P ART 12

The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True Pastor Alan Wright March 27, 2011

We thank You that we are your children, that we call upon You as our Father and we look to you as our Abba – our Daddy. We thank You that we can be intimate with You in sharing our lives, knowing that You understand us because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We thank You that You are our hope; that our hope is not dependent on any circumstance, on world events, on whether or not we have a job, a home or anything else. Our hope is in You because we have faith in You and we have a relationship with You through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And Lord, we thank You for that grace that You extend, that You have called us by name and we have responded. Thank You that we are children of the King! Lord, We pray that You will reveal yourself to us in a powerful way and that You will pour out your Spirit on us today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Are you ready for some good news?

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ur God is so good and He loves us so much that He sees into our secret dreams and our dormant longings, and He comes to meet us at a point where we might never dare to ask Him. He is a God Who speaks to the longings that are deeper than we can utter; He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what we would ask or think. And His love is a dangerous, unquenchable, furious love that will not let us go. Audie and Lillie Cashion had released their hope and dream of being parents, and in somewhat of a symbolic gesture of surrender, with a prayer of Lord, whatever is your perfect will, Audie decided to remove the backyard play set that he and Lillie had © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

planned for their children to play on. But they never would have imagined that within twenty-four hours they would be approached by someone at church who would say: A baby has been born, and I think it may be that it is for you to adopt this baby; that within an additional twenty-four hours they would be driving to South Carolina to meet their new daughter. You don’t dream up things like that. You don’t go to bed one night and say, Tomorrow, Lord, I’d like to have somebody walk up to me in church and tell me about a baby that has been born for us. I’d like to skip the usual years of process in adopting a child and have one right away, please, Lord.

He is a God Who speaks to the longings that are deeper than we can utter. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what we would ask or think. And His love is a dangerous, unquenchable, furious love that will not let us go. ou don’t ask things like that of God, because you don’t dream up things like that. And it leaves me as a preacher of the Gospel wondering what to do with it, because on the one hand, though I am a dreamer, I know that we live in a real world and we have real problems. I spend a good part of my life dealing with people’s real problems – with broken hearts, broken bodies, broken marriages, and dreams that have been deferred and have withered and died. And I know that there is a way in which the proclamation of the Gospel incites a hope that is so precious that something within us almost doesn’t want to awaken to that kind of hope, because the idea of a miraculous God with whom all things are possible stirs something within us that may not want to be stirred.

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well enough alone when we hear the Gospel because it can be easier to believe in a God Who does not perform miracles, Who is distant, whose love is not so close or so real. That touches something inside of us that is deeper than deep, and we are uncertain about having someone tamper with that deepest part of our soul. And so for twenty-five years I had been trying to decide whether to tone it down or not. I certainly haven’t shortened the message in the past twenty-five years, and neither have I decided to tone it down..

SPEAK IN A LOUD VOICE! It has taken me a long time to realize that many people would like it all toned down a bit. Have you ever had a time in your life where you almost wanted to say, Don’t arouse a hope within me that might be dashed? Healing, for example. It would be safer to be in a church that didn’t believe that God still heals people, and it would be easier for me because I don’t know what to do when we pray for someone who is not healed. But if we had toned that down, or we had stopped praying for the sick, then who might still be sick who has now been healed? We have living testimonies in our midst right now, and I most certainly DO know how to celebrate when God heals somebody. I’m not willing to give that up, and neither will I give up on trusting God for the person who is not yet healed. It would be easier to pastor a church that believed in compromising on points of truth, because I would like everyone to be happy with everything they hear. But I am not willing to compromise, because the truth is what sets us free.1 It would be easier to accommodate everyone’s beliefs, to say that everyone is just fine, that everyone will find their way to Heaven one day. I’d rather be able to do that, but I’m not willing to do that, because there is no true or ultimate freedom in something that is so toned down or untrue.

