Welcome to your New Life

Transcription

1

2 Welcome to your New Life Welcome to a whole new way of doing life, a better life than you ever dreamed of. Jesus Christ, the Giver of Life, has assured us: I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture. A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. John 10:9-10 (emphasis added) To everyone who accepts His invitation to life, He promises: With me you ll recover your life. I ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28b-29 (MSG) The Bible tells us: By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. Christ has also introduced us to God s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 (CEV) 1

3 He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature 2 Peter 1:4 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn t gladly and freely do for us? Romans 8:31-32 (MSG) We encourage you as you take up your new life, empowerd by God Himself to live in a way that pleases Him, to take your everyday, ordinary life your sleeping, eating, going-towork, and walking-around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Living then, as every [believer] does, in pure grace, it s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Romans 12:1-3 (MSG) 2

4 All Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV - English Standard Version of the Holy Bible - unless otherwise indicated translations and paraphrases used in this publication Abbreviations AMP ASV BBE CEV ESV GNB ISV KJV LITV MSG MWBE NAS NKJV TLB Amplified Bible American Standard Version The Bible in Basic English Contemporary English Version English Standard Version Good News Bible International Standard Version King James Version Literal Translation of the Holy Bible The Message Mirror Word Bible in English New American Standard Bible New King James Version The Living Bible 3

5 A New Lifetable of contents WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LIFE 1 A NEW LIFE BORN AGAIN! 5 CAN I BE SURE OF THIS NEW BIRTH? 7 DO I REALLY NEED A SAVIOUR? 7 IS JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY TRUE SAVIOUR? 9 FREE WILL IT S YOUR CHOICE 10 BUT AM I NOT ALREADY CHOSEN? 10 MY PRAYER 12 A MIRACLE HAS TAKEN PLACE! 13 A NEW NATURE 13 THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOW YOUR GUIDE 14 RELEASED FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS 14 A NEW HEART 15 PEACE WITH GOD 15 A NEW LIFESTYLE 16 INNER PURITY 16 OLD HABITS MUST DIE 16 A NEW SET OF VALUES 16 A NEW FAMILY 17 YOU NOW LIVE IN THE LIGHT 18 GOD S REPRESENTATIVE 19 PRACTICAL TIPS 20 PRAY 20 READ YOUR BIBLE 20 WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU STUMBLE AGAIN? 21 I HAVE DECIDED 22 SHARING THE GOOD NEWS WITH OTHERS 23 WE BELIEVE 24 4

6 A new life - born again! THE NEW BIRTH THE KEY TO ETERNAL LIFE Every human being enters into this life on earth through a natural birth. Your birth is recorded in your country s population register. If you are born in South Africa, you are a South African Citizen. It is recorded in your passport. In order to gain access to heaven, you must be born again (or from above ). You need to be born as a child of the King of Kings if you want to be a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven. There is a spiritual birth that you must go through in order to get your heavely passport. Your name needs to be registered in the Kingdom s population register. The Bible refers to it as the Book of Life (see Revelation 20:15). The Bible tells us about Nicodemus, a prominent Jewish Leader of his day, who came to Jesus one night with his questions. He was surprised when Jesus told him about being born again as the door to life in God s Kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:3,5 Unless you are born again, you will never access the life of God that is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the new birth is a spiritual birth and that it brings about a spiritual change in your life. The new birth can only take place when you believe that God really loves you and you embrace the new life He offers by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. 5

7 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 This new life does not take place in a natural way; it is not caused by a biological or an earthly father. It comes from God our Heavely Father, through His Holy Spirit. It becomes a reality when you say: Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of- God selves. These are the God-begotten John 1:12,13a (MSG) In 1 Peter 1:23 we read: you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. In Hebrews 7:16 it is called an indestructible life. 6

8 CAN I BE SURE OF THIS NEW BIRTH? MOST DEFINITELY, YES! This assurance is two-fold: You have the witness of the Holy Spirit confirming it within your heart. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 1 John 5:10 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God Romans 8:16 It is also a cognitive awareness, since you used your free will making a conscious choice when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You will know if you have accepted Jesus. You might not remember the exact date of the occasion, but you will know, without any doubt, that there was a day on which you committed your life to Christ. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:12-13 DO I REALLY NEED A SAVIOUR? YES! We all do. Sin and death have been a harsh reality in every person s life ever since the time of Adam. 7

9 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. Romans 5:12,14-15 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. Romans 5:18-19 (MSG) 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. You must make the choice to accept what He is offering you. You must choose freedom though the death of Jesus, to be reconciled through Him to God. Sin s deserved outcome is death BUT God gives us the UNDESERVED GIFT of Eternal Life! For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 God s gift to mankind (to you and I), is forgiveness and eternal life. Like every gift that we are offered in life, the gift of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ must be accepted before it becomes your own. It doesn t automatically belong to you just because Jesus offered it. The moment that you realise that God in Jesus has already paid the full price for your salvation and forgiveness and you accept Him that is the moment of your new birth! 8

10 IS JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY TRUE SAVIOUR? YES, JESUS IS THE ONLY SAVIOUR; THERE IS NO-ONE ELSE. She (Mary) will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:11-12 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:43 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 What Jesus told Nicodemus nearly 2000 years ago, is still valid today. We may try to live a good life, go to church on a regular basis and do good deeds. That although it is good in and of itself is not good enough to secure our entry into heaven or set us up to live a Godquality life. We need to be born again if we want to be part of God s heavenly family, living the God-kind of life. 9

11 FREE WILL IT S YOUR CHOICE Every human being has been given a free will, and the direction of his or her life will be determined by the quality of his or her decisions. Without free will, human beings would just be robots or puppets that function according to instinct or programming. Your choice to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour can only be activated by your own free will. And that choice will determine the quality of your life, both in the here-and-now and in eternity. you make the choice This choice is, in effect, your signature in the Book of Life. Through your choice you are born into the family of God. Like a young woman receiving a marriage proposal from the young man who loves her if she doesn t say yes, she will lose out on the joy of a married life with the man of her dreams. That life begins by her accepting him, taking on a new identity and entering into a whole new family. If you don t choose to accept Jesus Christ, you will lose out forever on being His closest companion, a child of God, part of His family. BUT AM I NOT ALREADY CHOSEN? Before the foundations of the earth (before everything began) God (the Alpha and Omega) wrote your name in the Book of Life (see Revelation 13:8 / 17:8 / 1:11, 17 & 18). God determined that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you are chosen in Him (see Ephesians 1:4). 10

12 The Book of Life works on the same principle as a contract. When you want to buy property, you make an offer that will be written into the contract. With that, you give a bank guarantee that you have the necessary funds to be able to honor the terms of the contract. When the other person signs the contract, the contract then becomes valid. In the same way, God already entered your name in The Book of Life before the foundations of the earth, giving the holy life of Jesus as the perfect offer and guarantee to buy (redeem) your unholy life out of darkness. Your prayer, where you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, becomes your signature in the Book of Life that activates everything. The BOOK OF LIFE is the record of God s choice and yours For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:18-19 When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you sign your name in the Book of Life - it validates God s decision to save you from your sin. This means that you accept God s offer and the gift of Eternal Life is now yours. You are now born again! 11

13 MY PRAYER The new life (from your side) is accessed through a decision and prayer. The choice is yours. If you want to make this choice - to make Jesus your Lord and Saviour of your life - pray the following out loud: Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I turn to You in repentance. Luke 5:32; Romans 5:8; 1 Timothy 1:15 I realise now that on the cross of Calvary, You became sin for me, paying the full price for my salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13, 14 I believe that You are the Son of God and that I now receive my forgiveness in Your Name by believing in You. Acts 10:43 and 26:18 I am also willing to forgive all who have sinned against me and to make amends wherever possible where I have sinned against others. Matthew 6:12 and 18:21-35 I realise that You are the only true Saviour and therefore I want to accept You as my Lord and Saviour. John 14:6 and 1:12,13 I believe that You died in my place and for my sins... and I believe that God has raised me from the dead together with You so that I can live the life You have for me together with You. Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6; 1 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1 In faith, I now receive You as my Lord and Saviour. John 1:12,13; Acts 2:36 I now receive the gift of Eternal Life and with that my heavenly passport. John 3:16 Thank you that I am now a child of God and that You, Holy Spirit, live in me. John 1:12, 13; Ephesians 1:13,14; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30 12 Thank You, Lord Jesus; Amen

14 a miracle has taken place One of the greatest miracles that you will ever experience, has just taken place; you are now at the beginning of new and exciting life. A New Nature - this is what has just happened to you: THE SPIRIT OF GOD HAS COME TO LIVE IN YOU But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 1 John 5:10a In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God Romans 8:14, 16 13

15 THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOW YOUR GUIDE The Holy Spirit Who now lives within you is your guide. He enlightens your eyes to see and understand all the spiritual truths of the Word of God. All you need to do is ask Him to help you every time you read the Bible. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:13 Paul prays in Ephesians 1:18 that we would have the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. RELEASED FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins... Colossians 1:13-14 Jesus has now taken over the ownership of your life. He is going to manage it with love and wisdom. This does not mean that He will be going on a fault-finding mission; it means He will be showing you the truth in love; He will be there to help you step away from a life of failure and frustration so that you can live in complete victory over the enemy. 14

16 A NEW HEART And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27 PEACE WITH GOD Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Hebrews 10:17 God is no longer thinking about you in terms of your past (and neither should you) therefore there is peace between you and God. Isn t that great? 15

17 A New Lifestyle - radical change from the inside out INNER PURITY To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood Revelation 1:5b As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 OLD HABITS MUST DIE Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 A NEW SET OF VALUES But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Philippians 3:7 16

18 You Are Now Part Of A New Family God settles the solitary in a home. Psalm 68:6 God places you in a spiritual household and within a spiritual family. You need to be connected to a church and preferably be part of a small group. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another Hebrews 10:24-25b And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes Acts 2:46 GOD IS NOW YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER. YOU CAN TALK TO HIM ON A DAILY BASIS LIKE ANY EARTHLY CHILD WOULD TALK TO THEIR FATHER. The Our Father Prayer that Jesus taught us (Matthew 6:9-13) is a model prayer. It is a good foundation on which to pattern a conversation with God; it is one of many ways God has given us to talk to Him. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! Romans 8:15 17

