Can I Know God For Real?

Knowing About God Is Easy

Knowing about God is easy. The Bible says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19). God, however, came to earth to reveal Himself so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. That's right ... a personal relationship.  God is a "person" and you don’t really know Him until you have a personal relationship with Him. The loving promise of the Bible is that we can know God like this and that He wants us to know Him and share in His eternal life!

My Personal Encounter With Jesus 

From the time I was little, my parents taught me about that weekend when Jesus died and rose again.  I believed the report.  I believed He died on the cross and rose from the grave.  The only problem I had was that I believed it as facts on a printed page.  I believed in Jesus in the same way I believed in George Washington.  I had a mental assent to the truths of history.  But those truths didn’t make one bit of difference in my daily life.  In short, I was like the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians—I had head knowledge of Jesus, but no heart knowledge of Him.  I believed on paper, but not in practice.  I didn’t really know Him, I just simply knew about Him.

I was 17 years-old when the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection made a connection from my head to my heart.  The Lord revealed to me that I was a sinner, totally deserving of death and hell—with no way out, in and of myself.  It was at that moment that the cross and the empty tomb took on real meaning as I cried out to Jesus for salvation.  Alone in my bedroom on a Monday night in early 1980, I got down on my knees, and with all my heart prayed this simple prayer, “Save me, Jesus.”

And you know what?  He did!

That night, I put my faith and trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for my salvation.  In that split second of time, I passed from death to life (John 5:24).  I went from being a child of wrath to a child of God (Ephesians 2:3, John 1:12).  I was spiritually transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13).  I was born again and changed forever.  The Lord had come into my life to live in me and through me.  I certainly didn’t understand it all at the time, but I knew within a couple of weeks that my life could never be the same. 

It Must Be Personal To Be Effectual

Has the message of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection made it from your head to your heart?  Jesus didn’t die for a faceless humanity, He died for you (Galatians 2:20). He rose again for you. He wants you to know Him, not just know about Him. You see, it must be personal in order for His death and resurrection to be effectual in your life.

Christianity Is Unique

It’s not a religion; its a relationship with God through Christ, the Son.  Jesus came down to earth and became a man to reveal who (not "what") God is and how we can have a relationship with Him.  And Jesus clearly tells us who He is:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  

That is a pretty bold statement, and one shunned by the world, but that makes it no less true.  The very reason that Jesus came to earth is that God wants to have a personal, growing relationship with you.  Jesus says, “He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:21).  God sent His Son into the world so that we may truly know him ... not simply know about Him.

What is so special about the Bible?

Here Is The Big Problem

People don’t naturally want to know God. We were created to know and love God and to submit to His good and loving rule over us. Unfortunately, from the very beginning we didn’t like the idea of submitting to God’s rule. We wanted to rule ourselves without Him, to run our lives how we thought best. We think God should be friends with us, but only as our equal. But God made the world and He made us. He is the rightful ruler of it all. This response to God is what the Bible calls sin. But God will not let us treat him as less than God. One day we will be judged for the way we treat God.

Here Is The Great News:

Jesus came to reveal who God is, and to take our punishment for the way we’ve treated God. When Jesus died on the cross, He took our death and allowed us to be forgiven and have a relationship with God. God and Jesus love us so much that they made this huge sacrifice in order to have a relationship with us. Now all we have to do is say "yes" to having a relationship with God.

If you want to have a personal relationship with God, then you must understand four critical truths.

Four truths for knowing God 

1. God really does love you … and He really does have a great plan for your life.
   
   • God’s Love 

     "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

   • God's Plan
     "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
     Why do most people not experience the abundant life?
     
2. You and I have sinned and rebelled against God’s plan.
   • Our Sinful Nature

     “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
     

     God created us to have fellowship with him, but this fellowship has been broken because you and I followed our own stubborn will and went our independent way. This rebellion is what the Bible refers to as sin

   • Separated from God

     “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 is holy, man is sinful, and a great gulf separates the two. We cannot reach God and the abundant life through our own efforts. The "being a good person,” philosophy or religion will fail us.
     
     

3. Jesus Christ died to pay the price for all our sins … and He rose again from the dead.
   • Christ Died for You and Me

     “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

   • Christ Rose from the Dead
     “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 …” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

   • Christ is the Only Way to God
     “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’” (John 14:6).
     
     By sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place, God bridged the gap that separated us from Him

4. You and I must receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Only then can we really know God and experience His love, grace and plan for our lives.
   • We Must Receive Christ through Faith

     “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

     “For 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, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

   • Personally Invite Christ into Your Life
     “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him…” (Revelation 3:20).

     Receiving Christ involves repentance—turning from your sin and from your self-directed path to God. It is a surrendered act of the will, not just an emotional experience. However, it is generated by a realization that you are created by and loved by God.

The Big Question... 

Do you know that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? 

If not, today is the day where all of that can change. You can receive Christ today and receive the promise of eternal life in Heaven when you die.  Just pray sincerely, from your heart, a prayer like this.

"Lord Jesus, I need You. Lord, I believe You are God in the flesh, who died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead.  And Lord, I realize I am a sinner and I am lost and I need You.  I ask You to come into my life,  forgive me of all my sins, be my Lord and Savior.  I surrender my all to You and want to be your child.  I stand on Your Word.  And now I thank you Lord for saving me. In Your name I pray, Amen." 

If you prayed that kind of prayer, and meant it: the Lord has come into your heart and life and you will never be the same.  We’d love to hear from you. Please email us now so we can rejoice with you.

Love,