practice until the basketball playoffs were over. You know, he just said, have people run some sprints and make everybody practice their serves and backends and net play, assign some doubles teams, assign people to their courts, gather the balls at the end of the practice. You know, that kind of ain't no big deal. He said, I'll be back.

I'll be back in about a week. So the first couple of days of practice, you know, they went fine, but I had my eye on a sophomore who had an attitude problem and I didn't like the way he was talking to the other kids. He was a good player, but he'd probably be a starter on the team, but it just seemed like a bully.

Well, on the third day I was playing on court one. I glanced down towards the bully. He was on court four and it just so happened. I, you know, I only caught this part of the, of whatever was going on. I saw him needlessly just slam a ball at another kid. And I just, something hit me.

I just lost it. I sprinted down to three courts while all the other kids stopped playing and watched. And I yelled in the kid's face, who was a lot bigger than me. And I said, I've had it with you. I said, we don't need that kind of attitude out here. And I pointed at the parking lot and I said, get your things and leave.

You're off the team. And so the bully slumped asleep, grabbed his stuff and he slinked off of the courts and he went to his car and he drove away. And I looked at everybody. I said, back to practice, everybody.

And then I go, what have I done? You know, anyways, you can imagine that night, uh, coach Brown called up. I answered the phone and he said, is this coach?

Right. I said, uh, coach Brown. I said, I guess you heard. He said, yes. I said, sorry about that coach.

I just can't stand a bully. I lost my head. He just said, Alan, I appreciate your commitment and your desire to have a harmonious team. But when I asked you to watch over practice for a few days, I didn't authorize you to kick off one of the best players.

Do you understand? I said, yes, coach. And the next day the bully was back at practice.

I didn't like his attitude, but I didn't kick him off the team again. And this is how we experience authority in this world. So often is like, we act like we have it when we don't really have it.

And then there's a part of us. Therefore as Christians, we go, I don't really have authority over evil. No, Jesus was not coach Brown.

Letting me run some sprints. Jesus has said to us that he has shared his authority over evil with us. Really in his name, we can learn to walk in that sort of spiritual authority. Pastor Alan Wright, in our good news message from the brand new book, Seeing As Jesus Sees, how a new perspective can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. It's the chapter on conquering and seeing the darkness defeated. And we've got more with Pastor Alan coming back here in the studio, sharing a part in good news inspiration in just a moment.

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's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you order a book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. To order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSeas.org or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. 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.

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's eyes. Now with closing inspiration directly from his new book, Seeing As Jesus Sees, here's Pastor Alan Wright. Daniel, let me close with a little excerpt from this chapter called Conquering. The glorious gift, the silencing of the accuser and the imputed righteousness of Christ to all believers is what Jesus had in mind when he told the Jubilant 72 that there was even greater cause for rejoicing. Christ follower, here's your deepest joy and confidence. Satan is out of heaven forever and you are in the kingdom of heaven forever. The war is over.

The enemy has no ammunition left. If you're facing spiritual battle and need more confidence, start asking, Jesus, how do you see this? How do you see Satan? How do you see the evil that is being waged against me?

And what you'll discover is he sees it through his own shed blood and his own accomplished work for the victory is secure. 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.