Through Jesus' Eyes [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan writing when you can see things for what are you can see it in the right way, you don't have to spend much time trying to regulate your thoughts or feelings or behaviors they just follow after Alan Wright into another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light.

I'm being a Brit excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series you'll see as presented in an old church in North Carolina. If you're 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. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's pastor out and.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program but right now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan writing is I believe that God can give you Jesus's eyes so that you will see everything that in the way that he sees it through Christ's eyes as he promised Nathaniel, I believe you'll see greater things this year under a cloudless open heaven. May God give you the Savior's own clear vision so that you will see yourself more beloved and broken. You'll see others potential more than their problems. You'll see the world hope more than its heart ache God's grace is all around you'll see it's a word of blessing for a new year word that we're going to be speaking and imparting to every individual and every family all our campuses in this coming week. It's a word of tremendous hope to say you'll see.

And today, as we launch a new series all about cultivating and practicing and asking God's help to see as Jesus sees we go to a story that is remarkable in its implications and is absolutely delightful want to understand what it's all about. It is in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John.

John chapter 1 and it's the call of some of the early disciples and were focusing on the call of Nathaniel, this text becomes the basis also of a New Year's blessing will be speaking this coming week, but it is the launching pad for a whole new series which I believe can become. I don't mean to overstate this but like a whole new spiritual tool for your life.

It's John chapter 1 verse 43 the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee and found Philip and said to him following. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth. Philip said to him, and see. Come and see Jesus all Nathaniel coming toward him and said of him to hold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.

Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me. Jesus answered him, before Philip called you when you are under the victory I saw you that they know answered Rabbi, you're the son of God you the king of Israel. Jesus answered and because I said you I saw you under the fig tree.

Do you believe you will see greater things than these, and he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you'll see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man love watch all of the Christmas movies and included in that is the classic white Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without watching Bing Crosby singing his way to a snowy Vermont renewal of the in and pine tree, Vermont.surely you familiar with the story. If you're not I give you a quick overview Bob Wallace is a captain in the Army and that his life was saved by private Phil Davis bomb exploded near a Christmas Eve celebration.

They were having, as they honored Maj. Gen. Waverly who was retiring after the war Davis Wallace teamed up and became highly successful musicians and even the way to Broadway and the story tells about how they met two sisters and Bob Wallace, the star of the show felt in love with Betty and fill in hopes of getting Bob and Betty more serious about marriage diverted their plans from New York to Pinetree Vermont where Betty and her sister Judy were to be performing at an in their they go to the end. Expecting snow and big crowds and all the skiing but it's a heat wave. There and there's no snow and the place is about to go under because there are no there are no people there at the resort and surprise surprise. Who is it that owns the in and runs it, none other than general Waverley and they bump into him there shocked the Campbell event so when they realize that Waverly's end is in trouble. Wallace hatches an idea to help save the in and honor the general is going to go on national TV and that he's going to invite everybody from the old division to come to the end bring their families to be a lot of business and have a big time to honor this retired general while unfortunately the innkeepers assistant is nosy and listens and on only part of a phone call conversation that Wallace has with this national TV host and she only hears the TV host St. yeah will make it all. Such a small sum will really play it up and play the pity on the old general. She only hears that part and busybody that she is. She tells Betty, I just heard them say they're going to be making fun of the general national TV and Betty's is less the worst thing the world so Betty who is falling and starting to fall in love you, Bob Wallace all of a sudden thinks that he's doing this despicable thing and so now she just dun like him at all and she's on leave leave Bob leave the show leave town and give up on all and nobody has a conversation and there where they say something like, is it true that you're going to go on national TV and make fun of the old general. Nobody has that conversation I Wallace is what's what's bothering you Betty's and my son doesn't it proceeds to have about 20 minutes of the most frustrating misunderstanding where she got to see it accurately at all and just makes me not like her and I can't stand that part of the movie and and and having our sit there watching.

It was at your watch what Chris was a gamble at that whole part in. There was a misunderstanding. We don't see it accurately and as is so miserable lives, and that is that while it is fast for that part and I thought I was joking and we got to that part I got from the misery and jumped right back where now she's watching the national TV program and she sees bylaws get on it and realize it.

