Four Steps To Jesus

One bright and beautiful Sunday morning, people gathered in the church and listened to the organ play. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the door, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from him. Everyone left except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God’s ultimate enemy was in his presence.

Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don’t you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." Satan asked, "Aren’t you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain’t," said the man.

Satan was a little perturbed at this and asked, "Why aren’t you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for 48 years!"

I haven’t seen any of Satan’s relatives here and in that sense the only way you and I can stand up to him is to bear on our hearts the name of Jesus! One of the saddest things that can happen to any Christian is to hear the gospel invitation over and over again and go to the grave not having received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The other day I was watching Dr. Michael Yousef (Pastor of The Leading Way Church in Atlanta) doing an interview on TBN and he said that one of the things he had learned in over 30 years of his ministry is that people are afraid of making any kind of commitment. He talked about the fact that there are so many single young women around because the men in particular are unwilling to make a commitment to marry. According to him this trend began about 40 years ago and is progressive. “We see the same thing in Church” he said. People attend Church but only a handful in every congregation have really committed their life to Christ. We put off for tomorrow what we can do today and for many, tomorrow never comes!

It is great to be in Church but if your life is void of Christ you might only be fooling yourself. May be you already have a wonderful relationship with Jesus – if so, share him with those who don’t. But for those of you who been finding it difficult to receive Jesus into your life allow me to share with you four simple steps to receive him into your heart.

Step 1 - Sit at his feet:

We are so accustomed to being in the driver’s seat whether steering a car or steering our lives. We always like to be in control no matter what the situation. Take Timothy McVeigh for example. Just before his execution he said, “I am the captain of my destiny and master of my soul”. But in terms of our spiritual life, if we are the master of our soul, then Jesus has no role to play at all. We might as well figure out our own salvation. Mary was a sinful woman but she won the heart of Jesus by sitting at his feet. Elsewhere scripture tells us (most scholars believe it is the same Mary) that she not only sat at his feet but that she also washed his feet with her tears. By humbling herself at the master’s feet, Mary not only chose her rightful place but was also able to win Jesus’ heart and receive him into her life. Scripture (Luke 10:38-42) tells us that “ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. Martha had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Friends, it is better to sit at the feet of the Lord than have all the pleasures and riches in the world. Don’t allow yourself to get too caught up in everyday life that you have no time to be in God’s presence. A great way to reach into the heart of God is to sit at his feet!

Step 2 - Listen to his voice:

We have a little dog that we love very much. Unfortunately, he has to spend a lot of time in the garage because of obvious reasons. We leave our home for work each morning while it is still dark outside. When we open the garage door to take the car out, somehow he sneaks away into the darkness. At that time, we are so busy packing the car with our everyday things that often times we do not realize he’s gone. But when I find out, I begin to call. I can’t see anything in the darkness but I hope he will respond. It takes a few minutes but sooner or later I see him return in full gallop. He comes back because he hears my voice and is obedient to listen. He knows we love and care for him and that we call because we are worried about his safety. In like manner, Jesus does the same for us. You and I often sneak away into the darkness of this world to do things that is not pleasing to God. But God is always calling for us knowing fully well that we are on a dangerous mission. He keeps calling and calling and calling, hoping that we will hear his voice and come home. In John 10:27 & 28 Jesus says: “My sheep listen to my voice; and I know them. They hear and follow me. And because they follow me, I give them eternal life. Friends, if you are out in the darkness befriending the world, listen carefully for the Savior’s voice because he wants you to come home!”