Knowing God Personally

Jesus said, 'I have come that you might have life ~ life in all its fullness.'
John 10:10

This page explains how you can know God personally and experience the life that he promised.

1 God loves you and created you to know him personally

God loves you

'For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die, but have eternal life'
John 3:16

God wants you to know him

Jesus said, 'Eternal life means knowing you, the only true God, and knowing Jesus Christ, whom you sent.' John 17:3

Why is it that most people do not know God in this way?

2 We are separated from God by our sin, we cannot know him or experience his love

We are all sinful

'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'
Romans 3:23

What is sin ?

Sin is wanting to go our own way instead of God's way. We show this attitude by openly disobeying God or by simply ignoring him.

Sin separates us from God

'For the wages of sin are death.' (Separation from God forever)
Romans 6:23

God is perfect and we are sinful. There is a great gap between us because of our sin. Something is missing from our lives that nothing else-Friends, money, work or leisure- can satisfy. We can try to bridge this gap ourselves by our own good deeds or even by religious activities. But all our efforts will fail because they do not deal with problem of sin.

The third point gives us the solution to this problem ...

3 Jesus Christ is God's solution for our sin. Through him alone we can know God and experience his love

He died in our place

'For Christ died for sins once for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God.'.
1 Peter 3:18

He came back to life

'For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive.'
Acts 1:3

He is the only way to God

Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the father except by me.'
John 14:6

We all deserve to be cut off from God forever, as the just penalty for our sin. But God sent his Son Jesus to pay the penalty for us, by dying on the cross. Through Jesus, God has bridged the gap which separates us from him. So now we can know God and be forgiven for our sin.

It is not enough just to know these facts…

4 We must receive Jesus Christ into our lives as Saviour and Lord. Then we can know God and experience his love

We must receive Jesus Christ

'Some did receive him and believed in him so he gave them the right to become God' s children.'
John 1:12

Receiving Jesus Christ involves:

Agreeing with God that we are sinful and wanting to turn from our sins to God.
Trusting God to forgive us completely because Jesus Christ died for our sins.
Choosing to follow Jesus Christ as Lord.

Jesus promises to come into our lives when we receive him

Jesus said. 'Listen, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him and he will eat with me.'
Revelation 3:20

So it is not enough just to know or feel that these facts are true. We have a choice to make…

These circles describe two kinds of people:

Self-directed person:

Self on the throne of their life

Jesus Christ outside their life

People like this have never invited Jesus Christ into their lives.
They remain guilty and cut off from God by their sin.

Christ-directed person

Jesus Christ on the throne of their life

Self following Jesus Christ as Lord

People like this have received Jesus Christ into their lives.
They have been forgiven and experience God's love.

Which circle better describes you?

Which circle would you like to describe you?

The next section explains how you can invite Jesus Christ into your life ...

You can invite Jesus Christ into your life by faith expressed in prayer.

(Prayer is talking to God)

God is not concerned with words as he is with your attitude. Here is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am sorry that I have been going my own way instead of your way.
Thank you for dying to take away my sin. Please come into my life and make
me the person you want me to be.
Amen.

Could you say this to God and mean it?

Make this your prayer now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life as he promised.

What happens when you put your trust in Jesus Christ?

If you have invited Jesus Christ into you life as Saviour and Lord, many things have happened, including:

Jesus Christ has come into your life by his Spirit and he will never leave you. (Revelation 3:20. Hebrews 13:5)
All your sins have been forgiven. (Colossians 1:13,14)
You have become a child of God. He is your father. (Galatians 3:26)
You have begun a relationship with God that will last forever, and for which God made you.
(John 17:3, John 10:10)

How can you be sure that all this has really happened?

You can know That Jesus Christ is in your life because God has promised and he can be trusted.

'The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son. Whoever has the Son, has this life, Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life - you that believe in the Son of God.'
1 John 5:11-13

Thank God often that Jesus Christ is in your life, and that he will never leave you.
Romans 8:38,39

You can know that the Spirit of Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the moment you invited Christ into your life, because he has promised.

Wheat about feelings?

Do not depend on how you feel.

We can always rely on God and his promises in the Bible. But we cannot always rely on our feelings. Because of this, the Christian lives by trusting God and what he has said through the Bible, rather than by trusting in feelings - which may come and go.

The train will run with or without the guard's van, but it would be impossible to pull the train by the guard's van. In the same way it is important to rely on God and what he has said in the Bible, and not to be pushed around by our feelings.

Suggestions for Christian growth

Our faith in God grows as we trust God with every detail of our lives. You will find it helpful to:

G	Get to know God by reading the Bible (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
R	Respond to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6)
O	Obey God moment by moment (Luke 6:46-49)
W	Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit (Col 2:6.;Eph 3:14-21;5:18)
T	Tell others about Jesus Christ by life and words (Matthew 28:18-20;2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Ephesians 4:1)
H	Have fellowship with other Christians (Heb 10:25: Acts 2:42-47)

Several logs burn brightly together, but put one aside on the cold hearth, and its fire goes out. In the same way it is very hard to live the Christian life by yourself. Go to a church where Jesus is worshipped and the Bible is taught, and join with others who have come to know God and experiencing his love.

If this has been helpful to you, please tell others of our address: http://ccb.org.uk/knowing_god
In this way you can help another person to come to know God personally.

Agapé UK
Fairgate House
Kings Road
Tyseley
B11 2AA

Tel: 0121 765 4404
Fax: 0121 765 4065

e-mail: info@agape.org.uk

web: www.agape.org.uk