Awe and Intimacy [Part 2]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright swallows of addictions destroys idols transform's character will swallow up in your life and he will make you who you are supposed to be faster right welcome to another message of good life in a whole new light. I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In this series word and spirit of unity of balance as presented in an old church in North Carolina that 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 can be worse for your donation this month to Alan Wright mysteries. So as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you this resource.

Today's special offer. Contact us@pastor.org that's pastor out and.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 teaching here is Alan Wright God is interested in is not merely being a power that we tap into. He is interested in a relationship with us. And so Jesus not content to be a high-power outlet for a woman to just have power go out for men he stops and he finds a woman because he wants to identify her. He wants to know her.

He wants to see her. He wants to bless her. This is a marvelous picture of the nature of God. He is so strong that the worst disease cannot stand in his presence and he is so tender that he longs to show you his love and his forgiveness and give you assurances about tomorrow. So in one scene, here's a woman who experiences Jesus and both all and intimacy in Jesus approaches her and I wonder all of the things that she might've guessed that Jesus would call her when he called her center to color intruder we call her unclean.

What would you call her he called her daughter as the picture of the nature of God. We are made for all were made, such that we love to be astonished you the very best in the whole world and being astonished toddlers. I miss him. Toddlers around because they're so easy to impress, and I remember when Bennett was to a couple things that he thought were absolutely awesome and one I could take a cheerio you know that ever present food for toddlers that you have in little baggies and on the floor of the van and I could take a cheerio put it between my fingers and crush it by brute force and just turn it just he was astonished he would take him in school is him.

I if her to him. It was like I had just crushed granite between my bare hands. He was also amazed that I could slamdunk on his little tykes basketball go. It was a sad thing to watch them grow up and discover I was not Mr. Atlas and that I'd never slamdunk anything on a real goal and all grow up and suddenly were not impressed by the crushing of Cheerios or little tykes basketball goals, but we still love to be astonished.

I think it's a part of the reason that that we have such interest in sports is we just like to look at somebody do something that we can turn to somebody else and go.

Can you believe that he just did that. Can you believe that shop can you can believe he hit the ball like that.

We like to see something that is above and beyond us. It's why we like the Grand Canyon or fireworks or even why people go to a scary movie. There's something inside of us that needs that yarns that longs to know that this is not all that there is that there is something that transcends my normal life that I am not just stock and some world of the mundane but instead there is something of greater glory and I want to encounter it and I want to know if it is the thing that captures your days when you look into the nighttime sky and try to count the stars. It is the very thing that causes your your inmost being to begin to soar with great delight when you see some sort of transcendent art or music that you hear and it takes you to some other place and use a lease for those moments. Remember that this world is not all that there is there is a longing for something greater than us and if we do not have it. If we do not have a sense that there is a greater power then quietly, inwardly, perhaps unconsciously, we become hopeless.

In other words, we are made for all, but we also made for intimacy every sociological study proves that without human contact. We cannot flourish a baby cannot thrive without contact and love. And so it is as we become adults we cannot be healthy we cannot be healthy alone. We cannot be healthy, isolated is no there's no technique, no way, which you could try hard enough to be healthy without other people, which means that the healthiest people on the face of the earth are people who are known and no others. You have to have somebody in your life yet to have some people it doesn't have to be a whole lot of them. But you have to have some people that you're willing to dare self revelation to be known by some and to know them and return in a framework in which there is love, and there is acceptance because only until that happens, can your soul actually be healthy. We are made for connection and in the same way that we can see this in the natural realm with our human relationships I'm saying is it we are made for connection with God. We are made for intimacy with God, look at paradise and see God walking in the cool of the day without any uninterrupted fellowship where there is affection and there is no fear and watched him come into the world and the very first thing that happened was it humanity became afraid of God is everything that's important to understand about the nature of God and the nature of the gospel depends on this that we are simultaneously in need of all and intimacy. It's God's design. The problem is that so often we tend to gravitate towards one view of God or another and we can become uncomfortable with anything that's not the safeguard in the middle-of-the-road.

But if God is awesome and yet never close to us, then he is just someone who is in the distance.

I had the image of like going to the zoo like our state zoo where has big natural habitats and you can see the rhinoceros off in the distance.

I like to look at the rhinoceros and I'd like to get closer to the rhinoceros as long as he's on the other side of the barrier.

I like to see the rhinoceros through a telescope. I like to see him if he got up close but not too close. In fact, if you said you can go see the rhinoceros very close go on in there into his own habitat, like I'm not going into the rhinoceros habitat because he's awesome and and yet if you said here is another natural habitat and all we have in here are puppies that I'd like to go in with the puppies. I could lie down and let the puppies run all over me, but I do not want to go and with the rhinoceros and so there is a sense in which we tend to either want God to just be the rhinoceros off in the distance. Keep them safe. I know he's great but keep a barrier. There always want to make him seem like he is so tame. He is a cuddly, a cuddly God a little caravan and who could never hurt a flea.

