jiggaz:
Have you ever seen those Magic Eye 3D pictures that look random at first glance but then reveal a hidden picture? Maybe there’s a group of you looking and someone says, “Wow – look at that! It’s a ship!” Then another person sees it and now they’re both describing the picture to you. But try as you might you just can’t see it. They try to encourage you. “Look – it’s right there. It’s huge!” But still you can’t see it. You’re starting to think there’s no picture at all and they’re all deluded when suddenly, revelation comes and a ship appears! If you’re like me and you’re usually the last person to see these things, you’ll no doubt embarrass yourself at this point by shouting, “I see it!”

That’s how it was for me with grace.

I knew people who looked into the Bible and saw radical grace but I didn’t. Sure, there were pockets of grace but there was a whole lot of other stuff as well. Then one day, revelation came and I saw Grace! He’s right there on every page and in every book! How can you miss Him? He’s huge! I now find myself reading old scriptures with new eyes and saying, “Look! This is speaking of Jesus! This is all about Him – I never saw this before.” Now that I’ve seen Him once I see Him everywhere. I was saved decades ago and I have always loved God with my whole heart. But when I got this revelation of His amazing grace, it was like being born again,
again .

A friend recently asked me, “How well did you understand grace before you understood grace ?” Here’s my answer: I thought I understood grace perfectly well. For as long as I can remember I’ve considered myself a testimony of His grace. But when Grace Himself came into focus, I was floored. I realized that I had barely understood grace at all. Looking back I can identify nine signs that showed I did not fully grasp the grace of God.

1. I understood that I was saved by grace but not that I was kept by grace

I had received Christ by faith and without doing a thing, but I was not continuing in Him by that same faith (Col 2:6). Although I would never have said it, I had taken out a little works insurance. Faith is a positive response to what God has done, but I liked to initiate things. And so my walk became “do, do, do,” rather than it’s “done, done, done.” There was no rest, only performance anxiety. There was always another meeting to lead, another plank of truth to teach, another stray sheep to gather. I thought this was normal. I could get excited about the idea of being saved and saving others, but I was not drawing from the wells of salvation with joy (Is 12:3). I was constantly stressed and I treated grace as grease for my engine.

2. I felt obliged to serve

Jesus had done everything for me, what would I do for Him? Of course I didn’t use the word “indebted” – that would’ve alerted me to the poverty of my theology – but much of what I did was motivated by a sense of obligation. I thus cheapened the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph 1:7) by trying to pay Him back for His priceless gift. Inevitably this shifted my focus from Him and His work to me and mine. Instead of being impressed by what He had done, I was trying to impress Him with what I was doing.

3. I motivated others using carrots and sticks

Because my own motives were screwed up it was inevitable that I would preach rewards and punishments to others. Do good, get good; do bad, get bad. At the same time as I was preaching against legalism I was putting people under law! My gospel was like an ash-tray – full of “buts”! God loves you but… Jesus died for you but… God’s gifts always came with a price to pay. But grace is free – you either receive it or reject it but the moment you start charging for it, you’ve missed it. There’s only one motive in the kingdom and that is love. The Son of Man didn’t come to threaten us, judge us, or scare us, but to demonstrate love (Rm 5:. I no longer believe that evangelism means scaring the hell out of people. The good news that the world needs to hear is that God is good and He loves us. The new covenant of grace is the formal expression of His unfailing love for us (Is 54:10).

4. I saw myself as a servant rather than a son

My identity was in the things I did rather than in my Father. I saw myself as working for God (a noble cause!) rather than doing the works of God . I would not have said I was justified by what I did for I knew that grace and works don’t mix (Rms 11:6). Yet I was mixing grace with works like there was no tomorrow! But here’s the strange thing. Even though I preached servanthood more than sonship, whenever there was a crisis I was quick to relate to Him as Papa. It was only when I was strong and healthy that I was seduced by the religious need to do something for God. Happily, there were many crises!

