GOD SAYS ! - ACCEPT MY GRACE FOR YOU !
BECOME - MY PURPOSE - FOR YOU - ALONE !
THE RIGHT and WRONG APPROACHES TO
GOD
The Only 2 Ways to
Approach God - the right way & the wrong way.
EVERYONE .. Approaches God One of These Ways:
1. The Wrong way is by way of
performance, self-effort, self-trust - 'God, I do these things & I don't do
those things': it's a self-righteous, self-centered approach - No deep
confession, no true repentance, no humility, no helplessness. No
talk about who he is , just his external do's
& don'ts.
'Good folks' say
this "I haven't been bad enough to go to hell ... come on
! " They believe they can ...Earn Salvation ! They believe Behavior will save them ! They don't take their sin seriously. No intimate need
of Christ. No time for Christ. No thirst for Christ. Their motive for being a
Christian is
... Safety !
There's not a single verse in the Bible that says we
are acceptable in the eyes of God due to our performance. If performance saves,
then the Cross was a mistake. You can't save yourself. If you
sin or ever did sin, then by God's clear definition of atonement, you could
never pay your sin debt.
Jesus said ...'I am the
Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through
me' (John 14: 6).
'There is no one who does good, not even one...
There is no fear of God before their eyes' (Romans 3:10-18). The question is not - If you
believe Christ, but does He - believe you
!
He who does not believe has been
judged already with confusion & doubt, guilt & fear, hiding vs seeking, short sightedness, tinsel vs treasure, self-made confidence, no truth, no freedom, no
rest, pride ...full, & eventually a harden heart resulting in bitterness
& brokeness beyond healing. And mankind is without
excuse ! Read Romans 1:18-32.
2. The Right way to approach
God: Let's start our intro with a few
excerpts from our paper, 'Why Suffering, Lord ? ..
Suffering will bless the one: Who
knows he needs God.
- Who
humbles himself before God in Brokeness.
- Who bows
to God in Confession, & utter Helplessness.
- Who takes
his sin Seriously & knows he can't save
himself.
- Who seeks
to Know God begging Him for mercy & pardon.
- Who
accepts Christ's unconditional offer of Salvation.
Suffering can give you an
Overflow of Thankfulness & Knowing
you are
forever a child of God - no matter what
! .. Confusion, distrust,
guilt, fear,
& me-centered priorities will be replaced with confidence,
peace,
& new purpose with Christ on the throne of your life ..
TAKING GOD - FOR HIS WORD !
Renewed
Peace & Purpose / Set apart by God, for God
!
To truely be used by God, one .. must be
Broken; like
a vessel that must be emptied before it can be Filled !
Jesus said 'No one can enter
the kingdom of God unless he is Born Again'.
(John 3:3-5) It's being 'Born
Again': Alive to God: new affection to God, new thirst for God, new Life,
new creation, a new Spirit - The Holy Spirit (Christ Himself) now living inside
the believer.
With Saving Belief in Christ comes
the 'New Birth', not some intellectual belief (even the demons believe ! , James 2:19). The 'New Birth' is the
indwelling of God Himself, the Holy Spirit within a believer. Salvation
is Christ's Life in you. You can't be truely drawn to God without God Himself doing the
pulling ... the mighty Holy Spirit living in you
is the 'New Birth' = The GIFT of being Born Again = ALIVE to GOD ! (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit).
The Holy Spirit is the Seal,
the Guarantee of your Salvation: It's God Himself in you & in you to Stay Forever ! - Forgiven by Christ's
death for you - Saved by His Life in you. Jesus' last breath Promised YOU .. ' It is Finished ' !
From Brokeness comes Blessing ! Your
motive for being a Christian changes from a fear (of not going to heaven)
to Knowing this: 'neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from Christ
Jesus' (Romans 8:38). Nothing & No One - CAN steal your
salvation. That includes yourself ! - Christ said ' It is Finished ' !
Obedience (Following the Truth !) always begins after you've
been saved !
