Would you turn with me to John
chapter 4? I'd like to read verses 31 through
38 of John chapter 4. In the meanwhile, his disciples
prayed to him, saying, Master, eat. And he said unto them, I
have meat to eat that you know not of. Therefore said the disciples
one to another, hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus
saith unto them, My meat is to do the will. of him that sent
me, and to finish his work. Say not ye there yet four months,
and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift
up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already
to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that
And he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that
saying true. One soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to labor that whereon
you bestowed, or I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed
no labor. Other men labored and you are
entered into their labors. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask in Christ's blessed name, that you would be pleased to
meet with us and to speak in power to our hearts from your
Word for Christ's sake. In His name we pray. Amen. I have meat to eat that you know
not of. Now, we all have a favorite food. perhaps favorite foods or even
a favorite meal that we derive a lot of pleasure from eating.
Now, in this passage, the Lord Jesus tells us what His favorite
food is. As a man, and Christ Jesus is
a man, the man, Christ Jesus, He tells us what his favorite
food is. Now, the Lord had been tired
and hot, thirsty and hungry. Look in verse 6 of chapter 4. Now, Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on
the well. And it was about the six hour. He was hot. He was thirsty. He
was tired. And there cometh a woman of Samaria,
to draw water, Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink, for his
disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat. And now they've returned, and
they say in verse 31, as they return with the food, they said,
Master, eat. They were concerned for his physical
well-being, and they wanted him to eat. eat, and he was hungry,
he was tired, he was thirsty, but look how our Lord responded
to this request of his disciples. He said in verse 32, but he said
unto them, I have meat to eat that you know not of. I'm eating and drawing nourishment,
satisfaction and pleasure from some food that you really don't
know anything about. Verse 33, therefore said the
disciples one to another, you know, there's a fleshly just
like me and you. All they could think of is physical food. They
had no idea what the Lord was talking about, didn't even have
a clue. And they said, somebody bring the hamburger already.
Somebody bring him something to eat. Somebody must have already
brought him something. He doesn't seem to be interested
in our food. And then the Lord tells them
what this food was that he delighted in eating. Verse 34, Jesus saith
unto them, My meat. Now, here's my meal. This is
what I derive satisfaction from. My meal is to do the will of
him that sent me and to finish his work. Now, here's my meat. Here is what satisfies and strengthens
me. Here is what I find true pleasure
in. Here is what tastes good to me. This is my meal. This is my life. This is not my first priority.
This is my only priority. This is not very important. This
is all that is important. It's to do the will. of him that
sent me, and to finish his work. Now, what were the first recorded
words of the Lord Jesus Christ? Does anybody remember? He said,
Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? What were
his last words? It is finished. Now there we have the entire
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I must be about my Father's
business. I must be doing His will, whatever
that will might be. And His last words, it's finished. He did the Father's business. He did His Father's will. Now, the first thing that I'm
reminded of here is that the father did send him. This is my meat to do the will
of him that sent me. The father did send the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, don't think of Christ as
making a way for the father to love. He sent his son because the father
does love. And I want you to remember this.
I want everybody in this room to remember this. Don't even
think of Christ as being unwilling to show mercy. He delights, the Scripture says. He delights in mercy. He delights in saving sinners
like me and you. He delights in showing mercy.
So don't look at God as sending His Son to make a way for Him
to Be merciful. He sent him because he is merciful. That's his very nature. He delights
in saving sinners. Now, what is this thing of doing
the will of God? Christ said, my meat, this is
what nourishes me. This is what I delight in. This
is what tastes good to me. This is what I enjoy. This is
what I find pleasure in. I find pleasure in just as you
find pleasure in eating a good meal. That's so pleasurable. He says, I find pleasure in doing
the will of Him that sent me. Do you know every second that
He walked upon this planet, He was doing the will of Him that
sent Him? Every second. I want you to turn
to Hebrews chapter 5. And while you're turning there,
I'm going to quote Psalm 40. This is what. Where this passage
from Hebrews, Chapter five comes from in Psalm 40, verse seven
and eight, we read these are the words of the Lord Jesus,
then said, I know I come in the volume of the book. It is written
of me. I delight. To do by will. O God, yea, thy law is within
my heart." That's the words of the Lord Jesus. He said, I delight
to do God's will. Now look here in Hebrews chapter
10. That passage I just read is quoted
by the writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 10. Beginning
in verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith,
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared
me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the
volume of the book, the book of God's decrees, it is written
of me, here's what I come to do, to do thy will, O God. When he said sacrifice and offerings
and burnt offerings for sin, thou wouldst not neither hadst
pleasure therein which are offered by the law. Then said he, lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He takes away the first. He's
talking about the first covenant, the covenant of works, that he
may establish the second by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Now, when he lived 30 years,
in obscurity. Nobody knew who he was. His brothers
and sisters didn't know who he was. You think about that. They were living in the same
house with God manifest in the flesh. And they didn't get it. Isn't that amazing? But you know, you wouldn't either.
