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I You are the object of God's love and He has a great plan for your life.
A life-changing truth is that "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) Jesus gave this great promise? "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10)
II 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. Because of this separation from God, we cannot experience the powerful love and remarkable plan that He has for our lives. All of mankind is included in this condition. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Death means spiritual separation from God.
III 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. Though innocent of any sin, 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 then demonstrated his victory over death by rising 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)
IV We must individually and intentionally receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives. Receiving Christ means accepting all that He has done for you. "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 Jesus as an act of faith in His finished work, not by our own power. "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. In other words, our spirit is reborn and we become a new person. (John 3:1-8) "Therefore if anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (I Corinthians 5:17)
God promises to fill us with His Holy Spirt and empower us to live a life of victory over sin and to be witnesses of His presence. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses." (Acts 1:8) "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:4)
We receive Jesus by personal invitation. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
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LIVE THE
GOD-HONORING
SPIRIT-EMPOWERED
PRAYER-SATURATED
PURPOSE-DRIVEN
CHRIST-SERVING
LIFE!
The Christian walk is not based upon adhering to a set of principles; it is about a relationship with a person , Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus made the claim that He is the way to Father God. He paid a sacrificial price with His own life in order to remove the very real barriers that separate us from God.
We become believers, or Christians, by accepting by faith the reality of His message.
He responds by giving to us a witness in our hearts that we are the children of God and He empowers us by the Holy Spirit to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
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