How to Know God

DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN?

Most people in this world WANT to go to heaven.  But how does a person get there?  What does the Bible say?  There are 4 Critical Truths a person must understand to go to heaven.

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 self-will and went our own 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. 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, NIV).
• 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 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 an act of the will, not just an emotional experience.