You wouldn't either. He was living in total obscurity. Nobody knew who he was. But during
that time, he was working out a perfect righteousness before
God's holy law, doing the Father's will. Nobody else knew it, but
he did. At that time, he was delighting
to do the Father's will. When he had his three years of
public ministry, healing the sick, raising the dead, giving
sight to the blind, preaching his gospel to the poor. When
he walked for three years in his public ministry, he was doing
neither more nor less than doing the Father's will constantly,
nonstop. When he died on the cross, you
remember what he said in the Garden of Gethsemane before he
died? He said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless
not my will, but thine be done." When he was dying on Calvary's
tree, he was doing more nor less than doing the Father's will. He said, I delight to do thy
will, O God. Look at verse 10 once again of
Hebrews chapter 5. By God's will, by Him doing God's
will, by God's will itself, it says, are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By this will, we're
sanctified, declared by God to be holy through this offering
of the body of Jesus Christ. Now, by his death. You know,
every time I preach by God's mercy and by God's grace, this
is what I'm going to preach. May God deliver us from ever
hearing a message. When this is not the central
focus of the message, by His death, every believer is sanctified,
declared by God Himself to be holy. Now, that's what He did
when He did God's will, when He died on the Calvary Street.
He made every single believer right now, right now, by virtue
of His death, holy before God. I am sanctified before God. God Himself declares me to be
holy through and through. Did you notice it says, by one
offering, by which we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all? That means a perfectly completed
action. It's already done by His will,
by Him doing the Father's will. I am declared by God Himself
to be holy. Now, it was God's will for the
death of Christ to completely save the elect. Question, was
His will done? Absolutely. The essence of holiness
is doing God's will, and He did God's will like nobody else has
ever done. He said, I do always those things. which please the Father. My meat is to do the will of
him that sent me. Turn over to John chapter 6.
Return back to John 6. I love this passage of Scripture. He says in verse 38, For I came down from heaven.
He's speaking of his incarnation. He was in heaven as the eternal
Son of God, the uncreated One, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. For I came down from heaven and
became flesh, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will
which is sent me. Now, remember, He came to do
God's will. Well, what was it He did? Here it is. This is the
Father's will which is sent me, that of all which He hath given
me. Now, what's that a reference
to? Divine election. Those the Father gave Him before
the very foundation of the world. He said, This is the will of
him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Now, do you want to know what he came to do when he came to
do God's will? He came to save the elect. That was his purpose in coming.
And you know, is anybody going to argue with that? I mean, it's
so clear from Scriptures. Plus, I like it. I love it. I love it. He came to save the
elect. Now, here's the question that
comes to my mind next. Where do I fit in there? Now,
there's no doubt. that God elected a people, Christ
died for the elect. That's what the Scripture teaches.
He said, when I came to do His will, I came to save all those
the Father gave Him, where do I stand in there? How can I know
if I'm one of the people that He came to save? I can't argue
against it. I can't get upset about it and say, well, that's
not fair. No, whatever He does is fair. I really believe that. Whatever He does is right. I
rejoice in it. But how can I know where I fit
in? Let's go on reading in John 6 to 4. They said verse 39. This was God's will that sent
me, that of all which you've given me I should lose nothing,
but raise it up again at the last day, verse 40. And this
is the will of him that sent me. Remember, he said my meat
and drink is to do the will of him that sent me. This is the
will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have
everlasting life, and I will raise him up again at the last
day." Now, he says this is God's will. Everybody, no sections
to this rule, everybody that sees the Son. Is there anybody
in here that's ever seen Jesus Christ in the flesh? Don't say
yes, because you haven't. That's a rhetorical question,
obviously. None of us have seen Him physically. But I tell you what, I have seen
the Son. I've seen Him in a more powerful
way than seeing Him physically. I've seen Him. Oh, listen to
me. I've seen Him in His Word. I've
seen Him more real in His Word than I could... I've seen Him
more truly in His Word than I am looking at you right now. I'm
looking at you. I believe you're there. I mean,
I see you. But I've seen Him more clearly in His Word, more
powerfully in that sense. Now, what do you mean by that?
What do you mean by that? Are you claiming some kind of
special revelation? Yeah. Every believer has had
this revelation. The only way you see Him is if
He's been pleased to reveal Himself to you. If you say, I don't see
this, it's because He hadn't shown you. If you see this, well,
what is it you're seeing? He says, this is the will of
Him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life. Means this, I see, I understand
how God can love me for Christ's sake. I can see how I personally can
be perfect before God because His righteousness, His perfect
garment covers me and there's no sin. I see that. You see that? I see the power of His blood
is such because of who died, because of the glory of this
person, because of the greatness of this person. I see how His
blood wipes away all my sin. I see that. I see how His intercession,
the fact that He's seated at the right hand of the Father
representing me. I see how God takes my prayers as pathetic
and pitiful as they are, and they are. And they're presented
by Christ to the Father. And I see how the Father can
hear me and accept me completely for Christ's sake. Now, do you
see that? I see how God can love this sinner
for Christ's sake. But not only. Not only did I
see that, I see that. I see how God could accept me
for Christ's sake. But not only do I see that, I believe. He that seeth the Son and believeth
on him. I believe on the Son. I trust
him to save me. All my eggs are in this basket. I don't have a plan B. I don't
have an ace in the hole. All my eggs are in this basket. That who He is and what He did
is enough to save me and I don't need anything else. You believe
that? I love what our Lord said to
those two blind fellows. They came up to Him and He said,
Do you believe that I'm able to do this? You believe I'm able
to restore your sight? You know what they said? Yes,
we do. That's what faith is. I believe.
I believe. Right now, I am depending on Christ alone. Nothing more, nothing less, and
nothing else. I believe on Him. Now, everybody that sees the
sun and believes on him, you know what that means? Christ
came for that person. That's a person who was given
to him in the eternal covenant of grace. That's a person he
kept the law for. That's a person he died for.
That's a person he was raised from the dead for. That's the
evidence. Let me remind you, election is
not the sinner's enemy. Election is the sinner's friend. The only hope you have is that
God chose the people before time began and Christ paid for their
sins. If it wasn't for this, there wouldn't be anybody to
be saved. Thank God for election. Election doesn't keep people
out of heaven. It brings people into heaven. Christ Jesus worked
on the cross for his people. It doesn't keep people out. It
brings people in. This is positive. This is good
news. This is what is called the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Him doing His Father's will. Now, back to our text in John
4. I want us to notice what else
he says. Verse 34, Jesus saith unto them,
My meat, now this is my food. This is what I draw satisfaction
from. This is what I find pleasure in. My meat is to do the will. of Him that sent me and to what's
that next word? Finish. Finish. His work. Now, why does the Lord
point this out? I came to do His will and to
finish it. That's to let us know if it wasn't
finished, the will of the Father wasn't done. He said, I came
to finish His. He said in John 17, verse 4,
I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work
that thou gavest me to do. His last word from Calvary 3,
it is finished. You know what that means? Exactly
what it says. It doesn't just mean his work
here on earth is finished. He means the work the Father
gave me to do of saving my people is finished. That means it's
already done. That means there's nothing for
you to do. Is that good news? It's finished. I love those words. It takes
all the pressure off. It takes all the stress off.
It's finished. It's finished. I can't get any
more saved. I can't get any more loved. I
can't get any more accepted than I am right now. It is finished. He said, here's my meat, to do
the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Well,
how finished is it? Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. We've already been there once.
Let's look there again. Hebrews chapter 10. How finished is his
work? Verse 12. Let's start in verse 11, and
every priest, talking about the Old Testament priests, every
priest standeth daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which could never take away sin. I mean, one day
they'd slaughter the animal, the next day they'd slaughter
the animal, they'd keep this repetition up, but it never put away one
sin. But this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 12, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down on the right
hand of God from henceforth, expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool, for by one offering he hath what? Perfected forever. A perfectly completed
action, perfectly completed, never to be repeated, by His
offering He hath. Not He will. Not something that's
going to happen one of these days. It's already taken place.
It's finished. By that one offering, He hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's how finished
this work is. And my soul is thrilled that
the Father sent Him to do His will and to finish it. That's
exactly what he did. Now let's go back to our text
in John chapter four. Now look what the Lord says.
Verse thirty five. Say not ye. There are yet four
months and then come of harvest. And I guess harvest when he made
that statement was four months away. But he said, don't say
something like that. Don't say there yet is four months
and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift
up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already
to harvest. I've been talking about the Lord
doing the Father's will, the Father electing the people, Christ
saving them. And listen to me. I believe that
God elected the people and only the elect will be saved. I believe that Jesus Christ died
for the elect, accomplished their salvation, and they are the ones
that are going to be saved. I believe God, the Holy Spirit,
invincibly and irresistibly calls them and they will be saved.
Now, does somebody say, well, that's going to lead to fatalism
and indifference toward evangelism. I mean, why bother to witness?
Why bother to preach? Why bother to pray if that's
the case? Well, if you're a fatalist and
if you're indifferent, You may take it that way, but it won't
affect a believer that way. It just won't happen. He says,
look at the fields. They're white right now for harvest. Turn over to Matthew chapter
nine. But when he saw verse thirty
six, Matthew chapter nine, but when he saw the multitudes. He
was moved with compassion on them. Oh, the Lord is so compassionate,
doesn't he? When I read verses of scripture
like that, I think, oh, to have his heart. Well, we do. We do. If we're believers, he's
giving us a new heart, hasn't he? He was moved with compassion
on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, a
sheep having no shepherd. Then said he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore, the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. Why shouldn't you personally
be one of those laborers? Everybody in here. Why not you? You don't have to
pastor church, you have to be a Christian. The Lord said, follow
me and I will make you fishers of men. Be a laborer. You work
this week, be a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be his witness. Made money this week? Use that
money for the spread of the gospel. You know, we have a wonderful
opportunity right now. I think of Walter Groover, Cody, particularly
Walter, we're wanting to get him a truck. You got all this
month to make a donation to get him a truck. You know, he's got
to go in his Pueblos to preach the gospel. He needs a dependable
truck. It gets him there. You and I
have the blessed opportunity of being able to give. That's preaching the gospel.
You're preaching the gospel just as much. You know, when I preach
the gospel, you who are behind me, you're preaching the gospel
just as much as me. Why don't you be a laborer? He says, don't
don't say four months and then there's going to be a harvest.
Behold, right now, the fields are already white for harvest. Now, let's go back to our text.
John, John four, say not. Verse thirty five. There are
yet four months and incometh harvest. Behold, I say, and you
lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they're white
already to harvest. Verse 36, And he that reapeth receives
wages and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that
soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. Now, what a
blessing this is to see people brought to bow the knee to King
Jesus. What a wage that is. Isn't that
a wonderful wage? Just to be allowed to see it.
to see people actually believe the Gospel. What a way that is
that He that sows and I... Who's the one who sows? That's
God the Father. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's God the Holy Spirit. He's the true sower of the Word.
Men may be used instrumentally, but God's the one who sows the
Word. And He says that one who sows and that one who reaps,
they get to rejoice together. What a blessing to be enabled
to rejoice in the same thing He rejoices in. Verse 37. Herein
is that saying true, one sows and another reaps. Now, I sent
you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labor. Isn't that
the way the gospel works? We reap the glorious benefits
of what he did. We didn't bestow any labor in
this. This is his work. And we believe, we rejoice in
this. Now, he said, I sent you to reap
whereon you bestowed no labor. Other men have labored, others
have labored, and you have entered in to their labors. Now, I want to leave you with
a couple of thoughts in this passage of Scripture. Our Lord's
favorite food His favorite meal was to do the will of Him that
sent Him. My favorite food is Him doing
the will of Him that sent Him. That's my favorite food, too.