5. I kept asking God to provide things that He’s already provided

I knew enough about grace to approach Him boldly in my hour of need, but I didn’t know that He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). If someone was sick I would ask for healing when I should’ve just healed them (Mt 10:. I would ask for more faith instead of living by the faith of the Son of God (Ga 2:20). Like the prodigal’s older brother I felt that God would bless me as I did my part. I didn’t realize that I was already blessed, deeply loved, and highly favored. In my ignorance I wasted a whole lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing. I thought I was being active and fruitful but in reality I was passive and faithless. God had already come but there I was face down asking Him to come again.

6. I was more sin-conscious than Christ-conscious

Like many Christians I was afraid of sin (keep it out of the camp!) and I was not known as a friend of sinners. I defined sin as bad works only and I taught that the solution to sin was repentance. I had read that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Tit 2:12), but I wasn’t quite sure how that worked. So when preaching against sin I used inferior incentives like fear and punishment that led, at best, to temporary, will-powered changes in behavior. I emphasized what people must do (repent!) more that what God has already done (forgiven us!). I kept the focus on us when it should’ve been on Him and my preaching was powerless as a result. If anyone failed to experience victory over sin, I just figured they were unacquainted with God’s transforming grace – even though I had given them none.

7. I always tried to do the right thing

Someone under grace says, “I trust Him from start to finish. He will lead me in the right path” (Ps 23:3). But in subtle ways I preferred rules to relationship. What I craved were clear Biblical guidelines for living. I thought I was choosing good, but then so did Adam. We both had an independent spirit that led us to eat from the wrong tree. I felt particularly good when people came to me for guidance. I thought I was giving them wisdom when really I should just have got out of the way and taught them to lean on Jesus (Jn 10:27).

8. I had a stronger relationship with the written word than with the Living Word

I did not read the scriptures to find Jesus (Lk 24:27) but to learn, what should I do? I read indiscriminately and was often
confused by scriptures that seemed to contradict each other . My solution was to go for balance: A little of this, a little of that, for all scripture is profitable. But by failing to filter what I read through the finished work of the cross, I unwittingly poisoned myself. I was mixing the death-dealing words of the law with the life-giving words of grace. Although I was zealous for the Lord, in truth I was lukewarm. I was neither under the stone-cold reality of the law nor walking in the red-hot heat of His unconditional love and grace.

9. I knew I was righteous, but I didn’t feel righteous

When I stumbled I would more readily confess my sins to God than allow the Holy Spirit to remind me of the gift of His righteousness to me (Jn 16:10). I knew I was a new creation (2 Cor 5:17), but in many ways I acted and spoke as if I was merely an improved creation. I thought honesty about my struggles was the key to getting more grace. But I probably would not have struggled so much in the first place if I had just learned to see myself as God sees me – redeemed, righteous, and holy.

I am convinced that grace comes by revelation. If you don’t yet see it this post may sound like the ramblings of a man who is unbalanced. (Thank God I am! I’m done with balance!) If you do see Grace, then right now you will be resonating like a tuning fork. So let me finish with a few words for those of you in the first group. Please be patient with those of us who are leaping for joy. Don’t walk away from the Magic Eye picture scowling, “I can’t see it, there’s nothing there.” Just keep looking! Grace really is standing right there in front of you. And He’s huge!

https://escapetoreality.org/2011/05/27/did-i-understand-grace-before/

jiggaz:
loool you welcome bro!! l discovered the Gospel of Grace in 2014 through Pastor Joseph Prince and i felt exactly like you!! i felt like flying!! lol..... Our Lord Jesus is soooo gracious!!! Between 2014 and now 2016, i have grown so much in the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus and His super abundance of Grace.. ....

Before i discovered the Gospel of Grace, i was not a serious Christian( i. e i don't study the word of God) cos the church i used to attend, my pastor always condemn me to Hell Fire because i didn't believe in living a legalistic religious life like them... lol. Between 2012 & 2013, i was living in depression cos truly i love God and i have 100% trust in Christ Jesus and His Finished work on the Cross, but my legalistic Pastor felt i was not doing enough like them and always tell me i will go to Hell if i don't live a legalistic religious life like them lol.

