Evening

June 14

John 7:16-18 ¹⁶Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. ¹⁷If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

The Jewish leaders were amazed that Jesus could speak with such depth and yet he had not studied with any of the great rabbis of that day. Man puts so much emphasis on his own educational system with each generation thinking his is the correct and complete one. Jesus doesn't point to His miraculous birth, or His hours of study, or even His eternal existence. He says what we need to hear. Our teaching should not be our own. It should come from the One who sent us. Are we hearing His voice? Is the Word alive to us by the power of the Holy Spirit?

How do you change from the perspective of men and their pride in their brain cells to a person whose ear is opened to the Spirit of God? Choose to do God's will. Choose to glorify God and not self. If you choose to do God's will, you must first lay aside self-importance and the right to autonomy. That is taking up your cross. When the will is then submitted to your Creator, His voice can come through. You are no longer seeking your glory, but the glory of the One that sends you. In doing His will, you realize that His ways are the fruitful and productive ones even though the world may not understand. Your eyes become opened to a design that goes deeper than the visible.

This is the difference between a speaker and a preacher. The speaker may stir your emotions, but a Spirit led preacher of the Gospel will bring glory to God and not self. You will leave thinking the speaker is a wonderful person, but you leave the preacher's message thinking about the glory of God.

Remember: Born again souls will find that the Holy Spirit will put His finger over their lips when they slip into expressions that exalt self.