From Resistant to Receptive [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright if you will let me wash your feet. Let me give you an inheritance if you wash your feet and serve you in this way, you can allow me to serve you by being put to for three day Alan light for the whole excited for you to hear the teaching debate in the series life of Peter has presented at renewal the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire broadcast how to make sure you know how to get our special resource. Right now he can be yours for your donation this month.

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Contact us at pastoralan.org that's pastor out.org or call 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright with somebody serving at your table and it was always for my table cordial them you want to say thank you to them in the appropriate way but you're not there to develop a relationship with them rightly so. I'm not so sometimes you just come the table. Hi, I'm Samuel. I'll be your servant today.

I'm guilty sometimes.

I keenly remember later what they say their name was because you're being mean. You just dust their role so that would be the normal setting some of the start washing Peter's feet like recliner table would be an anonymous servant, and therefore it's not intimate but as soon as Jesus did this it became intensely personal and so Peter's like you.

You can do this. Your you're not the slave, and you're not the student so would only leave one other situation that would be a make understand that would be that you're doing something very, very personal in that field to close to me and he says you shall never ever ever do this.

And so it is that that that Jesus is insistent on this, saying if I don't do this if I don't wash if I don't serve you, then you're going to have no share with me when he says that it stuns Peter. It really gets his attention to Peter's resistance because it doesn't fit his picture of who Jesus is and it is so upside down so personal so personal become an wash his feet is one thing if an anonymous slave, but it's something else. When it's your teacher is outcome and wash your dirty feet and a dirty week to go barefoot is get you know play all day in the summer time and by that night you feet look like a different color so that he didn't think about that. I play all day the next day with those dirty feet of a dislike who has sustained these feet are difficult to meet feet are dirty is the point of contact with the earth, and there are some things like I don't Jesus getting that close to my dirt. We struggle on several levels to really open up and receive from God because we are like little children and we don't know what God knows and sometimes it just feels like we must resist for our lack of understanding and what seems maybe uncomfortable to us. We don't understand how much healing and how much change in how much love and how much transformations will take place by submitting up when Bennett was used three or four he was little and he had, I think an ear infection or something going on and he was hurting with this run a fever with it and we had an antibiotic that we are supposed to administer orally. It was liquid and we had one is like just squeegee at near squish it right into his mouth kind of thing and he would not take his medicine. He just posted mouth this. He couldn't stand the thought of that bad tasting stuff touching his mouth and he and we were just desperate because he was not getting healed and we find that we would take it we find will call the doctor said what are we going to do and the nurse said you could have to give him this medicines what you have to do is it as unpleasant as this is, if you will, not that you're going to have to pin him down hold his nose and shook his medicine in his mouth and so he has to swallow it traumatized a child so we tried it, we baby we pled with them, you know, to take it. We tried every trick in the buggy but what think of medicine and finally I just said only we gotta do it. He's gotta get this medicine and I went in the kitchen floor and I pin him down and I said and you hold his nose at the poor little guy alive like that they'll get abused about like oh my goodness scorned habits all look do you think that God happy. It was traumatic very traumatic night as a way to explain you how much you need this God doesn't normally pin you down. Hold your nose although sold the road to Damascus. It was something like that were a blinding light came in not down receive from God and so were resistant because we don't we don't know what's going on. Sometimes you have to have a revelation of how good he is, how healing is how wonderful he is something that we we just resisted times because it seems like God couldn't be that good and we secondly feel so unworthy, just looking back over decades of ministry and praying with people and what is it that causes us to resist.

I would say probably somewhere.

Top of the list as people feel unworthy. We know our own dirt and we feel unworthy and we feel really bad if somebody else does for us what we feel like we should have done ourselves. This is like my job. One of my jobs is to take out the trash and I tried.

Be diligent on taking out the trash, but sometimes you know I'm lost in prayer and Bible study and I forget take the trash out and there have been times where my wife is even reminded me that the trash needs to go out and I have been so lost in Bible study and prayer that I still didn't take out the trash and the worst thing that happened is to me to look up from my chair watching golf and see her pick up the trash and start generator carried out that the worst thing ever happened to a husband is like she's Event, nothing to make you jump up more next take it. I was gonna take it I got it here. Sit back down and there. Let me take the trash out you don't hear well just take it out myself.