He wasn't doing something that was dishonoring he was doing something noble and and and self-sacrificing to honor the general and she falls in love with him again that she sought properly. Grandma she could have a conversation a little while earlier while we were fast forwarding, but isn't it odd how much changes when you see something accurately. We spent so much time and life trying to manage our thoughts, or even our feelings are certainly will try to regulate our behaviors and practices, and habits will spend as much time on what's most important. Seeing accurately, Bob Wallace didn't change it was the same good guy, but her perspective, the way she saw him changed when she saw him in accurately.

She came off of the path that was going to be her joy when she saw accurately.

Her heart changed. She came back to Pinetree Vermont I'm saying is that when you can see things for what they are and you can see it in the right way, you don't have to spend much time trying to regulate your thoughts or feelings or behaviors they just follow after. So how is it that you are able to see accurately.

This is a simple prayer and a simple new way of looking at the Scriptures, but it could change everything. I've been practicing now for months as I've been thinking about this series just ask him. Jesus, how you see this instead of just reacting.

So just instead of just responding out of our emotion or instead of just becoming confused just pause, just a simple prayer Jesus. How do you see this and to look at the Scriptures through this lens that this whole the whole Bible is about Jesus and every place that you see Jesus interacting with people you look and go. How did he see people how does he see problems. How do you see the world say Lord I want to learn. I want to learn to see as you see, that's Alan Wright will have more teaching in a moment from today's important series want to give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget. Let us help you give a gift, that money can't buy this Christmas. Give someone your blessing a positive biblically-based faith filled vision for their life in the beginning God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply, because in God's design blessing isn't the reward for productivity.

It's the fuel for it.

Now more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft this month. Special offer from Alan Wright is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft an blessing for easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based, and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing.

So this Christmas. Give someone you love a present, not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in the package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card.

They'll never forget it when you make your gift. Alan Wake ministries this month will send you this booklet as our thinking so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor and.org. Today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan writing far better thing than say what would Jesus do, which is in some ways I noble is just a form of kind of moralistic lease saying well if you give me a model how is goes behave. I'll try to do that. What I think God wants to was something much deeper than that, as of again studying for this series on my first question the Lord was is this your will. Do you want us to go to see as you see and the answer of course is yes, Jesus and John chapter 8 verse 12 spoke saying I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The promise is for every believer to have light. It's not his will for us to stumble about in the darkness. He wants us to have Revelation Paul said of every Christian. Romans 814, all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The children of God are given the Holy Spirit so that our lives are led not by our natural mines, but by the spirit. Paul even went so far. First Corinthians 216. To say we have the mind of Christ. John said in his little epistle. First, that it chapter 2 verse 20 that you have been anointed by the holy one, and you have knowledge he's talking in a section here about testing the spirits and knowing what's right in discerning things he says just a few verses later, but the anointing that you received from him abides in you and you have no need that anyone should teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and is no life, just as is talking you abide in him and nothing you don't need Bible teachers only St. but when it comes to being able to see Aziza see you have an anointing you have the Holy Spirit course James said plainly.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God to give generously to all without reproach is to be given to him by God loves to give you wisdom. It just seems to me clear in the Scripture that God wants us to be able to see things properly, and what happened is that Adam and Eve saw things properly. When sin came in. Their vision became distorted and all of us have been born in sin. So God sent Jesus as a God man to be the perfect human and Jesus saw everything accurately and the invitation for the Christian is through the redeeming power of what Christ has done for us where and we have not only been forgiven but been made right with God. So there is no impediment that remains no penalty due us know know know guilty charge remaining against us because Jesus has paid all it means that we are invited into a kind of fellowship with Jesus and which you can say Jesus how do you see this and doesn't mean that you become omniscient, like God, it doesn't make it and then you know when Jesus is coming back and he is not going give you the numbers of the lottery or whatever you know but in looking at yourself and looking at other people and looking at this troubled world. Imagine what it would be lying to see as Jesus sees, so I start with this incredible story and which these early disciples are called and Philip says to Nathaniel, and see and then the narrative is all about seeing Jesus sees Nathaniel in the spirit under a fig tree and then promises that Nathaniel is going to see greater things. It is for Nathaniel what happens to anyone when their eyes get open to see something properly, your whole world changes. I love I love the fact I've seen it happen hundreds of time someone's eyes are opened to see in a way they not seen before and it changes everything.

It is in essence paradigm shift.

This is a common phrase that began in the work of Thomas Kuhn was speaking mainly of how paradigms can shift in the scientific world where there is a whole way of looking at was thinking just terms of a science, a whole way of looking at something and a lot of ideas seem to fit into it and collect within that paradigm, but then you realize that there is new knowledge or revelation that comes and the old paradigm to doesn't work anymore so for a long time people thought the earth was flat and the sun was was was moving well, that was that was the wrong paradigm and that we could fit some of our understandings of physics and the stars into and try to make it fit. But in the end it just doesn't fit. I saw someone described it like this and said the paradigm you could think of it as like these containers it's is something that ideas fit into. It's a way of saying so let's imagine. These are paradigms and I've got these beautiful pom-poms here and it's okay. Here's this one paradigm and all of my ideas and thoughts can fit down into it, especially if I shut it down. I like that one right there and is not identified and it fits in there and then you go through centuries like this and ideas that all it all fits within that paradigm.

Now that's why the earth is flat. The sun moves up and down goes around us and off.

It's not all fits and I and so life goes on and you just got to get the same paradigm everything since if it and then all the sun comes Revelation and somebody's realizes that they are discovered something about the way the horizon is or so I will physics it really was, but then I did a note doesn't fit it just doesn't federal and you can try. You keep going stuff and then and it is a know it all, until finally, what you realizes you need a whole new paradigm.

You have to have a whole new way of seeing things because the other ideas that are true.

In reality, they won't fit less a but you have a whole new way of saying it.

See, Jesus didn't come to tweak our ideologies. He didn't come to slightly adjust your behaviors by giving you a new set of rules. He came instead to change everything in your mind. Matthew four verse 17 Jesus began to preach, saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and repent means change your way of thinking that's what it means change your mind you know he saying get a whole new paradigm.

Get ready for everything you believed to become politically transformed repent while because you always believe the kingdom was out in the distance you thought the Messiah was out in the future, but essentially the message that Jesus preached and he told his disciples to preach was change your minds. Now the kingdom is not often the future is here now. He said, and Luke, chapter 4, after he read the scroll of Isaiah that was a prophecy of the Messiah who was anointed to preach good news to the poor and release to the captives. He rolled and Isaac at Luke 420 he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the tenant sat down in the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. They were expecting to hear new emerging Rabbi who had some renown to give them some new insights on the Isaiah prophecy, and to think about some things about the Messiah and a new way of what it means for good news to report all that is steady, rolled the scroll back up is that it happened not rock their world is what happened to Nathaniel, his eyes got open the something that would change in Allen right in our good news message today looking at life through Jesus on his it's from our series will see in pastor and is back with this in the studio with today's parting thought in just a moment want to give someone a present this Christmas that they'll never forget.

Let us help you give a gift, that money can't buy this Christmas. Give someone your blessing a positive biblically-based faith filled vision for their life in the beginning God blessed Adam and Eve and then told them to be fruitful and multiply, because in God's design blessing isn't the reward for productivity. It's the fuel for it. Now more than ever, someone you love needs your blessing and we're here to help you craft this month. Special offer from Allen right is a beautiful booklet that will teach you how to craft an full blessing for easy step-by-step instructions are biblically based, and even include a worksheet that helps you write your blessing.

So this Christmas. Give someone you love a present, not found in stores, a gift from your own heart that will encourage and empower write down the blessing and put it in the package under the tree or put it in your Christmas card.

They'll never forget it when you make your gift. Alan Wake ministries this month will send you this booklet is our thinking so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor and.org pastor Alan.

It's a brand-new series that were kicking off today and I love the title.

Seeing through Christ's eyes.

In this series, you'll see we go discover Daniel what I think is for for me and for many of us who have begun thinking about this a sort of new spiritual discipline. We've often heard it said it was famously and printed all over the place.

What would Jesus do only problem with that is that not only will do we know what Jesus would do in a given situation, but that it's sort of a moralistic approach to living.

It is the say let me figure out what I ought to do and then I'll go do it. The problem with figure out what you ought to do and then trying to do it is it doesn't empower you to be seeing today in the coming weeks is something marvelous and that is if you can see it as Jesus seems then your emotions and your thoughts will line up with and so it's an incredible promise to say to Nathaniel you'll see greater things and I think it's Jesus's promise to us during the time in which we really need to be able to see life is today's good news message. It's a listener supported production. Alan Wake ministries