New to Grafted To Grow and not sure were to begin?
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
How can a man be born when he is old? How can these things be? John 3:4, 9.
This new birth is the result of receiving Christ as the Word of God.
Moreover, of the Divine truths impressed by the Holy Spirit upon the heart.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
It is the Spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 3:6; John 6:63.
Thus when the truth becomes an abiding principle in the life, the soul is born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. 1 Peter 1:23.
We Must Be Born Again
Only the Holy Spirit can do the entire transformation here need it. It begins with submission and our first work is within the heart.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6.
God loves everyone and compels no one. His love draws us to Himself. When I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me. John 12:32.
True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. It springs from the love to God, His Law and righteousness.
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, because as He is, so are we in this world.
We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:16, 17, 19.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; Ezekiel 36:26.
God is willing and able to convert and sanctify our hearts.
The blessing comes when we surrender ourselves by faith to God. That's our part. Therefore let us ask Him:
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalm 51:5-13.
Thus by the new birth experience through Christ we can secure our entrance into the Kingdom of God and be saved.
Therefore, no human invention can ever find a remedy for the sinning soul.
It boils down to the love of the Father, which led Him to give His Son unto death that humanity might be saved.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:14, 15.
For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.
Therefore, humans must look upon the Son of Man as their Saviour unto eternal life.
Thus we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18.
The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
Therefore, Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
It is written: In Christ was life; and the life was the light of men - the only One;
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. John 1:4; Acts 4:12.
God reads every heart. He is the heart-searching God. Moreover, He alone with absolute certainty knoweth them that are His. 2 Timothy 2:19.
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Read more verses from John, chapter 3 here.
Listen to this blog here.
References:
AA 520; COL 97; 2SP 128-131 - The Ellen G. White Estate
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
When we contemplate Jesus' life with all that He went through we can only repeat the exclamation of John:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
God is love and He cares for the creatures He has made.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. Psalm 103:13..
A new spirit will I put within you.
The new spirit is the Spirit of God in us.
And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Moreover, ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:27, 28.
His hand is stretched out still. Why wait longer?
Why Wait Longer?
Your Creator And Redeemer Longs For You - Take Him at His Word
Learn to trust in God's love and His power to save and restore His moral image in you.
The Spirit of God is pleading with you to seek for those things that alone can give you peace and rest - the grace of Christ and the joy of holiness. Give to Christ your guilt and fear today.
He can satisfy the craving of your heart. Believe the Son of God.