You Can Have a New Life
Are you tired of your life? Would you like to have a fresh start? 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) says "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun" Romans 6:4- "And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives."
But Jesus told us the key to this new life in John 3:3 "Unless a person is born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven"
Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior?
Have you ever received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life?
John 14:6 - Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me."
Acts 4:12 - "There in no other name (besides Jesus) given among men by which we must be saved"
1 Timothy 1:15- "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"
Realize That God Loves You
God loves you and has a plan for your life.
The Bible says, in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you a hope and a future."
Ephesians 2:8-10 says "For by grace (God's unmerited favor & power) are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourself, it is a gift from God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand for us to walk in."
In other words, it is so important to God for you to live in His plan for your life, that He provided everything necessary to save you from sin so you can get on track with His plan!
The Bible Says That All Men Are Born Sinners
Psalm 51:5- "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me"
Our sins have separated us from God.
Romans 3:23- "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God"
God made man in His own image. He gave man the ability to choose right from wrong. Ever since Adam, mankind chose to sin. Because of this sinful nature, we have all sinned. Our sins keep us from God and from His blessings.
God's Word Also Says That Sin leads to Death
"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a
Death = "To be cut off from the source of life resulting in spiritual, moral and physical decay & destruction." Sickness, poverty, fear, lust, anger, hate, immorality, unbelief, and even physical death have all come into the world as a result of sin.
The Good News Is That Jesus Paid For Our Liberty from Sin & Death
All of our sins were laid on Jesus on the cross. He paid our sin debt for us, and as a result we can be free from the curse of sin & death (sickness, fear, unbelief, immorality, poverty, etc). The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, and He arose from the dead. He is alive forevermore.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to become sin for us so we can be righteous in Him."
Romans 6:4- "Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also may walk in newness of life"
Romans 8:2 - "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin & death."
We Must Personaly Make Jesus Lord By Faith
The Bible says, "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we preach to you; That if you confess wih your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:8-10
Confessing Jesus as "Lord" is more than just lip-service. But it literally means you are giving Jesus leadership (lordship) of your life. Luke 6:46 (Jesus said) "Why do you call Me 'Lord' but not do the things which I say?" John 8:31 (Jesus said) "If you abide in My Word, you are truely My disciples (followers)"
Pray and Receive Jesus as Your Lord
Just say: "Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that you died on the cross to pay for my freedom from sin and all of it's consequences. So, in obedience to Your Word, I confess you, Jesus, as Lord and ask you to come into my life. Forgive me of all my sins and take leadership of my life. In Jesus Name Amen!"
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
If you prayed and confessed Jesus as Lord, then you are born again. As a result, the Bible says you are a member of God's Family.
Ephesians 2:12-13+19 - "You were without Christ, being aliens from the common wealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, without God in this world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ....For you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with all the saints and members of the household of God."
NOW WHAT?
(1) Find a Good Church to Attend- Everyone needs to attend a good church that preaches God's Word. You need to be taught how to live this new life of faith and there are many churches that can help you do just that. If you live in the Ohio Valley, then we invite you to join Living Word Church.
Ephesians 4:11-13- "Now these are the gifts that Christ gave to the church: the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do Hi swork and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
Hebrews 10:23-25 (NCV)- "Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what He promised. Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds. You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the Day [of Christ's return] coming."
If you do not live in our community then you may find a link to a good church near you at: Open Bible Churches Directory or at www.charismatic.org
(2) Be Baptized in Water- Water Baptism is an act of covenant. It is an outward confession of faith in Jesus, showing that your old sinful nature has died and you were spiritually buried with Jesus and have risen up a new person in Him.
Mark 16:16 (Jesus said)- "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." And Acts 2:38 says "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Romans 6:3-4- "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
(3) Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit- As a Christian, God has made His power available to you. The same power that Jesus had to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and live in victory, He has made available to you through the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." All you have to do to receive the power of the Holy Spirit is ask in faith. Luke 11:13 says "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." (Also look at: Luke 4:16-18, John 14:12, Mark 16:17-18, Acts 2:1-4+39, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:2-6)
(4) Pray & Read Your Bible Every Day- The key to any relationship is "Communication." Prayer and Bible study is the way we communicate with God.
Mark 11:24 says "Whatever things you ask, when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them."
The Bible is God's Word to you!
2 Corinthians 1:20 says "All of the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus." So as you read the Bible, you can find out what God has promised you and you can begin to know Him. Romans 10:17 says "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." So as you read the Bible, your faith will grow and develop. (Also see Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 119:89, Mark 4:14-25, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 1:16-25, 1 Peter 1:25, 2 Peter 1:3)
(5) Commit to live the new life- Colossians 3:5-10 (GWT)- "Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). 6It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him. 7You used to live that kind of sinful life. 8Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. 9Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, 10and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator."
Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)- "For the grace (unmerited favor & power) of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" Romans 5:2- "Through Jesus we have access into this grace by faith"
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NLT)- "Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them"
*Now, if you have just confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord, then please fill out our guest book and let us know. We would love to rejoice with you and help you grow in your new relationship with God! Guest Book (click here)