John 5 contains a principle that many followers of Christ have missed. Even among biblical scholars who write commentaries, very few address the concept that we will examine in this message. Most teaching on this text focuses on the claims of deity declared by Jesus. These claims are of supreme importance, but there are additional and significant truths that are often overlooked.
Missing the significance of something is not limited to biblical revelation. In 1863, a newspaper editor in Harrisburg Pennsylvania traveled thirty-five miles to the battlefields of Gettysburg where 10,000 died, with over 6,000 in the span of three hours, in one of worst battles in history. The editor went to hear President Lincoln pay tribute to the men who gave their lives and to encourage a nation to embrace the concept “of a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The editor of the Harrisburg paper was not impressed, nor was he inspired by the President Lincoln. The following quote appeared in the paper, “We pass over the silly remarks of the president; for the credit of the nation, we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they should no more be repeated or thought of.”
Far greater than missing the significance of a presidential speech is missing the divine activity of God. Henry Blackaby, author of Experiencing God, identifies the failure of recognizing divine activity as one of the great tragedies of Christianity. “Right now God is working all around you. One of the greatest tragedies among God’s people is that, while they have a deep longing to experience God, they do not know how to recognize Him.” Today, we will examine some principles from John 5 that can help us to see the unseen hand of almighty God and experience His powerful presence in our lives.
ANTICIPATE DIVINE ACTIVITY
First, we must anticipate divine activity. I love the quote attributed to Henry Ford who said, “Whether you think you can or your can’t, you’re right.” If you don’t expect to see God, you won’t. The Bible says in Proverbs 8:17 that those who seek God will find Him. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened unto you.” Notice in the text that Jesus said the Father is always working. He worked in the past. He will work in the future, and He is working right NOW.
To increase our anticipation, we should Review His Victories. In the latter part of the chapter, Jesus challenges His adversaries, who doubt His testimony about His identity as the son of God, to search the Scriptures. Jesus states that there is a testimony that possesses greater weight than the testimony of John the Baptist, which is the Holy Scripture. By studying the Scripture, we see the hand of God in the history of His people. God called Abraham to live in a new land. God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage. The heavenly Father used David to defeat giants that threatened the advance of His kingdom. The Scriptures reveal that God worked through Elijah to lead a nation to repentance and to follow the one true God of Israel. The Scriptures testify that in the fullness of time, God sent His only begotten Son to be the sinless sacrifice that would atone for the sin of the world.
Reviewing past victories prepares us to take the second step of Refocusing Our Vision. Our eyes need to be set on God not self in order to see God work. We are often more concerned about God’s will for our life on an individual basis than we are about the will of God. Borrowing again from Dr. Blackaby’s insight, we need to determine what is the will of God and adjust our life to fit His will. When Jesus instructed the disciples how to pray, He said to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know that is the will of God to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We know that God desires for you to love your neighbor as yourself. The Bible teaches that it is God will for us to give thanks in all things, and we know that is God’s will that none would perish, but all to receive eternal life. When we begin to obey God in the areas already prescribed, we increase our chances of seeing God work.
This past football season, I served as the team chaplain for our local high school team. Every week of the season I led devotions, developed relationships with players and coaches, and watched games from the sidelines on Friday nights. The team had a great season advancing to the state playoffs, but more importantly eighteen players prayed to accept Christ! I have watched the high school football team for several years, even attending most home games. But this year, the victories were more exciting and the losses more painful. Why? Because I was involved where the team was working. Our devotions were held on the fifty yard line of the practice field every Thursday afternoon. Use your imagination and think of this passage as Jesus telling you that God is playing in a football game next Friday night. You have been invited to see God score a few touchdowns. Would you attend or choose to read about it is the newspaper? After all you have to buy a ticket, sit in uncomfortable bleachers, endure some inclement weather, and the band plays too loud. But the reward is worth it; you get to see God!
ACCEPT UNCERTAINTY
Another aspect of seeing God work is to accept a level of uncertainty. Jesus’ statement that He only does what He sees the Father doing implies that He doesn’t know when, where, or with whom God may choose to work next. It could be at a wedding with no wine, a hungry multitude, a centurion with a sick servant, or a friend who has been dead for four days.
Too may times we act as if God must work in the rut we have carved over years of complacency, or He can’t work at all. If that sounds harsh, try changing the order of service in most Baptist churches. Just changing the place in the service where the offering is taken is enough to send some deacons over the edge. I serve in a church that is very open to creative changes in worship, but when we recently changed the format of our bulletin, I had to fight my way through a wall of dissenters outside the worship center because they demanded to know what I had done with “their bulletin!” It is a difficult truth to embrace, but God does not always work like I, or you, want Him to work. Author and professor, Leonard Sweet says, “We miss God because we want planned lives instead of a prepared life that responds willingly and humbly to God’s will.”
Accepting uncertainty also means learning to worship through the process of divine activity. Seeing God work is not a goal that we achieve. It is not a fixed target, but an ongoing process calling for our worship. Jesus sees the Father working and responds accordingly. Our response is to obey at first sight not to weigh possibilities to see if a better offer comes along. The process or journey may not be one that we would choose. God’s work my call for sacrifice, persecution, and hardship in order to produce in us a faith that is greater than gold.
CONCLUSION
Ginny Owens is a Christian singer/song writer who beautifully captured the concept of following God in a song entitled If You Want Me To. When I first heard the song, I was challenged by the lyrics, but the song took on deeper significance when I learned that Ginny Owens is blind. When she sings, “I’ll walk through the darkness, if You want me to,” the words are not a simple metaphor or rhyme; it is a bold declaration of her faith to see where God is working and follow Him. (Note: This can be a powerful and creative conclusion by playing the song at this point in the message)
Where is God working? He is working all around. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart that you may see.