Attached to God [Part 1]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. We are craving attachment, a deep and true and somewhat mysterious, emotional, loving connection to others. And it's because we were designed for this.

We were made for this. 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 to hear the teaching today in the series we call O Bologna, a study of Romans chapters one through three, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. Now, if you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, we sure 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 as we send you today's special offer. And you can contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. Beloved, are you ready for some good news?

I already gave it to you when I called you beloved. It's who you are. That's how Paul saw the Romans and almost everybody he wrote.

He called them the beloved. And it's how God sees you. You are in fact defined not by your service, your faithfulness, or even by your love for God. You are defined in God's mind by His love for you.

You are the beloved. Well, all the advertisers have figured out this micro-targeting of their ads. They buy information about us. They scan where we've gone on websites to learn about us. They know everything about us. That's why on my computer, I constantly have pop-up ads for golf stuff.

They know. So I had a birthday this week, another year older. I've reached the age where if it doesn't have a five or a zero, it's no big deal and getting a little older. So I was thinking about that on my birthday as I was working and preparing this message. And I googled the etymology of the word call, which we will talk about today a little bit. And I, an etymology online site that came up and a big banner ad came across the top. It was bright and colorful, and I couldn't help but glance at the ad that popped up.

And it was my birthday, another year older. And I thought this was kind of ridiculous that the ad that popped up and it just said, toenail clippers for seniors. And have we come to that? Have we come to that?

What does that got like an extension rod on it or something? And you can just, you know, you don't have to bend over. I don't know. You know, I was like, I'm not that old.

I'm not that old. You learn a lot about who somebody thinks you are by the way they address you, the salutation they bring to you. And so if you don't even know who you're writing the formal language to whom it concerns, it means I don't even know where this is supposed to go, but somebody ought to be concerned about this.

So here you go. It doesn't tell you that much. The more formal language, of course, you know, dear, dear Mr. Smith, you know, tells you a little something, but it's, it's kind of formal and distant, more casual, dear Joe, or if it's really your friend, Hey, Joe, what's up? Of course, when I text, email, write my wife, I don't say dear Mrs. Wright, what's for dinner tonight?

Do you need me to pick up anything? That wouldn't, that wouldn't be right. It wouldn't sound right, because it would say the wrong thing about my relationship with her. And it would say the wrong thing about her because that's not what our relationship is, you know?

So it say sweets, I was gonna call her sweets or sweetheart. And I love you and what's for dinner tonight? So, so today we learn about not just the Christians in Rome, but because this is the inspired Word of God, we can take Paul's salutation to the Christians in Rome that he's never met and can trust that this is what God wants us to know from Paul's pen for us also who Paul never met.

The way that he addresses them in verse seven is to say that he is writing to the beloved of God who are called to be saints. And I told you we weren't gonna be in a hurry in Romans, so that's all I want for today. And I would say that these remarks today are on the one hand simple enough for any child, for a child may be better than any adult knows how to give and receive love, but it is also the deepest truth that I or the Word of God has to offer when you think about what it means to be the beloved.

And this is perhaps the most transformational thing that you could ever ever encounter. Psychiatrist Kurt Thompson and his anatomy of the soul begins a chapter with these words, what do you crave most in life? Chocolate? A Ferrari F430?

A vacation in Fiji? Actually, he writes, there's something each of us wants more, even more than the air we breathe. Connection. From our first cry to our final breath, we are craving attachment, a deep and true and somewhat mysterious emotional loving connection to others.

And it's because we were designed for this, we were made for this. In fact, neuroscience has been teaching us that our brains from the time where infants develop through this emotional bonding that is known as attachment, and without developing secure attachment with a loving caregiver, then the baby will not develop in a healthy way, emotionally or physically, or socially. But that out of this deep and beautiful bond, I'm talking about the simple smile on a mother's face as she holds her baby, that in that smile and in that expression and in that looking into the eyes, there is something that is actually happening in the baby's brain, and neural paths are being formed, and the child is becoming a healthy human being. And without that, the brain cannot develop in a healthy way. Again, Kurt Thompson writes, attachment theory supports the supposition that there is no such thing as an individual brain, that there is no such thing as an individual brain, not even an individual neuron. In fact, researchers have discovered that the way we attach shapes the neural networks that are the vehicles of the attachment process itself. I want you to think about that, that there's no such thing as a brain that develops by itself. There's no such thing as a soul that develops by itself. Instead, we are made for these deep bonds.

