IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS
IGNITE YOUTH is all about Jesus. There is nothing more important than knowing Jesus. In everything we do we aim to make Jesus famous and point people towards him. All that we do is because of Him and is for Him. Our prayer and desire is that you would come to know Him as your own Saviour and Leader.
WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus is God who became man some 2,000 years ago. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and he lived on earth just over 30 years. He was a carpenter, but he was so much more than that. He lived a sinless life, he was tempted, he knew pain and sorrow, he was beaten and ultimately killed even though he did no wrong. This was all a part of God’s amazing plan to save you.
Philippians 2:6-11 Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, ”Jesus Christ is Lord!”
JESUS RESCUES
The name Jesus means God rescues or God saves. God created the earth and everything in it, he created humans and he created you. He created all things for his purpose and he created people for relationship with Himself. From the start of creation we see that people turn their backs to God and live their own way. This is what sin is. Sin is more than just doing naughty or wrong things, sin is living for yourself and not living for God.
Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
As well as living for ourselves the standard that God does set for us to live up to is at an impossible level. There is no way we could ever keep all of the rules and commands that are written in the Bible. This is bad news for us. Especially bad because the penalty for sin is death; eternal separation from God, from people and from everything that is good.
Romans 6:23 The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord
This is where Jesus steps in. God knew that we could never save ourselves. He knew we would fail and fall short of his standard. So he sent his prize, his only Son. Jesus came from heaven and lived a perfect life, he was killed for something he never did. God put all of our guilt, sin and shame on him. God poured his wrath out on Jesus instead of us. Jesus was our substitute – he rescued us. Because of this amazing gift and show of love we can now have a relationship with God again!
Romans 4:5 But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him
No longer is it up to us to perform to a certain standard, instead we need to put our faith in Jesus and what he has done. We can talk to God and walk with him and be confident he loves, accepts and approves of us because Jesus was the perfect substitute.
ACCEPT JESUS
You can accept Jesus into your life right now! If after reading this, maybe talking with some friends or hearing a message at a church service you feel like you want to give your heart to Jesus you can pray and ask and he will come in. You won’t necessarily have a light shine down on you. You may not feel any different at all after praying this prayer, but if you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and you want to give him your life you can be sure that you are saved.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
If you want to accept Jesus you can pray a prayer like this:
Dear God, I know I am not good enough on my own to be accepted by you and I don’t deserve your gift. I am guilty of living my own way and I need your forgiveness. Thank you for sending Jesus to die in my place. I give you my life and want to live your way from now on. Please help me to live for you. Amen.
If you have just prayed this prayer we would love to hear from you so we can help you in this new journey. You can either send us an email (youth@sbc.org.au) from the contact us page or call us on 03 5143 2727. We would love to see you at youth on friday night or church on a Sunday if you aren’t already coming along. We would also love to give you a Bible if you don’t have your own copy. Whatever you do make sure you tell someone about this decision you have made. We aren’t created to live in isolation, rather in a community. That is what church is all about, living for Jesus together.
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Article source: http://ithasstarted.com/2012/02/jesus/
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