FAITH CELEBRATION FELLOWSHIP To be instruments of God, to seek and to serve people near and far to become fully devoted followers of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

This will show you some very important truths about our relationship with God.

Truth 1: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

God’s Love

[Christ speaking] “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”
[ John 3:16 AMP (Amplified Bible) ]
God’s Plan

[Christ speaking] “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”
[ John 10:10b AMP ]
Why is it that most people are not experiencing that abundant life?

Because…

Truth 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

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
[ Romans 3:23 NLT (New Living Translation) ]

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own 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 an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man Is Separated

“The wages of sin is death [spiritual separation from God].”
[ Romans 6:23 ]

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The bars illustrate that 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 truth explains the only way to bridge this gulf…

Truth 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

“But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.”
[ Romans 5:8 AMP ]
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 except by (through) Me.’”
[ John 14:6 AMP ]
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf 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 three truths…

Truth 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

“But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name.”
[ John 1:12 AMP ]
We Receive Christ Through Faith

“8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”
[ Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP ]
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth

“1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.””
[ John 3:1-8 NLT ]
We Receive Christ Through 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 our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
These diagrams represent two kinds of lives:

Which diagram best represents your life? Which diagram 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 with 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.

Now that you have received Christ, we would like to help you with your Christian journey. Don’t hesitate to contact us, let us know about your decision, and we’ll do the best we can to help you.

If you still have questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Courtesy of New Life Resources Copyright © 2006. Revised 2009 FCFLife.com. Illustrations Copyright © 2009 FCFLife.com.