Become a Connoisseur of God's Grace [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright.

God is a likely broken things program. It is a likely loss things loss doesn't like to leave this place things out of their place is a God who brings things together in order is a God, not of chaos but of delightful integrity and unity in bringing things together. Mr. Allen welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series. We called saver has presented with an older church in North Carolina are not able to stay with us throughout the entire program to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now and audio album called saver could be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries either a seamy album or digital download of these audio messages so as you listen to today's messages go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's pastor out in.O RG or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 moral all of this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright are you ready for some good news. You can become a connoisseur of God's grace, I mean the one who more than anyone else in the room could savor the textures and the flavors of God's grace to see the nuances of his goodness to become an expert in noticing what God's doing to to receive more are because you see more.

We are in a new series called saver and our New Year's blessing was taken from a text in Isaiah chapter 43, starting at verse 16. This is what the Lord says he who made her way through the sea path through the mighty waters who drew out the chariots and horses. The Army and reinforcements together and they lay there, never to rise again extinguish snuffed out like a wick. Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See, I'm doing a new thing now it springs up not perceive it. I'm making away in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Wild animals honor me the jackals in the owls because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland give drink to my people, my chosen the people I formed for myself. They may proclaim my praise. I was in an airport on Thursday evening at 545 and airports at about 5:45 PM are dreary places to be. If you look at the faces of the traveler sits at the end of the day in a nearby that still there is dreading the fact that they gotta still travel some more.

And they probably already been traveling. Or maybe they're just waiting on a plane but anyway I was headed back. I'm making my exit out of the airport now looked over all of that glass. You know they are part of the big panoramic glass windows that and this particular viewpoint, you could see this guy really broadly and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen in years. I mean one of those sunsets that had visited bright colors and it it wasn't just the soft pink so that that was there and some peach colored clouds, but it was also some just vivid orange and there was some deep crimson red and some violet colors and all this whole spectrum just filled up the sky and everywhere you look you look different. It was astounding, and so as I was making my way out I just stopped and I went over to the window almost like a little kid just looking out the window like this just to stare at it.

That's when I noticed just how many other people were looking at the sunset. 00 people were looking at the sunset and the airport at 5:45 PM on Thursday and I thought to myself there's wanted to reasons, or both, that they're not looking at sunset and one is that buzzer is on the phone but the other is that their mind wasn't there in that moment because after after a day I met nurse at an airport 545. You're either thinking back over the day and it makes you tired to rethink at all are your just thinking I was a way to get home wherefrom go in. So you just thing I get home so you can take all about how tired you are from the day you can think all about. Well once I get home. Then everything be okay and if you're in the past thinking. Are you in the future thinking there's one place you're not and that's in the moment and the fact the matter is that the frustrations of the day might be very real and a late plane is making you get home late making you long to be home. That longing is very real, but there was something else.

It was very real.

Also that sunset it was just as real anything about sunsets.

If you don't behold them when there in the sky you blink your eyes, just about, and it's gone. I saw what I want to learn and I'm inviting you to learn is to savor the moments of life secular world to study in this and calls it mindfulness being mindful of the present moment research is shown that people that get good at this are happier, but it's not a new truth is not rooted in some Eastern meditation. This is God's truth. This is the nature of God in the way that he built us he designed us to live moment by moment, day by day and it is calling upon our lives as we grow in Christ to be less and less ruled by the past with its regrets, or even its sentimental joys and less ruled by the longings.

I can't wait till I get past this hurdle and instead learn to live in this day and a drinking God's mercies every moment so every year at Renault do we start the year. Not with ramping up our resolutions, but by fixing our thoughts together on God's promises to us because our our life and our energy and our honestly transformation and success in this world is never going to be built on our faithfulness to God. That's too flimsy, but God's faithfulness to us is true. And when you focus on his faithfulness to you and his word and his assurances as promises that's transforming so we start each new year with a a New Year's blessing this year taken from this beautiful prophetic tax and Isaiah 43 that was spoken to those it would be exiled in Babylon.

Here's this year's New Year's blessing that we've spoken over the congregation yesterday with his joys and sorrows is over tomorrow with its hopes and challenges is yet to exist, but today right here right now God's grace blooms before your very eyes. This is what the Lord says through Isaiah, forget the former do not dwell on the past. See, doing a new thing now.

Now it springs up led by the spirit you can become mindful of every blessing and savor textures and flavors of God's grace.

Each moment in the moment every day this year.

It's a blessing.

This rooted in a prophecy that comes from Isaiah who prophesies eight centuries before Christ in speaks of events that are to come. And this is part of a section of Isaiah Isaiah 40 to 55, in which there is so much consolation and words of comfort and encouragement because God is forecasting the return of his people out of exile. This is a people who have been away from their homeland and the comfort of the Holy Spirit through the word proclaim to them is that God is going to restore them and the invitation of this prophetic text is to not dwell on the past not be concerned with just longing to get back home so much that you forget to see what God is doing right here, right now, God had in the past opened up the Red Sea and the people of the Exodus came through to safety. And God is a God who could open Red Sea is but now is go do something different is a make away in the winter season. Return the people home. God, who did great things yesterday can do great things in this moment.

Watch for it and see it with your own with that talent right will have more teaching in a moment from today's important series so much worry about yesterday's failures cemetery getting ready for tomorrow is hard to focus on the moment that matters most. Right now remembering season and then even to my coaches, and mindfulness psychological program.

Is it really didn't Eastern religion mindfulness living in the present is the way to save her life. Each day you get to listen to messages and attractive see with your digital Dharma is our way of saying, ask for your partnership.

Make a gift to textures and flavors of God's grace. Each moment moment every day of your life. The gospel is shared when you get talent right 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 past Rowan.org today's teaching now continues your once again is this image of exile is a prevalent one. Throughout Scripture. In fact, my Old Testament Prof. Walter Brueggeman said that you could almost understand the whole of the Bible and a rhythm of creation exile and restoration almost like speaking of Christ's birth, his death on the cross and resurrection, because in the beginning, Adam and Eve were put into a paradise in this glorious creation, everything God made was good and Adam and Eve were made in his own image and when they send God put them out of the Garden of Eden because the text says, lest they take hold of the tree of life and God doesn't even finish the sentence because I think he means if they were to take hold the tree of life in their sin condition.

They would eat of eternity in their sin and be lost in sin, for eternity got to put them out of the garden so there exiled from Eden God has a heart to restore in the whole of the Bible in many ways is the story of how God would send a new Adam to restore humanity to what it always designed humanity to be. It is the interweaving of this narrative that seems to happen over and over people of God have a kingdom under David's leadership, the kingdom was so prosperous they expanded the borders piece was in the land. Everyone was prospering. But after David and Solomon. Their wicked kings and the people ran after idols and the kingdoms became divided in northern or southern kingdom, and the northern kingdom was invaded in 722 BC by the Assyrians and the southern kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem was sacked overrun by the Babylonians in 587 BC and the Babylonian Empire exported all the people and took them to Babylon and there in Babylon. They long for their homeland and they they just wanted desperately to get home during exile in God and the promise of restoring them and that's what this text is all about is a God who brings people who have been exiled out of that place.

I think symbolically exile in the Scripture is very simply this, when you're in that place where yes you are really going through this, but it's not your ultimate destination and it certainly not your ultimate destiny will have times like that exile times where you realize I'm am to journey through a wilderness, but I'm not made for this wilderness.

I'm gonna come through this wilderness is what exile times like our executive pastor Chris Lawson founded the and and runs a blog and podcast network that they call every day exiles in a lot of ways that's a really good title because in one sense were exiles who were aliens in this earth. All our days until we're home and have it but even within this time and in our earth. There are times in which you know everything is well ordered, and it is as it should be in the other times just like I'm just this is not what is ultimately going to be. Sometimes you just a face in an infirmity and is not God's will for your life and is not was going to be forever, but you're going through it right now.

I've known people that were out of work and they both maybe even a long season of looking for jobs in an and it feels like an exile time. This is not what my ultimate destiny is the right now I'm feeling it and all of us a felt nothing about an exile time is that it is like a wilderness. It is not a definition of who you are is just the place you're passing through the people of God didn't become Babylonian just because they were in Babylon, and the exiled undefined new anymore than a wilderness dots. I noticed that there are two things that are wonderful and in some ways beautiful, surprising about the heart of God towards his people in exile 22 really interesting things about the way God intersects and interacts with his people when they're in eggs on the first and Otis is is very simply, this God is the father and everywhere you see the people in exile. You'll also see the promise of God the father to restore the people because it's the nature of God because he is a father want to restore people from exile on doesn't like to leave broken things broken.

