"Believe on
the Lord
Jesus Christ,
and you
will be
saved."
--Acts. 16:31
|
II. What you have done...
...A Brief Review
Salvation Needed
You
have acknowledged that you have no righteous, of your own (Romans 3:10)
and that you fall short of GOD's glorious righteousness (Rom.3:23) and
are in desperate need of salvation. You have come to the realization
that you are fully deserving to receive GOD's judgment for your sinful
life. You have also recognized that you are absolutely helpless in
yourself and that your only hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ and His
forgiveness and
grace (Eph.2:8).
Salvation Provided
While the penalty for sin is death, GOD did provide
a way for your sin to be paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on the
cross and the shedding of His innocent blood (Rom.6:23). Yes GOD
loves us so much that even though we were sinners, He allowed His
only Son to die for us (Rom.5:8). He allowed His only Son to take
responsibility for our sins (I Peter 2:24).
Salvation Received
Jesus Christ has done so much for us. He loves us.
He died for us. He paid the penalty of sin which we should have
had to pay. He took the responsibility of our sins upon Himself. Even
though He had no sin, He became sin for us (2 Cor.5:21). It is all so
wonderful. However, it is of no use to us until (1) we accept it as
truth,
(2) we believe He is the Christ, the Son of the Living GOD, our Savior
Who
died and rose again from the dead (Rom.10:9), (3) we believe that He is
our only hope for salvation (John 3:16) and (4) that we personally and
individually live out this trust in Christ in our everyday lives.
Salvation Assured
One of the ways in which we can be assured
of our salvation is to believe that the Bible is the word of GOD and
that His word is absolutely true, without error or mistake. He tells
us in His word that we can be sure that we are saved and have eternal
life by simply believing. Therefore, since His word is true and it says
that we can have eternal life by trusting in Christ as our Savior, then
that settles the issue. We must believe His word and we can be assured
of our salvation on that basis (I John 5:13). This is a promise that
you
can stake your very life on.
Your can also receive assurance of your salvation as
you become more and more like Jesus Christ in your character. When you
begin to evidence a lifestyle and character traits which are given to
you by GOD's Holy Spirit, you can be sure that you are a Christian
(Gal.5:22). As you mature as a Christian, the greatest character
trait you could ever exemplify is love (I Cor.13). A growing, godly
love is a sure evidence
of your salvation and that Christ is working actively in your life.
CAUTION:
Do not expect all this to take place
overnight. This is just the beginning of a life-long process of
changing into what GOD wants you to be.
Be patient with GOD and be patient with
yourself. I believe you will find GOD to be very patient with
you!
|
"If anyone
be in Christ,
he is a new creation;
the old has passed away,
the new
has come."
--2 Cor. 5:17
|
III.
What you have become...
... A New Creation
As
a new Christian, there will be many changes which will begin occurring
in your life. These are proof that you have become "A New
Creation" (II Cor. 5:17). What does it really mean to be a new
creation? the Bible says that when a person becomes a believer in Jesus
Christ, they are
a new creation; their old life passes away and a completely new and
fresh life begins. No matter what your past life has been like, GOD can
make
all things new. You can actually start your life over.
Let me give you an example of this. When you become
a new creation, people will look at you and see the same old physical
you. But now when GOD looks at you, because the old you has passed
away, He sees a new heart and a completely new creation. What once was
an unrighteous sinner, is now a precious saint. The part of you which
was once detestable in the sight of GOD, is now pleasing to Him,
because of the work of Christ in your life. It is as though you were a
cat before, but now that you
have become a Christian, you are a rhinoceros. In GOD's sight, Christ
has changed your life so much, that He indeed sees you as "A New
Creation", and the old you with your old desires and your old ways no
longer exist!
