C7 – Four things God wants you to know
When you trusted and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior all your sins were forgiven. Each and every single sin you ever committed was paid for by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The Bible says:
“… Your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” 1 John 2 vs. 12
That is wonderful. But you need to always remember that as a Christian, you have a powerful enemy called the devil. When you decided to become a Christian, the devil was not happy. The devil is angered by the fact that you left him to follow the Lord Jesus. Therefore, he will do everything in his power to attack you from all angles and discourage you from living for God.
Satan cannot remove you from the family of God. He will try to tempt you to do evil and he will introduce feelings of doubts about God in your mind. He will tell you that you are not going to be a good Christian. He will use many tactics to discourage you from trusting in God.
But no matter what the devil does, remember that God has begun a good work in you and He will see it to its completion. The Bible says,
“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Philippians 1 vs. 6.
This is our last lesson of the C series. In it we will study four things that God wants you to know. These four things will help you to overcome the devil’s temptations.
God wants you to know that you are saved
One of the first things that Satan will try to do as soon as he realizes that you are saved is to make you doubt your salvation. In your mind you will begin to ask yourself, “Am I really saved?” “How can I tell that I am truly saved?” Satan may tempt you with questions like “Do you think you can be saved simply by believing in Jesus without doing anything else?”
When the devil introduces these thoughts into your mind, how would you respond? You cannot respond by saying that, “I feel like I am saved.” Feelings can be deceiving. How you feel today might change tomorrow. A sure answer can be found in the Bible. The Bible tells us that if you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior you have eternal life. You can say with all confidence that, “I know I am saved because God tells me so in His word, the Bible!”
The Lord Jesus Christ does not only save us. He also protects us. He calls us His own sheep and He promised that we will never be lost. The Bible says,
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”
John 10 vs. 27-28
The word “perish” means to be lost. Jesus tells us that we will never be lost. He tells us that we are in God’s hands. The verses continue to reassure us that no one can remove us from God’s strong and loving hands. The next verse reads as follows:
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” John 10 vs. 29
Memory Verse
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5 vs. 11-12
God wants you to know that you can over-come temptations
The devil will discourage you from following God with his temptations. He may say, “You are not perfect, I know your weaknesses and your past mistakes.” “You cannot change, once a thief always a thief.” “Old habits die hard.” These are some of the expressions you may have heard before. They discourage children of God from standing up against temptations. But dear child of God, you can overcome temptations!
Consider the memory verse below under this second lesson God wants you to know. It reveals three great lessons for us:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man”
This means that other people are tempted in the same way you are tempted. You are not alone and you are not the first to be tempted.
“…but God is faithful…”
This means that God always keeps His promises. Since He promised us that we cannot be lost we need to trust His word.
“…who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able”
This means that God promises us to limit our temptations to our capacity to overcome them.
“…but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
This means that God will provide a way out of temptations for us. We do not have to give in to sin. Make sure you memorize this verse.
Memory Verse
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10 vs. 12.
God wants you to know that He will forgive your sins if you fall into sin
Sometimes we fail to remain pure and holy. This is because we still have a sinful human nature in us. The Bible reminds us that,
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1 vs. 8
What happens when we commit sin? Immediately the devil will make us feel guilty. He might say, “There! You have done it! You think you are a Christian but look what you just did. God will never forgive you for what you did.”
We often think about our past failures and weaknesses and perhaps be discouraged from living for God. We must remember that our God is faithful and He is ready to forgive our sins. It does not matter how often we fail, God will forgive those who confess their faults to Him. God does not like our sins and He does not want us to sin. He loves us. His love for us never changes. The Bible says,
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31 vs. 3
God loves all people but He has a special love for His children. You may wonder how God can love us when we are so sinful and weak. God loves us because we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. When God looks at us, He sees us in Christ. He loves us as much as He loves His Son. This might be difficult for us to understand but it is true. The Lord Jesus Christ said,
“For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” John 16 vs. 27.
Memory Verse:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1 vs. 9
God wants you to know that He hears and answers prayer
Being a Christian does not mean that it is the end of all our troubles in life. The Bible tells us that as Christians, we will have to face many troubles and trials in life. Whenever you face life’s problems the devil may use this opportunity to tempt you. He might say to you, “See how you are suffering? God doesn’t care about you. God has turned His back on you. You have made so many sacrifices to God but He has not rewarded you with anything. It is time for you to focus on yourself and solve your own problems.”
Does the Bible have any better news for us? Indeed, there is! The Bible says,
“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5 vs. 7.
God is our heavenly Father and He can hear and answer our prayers. This is because He loves us and He wants us to let Him know of all our troubles.
But there is more! God is not only interested in hearing our prayers only. He is ready to give an answer to our requests. We need to ask Him to supply our needs. This is what He says in the Bible,
“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16 vs. 24.
We must warn you however that if there is sin in your life that you are not willing to turn your back on, God will not hear nor answer your prayers. We must be willing to listen to and to obey the Word of God by living according to His expectation if we want Him to also hear our prayers. The Bible says,
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” 1 John 3 vs. 22.
Memory Verse:
“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16 vs. 24
Therefore if we keep God’s commandments, He will hear and answer our prayers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have learnt four great lessons; you need to memorize each verse given under each topic:
- God wants you to know that you are saved.
- God wants you to know that you can overcome temptation
- God wants you to know that He will forgive your sins if you fall
- God wants you to know that He hears and answers prayer
After considering all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you, I’m sure your desire in life is to serve Him and love Him with all of your heart. Is that not so? That is exactly what the Lord Jesus expects you to do! To love the Lord Jesus Christ means that we should give Him the first place in our lives. When we do that, we will bring Him great joy. A desire to serve the Lord and please Him in everything that you do is a sign that you are truly saved. Here are a few things that may help you to please God:
God is pleased when we love Him
Jesus taught that the most important commandment in the Bible is this,
“…You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22 vs. 37
God is pleased when we trust Him
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147 vs. 11
God is pleased when we study His Word and Pray
We must read the Bible every day because it is the Word of God to us and God uses it to speak to us. We must also speak to God by praying to Him. Read John 15 vs. 7
God is pleased when we are thankful
We must remember to thank God for everything He does for us. The Bible says,
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5 vs. 18
God is pleased when we learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read that,
“…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3 vs. 18.
The more we know about the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we experience spiritual growth.
God is pleased when we meet with other Christians in a local church. We read this in Hebrews 10 vs. 25. There should be no independent Christians. We must study the Bible together, pray together and worship together.
God is pleased when we obey him
The Bible says,
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments…” 1 John 5 vs. 3.
Next Steps
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