Sundays How You Can Know God Personally
COMMON MISUNDERSTANDINGS
ABOUT GETTING RIGHT WITH GOD...
We often have wrong ideas about how to get right with God:
· “My mother was a Christian so . . . ”
· “It doesn’t matter what you believe, just be sincere.”
· “I’ll give up all my bad habits.”
· “I’ll work real hard and earn it.”
· “I’ll be religious and go to church.”
“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”—Proverbs 16:25
Many times we pursue the wrong action to secure a right standing with God:
· Reform, or clean up our life
· Keep the 10 commandments
· Adhere to religious rules and rituals
· Get baptized or take sacraments
· Serve at church, or give money
· Do good works
“God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”—Ephesians 2:8-9
GETTING RIGHT WITH GOD COMES ONLY THROUGH CHRIST...
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. —John 14:6
God Himself came to earth as a human being to bring us back to Himself. If any other way would have worked, Jesus Christ would not have had to come. The Way is a Person!
“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus.”—1 Tim. 2:5
God has done His part to make us right with Him. He took the initiative to provide salvation for everyone. Now He waits for each of us to individually accept what He has done for us.
4 StepS YOU CAN TAKE TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY:
1.ADMIT that I have sinned and can’t get to heaven on my own.
“All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own…” —Isaiah 53:6
“If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.” —1 John 1:8
“For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”—Romans 3:23
“… to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”— Isaiah 55:7
2.ACKNOWLEDGE that Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins and rose from the dead.
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” — Romans 5:8
“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” —Rom. 10:9
“There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.”—Acts 4:12
3.ACCEPT God’s free gift of eternal life and stop trying to earn it in any way.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 6:23
4.ASK Jesus Christ to come into my life and be the director (“Lord”) of my life.
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this rebirth comes from God”.—Jn. 1:12-13
It all boils down to FAITH:
F orsaking
A ll
I
T rust
H im
YOU CAN TAKE THESE STEPS RIGHT NOW BY PRAYING A SIMPLE PRAYER OF COMMITMENT
Just pray something like this:
“Dear God, I know that I have sinned. I know that my sins separate me from you. I want to thank you for dying on the cross for me. I believe that you died, were buried, and rose again to take away my sins. Today I am forsaking all else and transferring my trust to you for the gift of eternal life. Please come into my heart and be the director of my life. In Jesus name, AMEN.”
“For anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” —Romans 10:13
“I assure you, anyone who believes in me already has eternal life.”—John 6:37
