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Beginning
Your Journey of Joy
These
four principles are essential in beginning your journey of joy.
PRINCIPLE
ONE:
God loves you
and created you to know Him personally.
God's Love:
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life" (John 3:16). see
notes
God's Plan:
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 10:7-10).
see notes
What prevents
us from knowing God personally?
PRINCIPLE
TWO:
People are sinful
and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience
His love.
People are
Sinful: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23). see notes
People were
created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our own stubborn
self-wills, we chose to go our 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.
People are
Separated: "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual
separation from God] (Romans 6:23). see
notes
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This
diagram illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful.
A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate 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 inevitably fail. |
The third
principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf...
PRINCIPLE
THREE:
Jesus Christ
is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him alone we can know God
personally and experience God's love.
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 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, but through
Me'" (John 14:6). see
notes
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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...
PRINCIPLE
FOUR:
We must individually
receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then we can know God personally
and experience His love.
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). see
notes
We Receive
Christ through Faith: "By grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a 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: (Read John 3:1-8).
We Receive
Christ by Personal Invitation: [Christ speaking] "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).
Receiving Christ
involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ
to come into our lives to forgive us of 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 our will.
These two circles
represent two kinds of lives:
Self-Directed
Life  |
 Self is on the throne |
 Christ is outside the life |
 Interests are directed by self often resulting in discord
and frustration |
|
| |
|
| |
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| Christ-Directed
Life
|
| Christ is in the life and on the throne |
| Self is yielding to Christ |
 Interests are directed by Christ, resulting in harmony with
God's plan |
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Which circle
best represents your life?
Which circle 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 want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross
for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my
Saviour 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 you heart?
If it does,
pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life,
as he promised.
How to Know
that Christ Is In Your Life
Did you receive
Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation
3:20, where Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said
that He would come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what
authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness
of God Himself and His Word.)
The
Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"The witness
is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you
may know that you have eternal life: (1John 5:11-13).
Thank God often
that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews
13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ
lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment
you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
Feelings
Can be Unreliable
You might have
expectations about how you should feel after placing your trust
in Christ. While feelings are important they are unreliable indicators
of your sincerity or the trustworthiness of God's promise. Our feelings
change easily, but God's Word and His character remain constant.
This illustration shows the relationship between fact (God and His
Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word) and our feelings.
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Fact
- this chair is strong enough to support you. |
 |
Faith
- You believe this chair will support you, so you sit in it. |
 |
Feeling
- You may or may not feel comfortable in this chair, but it continues
to support you. |
The promise
of God's Word, the Bible, not our feelings, is our authority. The
Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself
and His Word.
Now That
You Have Entered Into A Personal Relationship With Christ
The moment you
received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened,
including the following:
1. Christ came
into your life (Revelation 3:20 & Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins
were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
3. You became
a child of God (John 1:12).
4. You received
eternal life (John 5:24).
5. You began
the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians
5:17; and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Can you think
of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering
into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to
thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking
God, you demonstrate your faith.
To enjoy your
new relationship with God...
Suggestions
for Christian Growth
Spiritual growth
results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall
live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable
you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and
to practice the following:
G--Go
to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).
R--Read
God's Word daily (Acts 17:11) - begin with the Gospel of John.
O--Obey
God moment by moment (John 14:21).
W--Witness
for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19, John 15:8).
T--Trust
God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
H--Holy
Spirit–Allow Him to control and empower your daily life and
witness (Galatians 5:16, 17; Acts 1:8).
Continue
Your Journey of Joy
Go
to http://www.journeyofjoy.com/biblestudies/index.html
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