Without a First Surrender to God—ending the rebellion of your soul against Him by receiving Jesus Christ—you do not have a relationship with Him, and you are not experiencing the abundant life He offers. Here is a summary of the First Surrender.
1. We are created for relationship with GOD the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created all that can be seen and touched, as a gift, and as an environment for love and relationship.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26. NIV.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts 17:24-28. NIV.
Jesus co-created everything with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He Himself is the life and light that is the greatest gift to mankind…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-4. NIV.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9. NIV.
2. God’s gift of holy friendship with sinless humans was broken by sin. “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Romans 14:23. Failing to believe and trust God, and deciding to go our own way, we rejected the gift of light and life in Christ that was ours.
…sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned… Romans 5:12.
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… Romans 3:23.
For the wages of sin is death… Romans 6:23.
When man chose to sin, he separated himself spiritually from GOD, and experienced a spiritual death and darkness that leads to physical death, and ultimately to permanent separation from God throughout eternity. The sinful nature—where we naturally think and act in unbelief—passes down from generation to generation, and we are born naturally rejecting the light and life of Christ. We are born spiritually dead, and separated from God.
3. Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to die on the cross for our sins—paying the penalty of death and separation that we deserve—so that we can know and experience the life and light of God’s love forevermore.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,** and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles… 1 Corinthians 15:3-7.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
4. Knowing the truth about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. Each person must receive Him personally, to experience the life and light of God’s love forevermore.
About receiving Jesus:
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:9-13.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:35-40.
Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20.
RECEIVE JESUS NOW: THE FIRST SURRENDER
How do we receive Him/come to Him/look to Him/open the door to Him? Belief is instantaneous. One second, you don’t believe, and the next, you do! Receiving is your response, the personal expression of your faith to GOD—a calling out to Him, in your mind or out loud—from your heart. Receiving involves three aspects of belief.
Pray… Prayer is thinking, or talking, to/with God. You are believing that God exists and that He hears you, when you pray sincerely. Prayer is the medium of surrender.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13.
…to Repent…Repentance is a turning from thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that ignore or oppose God, an expression of your belief that you have sinned and are separated from God, and a sorrow for denying Him.
I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Ezekiel 18:30.
Repentance involves confession, which is agreeing with God that we have fallen short of the glory of God, in thought, word, and deed, and that we have not trusted Him.
‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly…’ 1 Kings 8:47.
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. Proverbs 1:23.
…And Surrender…
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:6b, 7, 10.
If you believe these things, then pray to God–confessing, repenting, and receiving. You can pray the following, or something like this. (The words are just vehicles for the attitude of your heart. God knows your heart, beyond the limitations of words).
My God,
I have not trusted you. I’ve been trying to do life without you, and I realize now that I can’t know you, or the life you offer, when I am full of darkness. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins, and suffering to save me. I open the door to you, and receive you as my Savior and LORD. I surrender myself to you. Lead me in the life you want for me. Thank you for forgiving me and and giving me eternal life!
Amen.
If you just prayed this prayer, CONGRATULATIONS! You now have new life that is not like your old life. You might not feel any different, but there is an unseen reality that would take your breath away, if you could see what just happened with spiritual eyes. To uncover the truth of your decision in this moment, see the post: Second Surrender: Split-Second Surrender to the Holy Spirit. This next post will also show you how to trust the LORD in day-to-day life.
Did you just pray to receive Christ? Let me know through the Contact Form. I would like to encourage you by email with some next steps.
*Scripture quoted in this post comes from: Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®. I have added text formatting, such as changing the font to bold, italics, or underlined, to add emphasis. I encourage you to read the verses in context of the passages. I prefer NIV Copyright ©1984.
**Peter.