Grace Party: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 3

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Authors: Paul Ellis

BOOK: Grace Party: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 3
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From E2R
Readers

 

I have been a Christian for nearly 50 years and a pastor
for 10 years, but until I began reading Escape to Reality I never really
understood God’s amazing grace. Paul Ellis has really opened my eyes. Now I use
what I am learning to teach this amazing grace myself.

-
       
Earl H., pastor, Fort Pierce, FL

 

By God’s grace I discovered Escape to Reality. Paul’s
presentation of the gospel message is such good news, as the gospel should be.
I thoroughly enjoy his writing style and wit which keeps me engaged and always
returning for more. God has given him a great gift to share with the world!

-
       
Sandy M., homemaker, Gresham, OR

 

I was in a dark place when I found Escape to Reality. Now,
I’m no longer in a state of hopelessness, but I am marveling at God’s wonderful
grace! Jesus has saved me!

-
       
Grant W., student, Cleveland, OH

 

In reading Paul’s writings I found that I was living under
mixture. Through his ministry God has totally liberated me and now I have a far
greater understanding of the gospel of grace.

-
       
Dennis E., scrub nurse, Beckley, WV

 

I find Escape to Reality so helpful. I had asked God,
“Please, help me learn more about your grace.” I had walked away out of fear
and ignorance but his grace found me. I praise God for Paul’s ministry

-
       
Nicomedes C., heavy equipment driver,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

 

Before I
found Escape to Reality, I had no peace, and I felt guilty and condemned in
regard to demands of law. As I started reading Paul’s posts, God revealed the
truth and now I am completely free. I know how much God loves me and what he
did for me through Jesus. I thank God for Paul’s ministry!

-
       
Santhosh, computer technician, Chennai,
India

 

I love Paul’s commonsense explanations of the Scriptures,
and the way he peels away all the bad teachings that have come up over the
years. So much religious dogma has entered the church making the simple gospel
complicated. I appreciate Paul’s sense of humor, too, and enjoy sharing the
good news with our ladies Bible study. Thanks Paul.

-
       
BJ Brown, retired, Grand Junction, CO

 

I have
been extremely blessed and greatly encouraged by the writings of Paul Ellis.
His pure approach to helping me understand the wonder and depth of God’s grace
through Christ has opened my eyes to a deeper love and gratitude for the
sweetness of our heavenly Father and his love. Thank you so much. The Truth is
Jesus, and he will set you free!

-
       
Aimee F., Whitehall, PA

 

Escape to Reality has been a wonderful blessing in my life.
Because of the years of wrong teaching, I have needed to hear the message of grace
many times and in many ways. Grace truly is the message of Truth which sets us
free! I share Paul’s messages with others all the time. I have given his books
to heaps of people. E2R has a far wider outreach than you can imagine. Paul, I
often thank God for how he speaks through you!

-
       
Kathleen A., teacher, Wellington, New Zealand

 

Grace Party: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 3

 

ISBN:
978-1-927230-28-2

Copyright
© 2015 by Paul Ellis

 

Published
by KingsPress, Birkenhead, New Zealand. This title is also available as a
paperback. Visit www.KingsPress.org for information. All rights reserved under
International Copyright Law. Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part
in any form without the express written consent of the publisher. An exception
is made for brief quotations in reviews. The use of short quotes or occasional
page copying for personal or group study is also permitted and encouraged.

 

Unless
otherwise indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,
Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
www.zondervan.com 

 

Scripture
quotations marked “ESV” are taken are from The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News
Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Scriptures
quotations marked “GNB” are taken from the
Good
News Bible.
Copyright © 1994 published by the Bible
Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK,
Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.
Used by permission.

 

Scripture quotations marked “KJV” are taken from the
King James
Version
of the Bible (1611).

 

Scripture
quotations marked “MSG” are taken from
The Message
. Copyright
© by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by
permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

 

Scripture
quotations marked “
NKJV”
are taken from the New King
James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.

 

Scripture
quotations marked “YLT” are taken from
Young’s Literal Translation
of
the Bible (1898).

 

Please
note that KingsPress’ publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in
Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from
some publisher’s styles.

 

Cover
layout and design by Brad Wallace of bradwallaceimaging.com.

 

Version:
1.0 (May 2015)

 

Dedication:
This is for the weak, the weary, and the worn out.

A Word Before

 

One of the best parties I have
ever been to was a surprise party. It was a hot, humid Friday night in Hong
Kong and Camilla and I were running late. We were supposed to be at church for
our weekly prayer meeting, but one of us was taking her sweet time getting
ready. No need to mention names.

When we
finally arrived at church, the place was dark. I flipped on the lights and was
greeted with a shout of “Surprise!” I was shocked to find a room full of
people, all dressed in colorful sixties’ gear, waiting to celebrate my
birthday.

A couple
of things from that night endure in my memory. One was the dancing. I don’t
dance much but that night there was such a happy, joyful vibe that everybody
danced for hours. We almost missed the last train home.

Another
memory: unexpected guests. Some of my friends ducked out to buy drinks and they
came back with five German tourists. One of the Germans was having a birthday
so we celebrated with him as well.

To
appreciate the effect of this party you have to understand that the Hong Kong I
lived in was all work, work, work. I worked seven days a week. Even church was
work. This party was an unexpected break in the routine, a vacation, a breather
that I sorely needed. It was one of those moments of frivolity and festivity,
that C.S. Lewis said reveal heaven.

At least
it felt like heaven to me.

Jesus
said the kingdom of God is a party, and it is because Jesus is there and everywhere
he goes there is joy.

The Son
of God gave reasons to rejoice by turning thieves into givers and haters into lovers.
He healed lepers (thank you, Jesus!), delivered the demonized (free at last!),
and raised the dead (look who’s back!). He told stories that ended in
unexpected parties for undeserving prodigals. When he rose from the grave his surprised
disciples were filled with joy and wonder. And after he ascended into heaven they
returned to Jerusalem “with great joy.”

Jesus
said “I am the life,” and his is a life of righteousness, peace, and joy. It is
a life of freedom and celebration. And it’s a life of fun that offends the religious.

The
Pharisees were not impressed by all the joy that followed Jesus. “He’s out of
order. He’s not observing the rules. Why is he healing on the Sabbath?” These
party-poopers tried to rain on his parade but the parade of his grace just kept
rolling.

I can’t
imagine the Pharisees ever throwing a party, can you? And yet by law they were
required to do so. According to Deuteronomy chapter 14, the Israelites were
supposed to celebrate the harvest by spending their tithes on “whatever your
heart desires” and throwing a party that included the poor widow and orphan.
They sound like awesome parties, but by the time Jesus showed up they had come
to an end. Instead of throwing parties for poor people, the law teachers were stealing
widows’ homes (Luke 20:47).

To be
fair, the Jews were in no mood for celebrating, not with the heavy Roman yoke
upon their necks. Burdensome taxes and cruel oppression don’t make for a party
vibe. But they do make Jesus’ preoccupation with joyful celebration all the
more compelling, indeed, prophetic.

“The
kingdom of heaven is not like this,” said Jesus pointing to the oppressive
world in which they lived. “It’s like a wedding feast. It’s like a great
banquet. And you guys are going to be surprised because many will come from the
east and the west and take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.”

In other
words, there will be Germans there.

Jesus
spoke of parties because he was heaven-minded. There’s no oppression in heaven,
no leprosy, no poverty. Knowing that God’s will for there is his will for here,
Jesus shone in a dark world. He rebuked storms, drove out demons, and loved the
loveless. He was good news on a bad news day. He was fun in an unfun world.

On that humid
Friday night, I went to church expecting one thing and discovered another. It’s
like that with Jesus. People come to him on account of some need and find
themselves caught up in the joy of heaven.

Who knew
that following Christ could be such fun? Certainly this is not the picture we
get from boring religion, but it is the blessed reality of grace.

It is my
conviction that followers of Christ ought to be celebrating constantly. We
ought to be a happy people because we serve a happy God who has entrusted us
with a happy gospel.

When we
enjoy the Lord and his many good gifts, we are painting a prophetic picture of the
kingdom come. We are saying, “Life is more than tears.” We are agreeing with
Jesus who said, “Blessed are those who mourn for comfort is at hand.” Indeed,
in his presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more (Psalm
16:11).

At a
party everyone has a role. One kills the fatted calf and another cooks it.

Me? I
want to be the guy who hands out the invitations and says, “You are invited to
the greatest party of all. Indeed, you are blessed because the King of kings
has asked for you by name.”

I guess
that’s why I write, so people will know that they are welcome at the House of
Grace where a great banquet is in progress and where Jesus is the life of the
party!

For the past
five years or so I have been inviting people to Jesus’ party through my
website, Escape to Reality. E2R is devoted to proclaiming the good news of
God’s unconditional love and grace, and its message has reached virtually every
country on earth. My hope is that all who hear the message will respond like
those Germans who left what they were doing to come and join the party.

A few
months ago I released Volumes 1 and 2 of E2R’s Greatest Hits, called
Grace
Disco
and
Grace Classics
respectively. I knew before I began this
series that I would have a volume entitled
Grace Party
because how could
I not? As Jesus explained in the parable of the prodigal son, where there’s
grace there is celebration. When a sinner repents, there is joy.

Christians
ought to be the most joyful people, yet many are not because they have been
sold a joyless gospel. They’ve been told they have to maintain their salvation
or make themselves holy, and since these are impossible tasks they are as
miserable as Pharisees. Sure, there is joy for the repentant sinner, but there
is no joy for
them
.

“How can
I rejoice when there’s work to be done? How can I celebrate when the world’s
going to hell in a handbasket?”

If this
describes you, please don’t throw this book away. Keep reading! You need to
hear the good news of Jesus that the angel said would bring great joy for
all
people — not just sinners and prodigals, but weary Christians, burnt-out
pastors, even Pharisees.

That
party in Hong Kong was a surprise for me because, at the time, I saw church as a
place of work and Christian duty. Since then much has changed. By the grace of
God I’ve been set free. Now I’m surprised if I go to church and there isn’t a
party!

If you
are weary of going through the motions or you’re tired of pretending, then
you’ve come to the right place. I wrote this book so that you would know the
glad-happy message of the gospel of God’s grace. I wrote it so that you might
draw with joy from the wells of salvation.

Some of
the material on E2R has gone on to shape chapters in my various gospel books.
However, most of the articles in this collection of greatest hits have not been
published anywhere else. As before, I have taken this opportunity to polish
them and give them a bit of zazz. After each article you will find some
reflections and stories about how they came to be and how they were received.

Since
starting E2R, I have heard from thousands of people who have been blessed by my
message of grace. One of my favorite comments came from a reader named Sam. He
said, “I have found this website to be a treasure trove of, well, treasure.” I
like that. Says it all really, because what else would you find in a treasure
trove? Trash?

Sam’s
comment made me smile because the Bible says Jesus is our Treasure (2
Corinthians 4:7). So if E2R is a treasure trove full of treasure, I take that
to mean it is full of Jesus, which is how it should be.

Jesus is
the reason the good news is good.

Jesus is
the treasure I hope you encounter in these pages.

Jesus is
the life of the party!

 

 

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