Contents

1    You Can Enjoy Heaven On Earth Now!

2    God Is Not Mad at You!

3    Jesus Became Our Righteousness

4    Receiving the Upward Strokes of God's Love

5    Possessing a Right Spirit

6    God Is for You!

Personal Prayer of Commitment

1

You Can Enjoy Heaven On Earth Now!

Imagine a God Who would pour out the totality of His Son's innocent, sinless blood to give life to people who are caught in the grip of sin, some even willingly! That is a demonstration of love that never will be surpassed—and Jesus did that for you and me!

When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

All these new things are from God who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him.

For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.

We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 TLB

Your view of God's attitude toward you will determine the way you live. It will determine the love, joy, peace and victory (or the lack of it) that you experience in your life.

Many times, a person's attitude toward other people is a direct reflection of how they perceive God sees them.

Many people feel that God is mad at them. Because they don't understand how God views them, they are embarrassed to speak of the Lord or afraid to approach Him in prayer.

The good news is, God is not mad at you! God hates sin, there will be judgment against sin, and there is a hell for the people who totally reject Jesus Christ, but God does not want anyone to go there. That's not His plan. His plan is heaven for everyone—not just after we die, but He wants us to experience the goodness of heaven on earth now.

Jesus said to pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done in earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). God's attitude and plan for us are that we experience His economy, blessing, fullness, bliss, joy, goodness and satisfaction in this life.

...I came that [you] may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

John 10:10 AMP

2

God Is Not Mad at You!

When the prodigal son was in his father's house, he began to think about life away from his home. He wanted his father's money, so he basically said, "I wish you were dead, Dad. Give me the inheritance now that is coming to me when you die."

A certain man had two sons.

And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me." So he divided to them his livelihood.

And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

Luke 15:11-16

The prodigal son ended up in the pig pen once he spent everything he had on riotous living, wild partying, drinking, immorality and uncleanness. When he ran out of cash, he also ran out of friends! Maybe you have experienced that. They weren't really his friends, but they were moochers when the young man could pay for their alcohol and parties.

When the prodigal son was stripped of all material possessions, scripture says, "He came to himself."

But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

"’And I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’"

Verses 17-19

That's prodigal son mentality! He went through the servant routine, "I'll just serve you. I'll no longer be your son, but just let me be an employee on the ranch. At least I'll have something to eat."

And he arose and came to his father.

But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Verse 20

That's not a response of anger, but one of total love, acceptance and forgiveness! The father's actions revealed love rather than condemnation.

And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son."

But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

"And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

"For this my son was dead [in sin] and is alive again; he was lost and is found." And they began to be merry.

Verses 21-24

Jesus gave us the parable of the prodigal son to give us a graphic picture of the Father's view of those who have failed or have gone away from Him and are in a backslidden condition. The father never rehearsed the prodigal son's wrongdoing, but he said, "Put a robe on his back, a ring on his finger, shoes on his feet and kill the fatted calf so we can celebrate that my son who was dead is alive."

Religion would dictate, "Isolate or ostracize the son. Let him sit it out for a while to make sure he is straight," implying that the shed blood of Jesus Christ that is applied when genuine repentance takes place is not sufficient to take care

of the matter. Treating a person according to what he, or she, should be, instead of what he, or she, has been, is one of the greatest lifts you can give to cause them to want more of this kind of Jesus!

It delights God's heart when you come to Him, regardless of your circumstances, just as it delights an earthly father's heart when his children come to him. My children bring me great joy. If they do something wrong, I correct them for the wrong action, but I'm not mad at them. I love them.

Discipline and correction come out of the goodness of a person's heart, because unless the action is corrected, it will lead to disaster. But don't punish to vent your own frustration.

When you realize that God is not mad at you, it will change your prayer life, it will change the way you live and it will change the way you treat other people. Many people are oppressed and depressed, discouraged, full of fear and ineffective in their prayer life because of the thought, "God is against me. He is mad at me." When that kind of thinking is removed out of your life, you will wake up every day with new joy, realizing, "Lord, You are in love with me. You are not mad at me."

It's the accuser of the brethren, Satan, who wants you to think God is mad at you. When you know that God is not mad at you, you will be bold in witnessing to others.

Many people would witness, but they are continually reminded of their past mistakes. The devil says, "God is going to be upset with you if you try to witness after the way you've acted." Many people are shot right out of the saddle on sharing their faith because of this attitude.

Settle it right now—God is not mad at me! He loves me, accepts me and forgives me!

3

Jesus Became Our Righteousness

God is not holding our sins against us, because Jesus Christ took the penalty for our sins.

For He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Galatians 3:13 says Jesus Christ was made a curse for us. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.... "

God poured out the punishment for our sin upon His Son. That means the penalty for every sin we will ever commit has already been paid in full. Only one thing will cause people to go to hell, and that is rejection of Jesus Christ.

