A Gift for Everyone - John 7:38-39

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Jesus did not mean that there was no work of the Holy Spirit in the world prior to His resurrection for we know the Holy Spirit was active in creation and inspired those leading or speaking to God's chosen people throughout biblical history. Once Jesus' work on earth was finished, however, the gift of the Holy Spirit was available to everyone who believed in and followed Jesus, not just a select few. Jesus declared that God wanted to give His Spirit to all people so He could have fellowship and a personal relationship with every human being. God wants to give you His Spirit so that you can begin to live in His presence in this earthly life and in preparation for eternity!

Willing to Do God's Will - John 7:17

"If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." In this verse the teaching of Jesus is clear. To be His disciple requires a conscience act of one's own will--a personal decision--to believe in Him and obey Him. No one can make the decision for you. You can't inherit salvation. Each person must come to the place in his or her own life where it is your will to do God's will. Those whose will is to do God's will, then comprehend the reality and truth of the teachings of Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins and are saved. Be willing to do God's will!

What Makes God Happy - Ezekiel 18:23

"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" Sometimes people think that God is somehow out to get them. Embedded in the prophetic words of Ezekiel is this fundamental declaration of God's plan for humanity--its redemption. Although God will punish sin to vindicate his holiness and justice, God feels sorrow over the punishment and death of human beings created in his image so He endeavors to save them (see also 33:11). God certainly takes no pleasure in human beings dying in their sin and rebellion and being eternally separated from Him. And, in fact, the reality is the inverse--God takes pleasure in redeeming us so that we may spend eternity in fellowship with Him. God isn't out to get you--He's out to redeem you! Your salvation makes God happy!

Doing Right Things Right - I Chronicles 17:1-15

"Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent” (vs. 1). Doesn't building the temple of God seem like the right thing for a man of God like David to do? David had built himself a permanent home--a king's palace--and the ark of God still resided in a tent--the tabernacle. So David thought the right (righteous) thing to do was build a permanent home--a temple--for the ark of God. Nathan, the prophet of God, endorsed the plan because he knew David only wanted to do what was right (vs. 2). Unfortunately, neither David nor Nathan consulted God about the construction plan and God had a different plan in mind (vs 3-4). God's plan was not for David to build the temple, but for David's son (Solomon) to build the temple (vs. 11-12). We often try to serve God according to our own plans thinking that because we are "doing it for God" it must be the right thing to do (when really we are doing it for ourselves trying to be "righteous"). Instead, let us follow the pattern of ministry demonstrated by Jesus (and taught by Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God). Let us see what God is doing and where God is working and join Him in that work: "The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (John 5:19). When we follow Jesus' model of ministry, then we will be doing the right things right because it will be according to God's plan and will!

God's Pattern for Supplying His Provision and Care - John 6:1-15

God’s care and provision are demonstrated by Jesus in the miracle of feeding the five thousand. The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels (cf. Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15) and is recorded with substantial narration in each of these gospels. The telling of this miracle in all four gospels may suggest its importance among the miraculous signs of Jesus’ ministry. The feeding of the five thousand was a significant miracle based purely on the scale of the miracle itself by feeding an estimated 15-20 thousand men, women, and children from five loaves of bread and two fish. The miracle demonstrates God’s pattern for supplying His provision and care. God offers His care and provision to us not by creating more things but by taking resources that already exist and extending or expanding them to meet a need, even to an abundance. When you offer any and all the resources you possess totally and willingly to God, He provides His loving care by extending or expanding those resources to meet your needs, sometimes even to the point of prosperity.

Living Among the Dead - John 5:24-29

"An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (John 5:25). With the inauguration of the Kingdom of God on earth the time has come when many “dead” people hear the voice of the Son of God and He grants them eternal life and they begin to live. Jesus also described a time in the future when people will actually arise from their graves and those who believe in Him will arise to eternal life and those who do not will be condemned and perish: "An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29). So those who hear and believe the message about Jesus, the Son of God, have passed from a state of existence defined by death to a state of existence defined by life (vs. 24). So believers in Christ are as those who live among the dead--those who are dead to God in their unbelief. It's almost like the Kingdom of God is being built in a cemetery and its heavenly mission is the recovery of dead bodies! The Kingdom of God inhabits a lost and dying world and it is our duty to assist in the recovery effort.

Divine Commission by Individual Submission - John 5:16-22

Because of the misunderstanding of the Jews, Jesus provided a detailed description in this passage of His relationship and commissioning by the Heavenly Father. His relationship to God the Father was one of submission and in turn established the conditions under which He commissions believers:
1. "My Father is working until now, and I am working" (John 5:17). Jesus conducted His ministry when and where He saw God’s activity and providence even if it was on the Sabbath. Because the nature of the Father is continuous activity, Jesus, therefore, occupied Himself with constantly performing the work and activity of the Father
2. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (John 5:19). Jesus did as God the Father did. Jesus was completely submitted to the will of God the Father in accomplishing His mission. Therefore, Jesus did not act or speak of His own accord but only spoke or did what the Father told Him.
3. "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel" (John 5:20). The succession of authority flows from God the Father to the Son to Jesus' disciples. Because the Father has commissioned the Son, the Son has the authority to commission His disciples.
As Jesus' disciples, we should serve God following the same model Jesus used in His ministry, which is to be completely submitted to God so that you can see where God is working and then say or do what God directs you to do. Notice this approach is just the opposite from how most of us serve God , which is to think what good things we can do for God, go do them,  and  then ask God to bless our efforts.