The 4^th Sunday After Trinity

SERMON

Text: John 6:35-40

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

In Christ Jesus whose desire is your eternal salvation, dear fellow-redeemed:

It was after breakfast on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The newly risen Jesus had met the disciples there and eaten with them. By telling Peter to “feed my sheep…feed my lambs,” Jesus had just reassured Peter that he was still an apostle despite having denied his Lord. Then Jesus told Peter something about his future.

Jesus told Peter that when he was younger he had prepared himself for travel and walked where he wanted to go. However, Jesus went on to say, that when Peter was old he would stretch out his hands and someone else would carry him where he did not want to go (cf: John 21:18).

To our American sensibilities this seems awful. We have become so accustomed to our freedom and ability to do virtually anything we want to do. “If I want to go to New York, I get in my car or a plane and go! If I want bread and milk I go to the store, buy it, and come home! If I want to stay I’ll stay! If I want to go I’ll go! I WANT MY FREEDOM!”

Jesus said Peter would lose his freedom. From John, we find out why Jesus said what he did to Peter: “…by this [Jesus] spoke, signifying by what death [Peter] would glorify God…”

One day, Peter would be bound and led to his execution and he would go willingly because it would glorify God and it was God’s will. Would Peter have chosen something else? We can be sure he would have done so, IF God’s will could still have been done in another way. However, it was God’s will that it be this way, and therefore, Peter would have it no other way.

What we see and think should happen compared to what God does or allows to happen are often very different. It is a difference we often do not understand. Add into this that our wills and thoughts are often guided by selfishness and sin and we realize our will/desire is not the way we want to go…so we pray: THY WILL BE DONE. As we consider God’s will and our prayer that it be done we will see that I. God’s will is the salvation of souls II. God’s will gives peace in life.

I.

If we search for a simple short description of God’s will it is that GOD WANTS YOU IN HEAVEN. That’s it! It is just that simple! This will applies to all sinners. God’s will is the salvation of souls—period. There are many other parts of what He wills for our day to day living, but every other part of God’s will flows out of His desire that sinners be saved. Jesus said, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” [vv. 39-40]

This is not the only place where God’s will is described in this way nor so plainly. Throughout ALL of Scripture, God’s goal and desire is plain. In the Old Testament we hear, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11). We are each born in sin and walking straight toward eternal damnation, but that is NOT God’s will! He doesn’t want to see you, me, or any other sinner destroyed in hell. He calls out, TURN! TURN! God’s will is the sinner’s salvation.

The same will of God is evident in all of Jesus’ preaching and also in the apostles’ epistles. Paul wrote to Timothy, “God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Peter writes, “The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

God has done and continues to do all that is necessary to accomplish salvation, and thereby accomplish His will. God created man perfectly, in His image. It grieved God to see that perfect holiness and image of God lost in the sinful rebellion of His creation. Nevertheless, already at the Fall, God promised a Savior who would come to redeem the world. God repeated that promise in each new generation so that each new generation would hear and know that God did not desire their damnation but provides salvation from sin.

God sent prophets to call straying sinners to repentance. At various times He sent strict judgment upon His people, Israel, so that they wouldn’t be totally carried away in sin but would see their error and repent. When it became necessary for God to raise up the Babylonians and take Israel into captivity, God preserved His people in Babylon so that they could return and the Savior could be born according to promise.

When the time came, God sent His Son to provide the redemption and thereby accomplish God’s will. God sent His Son to live in place of all people and to die for their sin. God sent His Son to accomplish His will: “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17)

Jesus came to do the Father’s will—that was His reason for becoming man, living, dying, and rising again. He said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” [v.38] In the words of the hymn we sang right before the sermon, the Father said to the Son, “Tis time to have compassion. Then go, bright jewel of My crown, and bring to man salvation…The Son obeyed His Father’s will, was born of virgin mother, and God’s good pleasure to fulfill, HE came to be my Brother” (TLH #387, st.5,6).