Then nothing feels worse than to have somebody else do for you what you feel like you should've done for yourself I should. I got myself in this predicament. They were promised and all flaws and faulty deal wouldn't be in this situation, how can I expect God to comment serve me and wash my feet, I got home feet dirty. I should wash them whereon run unworthy. We feel and so we don't want Jesus then to come and get close to the worst part my feet mud dirtiest McCauley as part out what get down into that and I think that that we are we are afraid of of intimacy with Jesus sometimes because we don't understand how good he is. I remember as I remembers is craving for confession.

But I remember early my life back like senior in college and early years.

I so wanted to just get closer and closer to God. I started going to some meetings you know where there were this power. The spirit was moving African exposed to some some the relief healing ministries and things like that was just so hungry I wanted one or more got but I remember specifically just having dear and one of the fears was going to a meeting where there's an evangelist or semi there and you moving in the spirit didn't.

Words of knowledge and it is like caught out some ice. Gotta problem on the shoulder and Donald to heal and semi-comes forward and that and they get healed I'm like I just know if I go and lose meetings.

That is go look at their call and you there. Sitting there on the fourth. I got a picture of you stealing chewing God when you're in the second grade. Also, I get this feeling feels like if I get really close to God that didn't just divulge all of my wickedness and I feel so unworthy and beloved, let me just assure you of this Jesus Christ came not to condemn but to save any came to bear your shame not to expose it.

That's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series pressures always on hard to say nowhere, he that shall disappoint someone one thing in any relationship in paradise. They were naked and felt no shame entered the world and became anxious and driven nine question like this painting. There is only one solution. The grace of God that lifts our shame seeks me out and exposing an exception shows the individual or in a snobbery series is sure to bring hearing and hope I'm right and sees this man a master class but is instead. Thanks for your partnership in a world separate shame. It's time to let God's grace to shame Steve Banks from Alan Wright Ministries, 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.org today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan. My children something that would be humiliating or shameful to them.

I would protect them not put on display. He bore your sin, and he bore your shame.

You can trust him. He covers us with his grace. You can let God come in to the worst part of who you are, even the part that nobody else knows about without fear because his love for you is so sure and already knows everything about he already knows everything you've done wrong.

Everything you ever will do that wrong.

He knows all the dirt between your toes already, so he cannot at any point be disillusioned with you and you will never have him hang his head in disappointment I think is in fourth grade might've been fifth grade but I was a good kid and so I didn't do things you know that were bad in school. My buddy Bruce was a prankster, though he did he got in trouble. We are very good friends and I love Bruce and we hung out together and he was fun but he did stuff I won't do that stuff is good kid and so on the last day of school is always one of those things like kids or try to pull some kind of prank, especially on the bus on the way home last day of school the last day of school was great and Bruce has brought water balloons that is going to throw out of the school bus on the last day of school, as it were not talking about bringing guns, knives and cocaine were talking about water balloons. It was a different day. But anyway, I was like he said want to take some no.

So finally I put some water balloons in my backpack as well and as we are getting on the bus on this day the teacher, our teacher, my beloved teacher decided to go search everybody before they got on the bus and I like all know if you found the water balloons and bruises, but I feel I Bruce I knew thought like that you may have these two going into, routinely check my bag. He knew that Alan wouldn't have anything wrong and there was water balloons and other is like like I was the last hope of really good kid and this is Jesus saying to St. like that little part of all of you get really close to God is like his. His face is good come down to meditate about who God is, he is the one who lifts up his countenance upon, and so it is that Peter's resistance is like our resistance in all these ways, but the number one reason that Peter didn't want Jesus to wash his feet is the same reason number one reason that we are most resistant to being filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with God and receiving from God that as he didn't yet understand the gospel. We really understand the gospel.

It turns everything upside down. Peter will one day make amazing sacrifices in the name of Christ. He will one day give up his life without thought.

Because of the assurance of heaven. But what he realizes over time after Pentecost is it that empowerment for servant hood doesn't come by Peter doing things for Jesus. This is been on display in Peter's life before I'll never leave you, though others fall away. He denies him three times tell me to come in the water I walk on the water and he sinks down in the water. The commitment that Peter makes to Jesus is flimsy and so the gospel is not about you making a strong commitment to hold to God. The gospel is about what God has done to make a strong commitment to hold onto you. If you build your life on what you pledge to do for God. Then it'll only lead towards two possible results. It'll either lead towards pride in what you say look at me and what a good job I'm doing.