I couldn't live a legalistic life with do's and donts. Why my pastor condemns me is because i dress well, i have this cosmopolitan view of life, i couldnt be differentiated from unbelievers by mere looking at me and worldly knowledge ( according to them lol ). Because i didnt know much then in the bible, i kinda belived him that i will end up in Hell.... So from then, i started developing this hatred for God because i felt since He knew that i will still go to hell despite my being a Believer, why then did He create me? It was bad for me then. You see how over religious self righteous zealous Christians scare people away from Christ? I felt God was wicked for creating me since He will still send me to hell. But i didn't voice out my opinion then, cos i felt God will strike me dead!! lol.....


So my broda, from my write up you will see that Religion is bad for humanity.... Christianity is not a Religion, but a personal Relationship with Christ.... Christ has done it all and all we have to do is REST in His Finished Work and watch Him do His mighty works through us.... I now have soooo much knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Super Abundance of Grace and am still learning more... Grace is a person and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!!!

Why is the devil fighting the Gospel of Grace? It is because he knows that if every Christian know about grace and who they are in Christ, the devil will be powerless!! And that is why he is fighting the Gospel of Grace!! This Gospel of Grace is all about our inheritance and identity in Christ but the devil doesn't want it cos he knows he will be powerless if Christians know the powerful truth.... The devil uses fellow Christians to fight the Gospel of Grace and i always laugh when fellow Believers fight me here lol. Some have called me Antichrist or Lucifer..... i laugh at their ignorance.... Some Christians feel good condemning fellow Believers or Unbelievers to Hell thinking they are scoring merits with God, i pity them. Christ said He didn't come for the righteous but for the sinners so they can come to repentance.
Truly, Heaven will be full of Surprises, the people you least expect to see in the kingdom will all be there, even sitting on Thrones...... and the so called self righteous ones might not even have any reward ( all their dead works burned in the fire ). Self righteous Christians should remember they are not God by condemning believers and unbelievers to Hell Fire, let the Holy Spirit do His work. Just share the Gospel and leave it at that, not threatening people to repent.

I always thank Jesus Christ for using Pastor Joseph Prince to set me free through the Gospel of Grace..... i now know who i am in Christ and my life have turned for the Best!!

The Gospel of Grace is moving rapidly around the world... America have been captured, India & China too..... Thanks to men of God sharing this POWERFUL TRUTH around the world like Pastor Joseph Prince, Andrew Wommack, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, Paul Ellis and sooo many others.... I thank God for their lives.

jiggaz:
Have you ever seen those Magic Eye 3D pictures that look random at first glance but then reveal a hidden picture? Maybe there’s a group of you looking and someone says, “Wow – look at that! It’s a ship!” Then another person sees it and now they’re both describing the picture to you. But try as you might you just can’t see it. They try to encourage you. “Look – it’s right there. It’s huge!” But still you can’t see it. You’re starting to think there’s no picture at all and they’re all deluded when suddenly, revelation comes and a ship appears! If you’re like me and you’re usually the last person to see these things, you’ll no doubt embarrass yourself at this point by shouting, “I see it!”

That’s how it was for me with grace.

I knew people who looked into the Bible and saw radical grace but I didn’t. Sure, there were pockets of grace but there was a whole lot of other stuff as well. Then one day, revelation came and I saw Grace! He’s right there on every page and in every book! How can you miss Him? He’s huge! I now find myself reading old scriptures with new eyes and saying, “Look! This is speaking of Jesus! This is all about Him – I never saw this before.” Now that I’ve seen Him once I see Him everywhere. I was saved decades ago and I have always loved God with my whole heart. But when I got this revelation of His amazing grace, it was like being born again,
again .

A friend recently asked me, “How well did you understand grace before you understood grace ?” Here’s my answer: I thought I understood grace perfectly well. For as long as I can remember I’ve considered myself a testimony of His grace. But when Grace Himself came into focus, I was floored. I realized that I had barely understood grace at all. Looking back I can identify nine signs that showed I did not fully grasp the grace of God.

