Anyone Can Be Blessed [Part 2]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright so we can fall under condemnation by the works of our flesh.

We can also fall in economies. If we make into a work.

It is these twin dangers as was real important to understand what is this faith is a man of faith and what was it that he believed in what is faith what is this all about, and pause anything one understand this looking Abraham that's faster Alan Wright welcome to another message of good views that will help you see your life. Deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In the series Galatians is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month made to Alan Wright Ministries so as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today special offer. Contact us Pastor Alan.org at Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program.

Now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright they had a sense of false assurance. The Jewish people that because we are sons of Abraham.

Therefore, we are the blast lines and what Paul is making here is a point that is so huge and has such unbelievable ramifications that the Jews became absolutely furious at Jesus about this and were embroiled in this battle with Paul Abraham is mentioned in in Matthew's gospel in this very simple way. It opens with this, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, the son of Abraham.

So Matthew starts with a one understand who Jesus is. He's the son of David is a son of Abraham. Jesus is the son. The son of Abraham in Luke chapter 19 Jesus equates being a son of Abraham would being a Christian would being St. Jesus said to Zach, he is today salvation has come to this house since he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

In John chapter 8, there's an really intriguing dialogue between Jewish leaders and Jesus that revolves around Jesus and Abraham Reidel portion of this sometime later spent some time studying. This is important. Important text and in John eight the Jews said to Jesus, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon they were calling Jesus a demonized Samaritan was the lowest thing that they could think of to say to him because the Jews despised the Samaritans, considering them a halfbreed and heretics, and in addition were saying that you're not motivated by heavenly purposes by God which you're motivated and you're the instrument of hell so they couldn't say anything more disrespectful than you are a demonized Samaritan and Jesus answered, I do not have a demon but I honor my father and you dishonor me. When Jesus said that by the way he is appealing to what is potentially the most powerful societal force in ancient and still in Eastern cultures and that is honor and dishonor, and he said you are dishonoring making it a huge statement yet I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks it and he is the judge truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he will never see death in the Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, if anyone keeps my word he will never taste death and this is what they say are you greater than our father Abraham, who died who do you make yourself out to be reading this text so that you understand that the Jewish mentality was it when when they were up against Jesus and he said those that that follow me believe me and whose lives reflect that you're not going to taste death and he speaking spiritually, but when they hear this and they could choose dear, their only way of refuting a business is to make their appeal to what they considered the greatest person dear father Abraham. They couldn't think of anyone greater to whom to compare Jesus. Are you greater than our father Abraham. This is the way they thought see and Jesus answered if I glorify myself.

Glory is nothing is my father who glorifies me of who you say he is our God, but you have not known him. I know him if I was say that I do not know what I be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word that this is where Jesus addresses the whole issue.

Abraham said your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day he saw it and was glad I don't know what Jesus is saying. But Jesus knows something that we don't know about Abraham from the story of Genesis, we know that Abraham saw something in faith and we don't know from Genesis exactly what he saw.

But Jesus who was there with Abraham even as he was at that moment with the Jewish leaders he is saying Abraham slow ahead to this day. Somehow, in faith, and he rejoiced that there was a joy it was in the heart of Abraham over this very moment. And irony is that the religious leaders you guys you are comparing me to Abraham and and yet Abraham Saul this day and he rejoiced in Abraham rejoiced in the fact that the Messiah would come.

Abraham rejoiced in the back of the salvation of God through grace saying this, somehow I saw this and the Jews said to him you are not 50 years old yet and you have seen Abraham like this taking it literally was 2000 years ago. Meaning you seen Abraham and Jesus answered, Jesus said, truly, truly a man man I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. And when he said that before Abraham's eye.

They knew he had just announced that he saw himself as God because this is the covenantal name of God I am who I am, before Abraham was, I and they picked up stones and sought to kill him over the accusation of blasphemy.

This is how important Abraham was in the Jewish consciousness which made it sheer genius that Paul moved his argument forward by speaking of what it means to be a son of Abraham. Abraham is called by Paul, the man of faith I hear is the challenge. I don't know you know about others, but I feel like there've been twins struggles in my life, of increasing growth in Christ. The process of sanctification of growing up in the Lord and one challenge is to to the tendency to move towards a self improvement plan. We know that that we reap what we sow we know it will see later in Galatians, if you so do the things of the Spirit will reap from the spirit so our spiritual disciplines and the things that we do in our life and how we spend our time and will be look at what we listen to what we read of what we think about are very important to how we grow up in Christ but is on a on a slippery's slippery slope. As soon as I say though that my sanctification in some way depends upon what I do because we can very quickly turn into a self improvement plan is on the one hand I like so many Christians have tendencies towards that performance mentality but there's another scientist that battles with that that says no is by grace through faith and without faith it is impossible to please God and soak it your faith that God cares about and and we've all heard the message come at us in some different way.

But but presented as if you want to be blessed and have more faith and so sometimes you're sick is I will maybe I'm not on why you not well because you don't have enough faith and we can make faith become a work so we can fall under condemnation by the works of our flesh. We can also fall under condemnation condemnation. If we make faith into a work in a standard to these twin dangers as was real important to understand what is this faith was a man of faith. What was it that he believed in what is faith what is this all about, and pause if you want to understand this looking Abraham. So go back to to to text with me in the opening book of the Bible Genesis chapter 12 and then in Genesis chapter 15 where we get the call of Abraham lived and the powerful ancient city of her. We don't know much about his history. It's almost as if God left out the history of Abram to make this point that the call of Abram is not about who Abram was. He was Abram, then his name became Abraham is not about who Abram was.

It's about who God gets and is about the act of God to make a people where there was no people is about the act of God to choose a man to bless and through the man that he chooses to bless then to bless all the world. That's what the stories about so we don't get much history about Abram he's called about are the qualities and in Genesis chapter 12 the word of the Lord come to Abraham and here's what we get in verse one go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and him dishonors you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. It's a good practice when your study in a passage text is good to study texts in in in their context, but also as a section of Scripture that seems to go together and so when you look at a text like this where clearly versus two through three are a text here about the blessing that God speaks and is called Abram and one of the things is a good study practices. The first looking just circle or highlighter or or make note of the words that are repeated because often the freighted words are lifting out the central meaning of that Texas won the first things I would always do losing one of the words that carry the weight here and if you look in these two verses. It's very clear what these verses are all about. It's about blessing challenge right will have more teaching moment from today's important series and knocking for 99 days in a row. Someone tells you, I love you my letter for St. when you feel cherished.

The what would happen if I'm hundreds day that same person. Sad that showing a cut enough for me to measure.

I found the Colletti anymore.

When that one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% of conditional love poison. The other 99% will just 1% of lies enough to spoil grace instead of locking introducing unlimited capacity for fear if I don't measure up. When my heavy rejected when the Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church a possible policy outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Alan Wrights 12 message idea series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free empower you with pure grace. It's called Galatians and asked the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today will send you Pastor Alan's message is an attractive CD album with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website Pastor Alan.work. Today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, so you'll be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

It's bless and blessing and bless and bless and blessed in these two verses. So what is the call of Abram all about it is about the announcement of his blessedness. Look at chapter 15 Abram is given this unilateral covenantal promise, but he, like all of us wants reassurance and so at chapter 15. You see the Lord come to Abram in a vision of verse one. Fear not a reminder shield. Your reward shall be very great, but Abram said Avon's and the Lord God. When you what will you give me, for I continue childless in air my house is Eliezer of Damascus, Abram said, hold you given me no offspring and a member of my household will be my heir of all the word of the Lord came to him this mass.

Eliezer shall not be your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said, look toward heaven and number the stars. If you're able to number them and then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. He took them out and he said look up at the stars, see if you can count when you can't count.

He couldn't count his day, and we can't count with the Hubble telescope the to 100s hundreds of billions and too many galaxies. The point being, here's what I want you to believe. I want to look up and count the uncountable. I want you to believe and know the unknowable. I want to believe that you are so blessed that it any given point in your life that that blessing is above and beyond what you could ask or think that's what I want to know the whole essence of what biblical faith is when we talk about having faith is mirrored in the call of Abram.

What it means to believe is to have faith to believe that God through Jesus Christ has blessed you in a way that is above and beyond what you could ask imagine or think, and that it any moment. Any day weather on the mountaintop or in the valley that it any moment in your life. The definition of your life in Christ Jesus, is that you are blessed beyond your imagination. That's what it means to have faith what it means to have faith is that you believe the promise that through Jesus Christ, you are infinitely blessed, not according to your merit, but according to the merit of Jesus, not according to your performance.

But according to the grace of God. The whole story of Abram was about a God of grace looked down into a sinful world and unveiling his redemptive plan by calling for one man and making him the father of a great people and blessing him in ways that Abram never fully understand.

But somehow Jesus said in John chapter 8 that Abram saw the day that was coming and he had joy in his heart.

