I became a follower of Jesus and chose to believe all of this because the evidence was impossible to deny.
Along with this, I became a Christian because I believe that everything written about Jesus in the Bible is true.
Yes, of course, I also became a believing follower of Him because I need forgiveness. I chose to believe, based on all the facts, that Jesus also died for me so that my sins of the past could be fully forgiven.
Therefore, I know and believe that something new has happened in me, yes, that I have been, as it were, “born again” as Jesus explains it in John 3! That is why I experience this new life in my life today, and I know and believe that there will also be enough hope for tomorrow.
Being a Christian means belonging to Christ.
Without Christ, without Jesus, there is nothing.
Yes, I know many people describe what we hold on to as Christians as if it were just another one of so many religions in the world.
Yet I believe and know that it is not really a religion. After all, it is not something we do, or try to do, to serve God or to make or keep him happy.
After all, the heart of our faith as followers of Jesus is precisely that a person can in no way do anything that can ever be “good enough” for the only true God. This is precisely the reason why Jesus, God the Son, had to become a man in our place, to come and do what was necessary so that God could forgive, absolve, and completely restore us to be His family.
Think of your life like a car. Being a Christian means that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is now in your car. I am going to ask you right now, if He is not in your car yet, to invite Him in.
Many of you have already invited Him into your car; maybe there is someone here who has not yet made that choice. Today, you have another opportunity to invite Him into “your car”.
Remember what it says in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.”
John 1:12 speaks of “receiving him”, choosing to believe in Him.
Can I ask you: Have you accepted Jesus by faith as your Savior and Lord?
Please, take this opportunity and do it today!
For those who have invited Him into their life-car somewhere in the past, my question is: Where in the car does He sit?
Does He only get into your car when you go to church on Sundays to be with you for that hour or so on a Sunday?
Of course, that is not how it works!
Okay, but where in your car is He then? In the back seat? Is He just a passenger? Or is He sitting in the front passenger seat? Is He a companion, but still not in control?
Yes, I know! You’re waiting for me to ask if Jesus is the Driver of your car?
Even if you say “Yes,” I’m going to ask you right away: Are you a “back-seat driver”?
Maybe Jesus is driving your car, but if He wants to turn off or drive somewhere you don’t expect or don’t do what you want to, I hear you asking from behind: “Where are we going now?”
Let me use an example.
Maybe Jesus is teaching you how to give more often and more generously.
So many of us then say: “No, Lord, I can’t give now or here. There’s not even enough for my loved ones and me!”
Or maybe the Lord wants to take you on the path of forgiveness.
I hear many of us say: No, I don’t want to forgive them.
My faith in Jesus must influence my behavior. It must influence what I do, say, and think.
Therefore, today is another opportunity for you and me to choose again to allow the Spirit of God to control your entire life, as Gal. 5:16 says.
Then His Spirit will make the characteristics of Jesus visible in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
So, whether you have been a Christian for five months or fifteen years, what does the fruit look like in your life?
If you are lacking in those characteristics, it is a warning light on your dashboard telling you it is time to reposition Jesus.
Some of you have another opportunity today to choose and say: “I want Him in my life. I want Him as the Manager of my life.”
Others will say, “I need to reposition Him.”
Today is another chance for you to choose. Use it because you are now more certain than ever about what the full truth about Him is.