How Will You Receive Jesus?

John 1:10-13: "He was in the

world, and the world was made
by him, and the world knew him
not. He came unto his own, and
his own received him not. But as
many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name: Which
were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God."
Today, I am continuing the Just
Jesus Evangelistic Campaign,

which is aimed at bringing lost

souls to Jesus Christ and
reminding Christians, in this
election year, to keep the main
thing the main thing -- preaching
the Gospel to every creature and
not getting caught up in the
presidential campaign.
Warren Wiersbe said, Why did
people reject Jesus Christ?
Because they knew him not.
They were spiritually ignorant.
Jesus is the true Light -- the
original of which every other
light is a copy. The Jews were
content with copies. They had

Moses and the law, the temple

and the sacrifices, but they did
not comprehend that these
lights pointed to the true Light
who was the fulfillment, the
completion, of the Old
Testament religion.
One might find it surprising, but
when Jesus Christ came into the
world, He was not received with
open arms. Notice the reaction
of three groups of people as
described in John chapter 1:
1. The world in general rejected
Jesus. The world knew him

not The Son of God had a

remarkable entrance into this
world. He was born of a virgin,
thousands of angels announced
his birth, and wise men from the
East came to present him with
gifts. Yet, unlike the Christmas
celebrations which go on today,
the world in general barely
glanced at the manger in
Bethlehem. When King Herod,
who was the ruler of Judea at
that time, found out from the
Jewish religious scholars that a
king was expected to be born,
sent out his army to kill all boys

under two years of age. What a

way to welcome the Son of God.
Jesus was in the world that he
had made, yet the world did not
receive him, and many did not
even know he had come.
2. Jesus own people, the Jews,
rejected him. John says, He
came unto his own, and his own
received him not. Of all the
groups of people in first century
Palestine, the ones most likely
to welcome the Messiah with
open arms did not receive him
either. Many of the Jews who
had been looking for and hoping

for a Savior hated Jesus. He

upset the established religious
order. He did not come to affirm
the hypocritical traditions of the
religious leaders, rather he
turned it on its head, stating that
the poor, the sinners, the
humble, and the Gentiles would
be the first to enter into the
kingdom of God.
One is reminded of one of
Flannery OConnors short
stories titled Revelation. In the
story, Mrs. Turpin, a well-to-do
southern white woman living in
the 1960s, sits in a hospital

waiting room observing the

different types of people coming
in and out as she waits for her
husband to be treated. It is
revealed that she has a hidden
disdain for Negroes, white
trashy people, and people who
are, in her words, not trashy,
just common. They are not as
good as she and her husband.
Later that day, after she returns
home and has an unpleasant (in
her mind) exchange with her
Negro servants, she goes out to
the field where she has an
epiphany. The sky opens

before her and she sees a long

line of people going up to
Heaven. To her shock and
amazement, at the front of the
line are the Negroes, the white
trashy people, and the common
folk dancing and singing on
their way to the pearly gates.
And the well-to-do whites like
herself are in the back, coming
along at a slower pace.
That is the kind of story Jesus
told the Jews when he came to
earth, and they didnt like it, so
they, too, rejected him and

eventually turned him over to be

crucified.
3. Finally, we have the people
who received Jesus. There were
only a few at the time, but John
says, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his
name. These people who
believed on Jesus were born
again into Gods family. This
new birth was not of blood -that is, their human birth did not
get them into Gods family.
Unlike what some in our culture
teach, just because you are

human does not mean that you

are going to Heaven or that you
are a child of God. This new
birth was also not of the will of
the flesh -- that is, their human
works, what they did in the
flesh, did not make them
children of God. Nor was this
new birth of the will of man -that is, nothing done by any
other man got them into Gods
family. This new birth was of
God. Everyone who accepts
Jesus Christ is born again by
the power of God.

So how will you receive Jesus?

Here is how you should:
First, please understand that
you are a sinner and that you
have broken God's laws. The
Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For
all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God." Please
understand that because of your
sins, you deserve punishment in
hell. Romans 6:23 says "the
wages of sin is death" This is
both physical death and
spiritual death in hell.

But here is the good news. John

3:16 reads, "For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting
life."
The phrase "For God so loved
the world" means that if you are
in this world, God loves you no
matter what you have done.
The next phrase, "that He gave
His only begotten Son" refers to
Jesus Christ. He is God's son
who suffered, bled, and died on

the cross for your sins and for

mine, and He was buried and
rose again.
Our next phrase is "that
whosoever believeth in Him".
The word "whosoever" means
anybody at anytime. The phrase
"believeth in Him" means to
trust in Him, to depend upon
Him, to rely on Him, or to have
faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, "should not
perish", refers to eternal
punishment in a place called
hell.

And, lastly, the phrase "but have

everlasting life" means to live
eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans
10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.... For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved."
Dear friend, if you are willing to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation, please pray with

me this simple prayer: Heavenly

Father, I realize that I am a
sinner and that I have done
some bad things in my life. For
Jesus Christ sake, please
forgive me of my sins. I now
believe with all of my heart that
Jesus Christ died for me, was
buried, and rose again. Lord
Jesus, please come into my
heart and save my soul and
change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that
Jesus Christ died on the cross,
was buried, and rose again,
allow me to say, congratulations

on doing the most important

thing in life and that is accepting
Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Saviour! For more information
to help you grow in your
newfound faith in Christ, go to
Gospel Light Society.com and
read "What To Do After You
Enter Through the Door". Jesus
Christ said in John 10:9, "I am
the door: by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and shall
go in and out, and find pasture."
God loves you. We love you.
And may God bless you.