You'll See Blessing Service

Pastor author and Bible teacher, Alan writings a blessing you there you would have the Savior's own clear vision so that you will see yourself more. The law of general God's grace is all around Helen Wright. Another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light.

I'm Dino Britton 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 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 writings, God does not withhold blessing in order to motivate you to be productive.

He blesses as the fuel for your productivity.

So much of the way the world is take approval, acceptance, blessing, and think like a carrot and say if you will run harder, jump higher than you'll be blessed by what we see the Scripture is exactly the opposite of that God issued us the greatest blessing imaginable instant blessing of the gift of his own son and told us that in Christ would be blessed with every spiritual blessing that all he really can do is receive.

And so we are fueled and our Christian life by the initiating law of of God and today we want to bless your life the Scripture from which this New Year's blessing is founded is when I preach on last week that you missed that you might want to go back and get that from online is to be foundational to this whole series is John chapter 1 verse 43 the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee and he found Philip and said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter and Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, we 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 and answer. Philip said to him, and see what you notice in this text is this all about, see it starts with this Philip saying the Nathaniel come and see Jesus saw Nathaniel coming towards him. There you go. He saw coming towards him and said of him to hold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit in Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me, so Jesus had here revealed that he in the spirit knew who Nathaniel was that nothing is one of those guys who was a straight shooter whatever he thought. I think he said it. He was a person in whom there was no guile, and so when he when he says to him, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit. As we explore last week is like you say and here's a man who's all Israel know Jacob because Jacob was a deceiver and his name was changed to Israel as is, as Jacob finally came to understand the grace of God and quit all of his striving in this world and begin, instead bringing his issues to God and that's what Israel means struggles with God and strives with God. Alden is light and there's no deceit and the thing is I don't how do you know me and Jesus answered and before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. So now Nathaniel realizes that something supernatural is happened that in you somewhere far away under a fig tree, and Jesus has seen him there in the thing I answered Rabbi, you're the son of God. The king of Israel, and Jesus answered him, because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe you will see greater things than these, you will see greater things and he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man you're going to see like Jacob did of old when he saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth.

You see something even greater. You can see through Christ. You're going to see your life connected to heaven in ways that you never recognized before you'll see greater things. I got a smart watch for Christmas.

I don't know that I would've sprung for myself but they got me one and I don't like it I like it a lot. It's really fun. In fact, on New Year's Eve, the midnight also definitely felt the phone vibrating and I looked down and there were fireworks going off on my phone all my smart watch and happy new year right Rev. Wright as well as what she calls me right. Rev. Wright told her, but in the whole day throughout New Year's Day he would say happy new year.

I ran right and all I had to do it just tap on it and I get instant fireworks like that anywhere I go. Do they cannot even instant celebration, just tap on my watch and fireworks and then I found out that the wife celebrates me when I stand up at least one or two minutes every hour for 12 hours a day. It is his income seven has a celebration on the lot as a way to go right. Rev. Wright did the greatest thing in the world you just every hour for 12 hours, one week already since I've had the watch since Christmas. I stood up at least one or two minutes every hour for at least 12 hours seven days in a row and he gave me a metal I got metals and store my metals and their I'm like an Olympic athlete not really thought about saying I could train this lot.

See how smart she really is that maybe she could know start complement me in other ways I may if I'm stuck in traffic and people are trying to pull in front of me and feel like Gautama name and I don't like you want to come as a way to go right rev and I held you cool there. That's good is obviously were said Megan. This is really frustrating but you're doing a good job there. I find it are trying to do all that is canonized to have an encouragement body that just stays with me all the time because let's face it in this world is not enough of it. If I just pretty discouraging place. It doesn't just flow out of people's mouths blessing and encouragement.

I was with some pastors this week at a local pastors, no city and one of the pastors went for a morning jog in the downtown area. They came and reported to us that he was jogging slowly past the homeless man walking in the opposite direction and as he walked by the homeless guy looked at the pastor and said while I thought I was ugly and just okay. That's how he got his day started Lily something and there were a way to be fueled with authentic encouragement.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is a Paraclete's which means literally one who was called alongside. He called the Holy Spirit the Paraclete terms or the help. Sometimes your translations say the encourager or comfort her. He advocate all of those are attempts to to translate this word Paraclete does, but it literally means one who is completely for you who is with you.

Alongside of you helping you every step away. Remember Jesus said I did not come to condemn but to say, and the Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus, abiding in the heart of every Christian. So we have an encourager with us, and what the Holy Spirit wants to do is bring that encouragement through us to one another in the body of Christ talent right will have more teaching moment from today's important series will whatever we been ready for a new year. This is the year as you start planning and dreaming for a great new year. We want to help Alan Wright Ministries has produced a beautiful, inspiring wall calendar with you in mind each month not only the biggest the month in a heart stirring image but also includes a specially crafted blessing for the month from Pastor Alan to you as Pastor Alan explains in his new book, the power to bless which releases February 2 and is available from Amazon for preorder now blessing is a biblically-based faith vision over your life, 20, 21 blessing wall calendar gives you space to write down all of your important appointments and most importantly, each time you see the beautiful image for the month. Your heart will be strengthened by the empowering blessing statement from Pastor Alan. Bless your life with the 2021 blessing calendar. It's our gift to you and you make a donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. Contact us today at pastor@aand.org that's pastor and in.org or 877-544-4860 and start your year out right by the power of blessing today's teaching now can you once again is Alan writing why people start out the new year and I think what it's all about is setting some New Year's resolutions and then trying to live up to some new standards and not opposed to resolutions and certainly not put them is a good thing to set goals in your life and and objectives for meeting those goals, but the reason our New Year's resolutions are short-lived is the same reason we can keep the law, their good ideas. It's noble but it's not powerful. God hasn't designed you to live by your vows to God is designed you to live by his vows to you in Jesus Christ that there's something that happens inside of us. When we are truly deeply blessed that then we become a blessing to others. It is interesting in the beginning, the order of events in Genesis 127 God created man in his own image. Genesis 127 in the image of God he created them male and female he created the order and God bless them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing.

He said I do want to be fruitful. I wanted multiply. I want to have productive lives. I want to be successful. I want to be able to work hard. I wanted to do all these good things, and I wanted to reign and rule in this are, but the blessing that he issued was linked inextricably to their capacity to do all of that and so the blessing comes first blessing is different than prayer because prayer is asking God to do something on your behalf. But what we're going to do today is to speak directly to one another. We in that sense become partners with God to speak God's heart to one another's in the something that's mystically powerful about blessing in an very interesting text will have time to go into. I am sick. Bless the wrong side twin boys, Jacob and Esau, and he was going to give this very special blessing to the firstborn son Esau but Jacob. Desperate to be blessed tricked his father into thinking that he was Esau and he blessed the wrong side blessed Jacob, and I think our culture would so all you do is to say what's made a mistake to speak these words blessing to the correct son, but that's not what happened in this will read in Genesis 27, 32, his father Isaac said to him, who are you speaking to Esau and he answered, I am your son, your firstborn Esau and instead of type IK while bless you to look at what he says. Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, who was it then the hunted game and brought it to me and I ate it all before you came, and I blessed him this and yes, he shall be blessed, my first all that arise. There's something so powerful about blessing that it is irrevocable.

I think illnesses like this when we bless your life today is like planting a seed and whether there's something that feels immediately encouraging to you are not.

It's like in God's eyes. There's something that goes into Austin is like a seed in it can grow and and it can't be taken back. This is a wonderful because curse can be revoked. But blessing biblical blessing is irrevocable goes on and on and on it in some ways blessings. The whole narrative of the Bible that God bless Adam and Eve and then he blessed Abraham twice. He blessed Abraham. He wanted to know that he was blessed and that his descendents would be blast the patriarchs bless their sons Jacob blessed all 12 of the sons as well as Joseph, son of Manasseh in a powerful powerful study story. David blesses his family. David himself is blast so the story just continues until we see Jesus, who at the beginning of his ministry begins with the father's voice blessing him. He starts out his ministry with a series of Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. People bring their little children to Jesus to lay his hands on them, so help bless them. He taught us to bless even our enemies, and in fact the very last thing that Jesus did as he was ascended into heaven.

Is he was blessing his disciples had his hands on his blessing his disciple. When I lift up my hand at the end of the service to speak of the benediction. When speaking is the blessing, benediction means blessing in the lifted hands are symbolic of the laying on of hands.

It is a safe but I like to do is take your hand up in a hand on your shoulder and speak and impart this blessing of God.

This is in some ways the whole narrative of the Scripture, who are blast. How are they bless and will God's people believe themselves blessed. That's what we're doing today, and this particular blessing. I so excited about share some more about it throughout her service today but it's all about seeing come and see Nathaniel Jesus and I saw you wire under the fig tree and then Jesus making this promise to Nathaniel that you will see greater thing through Christ through his eyes. You'll see greater things so many, many years ago and I had a chance to tour Europe on a budget and we are on a budget. So what I meant was, we got to see a lot of places but we never signed up and paid for the local tour guide that would take the little groups run and explain what they were seeing in the museum or what they were seeing at the archaeological site is a we're going all these fantastic places and we didn't know we were looking at your fear archaeological site and you're out there and you got no tour you just looking at going that's a nice rock.

