4 OUR RESPONSE

We must indvidually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love and plan.

We Must Receive Christ
"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8)

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Here I am! I stand at the door knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20)

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

These two circles represent two kinds of lives.

A life without Jesus Christ
Self is in the center and on the throne; Christ is outside.

A life entrusted to Christ.
Christ is in the center and on the throne, and self yeilds to Christ.

Which circle best describes your life?

Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

The following explains how you can receive Christ...

You Can Receive Christ Right Now
by Faith Through Prayer (Prayer is talking to God)

God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

How to Know That Christ is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life?
According to His promise as recorded in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life and be your Savior and friend so you can know Him personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"And this is the testimony: 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 jave life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:11-13)

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in.