John 17:6-8 – I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

John has shown us, throughout this book, how Jesus stayed focused on the message that the Father wanted Him to say, and that He focused that message on those that the Father gave to Him.

There are many good things that we can do in life. They may be very religious and come with self-denial but they can be of little value if they aren’t things that God actually wants you to do. In Matthew, even the Satan quotes scripture, and the rich young ruler kept many of the 10 commandments since birth, but neither were focused on doing what God actually wanted.

The Christian life isn’t just about doing good things, it is important that we actually do what God wants us to do, and that’s what Jesus always did.

Jesus was given a ministry to those whom the Father gave to Him “out of the world.” Notice that He wasn’t given a ministry to the whole world except, as we learned in John 3:16, that He should be “given” for them. His teaching and cleaning work actually ended up going to those who “received” his words and “believed” that the Father sent Him.

Sometimes, in our effort to gain more believers, we fail to pay attention to where most of the work is done here. It is the Father who first does work and gives us to Jesus. It is the Father who makes us inclined to listen and believe. Then Jesus teaches us so that we can believe and receive the words. If it wasn’t for the Father’s guiding and Jesus teaching, how would we ever be saved by believing? It is really God that does the work, not us, and we can all be very thankful for that, because now we have no reason to place any pride in ourselves or to think of ourselves as more worthy of God than others.

John 17:6-8 – I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

John has shown us, throughout this book, how Jesus stayed focused on the message that the Father wanted Him to say, and that He focused that message on those that the Father gave to Him.

There are many good things that we can do in life. They may be very religious and come with self-denial but they can be of little value if they aren’t things that God actually wants you to do. In Matthew, even the Satan quotes scripture, and the rich young ruler kept many of the 10 commandments since birth, but neither were focused on doing what God actually wanted.

The Christian life isn’t just about doing good things, it is important that we actually do what God wants us to do, and that’s what Jesus always did.

Jesus was given a ministry to those whom the Father gave to Him “out of the world.” Notice that He wasn’t given a ministry to the whole world except, as we learned in John 3:16, that He should be “given” for them. His teaching and cleaning work actually ended up going to those who “received” his words and “believed” that the Father sent Him.

Sometimes, in our effort to gain more believers, we fail to pay attention to where most of the work is done here. It is the Father who first does work and gives us to Jesus. It is the Father who makes us inclined to listen and believe. Then Jesus teaches us so that we can believe and receive the words. If it wasn’t for the Father’s guiding and Jesus teaching, how would we ever be saved by believing? It is really God that does the work, not us, and we can all be very thankful for that, because now we have no reason to place any pride in ourselves or to think of ourselves as more worthy of God than others.