Only Human [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan writing to address all I got. It was that he was assigned the right hundred thousand dollars is or the officer so that Roger got up to start the eulogy and he said well, and very old Joe thereby knows old Joe wouldn't by any means perfect, compared to his brother. He was assigned excited for you to view the teaching today. In the series of Limited is presented at renewal. The church North Carolina are not able to stay with the entire program. I will make sure you know how to get our special resource. Right now, you could 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 pastoralan.org Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program right now. Let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright are you Christians and worst moments we are still holy and at our best moments were still human and makes us holy and human. I'm going to be going through a section of acts 14. Today's auto line by line, but I want to give you just two verses that will plant the seed of today's message and acts 1411 after God has used Paul to heal a man who been crippled from birth. Verse 11 when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices saying and lie Oconee and the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. So they want to worship them and it verse 19 how quickly the sentiment changes but Jews came from Antioch and I chromium and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. One minute they want to worship him. The next minute they want to kill him because sometimes they'll want to worship you and sometimes they'll want to wallow and you can't build your life only.

There was a rascal of a man.

His name was Joe died and everyone knew is a liar and it teetering on faithful in every way and before the service.

The memorial service. Joe's brother came to the pastors and pastors listen I just it's really important for me to use you to say nice things about my brother and the past so well, you know, as you know, we all know it was it was who, anyway, and the brother said I know I said but past that I tell you I am prepared to write a check for $100,000 you donate dear church if you just tell everybody that my brother was a saint the past that all I gotta do is say he was a saint you right hundred thousand dollars. He said yes or so. The pastor got up to start the eulogy and he said well we come today to bury old Joe thereby knows old Joe wouldn't by any means perfect but compared to his brother.

He was a saint is saved is not a person who is somehow more gifted or even better than others. Biblically speaking, a saint literally is a holy one means that every single Christian is someone who has been so thoroughly forgiven by God is so completely set apart in Christ that any single Christian and we together the body of Christ Jesus that would do the things that Jesus didn't even greater things because we are holy. But we are absolutely human. Also in that's what this text is about the story about Paul.

People think because God use them in such a miraculous way. You must be a God. Paul, who is this astonishing appalled that anyone would think like that because he realized just how human he has an end in just moments the crowd turns and they're ready to try to kill him. I remember years ago I was in a pastors conference, Bishop TD Jakes was speaking and that he was at the time as he is still one of the most renowned preachers in the nation, and he was talking about not giving over too much influence in your life of to the flattery order or the criticism of others and he said that one time he was walking down the streets of Atlanta with a colleague on the way to a meeting and someone recognize him and started hollering out in him started to speak in all kinds of terrible things. Bishop Jake sure the worst thing Bishop Jakes during a positive vision that you're not about Evergreen just was going on on all the negative and TJ said you know what I did.

I've kept on walk one block later somebody else recognize me and started hollering out is an amazing guy got your most wonderful person in the world you changed my life into Dragon the most special you the most gifted preacher in the nation. All this is that you know what I did. I've kept on walking. Because in this life. Sometimes they want to worship you and sometimes they want to wallow.

And you kind of know your identity in Christ rather than from the fickle crowds.

Let's look at this incredible miracle story. Acts 14 verse 5 to 7 when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and stone them. They learned that, and they fled to Lysistrata and Derby cities of a lie Oconee into the surrounding country and there they continued to preach the gospel. So the reason that there in Lysistrata is because they were persecuted in the previous city and I'm trying to keep a map in front of it. We got it here just to show you that they move first from Antioch over in Syria down to Cyprus and then up to these provinces of Asia minor where basically a pattern emerges where they preach the gospel, and many, many people are saved in their signs and their wonders and then leading Jews began to persuade the crowds to persecute them and their persecuted and they are brought to the point of being executed and so they have to then escape and they escape go to another city and this is part of how the gospel spread its and it's just a pattern in the book of acts will come to verse eight of acts 14 Lysistrata there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked the emphasis on being crippled from birth reminds us of some other accounts in the book of acts specifically earlier when Peter is used by the Lord to bring healing to a man who'd never been able to walk before and we see in that story. The man was a beggar and this man would've been a beggar. Also, when you are disabled like that in the culture the you just had to rely on others charity to even be able to eat and so is his situation is desperate. He has no place in society and he has no real advocacy for him and listen to what happens watches it verse nine he listened to Paul's speaking and Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet and he sprang up and began walking. We spent the first half of this year, exploring a new spiritual principle and idea of a discipline that is not commonly spoken up the idea of instead of trying to think what Jesus would do and imitate that morally instead to invite by the Holy Spirit, Jesus, to show us how he sees because as we talked about for months. The way that you see shapes how you think and feel and forms all your behaviors so if you perceive a situation to be one that is threatening, then you will respond in a defensive way. If you perceive a person to be wicked, who's actually good. You treat them as a wicked person and when we misunderstand situations that we misunderstand people that were not to think or feel appropriately towards what happened. If you could get Jesus's eyes a begin to see as Jesus sees well instead of then trying to build your life on moral conformity to patterns of behavior. You are living a Spirit led life where your discerning through the eyes of Jesus and then your behaviors, your thoughts and feelings all just challenge right will have more teaching moment from today's important series inspiration and practical help to grasp is that in conjunction with the exciting really suppressed Allen's new book, the power to classically put together some tools to get you started on the journey of speaking life empowering the people you that the toolkit includes a message of Pastor Alan's recent sermon on the mysterious pricing from them the marks at the gateway to understanding the power of all blessing also included in the kit is a booklet with a list of scriptures that can be spoken directly as blessings breaking scriptures and product pricing can easily access them for specific situations when you make your gift right ministries this month will happily send you the power to bless toolkit is our way of saying things for your partnership resources are available for immediate digital download or available in CD and a click partner with and be inspired and equipped to bless someone's life to the gospel is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries. 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 thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website Pastor our and data work. Today's teaching now once again is a very similar story to this where Peter and the book of acts is squawking by a man who'd been crippled from birth and probably Peter had walked past this man hundreds of times, but the text said that Peter stopped and looked at him very intently. It's it verse four of acts three Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John and said, look at us and he fixed his attention on them expecting to receive something so this beggar was expecting that when Peter said, look at us.

That is because the beggar was going receive some alms, but verse six of acts three Peter said I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk in the language of this is so interesting. It is for lack of a better phrase. Peter did a double take. What would happen what Pete there's a there's a man who's who's who's lame from birth and East always out begging Peter fun walk by him hundreds of times in Peter's walkabout on this day and all of a sudden he looks and glances and likes you and all of a sudden he stopped and he turned and he begins looking and gazing intently at the man.

On the double take with you like something you would normally notice and also you like. What was Peter seeing what is the same thing Paul saw in this story is fascinating. Look again at verse nine of our chapter X 14 verse nine he listened to Paul's speaking and Paul looking intently at him.

And here's the phrase a highlight. Seeing that he had faith to be made well said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet. Was he seeing you see that someone had faith to be made well. The man say something was, the man just leaving in intently and do more focused on the preaching was the how can you see faith on someone when you it's interesting to me. On the one hand, we feel like that yes we can see confidence or fear, though, I was thinking bag famously. It was part of what was attributed to the Wynn of John F. Kennedy over Richard Nixon in 1960 because it was the first televised debate, and evidently both men refused to wear makeup before the deck.

Actually, this is I went back and read it. Kennedy, who either had a natural tan or it was a result of Addison's disease that he had, but he had this warm looking complexion and young good-looking man and he said he was not aware a professional makeup for the debate and Nixon heard that and was worried that people found out he did wear makeup and candy didn't did that would come by dawn, so he refused makeup also.

But Nixon had turned out had a real thick beard. He joked one time he said if he shaved 30 minutes later he had a 5 o'clock shadow is a right before he went on, there was some product. I think it was called instant shave or something like that. It was an over-the-counter product that you dab on your face and it was basically a makeup. You know me it was it was him. It was just an over-the-counter think it made you look like you had a fresh, safe, and his staff convention to put it on what two things Nixon. It turns out, had scraped his leg badly while campaigning in North Carolina and it got infected it's really been very feverish and he lost about 20 pounds is really tired and he just put this fake shaved stuff up at this stuff on this started failing him by the end the debate so he was perspiring so people thought that Nixon was anxious and that Kennedy was confident. It really wasn't actually the case.

It was a lot of other things. It was going on so is really interesting say what could you tell who has faith and who has fear well in one sense you could look at someone as I only looked nervous. You know if they were perspiring and they were shaking or something that someone else was really confident.

So in this sense may be in the natural but you know how unreliable that is for us to say we see that someone had faith to be healed. So what is it that Paul, like Peter in chapter 3, Cecil why I think, understand, because I have had many moments in the spirit were this very things happen to me was so interesting first time really experienced this in a meeting, a spiritual meeting. I was just minding my business. Maybe you are my test my my my business with my nice Christian church in Durham Road been for seven years and my mom called and told me in 1993 there's meetings at her church a nondenominational church. She says like Pentecost is broken out here you got a come and I was comfortable with my situation and I was not at our church is not as exuberant in worship is hurt and so wasn't really comfortable but eventually and I went and there was a young Pentecostal evangelist and Richard Moore who was there and I never seen anything I like it before because what Richard would do in the course of the meetings after he preaching start ministering and this young evangelist would just look around also and he looked over to the side they say you ma'am there yes you quickly come here come here look at everybody wanted to go up because everybody got prayed for was getting some sort of major blessings, supernatural joy or healing or something and so even though it's just like you know it so many ways you can think what about a meeting with Michael just called me up front.

You know the ultimate violation of boundaries but that's was having is meted and he would just call people up and almost everybody you call up just be really really touched by the Lord and ended up becoming a dear friend of mine Richard because my life got touch of that ministry, a member that first week when I start getting on my civil how you decided to call up and now this is Pentecostal language. He said I see the anointing on them now. What is he mean by that. You see that I it was basically saying the same thing that that this Texas thing that Paul saw that he had faith to be made. Well, you see that is a because they were leaning because they look different because they work sweating like the rest of the trust and you can't describe this because this is mystical and it is something that comes as I was saying earlier by seeing with eyes of Jesus will since that time many many times I've had that same experience.

Some things you just could only know by the spirit. Sometimes you just know because Jesus is giving you his vision sometimes you're going to know in a conversation with someone that is time for you to turn that conversation right into a spiritual way and you can just know sometimes you just cannot have a sense where you just in a some sort of gathering.

Maybe it's just some Christmas dinner party and for some reason your heart is drawn to go talk to this particular individual because you sense there's some kind of receptivity or need.

And God wants to do something in their life. This is this is part of the inheritance of any Christian is many as are the children of God, led by the spirit of God. This dramatic miracle takes place because Paul saw in the spirit that this lame beggar had a I guess a gift of faith that had been dropped upon him that he could be made well so in verse 10. In a loud voice, stand upright on your feet and he sprang up and began walking is a great great instance of the kind of prayer. It is more of a proclamation, then it is a petition, it is a prayer but it is a declarative prayer and is powerful when this kind of prayer is released and in the spirit authorized within you. According to the word of God in the corner leaving God to two releases, prayer is not really the norm of Christian prayer for the sick, and in fact the norm for Christian prayer of the sec. in James chapter 5 verse 414 anyone among you sick call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name Lord so we are not instructed in the Scriptures. The main way that we pray is by simply declaring things Jesus himself when he was asked by the disciples teaches how to pray, he gave them a prayer that had request to the Lord, Lord, we you we you give us our daily bread and forgive us our our debts as we forgive our debtors. Prayer is the body of Christ, interceding, lifting up in confidence and faith.

According to the word of God in the spirit requests unto the Lord for him to do marvelous and amazing thing. But there are times and this is one and the numbers of instances in the New Testament throughout the book of acts where the.

The proclamation is so sure that it is a prayer that is essentially just announced as to what happened here was that Paul's saw, we put it this way, he saw a miracle before it happened in saying he saw the man had faith to be made whole. It means that Paul sought in the spirit that God was about to do. The miracle and therefore when Paul spoke and he released it. Today's good news human from the series. Esther Allen is coming back here in the studio sharing a parting good news thought for the day agreed to stick around inspiration and practical help to grasp is that in conjunction with the exciting really suppressed Allen's new book, the power to blast put together some tools to get you started on the journey of speaking, life empowering people you that the toolkit includes an idea message of Pastor Alan's recent sermon on the mysterious blessing of FM in the marks at the gateway to understanding the power of all blessing also included in the kit is appropriately a list of scriptures that can be spoken directly as blessings blessing Scripture soprano pricing can easily access them for specific situations when you make your gift right ministries this month will happily send you the power to bless toolkit is our way of saying thanks for your partnership resources are available for immediate digital download or available in CD and a quick partner with us and be inspired and equipped to bless someone's life. Today the gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries. 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 thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out and got work. Now it is to you as your pastor and sporting good news thought for the day and someone's listening right now, they've identify replacing a bookmark here will have the conclusion to the teaching that are next broadcast, but that best rail in the they've been here, the sentiment only human and that's a relief. Yeah, it's a relief and it also is the greatest thing you could ever say. Because human beings are made a little lower than the angels you know it's a beautiful story in acts 14 when they really when this miracle takes place. People want to they want to to worship.

Paul and Barnabas, you know, they, they, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of man and Paul is just saying nowhere only human and I think part of the principle of this I can't remember if we gave it the subtitle or not that message but at least I had made a note subtitle.

Sometimes they worship you and sometimes they wallop you.

You never to know for sure. So you need to remember where the people that I worship in your file wallop and you either way, you're only human and that in the in its profound encouragement to know were just here, just as humans we can trust in God he could do supernatural things through this. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries