The Most Important Thing Cont'd (Pg 5)

Step Four
Our Response - We must place our individual trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and receive Him by personal invitation.

This is something we must do "for ourselves". No one else can do this for us.  It is an individual decision, made by our own free will and in response to an inward drawing by the Holy Spirit. This drawing is rather like the "tug on the line" when fishing. It is simply your inner self responding to the truth of the Gospel as outlined here. It is easily squashed or ignored and turned away from. The reason for this is because God is a gentleman, he does not force his way upon you or into your life. Yet, at the same time, his "tug" is insistent as he faithfully seeks to draw us to himself.

The Bible says...

This, therefore, is the question you need to answer: Will you receive Jesus Christ right now? 

If you will then here is how you can receive Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour and be sure of eternal life:

1. Admit your need.  Each of us needs to be able to say, "I am a sinner and need to be forgiven". It is important to realise that you cannot "make up" for your wrong choices or sin. You cannot earn forgiveness - it can only be received as a free gift on the basis of what Christ did on your behalf at the cross. At the cross Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sin. He was punished instead of you. He took your place. If you pay for your own sin and die as a sinner, then you will spend eternity separated from God. That is what the Bible calls "death" and it means eternal separation from God forever and ever.
2. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins:  You need to be forgiven because you are a sinner.  So, you must ask for forgiveness.  This involves a willingness to turn away from being a sinner and doing sinful things.  This is repentance. Repentance is a word that means to "turn away". In this case you are turning away from your own way and from making those choices that did not take into account the will of God or his standard of right and wrong. This does not mean that you are promising to always do the right thing from now on, as this you cannot do, but it does mean your are sorry for all those willful and selfish choices that took you away from God and his will for your life and that with his help you genuinely desire to choose his will (as revealed in the Bible) from now on.
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave. You do this with the same simple trust a child has in the promise of their parents. (I know that many parents fail to keep their promises, but it is the sort of trust a child ideally places in loving and caring parents.)
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. This means, receiving him as Lord and Saviour. I have found that it is best to do this out loud in a clear and definite manner. By all means find a private spot, alone in your room or perhaps in your car while parked in a private spot where you can concentrate and give him your whole attention. However, you should not put this off one moment longer than you possibly can, so even if the circumstances are not very private, do it as sincerely and genuinely as you can in your heart or under your breath. The important thing is that you have a serious transaction with the Lord Jesus Christ with as little delay as possible. Remember that God knows your heart and follows your thoughts. The Bible says that, he knows our "thoughts afar off". (Psalm 139: 3 The whole Psalm reveals some amazing insights into God's knowledge of each of us individually.) So, however you do it, be fully assured that he will see, hear and know.

I invite you to use this prayer as I have prepared it. Make the words your own, but be sincere and genuine before the Lord.

(Amen means, "let it be", or "so be it". It is a clear affirmation of sincerity and intention.)

God's Assurance: This is no less than His Word. 
If you prayed this prayer with sincerity you have the full assurance of many clear statements in the Bible that will act as a foundation for faith. Here is one of them:

This is a very clear promise and one you should memorise right now, as it will keep your heart confident no matter how uncertain things may appear in time to come.

Please read this next section as thoughtfully and carefully as possible as it will help you gain confidence and security in your new life.

Did you sincerely ask Jesus Christ to come into your life? If so you are now able to answer these two simple questions. Where is He (Jesus Christ) right now and what has He given you? The answers are very important and they are these: Christ has come into your heart and life by faith, and he now indwells you by his Spirit to guide and comfort you all the days of your life. Added to that he has given you the gift of eternal life so that you "will never die". Your body may grow old and decay and eventually go into the grave, however, you now possess the gift of eternal life - life that goes on unhindered by physical death and you will enjoy a new physical body for all eternity with all those who have shared in this experience. I urge you to read these two passages in your Bible as soon as you can to explain more about the wonderful future God has prepared for his believing children. 
Go first to 1 Corinthians 15 (please read the whole chapter), and also, 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 - 18.

Step 5. How to go on and live your new life in Christ...