A true
believer chooses to follow Christ. Love is not a feeling - it's a
choice. The feeling follows the choice. Faith in Christ is a commitment to who you believe
is God ('I and the Father are one.', John 10:30). It's not 'doing good' performance
nor 'self sacrifice'. Religious 'Legalism' is mere
performance ! It's like starching a shirt that hasn't been washed !
A person, who is saved, can become
trapped into sin; but the Holy Spirit will convict him of Christ's
righteousness, of the sin in his life,
& the immanent judgement & discipline that is coming on his life. The
Lord disciplines His children, His own (Hebrews 12:4-11) - 'I
give them eternal life, & no one can snatch them out of my hand.' (John
10:28)
The true believer will sin, but will
be drawn towards a closer relationship with Christ because 'The Holy
Spirit' - Lives in him. Christ's Life in you is
your only hope
of Salvation and in your God-Given Soul - You Know It !
Only upon Christ, the Rock, can
you do God's will ! The wise man built his house on the
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, & the winds blew and beat
against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)...The fool built his house on shifting
sand.
Building on sand is to place your
faith on anything (fame, power, intelligence, beauty, money, popularity,
good works, etc.; even service to the church, attendance, donations,
etc.)..
On Anything, other than Jesus Christ !
Our 'god-playing' goes like this .. It's Me they'll see, It's Me & Mine !
Oh Lord, I know you are Devine - But I'm so busy - just bein' My Me !
May we replace our faith in the
'gods' of this world (the shifting sand) with honest heart for Jesus -
may we strive to put Jesus First - Because of our THANKFULNESS ! May
we stop simply regretting our sin, but turn away from it
...Knowing we are powerless to turn from sin without
Jesus Christ.
May we lay aside our
SELF, to seek HIS Holiness to touch our lives, thru His
Power - Not ours ! Humbly & Reverently offer your naked soul before Jesus & yearn for
His Will, in His Way - to be done. As He fills you up with Himself (The Holy Spirit)
you will weep as your soul, like a cup, overflows.
'Everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2Timothy3:12)
. Expect suffering (1 Peter 4:12-17) Yet, as we've learned, Suffering
is a Strengthener and it prepares the children of God to be able to Stand and Shine with True Strength & Confidence (read Psalm 18: 28-36) !
Remember that the Promise of the
Rainbow is found not in cloud-free days, but in the midst of the
storm ! Rejoice as you wait on the Lord's
Guidance & sing a New song: Glory Bound !
Thank You Dear Jesus, I'm Glory Bound .. Lost then Found -
through Your Suffering & Your Seeking, now I'm in Your Keeping -- I'm Glory
Bound ! -- Now, Life's got Meaning - I'm Glory Bound
!
GOD SAYS ! - YOU WERE BORN TO REIGN
SATAN DECIEVES - YOUR SIN LIES TO YOU
2 Important Short Papers:
Truth's Consequences / Suffering, Why Lord ?
Christian Faith is Based on the
Historical Facts, Not Emotion:
The Resurrection On Trial
Video Problems w/ Link Above? Click
THE LAW DEMANDS ! / BUT GRACE SUPPLIES /
SATAN ACCUSES & CONDEMNS, NOT CHRIST !
It is not about what you must accomplish, but
what has already been accomplished
for you !
It is not about your will power to change, but
Christ Jesus Himself / Right There / With You !
GOD SAYS ! - ACCEPT MY GRACE FOR YOU !
BECOME - MY PURPOSE - FOR YOU - ALONE !
PRAY FROM VICTORY ! / NOT FOR VICTORY
POWERFUL ! / REVIEW THIS DVD: CLICK
John Ankerberg / Apologetic Resources
Point Folks to The Facts / Many Links:
HELP STOP - THE CONFUSION / CLICK
American Tract Society Info:
WHY You Can Trust The Bible
Do All Roads - Point to God ?
The 'Religious' Cults / Why ?
www.FactsAboutGod.com
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