Today we continue to teach on our overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” Within this series, we have been honing in on the importance of your words. Today we will look at the life of Jesus and how He only said those things that He received from the Father. Jesus never spoke a negative word ‘out of His flesh’. He was speaking what He received in His Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, who was His direct connection to the Father. We are supposed to live the same way.
Let’s look at our main scripture and then several that speak to the life of Jesus.
(2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV)
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak.
(John 5:19 NLT)
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”
(John 5:30 NLT)
I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
(John 6:38 ERV)
I came down from heaven to do what God wants, not what I want.
(John 8:28 ERV)
So he said to them, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I Am. You will know that whatever I do is not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me.
(John 12:49 NIV)
For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.
(John 14:10 NIV)
Jesus said, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
So what does this mean for you today? Here are a few things we can glean from the scriptures about Jesus.
1. Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man. One of the reasons He came as a man was so that we could emulate what we see in His life. He had the ability to operate in the flesh. He had the ability to live as a mere human. But He chose not to. He chose to be led by the Holy Spirit. We can make the same choice.
2. As a man, Jesus needed to pray for guidance. If Jesus attempted to do things without hearing from the Father it would be no different than us when we get outside of His will. So Jesus sought the Father’s guidance for EVERYTHING. He only said what He heard the Father say. He only did as He was led by the Father to do. This is how we are supposed to live.
3. Jesus could not do ANYTHING on His own. Jesus made it clear that without the Father He could do NOTHING! If this was Jesus, then how can we think we can do things on our own? If Jesus saw a clear need to spend time in prayer, then how do you think you can ever succeed in life without it? Jesus counted on the Father daily and so must you. Jesus received His orders from headquarters (heaven) on a daily basis. This is how we are supposed to live.
4. Jesus spent time alone with the Father. Praying with or around others is fine. Jesus did this too. But in many cases, early in the morning, we see Jesus going off by Himself, giving the Father His undivided attention. If you want to get to the point where you only say and do as you are led of the Holy Spirit to say and do, you are going to have to make time to spend time with God.
5. Jesus did not assume that everything that happened would be God’s will. Far too many believers accept everything as ‘the will of God’ without ever spending time with the Father to find out what His will actually is. If you hear from the Father in prayer, you won’t need to question His will, because you will know it. It is then and only then that you can believe it, speak it, and allow it to direct your life.
6. Jesus learned how to put Spirit-over-body and we must learn the same thing.
— While Jesus was all God, He was also all man. He came as a man just like us.
— Jesus had to learn how to subdue to the flesh. He had to choose NOT to allow human impulses to override the impulses of the Holy Spirit.
— Jesus had to learn how to live in sync with heaven, although his physical body, and the associated senses, were receiving input from this world.
— Jesus had to learn how to live by faith and not by sight.
— Jesus had to pray to seek the will of the Father. So He prayed. And once He knew what the will of the Father was, He ONLY said and did that! He never wavered. He never wandered from it. He never spoke against it. He SPOKE THE WORD ONLY!
— Jesus is our example. As Jesus is, so are we, in this world (1 John 4:17).
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for giving me an example of Your best in the life of Your Son. The fact that Jesus relied on His prayer life is humbling to me. While He was God, He was also a man. He had to pray just like we do. He had to discover Your will like we do. But once He did, He refused to deviate from it. He never said or did anything outside of Your will. He was not on this planet to do whatever He wanted. He only did what You wanted Him to do. Jesus is my example. Without You I can do nothing. I am open to hearing Your voice and I will never stray from it. I will only say what I hear Your say. I will only do what I am led of You to do. As Jesus is, so am I, in this world! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