TONE IT DOWN? About twenty-five years ago I was a seminarian and interning at First Presbyterian Church Atlanta, where there are still many saints whom we know and love. One Sunday I was given a small part in the service, and although prior to that time I had preached during youth ministry, I was feeling that it was my first time in a real pulpit. My assignment was fairly brief, a scriptural call to worship from the Psalms, I believe, or possibly only, Shout to the Lord all the earth! or, This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! After the service, one of the parishioners, who was a very kind man, said: That was good, son, but just one recommendation: Tone it down a little bit. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to be in the pulpit, so just even it out and tone it down a bit. He was saying that I shouldn’t be too exuberant in the pulpit, too excited about what I was saying; that I should keep the message at a more even keel where everyone could be comfortable with it. Sometimes we are uncomfortable with news that seems too good to be true. Part of us wants to leave © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

In the end, the message of the real truth – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – is better than our wildest dreams. That cannot be toned down. Visitors to Reynolda have asked me why it is that they have wept during some parts of our service – during the worship, or the prayer, or the preaching of the Word. It is that when the precious presence of the Holy Spirit comes into contact with your deepest longing for a love so beautiful, so sweet and so unconditional, it captures your heart and awakens life within you, and tears of joy begin to flow. Every one of us is longing to know a God like that. When the good news of Jesus Christ comes into conflict with our experiences in this world and the thousand different messages that have been given to us proclaiming bad news, we must decide if we are going to allow the impregnating, powerful Word of God to become a living reality within us. The deep heart of God seeks to commune with the deep heart of man, and His resurrection voice calls to us as He called Lazarus from the tomb, Come forth! 2 His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword; it divides soul and spirit,3 and it will go into the deepest place of our being. We may not see the fulfillment of all His words until we enter Heaven’s gates, but then we will see that every single promise of God was yes and amen in Jesus Christ.4 So while I am here on this earth, I am not going to tone down the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am going to speak it in a loud voice! 5

When the precious presence of the Holy Spirit comes into contact with your deepest longing for a love so beautiful, so sweet and so unconditional, it captures your heart and awakens life within you. Every one of us is longing to know A God like that. 8

One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. Shunem means a double resting place, or, loosely translated, a place where they sleep. It was a nice town. And the wealthy woman was a nice woman. She urged the preacher to eat some food! So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. This good woman knew that if a man was preaching, prophesying and praying like that, he had to eat. And so from her backyard garden she gave him vine-ripened tomatoes and Silver Queen white sweet corn, fully tasseled, and shucked before delivering it to him. She gave him gift cards to Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Starbucks and occasionally, Ryan’s. She was a good woman. You know a blessing is coming! Blessed are those who feed the preacher. He would come through and feed her; she would feed him. 9 And she said to her husband, ‘Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.’ That doesn’t sound fancy to us, but in that day it was fancy. She not only had given him Olive Garden gift cards and sweet white corn in the summertime, but she wanted to offer the preacher their timeshare in Florida. You KNOW a blessing is coming for this woman. She fed the preacher and she built him a

BLESSING Today we will read an amazing story in 2 Kings chapter four. My friend, Pastor Kenny Thacker, shared with me the beginnings of his insights into this story, and further conversation with him fueled many of my own thoughts. Since he recently had opportunity to first preach on the story in Texas, it is now my turn. If you are reading this, Kenny, thank you, I’ll take it from here!

2 K INGS C H APTER F OUR Elisha was the prophet who followed Elijah and he received from Elijah both his mantle and a mysterious double portion of the anointing which had been upon him.6 His name means God is my salvation, and he was a man of God.

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

flask of oil upon David’s young head, the Holy Spirit rushed upon him from that day.10 And yet David would suffer many years of persecution before he would take the throne. Once there he extended, expanded and secured the borders of Israel and the Lord blessed him. He assured David that someone from his lineage would be on the throne forever,11 and that He would never remove His hesed – His steadfast love – from David or his house.12 David was blessed beyond belief, so full and so blessed that one day he looked around the palace and out of the fullness of his heart he asked, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?13 David had been in a covenant with Jonathan,14 the son of Saul, and Jonathan had asked if David would look after his household.15 So out of his covenantal commitment, out of his love, and out of the overflow of the blessedness of his life, David asked if there was anyone left. They found a servant of the house of Saul named Ziba, and he told David that Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s crippled son, was the only person remaining of the lineage of Saul. So David restored all of Saul’s land to Mephibosheth; he gave him Saul’s servants; and he made a place at his palace banquet table for Mephibosheth, just as if he were a son of the King.16 It was like that with Elisha. He was resting in a beautiful place and God poured out His Spirit upon him. Elisha was powerfully prophetic, and the anointing that flowed through him was marvelously miraculous, powerful and wonderful, and he wanted to be a blessing to the woman who had so blessed him. I WANT YOU TO K NOW that though we walk through so many wearisome battles in this world, and though sometimes we wonder how we will be able to make it through the day, or who might help us through the crisis, the ultimate plan of God is that you would have life and have it more abundantly. God came in Jesus Christ that we might truly live.

