FINDING A REASON TO LIVE

Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 (TLB) 

• You were separated from God but God took the initiative to restore you to a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba (Daddy), Father.” Romans 8:15 (NLT)

The kind of FAITH that reconciles you to God is not just religious belief. 

It is trusting God as a child loves his mother and father. 

Of course there are children who have good reason not to trust their parents but God is never an unkind, unfair or abusive father.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV) 

The Lord Jesus was with the Heavenly Father in the endless eternity before the creation of the universe. Jesus, God the Son, no less divine than the Father, looked down the centuries and saw you in need of forgiveness and restoration. 

• He knew His Father was just. 

• He knew you would mess up your life. 

• He knew you deserved judgement but He wanted to save you.

 Before the first angel saw the face of God, before the first star shone in the sky, Jesus decided to be born as a baby just like us. He decided that He would submit to a cruel execution on the cross.

• Why? So He would be punished in your place. So you could be forgiven and be fully restored to God.

Jesus trusted His Father to raise Him up from death.You can trust the Father as Jesus did.You can trust Jesus who sacrificed Himself so amazingly for you.

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

• We cannot earn God’s favour. 
• We all messed up our lives in different ways. 
• None of us can claim to be good like Jesus. 
• Our sin cut us off from the presence of God but God gave His only son to give us our lives back again. 

It is a free gift and you must accept God’s loving favour as a free gift or not at all. 

Jesus paid the full price to ransom us from death, from hell and eternal despair. We cannot add any co-payment. He has done it all.

But you must do something to receive His favour. 

Supposing you inherited a fortune from your rich father. He gave you a mansion and a huge bank balance. 

How can you enter into your inheritance?

• You must to see a lawyer and take possession of the title deeds. 

• You must move into the house.
• You honour the father who gave you everything.
• You learn to look after the mansion and use it to provide shelter and hospitality for your family and for those people that God wants you to care for.
• You invest your inherited money to be a blessing. You invest your life in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus taught the parable of the Talents. 

The master gave his servants wealth to invest and went away. Two servants invested wisely and doubled their money but a third servant buried his money and gave it back to the master when he returned. 

• He was like the passive believer who tried to use his faith as a ticket to heaven but did nothing with the gifts of God.

Jesus sternly warned people who passively use salvation as fire insurance.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

• For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness....Matthew 25:28-30 (ESV) 

Jesus AND also Paul taught:

REPENT and believe ....

Dare to believe and invest your whole life for Jesus.

He died for you but also for millions of others.