Have You Experienced God's Grace?
God is the Sovereign Creator of the universe and all that is in it. He desires and deserves to be worshiped and glorified by all His creation. The Bible tells us that the confession of heaven will eternally resound, "Worthy are You, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created." (Rev. 4:11) That should be our attitude toward God right now and forever!
The sad truth is that, from the very beginning, all of humanity has rejected God by living life their own way, by their own rules. We are by nature and by choice rebellious toward God! The Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rm. 3:23) and, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside;" (Rm. 3:10-12a) We prefer to follow our own desires and live self-centered and that is what the Bible calls 'sin'.
God won't let us rebel forever! One day He will punish our sin by pouring out His wrath in judgment. But because of His great love and grace God did not leave us to suffer the consequences of our foolish rebellion. He provided the infinite payment for our sin in the infinite value of the gift of His Son. Jesus of Nazareth never rebelled against God, He never sinned. The Bible says, "For our sakes He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21) This is a undeserved gift, it is a gracious gift!
This gift is to received by faith. Jesus preached one simple message while on earth, "repent and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Biblical Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin and believing that His death satisfied your debt of rebellion toward God and that God has raised Christ from the dead to give us who believe a victorious life in the present and life eternal with Him. Biblical Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin and a sincere commitment to forsake sin and live in obedience toward God. Faith and Repentance are the two-side to the coin of Conversion! When a person repents and believes God makes them into a new creation with a new nature that has the ability and desire to worship Him and glorify Him as we ought. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." (2 Cor. 5:17a)
By making us a new creation God has given us a life that can know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. He gives us ears to hear Him when He speaks, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Rm. 10:17) and eyes to see Him when He acts, "everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life," (Jn. 6:40b). Eternal life is all about knowing Him and Him knowing you; "I know My own and My own know Me," (Jn. 10:14).
Don't you want to know Him? If so, then listen carefully for His voice. Talk to Him in prayer. You could say something like this,
"Dear God, I know I am not worthy to be accepted by You. I know I have rebelled against You and Your rule over my life. I need forgiveness. Thank you for sending Jesus to pay for my sin on the cross and raising Him from the dead to give me new life. Please change me that I might live with Jesus as my Savior and Lord and King! Amen."
Then surrender your whole self, your whole life to Him. He deserves to be your Ruler and Master. He is such a great King and He can take care of you. He can provide your every need, He will be with you every step of your life. He will hang on to you even when you feel like you can no longer hang on to Him. Keep Trusting, Keep Repenting!
Your life in Christ will become such a wonder-filled journey of faith that without Him living would be such a waste and eternity will be such a loss.
If have any questions, or feel like God might be speaking to you, please call our church office at (352) 475-2820 or send us an email at pastor@eliambaptist.org . We would love to help you!
