Somewhere, we got it wrong. We started measuring sermons  based on how "convicting" they were- how bad people felt AFTER they left Church! 

Yet the Scripture "flips the script" on this. The Bible tells us that God IS joy... that the JOY of the Lord is our strength... that to find salvation is to actually enter into the JOY of our Master. 

You have to ignore it not to see it!

Oddly enough, we already have a perfect picture of what God is like: Jesus. 

And, even though people attribute things to God that run counter to who God actually is, we find a safe space to understand what He's really like because we've seen Jesus in the flesh.  

• Jesus never caused anyone to be sick- He only healed illness
• Jesus never caused chaos or calamity in someone's life in order to teach them a lesson- He calmed storms
• Jesus never destroyed- He always mended and restored!

And, the Bible tells us that when we see Jesus we see exactly what the Father is like.

The message of grace gets better, though! You see, Jesus doesn't just show us who the Father is, He actually shows us who WE are!

We like to "window shop" in our day & age. We're always scrolling Facebook, surfing the Internet, and comparing ourselves to others... 

The Bible tells us, though, that we don't find who we are by looking at externals- but by looking at Christ in us. And, when we see Him, the Scripture says He reveals our true identity. We're so much like him (and, I know, this gets some people uncomfortable!) that to see Him is as if you're looking in a mirror!

This means you weren't designed to flub around, living in the rut of guilt + shame + the ghosts-of-whatever-past. You're created for glory!

In this lesson we'll talk about what that means... that you actually carry the presence of something incredible. After all, didn't Jesus say, "The Kingdom of God is within you"?

By now, you're getting the gravity of grace- it's bigger, better, grander than you imagined possible!

In video 5 we'll talk about everything Jesus has achieved- the full scope of the glory you carry. I'll show you from Scripture that He's been radically succesful: He's forgiven your sins, He's healed your body, He's brought spiritual freedom and emotional release to you... and more!

Of course, because you carry the total salvation that He gives you- and because the substance of the Kingdom itself is within in you... 

... to encounter something amazing, on this side of Heaven, people only need to encounter you!

You don’t need to go get reconnected to a source. You don’t need to get “re-filled.” You are full. And once you understand that, it makes all the difference in the world.

A lot of people think we constantly fall in and out of favor with God- based on keeping a list of rights and wrongs confessed to Him daily. In effect, we become extremely “sin conscious” rather than “Savior conscious.” 

Here’s the deal: God doesn’t want you dwelling on your sins. 

He’s forgotten all of your past wrongs (imagine that!), He’s decided that He’s not holding future sins against you, either (really, it’s in the Bible).

Once you understand how free you really are, you’re free to be everything you’ve been created- and re-created- to be.

Turns out,  you can’t appeal to both keeping the religious rules and to Jesus at the same time.

I grew up thinking that God was pleased by rule keeping. The more rules kept, in fact, the better.

Ironically, though, Jesus wasn’t qualified to be a priest under the rules. If you appeal to rule keeping, you exclude Jesus.

On the other hand, if you include Jesus, you automatically exclude the rule-keeping.

Yeah, it’s confusing. But, I’m promise you, it will set your mind at ease…