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ToBeLikeHim Ministries
Are you
seeking God?
There is a
Wonderful Truth. God has a Plan for Each of Us.
Look At What God Said In The Old
Testament Book Of Jeremiah:
(Jeremiah, Chapter 29:
verses 11-12)
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the
LORD, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.
Then you will call upon me and
come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
God’s plan for us depends on our
response to him.
Let’s look at a few facts:
1 – As
human beings, how do we relate to God?
- We are His
creation
(Genesis 1:
26-28)
Then God
said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them
rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock,
over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed
them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
2 - What is
our condition before God?
·
We know the
story of Adam and Eve and how through their actions, all of humanity fell
from God’s grace.
·
The truth
is, We (mankind) are a fallen race.
(Romans
3:23)
For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
·
Sadly, sin
creates a spiritual division that separates us from God.
·
The more
sin there is in our lives, the greater the divide between us and God.
·
Our Sins alienate
us from God.
(Isaiah 59:2 NIV)
But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your
sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.
·
The result
of our sins is Spiritual Death. That is the death of any relationship
between us and God.
(Romans 6:23 NIV)
For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
3 - What is
God’s desire for us?
·
God’s
desire is to make a way across the divide between us and Him, so that we
can fellowship with him.
(Romans 5:8)
But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.
·
Do you
remember the passage from Jeremiah (at the top of this page)?
God’s
desire for us is for good things.
(Jeremiah
29:11-12 NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the
LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.
Then you will call upon me and
come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. “
4. How can we
move across (bridge) the gap that separates us from God?
·
Can’t we
earn our way into heaven by doing good things (good works)?
No - There
simply isn’t any good thing we can do (or any number of good things) that
will be enough to bridge the gap between us (and our condition of sin) and
the holiness of God.
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not of works, so that no one can
boast.
·
Can’t we
just go to Church each week? That would make us righteous, wouldn’t it?
No – Church
is not enough. It is not the answer.
Jesus never
said, go to church and you will be saved.
Jesus never
told anyone that their righteousness would save them.
In fact,
what did Jesus say?
(Matthew 5:20)
"For I
say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
·
Surely If I
am a Moral Person? Can’t I rely on my ethics? What about the goodness of
all mankind?
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seems right to
a man, But its end is the way of death.
4 – So if
there is this great divide between us and God, and there is no way for us
to bridge the gap, what did God do to provide a way for us to approach Him?
- He sent his
Son to us:
(John 1:
1-4 and John 1:14 NIV)
In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came
from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Why did
God send his son, Jesus to us?
To offer
him to us as a way for us to have everlasting, eternal life.
(John 3:16)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believed on him should have everlasting life.
5 – How can
we address our condition of sin before God?
- We can
accept the offer of Jesus
Romans
10:13
For whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- There is
only one way to bridge the gap that separates us from God.
That way is
Jesus Christ.
- Look at
what Jesus said (John 14:6):
( John 14:6
NIV)
Jesus said
to him, "I am the way,
and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father
but through Me.
6 – If we
seek salvation through Christ Jesus, what happens to our sin?
- In his
act of forgiveness, God will forget our sins.
(Hebrews
8:12)
“For I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
7 - How do
you ask Christ Jesus to intercede for you before his Father?
- If you
truly believe the message of salvation from sin that God has given to us
and want to accept God’s offer of salvation right now, it’s a matter of
repenting from your sins and turning the rest of your life over to Jesus by
making him Lord of your life.
- There is
no ritualistic prayer that accomplishes this. There are no magic words or
prayers that accomplish your desire to come to the Father through the son.
- It is a
willful decision on your part to confess your sin and move away from it.
- It is a
step of faith toward Christ that brings on salvation.
Look at what Paul says in the book
of Romans:
(Romans
10:9-13)
If you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person
believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN
HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no distinction between Jew
and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all
who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL
BE SAVED."
There are many prayers of
salvation. An example of a sinner’s prayer follows.
·
It
acknowledges sin in your life.
·
It seeks
repentance – turning away from sin.
·
It seeks
Jesus as Lord of your life.
·
It thanks
God for the gift of eternal life.
If you are
seeking God, finding the words to pray may be difficult for you. In the
beginning of any relationship, words can be difficult. However, if your
heart aches to come to God and the words of your prayer fail you, you can read
the following prayer out loud and make it your own.
God will
understand. He knows you better than you know yourself.
A Sinner’s Prayer for Salvation
Holy
Father, I know that I am a sinner. I know that my sin keeps me separated
from you.
I know that
your son died for my sin. I know that you raised him from the dead and gave
him the power to forgive my sins. I know that Jesus is anxious to do this.
I want to
be free of this sin. I want to move away from a life of sin and to have
Christ become the Lord of my life.
Lord Jesus,
I ask you to forgive my sins. Please claim me as one of your own.
Father, I
pray that you will send your Holy Spirit to help me to become a new person,
one that will be pleasing to you.
Thank you
for this gift of eternal life.
Amen
If you just prayed this prayer,
we praise God for your decision!
God’s Holy
Scripture tells us that you are now a new creature.
The old
creature that was you is now gone and you have the rest of eternity to be
with God, through his son, Christ Jesus.
Look at what Paul wrote to his disciple Titus
(Titus 3: 4-7 NIV)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior
appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but
because of his mercy. He saved us through
the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his
grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Now that you have prayed the
sinner’s prayer, What should you do?
1. Find a
group of “born again” fellow believers and become a part of that group.
- Where can
you find such a group?
- They are
in a church close to you.
2. What
kind of church should you join?
- Join a
church that believes God’s Son is the only way to salvation.
- Join a
church that believes the Bible is God’s Holy Word.
3. Tell the
pastor of the church you find that you have just accepted Christ as your
savior.
Ask for
Baptism.
4. Ask for
help from the pastor so that you can grow in your knowledge of Jesus and
his father.
- Remember,
you are a baby (reborn) Christian.
Babies are nice, but now you need to begin growing.
- Growing in knowledge of Jesus is one of the
first things a new disciple of Christ needs to do.
- Get a
Bible and begin reading it every day.
- Begin
with the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Read John’s Gospel carefully.
The intent is to understand what John was telling us about Jesus in his
Gospel.
- Start
reading Psalms in the Old Testament.
- After you
finish the Gospel of John, find and begin a program to read the Bible
through.
All of it?
- Yes, All of it. The Old Testament is the history of God's Chosen and the record of his original Covenant with
the Jews. The new Testament is the Gospel Story of Christ Jesus and the New
Covenant between God and Humanity.
There are
many good guides that suggest what you should read each day. There are
several of these guides listed on this website or as a part of the links
section of ToBeLikeHim.com and many others available in other places for
you to follow. What is important is that you begin studying God's Holy Word
and that you make it a part of your new life.
5. As
quickly as possible, become active in your church.
6. As
quickly as possible, begin pursuing Christ Jesus as a disciple.
- You need
to be surrounded by a fellowship of people who want to honor the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ by making disciples.
- Find a
person who knows Jesus very well and ask that person to disciple you.
- Your new
Pastor probably knows someone who would be happy to help you grow.
- If your
Pastor does not know anyone who will help you, you may be in the wrong
church.
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