If there were only two things you need in knowing God, they would be: the word and prayer.

 

THE WORD

The Bible is how God preserved the truth about who He is and His purpose for His creation. Our need for God, and how we can live in freedom, is outlined clearly within its pages. As believers of Jesus, everything we put our faith in is based on the Word (Rom 10:17). As we read it, God stirs our hearts to respond in faith to His words (John 6:63)!

 

You can interact more with the Word by:

• Starting to read it – try the Gospel of John! 
• Read daily – it may be a chapter, or just a few verses. Keep it consistent! 
• Expect to hear God speak as you read.
• Write down what God speaks to you! 

 

PRAYER

Prayer is communicating with God: hearing Him speak to you and expressing your heart to Him. Hearing God can come through reading the Bible, through other people God speaks through, and through “nudges” you sense in your spirit. Don’t worry about figuring out God’s voice immediately – as you reach out to Him earnestly, He promises to be found by you (Jer 33:3)! God wants a vibrant relationship with you – and that only comes through active communication. Set aside a time each day to quieten yourself and let God speak, and then express your heart and needs to God (Psalm 5:3).

TALK ABOUT IT:

• What are some ways you can start reading the Word and praying in your daily life?
• What is something God spoke to you about?

Now that you have made a decision to follow Jesus, you can expect that your past, present and future will be changed. Here’s what’s different!

 

YOUR PAST

Before we knew God and His love for us, we were ignorant of His presence and power available to us. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, in which He shed His blood for us, we can be forgiven of our sins. The Holy Spirit shows us our need for Jesus and His work on the cross, and helps us have faith in Him. When we accept Christ by faith in His work (Ephesians 2:8), we are cleansed from our sins and born again in our spirit (John 3:3-6).

 

YOUR PRESENT

Now we can understand spiritual truths and relate with God’s word by faith. We can enjoy God’s love and presence (Romans 5:5)! Through Jesus’ victory on the cross, we are free from our old attitudes, behaviours and habits. We are also no longer open to spiritual attacks and the world’s way of thinking.

 

YOUR FUTURE

We have eternity with God in heaven (John 3:16)! God also promises us a spiritual inheritance with Him forever.

 

TALK ABOUT IT:

• Is it easy to accept that you have been forgiven?
• How does knowing that there is an eternity in heaven ahead change your perspective in life?

When you become a Christian, there is an assurance of salvation, and many promises from God that you can claim for yourself. Your life changes and there is a greater desire for the things of God.

 

WHAT DOES GOD PROMISE?

• Eternal life

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

• Forgiveness of sins

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. – 1 John 1:9

• Belonging as a son or daughter

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12 

• Spiritual blessings

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. – Romans 8:17

 

HOW DOES SALVATION LOOK LIKE IN MY LIFE?

• You have a new mindset about sin, God and Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:17).
• You have a new beginning (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• Guilt and shame of your past sins are removed (Romans 5:1).
• You are gradually or immediately no longer stuck in old sinful habits and desires (Ephesians 1:7).

 

WHAT ARE SIGNS THAT I AM SAVED?

• A hunger to read and study the Bible.
• A desire to be in church or with other Christians.
• A knowledge and desire to live life God’s way.
• A desire to tell others about what Christ has done for you.

 

TALK ABOUT IT:

• What are some signs that you relate with?
• What are some ways you can start living in God’s blessings for you?

After you are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus, God begins a new work in you to set you free from bad habits and any bondages that may exist in your life. God wants you to be totally free so you can be all that He desires for you!

 

WHAT WE ARE

• Whether we realise it or not, we were all bound spiritually as a consequence of our mistakes. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23

• Our sins also gave Satan permission to rule, overpower and curse us (Galatians 5:19-21).
  • Our spiritual understanding was darkened (2 Cor 4:4).
  • Our soul was rejected and wounded.
  • Our bodies are weakened by sickness.
  • Our finances are constantly in lack (Malachi 3:10-12). 

 

WHAT WE HAVE

Christ’s work on the cross provided for us to be free. 

• But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing.

Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. – Galatians 3:13

• In Christ, the penalty of our sin is paid for, and the power of sin is broken over our lives. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun! – 2 Corinthians 5:17

• As we honour and respond to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we experience and enjoy the freedom Christ won for us. 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. – Romans 8:14

 

WHAT WE CAN DO

• Desire to be set free and to live in freedom.
• Identify the causes of bondages with the Holy Spirit’s help.
• Confess and turn away from our sin.
• Have faith to receive what Christ has done for us, with the Holy Spirit’s help.
• Pray and fast to strengthen our spirit.