Gladly Welcomed

God’s approval of you is not based on your performance. He welcomes you gladly because you are His child.
“When God puts love and compassion in your heart toward someone, He’s offering you an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. You must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it. Somebody needs what you have.”

Paul said in Ephesians because of our faith in Christ, we can come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad, welcome.
Not many of us have the audacity to think that God would be that happy to see us.
I mean, he’s the creator of the universe. He has bigger things to deal with.
He’s not concerned about me or you are God’s biggest deal. You are his most valuable possession.
He made you in his own image. There’s nothing more important to God than you. God bless you.
It’s great to be with you today and I hope you’ll stay connected with us during the week to our daily podcast, our youtube channel, social media, we’ll keep you encouraged and inspired.
But I’d like to start with something funny.
And I heard about these three aspiring psychiatrists, William Julie and Bubba, they were taking their first test on emotional extremes.
And the professor asked William, what is the opposite of sadness? He replied, happiness.
The professor asked Julie, what is the opposite of depression? She replied, joy.
The professor asked Bubba, what is the opposite of woe W O E.
Bubba looked kind of puzzled after a long pause. He replied, giddy up. All right.
Say it like you mean it, here we go. This is my bible. I am what it says I am.
I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do today.
I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert. My heart is receptive.
I will never be the same in jesus’ name. God bless you.
I wanna talk to you today about gladly welcomed. We have two small dogs at home.
They’re shizu and they’re very friendly and playful.
And every time they hear the garage door go up and someone returns home, they run to the back door and wait.
When we open the door, they jump up on us. So excited, their tails are wagging back and forth.
It’s like they hadn’t seen us in two months.
We’ve been going 30 minutes and I know they’re just dogs, but it still warms your heart to know that they’re so glad to see you.
Paul said in Ephesians because of our faith in Christ, we can come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
Not many of us have the audacity to think that God would be that happy to see us.
I mean, he’s the creator of the universe. He has bigger things to deal with.
He’s not concerned about me or you are God’s biggest deal. You are his most valuable possession.
He made you in his own image. There’s nothing more important to God than you.
It says in Isaiah, he has your picture tattooed on the palm of his hand.
He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows your thoughts before you think them.
And if you will have the right image of God knowing that he gladly welcomes you.
His face lights up when he sees you.
He loves spending time with you hearing your concerns, knowing what you’re dreaming about, then you won’t shrink back in fear, intimidated, unworthy.
You will go fearlessly to him. But so many people have the wrong image of God.
They see him as being harsh like he has a ball bat waiting for them to make a mistake, knock them down further.
Don’t come near me, man. You’ve done wrong.
You haven’t measured up, you knew better, but God is not basing His glad. Welcome on your performance.
It’s not based on how perfect you’ve lived.
It’s based on the fact that you’re his child because of your faith in Christ, not because of your good works, not because you perform perfectly.
It’s because of who you belong to. Ephesians.
One says long before God made the world He chose you to be in Him without fault.
Now, you may have made mistakes. You got off course, done things you’re not proud of.
We let the accuser He all the baggage and remind us of how unworthy we are, how we don’t deserve God’s goodness.
Look at what you’ve done. You should be ashamed, you know, better. You know how God sees you without fault.
How could this be? He’s already paid the price for your sins, your mistakes, your failures.
He sees you without fault. But that won’t do you any good if you don’t see yourself without fault, if you’re down on yourself, living guilty, condemned, even though God will gladly welcome you.
Even though He’s longing to be good to you, you won’t see this goodness because you don’t come fearlessly into his presence.
This all started in the garden of Eden.
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit up to, then they were happy, confident, secure.
They knew God loved them. They went boldly into his presence, walked with God, talked with God, they received his glad welcome.
But when they disobeyed, the condemnation came, the accusing voice brought fear and intimidation.
The first thing they did was run and hide. They had to get out of God’s presence.
They knew they wouldn’t be gladly welcomed anymore. God came and said Adam, where are you?
