Willing Is the Prerequisite of Knowing

In one paragraph

This message came from the ongoing series through the Gospel of John, picking up at the start of what the series outline calls the "period of conflict." Pastor Mike worked through John 7, where belief and unbelief in Jesus begin to harden into open sides, and landed on a single verse as the hinge point of the whole chapter: that being willing to do God's will is what opens a person's...

Read together

1. John 20:31 stated as John's stated purpose for writing: that readers may believe and have life in his name
2. John 7:1-53 the primary passage preached through, covering mixed reactions to Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
3. John 7:17 quoted as the certainty of conviction: if anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether the teaching comes from God
4. John 7:18 quoted on glory: the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true
5. John 5 referenced as the healing of the paralytic at the pool on the Sabbath, which Jesus cites in his argument about judging rightly
6. Philippians 2 referenced to show that because Jesus humbled himself, God exalted him
7. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 read during the membership covenant ceremony to describe the church as one body with many members
8. 1 John 3:16 read during the membership covenant ceremony: Jesus laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers

Talk about it

1. The pastor described the crowd at the feast of tabernacles as having mixed reactions to Jesus: acceptance, rejection, confusion, and derision. Which of those four responses do you think is most common among people you know today, and why?
2. John 7:17 says that if anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether the teaching comes from God. The pastor said willing is the prerequisite of knowing, and that being willing to do God's will is the first step in understanding God's word. What does that look like practically in your own life?
3. The pastor pointed out that Jesus deflected praise by saying his teaching was not his own but came from the one who sent him, and that the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory. Where do you find it hardest to seek God's glory rather than your own?
4. At the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out that anyone who is thirsty should come to him and drink, pointing to the Spirit. The pastor said ritual without Christ leaves you empty. Have you ever experienced a spiritual practice or tradition that felt hollow? What changed it, or what do you think would?
5. The pastor closed by saying this is a heart issue, not a head issue, and that the knowing you should read your Bible more is not a mental problem but a matter of aligning your will with God's will. What is one area of your life right now where you know God's will but are still holding back?