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"...there shall be showers of blessing."
(Ezekiel 34:26) (New King James Version)

"The blessing of the Lord - it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].
(Proverbs 10:22) (The Amplified Bible)

"Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah" (Psalm 3:8) (New King James Version)

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The following was taken from the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Special Prophecy Bible Edition (New King James Version):

"We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary.

While Salvation is a simple act, it has a life-changing effect. Just as a single person stands to say his wedding vows and that simple act changes his whole lifestyle and direction, so the simple acceptance of Jesus is totally life altering. Paul says we are 'new creatures' once we have taken that step of faith. (2 Cor. 5:17).

We must understand that salvation is much more than just repeating the words of a vow, however sincere those words may be. The simple truth is that salvation is a divine thing. What man cannot do for himself, God does through the washing away of our sins by the blood of the Lamb and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation is actually being 'born again' (John 3:5-8). God wipes the slates of our lives clean by the blood of Jesus, and lets us start all over again. This is why those who love Jesus lift their voices in worship and praise to the One who saved them (Rev. 5:9, 10).

I. YOU NEED A SAVIOR

'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Rom. 3:23).

The Greek word for 'saved' is 'sozo' which means to rescue from danger, death, bring out safely from a situation fraught with mortal danger, be restored to health. This is exactly what Jesus does for us when we give our hearts to Him. We each need a Savior because:

A. Sin is the tragic inheritance of all mankind. Each is born with a propensity to sin (Rom. 5:12).

B. Every person is guilty of sin. Although we are born into sin, we are also personally guilty of evils we have committed (see above verse of Scripture).

C. The Bible pronounces all men guilty of transgressions against God's eternal law (Gal. 3:22; Rom. 3:9).

D. Failure to acknowledge our personal guilt and sin only fools ourselves (I John 1:18).

E. Our sin makes us enemies of God (Rom. 8:7, 8).

F. The end result of our sin will be death (Rom. 6:23).

G. Man cannot be better by himself. He may resolve to do better but keeps slipping back into those patterns and habits of evil (Rom. 7:19-24).

II. HOW TO ACCEPT JESUS

'That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved' (Rom. 10:9).

Just knowing we need a Savior is not enough. A thirsty man knows he needs a drink, but diagnosis is not cure. The Bible not only points to our need of salvation, but tells us how we can accept Jesus.

A. Salvation is a free gift to you. You cannot earn or deserve it (Eph. 2:8, 9).

B. Salvation comes by the atoning death of Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:13; Col. 1:20).

C. We must repent. That is, we must truly be sorry for our sins and tell God we are (Matt. 3:2).

D. We must come as a humble child to God, not a proud and arrogant 'know it all' (I Cor. 1:21).

E. We must believe in God, His Son Jesus Christ, and in the power of His forgiveness (Acts 16:30, 31).

F. There are two very simple steps to take to receive salvation (Rom. 10:9).

Step 1. Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.

Step 2. Believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead. It is not enough just to say, 'I love you, Jesus'. We must move on to 'believing in our hearts'. That is, obeying the commandments of our Christ and desiring Him to take control of our lives.

A final question: 'How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him" (Heb. 2:3).

III. THREE FACTS OF YOUR FORGIVENESS

'The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly' (John 10:10).

Salvation involves more than just forgiveness of sin. There are three things God does for you when you give your heart to Jesus. These are best seen in Psalm 103:3, 4.

A. Guilt is gone. Guilt has been called the most difficult problem in psychology. But the Bible says God takes away our guilt when we give our hearts to Jesus. Jesus often said, 'Your sins are forgiven' because He knew man needed to hear that all his iniquities were forgiven. We are free from guilt because of Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

B. Healing for the stain of sin. Like a river overflowing its banks and running wild, sin tears our souls as it spills forth in its fury. We need not only forgiveness, but healing for our spirits that have been victimized by sin. Note the devastating hurt of sin in the life of the demonic child. The Bible says the evil spirit 'convulsed him' (Mark 9:20). Clearly we need healing for our souls. Jesus heals:

1. Our memories (Phil. 3:13).

2. Our broken hearts (Luke 4:18).

3. Our 'spirits of infirmities' (Luke 13:11, 12).

He is not only the One who rids from guilt, but also heals our souls left bleeding and broken from sin's fury.

