Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
December 7, 2011

Read Mark 1:14-17

“Repent…believe…follow…become.”

Looking up from the altar I saw her sitting with her face buried in her hands. The still small voice pressed me to go and sit beside her. Looking up with slightly reddened eyes moist with quiet desperation she simply said, “I want to know God.”  She had been exposed to religious structures, and regulations given with Jesus’ name thrown in there a few times, but still her heart ached for more than the preachments and doctrines of human engineering. She had had a lifetime of condemnation and feelings of failure.

What she needed now was something greater than religion, yet also something more solid than a vague general spirituality centering on her. She needed what we all need, the God man who became flesh and moved into our neighborhood to save us from ourselves and give us the human divine relationship we were created for. What a joy it is to be able to cut through all the religious (insert preferred word referring to human waste here) and tell someone the simple truth about Jesus and how we can know him. Lately I have been deciding all I care about is preaching, teaching and healing in Jesus name. The gospel of Jesus is so simple yet so profound I don’t have time to bother with much else in terms of ministry.  I just want to keep bringing Jesus to people and people to Jesus.

Maybe today you are looking for a personal relationship with God.  Maybe you are worn out from all the voices telling you how perfect you have to be to qualify.  Or you are so confused by all the ins and outs of various religious practices and hoops that you have just about given up.  Listen, Jesus came preaching a very simple yet intensely powerful message. In our passage today we see four basic things you need to do to get into a relationship with God.  I’m going to give them here and if you want more info just send a note and we can talk more. Here is what Jesus said about how to find God.

1. First he tells us to repent. That simply means turn from your self- directed lifestyle and your sins and start going His way.
2. Next he said, “Believe the good news.” Put your total trust in the fact that Jesus Christ, the only sinless one, Gods only son, died to pay the penalty for all your sins and rose from the dead so that you can have eternal life by trusting in his forgiveness.
3. Next he said, “Follow me”- This simply means that once you ask Jesus to take control of your life and forgive you then you must begin to follow him daily. In other words, begin to live according to his teachings and learn from his word what it means to live the life he called you to. Get baptized, find a church, and start growing in your faith with other believers.
4. Finally he said, “and I will make you become fishers of men.” – This means allow Jesus to transform your life daily and use you to spread his good news to others who need what you have found in him.

Listen, this is very basic and I’m sure you have more questions. Contact me or find another believer that you trust to help you work through this thing. Listen if you are serious about finding God this is the way. Jesus himself said, “I am the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the father but by me.” Now you can sit around being upset that there is only one way or you can thank God that there is any way at all. Dude look, Jesus died for you because he loves you and wants you to have eternal life. Turn to him today by simple faith and let him put your life together.

If you are ready to trust him right now just get quiet and talk to him, yes right now. No fancy words needed. No magic formulas to recite. Just begin by telling him how much you need him. Ask him to forgive you for living your life without him and tell him right now you want him to have control and save you from your sins. It’s that simple. He will hear and heal. He will forgive and renew you and give you his Spirit to live in you and lead you. He put it this way, “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and dine with him and he with me.” He’s knocking right now, so why not let him in. he will take it from there.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)