The Will of the Father!
Walking. Moving one foot in front of another. It’s a simple concept, really. Nonetheless, we find ourselves stumbling all over ourselves, tripping over our own two feet, almost falling, and oftentimes needing to grab onto the railing to help steady us.
Child of God, what are you walking through today?
- Who is your steady?
- Who sustains you?
- Who are you holding onto this day?
In Him—
- In the Son of God—
- In the Messiah—
In Jesus—
- In the Son of Man—
- In the Christ—
- In the Savior—
- In the Redeemer—
In Him alone!
Please pause to listen to the beautiful melody “Waiting for Tomorrow” by Mandisa.
Read with me the words spoken by Jesus, the Savior sent by God to seek and to save us.
“This is the will of Him who sent Me,
(The Gospel According to John 6: 39-40 NASB)
that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing,
but raise it up on the last day.
For this is the will of My Father,
that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life,
and
I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Grumbling and disbelieving, those two words express the Jews who heard Jesus speak those words that day, who turned away, and who walked away from believing Jesus was exactly who He said He was!
Child of God—
- Where do we stand today?
- What are we walking through this morning?
- Do we believe that Jesus, our Savior, walks with us, through the fire we face?
- Do we trust in Him alone?
OR—
- Are we hanging onto another ‘worldly’ handrail, hanging onto our own strength, trusting in something or someone other than the Great Physician, the Son of God—Jesus Christ?
See the words of Jesus, as He spoke to those Jews who were there that day, scratching their heads in disbelief, wondering how this man they knew, the son of Joseph and Mary could be the Messiah, the One sent by God.
“Jesus answered and said to them,
(The Gospel According to John 6: 43-51 NASB)
“Do not grumble among yourselves.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up on the last day.
It is written in the prophets,
‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father,
except the One who is from God;
He has seen the Father.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
This is the bread which comes down out of heaven,
so that one may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven;
if anyone eats of this bread,
he will life forever;
and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Child of God, what are you walking through today?
- Who is your steady?
- Who sustains you?
- Who gives you the daily nourishment needed?
- Who are you holding onto this day?
Child of God, are you allowing Jesus Christ Himself to quench your spiritual thirst?
As only He can!
Are we trusting—In Him—In Jesus—In Him alone!
God can see our entire lives (birth to hearse) stretched out, from conception to our last breath. He sees us, the messy us, the unfaithful us, the disbelieving us, the doubting us, the questioning us, the angry us, and even the sinful us—
And Still—
GOD SOUGHT FOR US TO COME TO KNOW HIM THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.
This Was & Is—The Will of the Father!
Therefore, in closing, please allow me to draw our eyes to the apostle Paul, toward a man who walked most of his early years of his earthly life in disbelief. Paul (formerly known as an unbelieving Saul of Tarsus) read the Scriptures; he studied in the synagogue; he heard the Gospel proclaimed, & yet he did not believe—Until He Heard the Lord Speak Directly to Him—Until He Believed Jesus Christ at His Word!
Please pause to listen to the beautiful melody “I Choose Jesus” by MORIAH.
The believing, preaching, testifying, godly apostle of God wrote these encouraging words to us, helping us to remember.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(The Letter of Paul to Ephesians 1: 3-14 NASB)
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
[We probably need to pause, to re-read this spiritual blessing that God has bestowed to us,
to God’s children—through Jesus Christ.]
In love
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the kind intention of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace,
which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
[Once again, we need to pause and re-read this spiritual truth. God has wanted us from the beginning, to become His—to be God’s children—through Jesus Christ.]
In Him
we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace
which He lavished on us.
[Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life on the cross, so that we may receive new life—through YOUR precious blood]
In all wisdom and insight
He made known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times,
that is,
the summing up of all things in Christ,
things in the heavens and things on the earth.
[God, the Father, knew from the beginning of the foundation of the world
that we would need a Savior, that we would need His Only Son Jesus]
In Him
also we have obtained an inheritance,
having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
[Praise God—our righteousness, our inheritance,
can only come through the Redeemer and Savior Jesus]
In Him,
you also,
after listening to the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation—having also believed,
you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance,
with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession,
to the praise of His glory.”
“This is the will of Him who sent Me, . . .”