Is God Real?
We live in an unreal world. A world, which we think, is real but the truth is, it is a world of emptiness. Unfortunately, unless you have experienced the reality of God you cannot know how unreal this world is. In this world people are crying and reaching out for some measure of satisfaction but they are never truly satisfied, sometimes they feel happy, but deep down inside they are not truly happy. It is a world where people hunger for things, which ultimately make them more hungry and where people thirst for things which ultimately make them more thirsty.
People cry out in their inmost hearts, “there must be something more to life!” They may never say anything to their friends or family but their heart is saying “there must be more to life than the struggle to be king of the mountain; to die with the most toys; to have a happy family and good friends.” While some of these things may be good, they leave us with that restless feeling – there must be more.
When we look at the world we live in, sometimes we think to ourselves “someone must have created all the earth and all we live in.” We wonder “is there a God out there somewhere?” That is the reason I’m writing this. I’m here to make the bold and confident statement that God is alive. I am an eyewitness to the reality of the living God. I had this cry in my heart. I asked all these questions and I can assure you God is there.
This world is full of pain, sadness and poverty. Mahatma Gandhi when he saw the poverty of humanity commented “there are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” God knows that there is so much pain in this life and so much misery. He wants to come in the form of bread. He wants to do miracles to meet the needs we have, to bring His beauty to our lives and convert our ashes and ruin into something beautiful.
Who is God?
People who deny the existence of God, live lives, which lack beauty. God is so beautiful. Words cannot describe how beautiful God is. How can we describe the indescribable? It is impossible. Is it possible that when we describe the Living God to others, when we try to analyze Him, that we trivialize Him like some subject of discussion, like the News? Can we lose the sense of terrible beauty the Living God inspires?
God is impossible to define in human terms, only some of our language can capture the smallest part of who He is and His indescribable beauty. I have a song writer friend who said, of God “You are at once an enigma and then You’re as plain as day, I will never claim to understand, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Sometimes as God reveals Himself, men are frightened by the beauty and holiness of what they see. Isaiah said “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts (Isaiah 6:2-5).
Isaiah saw something which frightened him. And caused him to cry out that he was a man undone. This was no ordinary encounter. This was something which revolutionized him. When we truly meet with God it will turn our life upside down.
Who is Jesus?
He is the pre-existent Son of God, the second person of the trinity who entered into the world by means of the miracle of the virgin birth. Eternity entered time and space. Jesus took on the limitations of humanity, he emptied himself of his divine privileges (Phil 2:6-11) God became a man Immanuel, God with us. (Mat 1:22) In his earthly ministry he healed all who came to him in faith. The dead were raised, the blind received their sight and the deaf had their ears unstopped. He reflected the compassion of God, the Kingdom of God and came to destroy all the work of the enemy.
Christ Jesus was born into this world with a mission to redeem fallen humanity. At the cross he took upon himself all the sin and effects of the fall as an atonement for sin. By faith fallen humans can appropriate this saving act and be redeemed to their original unfallen state. Jesus died to bring new and eternal life instead of spiritual and eternal death (John 3:16), healing instead of sickness (Mat 8:17), prosperity instead of poverty (2 Cor 8:9), and to restore humans to fellowship with God.
As Jesus died the veil of the temple was torn asunder (Mat 27:51) meaning that God would no longer dwell in tabernacles made of human hands but he would make his children the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). The rending of the veil also represents our ability to come into the holy presence of God and experience once again intimacy and relationship with God, to bask in the glory of God to experience communion and intimacy with God just as Adam and Eve did before the fall.
What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The gospel consists of four broad events. Creation – God created us, in His image and after His likeness. Deception – Satan tried to destroy us. Humanity fell in sin and rebellion. It is humanity’s conformity, or lack thereof, to God’s standard of holiness and righteous that defines sin. Humans are not sinners only because of their sinful actions, but also because they are inherently sinful and fallen in their nature. Substitution- Jesus redeemed us. The only way to receive healing and salvation is through the finished work of the cross. To appropriate what Jesus Christ has done for you. Restoration – we are restored to God. We restored in fellowship and relationship with God.
What should I pray?
If you are serious about salvation and entering into relationship with God, I want to encourage you to prayer this prayer: “Jesus, I come to you, I believe you are the Son of God, born into this world by virgin birth, I believe you lived a perfect life. I believe you died in my place and rose from the dead. I surrender my life to you. I ask you to forgive all my sins the wrong I have done and I ask you to come into my heart. I give my heart to you. I receive the promise of salvation. I believe I am washed in your blood. I believe I am born again. I believe I am a child of the Living God.”
What should I do now?
Now you have committed your life to Christ you need to spend time in prayer and reading the bible, to develop your relationship with God. Start with reading from the gospel of John. You need to begin to attend a church where they believe the Bible is the Word of God and they believe in the power of God. Ask the Pastor of the Church if they have a discipleship program you can attend. You need to develop good relationships with godly people who can encourage you in your walk and relationship with God and help you find God’s purpose and destiny for your life.