I rejoice in the fact that He did the Father's will and He
accomplished the salvation of everybody He came to save. That's
my favorite food, too. It's His favorite food. Mine
too. I rejoice in sovereign grace. Now, this is to be our meat also. May God give us grace to say
my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. That's all.
It's not the first priority. It's the only priority. It's not what's most important
and what ought to come first. It's the only thing to do the
will of Him that sent me. Now, would you turn with me in
closing to Romans chapter 12? And this is, this thing of Romans,
of doing His will, my meat and drink, is to do the will of Him
that sent me. It's not some kind of vague, hazy, generic thing
that can't be identified. He tells us exactly what it means
to do the Father's will here in Romans chapter 12. And what
I want us to do is read this chapter together. It's a wonderful
chapter. Romans chapter 12. And notice the reason I'm reading
this chapter is look at the last phrase of verse two. He said
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. Here's here's God's will for
you, if you want to delight in doing his will. Here it is. He says in verse one. I beseech you, therefore, brethren.
By the mercies of God. that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice. Holy. Acceptable under God. And it's just your reasonable
service. Anything else is unreasonable. I mean, it's ridiculous to think
of anything else. But Lord, here am I. Here's my body. I'm to
present my body a living sacrifice. Holy. The only way you'll do
that is by the Holy Spirit causing you to do it, that new nature.
Acceptable to God. He accepts it for Christ's sake.
And it's the only thing that's reasonable. Verse 2, he says,
Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God. And he spends the rest of
this chapter telling us what that is. He says, I think this
is interesting. Here's the first thing he says.
For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that's among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think. How ought you to think about
yourself? How ought you to think? Well,
he says, don't think too highly of yourself. You see, if you
think too highly of yourself, you know what you're doing? You're
thinking lowly of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's only a low view
of self that gives a high view of Christ and a high appreciation
of what He's done. It's only a low view of yourself
that will make you treat others with love and respect. If you
become uppity and you think you're somebody, you're going to be
down on everybody else. But as I'm lowly in my own view,
that's how I'm going to treat God's people the way I should.
So the first thing he says when he talks about giving that good
and acceptable perfect will of God is to think lowly of yourself,
not highly, But soberly, don't be drunk with pride, but soberly,
according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ. There's no competition in the
body of Christ. We're one. And every one members one of
another. Having them gifts, differing
according to the grace that's given to us, whether prophecy
or preaching, let us preach or prophesy according to the proportion
or the analogy of faith. If you're going to preach, make
sure it's the word of God you preach. Nothing else. Ministry, being
a servant, let us wait on our ministry. He that teacheth on
teaching, or he that exhorts or encourages on exhortation,
he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity or generosity.
He that ruleth with diligence, doing his best, whatever responsibility
God gives you. He that shows mercy with cheerfulness,
not unwilling to show mercy, but with cheerfulness, delighting
in the grace to do it. Let your love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cleave
to that which is good. Be kindly affection one to another,
in brotherly love and honor, preferring one another. Not slothful
in business, but fervent in spirit, wide-hearted in spirit, serving
the Lord. Is serving the Lord to be done
in an apathetic, indifferent way? No, he said be wide-hearted
in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope. Now, hope is what you don't see.
You rejoice in Christ Jesus. You rejoice in the salvation
that's in Him. Patient in trial. God sent it. Be patient to draw
a continuing instant in prayer, distributing, giving to the necessity
of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you.
Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward
another. Mind not high things, but condescend
to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for
evil. Don't get anybody back. Don't
pay anybody back. Provide things honest in the
sight of all men, if it be possible. As much as lieth in you, live
peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,
but rather give place unto wrath. For it's written, vengeance is
mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if I am in any
hunger, feed it. If he thirsts, give him something
to drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good." Now, our meat is to do just what he
says in Romans chapter 12, by his grace, proving what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Well, I sure am thankful that
He came to do His Father's will, and He did it. And He finished
it. And my salvation is history. I mean, it's completed by what
He did. And the very desire of my heart is to do, that my meat
might be to do the will of him that sent me. And that's the
desire of the heart of every single believer. Let's pray together.