Bragging on Jesus [Part 2]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher Alan Wright new covenant is altogether more glorious in the old old which we try to keep our side of the bargain with God in the new covenant were taken out of the picture instead of between the father of the son going to another message of use will help you see your life in a whole new light on pedal Britt excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series victorious living is presented, it rebuild the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It's a book written by Pastor Alan called God moments it can 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 that's Pastor Alan.O RG or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860.

More on this later in the program but right now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples the Lord went to high priest and asked him for letters. In other words he wanted to have official documentation that he had carte blanche to arrest and imprison persecute Christians letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he found Annie belonging to the way men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem is go bring them a shackles and bring them back to Jerusalem for their punishment as he went on his way he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around them and falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to Saul you persecuting me. They said who are you, Lord, and he said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

But ride and enter the city and you will be told what to do. That verse seven.

The men were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Saul rose from the ground, although his eyes were open, he saw nothing, so they let him by the hand and brought him into Damascus for three days he was with outside and neither a drink to understand. Maybe if you've been with outside for your whole life. You learn how to cope you learn how to do this is sudden blindness. It is, and he has been overwhelmed by this and he doesn't need is a drink in this writing. Saul his head and visitors who come in like with authority to arrest anybody wanted all his power and now he comes and he's is like led by the hand, stumbling, and you can even see the people that he formally thought that he was in a common arrest that was the auspicious beginnings of Paul the apostle's ministry that would change the whole world never, ever, ever, did Paul forget that he mentions that initial encounter with Jesus over and over and over.

Is there something about who God is in the way that he wants to use our lives that he can really really move in the midst deep understanding of our need for God of our own humility and this is what happened for Paul is such a powerful scene that sets the context for everything Paul has to say in second Corinthians 11. Remember, there are the so-called super apostles that are evidently criticizing Paul.

He's not dazzling enough. He has had too many weaknesses and seemingly failures and too many just too many moments in his life. We doesn't seem to be this grand apostle and so that others are trying to assert themselves and their boasting all the time and I think what Paul does here is he essentially just goes over really into sarcasm. I mean, you know, we is so hard when you don't know the tone that he really meant to have here, but I really think that's what the tone ultimately is here reading it in the second half of verse 21 and second Corinthians 11 whenever anyone else dares to most of the speaker, the supervisor time speaking is a fool, said also dear to most of that switch starts out like a candidate hear most about their Hebrew lineage, so he starts out that they Hebrews it's all my of the Israelites, so I have a offspring of Abraham. So my elsewhere Paul describes him as a Hebrew of Hebrews and you got a perfect lineage of that's important to you. These apostles who is a yet important to follow Jesus to the Judaizers. He had to address in the Galatian heresies and he said you know yet if he were saying yes you need Jesus but you also need to be Jewish. Also need to be circumcised apologists so mad about that as he didn't want people to be separated because of their lineage because their ritualistic practices are the heritage, but people boasting in this right and it are missing the gospel and it is a set time you were on is on my and then get are they servants of Christ, better one. It's almost like right here where you would expect Paul would say, I've had more miracles through my ministry than they've had. I have had more churches that I have planted.

I've had people except Christ. I have had more people who have discovered their desire to get going with that.

I've preached a bigger crusade to get going with all of that right but instead it just pivots right here and he says better one and instantly pivoted since I'm a madman I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors and then he just starts to get sarcastic if they listing all his accomplishments. He started to list the difficulties far more imprisonments with countless beatings, often near death five times I received at the hand of the Jews 40 lashes less one 40 was the legal limit within Judaism and so there are always 239 because if the person who was administering the punishment went over the legal limit. Then they broken along and they replenish just 239 three times I was beaten with rods. That's the Roman form of punishment. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked night and day. I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from Robert danger among people danger from 10,000 danger in the city danger in the wilderness dangerously danger false brothers. They dangers and toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night and hunger and thirst, often without food and coal and exposure apart from other things is a daily pressure on me. My anxiety for the charges and up the thing that on top of all of this is that I care so much.

All the churches whose week and I'm not weak who is made to fall and I'm not indignant if I am I suppose verse 30 I will boast of the things that show my weaknesses, five near-death experiences that US danger everywhere truth in matters great leaders are humble, very dear brother parishioner here in a very dear friend when Hayes went home to beautiful as wiki and his colleague Mike, written a book for leaders: start with humility in which they say that both the Greek and Latin word for humility have essentially this connotation. Not far off of the ground not getting too much in the ivory tower getting too far away, and Heisei humility is humanness vulnerability. Keep in one's accomplishments and talents in perspective. It's not low self-esteem is not an inability to assert yourself, but humility is is is they say not becoming so high on yourself that you lose touch with who you really are and when you see someone who is an position that could be lofty, who yet keep their feet on the ground, so to speak is on the removing about all of the show. The undercover boss, your watch undercover boss will it take like an executive in a big corporation. They goes in magneto like one of the workers at the ground level of the organization is so funny because oftentimes I go in there and that they might run the company, but only know how to use the forklift they go and they'll know how to make the doughnut or whatever it is and it's funny to watch and be sort incompetent, but it's it's really moving to see it because what we're seeing is someone who could try to stay above everything is Hans and that's in the sense what is all about talent right will have more teaching moment.

Today's important series facing a problem when welding Christian friends have something like Catholic faith that the problem was such an expectation. Of course, is that telling someone that they have my faith doesn't actually help the person have more faith once more faith. What can we do to get more faith in his highly acclaimed book, God mimics Pastor Alan Wright describes one of the most important typical pathways to building your faith, remembering God's presence in your life when you see God's faithfulness yesterday. You'll find it easier to trust him tomorrow you like this phone of God moments and through Alan Wright teaching series and book a treasure map to help you discover them. When you make a gift with a very special kind of rights faith building but God moments the album series that he is preached on the subject things you both.

When you make a gift, it's time to discover your God mimics from yesterday and be filled with fresh fish for Collis at 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at work in today's teaching now continues here once again is it entering people's sociologists and psychologists have studied why do people brag one of the things they found entering enough in a 2012 Harvard study is that there are parts of the brain that are stimulated when you talk about yourself.

The same kind of sensations that the brain gets when eating food and and receiving rewards sums outside a survival technique because it is so important for us to be affirmed where we have been hurt and we feel empty and Tim Keller I think says it very well that it's like the ego. The self is hurting and that's why want to talk about itself because you don't generally talk about something in your body and less there something wrong with it. Talk about the third toe on your right foot unless it was hurting you. You don't even think about it and so it is the soul doesn't need to talk about itself, generally less. It's hurting. Is there something wrong so there's a way in which were trying to just survive by promoting self because we actually feel hurt on the inside.

The fact the matter is that pride in boasting is not just so much about me being boastful about something that is intrinsically good about me instead propriety is about the comparison to others. CS Lewis said it well.

Pride gets no pleasure out of having something only out of having it. Then the next person they continued we say that people are proud of being rich or clever, good looking, but they are not there proud of being mature or clever, or better looking than others.

If everyone else became equally rich or clever or good-looking. There would be nothing to be proud about moving to the goal that God has for us is that we remove ourselves and to a gospel mentality where we were just simply not that kind of comparison game and all. In other words, there's a way in which God can bring contentment in who you are in and him as the one the hardest days our life was when we dropped her son off at college in Texas and he didn't know anybody just walking out to field more than 3000 other freshman and we homeschool them shelter them and what is your optimal and Saul Bennett a couple weeks. I happen to be in Texas on the couple weeks or so or two or three weeks after he started school in he just loved it and I was talking to. We had a meal together and he said something that I'll never forget he said you know I was walking around campus. The first week I really don't know anybody and I realize that nobody here really knows anything about me.

Nobody knows of any golf tournament everyone. Nobody knows of any debate, termini everyone.

Nobody knows of any scholarship that I received anything else good about me than I do set that as well. I thought about that is and I decided I'm okay with that phrase gone because these are gonna have to accept the fact that it any given point there may or may not be somebody there to affirm it and of affirmation is wonderful not as it's one thing to be affirmed.

But there is something deeper. I think that God has for us that it's a gospel mentality where were not really rising and falling on that sense of affirmation, because in a real sense what happens in the gospel is that you get healed.

And over time, and you get taken in a sense out of the picture of performance.

What I mean by that is that what Paul is saying is that he is not trying to measure himself against the other apostles, the so-called super apostles is not trying to measure his life. I guess whether he's done better than somebody else is trying to teach them something very powerful here is trying to teach them that is not even enter into that kind of thought process. Tim Keller says is very well of Paul.

He refuses to play that game. He does not see us in and let it destroy his sense of identity gives not make a connection neither the DC and accomplishment and congratulate himself he sees all kinds of sins and himself in all kinds of accomplishments to but he refuses to connect them with himself or his identity.

So although he knows himself to be chief of sinners. That fact is not to stop them from doing the things that is called to do using the same. As long as you're in that system of thought am I doing well am I doing well spiritually. My not doing well spiritually. Haven't done much of a not on what is larger in that sense compare yourself to other or even weighing your own life against some scale as long as you're in that if you think that you're doing better than others. And it's good to be pride if you you're doing worse than others is going to be shame what Paul saying is you need to come out of that altogether. Again, Tim Keller, gospel, humility is not needing to think about myself not needing to connect things and as of its an end to the ball such as EM in this room with these people that make me look good and I want to be here true gospel humility means I stop connecting every experience every conversation with myself if I can't stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self forgetfulness.

The blessed rest. The only self forgetfulness brings a way out of this. The way the way out of life and so centered on on on self either boasting about silver, feeling ashamed of the way out of this is to follow the verses are seen earlier.

You don't think about your third toe on your right foot and lesser something that's hurting about it in the very best way to quit thinking about the toe on your right foot is for to be healed as of the something about you have to think about your own soul over and over probably means that something there. That's one of the reason we pray for one another. Every Sunday we believe that God is outside of time, so he's able to actually minister in a palpable real way, not just a figurative way, but in a real way. He's able to minister his loved every moment of your life. I really believe that this and that we can't wrap our minds around.

We see God's not in a continuum of time is these in the eternity of something different that we can't wrap our minds around, but because of that someone who is on the present and outside of time could be at a moment's in your past and in your future. I don't understand these things. Visit site if we could travel at the speed of light, time would stand still. Maybe it's because God is light, that he is able to be at every moment is why we pray we pray that God would be in every moment of our life the times in which you needed to receive love and you then the time he needed to receive affirmation and you did what if God were to come into that very moment. Even some of the moments that you are not consciously aware of the invited men if they got out I want to be healed, but I don't want have always be thinking about that place within me. I yearn for that but here's another thing that happens. What happened is what Paul is talking about here, and all throughout second Corinthians, and everywhere that you see Paul write.

He is so highlighting the power of the gospel by saying the gospel is Jesus plus nothing else. Jesus plus none of your accomplishments.

Jesus plus none of your righteousness is even if you took your very very best accomplishments in your most spiritual attributes and your greatest acts of service and everything that you could list as part of some religious life that could be impressive to somebody if you took all of that and you stacked it all together it would be of no value and your salvation because I why would I have any interest in listing before you all the things that I have quote accomplish spiritually what I need to spend time listing for you things that seem to be good or that I value is what he's saying is that while those things may have some value in the kingdom in terms of the standing that I have with God. There is no value whatsoever.

Instead what Paul says is a key who knew no sin.

Jesus became our sin so that we who had so much sin would be declared to be the righteousness of Christ see in the old covenant.

There was an arrangement through a mediator. Moses, where God said if my people will obey me.

Then they'll be my treasured possession and I will bless them. So the people agreed we will obey God, but they weren't able to obey God.

They lost their faith within one long weekend after the Red Sea, the people proved immediately that we mean well and we want to obey that there is no capacity within us to obey. We were born in sin and we fall short of the glory of God is what happened in the new covenant was God said I need a person. I need a human being.

I need a man I need one man who could be obedient at every juncture of his life and never be disobedient. One perfect sinless human being to represent all of humanity. And so the covenant, the new covenant is really between the father and the son and the and the father said that you will be obedient even unto death on the cross that you will be highly exalted and blessed in the sun never says no to the father never says yes to the devil is obedient even to death on the cross. The new covenant is altogether more glorious than the old because the old was between us trying to keep our side of the bargain with God. But in the new covenant were taken out of the picture and instead of between the father and the son and therefore Paul says that whoever believes in Christ is in Christ way that you are blessed with every spiritual blessing is not good. You've merited it because you have been found to be in Christ because Christ has accomplished it all when he said on the cross he is finished and he means it is finished. Living of a perfected human life has already taken place.

The punishment was due to all humanity has already taken place through the cross of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is been proven that Christ worked with the fish and was sufficient and was to not have to pay income for all of our sin so that anyone who would receive him would be in this sense hidden in Christ and therefore your personal merits are taken out of the picture doesn't mean that the things you do in your life don't matter. They made everything single thing you doing alive matters, but in terms of your walk with God and what matters in the and all that matters is Jesus. And so Paul says if I'm going to bow sauté when I do, let me tell you all the times I've fallen and nearly died and could make it. I'm in a post he said I'm in a boast in Christ, it's an invitation to move from feel like he had a brag about yourself bragging on Jesus and asked gospel in today's teaching as we come to the conclusion in our series on second Corinthians bragging on Jesus.

Allen is back in a moment with additional insight on this for your life in our final word today in every moment. You nearly escaped from danger and having them you were surprised by blessing every moment you just knew the direction to take. Your life is different moments of God's grace. Perhaps they been covered by the sands of time just gone unnoticed in the rush of life. Your life is full of God moments when you make a gift procedure a special bundle pastor. I went hearts during both God moments feeding them containing all his idea messages on the subject.

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I really like how you unpacked. Even the science that behind the ego and the mind and and and really how this how this can be a symptom of something going on but I but I bid you go back to bragging on Jesus because in the victorious life. We realize that we are nothing without him, but he's given us. Every power that it it when you are life switches from being preoccupied with your own performance and shifts over to being preoccupied with the grandeur of Christ's performance when your life shifts away from always asking the question how my doing.

Have I done well enough how people think about me and instead it shift to what is Christ on how well his Christ done see what that does is it moves you away from preoccupation with self to preoccupation with the grace of God, and that's what God wants us. That's where we empowered. That's where life changes and in it, it's a matter therefore of our lives being focused on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.

The question is not, are you worthy have you accomplished and do you have something to brag about. This is not a question anymore don't want you to feel great about yourself. They want you to have tremendous inward estate. But the question is not whether you've done well enough real gospel living means. That's just not the question. The question is has Christ and well enough and the answer is is done perfectly in the today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries