The Peace of War [Part 2]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright here in a spiritual battle, but the weapons that God is given you are not as the world uses as Pastor Alan another message of good news that will help you see your life. No hold I'm Daniel excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series called peacemakers as presented in an older church in North Carolina are not able to stay with us throughout the entire program.

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More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright hip okra taste was the Greek actors that would hold up a little mask over their face when on the Greek stage. That's what a hypocrite Texas.

That's what a hypocrite is literally someone has a mask over and that's what Jesus said to the Pharisees that your hypocrite to your like a actor with outward appearance on your face but it's it's it's not real and that's what you are as we are living a life and he said to them, you are blind guides. Matthew 2324 straining out gnats and swallowing a camp to talk while the religious Pharisees were using their religion and their following all the religious laws as a means of saying we are okay. Peace. Peace. But there's no peace and that were actually better than others who are doing this because look where were keeping the law more meticulously than other people, so it makes us better than the other people which makes us okay with God instead of instead of looking at the deep matters of the heart, and you said you straining out hats and swallowing camels because what they would do it since it was unlawful to eat and unclean animal like famously you know pigs are unclean animals, but the whole list of them technically than that was unclean. So they take their wine, and put the really fine strainer so that they wouldn't accidentally swallow and which would be a violation of the law and you said you strain that your Nat and you have missed the whole point of the gospel you you you understand love you don't understand justice, you don't talk to people about a relationship with the God who is the father who loves them. Your straining link camels. Peace. Peace. Peace. And so God who is so wonderful in order to solve this deadly exact thing that were so hesitant to do. He came in the person of Jesus. Right into the middle of the conflict. He came into that which was his own, but his own received him not.

And he knew that would be the case because he was coming to love and be with those with whom he disagreed, and who disagreed with him.

He came in fact the Bible said to those that were enemies of him came into it and he never once bent away from it, even though he came into a garden of Gethsemane, and he literally sweat blood in his agony and his soul, he said, was sorrowful to the point nearly of death sorely tempted and even asked the father to please take this cup away from him but instead he said, not my will yours be done because he had come into the conflict on our behalf, so that on the cross.

There, in an astonishing and surprising twist. The devil thinks that he's one, but instead loses in all of our centers put on Jesus. So if you trust in Christ you trust that a great exchange is taken place. He's become your sand and you become his righteousness, and you are therefore his child and everything and your life changes but beloved. This doesn't change you are suddenly transported out of human problems, but instead until he returns until we go to glory. We are here, and there's a battle that's going on is a spiritual battle. It's not against people is a heavenly cosmic battle and God's with you and so there's some really good news in this idea of peace of the war and the first is this, it means that if you're going through something difficult that doesn't mean you're out of God's will. It might mean your smack dab in the middle where I saw this most vividly was years ago I preached a long time from Joshua and it really caught my surprise caught me by surprise when I started realizing that the promised land was a place of conflict. The story of the people of God in the Old Testament is really a shadow of what happened spiritually through Jesus.

The people were captives they were slaves in Egypt truly treated and they could not liberate themselves so they had to have a liberator they had to have a deliverer they had to have a a man named Moses who would come in the use of God with signs and wonders in order for there to come. A final play in which a destroyer would move through Egypt killing firstborn's of the Egyptian persecutors, but by revelation given to the Hebrew fathers if they would take an innocent lamb slaughter twilight put his blood on the door posts of their homes that were ever there was blood all over the door pose no harm would come to that family. They would be saved and so the story of the people of God in the literal physical realm was of slavery needed a liberator to come with signs and wonders, a play of judgment where the people were saved because of the sign of the blood of an innocent lamb and that's our story so we were in bondage to sin and Jesus came, who is our true Moses with signs and wonders in the blood of the land is not an animal but Christ himself. And so when you trust that your set free and that's our story, but the story of the people. God didn't end in the Old Testament. With that in our story doesn't end with just being safe. Instead, they were to move towards a promised land in the promised land. They sent spies in their attempt to back with a negative report giants in the land we we we sold the field in the land. We really like glass grasshoppers we could never win the battles there so they retreated and in utter faithlessness and disobedience. They refused to go and take the land that had been promised them so they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. I just wanted so the picture. Therefore, of the wandering in the wilderness is peace peace where there is no peace. Nobody fighting battles, but nobody going anywhere. You can't call that peace. And so Joshua comes along.