1. I understood that I was saved by grace but not that I was kept by grace

I had received Christ by faith and without doing a thing, but I was not continuing in Him by that same faith (Col 2:6). Although I would never have said it, I had taken out a little works insurance. Faith is a positive response to what God has done, but I liked to initiate things. And so my walk became “do, do, do,” rather than it’s “done, done, done.” There was no rest, only performance anxiety. There was always another meeting to lead, another plank of truth to teach, another stray sheep to gather. I thought this was normal. I could get excited about the idea of being saved and saving others, but I was not drawing from the wells of salvation with joy (Is 12:3). I was constantly stressed and I treated grace as grease for my engine.

2. I felt obliged to serve

Jesus had done everything for me, what would I do for Him? Of course I didn’t use the word “indebted” – that would’ve alerted me to the poverty of my theology – but much of what I did was motivated by a sense of obligation. I thus cheapened the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph 1:7) by trying to pay Him back for His priceless gift. Inevitably this shifted my focus from Him and His work to me and mine. Instead of being impressed by what He had done, I was trying to impress Him with what I was doing.

3. I motivated others using carrots and sticks

Because my own motives were screwed up it was inevitable that I would preach rewards and punishments to others. Do good, get good; do bad, get bad. At the same time as I was preaching against legalism I was putting people under law! My gospel was like an ash-tray – full of “buts”! God loves you but… Jesus died for you but… God’s gifts always came with a price to pay. But grace is free – you either receive it or reject it but the moment you start charging for it, you’ve missed it. There’s only one motive in the kingdom and that is love. The Son of Man didn’t come to threaten us, judge us, or scare us, but to demonstrate love (Rm 5:. I no longer believe that evangelism means scaring the hell out of people. The good news that the world needs to hear is that God is good and He loves us. The new covenant of grace is the formal expression of His unfailing love for us (Is 54:10).

4. I saw myself as a servant rather than a son

My identity was in the things I did rather than in my Father. I saw myself as working for God (a noble cause!) rather than doing the works of God . I would not have said I was justified by what I did for I knew that grace and works don’t mix (Rms 11:6). Yet I was mixing grace with works like there was no tomorrow! But here’s the strange thing. Even though I preached servanthood more than sonship, whenever there was a crisis I was quick to relate to Him as Papa. It was only when I was strong and healthy that I was seduced by the religious need to do something for God. Happily, there were many crises!

5. I kept asking God to provide things that He’s already provided

I knew enough about grace to approach Him boldly in my hour of need, but I didn’t know that He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). If someone was sick I would ask for healing when I should’ve just healed them (Mt 10:. I would ask for more faith instead of living by the faith of the Son of God (Ga 2:20). Like the prodigal’s older brother I felt that God would bless me as I did my part. I didn’t realize that I was already blessed, deeply loved, and highly favored. In my ignorance I wasted a whole lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing. I thought I was being active and fruitful but in reality I was passive and faithless. God had already come but there I was face down asking Him to come again.

6. I was more sin-conscious than Christ-conscious

Like many Christians I was afraid of sin (keep it out of the camp!) and I was not known as a friend of sinners. I defined sin as bad works only and I taught that the solution to sin was repentance. I had read that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Tit 2:12), but I wasn’t quite sure how that worked. So when preaching against sin I used inferior incentives like fear and punishment that led, at best, to temporary, will-powered changes in behavior. I emphasized what people must do (repent!) more that what God has already done (forgiven us!). I kept the focus on us when it should’ve been on Him and my preaching was powerless as a result. If anyone failed to experience victory over sin, I just figured they were unacquainted with God’s transforming grace – even though I had given them none.

7. I always tried to do the right thing

Someone under grace says, “I trust Him from start to finish. He will lead me in the right path” (Ps 23:3). But in subtle ways I preferred rules to relationship. What I craved were clear Biblical guidelines for living. I thought I was choosing good, but then so did Adam. We both had an independent spirit that led us to eat from the wrong tree. I felt particularly good when people came to me for guidance. I thought I was giving them wisdom when really I should just have got out of the way and taught them to lean on Jesus (Jn 10:27).