We have to have them. It's why I need you. It's why we need each other.

It's why the body of Christ is the grand mystery of God's gospel unveiled in this diverse and beautiful way through a supernatural bonding love through the Holy Spirit for the people of God who come from very different places and may have different thoughts and different walks of life, and yet in the Spirit are one. Wow. Wow. What he's saying is there is healing just by being in the environment where there is supernatural attachment.

It's extraordinary. Even our noblest efforts to be more like Jesus ultimately fail for the same reason that pledging to keep the law never works. There's no gospel power in our self-striving. But what if the secret to personal transformation and victorious living isn't found in doing as much as in seeing? Anyone who has ever had an aha moment or has suddenly discovered the truth of a situation knows that fresh vision changes everything. In his eye-opening new book, Pastor Alan Wright invites readers into a new, simple spiritual practice, a little breath prayer they can be prayed throughout the day. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's a prayer that the Savior loves to answer because after all, Christ came to be the light of the world. Clear away confusion, win over the darkness, and open your heart to wonder and joy by getting your copy of the book right away. And when you make a gift to Alan Wright Ministries today, we'll send you Pastor Alan's new beautiful hardcover book. And as an additional thank you for your support, 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. Let Jesus take you by the hand and show you a whole new perspective for your life.

As you learn how to ask Christ for his eyes, you'll start seeing as Jesus sees, and you're going to love the view. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan 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 Alan Wright Ministries. 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. The thing that's so beautiful about it is, of course, the child doesn't even need to understand it all consciously.

That's not what it is. We had our first babysitting gig last night. Mia is, she's a little over three months now. She's getting cuter. She was, we were wanting her to eat more than she's eaten, so we gave her a bottle, and it was an amazing, well, Bennett and Amy were out at a party, their first real date since the baby's been born, a big night.

And, oh my goodness, we're using every trick in the book. We wanted her to drink that whole bottle and be happy when the parents come home. So I'm holding the bottle, and Ann's doing a puppet show to entertain her. It was, Ann said, this is the barn dinner theater.

This is, this is dinner and a show right here. And she drank it all down. I texted them. They said, how did she do on the bottle? She said, she drank it all.

They're like, woohoo, we're staying longer. And we're just getting down and looking in that baby's eyes and smiling and looking at her. My wife, there's many things that are genius about my wife.

And some of you get to hear her teach and be around her, but I'm going to tell you, her greatest genius is a mysterious way of looking into a kid's soul and bringing delight. And there is a way in which when you look into anyone's eyes and they smile at you, and interesting, I don't quite understand the meaning of this, but generally from left eye to left eye causes a right brain response. There are things that you are experiencing all the time that are in your right side of your brain that go faster than a conscious thought. You know, faster. You're walking along a path, all of a sudden you see a snake and you think something and feel something in that fast track of your brain long before you consciously have a thought of, I think that's a snake, not a rubber snake.

Is it poisonous or not? You start analyzing it, but first you just feel something. And what we're learning is that it is in the loving attachment that we make that our response to this world is shaped. This goes far to explain what the apostle John meant in his old age when he said perfect love casts out fear. He's saying that the way out of our anxiety is not just behavioral management or even cognitive therapy, but it is the experience of a transcendent love.

It will heal you. Kurt Thompson says the neuroscience is clear. The concept of a single functioning neuron or single functioning brain simply does not exist in nature. And he concludes that it's not good for a man or woman or a neuron or a brain to be alone. Which explains why in the beginning, God said this majestic pinnacle of his creation, humanity, and he saw him and he says, it's not good for him to be alone. And so he made us into a relationship, male and female. And so he made us into a relationship, male and female. Jim Wilder, who is a psychiatrist who studies brain science and does pastoral ministry, had conversations with Dallas Willard, who was one of the premier writers of spiritual transformation and spiritual disciplines. And he went to be with the Lord not terribly long ago. And in their conversations, they were talking about attachment and they were talking about how is it and why is it that people change? It is the joy of my life to personally grow and to help someone else grow and change. I love that, right?