What happens when you have faith is that there is joy in your heart over this simple truth. God does so richly definition therefore of your life. Beloved is you are the holy ones blessed and favored of God, believe that believe that what your work as a Christian, believing that like golf everything that comes against doing the spiritual battle putting on armor every day doing everything it takes to believe that and don't let anybody take faith. That's what pleases God because he's your father in any of us have been bad if you ever heard it coming your child self condemnation. If you ever hear your child talk about us think it does no good as my lies but if you ever see your child pursuing a path that is not worthy of their value. If you pursue your child headed down rebellion path and you look at how precious their life is.

It breaks your heart what you want your child to believe is how blessed they actually are is reminiscent of the call of Abraham is reminiscent of the beginning because in Genesis chapter 1. The very first interaction of God with humanity. Is he blessed and he said be fruitful and multiply and have dominion, and in the Galatian province of the Judaizers were trying to reverse the order they are saying if you get circumcise you be more blessed obedience does not produce God's love. God's love produces obedience. The problem of humanity from one point of view is the lack of belief in blessedness in God and one way of looking at isn't this the way send out to the world. Adam and Eve had unlimited fellowship with God and lived in Paradise and there was no good thing that God wanted to withhold from them or would withhold from them according to God's good pleasure and grace. What was the means of the serpent's temptation was essentially say I noticed that there's one tree that you can eat from. Looks good to me looks like maybe you're missing out on a blessing. Maybe God is withholding some blessing from you because you something that you need to do.

You need to go eat that fruit of that tree and you'll be more blessed as soon as there is an idea that you're not fully blessed.

It opens the door to the tempter's snare and this pattern continues on to the story of the whole covenant is what happens is it, then the first brothers, Cain and Abel bring offerings to the Lord and the Lord affirms Abel's offering but not Cain's doesn't say to Cain. I reject you and your not mine and you'll never be mine doesn't say to Cain that you're under condemnation. He just affirms Abel's offering but Cain assumed himself unblessed and the assumption of an blessedness in the assumption that his brother was more blessed fury rose up within him a murderous spirit and he killed his brother and God said what if you done your brother's blood. Abel's blood cries out to me pattern, Jacob irony, the whole story of Jacob is that there was a prophetic word that Jacob though he would be the younger would be the one who would be blessed as if you are in the position of the older and yet Jacob never believed himself blessed and so is always grabbing at it, always deceiving, always striving, always conniving people who believe themselves unblessed have strife in their heart and angst in their souls because you're trying to get yourself into a position of being blessed.

How can you ever be at peace. If you're trying to get yourself into a position of being blessed in the irony of Jacob story is that all the while that he was striving it already been announced that he was the blessed one, and this is lives on because the brothers of Joseph all Jacob signs. They look at Joe's as a he's blessed we're not blessed with the blessing that we want from our father and considering themselves unblessed.

They seek to kill their brother Joseph Allen right in today's teaching anyone can be blessed. It's part of a three-part teaching series on this topic in the series, greater series, Galatians, and alum is back in a moment with additional insight on this for your life in our final word today. Blessing your life, discover God's grace filled vision for your life by signing up rights, free daily address. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement.

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Pastor Alan got away an option for 99 days in a row. Someone tells you, I love you I'll never forsake when you feel cherished. The what would happen if I'm hundred day that same person said that sugar get enough for me to measure about think I love you anymore.

When that one day contaminate the meaning of the other 99 days when 1% of conditional love poison. The other 99% will just 1% of lies enough to spoil grace instead of locking introducing unlimited capacity for fear if I don't measure up.

When my heavy rejected when the Judaizers infiltrated the Galatian church a possible policy outraged and read a letter that describes the essence of the gospel of grace and why it must not be mixed with any form of Allen writes 12 message idea series trumpets the power of the gospel in order to set you free empower you with pure grace. It's called Galatians and asked the gospel discover the purity and power the grace of God. When you make your get to Allen right ministries today will send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album with your digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website.

Pastor Alan.work replaceable party or anyone can be blessed out there hoops to jump through here. I got to go through a checklist.

You'll soon to be that kind of a preacher. While it is interesting Daniel, but it seems like a lot of my Christian life almost believe exactly the opposite, that only certain special people could be blessed in what were learning today is we bring this program to a close is that a lot of the issue of faith versus doubt or unbelief is around this issue cannot be blessed in this were learning the doubt of our blessedness has caused so many problems, whether it's Adam and Eve, wondering if there really blessed as they are not allowed to eat of that one tree or Jacob who thinks himself unblessed for Joseph brothers but that when you see faith. It really is about believing our blessedness and this is a powerful thing to discover and only you can be blessed in Christ when you are in Christ you have been blessed with every spiritual. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Allen right ministries