The Mind of Christ [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright what God did for us was he came in the person of Jesus, so that he could feel himself for this God, not a God wants to remain in the distance and hiding that he is a God of revelation pastor welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light on being a Brit excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series you'll see as presented in an older 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's special offer.

Contact us at pastor at.org that's pastor out in.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 are ready for some good news in this time of in many ways unprecedented uncertainty.

We are aware of how little our minds understand, but I have good news today that Paul says we are in Christ have as part of our inheritance is part of who we are as a people. God we have the mind of Christ. When we are trying to understand what we don't yet understand. It's frightening to us, but there's also something powerfully reassuring for the Christian, the Paul speaks of that we have the very mind of Christ. What does he mean and what is it mean for us. We are in a series is called you'll see it's all about the power and life transformation that takes place when you see with the eyes of Jesus were practicing a simple prayer Jesus how you see this and what an important time to ask that very question. How do you see it it'll bring peace to your heart. We are in an intriguing passage in first Corinthians chapter 2, starting at verse seven the words of the apostle Paul, but we import a secret and hidden wisdom of God which God decreed before the ages for our glory not of the rulers of this age understood this. For if they had they would not crucify the Lord of glory. But as it is written, what no eye has seen, no, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man.

Imagine what God has prepared for those who love him these things, God is revealed to us through the spirit. For the Spirit searches everything even the deepest depths of God for who knows a person's thoughts, except the spirit of that person which is in him, so also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given us by God, and we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual than natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things really means more discern its judge like judging people, but discerning all things, but is himself to be judged or discerned by no further who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct them, but we have the mind of Christ I can't read this text without thinking about a precious precious saint who was a woman of faith and power and intercessory leader not only in our church, but in our community for many years at the forefront of the great renewal movement started back in the 70s and working with women. Her name was Dean, Dennis and I wish everybody could have known Dee Dennison and every time I read this text I remember a moment as a young pastor when Dee Dennison interrupted my prayer.

Here's what happened.

We had a precious lady in the church you for a number of years had miraculously overcome a life-threatening cancer, all before I arrived here at an older church and 1996 and shortly after I arrived. The dear lady became sick again and the cancer had returned after got it extended her life more than any doctors had imagine and I went over and prayed with her and she and her husband went down to be with some family and South Carolina and while they were there. The dear lady, she grew more ill and we received a phone call that she would cherish it if we could come and pray for her and I was maybe a year or so into the pastorate here.

I was delighted to go and thankfully we had on a path and elder with a private plane city be happy to fly us down there so that we could pray. So Pilate elder Bob roach and I were going to go and I invited Dee Dennison to go with us because she is a woman, a prayer she was also someone who knew this dear lady very well and so we got into the little praying we we went down and and and had a rental car that we were taken over to the house to go pray and as we were riding in the car over to go pray I said let me lead us in some prayer as we prepare our hearts to go and minister to this lady and it was a situation where the woman was very sick and you wonder sometimes is this the time the Lord's going to just give her the ultimate healing and bring her home. How you pray in a situation like this would when you answer my prayer was going something like this. All Lord, we do love you and we thank you for this opportunity to come and minister and pray in the name of Jesus at all. Lord you know all of our frailties and I went on and on about our frailties.

Lord, you know, we just know so little.

I mean, by the time that I am pray for another five minutes.

I had reduced us all down the grasshoppers how Lord we just really don't know how to pray, we don't know how to minister and I just was going on.

I was telling the Lord over and over how little we know.

And really, in a sense how incompetent you know we were and it went on this prayer of mine is a young pastor for some time until finally Sr. Dee could not take it any longer and she interrupted my prayer and she said, but I do thank you Lord that we have the mind of Christ seated as it arrives in good no longer a me on my pitiful little prayer and realize I needed to stop my line of prayer and just let deeper and she said thank you.

We have the mind of Christ and you're going to lead us and how to do this ministry.

So who was right me.

The young pastor who said, Lord, we know so little.

Our minds are so frail on this woman of faith and power.

Who said we have the mind of Christ.

Well, in a sense, we were both right. But she was in the higher truth. I want talk about the mind of Christ we been talking about the power of seeing when you see something, then you have a new level of understanding and that in many ways what our text is about today makes me think of the farmers commercial. We we've all been seeing the familiar sight of we are farmers… I don't out yell and then he comes on and says well we know a thing or two because we've seen a finger to MMA start show. It is all the different commercials you like a gopher that steals a wedding ring that had really happened and we covered it for a bearer that destroys somebody's backyard freestanding swimming pool yet. We've seen that we'd covered back to end a lightning bolt that hits a lawnmower so that some do not have to mow the lawn. We see Madden recover data, not a bull moose that tears up a swing set in somebody's backyard. And yet we see that we will cover that to we know finger to because we've seen a thing or two will it is to say that there is a relationship between what you see and what you understand is so much of life is like that imagery of our text is about seeing Mike at verse nine. What no I have seen in verse 10, here's the phrase these things God has revealed to us through the spirit was a me for something to be revealed. Well, it means it was covered up and then it was uncovered so that has revealed whatever you whatever you can't see if there's something that has been covering it.

Once the cover is removed and you can see it is like playing peekaboo you you can't see me now you do.

That's, in a sense what Revelation talent right will have more teaching 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 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 Wright Ministries this month will send you this booklet is our thank you so you can discover the power to bless call us at 877-544-4860 or visit pastor and.org these teaching now continues here once again is Alan writing the word in Greek is one that you'll recognize revealed is the word apocalyptic to its a verb that means to uncover so that it can be seen and everything that makes the gospel good news is built on the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.

What God did for us was he came in the person of Jesus, so that he could reveal himself to us what we learn from this is that God is not a God who wants to remain in the distance and hiding, but that he is a God of revelation. Who in the first place was revealing himself to all humanity through the glory and wonder of creation but specifically revealed himself to the person of Jesus Christ.

Revelation means to be able to see what you did not previously see that really is what an apocalypse is apocalypse now as is meeting about the end of the terrible end of the world. It really just means a revelation and so to be a Christian is to be a person who walks and Revelation. So if we look closer in our text. You realize that there is an ongoing relationship between Revelation and wisdom, or between seeing something and having knowledge about what you see here. They look at the text again verse seven he speaks of imparting a secret and hidden wisdom in verse eight he speaks of. None of the rulers of this age understood the same the east, speaking of demonic principalities, they didn't see who Christ really was or what was happening. The cross, he didn't understand. Therefore, verse 11, he speaks of the spirit of a person that knows a person's thoughts. Everything in this text about seeing and knowing seeing and knowing apocalypse Revelation, accompanied by the wisdom that comes from verse 12 we have received the Spirit of God that we might what understand the something that is happening to the revelation of God that lets us understand what we would not understand. Otherwise, verse 13, Paul says we impart words that aren't taught by human wisdom is a text about knowing about wisdom in verse 14 the natural person is not able to understand spiritual things because they are spiritually discerned. This is about what you see or don't see and how much of your understanding or wisdom is related to how much you can see so what is so frightening about this new virus is that it's new to us and because we understand so little. We have much more fear we haven't seen it and we haven't seen how it plays out. Now the more that we get to see it, the more will understand. And the more will understand the less will be afraid. So there is a relationship between seeing and knowing and peace. What you see determines what you understand the world. Throughout history has been changed by people who have seen what other people had not previously seen.

We talk about the great inventors and there been many wonderful inventions and our lives have been changed by technological inventions absolutely. But what underlies all of those inventions is something greater, and that his discovery to discover takes exploration hitting someone who is willing to go to the adage where people haven't been before.

In order to see what hasn't been seen before.

Good good movie. Recommended moving Erin Knotts from Amazon studios tells retells the story of a scientist and a balloon error not who endeavored to ascend higher than any human had ever ascended before the movie retells it in a dramatic fashion. The real-life story of scientist James glacier and Aaron Henry Coxwell tells the real history is of them ascending in the year 1862 to 37,000 feet up in the air in a balloon. It was by far the highest that any human being hit ever reached, and before balloons were traveling up into the atmosphere.

People had all kinds of crazy beliefs about the atmosphere they thought it was a factory of death, and that there were all kinds of noxious poisonous fumes and vapors that would kill people. There, but these scientists that ascended higher learn all kinds of things not just about the atmosphere, but it was the beginnings of understanding that we can actually predict the weather know when it ever imagine. We could with this is the nature of discovery is exciting when you see someone who's an adventurer who's an explorer who go somewhere that other people and gone because when they do that and they can see things that others have not. Discoveries have changed the world like Nicholas Copernicus, who in 1543, on his deathbed. This Polish astronomer published his theory that the sun is actually a motionless body at the center of the solar system, and that the planets revolve around yet. Well, talk about a paradigm shift when someone saw the earth, not the center.

The sun's not going around the earth. The earth is going around the sun wasn't known in 20. He theorizes he saw it and it changed not just astronomy and change the world as we know it or the discovery of gravity. Isaac Newton, who famously it is said was sitting under an apple tree in the saw an apple fall and began to think until he thought up the idea of gravity well that's not exactly what happened but the English mathematician and physicist probably consider the greatest scientists of all time discovered gravity and gravity is exceedingly important because I learned from my son who I asked the question today and he studied physics is important. All the physics principles I can't go any further than that, but is important.

We know there's gravity electricity. We like to think that Ben Franklin discovered electricity when he was flying a kite and send a key up. Remember the story I know he did discover that something about lightning is electricity but electricity had actually been discovered earlier than that. And if you really want to thank someone for what electricity is relied it's Michael Faraday in 1821, who discovered that when a wire carrying electrical current is placed next to a single magnetic pole, the wire will rotate and this eventually led to the development of the electric motor that's all I can say about that. Of course then the whole world was rocked and all of physics was changed by Elbert Einstein, who discovered theory of relativity that time that the speed of light remains constant hundred 86,000 miles a second, and the theory of relativity is so important and I know it's important because we would not be talking about it right now. If you important is really really important change all of physics 20 one more.

The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming who went on vacation in 1928. He didn't do a very good job of cleaning his laboratory before heading out on that vacation.

And when he came back he began cleaning the petri dishes on which he been experimenting with bacteria and 01 – he found a mold that was growing in the area around the mold. The bacteria was gone and that's how we discovered antibiotics. The whole point of this is the say our lines as we know have been shaped by discovery. Another way to phrase that have been shaped by people who saw what others had not seen a revelation Eureka a light that turns on something that illuminates what it been in the darkness, however you want to turn it. It's about seeing that leads to understanding and when we can't see we can understand to uncertainty and fear.

Allen right. Today's good news message the mind of Christ from the series you'll see the past rally back in the studio joining us here in just a moment with a parting good news thought for the day. Stick with us 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 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 back now with Pastor Alan this to you as we share the good news thought for the day and the mind of Christ. It's in the series, you'll see elements or take away.

Later that day know this is an extraordinary thing to be able to listen in on Paul who's talking about how we have the mind of Christ almost feels like it's too bold of an assertion, almost to almost too good to be true to think of it, but in today's teaching and tomorrow will learn exactly what is this mean the mind of Christ Discover is it without the mind of Christ we just aren't very good at seeing things properly, but when we have the mind of Christ we can see things in the spirit so it's a deep teaching to consider what we mean by the soul. What we mean by the spirit and what we mean by the mind of Christ did again with this because it's revelatory and it'll change your perspective on everything. Today's good news message is a listener supported production. Alan Wake ministries