19 YOU NOW LIVE IN THE LIGHT DARKNESS HAS NO PLACE IN YOUR LIFE But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 Light has the ability to expose things. When you confess to Him something that you previously did in the dark, you bring it into the light of His love. The blood of Jesus can break the power of sin, destroying any hold that it may have had on you. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5b And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. John 3:19-21 Faith in the liberating power of God s light releases that power to overcome any form of darkness in your life. It s that simple: when you speak God s truth into your life, you will find that the Word of God which is light will overcome the darkness. For if, because of one man s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 18

20 YOU ARE NOW ONE OF GOD S REPRESENTATIVES You need to share what God has done for you with others so that He can do the same for them. Your conversation and lifestyle must be a testimony of everything that has happened to you in becoming a child of God. in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 Remember: Nobody gets into heaven by accident. Godly parents are also not the key to eternal life. A good life can t save you. Good people don t get into heaven; believers do! There is no second chance once this life is over. What you decide to do in this life with God s love (brought to you in Jesus Christ), will set you up for eternity it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment Hebrews 9:2 19

21 Practical Tips PRAY Make conversation with God in prayer a daily priority You are now a child of the Living God and you need to develop a healthy relationship with Him. Almighty God, the Creator of all things, is actually your Heavenly Father and when you pray, you can call Him Father (Romans 8:15,16; Galatians 4:6). Jesus is your Lord (Master & Owner) because He paid for your sins with His precious blood and freed you from darkness. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead (Trinity). You can also speak to Him and experience Him speaking to you. He is Immanuel (God with us) and you can ask Him to help you to pray and understand the Bible (John 16:13-15). READ YOUR BIBLE DAILY Start by reading John s Gospel and then the letters (Epistles) of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. Read them through a couple of times before your read the rest of the Bible. After that, read James, 1st Peter, the Gospel of Mark and the book of Acts. It would be good to read through the whole New Testament next, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal God s heart and mind for you through what you read. Remember to read the Bible prayerfully and continuously ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you read. Sometimes it helps if you underline the verses in your Bible that stand out for you with a pencil or coloured pen. 20

22 WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU STUMBLE AGAIN? You are now a child of the Living God. You were a lost sinner, but when you accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, God the Father saved you. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Colossians 1:13 When a man marries a woman, she takes the man s surname as evidence of the fact that they are legally married. If she does something wrong that offends her husband, it doesn t mean that she no longer has the right to be called his wife and that she must take back her maiden name again. What she has done will bring tension into the relationship and, if left unaddressed, can become a barrier between them. It affects the quality of their relationship, but it cannot change the fact that they are in relationship. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37 Just like the wife must ask her husband for forgiveness so that the barrier between them can be removed, and the quality of their love relationship be restored, we must ask God for forgiveness for what we have done to Him and ask that He restore us to intimate relationship with Him. Like any marriage, or the relationship between a father and daughter/ son, your relationship with God can grow more intimate and rewarding with every passing day. Deal immediately with whatever mistakes you might have made by bringing it to Him, asking for His forgiveness and cleansing. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Remember that in Jesus Christ, you are now part of a winning team. 21

23 I have decided to follow Jesus I (MY NAME) BECAME A CHILD OF THE LIVING GOD ON.. (DATE) MY NAME IS NOW WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE AND WITH MY SIGNATURE I CONFIRM IT. SIGNATURE WITNESS Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. - John 3:3-22

24 HOW DO I SHARE THIS GOOD NEWS WITH OTHERS? Tell someone about God s love for you and the fact that He has forgiven you for all your sin, inviting you to become a member of His family a child of God the Father; a companion of Christ the Son; a temple or dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit. Ask them whether they are AWARE of the fact that Jesus life, death and resurrection is God s way of telling them how much He loves them? God loves them so much that He wants them to to be born into His family, becoming His child. They can live every day in freedom, in victory over sin and guilt, forgiven, restored and intimately loved by God. Ask them if they BELIEVE that when Jesus gave His life for them His death dealt with their sinful past? His burial dealt with their sinful nature? His resurrection restored them to a whole new life with Him? Ask them if they are willing to CONFESS what they believe God has done for them in Christ? because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Romans 10:9-10). Pray with them lead them in praying the same prayer you prayed when you became born again into the family of God (See MY PRAYER on Page 12) Invite them also to add their signature to their BIBLE as you have done in yours just like they are entering their signature into the Book Of Life in heaven. 23

25 WE BELIEVE WE BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as the only Way to the Father, the Truth and the life that brings restoration in all the brokenness of the creation. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, that consists of born again believers. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus Romans 3:

26 Please contact us if you have any questions about this product. We would like to engage with you further on how to grow to maturity as a believer: DOXA DEO PARKVIEW (w) parkview@doxadeo.org WEBSITE: Doxa Deo A NEW LIFE 25

27

28