Once Jesus came and completed the work of redeeming the world, God did not stop doing what was necessary to accomplish His will. By inspiration, the Holy Spirit led the apostles to record the New Testament Scriptures, so that we now have the written word of God. God’s purpose and will concerning the Word is that it is the means whereby we are brought to faith and saved. John writes: “[these words] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name” (John 20:31). Day by day God sends His Holy Spirit through the Word to bring sinners to repentance and to preserve believers in their faith.

The GRACIOUS desire of God to save sinners penetrates everything He does! We can select any believer in Scripture and see how God’s dealing with His children always comes from His saving will. Yes, Joseph, faced hardship and wickedness. He became a slave in a far away land, but through the work of Joseph God kept his family alive during the famine and gave the opportunity for Israel to become a great nation from which the Savior would be born.

In today’s Sunday School and Bible Class lesson we heard how Balak, King of Moab, wanted to prevent Israel from becoming dominant. To do this Balak hired Balaam to come and speak a curse upon the Israelites. However, Balaam could only speak what God wanted him to say and God told Balaam to bless Israel. All the opposition of Balak and all the money spent to hire Balaam couldn’t stop God’s will from being done and blessing His people.

Jonah ran away from God and the work God had given him to do. God sent a storm to put the ship Jonah was riding in danger. The sailors threw Jonah overboard and he would have died, but God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and keep him alive. Why? God’s will is the salvation of souls. God prepared the fish so that while he spent 3 days in its belly, Jonah could realize his sin and repent. Then when the fish spat Jonah back onto dry land, Jonah went to the huge city of Nineveh and preached the Word of God to the people—and they repented! God did what He did for Jonah’s soul and for the many souls of the Ninevites!!

The finest example of all is that of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (cf: Gospel reading). Jesus prayed asking the Father to take the suffering away from Him, but not at the expense of the salvation of souls. “Thy will be done” Jesus prayed. God’s will was that salvation be won. Jesus’ prayer was that if that salvation could be accomplished in any other way than His suffering that the Father would do so. It was not possible. Shortly after Jesus ended His final prayer He was arrested and willingly followed His Father’s will.

Examples abound of God controlling all things for the salvation of sinners. This truth applies to the life of every one of God’s children chronicled in Scripture and for the life of you—each of His children here.

Just as sure as God wants you in heaven, THE DEVIL WANTS YOU IN HELL. Satan opposes God’s will. Jesus said, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” [v.39] Jesus preserved and protected His disciples in their faith with His Word. That protection was necessary because of the danger of God’s enemies and the potential of loss.

The Devil wants everything opposite to God’s will. The difference between God and Satan is black and white—they share NO common ground. God’s Word is Truth…the Devil is a liar and the father of it (cf: John 17:17; 8:44). God wants to give life…the Devil is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The Devil makes use of the world and all of its enticements, and he makes use of our own sinful flesh and all of its desires in His efforts to oppose God’s will. Make no mistake, the Devil wants YOU in hell and he is that roaring lion who walks about seeking whom he may devour (cf: epistle reading).

Because of the danger that lurks in this life for our soul, God’s will also includes the preservation of faith and resistance to our spiritual enemies. Through His Word, Jesus does also do the Father’s will and preserves our faith. He said, “I give [My sheep] eternal life and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.” [v.28]

God’s WILL, will (without a doubt) be done. “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Our prayer is that His will always be done among us. We pray that God would preserve our faith and that He would stop in our lives the evil will of our soul’s enemies so that we do not stumble in faith, but rather follow our Lord into eternal life.

As we follow our Savior heavenward, it is His will that we do what is good and pleasing. God’s will for the conduct of our lives is given to us in the 10 commandments. Paul wrote to the Romans, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Our obedience to God’s law is part of God’s will, not because it contributes to salvation, but because not following His will endangers our salvation. If our life’s conduct does not follow what is good and pleasing to God, it is then patterned after sin and what is opposed to God. In other words, we are then following the will of the Devil. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). We put our souls in danger when we follow after sin.

