Stress Management

Slide 3: THE AMAZING BOOK What book is in more hotels than any other? Part of this book sold for more than a million dollars to a British Museum What book did Thomas Jefferson say was “the cornerstone of liberty”? What book is consistantly the worlds best seller? What book has now been translated into more than any other? What is the book? TURN THE PAGE TO FIND OUT… 3

Slide 4: Would you like to unlock it’s secrets? The following is a quick summary of this amazing book… 4

Slide 5: The Bible says that God is “Holy”, and Heaven is also “Holy”, and “Holy” just means “Perfect”. HOLY = PERFECT Now it’s really important to understand that God cannot let anything imperfect in to Heaven, otherwise it just wouldn’t be Heaven any more! It wouldn’t be perfect! It would be like a re-run of earth, but up there! So if God is perfect and Heaven is perfect how can people who are not perfect go and live with God? There is a way and that is the topic of this book. 5

Slide 6: The Bible also says that all of us have a body and a soul. At death, our body is either buried or cremated - but our soul (which is the real you) lives on forever, either in Heaven of Hell, and the Bible says that ultimately there is no third place for your soul to go.1 HEAVEN SOUL  HELL Unfortunately, we’ve got a bit of a problem, because the Bible says that if we’ve broken just one of God’s laws, for example… if we’ve lied once; cheated once; hated once; just once (like we all have, let’s be honest!) then our soul  becomes HEAVEN imperfect and we cannot SOUL SOUL enter Heaven. We become like a lost soul.2 HELL 6

Slide 7: Now, let me ask you a question? Do you know anyone who has never broken any of God’s laws? The answer is obviously “No”, and neither do I. So here is our problem. All people have broken God’s laws; therefore all people have imperfect souls.3 SOUL So, if at death your soul could either go to Heaven or Hell, but to get to Heaven we have already said that you must have a perfect record, and none of us have one - then sadly all of us must be headed for Hell!  HEAVEN SOUL  HELL 7

Slide 8: That might seem harsh, and you might ask the question, “How could a loving God create a place like Hell, let alone send someone there - a loving God just wouldn’t do that”. Let me try and explain to you why there has got to be this place called Hell. I want you to think of someone that you love very much. Let’s say that person is brutally murdered. The police catch the murderer and the murderer pleads guilty in court. But to your horror, the judge says, “This is a really bad thing that you have done. But, because I am a loving judge I’m just going to let you off”. You would be very angry. Why? Because you know that when someone has broken the law, they must be punished, otherwise there is no “Justice”. So you see Hell is not a love issue, it’s a justice issue.4 8

Slide 9: Now I am going to ask you three questions that someone once asked me that further helped me to understand why there’s got to be this place called Hell. 1. Have you ever told a lie in your life? (If you answered “No” to this question, then you are probably telling your second lie! The truth is that most people have lied at some point in their life, and if you’ve lied once, then you are guilty of being a liar. So am I.) LIAR 2. Have you ever taken anything that’s not yours? (Have you ever gone to work late or left work early and got paid for it? Have you ever copied a CD without asking permission? This is stealing of course. The truth is that most people have taken something that is not theirs, which makes them guilty of being a thief.) THIEF DO YOU THINK GOD IS GOING TO LET THIEVING LIARS LIKE US INTO HEAVEN? I don’t think so, because if He did, He would be the same as the unjust judge who failed to punish the murderer of the one you love. So you see, we cannot have it both ways! 9

Slide 10: But many people say, wait a minute, I’m a “Good person” and there’s a big difference between lying and stealing and murder - I’ve never murdered anyone! But, what’s interesting is the way Jesus redefined words like murder, because He said that if you’ve ever hated a person in your heart, you’ve murdered them in your heart.5 HATE MURDER = SO HERE IS THE LAST QUESTION: 3. Have you ever hated anyone? (The truth is that most people have felt hatred in their hearts towards others, which in God’s eyes makes us guilty of murder! In criminal law you do the crime and you’re guilty - in God’s law you’ve just got to think it and you’re guilty!) LIAR ILTEF GU THI 10

