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Knowing God

How to know God personally and experience genuine life

The Gospel

God's Perspective

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He has a wonderful plan for your life.

The Bible Tells Us…

God Created You “For You created every part of me and put me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)


God’s Perspective “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)


God’s Purpose For You [Jesus is speaking] “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10)

 

What keeps us from connecting with God and knowing Him personally?

Our Condition

People are SINFUL and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love and plan.

People Are Sinful “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)

 

We were created to have a personal relationship with God, but by our own choice and self-will we have gone our own independent way and that relationship has been broken. This self-will, often seen as an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.


People Are Separated “But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God.” (Isaiah 59:2) “For the wages of sin is death.” [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23) 

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful. A great gap separates the two. The arrows show that people are continually trying to reach God and establish a personal relationship with Him through their own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion, but we always fail.

What is the solution to our sin and separation from God?

God's Response:

Jesus Christ is God's only solution for our sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience His love and plan

He Died In Our Place “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)

He Rose From The Dead “Christ died for our sins… He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day… He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that He was seen by more than five hundred…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)

He Is the Only Way To God “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6) 

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gap that 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 facts about Jesus Christ...

Our Response

We must individually receieve Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love and plan.

We must receive Jesus Christ “To all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

We receive Christ by faith “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works so that on one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

When we receive Christ we experience a new birth (See John 3:1-8)

We receive Christ by personnel belief “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Receiving Christ involves:

Recognizing our need for Christ

Turning to Christ and away from self (repentance)

Trusting Christ to come into our lives, forgive our sings, and make us what He wants us to be


Just to agree 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 as a decision of our will. 

Which circle best represents your life? Which circle would you like to represent your life?

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer

Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here is a suggested prayer:


Lord Jesus, I need You and I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross in my place for my sins. I trust in You and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life and make me the kind of person You want me to be.


Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

Questions

If you prayed that prayer, or would like to talk with someone about making that decision, please contact us by clicking below. We would love to help you learn more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.