Because both those images are safe. One he saw somebody's in the distance. Other he's merciful buddies up close and yet the real God, the God of the universe, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our God Jehovah God Ella Shaddai, the one who has all power and all authority is also the one who came to us in the person of Christ and who is with us in every moment and count the hairs on your head and knows every one of your thought and detail of your life will have more teaching moment from today's important series being filled with the Holy Spirit shutting off your mind hearing for a wonderful surprise God's word and God's spirit never meant to be separated spirit always belong together. Keep your abundant life in Christ knowing your Bible, the secret of being filled with the spirit, the answer is both word and spirit simulations emphasize studying scripture in some traditions, emphasize the spirit to real Christian growth is both word and spirit as someone once said Pollard spirit you dry all spirit.

No word both word and spirit umbrella. When you make a gift to support this man will send you Alan Wright's newest album on CD or digital download wearing and spirit the beauty of the highlights embrace the fullness of God's word and his spirit realm like never before with wording spirit realm up helping someone else grow as well. And remember, when you partner with Alan Wright Ministries to be broadcasting the love of God to thousands every day. The 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 from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at Gatwick today's teaching now continues you once again is theologian Wayne Gruden put it this way. Creation is distinct from God, yet always dependent on God.

This is the important thing if you want us to understand this theologically about the transcendence of God. Meaning he's above and beyond and the immanence of God, meaning he is still with in the creation because what it means is that God is the creator and therefore he's not part of creation. I said God is the creator. He's not part of creation.

No one created him and because he created everything he is distinct from the creation. He is over the creation is beyond the creation is beyond you and me and yet what immanence means is that he remains in the creation because he's interested in every aspect of the creation.

Ephesians 46 says both in the same sentence one God and father of us all. Who is above all and through all and in all these above all, and yet he is through all and in all this makes Christianity absolutely distinct from every other religion and from the ideologies of the age.

This makes Christianity distinct from materialism which says this world is all that there is and it makes it distinct from pantheism which says the whole universe is God were not saying that God being in all things, means that all things are God. We are not saying that because God is greater therefore he is not merciful and so if you looking you studied world religions, you tend to see that religions tend to emphasize one nature or the other of who God actually is Islam.

You always hear the cry that Allah is great. They want to make this technical declaration of the greatness of this being and yet if you look at all of the Eastern religion. It tends to be more pantheistic and God is in the midst of everything you see than the spirit of the agent we tend to either want to have this God was big and distant and a judge and who's going to come back with all this thunder and is an and that's what's talked about all we tend to talk about how God is so kind and so gracious and yet the real God, the God of all is the God who is both in some point in your life if you really going to know God what's gonna happen is that you're going to have a revelation of God is both all and the one who invites you to intimacy with him through Jesus Christ, and it requires something within us like this woman had where she comes and she just bears the risk it all because there's something inside of you that knows that you're so desperate to know God, that you want, even if it feels like to you a great risk, and not knowing exactly what's going to happen you come and you reach out and you are allowing yourself to be held by God himself. I don't share this seen a number of times before, but I just can't describe one or come up with any image better than CS Lewis's brilliant scene in the silver chair as part of the Chronicles of Narnia.

When Jill little Jill first meets Azlan the great lion, who is the figure of Christ, and she is thirsting near to death and she sees the most beautiful, beautiful stream and there's a big scary lioness next to the stream. Here's what Lewis wrote. The lion speaks if you're thirsty, you may drink a voice said again. If you're thirsty, come and drink. It was deeper and wilder and stronger sort of heavy golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she'd been before, but it made her frightened in a rather different way, are you not thirsty so the line I'm dying of thirst said to then drink said the lion. May I could. I would you mind going away while I do the lion answer. This only by a look at a very low growl as Jill gazed at its motionless bolt, she realized she might as well and asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise. The stream was driving her nearly frantic when you promise not to do anything to me.

If I do come said Jill. I make no promise said the line. Jill was so thirsty now that without noticing. She'd come a step nearer.

Do you eat girls.

She sat.

I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors cities and around the line didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor is it were sorry nor if it were angry just said it. I dare not come and drink, said Jill, then you will die of thirst said the line. Oh dear, said Jill coming another step nearer. I suppose I must go and look for another stream then there is no other stream for the it never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the lion no one who had seen his stern face could do that. Her mind suddenly made itself up it was the worst thing she ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream meltdown began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest most refreshing water she'd ever taste Jesus is the living water, so refreshing, so deep, so lovely, but he is the lion of the tribe of Judah who will not leave you alone or leave you the same. He swallows up addictions. He destroys aisles. He transforms character, he will swallow up your life and he will make you who you are supposed to be his God.

