Jesus! Our Answered Prayer
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Jesus Our Answered Prayer
Jesus Our Answered Prayer
Kidz World Today - Children’s Church
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus name
Why Do We Need Jesus
Why Do We Need Jesus
You and I were created to live in a relationship with God. Until we find that relationship, there will always be something missing in our lives. As a result, we are often aware of a gap. One rock singer described it by saying: ‘I’ve got an emptiness deep inside.’
A woman, shared in a letter , he had a ‘deep deep void.’ Another young person said it felt like ‘a chunk missing in his soul.’
Trying to fill The Emptiness
Trying to fill The Emptiness
People try to fill this emptiness in various ways. Some try to close the gap with money, but that does not satisfy. Aristotle Onassis, who was one of the richest men in the world, said at the end of his life:
‘Millions do not always add up to what a man needs out of life.’
Others try drugs or excess alcohol or sexual promiscuity.
One girl said to me, ‘These things provide instant gratification but they leave you feeling hollow afterwards.’
Others try hard work, music, sport or seeking success. There may not be anything wrong with these in themselves, but they do not satisfy that hunger deep inside every human being.
Even the closest human relationships, do not in themselves satisfy this ‘emptiness deep inside.’ Nothing will fill this gap except the relationship with God for which we were made.
According to the New Testament, the reason for this emptiness is that men and woman have turned their backs on God.
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
He is the only one who can satisfy our deepest hunger because he is the one who makes it possible for our relationship with God to be restored.
He is the only one who can satisfy our deepest hunger because he is the one who makes it possible for our relationship with God to be restored.
a) He satisfies our hunger for meaning and purpose in life
a) He satisfies our hunger for meaning and purpose in life
Only in a relationship with our Creator do we find the true meaning and purpose of our lives.
b) He satisfies our hunger for life beyond death
b) He satisfies our hunger for life beyond death
Most people do not want to die. We long to survive beyond death. Only in Jesus Christ do we find eternal life.
c) He satisfies our hunger for forgiveness
c) He satisfies our hunger for forgiveness
If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong. By his death on the cross, Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.
Why did he come, and why did he die?
Why did he come, and why did he die?
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
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Jesus is the only man who has ever chosen to be born, and he is one of the few who has chosen to die. He said that the entire reason for his coming was to die for us. He came ‘to give his life as a ransom for many’
Jesus said he died ‘for’ us. The word ‘for’ means ‘instead of.’
Jesus said he died ‘for’ us. The word ‘for’ means ‘instead of.’
He did it because he loved us and did not want us to have to pay the penalty for all the things that we had done wrong. On the cross, he was effectively saying, ‘I will take all those things on myself.’
He did it for you, and he did it for me. If you or I had been the only person in the world, he would have done it for us.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Gal.
It was out of love for us that he gave his life as a ransom.
It was out of love for us that he gave his life as a ransom.
The Apostle Paul wrote of ‘the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ (). It was out of love for us that he gave his life as a ransom.
Jesus paid, by his blood on the cross, the ransom price to set us free.
Set Free
Set Free
Freedom from what?
Freedom from what?
Jesus paid, by his blood on the cross, the ransom price to set us free.
Freedom from guilt
Freedom from guilt
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Whether we feel guilty or not, we are all guilty before God because of the many times we have broken his laws in thought, word and deed.
Whether we feel guilty or not, we are all guilty before God because of the many times we have broken his laws in thought, word and deed. Just as when someone commits a crime there is a penalty to be paid, in the same way there is a penalty for breaking God’s law. ‘The wages of sin is death’ ().
Whether we feel guilty or not, we are all guilty before God because of the many times we have broken his laws in thought, word and deed. Just as when someone commits a crime there is a penalty to be paid, in the same way there is a penalty for breaking God’s law. ‘The wages of sin is death’ ().
Just as when someone commits a crime there is a penalty to be paid, in the same way there is a penalty for breaking God’s law. ‘The wages of sin is death’ ().
The result of the things we do wrong is spiritual death—being cut off from God eternally.
The result of the things we do wrong is spiritual death—being cut off from God eternally.
We all deserve to suffer that penalty. On the cross, Jesus took the penalty in our place so that we could be totally forgiven and our guilt could be taken away.