It wasn’t so much about his location, it was about his frame of mind. In the old Testament.
They had to make sacrifices to cover their sins, but we’re under a better covenant.
The price has already been paid. It says in revelation, God has washed away our sins past tense.
He’s already forgiven you. You may have made mistakes, you’re not where you wanted to be.
You don’t feel worthy like you deserve God’s goodness. Now like Adam, you’re hiding. God is saying, where are you?
I long to be with you. I have mercy for your mistakes. I have forgiveness for your wrongs.
What you’ve done did not stop his glad. Welcome.
The scripture says, come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy. Notice, to get the mercy.
You have to go boldly. You won’t go boldly.
If you think God is mad at you, you’ve made too many mistakes. You lost your temper.
You ran with the wrong crowd, you ruined your marriage. Mercy is available.
New beginnings are available, but it’s not going to happen if you stay down on yourself, feeling unworthy, I don’t deserve to be blessed.
Get rid of that defeated mentality. God sees you without fault.
He’s not holding your mistakes against you when you come to him. He won’t say it’s about time.
I’m so disappointed. What’s wrong with you? He will gladly welcome you. Maybe like Adam, you’re hiding.
He said, you can’t go to God.
Every voice says, look at your failures, look at your weaknesses, you don’t deserve it.
If you only knew that God is standing before you right now with open arms, he’s not just going to welcome you.
He’s going to gladly welcome you. Why don’t you come out of hiding?
Come out of unworthiness, come out of condemnation and receive this glad, welcome.
God I know I’m not worthy, but I wanna thank you that you have made me worthy. Lord.
I know I have many faults, but I thank you that you see me with no faults.
How do you see God as someone that will gladly welcome you?
That’s looking forward to seeing you that won’t judge you or do you see him as someone that’s hard condemning, holding your mistakes against you?
Your perception of God will have a great impact on whether you become all you were created to be.
And sometimes religion distorts the image of God.
It can show God as being harsh and mean when you can’t measure up, use His guilt and making you feel unworthy to try to get you to live right?
But condemnation doesn’t make you do better.
The scripture says it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
When you understand that God loves you unconditionally not if you perform perfectly.
But even when you make mistakes, He has mercy that He finds you without fault that He gladly welcomes you that there’s nothing more valuable, nothing more important to Him than you, then you’ll put your shoulders back, you hold your head up high and step up to who you were created to be.
Luke chapter 15, a young man asked his father for his inheritance.
Early father agreed and gave him the money.
The son left home and went out and lived a wild life partied all the time wasted his inheritance, making poor choices.
The money finally ran out. Young man had nothing to eat. Nowhere to go.
He found a job on a farm, taking care of some hogs. He was so desperate.
He had to eat the hog food to survive. He was very down on himself. Ashamed, embarrassed.
He had no one to blame except himself as he was sitting in the hog pin, dirty smelly, not knowing what he’s gonna do next.
He began to think about his father.
He said even the servants at my father’s house, they better than I do.
They have a nice place to stay. They have three meals a day, they get paid.
Well, he thought about how good his father was, how he was even kind to the staff.
He remembered how he was loving, generous, merciful, compassionate as he contemplated who his father was.
Something rose up on the inside, a boldness, a confidence.
He said, you know what I’m gonna arise and go back to my father.
He didn’t say I’m gonna go back home. He didn’t say I’m gonna go back to my family’s house.
He said, I’m going to my father. He knew everyone may not accept him.
There would be judgment from people. Maybe friends would look down on him.
Maybe a sibling would say hurtful things, but he knew his father was the key as he made this journey back home.
I can hear thoughts telling him it’s not a good idea. Your father is not gonna receive you.
Look at what you’ve done. Look at how dirty you are. You better turn around the whole time.
He kept dismissing it saying no, I remember who my father is.
If he had the image of his father being harsh, mean judgmental, he would have never come home how you see your heavenly Father will determine whether you run away from him or whether you run to him.
Now, maybe you’re staying away because you have the wrong image of God.