C. Power over the pull of sin. All of us have a pull downward within us (Rom. 7:19). But we do not have to yield to that pull. Jesus not only takes away guilt and heals our spirits, but also gives us sure power to overcome sin (John 1:12). We can overcome because Jesus lives within us (I John 4:4). We are 'redeemed from destruction' by the living Christ. Paul said it best: 'For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life' (Rom. 5:10).

IV. YOUR NEW LIFE

'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit' (Rom. 8:1).

We are saved to serve, not just sit. The Christian life is like a bicycle, we either go on or we go off. Thus, after we have given our hearts to Jesus, there are certain things He wants us to do.

A. We are to grow up in Christ, not remaining stagnant in our spiritual experiences (Eph. 4:15).

B. We are to grow in grace and knowledge of the things of God (2 Pet. 3:18).

C. We grow as we read the Word (I Pet. 2:2).

D. We are to be witnesses of Jesus to others (Acts. 1:18).

E. We are to pray always. That is, we are to live in a constant attitude of prayer (I Thess. 5:17).

F. We are to pray in the Holy Spirit letting Him have control of our thought life in prayer (Jude 20).

G. We are to receive help from the Holy Spirit when we do not know how to pray (Rom. 8:26).

H. We should join ouselves with a body of believers and regularly attend worship (Heb. 10:25). We should remember that Jesus loved the Church (Eph. 5:25).

I. We should give to God (2 Cor. 9:7). There are some Bible guidelines how we are to give. They are:

1. We should give liberally (Luke 6:38).
2. We should give in obedience to God (Matt. 23:23).
3. We must be faithful in our giving (I Cor. 4:1, 2).
4. We should give without fanfare (Rom. 12:8).
5. We should give freely (Matt. 10:8).
6. We should give every week (I Cor. 16:1, 2).
7. We should give our share (Acts 11:29; 2 Cor. 11:12).
8. We should give cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7).

V. YOU CAN KNOW YOU ARE SAVED

'These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God' (I John 5:13).

There are only two Bible books that tell us exactly why they were written. The first is John, written so we can know how to believe in Jesus: 'But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name' (John 20:31). And First John, written so we can know we have been saved. In the Book of John there are five clear tests of the believer. If we pass these, we know we know Him.

A. Because we obey God (I John 2:3). It is not enough just to say we love Jesus, we must keep His commandments. When we do, we know that we know Him.

B. Because our attitude is different (I John 3:14). Where once we lived for ourselves, now we live for Christ and others. We now really love people rather than just use them for our own personal fulfillment. We start to 'give' rather than 'get'. This is a telltale sign that we know Him.

C. Because our love is real (I John 3:18). We do not just tell people we love them, but by our actions show them we love. We move from lip service to life service. The real believer does not say 'Call if you need me,' but recognizes needs and moves to fill them. This is another sure sign we are now born of the Spirit, rather than the flesh.

D. Because of God's Spirit (I John 3:24; I John 4:13). The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16).

E. Because of God's Word (I John 5:13). God's Word has been given to us so we can be assured of our salvation. Satan may be able to argue with our testimonies, but he can never argue with God's Word. It will defeat him every time."

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A prayer you might pray:

"Father, I know that I am a sinner
and I ask you to forgive me. I
believe Christ died for me and I
want to turn from my sins. Jesus,
come into my heart and be my
personal Lord and Savior. I
promise to obey you and follow
you all the days of my life."

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My prayer for you is that God will shower down His blessings upon your life as you seek to do His will! May you experience the richness of His incredible love!!! There's NONE like Him!!

Click here to go directly to "Spiritual Blessings"