The dilemma always has been. This a God who is perfectly loving and perfectly giving and perfectly gracious only wanted to pour out upon humanity.

His blessing and favor and only wanted to show kindness. Yet this same God who is perfectly loving is utterly holy and he is absolutely righteous and just, and he established the world according to both his love and justice and he told his creatures that if you should disobey and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden, then you will surely die. And because humanity sinned against God, there was a vast golf, a great chasm between us and God and there was a great dilemma.

How could God the utterly loving and yet at the same time be honest and truthful and righteous because of God. It said that you would surely die, and he did not fulfill his word. He would be made to be a liar and anyone who is a liar is not righteous and if God simply turned a blind I to the wickedness of the world if he simply said well after all evil doesn't bother me. And evil, need not be punished. How could you ever say that he was a just God you could say that perhaps he was a gracious God, you could say. Perhaps he was a merciful God, but you certainly bit wouldn't be able to say that is a just God. So how could God be both just and merciful. Even the Angels stooped and long to look into the mystery that was being unveiled through a thousand shadows in the old covenant and prophesied over and over by the prophets of old until Jesus came.

And when Jesus came in this one man there was God and humanity joined together. He came close so that we could touch him and not die. He came close because we could see him.

He could be one of us and we, like Jesus, together could know each other in our humanity and yet he was awesome in every way and he called the storms with the word and he raised the dead, and he could not be held back by the grave and this person Jesus came at one moment he would be so awesome and transfigured the disciples would be beside themselves with terror and all. And yet this same Jesus began to teach them that he came to willingly lay down his life like a lamb, and he was led like a lamb silence to the slaughter. He put himself into the place of being placed upon a Roman cross with a crown of thorns that Pierce's brow from which he bled and he hung there on that cross is a stumbling block to the Jews and a sign of weakness that no one could comprehend. For he was claiming to be God and yet he was being killed. How could it be that this same man who was to be God and man could at the same time be both glorious and yet so utterly vulnerable. Here's what happened. God took all the sin of the world. Yours and mine and everybody would ever trust in Christ and put that sin upon Jesus and Jesus instead gave us his righteousness, so that anyone who trust in Christ through the miracle of the cross is invited into the very intimate presence of God and what God did at the cross with. He said I am just and sin is being punished and wickedness is being a righteous elite met with the wrath and yet at that same moment you never seen any greater demonstration of love than this, that God the father gave his only begotten son and that Jesus laid down his life willingly. What I'm saying is that God and the cross became both just and justifier God's wrath and his mercy and through the cross we can know God and his awesome astonishing sovereign holiness and we can know him and all intimacy. God is awesome. He is powerful enough to deliver you from any darkness and heal any disease and transform any problem and move any mountain and because of the cross of Jesus Christ, you are invited into his lap like a toddler unto his daddy into the throne room of grace and your time of need anybody who really knows God will know him both in awe and intimacy that is God's will and right and get you moving on a day like today units are teaching, ramping up on this particular teaching all and intimacy, but to never fear, there's more in the series to come. The beauty of the balance of your enjoying being filled with the Holy Spirit shutting off your mind hearing for a wonderful surprise God's word and God's spirit never meant to be separated working spirit always belonged together to keep your abundant life in Christ knowing your Bible. The secret of being filled with the spirit, the answer is both word and spirit simulations emphasize studying Scripture, and some traditions emphasize the spirit to real Christian growth is the fullness both word and spirit as someone once said Pollard never spirit you dry all spirit. No word both word and spirit umbrella. You make a gift of support. This month will send you Alan Wright's newest album on CD or digital download word and spirit. The beauty of the highlights embrace the fullness of God's word and his spirit realm like never before with wording spirit realm up helping someone else grow as well.

And remember, when you partner with Alan Wright Ministries to be broadcasting the love of God, 2000 every day. The 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 from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at.org. This really reminds me of the old cowboy songwriter Stuart Hamblin who wrote the couple of lines that they come to my mind how big is God how big and why this is domain to try to tell these lips can only start he's big enough to rule the mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart and I think this is the beauty of the balance we have of our God, I'm so glad that is strong enough to overcome my send a strong enough to overcome death strong enough to create and re-create with the sound of his voice, and yet so sweet and so kind that he would have mercy on us and in every Christian can know God in both his awesome nature and his sweet nature. So he is inviting us to both awe and intimacy. What a gospel.

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