You’re letting those lies play God won’t receive you. You’ve blown it too many times.
You should live guilty and condemn you know, if you knew who your heavenly father really is like this young man, you would arise and go to your father when he got close to the house, this big moment finally came, his heart was beating fast.
He was trying to believe for the best. But fear, unworthiness, guilt was playing louder than ever can imagine.
He wants to turn around, just forget it. This wasn’t a good idea right.
Then he looks way off in the distance and sees someone running toward him. He thinks, who could this be?
Is there a problem? An emergency? Someone in trouble, they get closer and he realizes it’s his father.
He naturally thinks he’s coming out here to condemn me, keep me off the property.
But when this father gets to his son, he grabs him and hugs him with all of his mind won’t let him go.
Remember the son is dirty. He has hog feet, manure mud all over him. Hadn’t showered in days.
Smells badly. But it doesn’t stop this father. He doesn’t pay any attention.
Our God will get dirty to restore you.
He’s a God that comes to messy places, the dirt on your life, the mistakes you’ve made the mess.
It will never keep God from coming to you. Nothing you’ve done is too much for the mercy of God.
This father told his assistant go get the best robe and put it on my son, get some new shoes and put it on his feet and get the family ring and put it on his finger.
This means that all of his authority as a son was restored.
He went on to say, go kill the fatted calf. We’re going to have a party.
God knows how to gladly welcome.
You would have been nice if the father would have just forgiven him, let him come back home, not make a big deal about it.
But notice how God doesn’t just take you back. He restores you. He gives you back what you lost.
This is hard for us to fathom that God will be good to us.
Even though we’ve done wrong, he’ll have a party when I return. But not because I did something great.
Not because I accomplished a goal, but I blew it.
I made poor choices this is the goodness of our God.
Maybe like this young man, you think that God wouldn’t have anything to do with you. You’ve gotten off.
Course you’ve made mistakes when the truth is God has a robe of honor waiting for you.
It’s not in the hog pen. It’s with your father. He has a ring of authority.
He wants to not just receive you back but restore what’s been taken, restore your honor, restore your reputation, restore your joy.
You’re condemning yourself when he has a fatted calf out in the field with your name on it.
Don’t believe those lies that you’ll never really be happy, never be fulfilled.
If you’d only made better choices, it’s time to arise and go to your father.
When you do the scripture says, you can be assured of his glad, welcome.
Not, maybe not if he’s in a good mood, not if you’ve never had this problem before.
No, you can be sure he’ll be there with open arms.
He’s waiting to celebrate your arrival and we feel the guilt, the condemnation.
But God sees our failures already covered.
Now, we have to receive the forgiveness, receive the mercy and see ourselves without fault.
This goes against our natural reasoning because everything in us says, oh man, you’re just a poor old sinner.
You’re just unworthy. The truth is you used to be an old sinner.
But when you gave your life to Christ, you became a son, a daughter of the most high God, he has made you worthy.
You are the righteousness of God. It’s not your righteousness.
It’s his righteousness and don’t live with a weak worm of the dust mentality. I don’t deserve God’s goodness.
Like that protocol. I brought the trouble on myself. The scripture says where sin abounds grace does much more abound.
You didn’t supersede your allotment of grace.
You didn’t make a mistake so big that God ran out of mercy instead of living condemned.
Why don’t you go boldly to the throne and receive that mercy. God is waiting to gladly welcome you.
Here’s the key. He won’t force you to come. He didn’t make the prodigal son go back home.
It was the young man’s choice.
When you take one step toward God, he comes running towards you only place in the bible where it shows God running was that this young man that had gotten off.
Course God could have come running to heal the lepers running to teach in the synagogue, running to the religious leaders instead, he came running to someone that had made mistakes.
My little dogs I told you about when I get home this afternoon, I have no doubt they’re gonna be happy to see me.
I am fully convinced they will be there with their tails wagging, jumping up on me.
What would happen if we believe that God will always gladly welcome us. How much better would we live?
How much freer more secure at peace.
