COME TO CHRIST

INTRODUCTION

Christmas is a grand invitation to come to Christ. To many people the closest they can come to believing in Christ is at Christmas. And countless invitations are given: We sing:

• “O, come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant...O Come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him - Christ the Lord.” (145)


• “Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing, Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King.” (132)


• “Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king.” (131)


• “O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.” (127)

In the Bible accounts of the birth of Jesus the shepherds and the wise men were invited to come to Jesus the Christ. At the invitation for the shepherds they gladly told their story and left glorifying and praising God. The wise men came and gave gifts to Christ and worshipped Him.

Have you accepted an invitation given to you to come to Christ?

Do you believe in Him as Savior? Do you adore Him? Do you worship Him?

Romans 10:9-10

Simply tells us how to come to Christ. 2 key words found two times.

• “believe” - to trust, to place confidence in, to be committed to. A life changing decision. Not just an intellectual understanding, but continual trust. Believe Jesus is the Lord/God, who rose from the dead.


• “confess” - to speak, to admit, to declare. Vine’s Dictionary: “to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts.” (p. 224)

Inside of you (your heart and mind) you “believe” the facts of Christ - He is God, your Savior who died on cross for you and rose again from the dead to give eternal life. Christmas story and Easter story absolutely true. John 3:16

Then you seek ways to “confess” - tell someone, verbalize it. Tell God. Tell your family, tell the church, anyone. “Go tell it on the Mountain, over the hills and everywhere.” Believers Baptism is a wonderful way to testify of your death to sin and resurrection to new life in Christ. Have you come/confessed?

Everyone who comes to Christ comes in a unique way.

1. Some come Slowly - it takes time

• Thomas followed Jesus for three years finally after the resurrection did Thomas declare personally/publically “My Lord and My God.” (Jn 20:28)


• Maybe you have been in/out church for years, or you have known the facts of Christ for a long while, might even be a religious person, but have doubts/fears, hesitations. You have never crossed over to trust/commitment. Please don’t hesitate this Christmas - Believe and confess.

2. Some come Suddenly - Apostle Paul - Damascus Road. (Acts 9)

• The light goes on. Ah, Ah! You realize your sinfulness, are confronted with the gospel, and you boldly and dramatically make decision of faith.


• Like Paul you may be religious, or maybe like the Samaritan woman a sinner who meets Jesus in a moment and life is changed dramatically.

3. Some come Steadily - Young Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15)

• All their life they have believed, didn’t know when they didn’t believe.


• Timothy from a child knew the scriptures that lead to salvation…Grew up under influence of his Godly grandmother Lois, and mother Eunice.

ILLUS: Billy Graham spent his entire career seeking to bring people to Christ - who knows how many invitations he has given? His conversion was sudden at age 17. Yet his wife, Ruth, was steady, he writes: “She cannot recall a time she didn’t believe Jesus was her Savior, even as a child.”

Graham writes in The Journey: “The important thing is not how we come to Christ, but that we do come, and that we are sure we are now trusting Christ for our salvation. Are you certain of your commitment to Him?” (p. 54)

I think I could say that my story involves all three ways of coming to Christ.

Steadily - raised in a Christian home, attended a Bible believing church. From childhood I always knew about Jesus Christ.

Suddenly - at age 4 I made a personal decision. It is in my memory - in my bedroom at the Hardy Farm. My parents recall my decision as well.

Slowly - over the next few years I better understood what that meant, so at age eleven I was ready to make a confession of my faith.

Only in recent years have I understood more about my coming to Christ.

Why age 4? - right before my decision we had a tragedy in our family, at a very young age I understood life and death. My parents wanted to make sure I believed so I could go to heaven. I didn’t want to die and go to hell.

Why age 11? God had been working in my heart, went to Bible camp first time, different setting - an intense week of evangelism. Many children and youth make decisions at Bible camp - I remember walking forward at the altar call, and some preacher whose name and face I cannot recall helped me understand what being a Christian was about and my assurance.

Only recently did I realize that summer was the summer of 1968. Cultural revolution of ’60’s, 1968 was a most dramatic summer of history: Vietnam’s Tet Offensive, to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Black Panthers, antiwar demonstrations, riots at Democratic convention in Chicago. In Mexico, 500 students were massacred before the Summer Olympics. Yet, in that cultural chaos, I am a testimony that God was still at work... Regardless of what is happening in the chaos our world, God is still at work in individual lives.

What is your story? How has God worked or working right now in your life?

Slowly, Suddenly, Steadily? Believe in Christ. Confess Christ.

Here is the invitation for today. Wherever you are in your faith journey, if you have believed or need to cross over to belief today - I invite you to to me and confess Christ as you leave here today.