The World Cup is the world's biggest event for the world's most popular sport. When your team wins, you can feel great; when your team loses, you can feel terrible. It's what makes soccer exciting -- some years your team does great, other years it may be a real struggle. If soccer is your source of happiness, then your life can go up and down. There is just one source of peace and joy that doesn't change -- and that is God. Having a personal relationship with God can give you true peace no matter what happens on the soccer field. Here are 4 key steps you can take to begin a personal relationship with God.
(References contained on this page are from the Bible and should be read in context wherever possible.)
God's Love
"God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NIV).
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. Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
Man Is Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he
chose to go his own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will,
characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man Is Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).
| HOLY GOD |
| SINFUL MAN |
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that a man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion - but he inevitably fails.
The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf...
3. Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know
and experience God's love and plan for your life.
He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us" (Romans 5:8).
He Rose 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 God
"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).
| GOD |
| JESUS |
| MAN |
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.
It is not enough just to know these three laws...
4. We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
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 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
(Read John 3:1-8)
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what 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 your sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. You receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
These two circles represent two kinds of lives:
|
|
Which circle best describes your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:
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 need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the
door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and
giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person
You want me to be."
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray
this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
Did you pray this prayer?
I still have questions
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