If we were confident that God is for us, that He sees us without fault, that even when we make mistakes, he’s waiting with arms held open wide, ready to restore us and get us back on track.
The enemy has worked over time to try to convince people that God is out to get us.
He’s mad at you. He’s counting your mistakes. He’s about to knock you down further. That is not our God.
Don’t let the wrong image of God keep you from coming to him.
The scripture says, the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits.
I believe one meaning of this is when you know the character of our God when you know He’s for you, when you know He gladly welcomes you.
When you know He sees you without fault.
When you know He comes running, when you make mistakes, then you’re gonna be strong and you’re going to do great things.
Well, Joel, when we make mistakes, I believe we should do better. Yes, I agree.
But you’re not a finished product.
God is still working on you while He’s changing you, while you’re growing, you have to learn to accept yourself, not beat yourself up when you don’t perform perfectly.
What you struggle with. The mistakes you’ve made are not a surprise to God. He’s the one that made you.
You’re on that potter’s wheel. He’s continuing to mold you. Now stay positive towards yourself, give yourself grace.
You can’t change in your own strength. You keep honoring God and his timing. He’ll help you to change.
Think about Zach. He was a tax collector. They were known for being dishonest cheating people.
He was the chief tax collector. Zach was despised the people in the scripture described him as scum.
It’s pretty bad when the Bible calls you scum.
Jesus came passing through the town, Zach was up in a tree trying to get a glimpse of him.
Jesus stopped out of all the people there. Thousands.
Jesus looked up said, Zach, come down, I wanna go to your house and have dinner.
This didn’t make sense to the religious leaders. They complained.
Why is he going to dinner with a notorious sinner religion? Says you’re too bad.
You made too many mistakes. Stay away. But God says I will gladly welcome you.
I’m gonna come to your house for dinner.
Jesus could have gone to the mayor’s house, the high priest house to the governor’s house.
This is showing us how God doesn’t judge the way people judge if God gladly welcomed Zara, why do you think he’s not going to gladly welcome you, Joel?
I made some mistakes. I still struggle with my temper.
I gave into this temptation that didn’t cancel out His mercy. Run to God, not away from Him.
Don’t do like Adam and start hiding. You can be open and honest with God.
He’s not going to judge you. It’s very powerful when you admit your dependence on Him.
God, I’m struggling in this area. I can’t overcome on my own. I need your help.
That’s when you’ll feel a strength, a power to do what you can’t do on your own.
Zach went to dinner with Jesus, but he didn’t lead the same way.
He said, I’m gonna give half of my income to the poor and those that I have overcharged, I’m gonna give four times the amount back.
Jesus said this day, salvation has come to your home.
Sometimes we think if we berate people, tell them all they’re doing wrong, make them feel guilty, then they’ll change.
But most people already know what they’re doing wrong.
But when they hear about a God who gladly welcomes a God that doesn’t hold their faults against them.
A God that shows mercy when they deserve judgment, then they’ll change.
Now, make sure you have the right image of God. He’s for you.
He has a great plan for your life. He’s not focused on all your failures.
He has mercy for every mistake. He’s waiting to gladly welcome you.
All you have to do is take that step toward Him no more hiding, no more living, condemned.
Feeling unworthy. Go to God with boldness and receive this mercy says come boldly to the throne.
You won’t receive it. If you go around thinking I don’t deserve it, I’m unworthy.
I’m like Zach, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, done. Things. I’m not proud of.
God is calling your name today. Saying come down out of that tree, come out of hiding.
I wanna come to your house. I wanna gladly welcome you. Will you receive this welcome?
Will you shake off the guilt, the condemnation, the past, put your shoulders back and see yourself like God sees you without fault worthy, righteous.
Many times we get our image of God from our natural father.
If your father was loving and kind, we’ll help you to have the right perception of God.
I know people, their father was harsh. Condescending wasn’t around much. They couldn’t count on him.
Don’t let that negative image distort who our heavenly father is. God is merciful. He’s loving. He’s forgiving.
