How to find God
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
Whether you are seeking God or not, the reality is that he is seeking you. All you need to do is respond. In this short article I'll explain how you can enter into a personal relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ.
***All Bible verses are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible.***
God's Plan
Did you know that God has a plan for your life? His plan for you can be found in the following Bible verse:
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)
God's plan for you is that you live forever! Here's something else Jesus said that confirms this:
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26)
Believe in Jesus and even if you die here in this world, you'll still be alive! But where will you be living? Where Jesus is:
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:1-3)
This then is God's plan for you: enternal life in the heavenly home Jesus is preparing for those who believe in him. But what about God's plan for us here and now in this life?
"This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3)
In other words, eternal life starts here when you believe in Jesus. God wants you to know him in this life you're presently living. His plan is that you have a personal relationship with him, the same kind of relationship people had with him in the stories you read in the Bible. In other words, to be his children and he our heavenly Father; to walk with him and be guided by him; to hear his voice and experience his loving presence; and to see his saving power working in you and through you, bringing healing and deliverance to yourself and to those you minister to.
That in a nutshell is God's plan for us here and now in this present world. And then afterwards, to inherit everlasting life. The apostle Peter describes our future inheritance like this:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
What a wonderful plan God has for us! And it's for all of us ― for everyone!
Hey, wait a minute. Why would God want you to know him and live with him forever?
The answer is simple: because he loves you. Here's that first verse again, read it carefully:
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)
Our Problem
Now you know what God's plan is for you and why he made that plan. The question now becomes how you can enter into his wonderful plan. That's where the difficulty arises. Because, you see, there's a problem. And it's not on God's side, it's on our side:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
It's the presence of sin in us that's holding back God's plan from being fulfilled in our lives. And while we may think that we're not that bad, God sees things differently:
For no one living is righteous before you. (Psalm 143:2)
Why does God see things differently? Because he not only sees everything we do, he also sees what's in our hearts:
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2)
And because of sin ― not just the bad things we say or do, but also the secret things we think and feel in our hearts ― God has his back turned towards us:
Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
Fortunately God has a remedy for our problem.
God's Remedy
God's remedy for our sinfulness has actually already been described in that verse we looked at earlier:
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)
God's remedy for our sins ― which alianates us from his presence and prevents us from having a relationship with him ― has something to do with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The above verse says that God gave his son for us. What exactly does that mean?
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
The word tree here refers to the cross that Jesus was crucified on. And when it says that Jesus bore our sins, it means our sins are taken away from us and placed upon him. As a result, instead of us having to suffer the penalty (death) for our sins, Jesus paid the penalty for us when he died on the cross:
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
By applying God's remedy to ourselves, we are brought into a personal relationship with God:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18)
Jesus's sacrifical death on the cross is the remedy for our sins which have separated us from God. By applying that remedy, we enter into God's plan that we should know him personally and be with him forever.
So. How exactly do we apply this remedy? Well, it's all about how we respond to God's offer of salvation.
Our Response
The bottom line is that you need to do something to enter into God's plan for you. What is it you must do? You must receive Christ:
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)
When you receive Jesus Christ, you are born again as a child of God. Remember what while you may think you've been seeking God, it's actually God who sent Jesus into the world to seek for you:
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
And when you find the living God ― or actually are found by him ― you become a new person in Christ:
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)
The key to all this is in what you've been reading here: God's message to the world which is contained in the Bible, the Word of God. It's also called the gospel, which is an Old English word that basically means good news. And being able to personally know the living God and live with him forever sounds like some darn good news, doesn't it? :-)
Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)
But what exactly does it mean to receive Jesus Christ? God is offering you salvation; how do you receive it? Let me break it down for you in four steps:
STEP 1 ― You must start by admitting your sin:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)
Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. Are you lost without him? If so, proceed to the next step. If not, try thinking about your life some more, who you are and what you've done or have wished to have done.
STEP 2 ― Once you can admit that you're a sinner, you must repent from your sins. Repenting means turning away from the sinful things you say and do:
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19-20)
STEP 3 ― You must also believe that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins by dying on the cross for you:
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)
STEP 4 ― Finally, you must call upon Jesus through prayer so you can receive God's Spirit into your heart and be born again:
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
By acknowledging your sin and repenting, and demonstrating your belief in Jesus by calling upon him, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit:
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38)
And the promise is for everyone that God is calling to himself. That includes you.
Want to learn more about what it's like to be born again through Jesus Christ? Read
my testimony.
Blessings in Christ,
Mitch
