Friday, January 22, 2016

TRANSFORMING LOVE (GOD DRAWS YOU, PART 1)


CHAPTER 2
PART 1
God draws YOU
And I…will draw all men unto me…” (John 12:32).
I WANT YOU
God chose you and then He goes out of His way to draw you to Himself. Draw for this book will mean to “attract through purposeful effort.”  
In God’s heart he chose you and says “I want you,” therefore, I will draw you to me. “And I, if I (Jesus, the Word) be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).
We are also told that no one can come to God unless He draws them (John 6:64). Everyone “who listens to the Father” and “learns from him” will come to God (John 6:45).
Once God has chosen you, he plans to attract you by purposefully by making an effort to get your attention through the good news of the gospel.
Jesus Christ is the “good news” and by listening to it (the Word) and learning from it; it will draw you to God. "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me (John 6:45.
GOOD NEWS
Again, listening to and learning about the “good news” draws you to believe, accept, or receive what you need to be saved from your sins, its effects, it consequences, and to be reconciled to God.  
Salvation (deliverance from your sins through faith in Christ) is not a therapeutic intervention, but it is similar to a therapeutic intervention.
Intervention is a desire to help someone who is in trouble but can’t – through their own self-effort - get out of that trouble; so someone steps in with a solution.
God originally created man in his image, but sin destroyed that image in man and NOW mankind is in trouble through the bondage of sin.
ALL, NO EXCEPTIONS
Being in bondage to sin means, “….ALL have sinned and [fallen] short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
In other words, everyone has fallen short of the original created image of God. Unfortunately, “… there [is] none righteous; no not one” (Romans 3:10). 
Many people have decided “…there is no God…” and “they [have become] corrupt, their deeds are vile [and] there is no one who does good...” (Psalms 14:1).
When God is absent from your life every action is infected by sin; even the ones you think are good. There is absolutely, “….no one who does good, not even ONE” (Romans 3:12).
You and every single person on earth “….have become…..unclean and [their] righteous acts are like filthy rags….” (Isaiah 64:6).
NO GOOD DEEDS WITHOUT GOD
Without God, your every action is marred with sin as one with a terminal cancer called wickedness.  “…if [you]..say that [you]…have no sin, [you]… are deceiving [yourself]…and the truth is not in [you…”(1 John 1:8).
Your behaviors and actions - before you are drawn into a restored relationship with God through Christ - are sinful. The bible says, “…whatever is NOT from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).  
For the believer, “…there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (Romans 8:5-6).
Believers live “for” God “through” Christ. The one true God is “Holy” (totally without sin or darkness), (1 Peter 1:16). He originally created man in his Holy image, but mankind is now terribly marred by sin (unholy) (Romans 3:23).
Sin separates you from God and leads you on the path of condemnation, darkness, and eternal damnation. If you have not accepted God’s provision for salvation you are “condemned already” (John 3:18).
CONDEMNED ALREADY
However, God paid the penalty for your sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The penalty for sin is “….death…” (Romans 6:23).
God is the Sovereign and holy owner of the world and every one in it. For a holy God, sin is rebellion and separates his people from him, the living creator of all life. Sin puts a serious strain and separation on any possible relationship with God, but he lovingly found a way to restore it.
He sent his only Son (John 3:16). Jesus Christ took your place and satisfied God’s righteous requirements by willingly dying on the cross by sacrificing his life for yours (John 10:15).
Once God has drawn you through the “good news” of the gospel, all you have to do is “…believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
SALVATION
Your only role in God’s drawing you to himself, is to respond by exercising your God-given faith by (listening) to the “good news” (Ephesians 2:8).
Remember faith COMES (appears) when it hears the word (Jesus) or the “good news.” Faith comes to support you in fully experiencing the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
According to the holy God, your sinful nature makes you deserving of death (Romans 6:23).
It is God whom you have sinned against and his righteous requirements you have failed to uphold.
KING DAVID'S CONFESSION
King David said to God, “…against you, you only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge…” (Psalms 51:4).
The fair and just penalty for your sin is eternal damnation and eternal separation from God, but God provided a way out (John 14:6).
SIN SICK SOUL
If you have or had a terrible disease and your physical body is/was being infected negatively by that disease; a doctor may intervene.
When a doctor intervenes, he or she hopes they can help stop the disease in order to prolong your quality of life.
Your sin nature is like a terminal disease and the only cure is God’s intervention through faith in Jesus Christ. 






 EXCERPT FROM THE CHAPTER 
"HE DRAWS YOU" FROM THE
BOOK TRANSFORMING LOVE
BY PENSACOLA H JEFFERSON
BUY IT HERE!!

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