July 10
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IF ANYONE IS WILLING TO DO HIS WILL
17 If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.– John 7:14-18
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Jesus warns humans of pride and self-seeking schemes in this gospel account of John. It is natural and automatic for us all to boast of knowledge and think it comes from our own mind. James 1:17 says that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Proverbs 8:33 says that we ought to listen to instruction and be wise and not ignore it. Surely, these two verses points us to the source of every good gift coming from the Lord and that we ought to listen to his instructions in order to be wise. If we neglect to follow, we become fools.
Jesus tells us the benefits of doing the Father’s will. He says that they will know the truth and it will set them free. Free from what? We are by nature sinners and bent towards serving our flesh. It is only by God’s Spirit that we get revelations of truth. If we abide in Him, the Spirit of the Lord makes us aware of truth and gives us the ability to understand it. It is also the Holy Spirit that points to the source because that is His role in the Trinity. He brings glory to the Father and to the Son. He will not bring humans glory because that is not His purpose. In this account, Jesus tells us that we must never do anything out of our own will but that we should do things aligned with God’s will. Verse 18 clearly says that if we make it about us, then we are not seeking to give God the glory but to ourselves. When we seek to bring God all the glory, we are operating in sync with the purpose of the Holy Spirit which is to worship and praise God alone. Jesus calls them true followers and there is no wickedness in them at all.
How many Christians are really willing to follow God’s will? Some deceive themselves to think that they are followers, but in reality, they are manipulating God to get what they want and then claim that they are following God’s will. Only the Holy Spirit will make them realize that they are wrong because He will never tolerate idolatry. He is part of the triune God and will not compromise his role which is to bring glory to the Almighty God. He serves God and Jesus alone. He cannot serve any man.
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REFLECTION
• How do you know if you are really willing to do God’s will? How does that show?