The moment we repent of our old sinful life and surrender ourselves entirely to God, we are baptized in water into Jesus Christ, and we receive the Holy Spirit, then we are born again into the new man who walks in newness of life to love and serve God. (John 3:1-8; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6:8-11; Galatians 4:4-6). And from that moment we belong entirely to Jesus, for He bought us with the highest price, which is his blood shed for us on the cross (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
What, then, is our legacy and obligation before God?
We must first understand that we have to get rid of the routines of the flesh, and the cares and worries of this life, and concentrate on knowing the perfect will of God. That is why God preserved for us His Word recorded in the Holy Bible, so that we would know it. And He gave it to us through his prophets and apostles, and through Jesus himself, the Living Word, who said:
“It is the Spirit that gives Life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are Life." (John 6:63)
"If you continue in my Word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)
"I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and all that bears fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean by the Word that I have spoken to you.
"Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself if it does not remain in the vine, so neither can you if you do not remain in me. I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you remain in me and my Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:1-7)
The apostle Paul wrote in this regard:
"Therefore, brothers, I beg you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your rational worship.
“And do not conform to this world, but transform yourselves through the renewal of your mind (meditating on the Scriptures), so that you can verify what the will of God is: what is good, acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2)
Every child born of God and disciple of Jesus must examine himself and see if his heart is focused on heavenly things or on earthly things, as Paul well exhorted us in his letter to the Colossians:
"If, then, you have been raised with Christ, seek things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)
Jesus taught us that we must first seek the Kingdom of God our Father and his divine justice; and not be distracted or get entangled in the cares of life and the chores of this world, as the unbelievers do. He promised that God would provide for each of our basic needs, as long as we wholeheartedly seek Him and are willing to constantly do his will. (See Matthew 6:24-34.)
The apostle Paul exhorts us saying that as soldiers of Christ we must be militants and not get involved in the business or affairs of this life:
“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who recruited him as a soldier. " (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Jesus said that we must ask and continue to ask God in prayer in a constant and decisive way, so that we can be filled of his Holy Spirit every time we seek and call on Him. Let's see what He taught about praying constantly:
“Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say: «Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to my house on a trip, and I have nothing to offer him» ; and he, responding from within, says to him: «Don't bother me; the door is already closed, and my children and I are in bed; I can't get up to give you anything.» I tell you that even if he does not get up to give him something because he is his friend, nevertheless, due to his importunity, he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
"And I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Suppose that one of you who is a father, his son asks for bread; will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish; will he give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg; will he give him a scorpion? For if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things from the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? " (Luke 11:5-13)
God wants us to desire Him more than anything else or loved one, for He and His Son created us to know and love and serve Them both from the beginning of Creation. And after Adam and Eve, the first human beings on Earth, sinned and got cursed separating themselves from God for disobedience, God still provided in his mercy our redemption by sending his Son to die and be buried and rise again the third day for us, in order to set us free from the dominion and curse of sin that was upon us. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans chapters 3 to 6.)
On one occasion, a Samaritan woman asked Jesus where we should worship God, whether on a specific mountain of the Samaritans or in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, and He answered her the following:
"Woman, believe me; the hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth; for indeed the Father seeks such people to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." (John 4:21-24)
God wants us to worship Him at all times and places, praying in his Holy Spirit and meditating on the Truth of his Word. God does not want religiosity from us, practicing a religion based on following men's traditions and attending to weekly services, but an intimate and personal relationship with Him, and on a daily basis.
God's Word tells us that our faith is based on having constant fellowship and communion with God and with Jesus Christ, in order to know Them intimately:
"These things Jesus spoke, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, He said:« Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you, because you gave Him authority over every human being to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is Eternal Life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent»." (John 17:1-3)
(John the apostle:) "What we have seen and heard about the Word of life, we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have communion with us, and indeed our communion is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1-3)
When someone asked Jesus what was the great commandment in God's law, He replied:
"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and the first commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)
Let us examine ourselves and ask: 'Are we who are born again truly fulfilling the greatest commandment of God to LOVE HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY, dedicating enough time each day to seek Him, and know Him and his will, through meditating on his Word and praying in his Holy Spirit?' (See 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Jude 1:20-21.)
What is the second commandment of God that Jesus said we should keep, and which complements and completes the first?
"And the second commandment is similar to this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:39)
How will we fulfill the second commandment to LOVE ALL OUR FELLOW MEN, which is humanly impossible, unless we are fulfilling the first, spending enough time in intimate and daily communion with God, so that we may be filled of his Spirit of selfless Love?
God draws near and rewards only those who seek Him and draw near to Him everyday wholeheartedly, and abhor all kind of carnal mentality of this world, which is enmity against God:
(Paul the apostle:) "Without faith it is impossible to please God; because it is necessary that whoever draws near to God believes that He is there, and that He is a rewarder of those who fervently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
(Paul the apostle:) “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, on the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)
(James the apostle:) "O adulterous souls! Don't you know that the friendship of the world is enmity towards God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that Scripture says in vain: «Does the indwelling Spirit jealously yearn for us?» But He gives grater grace. Therefore it says: «God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.»
"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and you double-minded, purify your hearts. Grieve, mourn, and weep; may your laughter turn to tears and your joy to sadness. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord God and He will exalt you." (James 4:4-10)
So, if we have repented and surrendered to God, and have been baptized in water into Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8; Acts 2:38-39), we have a constant duty to seek, draw near and have fellowship with God and with his Son, so that THEY MAY DRAW NEAR TO US, and we may be filled of the Holy Spirit, in order to serve Them wholeheartedly and victoriously:
(God:) "You will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
(God:) “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will reveal to you great and mighty things that you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
The purpose of drawing close to God is not for the benefit of oneself to simply obtain his favor and blessing. The true purpose is so that we can be filled of the GLORY and POWER of God, and of the TRUTH and LOVE of Jesus Christ, in order to share the Gospel of salvation from sin and condemnation, and transmit the Holy Spirit to others.
God loved us so much that He gave us his beloved Son as an atoning sacrifice, so that once He resurrected from the dead, They could both live in us, for us to be able now to ENLIGHTEN, REACH, HEAL AND SAVE LIVES as we share the Gospel–the Good News-with all those around!
(Jesus:) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes and commits to Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved from sin and condemnation through Him. He who believes and commits to Jesus is not condemned, but he who does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)
(Jesus:) "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter to be with you forever; that is, the Spirit of Truth, to which the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him nor know Him; but you do know Him because He now dwells with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. A little longer and the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me; because I live, you will also live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
"He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and manifest myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he will keep my Word; and my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make our abode with him." (John 14:15-21, 23)
(Jesus:) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. So let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
(Jesus:) “Truly, truly, I say to you: whoever believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do; and even greater in number than these he will do, because I am going to my Father. And whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)
(Jesus:) “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and commits, and is baptized in Me, will be saved from sin and condemnation; but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
“And these signs will follow those who have believed and trust: In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will take snakes in their hands, and even if they drink something deadly, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18) □