Step 1
Arise “Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5 v 14
Tamryn Klintworth
Arise | Shine Booklet Step 1 (Arise) Tamryn Klintworth Copyright Š In His Name Ministries 2012 ISBN 978-0-620-53636-3 First Edition All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and publisher. All Scriptures are taken with permission from the NKJV, unless otherwise stated. Cover artwork by Danelle Vingtas Layout by Creative Cactus, Somerset West Printed by Bakwena Print, Somerset West Published by: In His Name Ministries PO BOX 50015 West Beach, 7449 www.inhisname.org.za
This booklet has been distributed free of charge during a IN HIS NAME GOSPEL CRUSADE and is NOT FOR SALE.
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THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE “God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life” – John 3 v 16 (NCV)
God wants to give you a gift, the most precious and important gift you will ever receive. The name of this gift is eternal life. What is eternal life? Eternal life means that when you die, you go to heaven. It also means that while you are still on earth, you can enter into a personal relationship with God. Sounds exciting? It most certainly is! This little book will help you understand how you can receive this matchless gift.
GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE God created you to have a personal relationship with Him. This relationship is not meant to exist only in heaven. It is meant to begin now, today, while you are still on earth! Without this relationship, you will always feel like there is something missing. You will never find true fulfillment until He becomes part of your life. God is so eager 4
to be your closest friend and most trusted companion. He wants to fill your heart with joy and peace. He wants you to live with Him at your side. Why? Quite simply – He loves you! His love for you is unconditional. This means that your actions have no effect on how much He loves you. He loves you because He loves you! God knows the exact reason why He created you. He has an exciting plan for your life. Your personality, talents and appearance are no mistake. He created you for a specific purpose. He wants to show you what this is and then help you achieve it. He will teach you how to hear His voice so that He can direct your steps. Would you like to know how to enter into a relationship with God? There is only one way and His name is Jesus Christ! We can compare Him to a door we need to walk through before we can connect to God here on earth and then one day in heaven. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” – John 10 v 9 5
OUR SIN SEPARATES US FROM THE HOLY GOD Why do we need Jesus so badly? We first need to understand the holiness of God in comparison to our sinful state. His pure and holy nature stands in contrast to the many sins hidden deep within our hearts. Sin and holiness are opposites. They cannot exist together. They push away from one another. They are like light and darkness. If I light a candle in a dark room, the darkness pulls away from the light. Light and darkness cannot live together. It is the same with sin and holiness. Hence, we are faced with a horrible situation! God loves us and desires to enter into a relationship with us. However, the sin in our hearts pushes us out of His presence. This has nothing to do with His love for us. He loves us passionately. It is simply the nature of holiness and the nature of sin. In essence, God is allergic to sin. He is compelled to turn away from it. We like to classify sinful acts depending on how serious we think they are. Murder in our eyes is very bad. A tiny lie is not so
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bad. However, we underestimate the power of sin. Even the tiniest speck of sin has the power to push us out of the presence of God forever and ever. And so, whether we have a lot of sin or a little bit of sin in our hearts, the consequence is the same – being eternally separated from God. This means that on earth, He cannot enter into a relationship with us. When we die, we are pushed out of His presence once again, not being able to join Him in heaven. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you” – Isaiah 59 v 2
THE PENALTY FOR SIN IS DEATH This terrible consequence of being separated from God for all eternity is a form of death – a spiritual death. Sin gets between us and God. Here on earth, He cannot enter into a relationship with us. When our physical body dies, this separation continues in hell. In fact, the Bible speaks of it in Romans 6 v 23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 7
The wages of sin is death. I have explained the concept of spiritual death. However, the death spoken of here refers to both spiritual and physical death. Before sin came into the world, Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden without physical death. You can read the story in Genesis chapters 2 and 3. If they had not fallen prey to the tricks of Satan, they would have lived physically forever. However, by sinning, their physical bodies reacted to that sin and immediately started to age. Unfortunately for us, that seed of sin has been passed on to every man and woman born thereafter. The process of aging has become accepted as being both normal and natural. As you can see, the consequence of sin is indeed death – both spiritual and physical. We can see this death consequence as a type of death penalty or death sentence. Just like a crime results in the handing down of a sentence – whether jail time or a fine – so sin results in a penalty. This penalty is death. This applies to all sin, no matter how serious we consider it to be.
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Thank goodness we have a loving Heavenly Father who made a plan to remove the sin that separates us from Him! Although people will continue to age and face physical death, God made it possible for the death of our bodies to simply serve as a doorway into heaven and a pathway into His presence! How did He do this? In order for me to explain properly, I need to quickly take you back to the Old Testament.
THE NEED FOR A SACRIFICE “The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood, and sins cannot be forgiven without blood to show death.” – Hebrews 9 v 22 (NCV)
In the Old Testament, thousands of years ago, God revealed Himself to the Israelite nation. He declared His desire to enter into a relationship with them. He wanted them to be His chosen people and for Him to be their only God. However, the Israeli people were sinners, just like us. So, for God to enter into such a relationship, He first had to deal with the sin. How did He do this? Let me explain. 9
God commanded that whenever the people of Israel sinned, they had to do the following – They would need to take a certain kind of animal – for example, a goat, lamb or dove – and confess their sin. ‘Confess’ simply means to admit that you have done something sinful. This act would result in God seeing the sin of the person – together with its death penalty – being transferred or carried over onto the animal. The animal would then be sacrificed. The animal would pay the price – the death penalty – for the sin of the Israelite. There was however a problem with this method. You see, the blood of animals did not have the power to destroy sin. Such could only cover it, as if a blanket were placed over a pile of dirt. Because the sin had not been completely destroyed, God could still not enter and dwell in the hearts of the Israeli men and women. He could have a relationship with them – but only at a distance. In addition to not being able to destroy sin, the blood of animals did not provide a lasting solution. Whenever the Israelites sinned, more sacrifices had to be offered. A steady stream of sin resulted in a 10
JESUS IS THE ONLY SOLUTION “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5 v 21 “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1 v 29
God needed a sacrifice that could wipe out each sin of every person who has ever lived or will live. The blood of that sacrifice needed to be so potent that it would not merely cover sin, but destroy it completely, as if my sin and your sin had never existed! Only blood perfectly holy could have such power over sin. Just as an enormous, pitch black house would need extremely powerful lights to chase away all that darkness, so all the sin in the world would need the holiest blood imaginable to wash it away forever. On this earth, there is no animal that powerful. There is no man or woman so pure and holy. God would need to provide such a sacrifice Himself. This is exactly what He did when He sent Jesus Christ to earth to die on the cross for our sins. As 11
the Son of God, Jesus was without sin. He had the blood of the Almighty God running through His veins. How powerful and holy is the blood of the Creator of the universe? If any force on earth has the power to wash away sin completely, it would be the blood of God! Just as God transferred the sin of the Israelite onto the animal sacrifice and then that animal sacrifice paid the price – the death penalty – for the sin, God took the sins of the entire world and put them onto the shoulders of Jesus as He hung dying on the cross. Jesus paid the price for the sins of all mankind, completely destroying what separates us from God! Hallelujah! Although Jesus died for our sins, He didn’t stay in the grave. On the third day He rose from the dead, gaining complete victory over the sin He died to destroy.
THE CHOICE Even though Jesus gave His life to pay the price for your sins and even though His blood has the power to wash your sins away, His sacrifice does not automatically 12
apply to your life. The gift of salvation needs to be received before it can be experienced and enjoyed. God places the choice in your hands whether to receive this gift or not. He will never force His way into your life, He waits for you to give Him the invitation! Today, you have a choice to make.
YOU CAN REJECT JESUS To reject Jesus means to reject that He took your sins upon Himself and died in your place. This means that your sin stays inside your heart. Here on earth you remain separated from God. When you die, the separation is made permanent, hell becoming your home. God does not send anyone to hell, He loves you so very much! However, if you choose to reject the power of His sacrifice, your sin will forever keep you away from Him. The choice is yours and yours alone.
YOU CAN CHOOSE JESUS When you choose Jesus, He comes and does a miracle in your life. He takes His precious blood and washes you clean from all sin – both those sins you committed in the past as well as those sins you are still 13
to commit in the future. He deals with your sin once and for all, removing that horrid barrier between you and God. He makes a home in your heart and never leaves you. Consequently, you are able to enter into relationship with Him here on earth with heaven being your final destination!
BUT HOW DO I CHOOSE JESUS? The Bible clearly explains how we make such choice. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” – Romans 10 v 13
What does calling on the name of the Lord mean? Quite simply, it means that you ask Jesus to be your Saviour! Own up to having sin in your heart. Tell Him you understand that sin separates you from Him. Tell Him you believe He has the power to wash that sin away because of what He did for you on the cross. It is that easy! Romans 10 v 9 (NCV) puts it this way – “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” 14
Below is a simple prayer for you to pray to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Pray it with all honesty and sincerity, knowing that in doing so, Jesus is listening to your every word. By praying this prayer, you are receiving the most precious gift of all – eternal life! Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son and that He died on the cross to save me from my sin. I believe that He rose again to life and that He invites me to live forever with Him in heaven as part of your family. Because of what Jesus has done, I ask You to forgive me of my sin and give me eternal life. I invite You to make a home in my heart. I want to trust Jesus as my Saviour and follow Him as my Lord. Help me to live in a way that pleases and honours You. Amen. Well done! What a glorious decision you have just made! You have just received the gift of eternal life. Now, I invite you to turn this booklet around and read the section titled “SHINE”. This section will explain how to grow in your newfound relationship with God. 15
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