Let Nothing You Dismay [Part 1]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher Alan Wright with God's word to get up every day, put on the whole armor of God, and fight the fight and stand against the devil and resist and lay claim to our place keep our heads up. Even though it's only been decided. Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new life. Merry Christmas. I'm Daniel Britton excited for you to hear the Christmas teaching today is presented at renewal the 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 to be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright so as you listen to today's message go deeper and will be happy to send you today's special offer. You can contact us and find out more about it at our website. Pastor Alan.org that's Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's Christmas teaching here is Alan Wright, my brothers and my sisters are you ready for some good news. The devil is a defeated foe whose time is short and you are the Bible says and Huber conqueror more than a conqueror in Christ who is destined to reign with God forever more. I want to take us today in our series got rescue Mary which means may God keep you Mary. May God keep your heart glad and joyful. I want to take it first to Matthew and then to an unlikely text during Christmas season, but I think you'll see it's why it's warranted and will be you.

Your socks to be blessed off to look at the victory that your gonna go on Matthew and then will go to the book of Revelation. In chapter 12 to Matthew chapter 2 verse 13 speaks of. After that magi have departed in verse 13 when they had parted the hold an angel the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and satirizing the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and remained there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him and he rose into the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt I called my son then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men became furious and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old and under, according to the time that it ascertained from the wise men then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah voice was heard in Ramah weeping and allowed lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children. She refused to be comforted, because they are no more, and then in Revelation chapter 12, which will be our text that will be walking through today, but we start with these two verses verse four and the dragon stood before the woman was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child, he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Carolina Tar Heel football team is on a little run here playing some good all had a big game yesterday. It was fun, but what was really fine. It was last weekend I had the opportunity to go down and join our daughter Abby is finished up her schoolwork. Her senior year. There is Caroline and I go to it in person football game. We when we were going into this. Her last year. I thought I'm going to go down we go to several of the football game so on the go and then pandemic.

Yet now only 3500 tickets and the 52,000 seat stadium and somehow the mom came available and we went down and we had a good time. It was bright sunshine is weird to be an empty stadium and they were playing Western Carolina who courses in a smaller division and really Carolina had them outmanned. Of course, from the beginning, but the catamounts of Western Carolina there fighting noble team. I remember a few years ago watching them play Carolina and given them a run for their money, at least for a while. But in this game. The heels were clicking on all cylinders and at the end of the first half. It was 42 to 3. It was one of those things that you enjoy good, you never have to worry about the game but I turned to my two girls and I said the only bad thing about us being up 42 to 3 is that the letter as the last we will see of our star quarterback Sam how he will not play in the second half. Sure enough, in the second half. First string never played anymore ball in fact the matter I looked it after after the first half. Carolina played three more different quarterback.

So I played four different quarterback different different quarterback during the game 12 different Tar Heel players call to pass in that game, 10 different players carried the ball to different players. The ball and most amazing 26 Tar Heel defensive players had either attack or an assist on tech play, thereby home into a senior day Arab I got to play slot. It was a lot of fun, but what was interesting about it is that though Carolina with one the first half, 42 to 3 in the second half where they scored six touchdowns in the first half remeasured on the decibel in the second half. They scored one touchdown and Western Carolina scored one touchdown they missed the extra point so Carolina in the second half the Western Carolina only 7261 quarterback. The second string quarterback came out opening play that first first ball that he threw.

He threw an interception and Western Carolina ran about for touchdown thankfully was called back because of a penalty, but that was the first play of scrimmage was him going to fix it, and in our teens made some real mistakes during that second half and so forth. After all, what the first squad and were sitting out there in the stadium on the pretty day and you know what we were doing were just chitchatting with one another, cheering on the team and not worrying one bit about the fact that our players were dropping the ball that we were we were going tit for tat and what looked like a very close game because we knew the score and we'd seen the first half, but if all you had done was slip in for the second half and nobody let you see the scoreboard and you didn't know what had happened in the first half and all you were doing was watching the second half of that game. What would you have thought you'd have thought this is anybody's ball okay and you probably be a nervous wreck. If you are pulling for the Tar Heels because you like they are merely going to pull this out. Everything would be anxious and and and difficult to watch if you didn't know what happened in the first half.

That's the way it is and the spiritual battles that we face. I think what happens is that in this world when we go through the more difficult time.

Certainly like a year of pandemic where it seems like there's no end in sight, or you go through personal struggles or you're just facing those seasons we have one discouragement after the other.

One battle after the other and if that's all you're looking at you see you can begin to feel really anxious about all and the only way you come into great assurance and deep comfort and have your faith really rise up if something has to happen to open up your eyes to what had occurred in the first did something needs to happen to let you see what the score really is the interesting thing in these football games like that is that even though, for all intents and purposes, that game was decided in the first half right out of anybody's ever come back from 42 to 3. It was basically over. And yet it wasn't technically over our players still had to go out there and play. If our players and gone the locker room and take off their pads and going out and sat down on the field. They could've still lost the game know to put the pad each thing in is so fun actually to watch these guys, second, third, fourth squad that are out there playing because they're playing their hearts.

In fact, I wish I knew who it was on the Carolina defensive side alignment on the last play of the game penetrated the line chase down their tail back and sacked him for a loss and heat with 10 seconds left in the game. He jumped all the other players and I'm hoping maybe he was a senior then get to play much but that was his moment. Other players are high-fived of their doing chest but you thought they just won the Super Bowl and actually was our fourth string playing the last play of the game in which the score was 396 because you're still called to play the game hard but just don't forget what happened in the first that's a good picture of our life in this world and the spiritual battle that we face.

It has been decided, and yet we are instructed in God's word to get up every day, put on the whole armor of God, and fight the fight and stand against the devil and resist and lay claim to our place keep our keep our heads up.

Even though it's only been decided that really is what Revelation chapter 12 is all about. It's about people who are persecuted in atrocious ways that the liens burned alive, hiding under the catacombs of Rome and John is exiled on an island called Patmos of the Greek Isles and Mediterranean and fair. He gets a vision in this vision is just vivid in its imagery and unusual in its symbols and he shares that and it becomes the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation Allen right will have more teaching moment from today's important series flexing your life, and grace for grace and encouragement for every blessing. It's free, passed away every curse and blessing you not contact us today.

We had a very special $40 and ministries listening to the beautiful hard one for you and for you to share his expression of our gratitude for your generous will also include a DVD important teachings additional content and blessing straddling this ministry. Please help us make thousands in Jesus Christ in 2024. Much difference. Allen right ministries special offer, seven 877-544-4860 come to our website. Pastor Alan got a lick today's teaching you once again is you know I wish I had. I wish I had an inmate maybe on the private is just to a whole series of Revelation sometime because it is is just a book of victory as well and was misunderstood up portions of the Scripture and part of the reason that is misunderstood so much is that I think we often fail to understand there are different styles of writing in the Bible there different genres with in the Bible.

All of it is inspired of God written different moments in history, orchestrated in its compilation by the Holy Spirit.

We believe we have this canon of Scripture we call the Bible but if you if you don't understand that the Bible has different sorts of writing and it then your be prone to misinterpret sections so like for example wants her doubly whole. Put it this way, if you're reading the newspaper. You understand instinctively. There are different styles of writing, or genre, so to speak with in the newspaper itself on the front page there is a headline on the front page and whatever the biggest boulders headline is on the front page, you immediately know this is about something that is happened recently and this is supposed to be the most important news that there is you understand what the front page is all about you. Don't put on the front page. You don't you don't put editorials there you'll put comic strips. There you you you got you got important news that if you read maybe to the end of section a you might come to the editorial pages and on the editorial pages you understand that this is writing of opinion. It's not supposed to be factual.

It is supposed to be different opinions and their letters written to the editor with people's opinion. You don't you'll treat that the way you do. The headline on the front page and maybe there are some editorial cartoons and if you understand editorial cartoons you understand they are full of symbolism and so if you see a cartoonist got a picture of a donkey and an elephant. There, in a tug-of-war you don't think that it's a picture about a real donkey and a real elephant. You know it's a tug-of-war between two political parties, could you understand it symbolic in its intent.

You get to the sports page and understand your reading support so that when you see a headline that says liens all the patriots you know it's not actually reporting about some kind of of of animal that has attacked some patriotic Americans you understands about the nicknames of two football team say and and so it is so you understand that with the Bible we must understand has different genres of literature with and it if you don't understand Revelation at all.