But how does it happen? And why is it that there could be some even devoted Christians? Well, well-meaning servants who believe all the right things, but aren't necessarily experiencing a lot of personal transformation and maybe find themselves beset by some of the same old things over and over and over. While there's someone else that seems to experience so much transformation. And Wilder proposes something interesting, along in his conversation with Dallas Willard that's recorded in his most recent book, that salvation and the the idea of being a Christian we know is more than just mere doctrinal assent because Jesus even said that sadly there would be some on the other side of the world.

There would be some on that day that he said I never knew you. That the people that are with God forever are those that know God. We know that even demons believe and shudder. What is it that changes us and what does it mean really to be saved? And Wilder says maybe it is that faith through which we attach to God.

You become a child of God. And the reason that I share all of that is because I want you to think about the beauty of Romans 1 verse 7. For all those in Rome that are loved by God and this word is one of the most beautiful words you could ever learn and so I want you to learn this word beloved.

It's who you are. If this is what God says this is who you are this is worth learning at least this one Greek word and understanding it and taking a deep dive into it because there is no English equivalent to this word. There's no English equivalent to this word that Paul uses in Romans 1 verse 7. There are in the in the English language there are different maybe expressions like affection and some words that we use but we really just have one word for love but in the Greek language there's several words. There is the Greek word philos it's verb form philo and we normally think of this if we could sum it up as friendship love it's beautiful and powerful and you know friends are friends because they are drawn together by something they have in common. You could have friends in church just because you both love Jesus and that's more than enough that's the beautiful thing about friendship and Jesus it's like you you you might have completely different hobbies and everything but we both love Jesus and I'll get together and have a cup of coffee and just talk about Jesus and that'd be the most important thing and we're friends you see but you also might have buddies that you like to go hiking with or someone that you enjoy quilting with or whatever it might be you see your friends and this kind of love is beautiful in the Greek language there's the word eros which refers to in short romantic love the ancient Greek world was fascinated and exalted eros not just because the ancient Greek world was so sex saturated it was but because it was a religious principle to them that it was the to them not just this physical thing but it was like an impulse of love that was seeking a transcendent experience and this is why it got tied into all of these fertility cults and all of these pagan religions Alan Wright our good news message attached to God and it's from the series Romans chapters one through three we've titled Oh Bologna. Hey stay with us Pastor Alan is back joining me in the studio sharing his part in good news thought for the day in just a moment and we're excited to tell you about Pastor Alan's latest book seeing as Jesus sees it's just been released and it's the giant secret of real transformation now followers of Christ tend to focus on doing so we've been told to ask what would Jesus do but even our noblest efforts to be more like Jesus ultimately fail for the same reason that pledging to keep the law never works there's no gospel power there's no gospel power in our self-striving but what if the secret to personal transformation and victorious living isn't found in doing as much as in seeing anyone who has ever had an aha moment or has suddenly discovered the truth of a situation knows that fresh vision changes everything in his eye-opening new book Pastor Alan Wright invites readers into a new simple spiritual practice a little breath prayer they can be prayed throughout the day Jesus how do you see this it's a prayer that the Savior loves to answer because after all Christ came to be the light of the world clear away confusion win over the darkness and open your heart to wonder and joy by getting your copy of the book right away and when you make a gift to Alan Wright Ministries today we'll send you Pastor Alan's new beautiful hardcover book and as an additional thank you for your support 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 let Jesus take you by the hand and show you a whole new perspective for your life as you learn how to ask Christ for his eyes you'll start seeing as Jesus sees and you're gonna love the view the gospel is shared when you give to Alan 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 Alan Wright Ministries call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website PastorAlan.org back here now in the studio to share Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day and I love the series title by the way Oh Bologna Pastor Alan but the day's teaching is attached to God well we call it Oh Bologna because in these opening three chapters of Romans Paul is exposing the big problem of the world and he lived in a world where there are all these competing ideologies in a pluralistic and paganistic world and you know Bologna is that which it looks like meat but it's actually a conglomeration of other things and so truth comes in and says to all of the claims of the of the world Oh Bologna and narrows us in on the actual truth and what we see today and coming days in this text is that we are beloved and there is a message competing against that all the time messages around us that say shame on you and messages around us that say you're not valuable and this is an epistle that starts with we who belong to Jesus we who are the beloved of Jesus and if you see yourself as beloved if you see yourself belonging to God it changes everything so receive the word from Paul to your own heart he said to all those in Rome who are loved by God but I'm saying you who are loved by God you are his beloved thanks for listening today visit us online at pastorallen.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 pastorallen.org that's pastorallen.org today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries