Doing God's Will John 5:30-32

Text:  “I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy law is within my heart.  I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, Thou knowest.”

Psalm 40:8-9.

Good morning, willing Christian servant!  We who profess to be Christians must necessarily seek to emulate - to some serious degree - the thoughts, words and deeds of the Christ Whose Name we bear.  Otherwise we are found to be false professors; blatant hypocrites; and deceivers of men.  What a sobering thought to commence our Bible study with today!

“Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS, without which no man shall see the Lord.”  (Hebrews 12:14)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16)

The three small verses in today’s journey in John’s Gospel clearly reveal a prudent pattern for each of us to try to maintain in our own personal service to the Lord. 

As Christ’s great mission was to do the will of God His Father at all times, in a similar manner - and in spite of all our natural human weaknesses, faults and failings - we Christians must also seek to do the will of our Heavenly Father, as it is revealed in His Word.  God’s will MUST be obediently done!

Empowerment for God’s Will:  (V.30)  Christ’s Words here in verse 30 are most relevant to us His followers in this latter day 21^st Century of increased apostasy and watering down of ‘…the faith once delivered unto the saints…’  (Jude 3)

Of ourselves alone, we can nor will achieve nothing.  We are weak.  We are most foolish.  We are so very prone to temptation and sin.  We get weary too quickly in well-doing.  We fall, we fail, we falter in many areas of our Christian lives.  However, praise God, that is not the end of the story!

“I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me (Christ Jesus) ye can do nothing.”      (John 15:5)

Therefore, when we seek to do the will of our Father in Heaven, we are promised Divine empowerment to achieve whatever the Lord desires or allows us to achieve in the service of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Hallelujah!

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)

“Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”  (Exodus 4:12)

When we Christians are truly seeking to do our Heavenly Father’s will, we are confident of the power of God the Spirit to achieve His purpose.  That’s a fact!  God says it - we believe it - end of story!  Praise God.

Discernment to Do God’s Will:  (V.30)  In today’s Bible verses Christ says these profound words, “…As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is just…”

Christ Jesus, as an integral Person of the Almighty Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Ghost - had a truly Divine and infallible communication with the will of God the Father. 

As ’born again’ Christians, we have a wonderful means of communication with our Father in Heaven, through our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.  We speak to our Father in prayer, and He speaks to us through His written Word.  We have a truly unique means of constant communication with God IF we are prepared to use it!

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

If we suddenly FEEL within ourselves that we are ‘being led’ to do, say, achieve, something in the service of Christ Jesus - then we must ‘…test…’ this ‘feeling’, and we test this type of inner feeling by the truth contained in God’s written Word. 

The Spirit of God will not lead you and I in something that is contrary to His own inspired Word.  That’s a fact!

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world…We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.  Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”  (1 John 4:1-6)

Motivation of Ministry:  (Vs 31-32)  The true motivation for any Christian ministry or service is to ‘…bear witness…’ of the reality of our Saviour, Jesus Christ; of seeking at all times to do our Father’s will; and to reach out Christ’s love and truth in a fine balance to all precious souls in need of the Salvation that Christ alone can give.

The empowerment, discernment, and motivation therefore, to do God’s will are given of the Lord to us, His servants, in order to fulfill our Sovereign Lord’s will and not our own.  Let us be diligent and consistent in seeking God’s will in our ministries to all others.

Thought:  Don’t say ‘I won’t’ to God’s will!