We can become so full of blessing that our hearts are turned towards being a blessing to someone else. vacation home. Elisha had his own prophet’s chamber. It was good. A nice wealthy woman, in a nice town, with a good life. Some of the stories of miracles in Scripture take place in the life of someone who is well aware of their abject need: A desperate woman who has suffered for years with a hemorrhage and has tried all the physicians, presses through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe;7 a blind man on the side of the road;8 a leprous patient who is an outcast.9 Jesus loved those people, and God still does miracles for those who are disenfranchised, who have no money and who are poor in heart. Yet this is a story about a wealthy woman, a good woman, who lived in a town of double resting. She seemed to have it all and to have it all together. I’m not saying that she was complacent, or prideful or smug, only that she seemed to have a wonderful life.

A DESIRE TO BLESS Elisha was taken by all of the blessing from the woman and, 11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, ‘Call this Shunammite.’ When he had called her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, [Elisha said to his servant]‘Say now to her, 'See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?' Elisha was the most famous prophet in the land and he was connected to high places, to the commander of the army and to kings, leaders and rulers. He wanted to do something good for this Shunammite woman because she had been such a blessing to him. We can become so full of blessing that our hearts are turned towards being a blessing to someone else. I am reminded of King David, whom Samuel anointed with oil when he was just a shepherd lad. The Bible tells us that when Samuel poured out the © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

The Heart Cry of The Spirit-Filled The presence of the Holy Spirit to us is an anointing so strong, so rich, so beyond us, and so much greater than us, that when we walk in the fullness of the Spirit our great desire is to be to someone a blessing, a help, a powerful gesture of love. When we are submitted to God under the 4

March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

anointing of the Holy Spirit, our lives are filled with a love that we cannot contain. Is there anyone I could bless becomes the heart cry of the Spirit-filled believer, just as it was for Elisha. He wanted to be a blessing.

He loves you so much and He so wanted to bless you that when there was no other way, He took on human flesh, suffered and died so that you could be blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

The Overflow of God’s Love And that is the nature of God: Is anyone hungry? Is anyone thirsty? 17 God wants you to be filled. He so wants you to be blessed that He gave His only begotten Son; He so wants you to be blessed that He poured out His own blood to make it possible.18 Jesus said, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!19And in another gospel, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! 20 God did not create the world – this magnificent cosmos with all of the billions of stars in the billions of galaxies and the tiny DNA strands of every cell – because He was empty, lonely or unfulfilled. God created it all because God is God, and He is so full, so full of majesty and glory and power and wonder and beauty and life and creativity that His fullness overflowed in blessing beyond belief, and thus all Heaven declares the glory of God.21 There is no lack in God. There is so much fullness in God that He roams the Earth, His Spirit calling and wooing and saying, Is there any way that I could be a blessing to you? 22 He loves you so much and He so wanted to bless you that when there was no other way, He took on human flesh, suffered and died so that you could be blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.23 This is our God and this is our Gospel! It is a Gospel of a God Who has taken the initiative to come to a people who didn’t even know what to ask Him for. If God had come to the world and said, What do you need, we might have asked Him for something of an empty, worldly pleasure. But He knew our longing;24 He knows your need; 25He knows your dormant dreams; and by His Spirit He calls it to life.

wanted to be a blessing to the wealthy woman who had been so kind. Was there was some kind of recognition or honor that he could give her? Did her husband need a promotion to a government position? She was already wealthy, but perhaps Elisha could arrange for her to receive some luxuries that only the super-wealthy had in that society. What was her response? 13… She answered, ‘I dwell among my own people.’ She was saying, I am in a good place among good people. I have my kinfolk and I have a good husband. I have relatives and friends here; I am well provided for. All is well here, and I don’t need to have the intervention of connections with people in high places. It was again not really a statement of complacency. It was more noble than that. It was a statement of some measure of accepting her life for what it was. She was content with that. I dwell among my own people. She didn’t really know what she could ask for. Sometimes you have the blessing of God flowing in your life and you hardly know what you would even ask for because God has been good. She had nothing to complain about, nothing more to ask for, so she summed it all up with, I dwell among my own people.

YET INDEED A GREAT NEED The story could have ended right there. But Elisha wasn’t satisfied with her answer, and so he continued the conversation with his servant. 14 And he said, ‘What then is to be done for her?’ There has to be something that we could do for her. Again, the scene could have ended right there, but instead, Gehazi answered, ‘Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.’

NO REQUEST FOR BLESSING Is there any way that we could bless this woman? Elisha asked. He was a man of God, and so he © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

In this world we experience so little of the purity of God’s kind of love, and because a myriad of different voices have communicated to us that such love must not really exist, our longing for a God of such love, beauty, power and goodness is deferred and lies dormant. That response significantly changed the drama, because serious and deep issues had been raised with that declaration. In that ancient culture sons were not only a mark of blessedness, they were also the means by which people and the matters of their everyday lives could be cared for in their old age. The woman’s husband was old, so he might not live for much longer. If her husband were to die and leave her a widow with no son, though they had means, who would take care of her and the affairs of her household? Who would inherit the estate? These were real problems. The Shunammite woman did have a real need. Yet it was a need that was so deep that she was not even conscious of it being a need anymore. You could have a longing, and because of the lack of its fulfillment thus far in your life, you could unconsciously find it more palatable and convenient to press that longing into some deep, deep place, like something that once was growing but then became dormant. And it can remain that way. People do this with their longing for the love of God because in this world we experience so little of the purity of God’s kind of love, and because a myriad of different voices have communicated to us that such love must not really exist. So our longing for a God of such love, beauty, power and goodness is deferred and lies dormant.

that changed the course of our life; made everything different… If the doctor had not said that, life could have gone on the way it was; if my spouse had never said that, my life would not have changed so drastically. Life will never be the same as it was before that one moment. We know what it is like to have our world rocked by bad news. But I want to tell you that God rocks your world by an announcement of good news that is beyond your belief. God intends to invade everything you hold dear and to absolutely shake everything you have ever believed because of an announcement of good news. God comes into the middle of the fray, into the middle of the ordinariness, into the middle of it all. It is His way. It is the model of the Gospel. Abram, follow Me. I’m going to bless you. You are going to be the father of a nation. Look at the sky. You’re going to have more kids than there are stars in the heavens.26 Moses, you are going to be a deliverer of the people.27 Mary, you are going to conceive a child from the Holy Spirit.28 Shepherds, go to Bethlehem, for unto you this day is born in the City of David a Savior.29 Lame man, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.30 God likes to rock your world with good news that shatters all your expectations.

As soon as Elisha heard of the woman’s real need, he received a powerful word of knowledge, a supernatural revelation, and 15 He said, ‘Call her.’ And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Elisha was going to rock her world.

This time Elisha spoke directly to the woman: 16 And he said, ‘At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.’… Take note of her response. This is what my friend Kenny says is the proper initial response to the Gospel: 16 … And she said, ‘No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.’ She was saying, Don’t lie to me man of God. I have been feeding you; I have been housing you; I

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Sometimes in life your world is rocked with bad news; life is turned upside down with tragedy. Most of us have had some taste of that, some statement © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

have been caring for you; I have believed in you; I have trusted you; I have seen that there is a holy power about you … don’t lie to me about this. Don’t tell me something that is too good to be true. Don’t go into my soul and stir up my deepest longing. It has been lying there dormant. I dealt with that long ago. I let the dream of a son wither and die. Don’t come here and arouse my deepest longings only to disappoint me. I couldn’t bear the thought of it. Don’t disturb the status quo; don’t touch that.

When God moves in a life, all things become possible. He is a God of miracles. tell a story in a sermon about how beautiful marriage is, and about how God made a man and a woman to share intimate love, on the one hand it is extremely hopeful. On the other hand, it could be extremely painful. And I sometimes wonder, Do I even share it? If I tell a story from the Word of God about Jesus healing a blind man, it is extremely hopeful, but it is at the same time potentially painful to anyone who is blind and has not been healed. And I wonder, Do I even share it? If I share the testimony of a couple that had given up on having a child, but within one day of their surrender, God surprises them with a perfect beautiful baby to adopt, some of us can smile and rejoice because it is hopeful. But on the other hand, it is painful to anyone who has not been able to receive such a child. Don’t lie to me, man of God. Don’t tell me that there is a love that could satisfy my deepest longings.32 Don’t tell me that, man of God, unless you know for absolute certainty that it is true … about this time next year, you will embrace a son … Such is the good news of God. Kenny Thacker put it this way: If I don’t announce the Gospel in a glorious enough manner that your first response is, ‘I don’t know about that; that sounds too good to be true,’ then I probably haven’t announced the Gospel.

Don’t lie to me man of God. This is too good to be true. I understand what she meant. Don’t you? She was saying that it was all well and good when he would pray, prophesy and do his work. She had made her offerings to the Lord and given to Elisha, then continued on with her life. She had settled in, accepted her life, and everything was just fine with her. Then Elisha came and resurrected her deepest longing. You see, she did have a deep longing. She did have a deep dream. She did have a deep desire. She did have a deep pain. She had just covered it all up and buried it deeper and deeper until she didn’t have to think about it anymore. Then the man of God spoke the word of God Himself right into the deepest longing of her heart. A multitude of people want to sit in a pew and listen to a message that is toned down enough that it doesn’t penetrate their souls with some offer of miraculous power or goodness that is beyond their belief. They want to hear something that isn’t so furious, wild, dangerous, adventuresome, powerful, beautiful and holy, because if the message is toned down enough, it keeps our God distant enough, and then it won’t hurt. But God is not willing to do that, because when God moves in a life, all things become possible.31 He is a God of miracles, and the messenger must clearly proclaim it. Elisha did just that. Elisha was a prophet. His role was not to generate life; it wasn’t his miracle. It was God’s miracle. God told Elisha to tell the woman she would embrace a son within a year, and the man of God announced the message of astounding good news that seemed too good to be true. He spoke as it was given to him.

W E HAD THE OPPORTUNIT Y yesterday to have people from all over our region gather here for our Free to Flourish conference and they heard a message of the Gospel that can heal shame. We addressed questions like, Have you been bound up in shame? Have you known of its sadness? Have you known of the pressures of feeling like you have to measure up? Have you spent your life in a society that breathes shame? Have you heard messages all of your life in many different ways, from many different people, that you are valued according to your performance?

T HE

DYNAMIC TENSION that I feel as a preacher of the Gospel lands right in this story. If I © Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

Let me tell you about your God. He loves you more than you love yourself. He knows your needs better than you know your own needs. He cares for you more than you care for yourself. And He sees into the longings that are too deep for you to see anymore. He knows the love that you long for, because He made you for that love. Have you never known the sweetness of being accepted the way a little baby is accepted, not on the basis of what you have accomplished, but only on the basis of the love of your parents? Have you never tasted of the sweetness of a love that is so unconditional there is nothing you could do to add to that love, and there is no righteousness or goodness within you that has any bearing upon that love? Have you never known of such a thing, or if you have, does it seem too distant? And we saw that if the man of God tells someone that this love exists; that the secret to the abundant life is in the Holy Spirit shedding this love abroad in a person’s heart33 so that he or she would know the love that cannot be known with the mind; and that there is a whole other way to live, the first response is, Don’t lie to me, man of God. Don’t tell me about that if that is not true, because that is too good to tell somebody if it is not true. But then, when the Word of God took root and combined with the dormant dream of the longing soul, we saw miracles. Wow!

righteousness seems to work, for we are still in our sin. 36 We know we justly deserve your displeasure, and that is why we don’t have a real relationship with You.37 We also know that without the shedding of blood there will be no forgiveness of our sins, 38so we are going to have to offer a suitable sacrifice for all of our sins, but there is no sacrifice on earth that we can offer. So eternal, everlasting Creator of the universe, could You do this for us? Would You come to Earth and take on flesh just like we have? Would You share our human experiences so that You could represent us as a human being? 39 Would You endure being mocked, persecuted and flogged, like the very worst of all criminals, just for us?40 Would You take the death penalty41 for our sins, and allow us to kill You on a cross in the manner of our most heinous criminals?42 Would you endure being forsaken by your Father43because You exchanged your own righteousness for the filth of our sin?44 Would You spend three days in the grave and then arise from the dead?45 Would you send us your own dear Spirit after you return to Heaven 46so that we could live an abundant life on this Earth and then securely with you for all eternity? Would You do that for us, oh eternal and everlasting God, our Creator? That is what we so desperately need.