Some people believe, "If you commit a sin, it will send you to hell." I know a lot of Christians who have committed sins and done some wrong things, but they are on their way to heaven because they have trusted in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. They now have power to overcome sin and live in freedom.

The Father's life was in His Son, so when He gave His Son, He was giving of Himself to pay for our sin.

...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them....

2 Corinthians 5:19

Imputing means "to attribute a fault to another." Our faults and sins were attributed to Jesus Christ, Who was totally innocent of any sin or wrongdoing. When a person repents and is truly sorrowful for sin, Jesus Christ of Nazareth accepts the filth of the sin in exchange for His righteousness. What an exchange!

Isaiah prophesied the coming of a Redeemer some seven hundred years in advance of this event. Let's read Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 53:5-12 TLB:

But he [Jesus Christ] was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed!

We—every one of us—have strayed away like sheep! We, who left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet God laid on him the guilt and sins of every one of us!

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he never said a word. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he stood silent before the ones condemning him.

From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people of that day realized it was their sins that he was dying for—that he was suffering their punishment?

He was buried like a criminal, but in a rich man’s grave; but he had done no wrong, and had never spoken an evil word.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to bruise him and fill him with grief.

However when his soul has been made an offering for sin, then he shall have a multitude of children, many heirs. He shall live again and God’s program shall prosper in his hands.

And when he sees all that is accomplished by the anguish of his soul, he shall be satisfied; and because of what he has experienced, my righteous Servant shall make many to be counted righteous before God, for he shall bear all their sins.

Therefore I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he has poured out his soul unto death.

He was counted as a sinner, and he bore the sins of many, and he pled with God for sinners.

Because of the fulfillment of Jesus' selfless act at Calvary, as prophesied by Isaiah, when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, He becomes our righteousness.

4

Receiving the Upward Strokes of God's Love

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6

That simply means that when we didn't have anything going for us—no goodness or righteousness—Christ died for us.

Some people think if they can do enough good things, then God won't be mad at them anymore, but the Bible says Christ died for us when we were ungodly and showed us His favor.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:7,8

God said, "I am going to send My Son." You don't send Your Son to die for someone You are mad at! The opposite is true. God is madly in love with you! What would cause God to send His Son? God saw something in you that He wanted enough to be willing to give the very best He had for it.

Many people think, "If God really forgave me when I was a sinner and I didn't know better, now that I'm a Christian, He has a different view of me." Paul says He does have a different view. "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:9). What's the "different view"? He looks at you with an even greater love, "much more."

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:10

Now that we have been brought back to God through the death of His Son, Paul says God is going to continue to save us. Every day we are being saved from the effects of sin, disaster, calamity, tragedy, darkness and oppression.

Though salvation is a one-time experience when a person believes and trusts in Jesus' shed blood and receives eternal life, we are continually being saved from the works of the devil.

In John 3:14-16, Jesus said:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Just as the key to salvation is believing, the key to receiving the revelation that God is not mad at you is simply to believe it.

Jesus Came To Lift—Not To Condemn

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

John 3:17

God didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn. He came to save you and lift you up. He came to announce, "God is not mad at you! He loves you. I died for your sin and paid the price for it in full in a once-and-for-all sacrifice. If you will call on Me, you will receive eternal life and the power over sin to walk free of it."

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:18

This is a tough message to share with people in the world, particularly now with the various religions which believe in the Fatherhood of God, whose theme song is, "There are different trails up the same mountain to get to the same God." That's not what the Bible says! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

First Peter 2:24 says, "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.... "

Not only did Jesus take our sin, but God's wrath was poured out on Jesus Christ for our wrongdoing. That's why Isaiah 53:10 says, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him...." God bruised His own Son because He saw you and me being pardoned and set free.

Made Alive Together With Christ!

Paul said of Jesus' completed work at Calvary:

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Colossians 2:13-15

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your sins are blotted out. God does not remember them anymore. Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins."

When God the Father looks at you, He doesn't look at a condemned sinner. He looks at a righteous son or daughter. He sees you, not through the fallen nature of Adam, but in the resurrected nature of the second Adam. Hallelujah!

The same life that is in Jesus Christ is the life that comes in you when you are born again. You have His life and His nature. You are a new creation. You have His faith and His Spirit. Your soul realm (which includes your mind, will and emotions) is renewed as you take a heavy dose of God's medicine—His Word—every day!

Dressing Spiritually in God's Armor You must dress up spiritually in God's armor every day to withstand the devil's schemes. The armor includes the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; the preparation of the Gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; the sword of the Spirit; and all manner of prayer in the Spirit. (Read Ephesians 6:11-18.)

When the devil looks at you when you have on God's armor, he can't tell the difference between you and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Approaching the Throne of Grace With Boldness

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

Some people are hesitant to come boldly to the Father in prayer because they think God is mad at them, or they are embarrassed or intimidated.

You may be thinking, "Well, I know God blotted out my sins when I was saved, but what about my sins after I got saved?" The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, for 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

First John 2:1 says, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

An Advocate is like a lawyer or a counsel for the defense. He is not the prosecuting attorney! He is your Defender, and He is at the right hand of the Judge! He has evidence that you are cleared of your offenses by the blood that is on the altar. That's good news!

When the accuser of the brethren comes to accuse you, go to your Advocate and High Priest.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:14,15

Hebrews 7:25 says:

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Jesus is interceding for you every day. This is an attribute of God's unconditional, everlasting love for you and me!

God's Upward Strokes

Micah 7:8 says, "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me."

God's people keep rising up, because resurrection life is in our bones! God keeps lifting us up. He is the Upward Lifter!

Years ago, as Brother Oral Roberts drove through the countryside, he noticed a mother cow licking her newborn calf. Every lick on the calf, still wobbly and unable to stand, was an upward lick!

I'm telling you, God is lifting you up with strokes from His Word. He is saying, "I will always lead you in triumph in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:14) "I am greater in you than the devil who is in the world." (1 John 4:4) "My thoughts of you are for peace and not evil, for prosperity rather than harm, for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

This is only a sampling of His upward strokes! Every promise in His Word is an upward stroke, and God's promises are yours!

5

Possessing a Right Spirit

There are opportunities every day to demonstrate a right or wrong heart motive, attitude, or spirit. Paul said we are to be living epistles, credentials, or letters of recommendation of the nature and character of Christ, known and read by everybody.

...You yourselves are our letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known (perceived, recognized) and read by everybody.

2 Corinthians 3:2 AMP

God wants us to edify and nurture believers and unbelievers alike with our words, actions and attitudes. Jesus rebuked James and John for a wrong spirit or a wrong heart attitude. Let's look at this account in Luke 9:51-56:

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.

And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.

But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.

"For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them."

From this scripture, it is obvious that the disciples had a problem believing that God loved the heathen. They wanted to roast and toast those who opposed Jesus right on the spot!

It took revelation to understand that God wasn't mad at the heathen. Jesus loves the world. How do we know that? Because we are part of the world, and He didn't just start loving us when we were saved. He loved us even before we were saved. "...While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Religious people, bound up in a system of do's and don'ts, work to gain God's acceptance and have trouble believing that God loves them.

To possess a right spirit, we must understand God's unchanging love for every person. He stands at the door of every sinner's heart and knocks, but He doesn't beat down the door! He comes in when He is welcomed.

Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:20

6

God Is for You!

When you understand that God is for you and He loves you unconditionally, you won't have trouble believing Him for provision, guidance, protection, deliverance, or healing.

Romans 8:31-39 talks about God's love for us.

What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This certainly isn't a message from a God Who is mad at you, because it is filled with His love and encouragement.

It is time to come boldly to the throne of grace and receive God's forgiveness. Jesus is not going to die again. Forgiveness has already been offered.

It is time to come to Jesus Christ in faith, realizing, "He is not mad at me. He loves me."

A prodigal son mentality says, "I am not worthy to be a part of the church. I am not worthy to do anything for God." God wants to wipe the condemnation and accusation of Satan from your mind, and He wants you to understand that it is His robe of righteousness, His ring of authority, His shoes of acceptance and His table that is spread before you. Because the Lamb of God has been sacrificed and His blood is on the altar, you can have mercy and a new beginning today!

Personal Prayer of Commitment

Father, I need forgiveness and a new start in my life. I want to know that I am Your child.

I now realize that the first step to receiving Your love, acceptance and forgiveness isn't by works, but it is by relationship. That relationship begins with my acknowledgement that You aren't mad at me, but that You love me.

I renounce every work of darkness, and I receive Your Son, Jesus Christ, Who was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended, as my personal Lord and Savior.

Lord Jesus, thank You for filling me with the Holy Spirit, equipping me with Your power, might and ability to live an overcoming life and to emanate Your life and love to others.

Thank You, Lord, that today is a day of new beginnings for me!

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BILLY JOE DAUGHERTY is founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Victory has a Christian school, Bible Institute and Missions Training Center. Other Victory outreaches include taking the gospel via radio and television to North America, along with shortwave radio and television to other nations, plus the distribution of books, tapes, and videos. He and his wife, Sharon, minister God’s healing, saving, and delivering power as a team. Their family works alongside them in the ministry.

Table of Contents

1 You Can Enjoy Heaven On Earth Now!

2 God Is Not Mad at You!

3 Jesus Became Our Righteousness

Receiving the Upward Strokes of God's Love

5 Possessing a Right Spirit

6 God Is for You!

Personal Prayer of Commitment