So, for example, genres of writing in the Bible include historical narratives like you read the book of Joshua and you just reading the episodes of the conquest of the promised land is telling the history of it all. Lotta deep meeting in it. But as history.

This law, all of the Torah. All of the instructions. All of the guidance that God gives for the well-being of his people.

There is wisdom literature, like the Proverbs it's about having skills for living there's poetry like the songs. It is meant to be beautiful and worshipful prophecy in Isaiah and Jeremiah and can Micah and Amos and Joel and this is about the fourth telling of God's word and there are epistles or letters that constitute much of the New Testament were Paul's writing letters to the congregation so you must understand that he is writing a letter.

That's what you're reading there in the Gospels that are the root accounts of the ministry and teaching of Jesus Christ. And then there is what we call apocalyptic literature and the apocalyptic genre comes from the word in Greek apocalypses and that means a Revelation so the word apocalypse is the name of the last book of the Bible. The last book of the Bible is a revelation and were told plainly.

It is a Revelation knot of end times, but a revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what the book of Revelation is an apocalyptic literature.

There is there are characteristics and and and and recognizable features. It's sort of like when you talk about apocalyptic literature and received Revelation you see in the book of Daniel. You see it in some places. In Ezekiel, there are few passages in Matthew, there's places where it's like all now will talk about apocalyptic literature and it almost comes across dreamlike dreams. A weird thing. I had a dream this past week.

One that I love having out. I wish I was which I've had it more and that it was a dream that I was aware of and I was aware of it like a lab dream is where were woke up, like all want to get back in that dream because in the dream I was fine. I wasn't flying over my arms out of just soaring over stock is more like I could just come up. I could just float out over think it was so funny about it the way I would fly was I had a little device in my hand. It looked eerily similar to my Roku remote if I held up button, then I would go and what was cool with the two or three people that were really close to me would go up with me but you know remote controls your TV are notoriously famous for their batteries going out on you and so you had to be careful because the battery start depleted that I would lose altitude swiftly there's any meaning to that dream or not. You see when I'm having the dream. It didn't even seem weird to me that I was flying by means of a Roku remote. You know what is your dream. It is normal like a dream.

It is late and when you go by noon I go that's just weird. But maybe that was meaning and made part of it is Alan you can soar and you can take people with you, but don't let your batteries get depleted, wrenching scene is like a dream is full of these weird symbols and esoteric things that may have meanings and that's that's the way that's the way it is.

A lot of people therefore totally missed the book of Revelation because they think that it's about predicting when Jesus is going to come back and I think this is the silliest thing in the world because the one thing we know for sure about the book of Revelation is that it's not a prediction of when Jesus will come back because in Matthew 24 verse 36 we read concerning that day and hour no one knows, Jesus himself says nobody knows not even the angels of heaven, nor the son but the father only. That's about the only thing we can say with absolute certainty that the eschatological apocalyptic literature doesn't mean it doesn't mean that we are somehow able to predict the exact coming of the Lord. Alan Wright or good news Christmas message. Nothing you dismay.

Please stay with this pastor Ellen is back with a parting good news thought for the day in just a moment something is holding you back if you can change someone who seems to me the timeless power over I will never rise to our God given potential for, and confidently turned every curse and blessing. Contact us today.

We have a very special $40 and ministries listening to for you to share suggest expression of our gratitude for your generous will also include a DVD to important teachings. Additional content only your dance ministry. Please help us reach the gospel and Jesus Christ when you do things the world year draws to your partnership, 544-4860 come to our website Pastor Alan work blessing your grace for grace and encouragement blessing is free. Pastor got away like you're in the studio now with pastor Ella Merry Christmas and what is your closing thought is we put a bookmark here and wait for the conclusion. Has there ever been a time when more needed peace than this Christmas and I love the idea that a child has been born in a son is given that the governments on his shoulders, and I think that this Christmas invitation is to let your heart, meditate on this and to settle in to the assurance that the governments on his shoulders to Harz and just to say this Christmas, Jesus you are the Prince of peace. You reign and I will trust you.

Let the government be on his shoulders and peace will come in your heart. Visit us online@pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 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 right to your email inbox free.

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