T HE GOOD NEWS OF THE G OSPEL OF J ESUS C H RIST is so powerful, so pervasive, and so rich that it could never have been dreamed up by man. Could we ever have said to our creator, the eternal and everlasting God, Lord, our great longing and the dormant dream of our lives is that we could have an encounter with You in which we would know that your love is real and that we are saved for all eternity. But Lord, our guilt is too strong;34 our wounds are too deep; and we have messed up too much. We have tried not to sin, but we keep falling back in our old sin and we are like captives.35 None of our

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

I don’t think anybody would have come up with that, do you? Nobody could ever dream up a Gospel like that, and so when you hear it, there is something within you that says, Don’t lie to me. 8

March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

But I am here to tell you that after preaching this Gospel for twenty-five years, I am more convinced of this truth than I have ever been. And with all the risks and dangers, I’m just not going to tone it down. It might seem too good to be true, but it IS true!

He is going to keep pursuing you with this good news: In Jesus Christ you are not only loved, you are forgiven; and you can know Him. In Him there is life, and it is life abundant!

RELENTLESS PURSUIT Let me tell you about your God. He loves you more than you love yourself. He knows your needs better than you know your own needs.47 He cares for you more than you care for yourself. And He sees into the longings that are too deep for you to see anymore. He knows the love that you long for, because He made you for that love. And like it or not, I must report to you, He will not be satisfied to leave well enough alone. He is going to keep pursuing you with this good news: In Jesus Christ you are not only loved, you are forgiven; and you can know Him; you can KNOW Him. In Him there is life, and it is life abundant! 48 Yes, He will pursue you with such good news. Even if you might be saying, Don’t lie to me, man of God, He is going to keep on pursuing you with His love!

his mouth, breath to his breath, eyes to his eyes, hands to his hands, and feet to his feet. The boy’s flesh became warm. Elisha then stood up, walked around the house, returned and lay down on the boy again. The boy awakened and sneezed seven times. I pondered this story about a God Who wouldn’t leave well enough alone. He gave a woman a miracle baby she never expected. Then after she suffered the pain of the loss of that child, this woman, who once had nothing to ask of the man of God, grew into a woman who would walk through hell and high water, weep and hold onto the feet of the man of God until he agreed to give the miracle that she needed. In the end, the woman was not only blessed beyond belief or imagination with a son who lived, she was doubly blessed with a knowledge of God that she never otherwise would have had. It all seems too good to be true. But it IS true.

A DOUBLE BLESSING If we were to read on in 2 Kings four, we would discover an astounding end to this story about the Shunammite woman. The little boy was born to the woman. She loved him and played with him and he grew. One day the boy went to his father in the field and said, My head hurts, Dad, so the dad had his servant carry the boy back to his mother. Once there, he sat in his mother’s lap, and he died. She laid him on the bed in the room of the man of God, closed the door, and left the house. When her husband asked where she was going she said, All is well. I am going to the man of God. Once there, she walked right past the servant of Elisha, fell down at Elisha’s feet, and said, I didn’t ask you for this son. He said he would send his staff back so that she could lay it on the boy, but she told him she would not leave without him. So Elisha went with the woman and shut himself up in the room with the boy. The text says he put his whole body on the boy and stretched out, mouth to

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

And THAT is the Gospel! Father, thank You for your love. Thank You for blessing us beyond belief. Thank You for doing for us what we not only couldn’t do for ourselves, but we wouldn’t even dare to ask You to do. Father, there are longings and dormant dreams for love – powerful, beautiful and free – that we cannot find from any other source but You. And I pray, Lord, for You to meet us in this moment. Meet us with your love and announce Lord your unique message of good news that plants the seed of dangerous hope that would sprout into abundant life and joy. Our hearts’ affection is set upon You, our God, and we thank You in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

That is the Gospel? You mean, God loves me that much? You mean, God died for me in that way? I

BELIEVE IN A G O D OF MIRACLES. I can’t help myself. I don’t understand why some miracles happen and why some don’t, but I believe in a God of miracles.

AN INVITATION

I

BELIEVE IN A G O D W HO IS G OOD. I know that there is bad news in the world, and I know that there is great suffering, but I believe in a God Who is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

You do not have to stay as you are now. Maybe, just maybe, God is going to show you the love that you always dreamt of. Maybe, just maybe, God is going to bring to life the dream that has been dormant. Maybe the riskiest most daring thing you could ever do is to hope. But don’t just hope small humansized hopes. Hope big, giant, God-sized hopes. If you are here and any part of this message registers in your heart and you say, That sounds too good to be true, then GOOD! The Gospel is being announced! You may be asking, That is the Gospel? You mean, God loves me that much? You mean, God died for me in that way? Yes, I do! You can say yes to Jesus Christ today. You can simply say, I want that God. I want that Jesus. It seems too good to be true, but I believe it. Come, Lord Jesus, have my heart.

I

BELIEVE IN A G O D W HO MENDS THE B ROKENHEARTED. I know that there are broken hearts and I know that there are broken lives, but I believe in a God Who mends the brokenhearted.49

I

BELIEVE IN A G O D W HO SPEAKS TO OUR DEEPEST DREAM S. I know that there are dreams that are deferred and that lie dormant in our hearts, but I believe in a God Who speaks to our deepest dreams.

I

BELIEVE IN A G O D OF LOVE. I know that there is love that has been tainted, that has had conditions put upon it, that has hurt us and wounded us, but I believe in a God of unsurpassed love, unquenchable love, a love that you cannot understand in your mind, but you can experience in your life and in your heart.50

And may the Lord God bless you, Bless you beyond belief and keep you, And be kind and gracious to you, And make His face to shine upon you, And give you His peace Today and every day forevermore. AMEN.

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

Endnotes 1

John 8:32 John 11:43 3 Hebrews 4:12 4 2 Corinthians 1:20 5 Revelation 5:12 6 2 Kings 2:9-13 7 Matthew 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48 8 Mark 8:22-25, 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43; John 9:1-7 9 Matthew 8:1-3; Mark 1:40-42; Luke 5:12-13, 17:11-19 10 1 Samuel 16:13 11 2 Samuel 7:16 12 2 Samuel 22:50-51 13 2 Samuel 9:1, 3 14 1 Samuel 18:3 15 1 Samuel 20:15-17, 42 16 2 Samuel 9:1-13 17 Isaiah 55:1-2; Matt 5:6; John 4:4, 6:35, 7:37; Rev 21:6 18 Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Jn 3:16, 6:40; Rom 5:8, 8:32; Eph 1:3, 2:4-7; Heb 9:11-28; 1 Jn 1:7, 3:1; Rev 1:5 19 Matthew 7:11 20 Luke 11:13 21 Psalm 19:1-6, 89:5; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 5:13 22 2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 33:18; Proverbs 15:3 23 Ephesians 1:3 24 Psalm 38:9, 42:1, 107:9, 119:81; Phil 3:20; Heb 11:16 25 Philippians 4:19 26 Genesis 15:4-5 27 Exodus 3:9-10 28 Matthew 1:18-20; Luke 1:26-35 29 Luke 2:8-11 30 Acts 3:6 31 Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37, 18:27 32 Psalm 107:9 33 Romans 5:5 34 Ezra 9:6, 15 35 Romans 6:18; 36 Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:9-12, 8:3 37 Romans 8:8 38 Romans 8:4; Hebrews 9:22 39 Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:9-18 40 Matthew 20:18-19, 27:27-31 41 Romans 3:25, 6:23 42 Matt 27:22; Mk 15:13-14; Lk 23:21; Jn 19:6; Acts 13:28 43 Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; 44 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Peter 3:18; 45 Matt 16:21, 17:23; Luke 9:22; John 20:1-29; Acts 3:15; 13:29-41 46 John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7, 13-15 47 Psalm 139:1-4; Matthew 6:8, 31-32; Luke 12:22-24, 30 48 John 10:10 49 Ps 34:18, 147:3; Isa 61:1; Luke 4:18 50 Psalm 36:5-9 2

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved

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March 27, 2011 Blessed Beyond Belief Part 12: Man of God, Don’t Lie To Me The Gospel That Seems Too Good To Be True

Sharing the Light Ministries is a 501©(3) non-profit organization that offers healing and hope by sharing The good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Visit www.sharingthelight.org to learn more about pastor and author Alan Wright, his books, audio products, podcasts, national radio broadcasts and conferences. Also discover how you can become a partner in sharing the light of Jesus Christ.

© Alan D. Wright 2011. All rights reserved