A Christ Follower
You have also become a follower of Christ. A
follower of Christ is someone who has trusted Jesus Christ as their
Savior and out of the gratitude of their heart for their salvation,
they have committed their lives to follow Christ. A Christ follower has
two major goals, (1) to become like Christ morally (II Peter 1:3-11),
and (2) to follow
Christ obediently (Mat.8:22/16:24/ Jn.10:4).
To become like Christ morally means that our moral
decisions and lifestyle begins to show similar actions and decisions
that Jesus would make. Moral means what we perceive as being right and
pleasing before GOD. When our decisions are similar to Christ's
decisions, then we are pleasing to GOD, because Christ is pleasing to
GOD.
To follow Christ obediently means that whatever we
read in the Bible that GOD commands us to do, we obey. Likewise,
whenever we read in the Bible that GOD forbids something, then we obey
GOD and refrain from doing it. Essentially, to follow Christ obediently
means to
obey the Bible which is GOD's word of instruction for our lives today.
A Part of the Body of
Christ
Another thing you become is a part of the body of
Jesus Christ. At the time of our salvation, every believer is baptized
(introduced) into the body of Christ (I Cor.12:1-27). As a part of the
body of Christ, every believer has an important purpose. Just as every
part of our human body has a specific and distinct activity which
allows
the body to function properly, so does each part of the body of Christ
have
a specific function and because of that, you are extremely important
and
valuable to GOD. This is why it is so crucial for you to find a church
(local
body of Christ) and attend regularly, in order to become involved in
serving
within the church. This is a key element in the growth of every
believer.
A Child of GOD
When we are brought into the body of Christ, we
become children of GOD. This is one of the most awesome aspects of
becoming a Christian - we are able to call GOD, our Heavenly Father. I
don't know what your past family experience has been, whether it has
been good or bad. I don't know what you think of when you hear the word
"father", but try to imagine an ideal father. He would be loving,
forgiving, providing, caring, interested in us, concerned for our
welfare and protective against the forces which may try to destroy us.
An ideal father would also be one who disciplined his children when
they did wrong. He would allow us to make mistakes and yet still accept
us and pick us up when we fall. He would comfort us when we hurt - He
would be someone we could talk to about anything that concerned us.
My friend, that is exactly the type of Heavenly
Father we have. GOD is all of these things - He is our loving Heavenly
Father. Rest...relax as you get to know and love Him. Don't fear His
wrath or His judgment, but enjoy your time with Him. He deeply desires
to spend time with you. You are His new child and He is now your proud
Father (Gal.4:4-7).
A Home for GOD's Spirit
One final thing that you become is a home for the
Holy Spirit of GOD (ICor.3:16/IICor.6:16). In the Old Testament,
before Christ, the Holy Spirit of GOD dwelled in very extravagant
manmade
temples which were constructed especially to house GOD's spirit.
However,
today GOD gives every one of His children His Holy Spirit to live in
them
as holy temples. The result is that the Holy Spirit of GOD lives in
you! His word promises that He will always be with us and will
never leave
us or abandon us, but will be present with us in every situation
(Heb.13:5-6).
Wow! I hope that really encourages you.
It sure encourages me! O.K., what are you thinking so far?
Any new thoughts, feelings or questions? Record them here.
|
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IV. What you are into...
...something new, yet something
old
A Quick Summary
Now,
I would like to quickly summarize the Christian faith. Jesus Christ
is the Son of GOD! He was the only One who could pay for our sins,
because He is the only person who ever lived who was without sin
(Heb.7:26).
In paying for our sins, Christ died on the cross and was raised from
the
dead 3 days later (Rom.10:9). About 40 days after Christ's
resurrection,
He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9) and was seated at the right hand of
the throne of the majesty on high (Heb.1:3), where He now resides in
His
place of ultimate authority.
When you made the decision to place your faith in
Jesus Christ and believed that He died on the cross to deliver you from
the penalty of your sins, many things transpired. You were bought and
became the property of GOD (I Cor.6:20). The price with which you were
purchased was the precious blood of Jesus, Himself (I Peter 1:18-19).
You were delivered out of the dark kingdom of the Devil and placed into
the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ (Col.1:13). You have been place
into the body of Christ and the family of GOD (I Jn.3:1 / I Cor.12:13).
What an encouragement it is to know what GOD has accomplished in our
lives through the work of His Son. As a result, you are now part of the
body of Christ, the church.
A Brief History
The church of the LORD Jesus Christ is made
up of every believer anywhere in the world that has ever believed in
Jesus as their Savior. The church is made up of people from different
races, languages, nationalities, denominations, as well as various
religious
backgrounds. The church initially started as a group of disciples or
those
who originally followed Jesus and began to believe and obey His
teachings.
During its inception in Jerusalem, it began with just a few and has
expanded
all across the earth and its members are now innumerable.
|
The family of God is one that
reaches
around the globe - to every nation and every people group - excluding
none,
but including
all who believe in Jesus.
|
Over the years the church has undergone intense
persecution and opposition. The first person ever to die for
standing up for his beliefs as a follower of Jesus was a man named
Stephen (Acts 7). With his death, began persecution against
Christians which
forced them to flee for their lives. Yet even in this horrible
treatment,
GOD's purposes were being accomplished. It was this fleeing from
persecution which helped to spread the good news about salvation in
Christ (we call
this the gospel), all across the continent and ultimately around the
world.
Throughout history, the more the church has
been persecuted, the stronger and larger it has grown. A great lesson
which we learn from this is that, man's natural ability will never
defeat
GOD's supernatural ability. Man has continued to attempt to stop the
growth
of Christianity, yet he has never been able to cause GOD's purposes to
fail and never will.
My friend, do you want to be involved in something
you know will succeed? Do you want to be a part of something you
know GOD is doing? Then the church is for you. The
church is far from perfect, because it is filled with people just
like me and like you. However, Jesus has promised to build His
church and the gates of hell will never prevail against it
(Mat.16:18). GOD's
church will always succeed! You can be sure of that!
|
"I am come
that they might have life,
and that they might have it
more
abundantly".
--John 10:10
|
V. What you are in for...
...excitement and challenges
Opposition
The
Devil also tries to defeat GOD. He attempts this by trying to defeat
each of us. As the believers in the past have encountered opposition,
so will you in your new life with Christ. People will make fun of you,
they will say that your beliefs are in silly , unverifiable myths and
they
will try to make you feel foolish and doubt your faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that when this happens, we are to
be firm in our faith, as others all over the world are remaining firm
in the faith. And regardless of the opposition we face, it is possible
to endure it all (I Peter 5:8-9). Also, as we are remaining firm in
our faith, we are to be able to give a good reason to others why we
believe in Jesus (I Peter 3:15).
In order for us to be able to give a good
explanation to others regarding our beliefs, we must study the Bible in
order to
know what it contains and what it says about life issues. As we know
the Bible, it not only allows us to give a good defense for our faith,
but it will be a great encouragement to us as it teaches us about GOD,
His Son and about us as His children (II Tim.3:15).
Another method of defending our beliefs, is
to tell them what has happened to you when you trusted Christ, and the
forgiveness which you have received. The Bible describes this
as our testimony. It states that as we struggle against the Devil, one
way in which we as Christians may overcome his evil power is through
the
giving of our testimony to others. More practically, it is
knowing
what GOD has done for us and being able to tell others about it
(Rev.12:11).
|
The Christian life is not one of
boredom.
Fighting the good fight of faith
is as exciting an adventure
as any person could ever
hope to experience.
|
The most difficult aspect of opposition is when it
comes from our own family. When our new faith is not shared or
understood by our family, it may seem that they think you are
crazy or that these new ideas will pass with time. The Bible says that
there may come a time when our opposition will be from those of our own
household (Mat.10:36). This occurs because they do not fully understand
your newly found faith. When this happens we must be loving and
understanding towards them, while remaining true to our decision to
follow Jesus. We must remember to always pray for our family, that GOD
would work in their lives just as He has worked in your own. He is able!
Temptations
Another difficulty you will face is temptation. This
is one of the most common tactics the Devil uses to devastate our
faith. Everyone is tempted at one time or another, but temptation is
not necessarily a sin (I Cor.10:13). Jesus, Himself, was tempted just
as we
are tempted, yet He was completely sinless (Heb.4:15). However, we do
have
the ability to overcome temptation. The Bible states that if we draw
near
to GOD, He will draw near to us. So that when this temptation comes
into
our minds we will be so close to GOD and so filled with His thoughts
that
we will then be able to resist these temptations - the Devil will flee
from
us and we will not fall into sin (James 4:7).
Acceptance in Christ
Besides all the difficulties and struggles that we
encounter as Christians, there are many very positive and encouraging
things that take place in our lives. One is that Christ accepts us just
as we are when we come to Him (Rom.15:7). We don't have to perform a
certain way or look a certain way or even act a certain way in order to
be accepted by GOD. We are accepted because we are believers in GOD's
Son, Jesus Christ and we are made acceptable by His sacrifice for us.
So we do not need to clean up our lives before we come to GOD, because
sinners are who Jesus died for in the first place (Rom.5:8). It is
after our salvation experience that GOD begins cleaning up our lives.
He first begins to change our minds, which affects our desires, which
affects our choices, which affects the eventual outcome of our daily
lives (Rom.12:2). And so it is our faith in Christ, which causes us to
be accepted.
Eternal and Abundant Life
In becoming a believer, we receive eternal life as a
gift from Christ. The Bible says that the believer is a gift from GOD
to Christ and eternal life is a gift from Christ to the believer
(Jn.17:2). Our punishment for sin is something that we earn and we
deserve, because we are sinners. But eternal life cannot be earned and
is not deserved, due to the fact that sinners have done nothing worthy
of this gift of life. Yet, through faith in Christ we receive the gift
of eternal life, which no one can take away and not one can give but
Christ (Rom.6:23).
Yet, not only do we receive a quantity of life which
is eternal, but we also receive a quality of life which is abundant. In
our new life in Christ, we are given joy, peace and a great hope that
only the believer can posses (Rom.5:1-5). It is not merely the promise
of our future in heaven (I Peter 1:4), but it is the promise of our
present existence in GOD's presence (Heb.13:5). It is in GOD's
presence that we will continually praise and worship Him and in a state
of eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11).
Privilege of sharing
As Jesus has saved us from an eternity in hell, we
have been given the privilege of telling others also about their need
for the same salvation. Perhaps the reason you trusted Jesus Christ is
that you had someone who was concerned enough about your eternal
destiny
that they were bold enough to share with you eternal life through faith
in Jesus Christ. We must pass that message along. Mat.28:16-20 says
that
Jesus has given His followers a great commission. We are to teach the
world
about the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
This
is no doubt a large task, but the Lord has many, many followers who are
able
to spread this message and you and I must be part of those messengers.
The message is basically this:
(1) GOD loves everyone (Jn.3:16)
(2) Man is sinful, unrighteous and spiritually dead
(Rom.3:23/6:23)
(3) Man can receive eternal life
(Jn.3:16/Rom/6:23)
(4) Only faith in Jesus brings life
(Jn.3:16/Jn.1:10-13)
(5) We must believe and receive Jesus
and His sacrifice for us (John 1:12; 3:16)
Can you think of anyone whom you would like to see trust Christ as you
have? Perhaps a friend, neighbor or family member? List them
below and begin praying for them.
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"Therefore,
there is now
no
condemnation for those
who are in
Christ Jesus,"
--Romans 8:1
|
VI. What you miss out on...
...you miss nothing good
God's Wrath
Along
with the things you gain as a believer in Christ, there are also some
things that you miss out on. One is that you miss out on GOD's
wrath. His wrath is His emotion of anger and detest against all
those who have rejected Him as their GOD and are living wickedly in
opposition to His
desire for them (Is.13:13/Rom.1:18-20). His wrath is also exhibited
towards
those who have rejected His Son as their Savior. However, those who
have
trusted Jesus as their Savior and believed on Him as the only One who
can
deliver them from their sins, escape GOD's wrath.
Now you may ask, "what is so terrible about
GOD's wrath? Why would it be so bad to have GOD angry with you?" Well
my friend, the reason GOD's wrath is so terrible and so fearful is
because,
following GOD's wrath is GOD's eternal judgment.
GOD's judgment
GOD's wrath is His emotion over the sinfulness and
wickedness of mankind. The expression of this emotion comes in the form
of His divine judgment. This divine judgment is GOD merely taking
action on His divine wrath. His wrath is His feelings toward something
and His judgment is how He acts in regard to how He feels. GOD has
promised that because of His wrath, He will one day release His
judgment upon all the earth for its evil and sinful deeds (II Peter
3:7).
All of GOD's judgments are holy and right and He
makes no mistakes in regard to carrying it all out (Rom.11:33). Those
who receive GOD's judgment are well deserving of it (Jere.25:31). GOD
does not mistakenly leave unjudged those who deserve it. Likewise, He
does not judge those who do not deserve it. The only ones who are
exempt from GOD's judgment are those who have placed their faith in the
LORD Jesus Christ (Jn.3:16-18). The reason for this is that GOD's wrath
and judgment is always against the wickedness and sinfulness of mankind
who have rejected Him. The
reason the believer does not receive this judgment is that Jesus Christ
has
already received our judgment for our sins and wickedness while He was
on
the cross. Therefore, now there is no more condemnation (or judgment)
for
those who are in (that is, believes in) Jesus Christ (Rom.8:1,2).
Because of this the unbeliever should fear standing before the LORD on
the day of judgment, but the Christian need never dread the day when he
or she stands before the LORD. That day will be a day of rejoicing and
eternal reward for the ones who have given their lives to follow Christ.
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No child of God will ever receive
the
wrath of God. The cross of Jesus has intercepted God's judgment
on
behalf of all believing Christians.
-- unknown
|
The end result of GOD's judgment is not merely
physical punishment, but His judgment and punishment is as eternal as
the life He gives to the believer. This eternal state of
punishment is called HELL! Hell is the place of eternal torment and
punishment for the
wicked and their unforgiven sins. It was originally prepared by GOD for
the Devil and his angels who rebelled against GOD and rejected Him
(Mt.25:41). It is a place where the burning flame is never
extinguished. Yet even more tormenting, it is a place where there will
be eternal separation from the presence of the LORD (II Thes. 1:8-9).
That will be the most torturous punishment one could ever imagine. Here
the person will spend an eternity paying for their own sins. How
horrible to think that anybody would have to endure all this, when
there is deliverance from this fate through faith in Christ and His
forgiving grace (Eph.2:8). Yet, the believer misses out on eternal
punishment, simply because of his or her faith in Jesus as the One who
has already paid for their sins and suffered their punishment.
Take a moment and thank GOD for your salvation and
forgiveness of sins.
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"Now the God
of hope fill you with
all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound
in hope,
through the power of the Holy Spirit."
--Romans 15:13
|
VII. What it comes down
to...
...brief but oh, so important
Conclusion
Before
I share with you the next step, I would like to briefly summarize our
thoughts so far. You and I were born into this world as sinners
(Ps.51:5), yet GOD still loved us (Jn.3:16). In GOD's perfect timing,
He sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins and to bring us
into His
family (Gal.4:4). His Son, Jesus, was born and was crucified on a cross
and died for our sins - the sins of the ungodly (Rom.5:8). He then rose
from the dead and continued to live on the earth for about 40 days.
Therefore,
you and I and anybody else who believes that Jesus is LORD and that GOD
has indeed raised Him from the dead, will be saved (Jn.1:12/I
Jn3:1)
and that is where you are today - in GOD's family. Praise the LORD!
Important concepts
The Bible uses the term "in Christ" quite often in
the New Testament. "In Christ" is a term that reflects
our position in the Christian faith. When we place our faith in Christ
as Savior, we are then covered by His righteousness and when GOD looks
at us, He sees Christ's sacrifice and payment for our sins, as well as
seeing Christ's righteousness as our righteousness (Phil.3:8,9).
We also have an eternal inheritance
with GOD which is stored in heaven waiting for us to receive it (I
Peter 1:4). It cannot be removed or taken away from us. It is something
GOD has laid up for us and will one day give us when we stand before
Him.
What an encouragement to know that GOD has our inheritance waiting for
us in His possession.
As GOD's children, we have the
privilege of asking in the name of Jesus, things we need and He will
give
it. He tells us to ask and it will be given to us. For what father
knows
the needs of his children and instead of supplying their needs, gives
them
something to harm them? No good father, of course. And as our Heavenly
Father, GOD knows just what we need and is happy to supply our needs
when we ask Him (Mat.7:7-11).
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He is no fool who gives what he
cannot keep, to gain what he cannot loose.
-- Jim Elliott
|
Another important concept which involves you is
referred asto following Christ. Because sheep
follow the shepherd, the Christian is often referred to in the Bible as
a sheep. John 10 refers to Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who cares
deeply for His sheep. It goes on to state that Jesus as our Good
Shepherd is in control of His sheep and protects His sheep, so that no
person or thing can ever remove them from His guidance and watch care
(Jn.10:28,29).
Psalm 23 is also a passage which speaks of the
follower of GOD as sheep and GOD as the Shepherd. As the Shepherd is
leading his sheep, it is the responsibility of the sheep to obey the
leadership of the shepherd and trusting that he knows what is best for
the sheep. Of course the LORD is worthy to be obeyed as well as trusted.
Finally, there is pleasure in your
relationship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ and that pleasure
goes 2 ways.
First, we find great pleasure in Him.
Consider the promise below
.
"You will
show me the path of life:
in Your presence is fulness of joy;
at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
-- Psalm 16:11
Finally, He finds pleasure in us.
Consider this statement.
"You are
worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power:
for You have created all things,
and for Your pleasure they are and were created."
-- Revelation 4:11
Did you get that? Your Heavenly Father
finds pleasure in you!
What do you think about your new Father in heaven and your new
family in the church? Are these positive thoughts for you?
Why?
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VIII. What next...
...this is not the end but the
beginning
Church fellowship
One
thing that you need to do immediately is to begin looking for a church
that upholds the Bible as GOD's word and start to attend on a regular
basis. Attending church will not get you saved, but it is something
that saved people need to be involved in. The Bible says that we are
not to stop meeting together as believers (Heb.10:25), because the
church is the place where we can come and be encouraged in our daily
lives and in our faith (Heb.10:22-24). Also, the
scriptures tell us to bear one another's burdens (Gal.6:2). Where else
can that take place if not at the church - at the gathering together of
GOD's people. This is one of the purposes of the church, to encourage
each other in our faith.
Another significant purpose of the church is to come
together as a group of GOD's people to praise and worship GOD. The
creature worshiping the Creator, that is the highest privilege of any
human being (Rev.4:11).
Baptism & Communion
Believer's baptism and communion are 2 very special
commands the Lord initiated for the church. We refer to the first as
"believer's baptism" due to the fact that we believe scripture clearly
teaches that water baptism is for those who have believed in Jesus and
trusted
Him as their Lord and Savior. Water baptism symbolizes the death and
resurrection
of the believing Christian that has trusted in Jesus. As Jesus
died,
for our sins, baptism symbolizes our death. As baptism symbolizes
Christ's
resurrection, it also symbolizes our resurrection. Baptism
signifies
that Jesus' death and resurrection life are ours when we believe in Him
(Acts 2:41; 8:12; Romans 6:4).
The second is Christian communion.
Again, I refer to this as "believer's" communion, because the Bible
depicts only those who are already believers in Jesus as taking part
in this command. During the Lord's last supper with His
disciples,
they took part in the last Jewish Passover feast together. In
this
meal, Jesus took the bread and said, "this is my body broken for you,
as
often as you eat this, do this in remembrance of me". He spoke
this
to His closest disciples. He then took the cup and said, "This is
the new covenant in my blood, do this in remembrance of me." The
bread represents Jesus broken body and the juice or wine represents
Jesus'
blood which was shed for the forgiveness of sins to all who believe in
Him.
The Apostle Paul states, "As often as you do this,
you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (1 Corinthians
11:26). Water baptism and Christian communion is specifically for
those who
have trusted in Jesus, and found forgiveness through faith in His name
(John 2:23).
Prayer - ACTS
Not only is Church attendance important, but so is
your own tie of personal prayer and devotion to the LORD. Some call
this their quiet time. There are many styles or types of devotional
times. I will present you with just an example to help get you started.
This is called the "ACTS" method.
With this method, each letter stands for a different
area of devotion, or a different attitude in communicating with
GOD. You may take all four in one quiet time or you may want to
focus on one letter a day. Either way, do not feel the need to hurry
through or even to finish at a given time. Some of your best quiet
times may last all day as you go about your routine with the LORD in
mind.
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Prayer does not prepare us for the
greater work: Prayer is the greater work.
-- Oswald Chambers
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The first area of prayer in "Acts" is A. A
stands for Adoration. This is not necessarily thanksgiving. This
may be a time of praising GOD and adoring Him for who He is. During
this time it is good to focus on an aspect of who GOD is, generally in
regard to His character or an attribute. You might begin by praising
GOD for His holiness and that He is separated far from sin. Praise Him
that He is sinless and righteous and worthy to deal justly with the
wicked, because
He Himself, is pure, holy and just.
You might also worship Him as Creator of the world
and for His infinite power. It is the same power of creation that
raised Jesus Christ from the dead and the same power that saves us from
our sins. Express to Him how very worthy He is to be worshiped
(Rev.4:11/5:12).
The next letter in "ACTS" is C. C stands for
Confession. This is the time when you come before GOD to
confess all your sins and failures. Confess means to tell what is
already known. GOD already knows what we have done and what we need to
be forgiven of. For us, this is a time of honesty and humility before
the Almighty, All-knowing GOD. We come to Him and tell Him of our sins
and how we have failed to keep His commandments and carry out His will.
Our sins can be sins which we have committed on purpose or things which
we have omitted without knowing it at the time. It may be
deliberate
or accidental. Nevertheless, we must confess everything before our all
knowing GOD. When we confess our sins, GOD faithfully forgives
our
sins and washes away all our unrighteousness (I Jn.1:9). JUST BE HONEST!
Next is the letter T. The T stands
for Thanksgiving. This is a time when we come to GOD with hearts
full of gratitude and thank Him for the things which He has done in our
lives. We might thank Him for the precious gift of His Son. We might
thank Him for our salvation which we could never have gained on our
own. Thank Him for His watch care over you and for carefully leading
you in your life and bringing you to the point where you are now. You
could also thank Him for what He has taught you through His word and
how He is making you more like His dear Son each day. Also give thanks
to GOD for making us heirs to His kingdom of light and delivering us
from the kingdom of darkness (Col.1:12-13).
Lastly in our "ACTS" prayer time is the letter S.
S stands for Supplications. These are prayers which we make
either on our own behalf or on the behalf of others. Our prayers for
ourselves, we call petitions. Our prayers for others we call
intercessions. You might pray for someone's health or family situation.
You might pray for GOD's will to be done in someone's life. You might
even pray for GOD
to save a friend of yours and that they might come to place their trust
in
Christ, just as you have.
You might also pray for yourself. You could
pray for your own strength to live out your daily life as a Christian
and that your life would bring honor to Jesus. You may pray that GOD
would give you wisdom in telling a friend about Jesus. You might even
pray that GOD would help you find a job, a home, a husband or a wife.
Most
of all, it is important to pray that above all else, that GOD's perfect
will would be done, even over your own (Phil.4:6).
Bible Study
In conjunction with prayer, one of the most
important things you could do as a believer is to begin disciplined
Bible study practices. The Bible contains all we need in order to live
a quality Christian life. It is how GOD speaks to us. It has
instruction
concerning GOD's desires for His people. It has instruction concerning
most of the issues we face in our society today. But even more than
that,
it reveals to us who GOD is and what He is like. The Bible is like a
love
letter to humanity to explain to them who GOD is. It tells us of His
character,
His attributes, His likes, His dislikes, His commandments and His
expectations.
The Bible is also a history book explaining
the creation of man, man's falling away from a relationship with GOD,
His forgiveness, His provision for man's salvation, as well as GOD's
plan for the ages to come. With such wealth of information concerning
GOD
and man, studying the Bible is of utmost importance for the believer
regardless
of how old he or she may be.
Also it is important that prayer is a part of your
Bible study. It is only by GOD's giving us the spiritual ability, that
we can understand His word. As we pray we must always be open to
what GOD would teach us through studying it (Eph.1:18).
One of the best ways to study the Bible is by
reading it over and over again. Choose a book of the Bible and read
it. Then go back to the beginning and read one chapter a couple of
times.
As you are reading through it, take notes and write down any questions
or ideas that come to your mind. Then attempt to answer those
questions.
As you read through the chapters, ask yourself these questions.
(1) What does this teach me about
people?
(2) What does this teach me about
GOD?
(3) What sin do I need to
ask forgiveness for?
(4) What command do I need to obey?
(5) What promise do I have to believe
in?
(6) Is there something that speaks to my
specific situation?
(7) What encouragement can I receive
from this?
Investigate our helpful links below
Always write down any thoughts that may come to you no matter how
far out, or how difficult a question it may be. Keep all your thoughts
on paper in a notebook which you will be able to use as a future
resource. The effort you put forth cannot compare with the magnitude of
wisdom and understanding we gain about life and GOD
(Ps.119:9,11,105,130,160).
Enjoying GOD
Finally, one thing we must always remember to do is
to enjoy GOD! The Christian faith is not merely a lot of negative
commands. It does contain some of that, but we can also focus our
attention on the LORD and we can actually enjoy our relationship with
Him. We can enjoy His love for us, His watch care for us as His
children and we can enjoy our journey along as a new believer and our
time of spiritual growth.
I John 3:1 states just how awesome it is to
be so privileged that we are called GOD's children. This is such a
great truth of scripture that we can enjoy this wonderful privilege-
the privilege that we are the children of the GOD of all creation
and the entire universe! What joy! What an incredible honor! And like a
sheep enjoys
its caring shepherd, like a child enjoys its loving father, we can
enjoy
our great and awesome GOD
(Ps.111:1/5:11/Lk.6:23;10:20/Rom.5:2/Phil.4:4). And this is due to the
fact that your faith is now in GOD's Son, Jesus
Christ.
Now be encouraged! You will never be alone again.
Your Heavenly Father is always with you and although you cannot see
them all, you are joined with many believers in Jesus Christ, who
together
with you, are on the joyful journey of grace (2 Pet.3:18).
* If you have any other questions or would like someone to speak with,
please notify:
Christ
Evangelical
Free Church
PO Bx 619
19682 Hill Rd
Saegertown, PA 16433
(814) 763-2934
www.christefca.org
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