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Your Most Important Relationship
1. You are an original masterpiece
created by the God who made all things and your purpose and
security in life is found only in Him.
(References contained on this page are from the Bible and
should be read in context wherever possible.)
God is your Creator … but you already
knew that:
"Ever since the world was created, the
qualities of God, His nature and eternal power, have been
clearly seen through what has been made." He created all
things and we find our life in Him.
(Romans 1)
God's Love
"God loved the world in such a way
that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes
in Him should not die, but have a new kind of life that will
never end." (John 3:16)
God's Plan
[Christ speaking] "I came that they
might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it
might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10).
Why is it that most people are not
experiencing the abundant life?
Because...
2. We are all SINFUL and SEPARATED
from friendship with God. Therefore, we cannot know and
experience God's love and plan for our lives.
Humanity Is Sinful
(Rom. 1.18-23)
"All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We were created to have
communion with God; but, because of our stubborn self-will,
we choose to go our own independent way, and friendship with
God is broken. Our self-will, characterized by an attitude
of active rebellion or passive indifference toward God, is
an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
We Try to Make Life Work Without
Acknowledging God
"The wages of sin is death" [a broken
relationship with God] (Romans 6:23).
This diagram illustrates that God is
holy (perfect, pure love) and mankind is sinful. A great
gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that
naturally, we are bent on trying to make life work without
communion with God. We keep trying to create our own meaning
and purpose in life apart from God through our own efforts
and plans based on our own rules & values. Apart from
communion with God, everything we do, even a “good deed” is
marred by selfishness and self-centered pride. Everyone has
a sense of guilt about this in their heart. Some people try
to cover up guilt by living “a good life,” trying
philosophy, “religion,” or even rebellion, but we can never
find the life we were created for by ourselves. We were
created to enjoy close friendship with God. God did not
create anything that gives us more pleasure than Him.
However, because of our sin and rebellion, no one naturally
seeks God.
How can we get to know God?
3. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ
is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Only through Him can
you know and experience God's love and the abundant life he
promises.
He Died in Our Place
"The wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
"God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8). Jesus did not sin and did not deserve
to die. Instead, his torture, suffering and death was the
punishment for the sins of all who confess their sins and
accept His sacrifice on their behalf. This demonstrates
God’s justice (he punishes sin) as well as His mercy (he has
made a way for sin to be forgiven).
He Rose Bodily From the Dead
All other religious leaders are still
in their tombs. Only Jesus has proven he is the way by
rising bodily from the dead.
"Christ died for our sins...He was
buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the
Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After
that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1
Corinthians 15:3-6).
He Is the Only Way to heal your
relationship with God
All major religions point to Jesus and
call him a “good teacher, a good man or an expression of
God.” When you look at Jesus’ own teaching, He only points
to himself.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but
through Me'" (John 14:6).
This diagram illustrates that God has
bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His
Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay
the penalty for our sins.
4. We must individually REPENT (turn
from our own ways and turn to God and His ways) and RECEIVE
Jesus Christ as Savior (the one who saves us from having to
pay the penalty for our own sin) and surrender to him as
Lord (ruler of our lives); only then we can know and
experience God's love and abundant life He promises.
We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name" (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ by Grace, Through
Faith
"By grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, that no one should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience
a New Birth. God adopts us
into His own family and sends His own Spirit to enter our
lives, to declare us as His very own and begin to change us
from the inside out.
(Read John 3:1-8.)
Receiving Christ involves turning to
God from self reliance (repentance) and trusting Christ to
come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us who
He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for
our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an
emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, in
response to His Spirit drawing our hearts toward Himself.
These two circles represent two kinds
of lives:
 |
Self –Directed Life
S – Self is on the throne
† – Christ is rejected by the
life
• – Interests are directed by
self, often
resulting in discord and
frustration |
 |
Christ–Directed Life
† – Christ is in the life and
on the throne
S – Self is yielding to Christ
• – Interests are directed by
Christ
resulting in harmony with
God’s plan |
Does what I have shared with you so
far make sense to you?
Which circle best describes your life?
Which circle would you like to have
represent your life?
Is there any reason you can think of
why you would not want to turn from your sin, accept Jesus’
death on the cross as payment for your sin and receive Jesus
as your savior and lord of your life right now?
It is important for you to realize
that a desire to turn from sin to God is only possible when
God is at work in your heart drawing you to himself. You can
rely on him for the strength you need to live this new life
by his spirit at work in you.
The following explains how you can
receive Christ as a starting point for a new relationship
with him:
You can receive Christ right now by
faith through prayer (Prayer is talking to God).
God knows your heart and is not so
concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your
heart.
The following is a suggested prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I want to respond to the
work you are doing in my heart, mind and life. I have sinned
against you and need your forgiveness and a new heart.
Thank You for dying on the cross for
my sins. I confess that Jesus is Lord. Thank You for
forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life by Your
Spirit’s presence in my life. Take control of the throne of
my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
Do you sense God at work in your life,
making this prayer the desire of your heart?
If you do, pray this prayer right now,
and respond to the work God has begun in your life.
The Bible promises eternal life
"The witness is this, that God has
given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who
has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life. These things I have written to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you
may know that you have eternal life"
(1
John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ is in your
life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5).
You can know on the basis of His promise and the changes in
your life that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal
life. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder...
Do not depend on feelings
The promise of God's Word, the Bible -
not our feelings - is our authority. The Christian lives by
faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His
Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship among
fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His
Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience)
(John 14:21).
The train will run with or without a
caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the
train by the caboose. In the same way, as Christians we do
not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith
(trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of
His Word.
Now that you have received Christ
The moment that you received Christ by
grace, through faith, many things happened, including the
following:
1. Christ came into your life
(Revelation 3:20; Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins were forgiven
(Colossians 1:14).
3. You became a child of God (John
1:12).
4. You received eternal life (John
5:24).
5. You began the great adventure for
which God created you
(John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1
Thessalonians 5:18).
Can you think of anything more
wonderful that could happen to you than receiving Christ?
Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He
has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your
faith.
To enjoy your new life to the
fullest...
Suggestions for Christian Growth
Spiritual growth results from trusting
Jesus Christ. "The righteous person shall live by faith"
(Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to
trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and
to practice the following:
G
Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).
R
Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11); begin with the
Gospel of John.
O
Obey God moment by moment (John
14:21).
W
Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19;
John 15:8).
T
Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
H
Holy Spirit – submit to His control
and let Him empower your daily life and witness
(Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).
Fellowship in a Good Church
God's Word instructs us not to forsake
"the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).
Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on
the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your
relationship with other Christians.
If you do not belong to a church, do
not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor
of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is
preached (not all churches are good). Start this week, and
make plans to attend regularly.
Special Materials Are Available for
Christian Growth.
If you have come to Christ personally
through this presentation of the gospel, helpful materials
for Christian growth are available to you. For more
information, simply contact us.
Email:
info@asafeplaceforme.com
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