Fresh Start with God

Getting Started

If you’re reading this, it's not by chance.  I know, many people think that life is random and I don't consider it odd if they do because life often appears that way.  But the Bible describes a God who is interested in even the smallest details of our lives. 

I know this may seem hard to believe but it was God who directed you to us today. Why? Because He is in fact searching to connect with you; He loves you and wants to give you life (John 3:16; John 11:25-26).  New life (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Abundant life (John 10:10).  And that's where Jesus fits in.  Jesus makes this possible (John 14:6; John 11:25-26; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). 
 
You may have come to this website today trying to make sense of your life so I offer this good news for your consideration.  If you want to explore the new and abundant life God offers everyone, there are a few things you can do.  You can check out the verses mentioned above in the Bible, scroll down on this page to explore more about Jesus or if you're comfortable, get in touch with me some time I'd love to help in any way I can. 416-466-3040 x 13 gary@calvarychurch.ca.
 
Looking forward to hearing from you

Gary Cockburn, Associate Pastor

Who was Jesus?

Jesus was a perfect person.

"Jesus changed everything — from our system of justice to our concept of time."

He’s one of history’s greatest personalities. Standing at the very centre of human history, Jesus changed everything — from our system of justice to our concept of time. The Bible tells us that Jesus was born to a virgin, lived a sinless life and taught only a few years in Palestine before being crucified on a Roman cross. Three days after his burial, he rose from the dead, was seen by at least 500 different people and shortly after, ascended to heaven. During his time on earth, Jesus claimed he had the power to forgive sins, cast out demons and determine people’s eternal destiny. In short, he declared himself to be God. Make no mistake, the story of Jesus is an incredible one. But for some people, it just seems too incredible to be true. Jesus may have been an important religious figure, or even a great moral teacher, they reason, but he could not have been God. 

This position may seem like a valid one. But as former Cambridge university professor C.S. Lewis explained in his book, Mere Christianity, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher; he’d either be a lunatic — on a level with a man who says he’s a poached egg — or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse." Lewis went on to say, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

Are His Claims Real?

“There is more evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings than any 10 pieces of classical literature put together.”

Was Jesus’ claim to be God nothing more than a figment of the early church’s imagination? Something added to the Bible by Jesus’ followers?

It’s an interesting idea, but most scholars believe that at least three of the Bible’s gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke) were written within a generation of Jesus. Many eyewitnesses would still have been alive to disagree with these first century writings. But there is no evidence of that occurring.

In fact, there is more evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings than any 10 pieces of classical literature put together. Historians of ancient Greece, for example, have to rely on only eight manuscripts of Thucydide’s History of the Peloponnesian War with the earliest one written some 1,300 years after the originals. Biblical scholars meanwhile, have more than 20,000 New Testament manuscripts at their disposal, with several copied less than 200 years after Jesus’ birth.

Lastly, there is no question that the early Christians believed in and worshipped one of their own countrymen as God in human form. It’s never been seriously disputed. Which leaves us to wonder at such behaviour. If, in fact, Jesus never claimed to be God, what were a bunch of monotheists (believers in only one god) doing falling at his feet?

What Does this Mean?

“He told people to be honest whatever the cost, promised them eternal life without sorrow or pain and said he could forgive sin.”

So Jesus really did claim to be God. Now what?

Simply put, his claim can either be true or false. If it’s false, then he was a liar, deliberately misleading people. Or, he was a lunatic — a man who sincerely believed himself to be God when he wasn’t.

If we accept Jesus as a liar, then we must also call him evil. Let’s face it. He told people to be honest whatever the cost, promised them eternal life without sorrow or pain and said he could forgive sin. Meanwhile, he was living a colossal lie? Not likely.

As for the lunatic option, it too is out of the question. Jesus’ words and actions just aren’t consistent with those of a deluded or disturbed man. Even his harshest critics cannot find fault in his teaching. Instead, he is most often regarded as a man of penetrating insight.

Lord? It’s the only option left. If Jesus wasn’t a liar or lunatic, then he could only have been who he said he was — God in human form. The principles of logic demand that conclusion. More than that, it explains why unprecedented and miraculous things happened in Jesus’ presence.

Consider the man who had been lame for 38 years and who, after one conversation with Jesus, was healed (John 5:1-13). Or the man who’d been born blind and started seeing after Jesus touched his eyes (John 9:1-15). Or Lazarus, who’d been dead for three days, but came back to life at Jesus’ command (John 11:38-44).

It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to witness these amazing events, but nevertheless, they happened. Even Jesus’ enemies said so. They saw the lame man walking (John 5:9-10) and questioned the blind man about his sight (John 9:8-34).

Not understanding who Jesus was, some people wondered: “How could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” (John 9:16).
But the former blind man knew the true answer. “If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do it” (John 9:33).

Start Living

Jesus said “I have come so that you would have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). Here are four principles to help you discover how you can begin a relationship with God and experience the life that God intended for you.

Principle One: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

God created you. Not only that, He loves you so much that he wants you to spend eternity with Him. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Jesus came so that each of us could know and understand God in a personal way. Jesus alone can bring meaning and purpose to life.
What keeps us from Knowing God?

Principle Two: All of us are sinful and separated from God. Therefore we cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for our life.

The fact is, we need Jesus. The Bible says, "…all fall short of God’s glorious standard" (Romans 3:23b). Though God intended for us to have a relationship with Him, we naturally want to do things our own way. We’re stubborn, selfish, and frequently unable to follow through on our promises. Try as we might, we just keep stumbling.

Deep down, our attitude may be one of active rebellion or passive indifference, but it’s all evidence of what the Bible calls sin — an old archery term which literally means "missing the mark."

The Bible says the result of sin in our lives is death–spiritual separation from God (Romans 6:23). Although we may try to reach God through our own effort, we inevitably fail. We just can’t ever be good enough.

How can we bridge this gulf?

Principle Three: Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life.

Jesus Christ is God’s solution to the problem of human imperfection and evil. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we don’t have to be separated from God any longer. Jesus paid the price for our sin and in so doing, bridged the gap between us and God.

Instead of trying harder to reach God, we simply need to accept Jesus and his sacrifice as the one way to God. "I am the way, the truth and the life," Jesus said. "No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He also said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish" (John 11:25-26).

But not only did Jesus die for our sin, He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). When he did, he proved beyond doubt that he can rightfully promise eternal life–that he is the son of God and the only means by which we can know God.

Yet just having knowledge about God’s plans and purposes isn’t enough. We need to consciously accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sin and welcome Him into our life.

It is not enough just to know these three truths…

Principle Four: We must individually accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life.

The Bible says, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

We accept Jesus by faith. The Bible says, "God saved you by his special favour when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Accepting Jesus means first believing that Jesus is who he claimed to be, then inviting him to take the control of our lives and make us into new people (John 3:1-8).

Jesus said, "I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20).

How will you respond to God’s invitation? What will you do with the claims of Jesus Christ?

There are really 2 options to continue to live a self-directed life or a Christ-directed life.

What best represents your life now?

Which would you like to have represent your life?

Begin a Relationship with Jesus Today

Choosing to submit your life to God is the most significant decision you can ever make. This choice involves more than simple intellectual agreement that Jesus is God and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Becoming a Christian also requires that you commit the rest of your life to God, to do what He asks of you and to live in accordance with His principles.

This decision is not something to be taken lightly. It requires sacrifice and a total reorientation of your life around God rather than yourself. As Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

If you feel you are ready to make this commitment, you can do so right now by telling God you are sorry for your past mistakes, putting your trust in Him and asking Him to make you into the person He created you to be. This step involves faith. You probably still have a number of unanswered questions at this point. But you must be willing to make the decision based on what you know right now and trust God to fill in the details later.

The precise words you use to commit yourself to God are not important. He knows the intentions of your heart. Your prayer can be as simple as "Help!" or it can focus on an issue that is specific to your situation. If you are unsure of what to pray, use the following sample prayer to get started:

 "Jesus, I want to know you. I want you to come into my life. I’m sorry for the things I’ve done that have broken my relationship with God. Thank you for dying on the cross so that this relationship could be made right. I believe You are the only One who can do this. Only You can give me the power to change and become the person You created me to be. Thank you for forgiving my past mistakes and for giving me eternal life with God. I give my life to You. Please do with it as You wish. Amen."

By praying the above prayer or one similar to it you have just taken a giant step toward making God the centre of your life. But these are just the words. What follows is a lifelong journey of change and growth as you get to know God better through Bible reading, prayer and interaction with other Christians.

If you prayed the prayer above and invited Jesus into your life, you’ve become a Christian–which means simply, "Christ in one." Congratulations!

Let us know of your decision by calling Gary Cockburn, Associate Pastor at 416-466-3040 x 13 or emailing gary@calvarychurch.ca
I would love to help you in anyway I can. And why don’t you consider exploring the new life you have been given through Christ with us this Sunday!

Source: The preceding information is a presentation of Power to Changewww.powertochange.com