|
April 23, 2017
"This Encounter with God Changed My Life Forever!"
by Che Ahn, Pasadena, CA
From the Desk of Steve Shultz:
 I've heard it said, and I agree...that one of the most powerful messages you can share with others is your very own testimony. Your testimony makes the message very personal and relatable to Believers and non-believers who need to hear it.
I appreciate this word by Che Ahn in which he briefly shares some of his testimony and how he got saved:
When I was saved in 1973, I was a drug addict and a high school dropout. I felt about as far from God as you could get. Although my father was a pastor, at that time I was totally disinterested in Christianity, and was experimenting with Eastern religions like Zen Buddhism. My compass was off, but I was hungry for spiritual truth.
Now, let that remind you...that NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with God...in fact you could become a very highly-respected leader in the Body of Christ just like Che Ahn is. The power of testimony is incredible and I encourage you to share yours with others today...you never know just WHO it might influence and help bring others into their God-given calling! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)
Please forward this word to your friends! Encourage them to subscribe to the Elijah List right here: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe.
Enjoy!
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com
*************************************
"This Encounter with God Changed My Life Forever!"
by Che Ahn, Pasadena, CA
The Reality of Reconciliation
"We therefore were buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be raised to life as He was." (Romans 6:4-5)
When you receive Christ into your life, you also receive the heavenly reality of His death and resurrection. When He was crucified, so were our sinful natures, our sicknesses, and our separation from God. When He was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him into a victorious new life.
Our Christian life is a journey with God in which He gives us supernatural power to walk in victory over sin and to bear fruit that glorifies Him. If you feel burdened by a continuing struggle, addiction, or heavy past, you can be free and you can change.
I want to share with you my own story of being reconciled to the Father through Christ, and give you practical insight into how you can receive the reality of the Cross into your life!
Encountering the Holy Spirit for the First Time
When I was saved in 1973, I was a drug addict and a high school dropout. I felt about as far from God as you could get. Although my father was a pastor, at that time I was totally disinterested in Christianity, and was experimenting with Eastern religions like Zen Buddhism. My compass was off, but I was hungry for spiritual truth.
One weekend when I was seventeen, I was at a wild party at my friend's house when I looked around and realized I was actually bored. I found a quiet, vacant bedroom in the back of the house, where I found myself beginning to talk to God. In an audible voice, I cried out, "God, I don't know if You exist. But if You do exist, and what my parents told me as a little boy is true, that You died for my sins and that there is a Heaven and a Hell, I want You to reveal Yourself to me and reveal the truth to me."
At that moment I felt a surge of energy envelop my body, touching me with warmth and love I had never experienced before. My mind suddenly cleared as if someone had pulled up a window shade, and I knew that Jesus was real. His death on the Cross was a real event, and His act of love was directed to me.
I immediately left the room and told all of my friends about my encounter with God, and although they believed I was just high on drugs, this was no one-time event. That encounter with God, and the reality that I could be reconciled to Him through Jesus' Blood, changed my life forever.
A Life Reconciled to God
"Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence." (Colossians 1:21-22)
Now reconciled to God, I broke my addiction to drugs. Not only was I able to overcome sin, I desired to spend my life glorifying Him! When God met me in that back bedroom over forty years ago, He did not condemn me or tell me how terrible I was; He overwhelmed me with His love and forgiveness. When we truly experience revelation of God's abundant, extravagant love, we begin to walk in "newness of life."
His grace will empower you to change. I encourage you today to think of anything specific that makes you feel far from God. Then follow these three steps to help you receive the reality of the Cross:
1. Draw near to God today! Spend time in His presence, thanking Him for His goodness, and listening for His voice (Hebrews 10:19-22).
2. Meditate on the reality of the Cross. Jesus' death and resurrection means that your life can change, and that you are a new creation in Him (Ephesians 2:6).
3. Thank God for what He has done for you, how He has paid the ultimate price for you, and for the new life He has given you (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Beginning a New Journey
Even if you have believed in God for years, you may have never fully received the reality of the Cross: the fact that you have been resurrected with Christ, and reconciled to your Creator. Let's meditate on the reality of what Jesus has done for us, and how His resurrection also means we can experience resurrection life. God has a wonderful destiny planned for you, including a victorious life in Christ, a full, satisfying relationship with the Father, and incredible purpose.
I encourage you to allow the reality of the Cross to renew your perspective daily, and to bring you ongoing revelation of how you have been made a new creation in Christ. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)
Che Ahn
HRock Church
Email: info@hrockchurch.com
Website: www.hrockchurch.com
Ché Ahn and his wife, Sue, are the Founding Pastors of HRock Church in Pasadena, California. Ché serves as the Founder and President of Harvest International Ministry (HIM) and the International Chancellor of Wagner Leadership Institute (WLI). With a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, he has played a key role in many strategic outreaches on local, national and international levels. He has written more than a dozen books and travels extensively throughout the world, bringing apostolic insight with an impartation of renewal, healing and evangelism.
*************************************
To receive daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List to your in box CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe
Visit our webstore and check out Alveda King's brand new book by Elijah List Publications: America Return to God: www.americareturntogod.com
Also check out Steve Shultz's Revised and 2nd Edition book Can't You Talk Louder, God?: http://www.elijahshopper.com/cant-you-talk-louder-god-secrets-to-hearing-the-voice-of-god-revised-and-updated-edition-by-steve-shultz/
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep Elijah List website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
Elijah List Publications
528 Ellsworth St. SW
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250
|