I'm better than other people. I serve God more than other people, or it will lead to rebellion where you say, I've tried hard to do good things for God in order to be blessed. But always keep failing, and therefore I give up and I won't try anymore. And Jesus says to Peter. If I don't want to shoot you have no share with me and when he says this word share. Probably it would've brought to mind one of the primary meanings and usages of this word for it is the same word that is used in Luke chapter 15. When the prodigal son, to his father as his give me my share of the inheritance is an inheritance word and what Jesus is saying is that I don't wash you, you will have no share in the inheritance that I want to share with you.

This is mindbending, but this is what Jesus is saying to Peter, he is saying I have come so that you will share in the inheritance. This should have been reserved only for the son of God. What he's saying is that if you don't let me wash you, then you won't have the inheritance that I came to give to you and so Peter doesn't understand this falling, but he says will not just my feet but my my hands my face my my whole being and probably Peter's just thinking he means I need to take a ritual bath or something doesn't understand that Jesus is pretty figuring bigger cause for his coming and that is not to wash your feet as humiliating a task as that was to come and do something altogether more unimaginable to die on the cross is essentially St. Peter if you will let me wash your feet how you can let me die for you if you won't let me wash your feet. How are you gonna let me give you an inheritance if you won't let me wash your feet and serve you in this way, how are you going to allow me to serve you by being put in a tomb for three day Peter, let me wash Peter lacked me wash. Let me calm into the area of your life which you feel most unworthy, wash as widest, let me come so close to you that my very life comes in Peter he is saying I have come to usher in a new covenant, the covenant of the law was about external code and what you do to try to live up to that code serving God, but the new company. Something altogether different.

It's not about you because you have affection for Jesus or fear of Jesus trying harder and doing a better job. It's about a change from within. Time is coming. Jeremiah prophesied in which I put my law inside of what God wants to do is change us, so that what we want is different so that when we serve him. It's because we want the old covenant said serve God obey God because that's the way it will go well for you.

The new covenant said serve God obey God because you been changed on the inside by the power of the Holy Spirit and you want to let me wash you, Peter, put your name in there. Let me wash you, Alan.

Let me teach you. Let me serve you. Please let me fill you. Please let me feet. Please let me know issue. Please let me guide you. Let me instruct you. Let me strengthen you. Let me pick you up. Let me give you joy. Let me take care burden, let me deliver you from evil. Let me Jesus change my and when you see it you see what you've done for you. That's when you begin to easily receive, because the Son of Man came not to serve not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom gospel right and the conclusion of today's teaching from resistant to receptive were continuing in the life of Peter series and Alan is back here in the studio. In a moment with additional insight on what we just heard in today's final pressures always find it hard to say no way that shall disappoint someone one thing about any relationship in paradise.

They were naked and felt no shame and entered the world they became anxious and with a nine question like this painting.

There is only one solution. The grace of God that lifts our shame sinks me to your master class. Pastor Alan exposes the shame share is an individual or in a snobbery series is sure to bring healing and hope are night ministries. This man thinking digital master class that he is in study. Thanks for your partnership in a world separate shame. It's time to let God's grace to shame, we are happy to see Misty and Alan night ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website.

Pastor our and.org part of the mission is to proclaim the gospel of grace and so then we will often speak about legalism and I think you know so often. I'm guilty of doing this thinking of that is such a major negative influence in our lives. It has to be people who are out to control and manipulate but so often. I think as we see in this type of teaching legalism is often accompanied by people who are well intended. They want to do right holy things so so well intended. Peter was well intended.

I mean when he resisted Jesus washing his feet. You have to say he was willing it wasn't meaning it at that moment he was a saint. I want to reject you, Jesus.

He just didn't get the gospel yet right right you didn't get it yet and here's what I want to say listeners God came for you in the person of Jesus Christ. What evidence more could there be of the magnitude of his love for you to hear him speaking to let me wash it, let me love you. Let me transform. Let me fill you with my spirit.

Let me teach you. Let me guide you in other words, he saying don't be resistant to the good gifts I have for you receive freely for as you receive that you will have it. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries