Speaking Like God [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright things that are completely male and female in so many ways God says this is the most beautiful if you want to see glory, take that which seems so obsessed and make it into a dynamic union and in that life will a marriage by being excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In the series, the power to bless taken from Pascarella's book of the same title and is presented in an old church in North Carolina. 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@pastor.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. The key is just just just stay right in the middle and don't have much emotion you don't want to be you only rule by motions and not that that's that's true, but but science is proven, the old proverb is absolutely literally true laughter does good like a medicine is nothing like a good belly laugh. I'm telling you they have proven that people who laugh are their immune systems are stronger. There's all kinds of health benefit mentally were completely there.

We laugh and some improvement that laughter actually helps build the abdominal muscles that's my best exercises just laughing best thing can happen you just get hit with joy the Holy Spirit and laugh until you enter you into you finally get that wonderful set abs you been taught. Megan and we need to laugh their ties. We just need to laugh, and we need to laugh a lot. So you might say well that's the whole key that is laugh and never try not so in this world.

Beloved, we lose things is just part of life and Jesus himself wept profusely, wept, and he said blessed are those that mourn for they will be comforted and if you never really mourn.

How can you receive the comfort that you need that you know that they discover that their actual toxins in our tears there actually is something toxic gets released and out of us when we cry every counselor pastor can tell you is one of the great obstacles in life because it feels so hard to grieve that we don't want to face our losses and instead we try to ignore them, push them down, walk around them, and there is no other way to live a healthy life except to admit what we can't control and accept what we've lost and receive the ministry of the Holy Spirit to comfort us in the comfort of the body of Christ. We don't to state laughter. We don't just need tears. If you're really going to be healthy. Every illustration in life points to this right was interesting. After all of these thousands of years of humanity did with the ratio of male to female on earth is one to one. In fact, to be precise is 101, 200 there actually more baby boys that are born.

I buy a little bit but for whatever reason the men die off earlier and so it all equals out and it any given point throughout history, the ratio of men to women is 1 to 1.

Could somebody tell me what are the chances of that happening all by itself no chance of why is that is God's design things that are completely opposite, male and female in so many ways God says this is the most beautiful if you want to see glory, take that which seems so opposite and make it into a dynamic union and in that life will and arch which by the way, just parenthetically I know this is a nuanced subject and it is a painful subject and are in the public arena, but our affirmation of only heterosexual marriage is not just because we point to a couple Bible verses. It is because of this grand design of God.

Things that seem to be opposite come together and glory is revealed. So we mustn't try to say what we don't need sleep.

We don't really need exercise. Let's just get in the middle-of-the-road and just stay right here where we don't really rest much and we don't really exercise much. How foolish that would be it would be just as foolish to say we don't really need male and female with just get everything sort of the same.

That's not God's design.

Jesus came full of grace and truth, and we have beheld his glory. Look at verse 14 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It means literally. He tabernacle among us. It's an image that reminds us of the tent of meeting the traveled with the Israelites in the wilderness and it was the place of the meeting of God and man is Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the temple, he is the place where God and man me perfectly in him and he dwelt among us, which means he pitched his tent among us. They came near to us. Eugene Peterson wrote in the message translation God moved into the neighborhood and we've seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth. This unspeakably important verse speaks of the word, which is the logos which the Greeks had in mind ordering rational principle of the cosmos and John says that Logos is actually Jesus we've seen his glory.

When you think of the glory of God coming down. You must think of Exodus 33 and 34 for Moses here at verse 18 said please show me your glory and God said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord, and I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious and I'll show mercy on whom I'll show mercy, but he said that you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live Moses thirsted to see the glory of God. I want to know you more. I want to experience your Majesty more intimately and God said, I want to show you part of my glory. No one can see my full glory and live so he hides Moses in the cleft of the rock and it chapter 34 verse five the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with them.

There in proclaim the name of the Lord so the Lord is announcing his own identity. He is describing himself. So all the things the Lord could speak here to define himself as he reveals them glory. Look what the Lord does the Lord passed before him. Verse six and proclaim the Lord, the Lord Yahweh. Yahweh our God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

What's all about describing who God says I am grace and then is as by who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation is said that the wages of sin is death. He is sad that only those who are obedient will walk in the blessings of God is said those who disobey the law will be cast apart from him and have judgment on their lives and God spoke that and the truth must come to pass. So what is God's key grace or is he truth is he live or is he holy is he mercy or is he justice them. So you see, when he defines his own nature to reveal his glory, you have to seen God as he is not glorious if he's only grace he is not glorious if he's only truth, but he is altogether lovely and altogether holy and therefore he is glorious because it is grace and truth always has been and always will be right will have more teaching moment from today's important series announcing for 99 days in a row. Someone tells you, I love you letter for site when you feel cherished. The what would happen if I'm hundreds divesting person sad that sure you get enough for me to measure up on the Colletti anymore.

When that one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% of conditional love poison.

The other 99% with just 1% of lies enough to spoil grace blocking introducing unlimited capacity for fear that if I don't measure up. When my having rejected when the Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church. They pass Apollo is outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Alan Reitz 12 message ideas series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free, and empower you with pure grace its compilations and ask the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today senior pastor's message is attractive, see with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership.

Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and.like today's teaching you once again is Chris Moses sent to a cleft of the rock so you can see the glory of God. When you come to Jesus Christ you're putting into Christ, who is called the Rocky is the rock you are hidden in Christ so you can come near to the glories of God moved into the neighborhood desktop lady was traveling in England's Cheddar Gorge and encountered a sudden storm and found Shepherd in the ship shelter in the cleft of a rocky overhang and it was there. He was inspired with those timeless words rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in the let the water and the blood from my wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and power is a double cure okay so how does this get a visual for the town's work is something I've shared from time to time over over the years, when, where and when we have new members class we often will share this with this is something you can understand about what we aspire to be as a church and it really is based on something that was doodled on a napkin by friend of mine.

It references verse 17 the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

I think sometimes people wrongly think that the contrast is merely between law and grace. The old covenant is law and covenants grace and we speak of it that way, but really, the contrast is law and grace and truth. And it's it is not that there's grace and and and and and some law.

There's no law for those those of us are the new covenant, but there's grace and truth.

This is really really important on to understand, and you know we preach grace so much. It doesn't mean that the laws bad laws good the law was given by God to show us how we should live alone was a revelation of God's own holiness and the law was given to us to let us know how much we need a Savior good looking people think about and make all bad laws good as we can keep it as that's the bridge grace all the time ago I was going outside to a couple of miniatures for a long time now, when their children were young they had just started coming here become less than a year and their third-grader came to big church without and they heard the message of grace.

He got really excited about the gospel grace and went back to their home state will used to live and while they were there visiting family. They went back visited their old church and the rotting away from church that day the third-grader piped up and said of the sermon said one now that what just law law law and friends which when I have a law on your life and become like so I love the covenant grace, but the new covenant is really grace and truth that Jesus is grace and truth.

And this is one thing, grace and truth are utterly, utterly different, but they are connected in Jesus is not just 50% grace and 50% true. These hundred percent grace in 100% truth. Grace means gift and ultimate death in a mysterious way really is when you give semi the truth so there's a real sense in which grace is truth and truth is grace right it's it's if someone had a life-threatening disease, and the doctor says I have a study that reveals a particular antibiotic one antibiotic that is effective against this disease and I'm going to give you the antibiotic and is going to cure you that truth of this one specific antibiotic is the greatest grace to that patient. Truth is grace and grace is truth. They are inseparable and yet they seem so different.

I was sitting with a friend and have breakfast and it was just as many, many years ago and he said I think of anything I think of grace and truth is that not many churches are like that is a really this is aspirational Christian life. We should be full of grace as we AEP do this are not going to show you how this works. At first it is put at the top.

He said Jesus, full of grace and useful truth is that what what it was a word for the opposite of grace. And he drew an arrow over us and well I would say legalism and he said you guys. It was absent truth and we drew an arrow over. He drew an arrow and so will I would I would call that deception faulted something like that is that your is the problem is that where's Jesus was 100% grace 100% true.

Most of us leaning one way or the other and oftentimes there's a riff that comes right down the middle of this and is of the problem with it is that if we are all grace and we don't have any truth. Look what it leads to, and it leads to a life of deception. Just think about that if if all you all you are is just lovely and gracious and kind but you don't care about the truth or are filled with the truth. What you gonna wind up with some people that seem really nice that are really lost just just this law often say people like this.

They will people that don't believe in narrow truth. What just let him ask somebody for directions. What if semi was directed to my house wasn't well for beer for me to tell you any specific way to get there.

Always leave to my house that's just people to be wandering around lost right people need specific truth.

But if you have truth and you have no grace. Look what you wind up with legalism and I could use in other words, for this you could refer also to legalism as a moralism. I like to think of moralism as you care about right and wrong way more than I should ship moralism if you will like a transaction, then God will if you will be better.

Moralism likes to interpret every story in the Bible as if it's about how you want to be a better person so that God will bless you more so if you read the story of David and Goliath. We teach them in Sunday school, more realistically look at David he was brave that you want to be brave like David face all your Goliaths be break and you notice that John semi just to be brave and make them brave, but they will make you brave is if you're one of the cowardly soldiers of Israel, trembling day after day, Goliath taunts and then one day a mediator or an unlikely candidate from Bethlehem comes onto the scene as is outside the giant and he runs out there with his sling and smooth stones and slaves.

The enemy own behalf of the whole army. They will make you brave is when you see that happen when you see what your champions done for you when you see what David is gone when you see with the son of David has done when you see what is possible all of a sudden that cowardly army is brave and they chase them down for 7 miles routing the Philistines as they go, moralism discharge, which ought to be and then giving power to be today's good news message speaking like God did from the series the power to bless Pastor Ellen's book by the same title and you get that@pastornowin.org find out more on how to get a copy of your own past relatives back with us in the studio shearing is parting good news thought for the day. In just a moment imagine for 99 days in a row.

Someone tells you, I love you I'll never forsake when you feel cherished.

But what would happen if I'm hundred percent sad sure you get enough for me to measure on think I love you anymore.

When that one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% unconditional love poison.

The other 99% which is 1% of lies enough to spoil grace blocking introducing unlimited capacity for fear if I don't measure up. When my having rejected. The Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church. They pass the policy outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Alan Reitz 12 message idea series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free, and power you share grace.

It's called Galatians and asked the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry will send you pastor messages in an attractive CD album with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor Alan.org distributors, your pastor, Alan sporting good news thought for the day and in this good news moment. I am reminded of the diagram that you were mentioning in the quadrant and I know in radios. It's hard to describe that. But there is something very practical about knowing the opposites and you talk a lot about balance in this message. So Jesus came full of grace and full of truth, not 50-50 but full of graceful truth. So if we want to speak like God and we want to be like God, that our lives will ever increasingly be grace and truth. Not not just one or the other. And I think in NF put it into a visual of four quadrants using a continuum of grace. If you measure vertical line is grace and a horizontal line. The truth, and is grace moves up and truth moves greater to the right, if you look at it is if you're looking at a graph of quadrants up that right-hand corner that's a blessing. Grace and truth. The opposite where there's no grace and truth.

That's curse but there are other forms of speech because there's a lot of speech that's truth, but it only grace with it and that's what I call moralism. That's with the Pharisees focused on right Jesus when Jesus was infuriated the Pharisees because they were making life hard for people tying heavy burdens around them by just being moralistic. What you all to be moralism to all concerned when right and wrong and never relationship, but a moralism up in the other corner, the left-hand upper corner of the quadrants. Well, that's where you have lots of grace but no truth and that's kinds beer. The age so we learn about that in today's message and I just think that is a helpful graphic.

If you don't it's in the book. If you don't have the book hope that you get it, but I will be happy to send you that if you let us know what you have to send you a copy of the diagram to help you with this you can learn and and recognize okay what form of speech in my hearing right now which quadrant is it is really helpful and we do this in the book to take some different scenarios you just think about like I use a story about one of your parents you had a teenager got got a ticket for texting while driving. Thankfully nobody got hurt may be was a minor accident or something. How you talk to that teenager in a way that's blessing even though there something needs to be corrected and have you not end up cursing in your frustration, but will have you not also just be moralism or a moralism. I will go over that in the book detail by detail because I think we need a guy be thoughtful about it and the more you think about it, you can end up training yourself to have the kind of responses that I think the way that God interacts with us and it brings the truths which is yeah it's way better not text while you're driving side, but grace is that he you have a wonderful life in front of you and your that important that I need to talk to about this so you put those two things together and your help and shape someone's identity towards a positive future.

So all of that is visualized in this simple simple graphic that again will be happy to send it to you if you don't have it, but better yet, get the book in and be careful to read that chapter slowly and take it in and start practicing your life. Today's good news message listener supported production Alan Wright ministry