'Last Sermon of Jesus'
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said 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 home with him.
God has given us the free will to decide our own future. If we want to follow Him, then He will help us to fulfil His perfect, wonderful, and glorious will and plans for us. If we do not want to follow Him, then He cannot help us. He will not impose His will on us and that is why the bible is full of 'ifs' in both the OT and NT.
Deu 11:26-28 "Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known."
Brethren, God has given us the complete freedom to choose our own destinations. If we choose to obey Him, then He can bless us, but if we reject Him, He cannot bless us. In the OT, they would be cursed.
Though God is sovereign, He is also righteous therefore He cannot sin nor lie. He must be faithful to His words through His prophets and our Lord Jesus. If anyone teaches that God can lie by not fulfilling His words then this is heresy. There were very few individuals (man born blind and a few prophets) that God created especially for certain types of work, but they still can choose to believe or to reject Him.
God's will is that all mankind be saved and be transformed into His image.
So when we make the decision to believe and accept Jesus Christ the Son of God as our personal Saviour, then we have given Him the right to save us. Immediately, the blood of Jesus cleanses away all our sins and the righteousness of Christ is imputed upon us. The Holy Spirit dwells within us as the seal of redemption and He will lead us onto holiness by convicting us of our sins.
Again, if we decide to obey the convictions of the Holy Spirit and the word of God in the Bible, then we have given Him the right to help us into holiness. So if we decide to keep His commandments, He will manifest in us, to encourage and strengthen our faith, to overcome the trials and transformations ahead of us.
Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
Again, if we decide to keep His words (sayings, teachings, truth in the parables, commandments, advice, etc.), we have surrendered ourselves completely to God. The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us will then begin to crucify our flesh and transform us into His image.
Gen 6:5-6 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Brethren, just imagine the great love that God shows to those who are obedient to Him by having the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit working together to transform their sinful flesh into holy vessels. Realise also the great wickedness of our sinful flesh, that needs the working of the triune Godhead.