Wonder what it is and so what we learned over time is that there's people had paid tour guides in which disorder inch over towards them nestle up, you know, so it didn't look like were in the group but you cannot lean in enough of one year. We, listening in on what the tour guide since year that you because sometimes you just need expert eyes to be able to appreciate something that we will blessing this year is the same as you have the eyes of Jesus is a year that I have the eyes of the expert in grace expert in glory and wonder to be under show you things that you wouldn't go to see otherwise, I think that this year if you would just make it a practice to say in every situation, just pause only takes 10 seconds just just trying to I been doing it for months and and and got honors it. As I Jesus have you see this baby or in a conversational person you just choose how you see this person right now I see the situation when you get frustrated with culture itself. How you see this Jesus and and what happens is that instead of you saying what I need to do is figure out what Jesus would do and then try to come form more holistically to what he would do. Instead he just say if I could just see it accurately it will change everything about how interacting and how I feel about this because what happens is it your thoughts and feelings, and behaviors lineup with how you see it like like the time that my brother, we're at a seafood restaurant in calabash, North Carolina many years ago as a salad bar. There and I had already got my food and I was seated and Mark came over to the table in his face was red with embarrassment and he said you only what is and is that what is as well as at the salad bar. I thought you were up there on the other side of the salad bar you don't have that little plastic thing over the top can really see across the other side and he said, so there's a fellow on the other side. He's get this out and I'm using my child reaching across and plucking things office play the whole way down the salad bar looking things office play were having a fight in the salad bar. He brought a little back a good and he put it down on the stuff underneath the seat midway through the fiery stand is good. You brought a mountain on the straight 81 cookies. To his surprise, the stranger sitting next to Henry. Deborah got one cookie smiled at him and without asking for one. Well the passenger couldn't believe the man just didn't say anything just let the man grew that's unbelievable. So many another one of his own cookies and in a few moments the stranger next to me.

Deborah took another cookie out and then this went on all flights all the goodies were gone and the stranger need to have this cookies that get frustrated at the end of the flight man reached out to get his bags and looked, and there in his bag was his packet of un-open cookies and he realized he'd reach down and grab something from the other man's stuff. It was exact same pack of cookies and the whole time he'd been eaten. The stranger's cookies, not vice versa. It's funny when it's the truth suddenly gets unveiled and you see something and a whole new light. What is it do it changes how you feel instead of being frustrated now so not all man. This is nicest guy in the world as a rudest got. We want to bless you so that you will have a new perspective through Christ. So I believe that God will give you the eyes of Jesus, so you can see everything as he sees through Christ eyes as he promised Nathaniel you'll see greater things this year on a cloudless open heaven blessing you that you would have the Savior's own clear vision so that you will see yourself more beloved than broken that you will see others potential more than their problem and you'll see the world's hope more than it's hard not grace is all around you'll see that Alan Wright in today's blessing service new year. Good news. Message wrapping up our series, you'll see as we begin a new year and passed around his back with us here in the studio. At the conclusion of this message, which by the way, is a very unique service that takes place at the beginning of each year. Pastor Alan some church. It's a blessing service and so they truly do counter the idea of what most would think it was a New Year's resolution soon expand the difference between resolution well you know we always have our New Year's resolutions are mad and forget that the percentages of people that are going to resolve to have a diet and doing a GME of the gym memberships to skyrocket, and I can't remember a thing. But most of it does away with about three weeks or something are resolutions.

This is not that is wrong to resolve issues that they're not powerful and so in that sense we sort of make fun of our resolutions and instead of saying here's the key to change instead of saying the key to change is our promise that we can try harder we say.

The key to change is God's promise on our behalf so we in this is what the gospel does the gospel empowers us by the grace of what God's done for us, which doesn't make us lazy.

Instead, it fills us with hope, which provides energy for real transformation. So instead, it we been doing this for at least 25 years at our church instead of preaching about talk about New Year's resolutions. We have a blessing service we have.

We have a time in which we start the new year by speaking a blessing which is a positive vision statement of identity that is rooted in the Scripture that is built on faith, spoken with love and confidence and and when we speak this over every every person and so every year if like the Lord gives me a sense of a blessing and soak today's broadcast is a very very important word that we focus as a blessing until we went into 20/20 and who could ever known had would be all about. Seeing as Jesus sees is what we really needed to be able to do when the circumstances are really really troublesome so that's what blessing is and as you know, Dana, just so near and dear to my heart and the topic of the book that were so excited it's coming out in February. That's right.

And so really the blessing service that takes place once a year at the beginning of the year at the church. Would you say that that is is became head of the seed for this book absolutely that the seed for the power to bless which comes out first week of February and you can preorder it now like please please do preorder it because they know we keep reminding our listeners. If you preorder you also get a free audiobook which is a valuable gift but also you get to help launch this book, and which this message is so important because it's become a life message for me. God did not withhold blessing from Adam and Eve and tool they had proven themselves worthy to bless them and then he said, be fruitful and multiply the order matters God affirms who we are out of that affirmation of identity. It's from here so the power of blessing is like the power of the gospel we discover who we are, we discover our destiny, and then we live it out in the power.

That blessing is a mystical thing and so we just practice it every year and wanted to share this with today's good news message is a listener supported production. Alan like ministries