From A Place Of Reality

God is always doing things. God is going to do things that are foundations for the things that he's going to do. Many times the things he does may not make sense to us. The things he has to give us are so overwhelmingly full of glory in His love for us, that we do actually have to be prepared, and the way we prepare is with childlike awe over His call on us, and His love over us in it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Peace is REAL. It's not just a neat concept. It's a well-being that can't be touched by this world. Jesus IS the Prince of Peace. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joy comes first. Joy creates room for God to put His fullness. With faith, we take Joy out of the place of the spirit and bring it into our reality to make a place for Him to put His fullness. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're gonna get a little Sunday School, but Sunday School had it right. The first thing you learned is the last thing you need to know. "Jesus love me, this I know..." DO you know?? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Advent wreath represents the values of His Government, which are Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy. Faith is the currency. Faith is what you have to spend on His values. Hope is the joyful anticipation of a great coming good. It takes FAITH to CHOOSE to BELIEVE in HOPE. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Complaining empowers the enemy, but THANKFULNESS gets us through the gates. So how do we learn to be thankful for the HARD stuff? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Giants are the big scary things, the impossible issues that just kind of stand out there in your way and they never seem to go away. They cannot defeat us though. The most they can hope to accomplish is to hinder us. Every time you slay a giant, your identity is further revealed; God's glory in you is revealed... and the really great news is that even though it's not always instantaneous, they're actually easy to bring down! All of creation is waiting for you to be revealed. Let's go slay some giants! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Usually we think of the parables in the Bible in terms of what they teach us about the nature of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. But what can they teach us about our own identity? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our Good Father is future thinking. His solutions to your current circumstances are already worked out for you, but you have to keep moving. You have to get up and go toward them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two kingdoms are at war. FORTUNATELY, you're right in the middle of it. You know why? You're the manner by which God has CHOSEN to win that war. He CHOSE you. He loves you that much. He BELIEVES IN YOU that much. And if you believe in Him, and you love Him, obedience will follow. In John 14:15 when Jesus says "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," was He saying "if you love me, you better prove it by being obedient?" NO! Obedience naturally follows love. And it is in obedience that we win the war by the power of His love. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

God is love. Obedience is a "trust fall" backwards into love. Obedience to the faith is believing in the new identity. It's knowing that Jesus did the work and believing that IT WORKED. God does not fill the "old man" with the spirit. He's made us a new creation, but where He works most powerfully is in the darkness, in our dark places that are revealed when the "old man" tries to convince us of a false identity. Only the enemy uses the voice of the "old man." Your new identity is WHO. YOU. ARE. That's the warfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bad behavior is not a lack of faith. God is not concerned about our behavior, in regards to how much he loves us. We are forgiven. Jesus took care of that... But bad behavior is a result of wrong thinking, which creeps in when our faith is shaken by attacks on our identity, and THAT is deeply concerning to our Lord and Savior. He wants us secure in the knowledge that we are made new by His sacrifice. THAT is our identity. The NEW creation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Power is the ability or the effectiveness to carry out your authority. Power is learned by walking in your authority. It is learned in intimacy with the One who give it to you freely. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

War is about authority. There is an order of authority in the Kingdom of God. Even the Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority. Even within the Godhead, they submit themselves to each other, each operating in the authority of the others. War is about identity. Your identity in Christ, fully released in freedom and power, is TOXIC to the kingdom of darkness. Your authority is your mission. You are supposed to reign with Him. The foundation of learning to walk in more of your Kingdom authority is learning to walk in your mission in submission to Christ. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our Good Father gives us His authority. When he allows trial, when we are led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, it is ever because he is preparing us for new levels of authority. God is never surprised by our struggles. When we get a handle on this, we can actually get excited when we face new seasons of turmoil. God is with us, and he's getting ready for something BIG. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Almost everyone is familiar with the parable of mustard seed, but often we misunderstand the mountain Jesus is talking about as trials and struggles that seem insurmountable. Those are giants. Our good Father gives us the power to overcome those too, but mountains are something else. They are the things we put in high places that interfere with our intimacy with Him. Strongholds. In Jesus' mighty name, they WILL come down! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anxiety (not clinical anxiety) is a sign that we're revering something over the love and sovereignty of God. that we're giving power over ourselves to things that are far inferior to our God. We are foreknown and predestined. His goal is to conform us to the image of His Son to the point that we're His brother. He does that by working all things together for our good. ALL. THINGS. Even the hard ones. When we let Anxiety win, we're denying who He is. Our peace comes in the middle of trial when we realize that we really can count it all joy. So... Who do you say he is NOW? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Senior Pastor Paul Sabourin explores the deep and important relation between baptism and communion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Guest Speaker Pastor Tony Sperandeo from our sister church, Kehilat Hamaayan, in Israel teaches us some geography to help us understand the biblical narrative a little better. He also tells firsthand stories about the radical forgiveness made possible through Jesus Christ. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Senior Pastor Paul Sabourin of Little Chapel preaches on one of the most difficult things for a Christian to fully accept ... their friendship with God. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.