Joshua was his name Yehoshua, which is the same name that Jesus and he was promising. Joshua one every place that the sole your foot will tread upon I given to you said no man shall be able to stand before you.

I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, with a promise that we sing songs by the promised land. We think that that's heaven where there's no more battles but in the Old Testament the promise that was a place of many battles and realize many years ago. That means your promised land is your battleground in the battles that you're facing today do not mean that your distant from God to God's not with you and that you will have any peace into you get them all resolved. Instead, you probably just in the middle of the promised land and Jericho walls. There need to calm down, keep marching right will have more teaching moment from today's important series as a Christian you know it's important and you want to make it a priority like minister slips easily for very many are wondering what is the key to praying with willpower in Ephesians chapter 6. The apostle Paul has a clear answer, praying in the spirit premise.

Some would say that Paul is referring to spiritual gift and a supernatural prayer language series, praying with power Pastor Alan reveals different ways of praying in the spirit. Discover how praying God's word is praying in the spirit listen to this.

As you pray, come to see Jesus as your prayer partner practical powerful pastor at night praying with power. Discover the power of praying in the spirit change your prayer life and change the world to get Alan Wright Ministries to listen to Pastor Alan's messages through digital Dharma as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanked him Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastoralan.org teaching now is, it means that there something inside of you that is not satisfied with the way things are and that something might very well be the Holy Spirit within you, who is in you, for the purpose of fulfilling the promise that the battle belongs to the Lord and that you're in the battle. But he's in you and so when it a lot of people have differing levels of feeling of competent competitiveness.

I'm a real competitive person you not learn to tame that you know you're playing the boardgames and everything like calm down honey calm down you know in his life and so first I'll visit me when I was a kid and I started liking tennis and a little boy I played for the Green Valley swim and tennis club championship against my buddy Bob Phillips how old we were little boys hit the ball over lobbing an overallotment back you know is going to forever slope ILO's first one happened to but we're playing a little bit maybe with me I'll take the blame and I lost a game and I just cried and I won the next game and Bob cried. It was the longest match ever had the Junior championship is one of us had to cry after every game.

Now I realize it said it. Winning matters to me, and I think the reason that we feel that way is not because of tennis tournaments or Monopoly game. I think it's in our not even in the business world.

Whatever might I think it's because you've been wired for spiritual battle and you're not supposed to be content with the taunts of the giant unit. Here's a second piece of good news about the peaceable war.

It means beloved that it's okay, don't despair if sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, and it does so if we got back from sabbatical a day earlier than we planned to take in his wonderful trip up to Vermont. Bill roped in 10 days on and we were to come back one day later stop overnight because along with a long, long drive but it was one of those things where your valid trip in the car and the horses smelled the bar and were like, you know, you think we get is route all the way home I was like a long day if I was Going further and say well we just go another two hours and we despise they were going all the way so we arrived home a day early, but is like 1 AM and slept in her own bed and slice the next day there was a jolly wash and rain. Now sit out there and I was thinking about how hard it was raining and I was remembering back more than a year ago. We had water come in or downstairs or lovely finish downstairs and Rachel's it was because we finally found out it was underground drainage pipe that become clogged. It was backing up water was coming out run right down next inside the house instead of draining away from the house and that was the cause of it was a big big ordeal over a year ago and had a single problem, says that he think about and think about all time, but it was pouring and on the Holy Spirit. A little voice check on I went down and write about the time that I went down there water start porn in the house just born in Askar Holler. I gave you and a shop vac. I said you Stacy and vacuum it up and I said I know exactly what the problem is I can see the water running down as I'm not good build unclog that drainage pipe right now but I could go out and dig a trench.

Try to channel that water away from the house and save our downstairs so I went out and put on my mud shoes went out there and put a hat on in the water porn. I can barely see it's raining so hard find a shovel and go out there in the mud and start digging a trench and I'm digging a slop in a mud slide and rain splatter not desperately trying to save the downstairs of my house and I'm looking up to here is the you know once I woke some find welcome back home from sabbatical and but the fact of the matter is I had to praise him because I think the Holy Spirit sent me down there and we would've been gone one more day. Could've been the whole downstairs my house a foot of water and we waited one day and here's the image for you. I had to get muddier before I have a piece set inside and watch TV in my robe and slippers and had no peace. I have more peace out there digging in the mud than I would have Sitton inside sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. The surgery might hurt worse than the cancer but you got peace because the cancer is being taken away and one final piece of good news. Beloved, the battle belongs to the Lord you're in a spiritual battle, but the weapons that God has given you are not as the world uses all of this still hundred percent for everything that you are learning about being a peacemaker and that is the principal call on your life is to go in to the places where maybe people haven't been lobbed.