8. I had a stronger relationship with the written word than with the Living Word

I did not read the scriptures to find Jesus (Lk 24:27) but to learn, what should I do? I read indiscriminately and was often
confused by scriptures that seemed to contradict each other . My solution was to go for balance: A little of this, a little of that, for all scripture is profitable. But by failing to filter what I read through the finished work of the cross, I unwittingly poisoned myself. I was mixing the death-dealing words of the law with the life-giving words of grace. Although I was zealous for the Lord, in truth I was lukewarm. I was neither under the stone-cold reality of the law nor walking in the red-hot heat of His unconditional love and grace.

9. I knew I was righteous, but I didn’t feel righteous

When I stumbled I would more readily confess my sins to God than allow the Holy Spirit to remind me of the gift of His righteousness to me (Jn 16:10). I knew I was a new creation (2 Cor 5:17), but in many ways I acted and spoke as if I was merely an improved creation. I thought honesty about my struggles was the key to getting more grace. But I probably would not have struggled so much in the first place if I had just learned to see myself as God sees me – redeemed, righteous, and holy.

I am convinced that grace comes by revelation. If you don’t yet see it this post may sound like the ramblings of a man who is unbalanced. (Thank God I am! I’m done with balance!) If you do see Grace, then right now you will be resonating like a tuning fork. So let me finish with a few words for those of you in the first group. Please be patient with those of us who are leaping for joy. Don’t walk away from the Magic Eye picture scowling, “I can’t see it, there’s nothing there.” Just keep looking! Grace really is standing right there in front of you. And He’s huge!

https://escapetoreality.org/2011/05/27/did-i-understand-grace-before/

bennyann:


Hmmmm!
What you experienced with your then pastor can be seen in point 3 of your post. Meaning your "legalistic pastor" was using the carrots and sticks approach (thank God you understand better now and you'll no longer feel condemned). So we should pray for him to experience that level of grace.

What's happening to most churches, better still most Christians was represented in point 6. Whereby we're being sin-conscious than Christ-conscious. Believe me that's the main issue or challenge being faced by Christians and it brings about confusion even among churches.

And the corrections to all these confusions and disagreements was noted in point 8. We should have a stronger relationship with the living word than with the written word. "For the letter killeth but the Spirit giveth LIFE." That leads me to agreeing with you, when you say "Christianity is not a religion but a personal relationship with Christ."

However, we shouldn't forget - "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? GOD FORBID." for GRACE comes along with the GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Djtm:
This is straight up awesome! Like totally absolutely awesome. You know what? You'll never know these things without revelation. After revelation, you begin to see Christ in everything. Before revelation you know the whole bible points to Christ, you can even teach it but you do not see how. When grace is revealed to you you begin to see how everything written in the bible points to Christ.

Knowing what Grace truly is makes your Christian journey far more easier. Only God knows how many times we sang "It's all about you Jesus" without we truly understanding what it really means.

Hebrews and the concept of the high priest became so much clearer to me after knowing what grace truly is.

Your magic eye 3D analogy is so on point. You wonder why you never saw Jesus in everything earlier on.

Many people erroneously assume you're telling them to live in sin when you preach about grace and eternal salvation, lol nah. I'm showing you how to be free from it.


Thing is, the human nature is hard wired to feel appreciated for their efforts. But everyone knows that Jesus is also "important", so what do they do? Mix the two! Preach some grace and some effort, but wrap the effort to look like it's grace. That's what we mostly have today. Grace + law. Spiritual prostitution.

I look forward to the spread of the grace message. It'll bring about deliverance for a lot of people and bring the Church to the operation of its full capacity.

Zackpraise:
waaaaa what an eye open Am bless man....tanks very much OP

chiefolododo:
I am not too sure whether or not I have seen GRACE

Jerryojozy:
I was blessed listening to the Man today. He is a teacher of grace and I was enlightened

jiggaz:
Thank you... No i don't know him....

mooregan:

He is a great Teacher. So happy to be pastored by him

mooregan:

Okay...He's my pastor and everything u mentioned, has been taught by him. You can check him on Facebook. He is worded with Grace.