Victoria has a great father. He’s always been good to us. Jonathan was a little baby.
He’d come to the house and spend the night so we could sleep and he would take care of the baby.
Victoria is very close to her father.
When she was in her teens, she had just gotten her driver’s permit and she asked her father if she could borrow the car and go to a friend’s house in the neighborhood.
He was a little hesitant, but he finally agreed and says, yes, you can take the car as long as you go straight there and come straight back home.
She said, yes, sir, I’ll do exactly that.
Well, Victoria is not quite as holy as I am, she did go straight to her friend’s house but she picked her up and then they decided to get on the freeway and go see some other friends.
The problem is she didn’t put the car in drive.
She put it in low one, that gear is used for climbing.
She was going down the freeway, barely moving with the engine sounding like a jet airplane.
The car started smoking. 10 minutes later, the engine blew up. The car wouldn’t move.
She pulled over to the side of the freeway.
The last thing most people would do would be go call your father.
He’s the one that just told you to not get on the freeway. Not Victoria like that protocol.
She said, I will arise and go to my father. She called dad. I made a mistake.
I took the car out on the freeway. Something happened, not running anymore.
If her father was hard, mean always berating her. She wouldn’t have run to him.
She would have run from him.
The reason she was bold enough to go to her father was, she knew his nature.
She had seen his character through the years, loving kind merciful.
When you have the right image of God, even when you make mistakes, you’ll go to him like Victoria, you’re assured of his glad, welcome.
Her father came, had the car towed. Do you know he never said a word to her about it?
Sometimes God will clean up a mess we’ve made and never say a word.
He doesn’t condemn us, doesn’t find fault. Say I told you so it’s the mercy of God.
That’s what happened with the prodigal son. When he returned home.
The father who represents God never brought up his past. He never said I’ll take you back.
But you should be ashamed of yourself. I hope you learned your lesson.
The father never said a word about it. Sometimes we don’t go to God because we already feel condemned.
We already know we’ve done wrong and we think, oh man, here comes more judgment.
He’s gonna let me have it.
No, God is waiting to gladly welcome you, not to judge you, not to make you feel worse but to restore you.
He has a robe of honor. He has a ring of authority.
When you really know who your heavenly father is, you’ll go to him with confidence knowing that He accepts your faults and all that.
He has mercy for your mistakes that he’s not in the judging business. He’s in the restoring business.
When our son, Jonathan was a little boy, maybe five years old.
One afternoon, I couldn’t find him in the house. I went looking for him everywhere.
Thought maybe he’s upstairs in his bedroom by himself.
I went there but he wasn’t there and went to Alexander’s room. Nothing wasn’t in the playroom.
Started to get a little concerned, had my weights in the garage.
And he’d come out when I was working out and I went out in the garage, still couldn’t find it.
Looked in my office in the bathroom. He was nowhere. I finally went back to check my bedroom.
When I got there, the door was closed. I opened it, there was Jonathan sitting in my favorite chair.
This big green recliner, the chair was laid back. His feet were in the air.
He was eating a popsicle watching TV.
He looked at me with a big smile and said, Daddy, this is the life as a father that made me feel good.
I love the fact that he felt so loved, so valuable, so important that, that he could come and get in my favorite chair.
He knew I would gladly welcome him.
If you wanna make your heavenly father proud, get up in the green chair.
Come boldly to the throne, believe that you’re loved that you’re valuable that you’re worthy.
Don’t let a wrong image of God keep you from the blessings, the favor, the joy that belongs to you.
God sees you without fault. He’s already forgiven your sins.
You can come fearlessly into his presence assured of his glad welcome.
If you’ll do this, I believe and declare strongholds of guilt, condemnation, unworthiness are being broken right now because you know you’re a God, you’re gonna be strong and do great things in jesus’ name.
If you receive it, can you say amen today?
I’d like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life.
Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins come into my heart.
I make you my Lord and Savior.
If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again.
Love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord.
You can text the number on the screen or go to the website.
I hope you’ll get into a good bible based church and keep God first place.
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