It is a likely loss things lost. It doesn't like to leave displaced things out of their place is a God who brings things together in order is a God, not of chaos but of delightful integrity and unity in bringing things together.

That's a father's heart. Years ago, Bennett was little and we got him a remote control helicopter for Christmas Kemmerer holy was a little guy and shortly thereafter we went down to the beach does, but the week of the beach and then it took us helicopter out for its maiden flight and he was fine at helicopter. All of this sky along the beach.

Another thought it was so cool I have loved it not for Bennett.

Let me have a term that remote control and the little boy said that not only wants to come home and let me have a turn is owned afraid you might lose control over something I don't know that I'll come home.

Bennett will turn is in our eyes. He reluctantly gave me the controls and I got his controls the hello what got enemy is. It was all assume I mean, I'd like to think I will hire others is like a drug or something like I was a hacking go and I does your higher and higher and higher until sure enough they got arrange of the of the remote control and the winds were stronger up higher and they just got hold of the helicopter totally on my control and took it over and slammed it up against the top of a two-story house and it came crashing down ground broken his new helicopter. Holy lasted for five minutes as his bed broke it is not much the Savior son in a moment like that he just got it took the broken helicopter walked back inside closed himself off. I finally came back in on his door and I said Bennett. Can I come in two things. Number one, I'm sorry but you know the second thing I said lumber father I would get you know I'm a restore to you what was rightfully yours goes any loving father wants to restore to his children.

Whatever has been taken from them is the heart of God, even when the people of God were exiled because of the discipline of the Lord for their idolatry. God's heart never left them. You never going to leave them there.

He doesn't leave people in exile he brings them home and I I love it when I watch any movie of any sort that has family coming back together. I cry because I experience brokenness in my family and everything within me just long as I don't care how sappy and cheesy. The movie is if they get back together is good. It just proves things that get broken and separated some force that is wanting to bring them together and we know is God. Anything that you notice that's interesting about God interacting with people and exile is that though God knows that they are in exile and he knows he's going to bring them out of exile. He never said says to them, just, you know, ignore this period of your life. Get past that and then you get on the living. That's not the way talks. Instead, he says keep living in the middle of your exile time.

This is another word of the Lord that came through the prophet Jeremiah to the exiles in Jeremiah 29 verse four. Thus says the Lord of host, the God of Israel, to all the exiles who absent an exile from Jerusalem to Babylon build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce, take wives and have sons and daughters take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, they may bear sons and daughters multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you an exile and prayed to the Lord on his behalf or in its welfare.

You will find your welfare. In other words, do not postpone living Helen right and placing the mercury in our series on savers the teaching become a connoisseur of God's grace.

Allen is back with us in the studio as he shares his parting good news thought for today here in just a moment. Stay with us so much worry about yesterday's failures cemetery getting ready for tomorrow's half. Sometimes it's hard to focus on the moment that matters most right now. Worrying season and thanks even to the coaches, college psychological program.

Is it really didn't Eastern religion mindfulness living in the present is the way to save her life. Each day you get to listen to messages.

Check to see with your digital is our way of saying your partnership. Make your gift to the textures and levers of God's grace.

Each moment moment every day of your life 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 him Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.work Alan Becker in the studio got good news thought for the day as we place this book mercury we really kick off this series on savers. I'm so excited, Daniel. You know the whole subject of mindfulness has become well one of the most prevalent subjects amongst life coaches and psychologists and sociologists but mindfulness, the idea of living in the moment and being mindful of each moment is not a new idea and it certainly not is something rooted in Eastern meditation. It is God's idea, God is the ultimate mindful person he is. He shows us this in the person of Jesus, who more than anyone ever on the face of the earth lived in the moment, so to say to save her is to say, instead of rushing along with the tide of life where we are either worrying about the past were worrying about the future that we learn to live in the moment and that's what we're launching today in the coming weeks and I'm so excited about it. Looking to save grace of today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries