1. God loves you and created you to know Him personally.

God's love is shown in John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes him Him should not perish, but have eternal life"

and God's plan in John 17:3 - "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent"

What prevents us from knowing God personally?

2. Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.

Romans 3:23 - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

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.

Romans 6:23 - "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God]

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is contiunually trying to reach God and establish a personal relationship with Him through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion - but he inevitably fails.

The third priciple explains the only way to bridge this gulf...

3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love.

He died in our Place - Romans 5:8 - "For God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

He rose from the Dead - 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 "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..."

He is the only way to God - John 14:6 - "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me"

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 truths...

4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience his love.

John 1:12 - "As many as recieved Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name"

Ephesians 2:8,9 - "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 that no one should boast"

(John 3:1-8)

Revelation 3:20 - (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"

Recieving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into out 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 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 different kinds of lives:

In the Self-Directed Life, Self (s) is on the throne, and Christ (the cross) is outside the life. In the Christ-Directed Life, Christ is on the throne and in the life, and Self is yielding to Christ.

Which circle best represents your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

You can recieve Christ right now by faith through prayer (Prayer is talking to 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 recieve you as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?
If it does (and you don't need to if you've already prayed it), pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.