I want you to take your Bibles,
turn with me to the gospel according to John chapter 1. John chapter 1. Especially after what I just
told you about this young man. This message was born to my heart
and the seriousness of our position in this world. I'd like to read
John chapter 1. I'm going to read verses 11 and
12. John 1, 11 and 12. 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. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, I pray that you would bless the word Lord, as
we assemble this evening, I ask you, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, we know
that salvation is all of you. Bless us this evening as we attempt
to worship for Christ's sake. Amen. Our Lord, when he came into this
world, made it one. Made under the law. He came, verse 11 says, unto
his own. He came to the nation of Israel
first. He came to those that he had
sent the law to. He came to those he had sent
the ordinances to. He came to those that claimed
to have been looking for the Messiah. He came to those that knew all
the truth concerning God's Word, concerning the Messiah. But the Scripture said, he came
unto his own. The nation of Israel 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. Now, I've entitled this message
this evening, Have I Received Christ? Have I received Christ? Now, I think back on coming up
in church. I was raised in false religion. False man-centered, man-honoring
religion. And the phrase, receiving Christ,
was quoted often. I was raised hearing that phrase,
receiving Christ, receiving the Lord, if you receive the Lord. Now, often when we hear that
phrase, to many, that biblical truth,
and that is a biblical truth. We speak of grace, substitution. We use, and many others use,
biblical truth. They use correct terminology. But often, receiving Christ is
presented in a distorted way. That is, to make the reception. And I looked up, receiving. To
as many as received Him. And here's what it means. The
taking. The holding. The obtaining. Usually when men speak of receiving
the Lord, what they're talking about is something that is totally
in the hands are left to the final decision of the hands of
men. Usually it's an offer. This is
how it's done. It's an offer that is said to
be made effectual by repeating a prayer. And what usually happens, It's
a prayer of vain repetition. And then there's an empty promise
of salvation based on a man exercising his free will. And then this
question will always be asked. Now, you do believe God, don't
you? Well, nobody's going to say they
don't believe God. Everybody believes God. But usually
receiving Christ, is actually made and presented to be something
that you do. You come out of an aisle, come
out of a pew, you walk down an aisle, you take a preacher's
hand, you shake his hand, and he prays for you. And you just repeat after him. And once you've said that, once
you've actually said that, he assures you You're as sure for
heaven as if you're already there. You're saved. You're saved. Now, that's called receiving
Christ. Now, according to the Scriptures, nothing is farther from the truth. I've never found one instance
in all of the Scriptures where anybody ever walked down an aisle.
I've never found one place Lord willing, I'm going to preach
this Sunday on Christ our altar. And usually when somebody talks
about coming to the altar, they're usually talking about, well,
either this or a bench or something like that. There's only one altar
that God recognizes. Nowhere in the Scriptures can
you ever find men, preachers, gospels, preachers, calling on
men to come down and make decisions for Christ. That's all made up.
That's made up. Now, the terminology, the phrase,
receiving Christ, is scriptural. But what does it mean? What does the Scripture say concerning
receiving Christ? It's not an offer. I'm telling
you it's not an offer. What does God's Word have to
say about the taking, the receiving, the believing, the coming to
the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the first thing I know
is concerning that twelfth verse that I just read. Those that
receive Christ do so. by the grace and the power of
Almighty God. Verse 12 says, but as many as
received Him, as many as took Him, came to Him, believed Him, here's
what happened. To them gave he the power, that
is the right, the privilege, to become the sons of God. Even to them that believe on
his name, which were born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh,
or the will of man, but of God. Men do receive the Lord Jesus
Christ. But I will tell you this, receiving
Christ, believing Christ, coming to Christ, trusting Christ, all
words that can be interchanged and used, is not left up to chance. It's not left up to man's fickle
will. The success of God's covenant
of grace and work of redemption is not left to the will of the
creature, which were born not because their
mom and daddy were believers, not of blood, more the will of
the flesh. I want God to save my kids, my
grandchildren. I want God to save them. I pray
that God saves them. I pray God saves your kids, Mitch.
I pray He saves your wives and your husbands. But I'm going to tell you something.
Men are not born by my desire to have them converted. Not by the will of the flesh.
Not by the will of man. Men don't decide, well, I think
I'm going to get saved. I can remember thinking in my
foolishness and stupidity. I knew my mom and daddy was going
to church, but I tell you, I'm just not ready for that stuff
yet. Now, I'm not saying I don't want to get saved. I'm not telling
you that at all, I would think. What I think I'll do is I think
I'll just wait. just before I die. I think I'll just wait just before
I die. And I'm going to do everything else I want to do. I doubt it. I doubt it. Not of the will of
man, but of God. Receiving Christ as many have
received Him. Receiving Him. is a divine work. It's a miracle of God's grace
accomplished by the will of God totally. Now I will tell you
this, God's people shall be willing in the day of His power, but
the will starts with God Almighty, not with man. Not with man. The Spirit of God by the good
pleasure and purpose of the triune God applies the Word of God in
power to the object of God's mercy. Blessed is the man whom
thou choosest and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may
dwell in thy courts. Sinners don't receive Christ. to be made alive. They receive
Him because they are alive. You listen to this verse, John
3, 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. The reason he believed was because
he had life. He already had life. Nobody believes When they're
dead, nobody. A man receives Christ and does
so by the grace of God. Have I received Christ? I'll
tell you this, if I believe that I've received Christ because
I exercised my free will, if you believe that you've received
Christ because you've exercised your free will, you've never
received Him. No, sir. Here's the second thing. A man receives Christ, comes
to Christ, believes Christ, when God is pleased for that man to
come. Galatians 1.15 says, But when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathen immediately, I conferred not with flesh and
blood, when it pleased God." Ecclesiastes 3.1 says to everything,
to everything, everything. Does that include salvation?
Yes, it does. Salvation would be included under
everything. To everything, there's a season
and a time. To every purpose under the heaven. We exhort men to come to Christ. This life is fleeting. It's frail. We're told to number our days.
Therefore, we speak in scriptural language. Don't ever presume
on God. Don't ever presume on God. I've
got tomorrow. I've got tomorrow. My friend didn't. Rest assured, men are exhorted
to come to Christ. Today is the day of salvation. If you hear His voice, harden
not your heart. Come to Christ. Believe Christ.
Trust Christ. But I'll tell you this, only
Almighty God can make that effectual. We exhort men, we are commanded,
you go into all the world and preach the gospel. Tell them to come. And I'll tell
you when they're going to come. They're going to come when Almighty
God calls them. When God determines that they're
going to come. Isaiah 49, verse 8 says, Thus
saith the Lord. This is what God had said. In an acceptable time. When the Lord is willing, in
an acceptable time. Have I heard thee? In a day of
salvation, or in the day that God grants salvation, have I
helped thee? The Lord, who appoints the time
of natural birth, also appoints the time of spiritual birth. He may call to Samuel in the
days of his youth. called a thief on the cross in
the last hours of his life on this world. But I tell you, when
the fullness of time has come for the recovery of the members
of Christ's body, those that the Father chose to show mercy
to, when the fullness of time, that's what Paul said, when it
pleased God who called me by His grace, whenever Almighty
God is pleased. He sends forth the Spirit of
His Son into our hearts in regenerating power, and we're quickened from
the dead. A new heart is imparted. His
people are made willing in the day of His power. They receive
Christ as God's gift to needy sinners, and they cry from the
heart, Abba, Father. God gives them a new heart. God
makes them willing. And they're doing just exactly
what they want to do. They've got a new nature. There's
new life. There's a new principle of grace.
That stony heart, God said, I took it out. It doesn't rule anymore. I'm going to write my laws on
your heart. I'm going to write my truth on
your heart. I'm your God. You're my people. And His people, according to
the word of our Lord, said that all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. When? In the day of His power.
In the day of His pleasure. Thirdly, those that have received
Christ. Those that have come to Christ
by faith. They continue to come. And they
come convinced. Convinced of Him. John 3.21 says,
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may
manifest that they are wrought of God. He that doeth truth. That is to say, he that acts
and believes and trusts According to truth. According to God's
Word. According to who God says He
is. According to who Christ says
He is. Those that trust Him. According
to God's report of Him. Sovereign. God. Not someone impotent that can't
do anything. God Almighty. He that doeth truth
acts. That's the word. He that acts
according to truth cometh to the light, cometh and cometh
and cometh again and again and again to God's Word. Why? That I may know Him. that I might be found in Him,
that I might learn of Myself. I need to be taught. I want to
be taught. Those that continually come,
they find comfort and strength and hope and help in the Lord's
promises. I'll never leave you. When you
go through the fire, I'll be with you. I'll never suffer you
to fall. You stumble, you'll rise. Why? I'm going to keep you. And those that come often, they
come convinced. Convinced of their life in Christ. John 3.33, he that hath received
his testimony has set to His seal that God is true. Those that have believed Christ,
believed this Word, yielded themselves to Him, assent to His seal. That means they have acknowledged
their belief. This is where I make my stand.
That's wrong, Gary. We say, here I raise my heavenly
knee, sir. This is where I place my banner.
This is what I believe. This is what I believe. What? God is true. And every man's
a liar. Convinced. Last scripture, John
6, 67-69. They're convinced. Then said
Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? And Simon Peter
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. Those that receive Christ, they
come by grace. They come by God's power. They
come by God's choosing. They come by God's mercy. They
come by God's compassion. And they come When God calls
them, they come in God's timing. Why does Almighty God, why would
God Almighty wait and call one at this time or one at this time?
Because it pleased Him to do so. As Brother Scott used to tell
us, as long as there's life, as long as there's breath in
your lungs, There's hope. There's hope. And those that come, they keep
coming. They keep coming. Someone says,
well, I came to the Lord years ago. By the grace of God, I'm
coming right now. He that cometh unto me, he that
cometh, cometh. And they come convinced. I know
this. My Redeemer liveth. My Redeemer
is alive. And I'm going to see Him. I'm
going to see Him, Joseph says. These eyes are going to behold
Him. I'm going to see Him. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart as we remember our Lord tonight in the partaking
of this table for God's sheep, God's people, regenerated by
the grace of God. We eat and drink together. Hollis.