From Self-Agenda to Divine-Agenda [Part 1]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright when you get the deepest gut reaction to something I'm not talking about you got your anger issues.

On top of the things that really for some reason just upset you and you are you are doing is revealing what you care most about Alan light use that will help you see your life in a whole new light. Deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching debate in the series life of Peter is presented in an old church, North Carolina.

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More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright you ready for some good news when you see Jesus mad stop and pay attention because if you can identify what Jesus feels most strongly about you come right up to understanding the power of the gospel is what he felt most strongly about saving you his love for you is so great that he had to say in the strongest voice note to the devil and noted Peter reading in Matthew chapter 16 and pick in up verse 13. This was where we began the whole series on the life of Peter.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is and they said, some say John the Baptist others say Elijah and others Jeremiah 1 of the prophets and he said them but who do you say that I am Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God and Jesus answered and blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven and any strictly charge the disciples to tell no one that he was a Chrysler. We have marveled at this moment that Jesus is saying you are not are not Simon. Which is his birth name, which many think means unstable. It it it were not really sure of its meaning, but his life was one of instability and you are instead rock Peter means rocket on this summer to build my church and so he's blessed to me is prophesy the destiny over him. He's claimed an inheritance for him and he has issue this incredible blessing and in the very next thing. Look what happens.

Verse 21 from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him St. far be it from you, Lord.

This shall never happen to you, but he turned and said to Peter, get behind me Satan you are a hindrance to me you're not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man on my Tar Heels little hick up on the Wednesday night. Those of you that are basketball fans University North Carolina played Duke on Wednesday night. It is most would say the most heralded rivalry in college basketball perhaps in the whole nation and is as I just limit just tip my hat to any of you that are Duke fans.

The fierce Number of you because it's a wonderful thing when you're able to somehow be the team that's much better than you and so I want to tip my hat today is like Carolinas when it all time and and yet we must be about 14. I looked well before and I like how man weird scorn is like a knife through warm butter, they cannot stop Bryce Johnson on the inside was a score went back to relieving the whole game until the very end and I'm not one of those that would go on and on about how clearly it was that Joe Barry was filed on the last play on.

I'm not one who would be small talk like that that would be beneath me to to say he was clearly found in it. We technically would benefit on the wind again. I wouldn't say something like that. I would, but instead what I did was when I saw what was happening in this and then, Duke takes the lead. I like is like some of that is your preacher some of the very best were going available to you with bad. Maybe it was bad.

It was a bad law.

I woke up in the middle of the night and we played some pieces of that day and try to put it together until in my mind I had settled it out that actually we had one. It was with a bad dream and I went back to sleep thing about that is that early in the season. Caroline had a terrible loss to Northern Iowa. They'd only gone up there because, as Marcus paid his home area and they went up to her place, courtesy got beaten and Sam sometime early. I don't remember when I saw something I did watch the game. I read about in the paper know I man is weird, lost, but I didn't lose any sleep over that there was Northern Iowa who care about losing Northern Iowa, but no one lose the Duke so I'm losing sleep and yelling at the TV and blaming people and everything else one for this is that when you get the deepest cut reaction to something I'm not talking about you got your anger issues.

On top of the things that really for some reason it just really upset you and you are mad you are that was it doing it's revealing what you care most about.

I care about losing Northern Iowa always, Duke, Luzon.

Re: think about the next game I would be the next time you know because I don't I care about that and it was proved and how I was reacting now. I mean I'm not citified TV but I don't know, but this game is like reveals what you care about.

This is one of those moments when Jesus was a upfront hours this week meditating on just this question. Is it true, as most commentators say that Jesus is just looking at Peter and calling him Satan that he called him Simon and then he called him Peter. The rock and then he called him Satan. All in the course of a few short verses here Simon Peter, Satan and I finally just had to settle this despite what it seems from the text looks at Peter and he says get behind me Satan as he looks at Peter but I just absolutely convinced of this. Knowing the fullness of the Scripture and how Jesus did spiritual warfare, how it was that geez what Jesus did when he countered those that were demonized and knowing the heart of Jesus just absolutely no way he's calling Peter, Satan, because Jesus at times would do it like it delivered a man who had a legion of demons and is called the man legion. It is a call number one thing have a compassionate ministry of deliverance is that whatever person in whatever way they are oppressed of the enemy will call the person by the name of the enemy you instead rebuke the enemy's work in their life and you bless he's gone and I'm a little bit attracted to the idea that one friend had said nice.

I've always believed he was talking to Peter, and Satan appeared over to the side and he did. He won't give Satan the stage we just get behind me Satan I'm talking to Peter. I don't know for sure but this what we see is it whatever Peter said is so aligned with the very thing that Satan would say that Jesus is giving his strongest rebuke right here to his dear friend Peter is so strong gets his guts involved behind me Satan care so strongly about this peters life we have seen is this marvelous admixture of fear and faith. And I say marvelous because it enables me to identify with him that who can't identify with someone who, at one moment just one never leave you, Jesus, and the next moment falls back into the same old sin in Peter's like that is a real person and what were seeing in Peter as a transformation or seeing what's going on in his life and want to show you today why Jesus was so strongly reactive to this what this is all about, so that once again it'll point us to the efficiency of the fullness of the power of the cross of Jesus Christ artless start with this life itself is if we are honest, a strange mixture of the difficult things in the easy things, and of the tragedies end of the trial and that's real life is real life to live a victorious Christian life doesn't mean that somehow we are able to escape from the adversities of life that's never what is meant by a victorious Christian. What talent right will have more teaching in a moment.

Today's important series pressures always find hard to say no way that shall disappoint someone one relationship in paradise. They were naked and felt no shame entered the world they became anxious and nine question 19. There is only one solution. Grayson lifts are shown in six meet unexposed shame and shares the individual or in a snobbery series is sure to bring healing and hope our night ministries. This man thinking to digital Mastercraft. Thanks for your partnership in a world separate time to let God's grace to shame. We missed our night ministries, 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.org days teaching now continues once again is had a two week period back in January in which I just read with reflecting back about two weeks and about what this is so like like so much can happen in a couple in a couple weeks. I was really looking forward to decompressing after Christmas and the way that I was going to do this was, I had a meeting in Florida with some other senior pastors of our denomination and I enjoy the company.

Enjoy the time the fellowship and I'm looking forward to that and and then the family was coming down to join us and we were going to go and witness to Mickey Mouse for a week and and so while I was at the senior pastors gathering in the warm sunshine of Florida enjoyment time actually was getting ready to get in around the golf and my wife called and hard of our little dog a little on receipt of 12 years. Part of our family. They take into the vanity wasn't eating anymore and he was in pain and they found a big tumor they had to make a decision and deal with it without me there. Hated when the hard things happen and I'm not there when there and I received was put to sleep and it was great sadness and then the family came down to Florida and we had such a wonderful wonderful time scoffing scoffing during the time didn't think much of it and then before the big snow yet. I said to the doctor and said you got touch of pneumonia here and then a few days later knowing you got worse to switch the antibiotic and took me a while to get over that and I just know. Looking back over his and that was a set is like what can happen in a two week period of your life. Florida sunshine Mickey Mouse the grief of the loss of your pet the pneumonia, and a most beautiful and wonderful snow and then being tired and so all of it is just part of life friend and mentor Dudley Hall put it this way years ago. Every day seems to have a bit of Good Friday and Easter in it as real life is again a Christian is not that we somehow are avoiding all of these difficulties. Scott Peck in his famous book, the Road less traveled began with these words.

Life is difficult.

This is a great truth.

He writes one of the greatest truths is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend that once we truly know the life is difficult. Once we truly understand it accepted. Then life is no longer difficult because once it's accepted the fact that life is difficult, no longer matters.

He continues fearing the pain involved, almost all of us to a greater or lesser degree, attempt to avoid problems. We procrastinate, hoping to go away. We ignore them, forget them pretend they do not exist weave and take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so that by deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems the calls of pain we attempt to skirt around the problems run the rather than meet them head on with him to get out of them rather than suffer through them. This tendency Scott Peck writes to avoid problems and emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness and this is simply elegant words of Carl Jung neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering and he concludes from this, but the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering. It was designed to avoid. Listen to the wisdom of that sentence. The substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering.

It was designed to avoid any alcoholic or drug addict could affirm that you anyone who ever got lured into an affair, thinking it would bring an end to their pain would tell you it did just the opposite.

Anyone who has ever built their life around a substitute for suffering in order to avoid the pain of going through that grief, or dealing without loss or addressing the problem could tell you that the substitute becomes far more painful than the suffering, you would experience by walking with God. Right through the store and part of what Peter is saying here is I want there to be a life now that you're here Jesus and that I have affirmed that you're the son of the living God in your the Christ.

Now that the Messiah has come in our king is here. I believe there's going to be no more suffering, so it can't be that you're going to go to Jerusalem and suffer.

But Jesus said it is necessary. ESV says I must go, and Greek. It's one little word JE and it means it is necessary. This becomes a very important word in the Gospels, especially all throughout the gospel of Luke. But here we see it in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus uses were, it is necessary. This verb carries a tremendous amount of freight because it is saying that it is essential that this must happen, it is necessary. It is something that must happen here.

The urgency in Jesus's voice some years ago and one of his early books.

Max Lou Kato illustrated the incredible for ordination of the plan of God for Jesus to go across by retelling a well worn preacher's story about a bridge tender. A man who would operate the drawbridge and there was a train track that would go across it in one day old preachers illustration goes there was bridge was up and son of the bridge tender was out playing the monks. The lower part of the bridge was actually up amongst its great gears when suddenly the bridge operator realized that locomotive was headed that way. Fast and it had somehow caught him by surprise, and he had to lower the bridge in that moment, and if he didn't then this whole train load of passengers would would be thrust down into the deep ravine to their death, and he had a horrible choice to make the lower the bridge would certainly mean crushing his only son, but not to would mean the loss of lives of all of these people and so in a moment of unbelievable pathos so illustration goes the bridge tender lowers the bridge and those gears move, and indeed his son is trapped in and takes away the boys life and as the train passes over the bridge. You could see through the windows all of its passengers laughing and having a merry time as they were completely unaware of the sacrifice to the just been made for them and so illustration goes Jesus has died in your place, and still, there are many thoughtlessly passed by having no idea sacrifice it in May for a minute has many of the aspects of a beautiful sermon illustration and tells of a father's heart wrenching decision. It tells something of the anguish that the father must feel it tells of the extraordinary love for the greater good and indeed how many are unaware of what God is done for them, but it has a huge flaw and it is located pointed out in the years ago and that is that when it comes to the gospel and the cross of Jesus Christ.

It was no stopgap measure.

It was no accident. It was not something that came up and called God by surprise. In fact, ironically, this Peter who was the one who says emphatically. You shall never go to Jerusalem, and shall not suffer these things that you said later in the book of acts when he preaches the Pentecost sermon under the unction of the Holy Spirit.

He articulates it absolutely clearly men of Israel, acts 222 says here these words of Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know this, Jesus delivered up according here it is to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. It was no accident.

What does it mean Lou Kato rights. It means that Jesus planned his own sacrifice means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved in means.

He willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman. It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery would send pilot to Jerusalem, and also means he didn't have to do it but he did it was no accident.

If you were to make the drawbridge metaphor true, then you have to alter the story so dramatically it would become unimaginable.

The father would've had to tell the son to go and play amongst the gears and tell him what was going to happen that soon he was going to lower them and crush them so that many people would be say the reason that we can't imagine such a scenario, and the reason that we have such a hard time really believing the gospel is that we have a hard time ever seeing how wide, how deep, how long, how high is the love of God. The reason that it was necessary that Jesus ago is not just because it was written and God could not be made out to be a liar but because the love of God constrain Jesus and his love for Peter was the thing that made him say no to Peter. His love for you is the very reason that he went to Jerusalem what it means, therefore, is that Jesus was saying to Peter for me to save you. There is an inevitability and necessity of my suffering and in many ways. If you could ever rightly understand this, and there is so much misunderstanding about suffering and so many people that blame God for things that God is not doing that. The devil is doing. But if you could understand that there is a place of suffering that you would understand the words of Jesus, that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. There's something about the mystery of life that there is in the leading goal of what you're not supposed to hold on to the dying of the seed is the birth of the tree limb right teaching is from self agenda to defy its in the life of Peter series in its today's teaching stick with the salad is back in a moment with the final word for today pressures always find it hard to say no way that shall disappoint someone one relationship in paradise.

They were naked and felt no shame entered the world they became anxious and nine question 19. There is only one solution. The grace of God that lifts our shame seeks me out unexposed shame share is an individual or in a snobbery series is sure to bring healing and hope are night ministries. This man thinking to digital MasterCard. Thanks for your partnership in a world separate shame. It's time to let God's grace to shame our night ministries, 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor.elect Helen as we look to the life of Peter and we think of Peter is the spiritual giant we think of ourselves is not, then we look at how how much I think you guys were practicality comes to mind how practical this story is because we look at the life of Peter and we look even at today's teaching I can find myself in his story, and I find hope. I think all of us can identify with Peter and even in the moments where you see Peter being reviewed by Jesus and that he's all he's missing the whole point of it right there still something that can find with Peter, and I think that's part of what makes him attractive to us and part of what the more as I move along studying life more or all to the kind of transformation. Jesus believed he had perfect faith as he saw who Peter really wants and he sees who we really and he's moving us more and more towards his agenda.

Today's good production Alan Wright Ministries