Daily Blessing Compilation #16

Alan White, pastor, Bible teacher and author of his latest book, the power to bless, I cannot think of anything more important for our maturity in our victory over sin and blessing. That's Pastor Alan another message of good life in a whole new light being really excited for you to join us here is work together in the studio sharing in our special Friday blessing broadcast as we dive deeper into the power before we get started I want to find you if you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today hobbled over to Pastor Alan.org for our special resource right now. It's another book to Pastor Alan has offered lover of my soul and it can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright so as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer is always the latest book is available there as well. Contact this Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860, and of course more on this later in today's broadcast. But as we get started with Pastor Alan in the studio and the power to bless. It's good to be with you again for being late is so good to be with you along the special Friday is where we get to just go deeper into this incredibly powerful biblical truth about blessing a positive vision that spoken in faith over our lives and how we can learn to speak life and empower the people we love so. Daniel love being in the studio with you lot of fun. There is a story that that I think we have talked about maybe in different teachings, but it made the book because it's just that good of a story. One of those moments in the car with your child that you will never forget is I never get time tell this story. Our son Bennett is now married and grown-up, but I guess he is in fourth grade. Maybe we on the way the golf course low. Bennett blurted out dad, how can you get addicted to something and I my keys and forth grade goal. What is he doing asking me about it so I stammered around swallowed hard.

Well Bennett if you're addicted to something then you feel like you have to have 10 you if you'd like, you don't have it.

Then you start wanting it really bad addictions are terrible.

I can control your life. You know, and I try to give him 1/4 grader version of addiction is God was all right as it Bennett why do you ask, he said well I saw on ESPN. Something about a professional golfer who blew $2 million gambling and they said he had a gambling addiction is a bit as I can you get addicted to gambling going deeper in the same now is that well yes, son. You can get addicted to even to gambling minutes, I'll understand.

These studies read. She's famous he gets to play golf all the time he gets paid to do commercials he has about the perfect life while we get addicted to gambling or anything. Something there Danielle, I will. How do you formulate to a 10-year-old all that I've learned about the complex sources of addiction and how childhood wounds and innate sin and deep-seated shame become a breeding ground of chemical, emotional, psychological dependency talking explain to a preadolescent how a deep sense of an adequacy can create a gnawing anxiety that craves to be masking all of this going through my mind. And finally I just try to keep it simple. I said Bennett is strange as it may sound that pro golfer isn't really that happy and I think he's looking for a way to feel better even though he's rich and famous gets to play golf all the time. I think deep down I know a few things about his background and and some of the things he's been through in his upbringing. I said I think deep down, he just doesn't feel good about himself well.

It was quiet for a long moment, and then a classic classic response.

Little Bennett said with confidence in a slow happy drawl well I love myself. I muffled my laughter and after after I got myself together as it was good but you probably never be addicted to. We love to tell that story Daniel because childlike innocence exclamation but it really is profound because the if someone truly accepts him or herself truly has love for self. That's the point were actually you can forget about self and we want to talk about that today I want to talk today to our listeners about the person that you may be least likely to bless the person that it might be you struggle the most with forgiving the person that you are least likely to ultimately affirm it might be that person is yourself. So then we'll talk today about what is it look like to bless your own life. I'm glad you brought that up. The book is titled the power to bless. It's written by Pastor Alan Wright were in the studio today in a special Friday broadcast. By the way, the books available River good books are sold. You can come to Pastor Alan.org. If that's the simplest way for you to do it. We welcome you@pastorallen.org to get a copy for yourself. So maybe this is the secret of the book. In this instance, the power to bless.

It sounds very outward focused and and much of it is learning how to bless your family, your kids, those around you. Maybe those in your workplace, but yet were going talk today about you gotta start with your Cisco likely the oxygen mask on yourself is very much like that is very much like that and what will you see today is that it's not just that.

Oh you as much as anybody deserve to be blessed and need it. It is even deeper than that. It is ultimately to say that you don't have to think about self unless the self is hurting an unconfirmed.

This is a truth that Tim Keller has been very helpful in explaining what he said you never think about your big toe and leisure big toes hurting out to you.

When you think about your big toe Daniels. If you get up in the middle of the night was dark in your stumbling through detention on the edge of the bed. You will think that about your big toe and Keller says you know the ego is like that the soul that we don't have to think about the self. The soul, the ego, we don't have to think about self and the self is hurting.

And so when we learn to accept ourselves in Christ.

When we quit rejecting the self that God made in his own image. We quit thinking that humility is the same thing as putting ourselves down. We we come to the place of actually cooperating with God to bless the life that he's created in his own image, then we become more more secure and we actually can forget about self.

So what were talking about today is not an invitation to self absorption and it certainly isn't an avenue towards the spirit of the age. That is really promoting self-centeredness and it's kind of narcissistic ways of saying we just need to care about yourself where talking about something much deeper than that. Were talking about the deepest foundation of a secure soul that yes we need the blessing of others. We must quit cursing our own lives. I know that you have talked about the kind of movement. In a sense may be superficially asked tag bless that's been going around you. Would you say maybe as a jumping off point. Here is a way of people responding will. How are you today well I'm blessed will that maybe is it at the good that's a good starting point here is showing gratitude. It's it's it's taking account that you know I'm I'm up in vertical and breathing of that breath God is seen fit to give me another day here so starting with gratitude, but it doesn't end there that your point right yeah you start with a it is a wonderful thing that God has done good things for me, but I think when Paul speaks in Ephesians being blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. This is something much more than hashtag blessed this is busy.

Better that I had a nice lunch today. You know, or even that while I got a new car hashtag bless that this is the deepest treasures that we find in Christ so it will to accept oneself in Christ. Daniel is to accept the gospel. It is to accept that Christ has done for us what we could do for ourselves and when that gospel is pure as someone is called the naked gospel when it is undefiled and has no hint of law and it that's the place where you say here's what makes the good news so good my merit doesn't matter at all in the salvation equation. In other words, this acceptance of self depends on the acceptance of the gospel in order to accept ourselves and this is something that is profoundly illustrated in the story that we call the story of the prodigal son.

And just like there's something deeper. I think we all hear the prodigal son story, we say that's a wonderful story about that particular son, but there's more to the story is that as I love the way you tell it, it really is the story of a father who had two sons you is the parable of the father, who had two sons, and in fact the work product goal which means lavish better describes the father. The father is the one who shows the lavish acceptance.

I remember one time in studying and preparing to preach this what is probably my favorite story other than the story the gospel itself is certainly one my favorite tax. I think anywhere in the New Testament if I could just you said you can only have one text preach on threats your life it probably be the story is so remarkable, so there is no literature greater than this story because it tells the human predicament in the human story.

This father has two sons. The older is the one who is treasured by society gets her firstborn blessing is supposed to get a double portion of the inheritance and Alex so often in our own society get so much of the attention and often becomes one who is a conformist and and is expected to do to be successful in the world's eyes. And so the older son is dutiful at home and the world applauds this younger and soldiers father and says giving my inheritance. It's like saying to his father. I wish you were dead. I like to have it now goes off to faraway lands squanders it all and is living amongst prostitutes and just wasting his inheritance and I remember getting ready to preach on this one time and is going well there is. That's the picture of it right there. All that son cared about was himself is like I was as I was having that thought psych. I heard the Holy Spirit just say cared about himself cared about himself. Now I have this this thought you note to our listeners think a semi that you love because of my that you truly could say I love. Maybe it's a child or parent or sibling, friend, you love that person put them in your mind you want because you love them you want the very best friend. Would you ever in a million years send them off to the pigs. The prostitutes would you send them off to ruin. Would you ever send them off to humiliation and would you ever send them off to shame their own lives and their family. Would you ever send her to a place where they became superficial and would you ever do we ever do that to a person you love.

Of course not. Who would you do that to you do that to someone you disdained you only do that to someone you didn't like to think of yourself and think of some of the way you speak to yourself and some the way you treat yourself and some of the things that you do with your life and I realize Daniel that her problem is not self-love. Too much self-love. I promise to little self-love because whatever you love you take care and somewhere we got real confused and we thought if we blessed people and we bless ourselves go go to her head and wouldn't become self absorbed, but there is a huge world of difference between self absorption, which we might call narcissism and self love which is a godly acceptance of self and affirming who we are in Christ because until we profoundly accept ourselves will will will be doing. We will be rejecting so here's the principle whatever you love you treasure and you take care off whatever you hate, you disregard you dismiss and you harm it out to get our listeners think of something that you love thing maybe to something like maybe your car person and you gotta a car that you take good care of you like it would would you ever you love your car would you ever go take your keys out there and scrape on the side, of course not. But I just had a new guitar this year, I play the guitar as a kid and get back into a bag is is good. I got my calluses back on the fingers and it's a nice guitar and I'm so excited about would I walk around with that guitar so carefully. I don't want anything to type it out was just a guitar so I think that that if we could learn to authentically love ourselves in Christ.

Learn to bless our own lives as God has blessed us then so many of the destructive behaviors that we wish we could overcome would naturally be overcome. We don't need self-hatred. We need self-love.

Pastor Alan is with us. The book is the power to bless and this is a very important part of the book.

Here we talk about really blessing yourself and maybe if I could continue with a car analogy can you tell me if this is where your experience especially as you been speaking and writing about this and maybe there are more illustrations you could go with on this.

I see two camps of people. If you have a car with a dead battery totally. Maybe I'm blessed does not realize that that that you've been accepted God's blessing going anywhere right just on the other hand, you may have Christians who have not realize maybe they're struggling with the that and it's difficult to acknowledge this idea of self-worth so putting fully charge car battery in the backseat, not can help either connected and realize that it's okay to harness that that power all those other two camps of of people you're speaking to you. Absolutely. II think that that's a good image because when a life gets blasted is like recharging a battery or charging them for the first time. It's like connecting your life to the fuel of God, which is his grace. It's come to us. Remember, how do God save us while he came to us knowing all of our sin ahead of time.

He already knows every sin in your life, past, present and future, so he can't be disillusioned with you he already knows it and he came in love in the person of Jesus. So what God does is he blesses in order for us to understand her identity and then live out of it.

So back to the prodigal story.

This was what we call the prodigal son she has wasted his inheritance and while living he separated from his father by his own choice used up all his money and now his friends are gone and he's hungry and he's Gatorade eat the food. That's for the pigs Jewish boy amongst the pigs unclean animals and the thought comes to him.

Boy sure was better at my father's house. I think this is a young man who is amongst the pig slop and he remembers the smell of lamb chops on his father's grill. He remembers fresh fruit at the table and joyful times. He remembers what it's like. This is what actually the conviction of the Holy Spirit is, is it this moment where instead of just feeling worse about himself. He feels convicted about his sin but at the same time, he begins to feel hopeful about his future. That's with the conviction of the Holy Spirit is the conviction of the Holy Spirit is entirely different than the condemnation of of of hell that the spirit of shame says look at you you you ruined your life and now you're doomed, and you might as well give up… The conviction the Holy Spirit comes with blessing comes with this idea that you're not your life is not over, you might have made mistakes but you're not a mistake. You have a hope in the future and he begins to think that what he begins to think about about about how to be better. He begins to think about being with his father again and and and that draws them that draws them home. So, what point is here Daniel is that it was even the tiniest seed of love and regard for his life. Maybe there be still some semblance of acceptance of my father's house and that thought. The hope even a seed of self-worth is the thing that turned him back to the father we get this so backwards we think if we condemn ourselves that somehow we got talk ourselves in the even more victorious over our sin patterns not so it's when we affirm the self in Christ were not talking about narcissism not talk about self absorption were talking about accepting how loved we are and blessing life that God is created in his own image and blessing. It blessing at my beginning to speak and say I made for more than this, that's a blessing. I'm not made for the pigs and the prostitutes.

I'm not made for the unclean I made for the claim.

I'm not made for a lonely life of superficiality where my only friends are the ones I bought I've got a family and that's the family of God. And there's a place for me and you see when you begin to talk like that, then that changes everything. A change this young man's life and what a picture it is and he comes back home and father runs to meet him and put the robe on his shoulders a ring on his finger sandals on his feet kills a fatted calf and throws this great party and the older brother who really is a picture of dutiful living under the law never comes in the celebration and it's like he can't. He doesn't get his and it doesn't see. So ironically, the story ends on the somber note will the older son ever come in the celebration, or will he just feel like a slave. What a picture of of life of ministry of theology and how important it is to love the self bless the self and see yourself as the father does Daniel that I cannot think of anything more important for our maturity in our victory over sin than blessing our own lives to live with you. You believed in my experience it in the hypothalamus left but neither of myself as a love story from beginning to and spiritual bride of Christ, the perfect bike. The Bible tells us on time and miles of the links to walk for any man who is found. Remember the taste of the sweetness of God's love for your site pretty woman who asserts for 25, which is unfortunate fully. My doctor the five love languages size perceives us in life comes to my letter of myself ancient biblical accounts exploding the extent this proposal and showing his embrace of gravel in his live after the match made in heaven, lover of my soul steam as I thanks from our night ministries, seven 877-544-4860 come to our website. Pastor Alan.org Pastor Alan and the power to blesses a book that he's written. Our special Friday broadcast will be close out. We got time for our final closing thought in the line of the old song that says his royal blood now flows through my veins. Praise God praise God I'm a child of the King stop acting like an orphan. This is the good news of the gospel in this. I'm sure it is part of your closing talk I had someone sent me an image not long ago that sums up the transformation in the younger sons in the prodigal story.

The younger son's life, that the image said religion says I messed up. My father is going to be so mad, but the gospel says I messed up better call dad and I think that when we come into this mystical self realization of how lovely are by the father.

That's when we can begin to bless our own lives and we can begin to speak differently. We can begin to forget ourselves and care about others and so if you're feeling a little ugly maybe think of Revelation 21 you're called a radiant bride. If you're feeling a little worthless. Maybe think of second Corinthians 47.

You're a treasure in an earthen vessel may be here feeling unwelcome. Well, Luke 15, our story says lost and now found may be here feeling small well. First Peter 123 says try the seed of a grapefruit tree that's what your life is like feeling bland. You are the salt of the earth you're feeling ignorant, you have the mind of Christ. You see you see you can just go through the Scriptures. Daniel just began to take what God has said about us in Christ and speak it over our own lives, so we started our time together laughing little bit about the trivialization of blessing on the old hashtag blast boy had a good dessert.

Today you know it, which is a blessed right but is not the deepest blessed the deepest blessing is this is that we have been redeemed and Christ and here we are the father's arms are open wide to us and we can hear him pleading with every son, every daughter is ever been trapped in self curse come enter the celebration, the band is playing the grill cooking the fine feast. Laughter is in the hallways. So whether you know I'd safer listen. Whether you wander away to a faraway land whether you become weary just slaving a local field and come home Christ died to make you acceptable. And so in his name. I heard you except yourself. Christ took the curse so you could be blessed, and in his name.

You can bless your own life. Today's good news messages. A listener supported production. Allen like ministries