Hardening of the Oughteries [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright you are accepted, not because of your behaviors but you accepted because of the behavior of Jesus Christ and what you have received by faith through grace is a free and utter gift from God and is not earned even by reading your Bible a lot or by witnessing to others as important as all of that his master excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series for yourself yourself. I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now could be yours for your donation this month to Helen Wright ministries that you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us@pastoroutand.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program.

Now let's get started with today's teaching here Alan Wright interesting title that we've given to a hardening of the arteries, not the arteries but the honorees took that from another friend who had given it chapter of his book that title and it really caught my attention about all the tutors that we have in life and talk today. In this segment about some of the autos that show in religion. Unfortunately, the two biggest dispensers of shame our families and religions and so forever by this joint is my video maybe or participate in a small group or maybe you're just watching these for your own personal growth.

We welcome you and I special invitation to anyone who has given up on church but had given up on God because maybe you have felt some religious shame in your life and to be addressing all all of that and the answer to the hardening of the arteries, and I wish you could meet my daughter Abigail.

She is growing up fast. But ever since she was a little girl she knew what she wanted and she's always been that way. She still that way she's decisive. She's the insistence, Ulysses knows what she wants and when she was a little girl on.

Fortunately we had let her get the taste of French fries at too early of in a I think we fought off with Ben and he is coming along and how we got to Abia just inertia took over and just French fries were being eaten and she liked French fries and and she wanted to eat French fries he'd been happy to just eat French fries and so we have to keep the French fries from her when she was two and three years old.

I can't write exactly how old she was, but she didn't have you know a full vocabulary so she's to do three years old and were in a restaurant and she said I want French fries and we said no. We can eat grapes right now and in the rebar. You know had some I want some French fries, and so is going on now at this same time in her life. Abigail had also learned the famous and beloved children's song Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so and in her ingenious little mind after her third request and no satisfaction. Finally, she just put all this together in an ingenious way and little Abigail said I want French fry right now for the Bible tells me so figured out at the ripe age of two or three years old. She figured out that the Bible was important at our house.

If you want to get something, you better use the Bible to get it.

Unfortunately, throughout history people have realized that if there's something holy like Scripture is the word of God that if you want to get people to do something that sometimes you can just use the Bible, however you'd like. The Bible the word of God is the most wonderful supernatural glorious spirit filled writing ever inscribed and I live my life by the honey of the word of God, word of God becomes sweeter to me every day. I love the word of God. I love the Bible. The Bible is wonderful and the Bible has also been used almost every sort of diabolical shame. It felt like a strange thing to say. But of course the devil himself tried to use the Bible against Jesus.

In other words, just because somebody put some scripture in their quote doesn't mean that they are speaking the gospel to you. I want to say upfront guys that everything that I want to be saying in our meeting together now is is is is honest, it is personal but it is not at all to say that I'm disgusted with and don't like the church of Jesus Christ.

I love church. I love church been a pastor for 25 years as a youth pastor for two years I've been preaching before that this is what I love being with the people of God. The comments that I have for us in our meeting are not meant to erode your love and confidence in the body of Christ. I want to elevate that but I want us to see what the church really is called to be who we really are is the body of Christ, and I want to help. Honestly, I want to help the church of Jesus Christ today.

Get rid of the shame because people by the droves have voted with their feet and left the church because what they smell didn't smell good. It's not like shame to them and people smell that from a mile away. I've been in almost every sort of church have been in. Not every single church but I been a lot of tricks of fact, I grew up in a formal liturgical church and then I was in the account.

A conservative evangelical more Bible church I went to seminary and pastored for a season in a mainline denominational church. It was very liberal and then I have been in many different charismatic fellowship. So I've experienced something of just about all of the different different kinds of churches and and I have experienced some of the most wonderful people in every context and I have also experienced shame in all contexts. When I was in the formal liturgical church is the church of my childhood.

There was a whole lot of liturgy of standing up, sitting down reading from books responsively singing certain songs responsively short sermon on communion all the time and and as a child just be honest with you, and I didn't really know the Lord. During this time so that that kind of flavors. My memory of all this, but as a child.

I just remember thinking and that really formal church that the pressure was on you is like as a kid I go to church and is like this is the place where we got to where the right close sit more still than I want to sit be more quiet than I want to be and make sure that I don't mess up because somebody might pinch me, correct me know or and so as a child. I just thought this the pressures on I cannot look forward to getting church and look forward to going to church now just say that a good liturgical church can be fantastic can aspire as to the majesty of God and liturgy and order can be very comforting. I'm not against in any shape or form. Having liturgy.

I think you have different preferences with this blessing is the preoccupation can become when doing it right and it can make people feel like that you're not doing it right and so you don't fit in. If people think the church is about doing it right and not messing up, then how are they going to know that what is really about is like being a little child who can come into the arms of his or her father and enjoying the presence of the Lord is Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series something is holding you back if you could change everything.

Is there someone you referencing step me to turn this power on the vision spoken over I will never rise to our God shall afford confidently under the favor of turn things every curse and blessing in your life and empower the people you love. Contact us today. Pastor Alan writes the power to Blacks we have are very special gift of $40 and more ministries into copies of the beautiful had had a one for you to share as a gift and expression of our gratitude for your generous gift will also include a DVD to important teachings with additional content straddling your dance only against this ministry, so please partner with us to help us reach thousands of people every day gospel and the grace of Jesus Christ.

And when you do, you'll become empowered to change the world power year draws to a close this final month of the year partnership at 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor Alan.org. We are in our final days of offering the special product blessing your life.

Grace filled vision for your rights reading your heart with grace and encouragement. Allen writes the blessing. It's free. Just a click away. Pastor I got away these teaching now you once again is Alan Wright. I've had some pretty funny experiences over the years work for a period of time during seminary.

I had the great great privilege of working at First Christian Church in Atlanta, and this is a pretty high church with the liturgy and oh pastor I worked with. What a wonderful spiritual man of God. It was just as some of the most beautiful people got I've ever met that church but my first time preaching in that church is a very young man is a seminarian and I focus so much on the message and I delivered the message and I felt like a mess. It was great I just hadn't stopped to think it all about what was supposed come next in the service like I finished my message and I just did not set as a my wife still laughs at me about this.

I first time a preaching in that grand pulpit. I got to the end and I said amen and I split down the rope around to find the bulletin and realize were supposed to sing a song and so I stumbled out the word. Let's all gather together and seeing him number such and such a life later said gather together what would you what you must do) a little closer than we were something that I just didn't know what to say next. And that was part of would like it all in which we do this right. One time First Christian Church is the way the service would start with 11 chimes at the 11 o'clock service 11, the organist would chime doom 11 chimes and then they level at that. We were trained at the ninth chime all the pastors we all stand up at the ninth chime in.

That would cue everybody else to stand up and then we start singing the doxologies. That's how the service would start with the doxology. Well, one time the pastor was gone and so we were less discipline as of the other pastors and all out in the hallway and try to get her act together and get ready to go in and also incisive limit is in there chiming our organist was seated when he couldn't tell whether the pastor was in there are not as though he'd been chiming the hour and we were just running in an hour had already been chiming the people just went ahead stood up start seeing the doxology without a so that worked out just fine. So I just realized that for some people that have been in the really formal church that sometimes my knees need to say you know it's not about doing it right. Sometimes it's messy sometimes spirituality is not eloquent and it's okay because the Lord looks on the heart.

I was also in a conservative Bible church growing up so priceless to me that what we all really came to a personal relationship with Christ. Somebody invited us to his fantastic evangelical church with a great evangelical preacher in that shaped my life is much as anything is ever shape my life. I also got involved in parachurch ministries that really emphasize quiet times with God devotional life. Spiritual disciplines witnessing and really help cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus is very thankful for that and I was very thankful. Also called to be involved in parachurch ministry and the Bible church that again emphasize the importance of God's word. Emphasize the importance of personal relationship with Jesus emphasize the importance of having quiet devotional times of prayer and Bible study and emphasized evangelism so I was very thankful for. For the churches, and in those ministries that I was involved in and met some of the most wonderful people and everybody said you know that it was important that you spend time with God, which is absolute important. He spent time with God. But this is just again through the shame filter. Here's what I began to hear was where is in the formal church. I felt like I got a do it right in the in the more, conservative Bible church I started in the idea that the whole thing is about making sure that I never miss a quiet time you we had accountability with what I would would say to each other you know in our Bibles, they would say listen, if you been having a quiet times with the Lord every morning and in the first place wasn't really a morning person you know and it always seem like it was more holy to you spend time with the Lord early in the morning and you know like the real signs are up to like 4 AM and I start thinking out doggone it, so I'm up so late. I can actually count this as being for tomorrow be more spiritual than the really holy people but anyway would remind each other save and have your quiet time.

I remember one time in a Bible study and and and one of the real you with all spiritually mature said I gotta confess I had had a quiet time in a month.

We like you like you just announced the do you know you robbed a bank or something and and Dragon this idea that you know if I am a quiet time in the morning then that they would go well but I didn't have my quiet time, the God probably is going to like this I might get hit by a bus, and course.

How silly. All that is come to understand now course, is that yes all the spiritual disciplines are really important reading my Bible. I love the Bible and a love prayer. But it's all about cultivating and being with Jesus and every time over the word of God is about being filled with the gospel about being filled with good news, so it's not something that I do is nearly as much as a duty, as I do is is a loving something is just very very natural because if you take this to a shame filter. It can start becoming like the people that read their Bible a lot and pray a lot and witness a lot in evangelism but these are the really that's what it's all about and you can end up substituting a real relationship with Jesus for all the things that Christians are supposed to do.

So if you ever have been in a moralistic or legalistic or behavior oriented church. Then I need to just say to you, you are accepted, not because of your behaviors but you accepted because of the behavior of Jesus Christ and what you have received by faith through grace is a free and utter gift from God and is not earned even by reading your Bible a lot or by witnessing to others is important is all of that is I had a sense of revelation about this.

I heard somebody teach some years ago about the way in which Jesus discipled people because we tend to say to people in the more moralistic settings of Christianity, we tend to say if you will behave all the right ways to leave all the right things that you could really belong. You know, get your get your get your beliefs down.

Get your behaviors down and you can really belong. But if you go back and you look at Jesus's ministry definitely way did it. He just called to himself a tax collector. Some bumbling fishermen. He called himself some impetuous disciples even called one who would openly betray him. What he said was calm and be with me, belong with me, be with me and then over time, your beliefs will change as your beliefs change your behaviors will change with Jesus. It was belong, then believe them behave that's instructive to us. I think Alan Wright in today's good news message hardening of the modern sense from the series for yourself for yourself in the conference were listening to and pass relatively back in the studio here in just a few moments with our parting to do start today and replace the bookmark something important could change everything. Is there someone you referencing step how to turn this power vision spoken over I will never rise to our God given tension with it forward confidently under the favor of every curse and blessing in your life and empower the people you love. Contact us today to Alan Wright snooper the power to Blacks we have are very special when you make a gift of $40 and more ministries into copies at the beautiful had had a for you and one for you to share his expression of our gratitude for your generous gift will also include a DVD to important teachings.

Additional content straddling your gas only against this ministry possible. So please partner with us to help us reach thousands of people every day gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ. And when you do, you empowered to change the world year draws to a close this final month of the year partnership 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor Alan.org.

We are in our final days of offering the special product blessing your life. Grace filled vision for your rights, free grace and encouragement blessing. It's free. Just a click away. Pastor got away back now pastor out in the studio. I love the play on words, your hardening of the altar, reason, and that in that last line you said about belong, believe, and then it leads to behavior, exactly, you know we we are just we default towards what we ought to do and telling people what they ought to do and if it just doesn't empower us. The law only serves the function of letting us know how much we need Jesus did not matter what code you try to follow, you'll end up breaking it. And that's true where there's a 10 Commandments, or whether it's your own code that you set up. We don't have the power and so what God does is just give us all the things we ought to be doing instead he came in the person of Jesus did all the things that we ought to have done, said all the things we ought to have said, and the left unsaid the things that we ought to have done said love the words he lived a sinless life on your behalf. And when you accept Christ and his righteousness is merited on to you reckoned unto you, what glorious news that is and that's how you get healed from hardening of the arteries we have in the past. Daniel aired messages on the radio that were from the original series that I preach.

Originally called shame off you, but much more recently we put this into a conference format and just a setting that I love where we have maybe 30 people and that are learning and growing through all these messages about healing from shame and a we just thought this would be fantastic teaching to error on the radio and share with all of our listeners as if you were in the room with us know the group with 30 or so people. What I would say is the most liberating truths I've ever discovered guilt and shame are two words it did. Typically in the Christian world go hand-in-hand together, but there is a distinction between the two right well will learn a lot about that your guilt is a real thing right but commit a crime guilty and I have guilt so were all guilty. We all we all have sin, we all fall short of the glory of God. To say shame off you is not to soften up on sin was not what it means is not to say that grace means that you get salt on sin either as statuses was the solution. All this and what we're distinguishing between is what some have called true guilt and and fault guilt but shame is something that's not just the same thing as false guilt and is not even the same thing exactly's condemnation. What will you learn is that shame really is a system of thought. It is a whole stronghold of the house of thoughts a way of looking at life, a way of looking at your own life is subtle at times and you don't realize it. And then there are others who've been through the deepest and darkest types of trauma, for whom it is a poison that's been taken and very deeply is very toxic, but the conviction of sin is will discover is a good thing. That's a gift from God is good to know how we can go a better way is good to know how the grace of God can lead us into a better way of living. So that's the grace of God. Conviction of sin is not something to be ever shy about is not something we should run to is good is from God. Shame the shame that I describe in this series they know something we say it is toxic if you only caught part of today's teaching.

Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources@pastorout.org that's pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan White ministries