Slide 11: So you see this is the bad news, for the sake of justice there has to be a place called Hell. But the… GOOD NEWS … IS THAT WE CAN BE FORGIVEN! This is the reason why Jesus Christ is such an amazing person. Did you realise that Jesus split the timeline? BC • AD • Christmas • Easter All of these events are based around Jesus Christ’s JESUS All of Us life, and yet most of us have forgotten this. SOUL SOUL The most amazing thing about Jesus though is the difference between his soul and ours. We all have imperfect souls for breaking God’s laws, but Jesus Perfect Imperfect is perfect. 11

Slide 12: Before Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, this is what happened. Jesus looked forward in time and saw you here today, and He turned to God the Father, and asked Him “Father, I love the people in the world, and I don’t want them to go to hell for breaking your laws. Is there a way for them to be forgiven?” And God the Father turned to His Son and said, “Jesus, there is one way. If you go to earth and become a human being, live a perfect life, and then die a cruel painful death on a cross to take the punishment, which the people in the world justly deserve for breaking my laws. Then I will make it possible for them to be forgiven, the day when they ask you to exchange their imperfect record for your perfect record.” Jesus willingly agreed, and according to this world’s history books 2000 years ago He came to lay down His life for us, to pay the price for all of God’s laws that we have broken - and there is no greater love than when someone lays down their life for us.6 SOUL BUT THERE IS STILL SOUL SOUL SOMETHING THAT WE MUST DO TO BE FORGIVEN. LET ME SHOW YOU HOW YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN. The Bible says that there are 3 major events in everyone’s life. There’s birth and death, and ultimately we have no control over these two events, but the third major event in our life, which we do have control over, is the day when we ask Jesus to forgive us. It’s the day when we ask Jesus to give us His perfect record. 12

Slide 13: Now we are not forgiven by being: Christened, Baptised, Confirmed, Praying, Going to Church, Believing in God, or by trying to be good or getting religious. These are all good things, but none of them give us forgiveness.7 Jesus said that there are two things that we must do to be forgiven. 1. The first is that we must be WILLING to turn away from anything we know is wrong in our life and say sorry to Jesus. Notice the word “willing”, there may be some things in your life that you feel powerless to give up in your own strength, like addictions, habits or more complicated things. That’s OK, because God will help us as long as we are willing and want to turn away from those things.8 2. The second thing that we must do is SURRENDER to Jesus. Surrender means this: if God made you in your mother’s womb, and if He made the entire universe that surrounds you - then don’t you think He deserves to be the central person in your life? It’s when we acknowledge that Jesus is God, and it’s when we humble our lives to Him in service.9 13

Slide 14: Say you decided to turn and surrender to Jesus and be forgiven; this is what it would be like for you at death. YOU SEE WHEN YOU WERE BORN; GOD OPENED THIS BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE.10 Bearing in mind God never sleeps, and He sees every attitude, every thought, every motive and every action. Every time we break just one of God’s laws it’s written down in that book - and you can imagine that by the end of our lives there is a whole library written against us. 14

Slide 15: But when you turn and surrender to Jesus this is what happens. Jesus takes your record and stands at the top of a cliff and tears out all of the pages from your book of all the things you have ever done wrong, and He throws them into the deepest sea. He promises to never remember those things again. 15

Slide 16: Jesus then takes a copy of His perfect record, which you’ve asked Him to give you, and He places it inside the cover of your book with your name on the spine of that book. That book is then stored like a precious library book in heaven. The miracle is that your book is not touched again between the point that you ask Jesus to forgive you and death - even though in that time you may make mistakes and break God’s laws again. BIRTH DEATH So you can see that becoming a Christian does not make you instantly perfect in the things that you think, do or say, and neither does it mean that you can just say a quick prayer and return to your old ways. It means that when you receive God’s perfect record, his record is so perfect, it has this miraculous power to forgive us for our entire lives. 16

Slide 17: When you die, you will go before God on judgement day, and God will look at you and He will command His angels to get your book. He will look inside that book and say, “This person was - PERFECT!” You will probably say to Him, “No I wasn’t, I broke your laws! Don’t I justly deserve to go to hell?” And Jesus will say to you, “For the sake of justice, you do deserve to go to hell. You did break my laws, and some you broke many times. But you, my beautiful son or daughter, you have my perfect record, which I gave to you when you turn and surrendered to me on earth and I forgave you.” 11 YOU SO... HEAVEN WELCOME TO HEAVEN! SOUL And that is the very reason why Jesus Christ is so amazing - because He made it possible for everyone in the world, regardless of what mistakes we have made, to be forgiven and to one day enter heaven.12 Perfect 17

Slide 18: BUT SAY, YOU NEVER TURNED AND SURRENDERED. Let’s see what would happen. When you die, you will go before God at judgement, and God will say to you, “I’m sorry, I can’t let you enter heaven. I have to send you to hell. You never asked me to forgive you. I loved you so much that I tried six ways to get through to you. FIRST - I died on the cross to take your punishment. SECOND - this booklet was given to you to explain in a simple way how you could be forgiven. THIRD - there were churches throughout the world - some were good and some I was ashamed of. You could have found the good ones. FOURTH - I gave you a conscience, so you could tell right from wrong. You can’t ever say I didn’t know - I gave you a conscience. FIFTH - I created a world around you that was so awesome, how could you not know that I created it? AND FINALLY... I rose from the dead to prove that I was God and that everything that I said was true - but you still did nothing. I’m sorry I can’t let you enter heaven - I have to send you to hell.” 18

Slide 19: SO... Please be honest, as you consider this question. How about YOU? YOU HEAVEN SOUL ? HELL If you died tonight, where would you go? 19

Slide 20: LETS HAVE A REVIEW The only sort of record that can get you into heaven is a perfect record. There are only two ways to get a perfect record. 1. The first way is to be a perfect person - but we’ve all blown that one. 2. The second way is to ask Jesus for His perfect record. SOUL SOUL SOUL JESUS US 20

Slide 21: What were the TWO THINGS that Jesus said we must do to receive His perfect record? The first was to be willing to turn away from our old way of life (all the things we have done wrong in our lives) and say sorry to Jesus. And the second was to surrender to Jesus (to admit that we need God in our lives). Now unless we’ve done these two things Jesus said it is literally impossible to be forgiven, and at death it is impossible to get to heaven, and that is so sad because that is the very reason why Jesus died for you!13 HEAVEN 21

Slide 22: Is there any reason why you shouldn’t turn and surrender right now? Would you like to turn and surrender right now? IF SO PLEASE SAY THIS PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I cannot thank you enough for dying on the cross for me. I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Please forgive me and give me your perfect record right now. Help me to turn away from everything I know to be wrong and when I fail help me to come back and commit myself to following you. Amen CONGRATULATIONS! You can fill in your details below to remind you of this special moment. Name …………………………............................................... Date ………………………… Time………………………….. 22

Slide 23: What now... 1. TALK TO GOD EACH DAY. You can’t get to know anyone better than by talking to them. Prayer is the best way to develop your relationship with God 2. READ GODS WORD DAILY (The Bible = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) If you don’t own a bible ask a friend or a nearby Church to lend you one. 3. TRY TO FIND A CHURCH THAT YOU LIKE As with people all churches are different try a few nearby and see which one you feel at home in. 4. TELL SOMEONE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU. If possible tell the person who gave you this book. 5. REMEMBER THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY THAT WILL LAST THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Even if you blow it God’s still with you He still loves you. He’s in it for the long haul. So hang in there! ‘Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.’ (From the Bible - Colossians 1:22) 23

Slide 24: NEED TO KNOW MORE? CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES... www.christiananswers.net www.rejesus.com www.biblegateway.com Here you will find answers to questions on... Jesus Christ The Bible Christian Living Other religions Creation and Evolution Suffering Abortion Relationships ...and much more Avanti Ministries Registered office: 6 Clarence Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 1AN, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1702 333 319 Email: info@avantiministries.com Website: www.avantiministries.com 24

Slide 25: BIBLE REFERENCES 1 Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 2 Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” 3 James 2:10 “A person who follows all of God’s law but fails to obey even one command is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law.” 4 Deuteronomy 32:4 “For all His ways are just, a God of truth and without injustice” 5 Matt 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘ You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” 6 John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 7 Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” 25

Slide 26: 8 John 14:21 “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” 9 Colossians 1:16-17 “For by Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” 10 Colossians 2:14 “Having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” 11 Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 12 John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free!” 13 John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” All quotes taken from the NIV version of the Holy Bible 26

Slide 28: 6 Clarence Road Southend On Sea Essex SS1 1AN England Tel: +44 (0)1702 333 319 Email: info@avantiministries.com www.avantiministries.com