Something sinister has woven it’s way into the fabric of Christianity today and it will lead
to major consequences both here and through eternity. An easy grace doctrine is being pushed in the pulpits. It is a doctrine of grace without repentance. An acceptance of sin because Jesus washes it away anyway and He knows your desires, He wants you happy.
And the focus of this doctrine is...YOU. Jesus can help YOU live your best life now. The whole pitch, the whole thing, is focused on you. And that is very bad. You can not have joy living for you. You can’t even have happiness living for you unless everything goes your way-as soon as an AC unit breaks or something goes wrong, your happiness is gone. But joy, much greater than happiness, stays strong whether things go right OR wrong.
You see, you are not perfect. And if you take an imperfect person, and put them at the
center of this imperfect world, you can not possibly have a perfect life. Not only will joy
escape you, happiness will too. The only place to find joy, real joy, is in Christ. Listen to
the words of Jesus Christ himself telling us the only way to have joy in John 15:9-11, “As
the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My
commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that my JOY may remain in you, and that your JOY may be full.” Do you see that? The way to Joy, not happiness, but joy is to obey Christ’s commandments. To live, not for what you want to do, but for what Jesus tells you to do. If you want joy, die to yourself and live for Jesus. What area of your life have you not turned over to Jesus?
This is not works doctrine, you are already saved if you asked Jesus in as Lord and believe on His atoning death. Your faith saves you. Period. But that is just the start. According to Jesus, if you want to experience joy, not just in this world but also in the next, you have to live for Jesus. Obey Him. Hear His voice and follow Him. The problem with much of cultural Christianity today is the focus is on US. Even Jesus exists to help us. That is the flaw in the “hyper-grace” movement. Focus on self will NEVER lead to joy. This Sunday I will preach on finding joy not only here, but for eternity. It will be a fun message, you don’t want to miss it. Hope to see you Sunday at Great Awareness Church, 900 Cripple Creek Dr. in Lawrenceville. 10:30 AM on Sunday morning. See you then!
Pastor Brian
P.S. My message this week is on experiencing joy and it is going to be very exciting. I am pumped about it and I think it will be a blessing to you. You don’t want to miss it. If you don’t have a church home and you are within an hour of Lawrenceville, I encourage you to check out our little church. You will feel the love the minute you walk in the door. There truly is no other church quite like it. Check us out, 10:30 on Sunday morning at 900 Cripple Creek Dr. Lawrenceville. It will encourage and grow you, and you will feel loved! So come this Sunday! If you can’t make it, log in to our YouTube channel, @TheGreatAwarenessChurch as we live stream it every Sunday as well. Hope to see you this Sunday at 10:30. Be blessed!
P.P.S. My book, “The Last Instructions of Jesus (Before He Comes Again)," is a deep dive into Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus' last words, and it is a game-changing book. You can click on this link to order or go online to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. Click the link below and get yours today!
https://www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/867418-the-last-instructions-of-jesus
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)