Jerryojozy:
I will surely miss him when I leave Uyo. well will get to listen to him through e-formats

OLUTOYOSI15:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now I'm found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'twas Grace that taught,
my heart to fear.
And grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
the hour I first believed.

I think our Nigerian Christian mentality is blind and needs grace to see. God bless you OP.

mooregan:

Yea, me I've not been in Uyo for the past one year but I've been watching via Facebook and ADMI app.

jiggaz:
loool you welcome bro!! l discovered the Gospel of Grace in 2014 through Pastor Joseph Prince and i felt exactly like you!! i felt like flying!! lol..... Our Lord Jesus is soooo gracious!!! Between 2014 and now 2016, i have grown so much in the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus and His super abundance of Grace.. ....

Before i discovered the Gospel of Grace, i was not a serious Christian( i. e i don't study the word of God) cos the church i used to attend, my pastor always condemn me to Hell Fire because i didn't believe in living a legalistic religious life like them... lol. Between 2012 & 2013, i was living in depression cos truly i love God and i have 100% trust in Christ Jesus and His Finished work on the Cross, but my legalistic Pastor felt i was not doing enough like them and always tell me i will go to Hell if i don't live a legalistic religious life like them lol.

I couldn't live a legalistic life with do's and donts. Why my pastor condemns me is because i dress well, i have this cosmopolitan view of life, i couldnt be differentiated from unbelievers by mere looking at me and worldly knowledge ( according to them lol ). Because i didnt know much then in the bible, i kinda belived him that i will end up in Hell.... So from then, i started developing this hatred for God because i felt since He knew that i will still go to hell despite my being a Believer, why then did He create me? It was bad for me then. You see how over religious self righteous zealous Christians scare people away from Christ? I felt God was wicked for creating me since He will still send me to hell. But i didn't voice out my opinion then, cos i felt God will strike me dead!! lol.....


So my broda, from my write up you will see that Religion is bad for humanity.... Christianity is not a Religion, but a personal Relationship with Christ.... Christ has done it all and all we have to do is REST in His Finished Work and watch Him do His mighty works through us.... I now have soooo much knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Super Abundance of Grace and am still learning more... Grace is a person and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!!!

Why is the devil fighting the Gospel of Grace? It is because he knows that if every Christian know about grace and who they are in Christ, the devil will be powerless!! And that is why he is fighting the Gospel of Grace!! This Gospel of Grace is all about our inheritance and identity in Christ but the devil doesn't want it cos he knows he will be powerless if Christians know the powerful truth.... The devil uses fellow Christians to fight the Gospel of Grace and i always laugh when fellow Believers fight me here lol. Some have called me Antichrist or Lucifer..... i laugh at their ignorance.... Some Christians feel good condemning fellow Believers or Unbelievers to Hell thinking they are scoring merits with God, i pity them. Christ said He didn't come for the righteous but for the sinners so they can come to repentance.
Truly, Heaven will be full of Surprises, the people you least expect to see in the kingdom will all be there, even sitting on Thrones...... and the so called self righteous ones might not even have any reward ( all their dead works burned in the fire ). Self righteous Christians should remember they are not God by condemning believers and unbelievers to Hell Fire, let the Holy Spirit do His work. Just share the Gospel and leave it at that, not threatening people to repent.

I always thank Jesus Christ for using Pastor Joseph Prince to set me free through the Gospel of Grace..... i now know who i am in Christ and my life have turned for the Best!!

The Gospel of Grace is moving rapidly around the world... America have been captured, India & China too..... Thanks to men of God sharing this POWERFUL TRUTH around the world like Pastor Joseph Prince, Andrew Wommack, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, Paul Ellis and sooo many others.... I thank God for their lives.

Janeyinspires:



Glory! Meanwhile,I'm eagerly waiting for this gist over there o.

Janeyinspires:
Even when I've seen grace-Jesus,I still keep coming here to be sure I'm following the footsteps of grace.

Godwithus20:
every night i cry and pray,"Lord is this the price to pay for being born again".Not until i sinned i understand what the GRACE is about...thank you Jesus..