Freedom from addiction
Freedom from addiction
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
Jesus said that ‘everyone who sins is a slave to sin’ (). Jesus died to set us free from that slavery. On the cross, the power of this addiction was broken. Although we may still fall from time to time, the power of this addiction is broken when Jesus sets us free.
Jesus died to set us free from that slavery. On the cross, the power of this addiction was broken. Although we may still fall from time to time, the power of this addiction is broken when Jesus sets us free.
Jesus said that ‘everyone who sins is a slave to sin’ (). Jesus died to set us free from that slavery. On the cross, the power of this addiction was broken. Although we may still fall from time to time, the power of this addiction is broken when Jesus sets us free.
Freedom from fear
Freedom from fear
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Jesus came so that ‘by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death’
We need no longer fear death.
We need no longer fear death.
Death is not the end for those whom Jesus has set free. Rather it is the gateway to heaven, where we will be free from even the presence of sin. When Jesus set us free from the fear of death, he also set us free from all other fears.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Freedom for what?
Freedom for what?
Jesus is no longer physically on earth, but he has not left us alone. He sent his Holy Spirit to be with us. When his Spirit comes to live within us, he gives us a new freedom.
Freedom to know God
Freedom to know God
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
The things which we do wrong cause a barrier between us and God:
When Jesus died on the cross, he removed the barrier that existed between us and God.
He has made it possible for us to have a relationship with our Creator. We become his sons and daughters. The Spirit assures us of this relationship, and he helps us to get to know God better. He helps us to pray and to understand The Bible.
Freedom to love
Freedom to love
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
As we look at the cross, we understand God’s love for us. When the Spirit of God comes to live within us, we experience that love.
As we do so, we receive a new love for God and for other people.
‘We love because he first loved us’ (). As we look at the cross, we understand God’s love for us. When the Spirit of God comes to live within us, we experience that love. As we do so, we receive a new love for God and for other people. We are set free to live a life of love—a life centred around loving and serving Jesus and loving and serving other people rather than a life centred around ourselves.
We are set free to live a life of love—a life centered around loving and serving Jesus and loving and serving other people rather than a life centered around ourselves.
Freedom to change
Freedom to change
People sometimes say, ‘You are what you are. You can’t change.’
Here is the good news with the help of the Holy
Spirit, we can change.
The Holy Spirit gives us the freedom to live the sort of lives that deep down we have always wanted to live.
Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ (). When we ask the Spirit of God to come and live within us, these wonderful characteristics begin to grow in our lives.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’
When we ask the Holy Spirit to come and live within us, these wonderful characteristics begin to grow in our lives.
What do we have to do?
What do we have to do?
The New Testament makes it clear that we have to do something to accept the gift that God offers.
This is an act of faith.
16 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 writes that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ ().
Believing involves an act of faith, based on all that we know about Jesus.
Believing involves an act of faith, based on all that we know about Jesus. It is not blind faith. It is putting our trust in a Person. In some ways, it is like the step of faith taken by a bride or a bridegroom when they say, ‘I will’ on their wedding day.
It is not blind faith. It is putting our trust in a Person.
It is like the step of faith taken by a bride or a bridegroom when they say, ‘I will’ on their wedding day.
The way people take this step of faith varies enormously, but I want to describe one way in which you can take this step of faith right now. It can be summarised by three very simple words:
‘Sorry’
‘Sorry’
You have to ask God to forgive you for all the things you have done wrong and turn from everything which you know is wrong in your life. This is what the Bible means by ‘repentance.’
‘Thank you’
‘Thank you’
We believe that Jesus died for us on the cross. You need to thank him for dying for you and for the offer of his free gift of forgiveness, freedom and his Spirit.
‘Please’
‘Please’
God never forces his way into our lives. You need to accept his gift and invite him to come and live within you by his Spirit.
If you would like to have a relationship with God and you are ready to say these three things, then here is a very simple prayer which you can pray and which will be the start of that relationship:
Pray this simple prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life Please forgive me. I now turn from everything which I know is wrong.
Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Spirit. I now receive that gift.
Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me forever.
Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Jesus Is Our Answered Prayer
Jesus Is Our Answered Prayer
Next Steps
Read Old Testament :
Judges & Ruth
New Testament :
Book Of Ephesians