Maybe they don't agree with you and love you my favorite story of the week so Kristi Williams is a fireball force of nature played in our churches uses knowledge does everything she does all volunteer always ministries works much love out loud and Christmas with city and everything she does, but also been working and volunteering with shape which is an independent ministry that has Christian camps, day camps for kids all over the nation and is really cool. This normal ever had one here Kristi helped with it and was it was held at the Galilee missionary Baptist Church and had a great time.

You know you said games and fun for kids all day long.

Teaching the gospel to all kinds of tremendous activities with them and it was just, you know, I was just loving loving kids, loving kids love these might not go Otherwise.

And then lastly, the finale of the thing they had these mascots to come and be part of it and Chick-fil-A. I think sponsors this you check Chick-fil-A account for Chris's Person like innocent goodness. You just ask your managers ask, and so she wouldn't have one chick flick out and was bent five of them safely But again all the mascots agreement the can call them got the – whatever the – mascot is built know and in all of these solids. I only know all mascots are but one of Salem State University. They sent the ram over what way the ram came was that I think is associate athletic director there that was involved in the camp and he asked football coach for the ram and I think I think that maybe the regular mascot went around so I get one of football players, volunteer, come over, and where the ram the outcome of South football player comes over and he he said that he was like awesome dance and he was as he was the best best best mascot just totally into it and afterwards all, everybody was invited to church the following Sunday and the young man football player was in sight had been the ram came to church and it was a Kristi Thompson. Thank you so much. He said no thank you and I have been church in a long long time maybe sensitive young person been involved in gains when he was young and in church watching the gospel at work watching people get loved and that day at church. They gave his life to Christ story is this beloved that you go is a peacemaker primary with this mission love people and when there is something that is buzzing in the night you got a note, you got some spiritual resources at your disposal. You don't have to just ignore it empowers you to move into a blessing you that you will have the discernment of the Holy Spirit to know the difference between Nathan Wheeler at the door or water flooding into the hall because there's no formula for this. There's some things that we just need to don't bicker about it. It's no big deal and there are other things that it's real it's substantive. Don't be afraid. You can have peace for your warm and Allen Wright's message today. The peace of the war from our series. Peacemakers play with his past relatives back in the studio here in just a few moments sharing reporting good news that we all can use today as a Christian you know it's important priority.

Like most slips easily. Further, and you're wondering what is the problem with willpower in Ephesians chapter 6. The apostle Paul has a clear answer, praying in the spirit. Some would say that Paul is referring to spiritual gift and a supernatural prayer language series, praying with power and reveals different ways of praying and spirit. Discover how praying God's word is praying and spirit listen to this. As you pray, come to see Jesus as your prayer partner practical powerful pastor. Alan writes, praying with power.

Discover the power of praying in the spirit change your prayer life change the world to get Alan Wright Ministries to listen to Pastor Alan's messages through digital Dharma as our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanked him Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastoralan.org with Pascarella and as we put the conclusion of this teaching the peace of the war.

It's also I hear let using discernment in finding peace in that as well. I think that sometimes we're tempted on the one hand, to look for conflict where there is no conflict or to exacerbate an existing conflict in God says no blessing of peacemaker to be committed to peace but on the other hand, Jeremiah prophesied that sometimes we say peace peace where there is no peace. We all know what that means means that sometimes in… Right now the thing that you may dread the most difficult conversation that you need to have if you don't have it, then you got peace peace with no real peace.

You got the appearance of it and the invitation of the gospel is to go deep and I think that's part of what the invitation is to say that there is peace of the war in the sense that yes there going to be conflicts. But God has a way of bringing shalom peace and order and well-being and prospering of soul in the midst of being real about the challenges that we have so yes, use discernment of the Holy Spirit, what are the things that you need to just let go. Don't worry about it. That doesn't it. That's a conflict that is just me let go, but one of the things are important because if so deal with it. You can have peace for your warm if you only caught part of today's teaching.

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