Our obedience to the will of God for our lives is how we are able to show our love to Jesus for being our Savior. Jesus said “If you love Me, keep (guard, treasure, follow) My commandments” (John 14:15).

In the text, Jesus said, “I am the bread of Life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” [v.35] The living “Bread” and “Water” of salvation satisfies constantly, is a part of us and as such leads us to follow God’s will. Jesus explained this to the woman at the well saying, “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

God’s will is the salvation of souls. When we pray, “Thy will be done” we’re also praying that we follow His word and live a life that reflects the salvation which God has brought to us.

II.

The will of God brings PEACE to the lives to believers. The will of God is our salvation and our salvation in Christ brings us freedom from sin. We have the peace of knowing that we are “right” with God. We have the peace of knowing that when we do fail to follow God’s will in our lives that those sins too are forgiven in the blood of Christ.

As children of God we also know what our natural will is (sinful!) and the disaster that comes when we follow it. Imagine the atmosphere of a household in which parents do not guide their children. Imagine if children are allowed to always have things their way and to follow their own whims and every desire…it would be chaos! The household would be a mess! There would be no peace! So it would also be if we follow our own will and desires in our lives—it would be a mess! Chaos!

When we realize our sinfulness and weaknesses, it brings peace to know that God is guiding us through our lives. There is peace in having the Word of God to which we can turn for direction. Sometimes the Word of God rebukes us and it stings. However, just like parental correction for a wayward child, God’s rebuke of us is necessary and it actually leads to peace. It leads to peace when we know that there is someone wise and trustworthy who will correct us when we stray. God’s will brings us that kind of peace.

There are many individuals who are upset with God and angry at Him. This often comes from a misguided understanding of what God’s will is. If we were to suppose that God exists for US; or that His will is to please us, to provide earthly happiness, and make us rich: “God always wants me to be happy and give me what I want on the this earth, right??!” If that is our understanding of His will, we will often be miserable and not at peace because that is NOT His will. God’s will for us is our eternal salvation and that may mean a whole lifetime of misery…but it can still a life at peace knowing that God’s will is being done toward our eternal salvation.

A proper understanding of God’s will means we won’t conclude “God doesn’t like me…” or “Why ME Lord??!” or “God sure has it in for ME!” Rather, we will find peace in knowing that God “works all things out for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

The peace that God gives us through His will for our salvation leads to confidence as well. The petition, “Thy will be done” is (in part) a prayer asking God to give us confidence in our prayer life.

Once again, recall Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. He prayed from His heart and asked His Father to avoid the suffering, but He also commended the matter to the Father’s will. Things didn’t turn out the way Jesus had prayed because He did have to suffer and die. However, Jesus could go forward from Gethsemane knowing that this was the Father’s will and therefore, He also had the confidence that since it was the Father’s will, the Father would strengthen and enable Jesus to accomplish the work.

What peace it is to know that even when God doesn’t answer our prayers in exactly the way we ask, that still He is answering them according to His will. What a peaceful confidence to be able to say to God: “This is what I’m asking, but I don’t know if that’s the best for me, so Your will be done” and then leave it at that, trusting fully that what God does do is best for your eternal joy.

“Thy will be done” is a prayer against worry. Jesus encourages us NOT to worry when He says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34). If we know that God’s will is the best possible goal for us (i.e., heaven) and we believe He has the power to work all things toward that goal, then about what could we possibly worry?!

Hardships and troubles may come and we will question “why/why not?” or “How could that happen?” or “Why now?” We will wonder about the specifics and how they will work out, but we need never question God’s will or His intent with what He sends or allows to come.

This petition of the Lord’s Prayer is a wide-ranging request. We pray that salvation come to us, that we be preserved from spiritual enemies who oppose God’s will, we pray for the ability to lead a Christian life and the desire to follow what is pleasing to God in an ongoing state of repentance and humble submission to our Lord. We, likewise, pray that God instill in us the confidence, hope, and peace that comes from trusting Him so that in ALL things we can confidently pray: THY WILL BE DONE! Amen.

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt