We read in John 1:12 that …..as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. To have the power, the strength, to follow Jesus, you need to receive Him into your life. Let’s have a look at Rev.3:20, a verse that shows us how He comes into our lives:
Behold, I stand at the door - that’s the door of your heart, your life;
and knock - He doesn’t break the door down. He knocks quietly;
if any man - that’s you;
hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him - if you open the door of your life, Jesus says He will come in;
and will dine with him, and he with Me - and from that time on He will be with you, and you will be with Him.
The question is now: “How do you open the door of your life to Jesus?” The answer to this question has already been given in chapter two: by praying and asking Him in; we call it: “to say the sinner’s prayer”.
Let’s go back to the verse in the book of Revelation (3:20) and see what Jesus said, because, when we opened our heart, our life, to Jesus, this was a very important moment in our life; and we have to be absolutely sure of what we were doing then. Jesus said: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hears my voice and opens the door…..When you prayed that sinner’s prayer when you were born again, did you open the door of your heart for Him to live in you, by His Holy Spirit? If so, let’s read on what Jesus says: …..if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him. So, according to this verse, where is Jesus right now? In your heart, isn’t He, by His Spirit? And how do you know that? We can know Jesus is in our heart now, because we did what He asked of us: to open the door to Him. You opened the door of your life and invited Him in (I trust He is still in your heart; I think so; otherwise you would not do these studies), and He said: then will I come in.
No matter how you feel, you know that Jesus has come into your life.
Many believers lack assurance of faith, assurance of salvation. And this may cause many negative results in many areas of their lives. The enemy has a weapon to undermine their faith, because they have no trust in God to come to Him in prayer for supernatural support and help; they are hindered by a feeling of inadequacy and are, therefore, reluctant to serve Him.
If you will ever be involved in counselling (pastoral care), then first find out whether the person(s) concerned really has (have) assurance of faith and, therefore, know that he/she/they is/are saved, before you start to deal with the problem(s).
Look at Rom.8:16 - The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.
If I wake up and do not feel well, I may not feel, that I am a child of God, but I am! Emotions and feelings are unreliable.
We have to replace our feelings and emotions by the infallible Word of God.
You must exercise faith in the Word of God; release your faith.
When we exercise our faith, we may expect feelings and emotions.
So, being a child of God does not depend on our feelings and emotions, but we will have certain feelings and emotions when we realize, that we are a child of God for eternity.
1John 5:13 - The basis for assurance is written ; therefore we know we have eternal life. So, not our feelings are the basis of my assurance, but that what is written, the Bible, the Word of God.
John 1:12 - the emphasis is on He gave ; He gave right to those who received Jesus Christ; nothing is said about feelings; it is a fact, it is in God’s Word. It is a fact, that I am a child of God, according to this verse. God says it, I believe it. No two ways about it. Amen and Amen!!!
John 3:36 - God gives eternal life. It is not something for the future; it has already been given; see also John 5:24 and 6:47.
Rom.1:17 - Although the Bible says it, it is of no use, unless I exercise my faith and believe, that what God says in His Word, is true and applicable to my situation! Faith in the Word is not nodding yes, but acting according to what you believe and to what you trust. We therefore, have to believe what God says (and God cannot lie - Num.23:19), and act accordingly.
Important: assurance will be followed by feelings and emotions, and it is not the other way round.