How a Person Begins the Journey with Jesus
God is holy and man sinful. As a result they are separated. For Holy God to touch sinful man would defile Him. Because man is sinful he is separated from God. To connect with God either requires for man to become good enough to get to God (what most religions teach but is near impossible) or would require God in some way to bridge the gap to man.
This is the entire point of the Trinity. It isn’t 3 Gods at all - but one God, 1 essence, as 3 persons. Each of those persons bring something to the table that we need and that allows God’s nature to remain consistent and true. God can bridge to man and remain God without violating his character or nature. The sad truth is, most people - Christians included - see the Trinity as a mystery - which is true, but the problem with stopping there is you never see the practical implications of how the nature and work of God is at work in redeeming mankind. Something far more serious is at stake - the definition of who God is.
God, the Father - who created all things and all people - created man and the world he lives in to have fellowship with him, but because of sin man is now separated and holy divine God cannot touch man in his current estate. So, The Father sends the Word - as John 1 says. The word is both divine - from the essence of God, and human - a real man. This is what Christians call the Son of God. This doesn’t mean God had sex with Mary in a physical way - that is blasphemy to the follower of Jesus - it was spiritual. But that spiritual life gave way to a spiritual, divine, and human being. He had a heavenly father, and an earthly mother, Mary.
Jesus lived a sinless life, the only person to have ever done that. As a result the God (divine) man (completely human as well) could redeem us from our lost and sinful condition. As the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) sacrifices were made, so Jesus was a once and for all sacrifice that would end all sacrifices because of what he did for all of humanity. The cross was not a result of the Jews - Jesus said he gave his life voluntarily. The cross was a result of all of our sin and the need of forgiveness and reconciliation to God. The sacrifice worked and could be accepted because first as a human being he was sinless - so complete incarnation or identification with humanity. Second, because he was God and was divine it would be accepted - to not be accepted God would be rejecting himself.
So, when Jesus lived a sinless life, and died for our sins, and was resurrection as proof of the completion of the process for our redemption - he sent us God the Spirit. The Father is still in tact and present, the Son is with the Father and the same, and the Spirit now lives inside every single follower of Jesus. The role of the Spirit is to give us the power to live the Christian life and follow Jesus. Because God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (all places at once) he exists as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the Spirit literally lives inside of us and allows us to live a life in Christ. So our model or pattern of life is Jesus - but we cannot live that life without the divine life of God - thus the Holy Spirit living inside us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of the wrong in our life, guides us daily, gives us the power to overcome sin and do what Jesus tells us. This is fantastic news - not only does Jesus redeem us for eternity but redeems us daily in all that we face, and walks with us in all that we do, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God is multi-dimensional and as such all that he is enables us to connect with him.
How do we receive this divine life of God?
First, as Romans 3:23 says, we all have to admit that we have sinned and need to be redeemed from ourselves.
Second, we also realize that God loved us so much that he came to redeem us, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes on him will not perish but have everlasting life. “
Third, as Romans 10:9-10, 13 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved, 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved . . . 13 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
You can say a prayer in your own words or you can say something like this, “God, I know that I’ve sinned and am separated from you. I acknowledge that you are God Jesus. Thank you for what you did on the cross for my sins. From this point forward I am going to follow you - but I can’t do it on my own. Fill me with your Spirit so that I will have the strength and power to follow you. Amen.”
This is just the beginning of the journey. You can have confidence that he is within you and will stay with you. Now it’s important to begin to grow in your faith by daily praying, getting into God’s Word and finding a group of believers you can grow with and find encouragement and strength with. No matter where you live in the world, there are people who follow Jesus. If you need help, I can help you find some.
Feel free to ask questions, disagree - you won’t offend me in the least. Regardless of any persons religion or beliefs - I will always pray for you, serve you in any way I can, and be your friend.


Comments
Jul 28, 2011 at 09:17 AM
Awesome...no need to respond!
Aug 18, 2011 at 10:15 PM
Pastor,
Your phrase "or would require God in some way to bridge the gap to man" really propmpted a visual for me. God the Father, distant and separated from man, sends God the Son to live side-by-side with man. Moving closer, God the Father sends God the Spirit, aka. the Spirit of Christ, to move God's presence from beside man to inside man, at the very core of his being. For me, it was a much clearer picture of the fullness of God's redemptive pursuit of us. There is a friend who loves us closer than a brother....
Sounds to me like a sermon series we could call "Closer" ......
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