How can I know God?

First, you have to understand that God LOVES you and and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

God's LOVE

[Jesus says] For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (NASB95)

God's PLAN

[Jesus says] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly {full and meaningful}. - John 10:10 (NASB95)

Why is it that most people are not experiencing this abundant life?

Because ......

Second, we have to understand that we are SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, we can not know and experience God's love and plan for our lives on our own.

We are SINFUL

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:23 (NASB95)

We were created to have a loving relationship with God; but, because of our stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own independant way, and that relationship 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.

We are SEPARATED

For the wages of sin is death {spiritual separation from God} - Romans 6:23 (NASB95)

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that we are continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion - but we inevitably fail.

There is only one way to bridge this gulf between us and God....

Third, we must accept that Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

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 (NASB95)

He Rose from the Dead.

I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time.

- 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (NASB95)

He is the ONLY Way to God.

[Jesus says] I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. - John 14:6 (NASB95)

This diagram illustrates the fact 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 to know and acknowledge these three facts ....

Fourth, we must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as our 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 (NASB95)

We RECEIVE Christ through Faith.

For 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, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB95)

When we RECEIVE Christ, We Experience a New Birth.

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

- John 3:1-8 (NASB95)

We RECEIVE Christ through 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 and will dine with him, and he with Me. - Revelation 3:20 (NASB95)

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 our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have am emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith as an act of the will.

This illustration represents two kinds of lives:

Which circle best describes your life?

Which circle would you like to represent your life?

You can Receive Christ right now by Faith through Prayer. {Prayer is talking to God.}

Tell Jesus you need Him.

Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for your sin.

Tell Jesus you open the door to your heart and life and that you receive Him as your personal Savior and Lord.

Thank Jesus for forgiving you of your sin and giving you eternal life.

Ask Jesus to take total control of your life.

Ask Jesus to make you into the kind of person He wants you to be.

"Amen"

Did you pray this prayer?