GOOD WORKS FROM THE FATHER

[SW102] 08/18/2013 message notes by Rev. Susan J. Wynn ©2013
“Good Works From the Father”

Oh, to do good works —
not just good works that unbelievers can do,
not just human works done in human power,
but good works from the Father!!!

John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good [2570 beautiful, better, excellent]

works [works — 2041 actions, behaviors, deeds, what He does]

from [ek 1537, denoting origin]

the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”

What is the purpose of doing good works from the Father? God’s purpose is ALWAYS salvation!

John 10:37 “ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe  the works, so that you may  know and understand that  the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” [in = en 1722, a fixed position, within, proceedes out from]

So as Christ’s followers who love and obey Him,
when we do the beautiful, better and excellent things
that originate from the Father,
others will know and understand that the Father
is in a fixed position within us,
and we are in the Father, in a fixed position, fully His.

And SALVATION results — true salvation!
People see that God is real,
confess their sin,
and turn from it!
Jailers are saved! Whole households are saved!

When we obey and therefore love Jesus Christ, the Father and He abide in us and dwell permanently in us, just as Jesus promised in John 14 —

John 14:15   “ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [the Holy Spirit] , that He may be with you [3326 amid, in your proximity, within] forever;”

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “ If anyone loves Me, he will  keep My word; and  My Father will love him, and We  will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

In other words, if we obey, we love Jesus Christ.
If we love Christ, He will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit,
who will be literally within us,
and that means the Father and Jesus are also within us,
by way of the Holy Spirit.
And we do good works from the Father.
And true salvation results —
confession of sin, turning from it!

What exactly are the good works from the Father that we do? Here are some clues:

John 5:19   Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you,  the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever  the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

So, to do good works from the Father means doing what we see Him doing!

BUT . . .

We cannot do good works from the Father
unless we have holy intimacy with the Father
and are intimately connected to Him,
partakers of His divine nature through Jesus Christ.

If we are separated from Him by our sins that we commit (Isaiah 59),
we cannot see what the Father does, nor can we do likewise.
Salvation of others cannot come!

First trumpet call from the watchman on the wall for the church:

Christian, are you sinning? Then you cannot do good works from the Father.

Church, are you downplaying sin, or not mentioning it at all?
Are you out to please people to draw them to your pews,
rather than convict them
concerning sin and righteousness and judgment,
done by Holy Spirit
through true teaching of God’s Word?

Church, are you telling people that Jesus Christ came to make their lives happy,
and not to bear their past sins and free them from slavery to sin?

Then you are disobeying Jesus Christ,
and you do not have holy intimacy with the Father —
you do not have the Holy Spirit within you,
or you would not teach what you teach.

Church, the Lord shows me that because you are sinning,
you do not have holy intimacy with the Father,
so you do works any human being can do,
and do not do good works from the Father.

There is, therefore, no true salvation in what you do! If you are doing human acts done in human power, people cannot not see that God is real and confess sin and turn from it.

But do do good works from the Father is not just to do what He does, but to say what we hear Him say — what He teaches us:

John 14:10 “Do you not believe that  I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”

John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you  lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that   I am He, and  I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me”.

Again, O Christian, I sound the trumpet!
You cannot hear the Father’s voice if you are sinning.

And Church, when you downplay sin or do not mention it at all,
when you please people to draw them to your pews,
rather than convict concerning sin, righteousness and judgment,
done by Holy Spirit through true teaching of God’s Word,
you sin, you are separated from God,
and therefore you cannot hear the Father’s voice.

So, salvation cannot happen!

O Church, when you tell people that Jesus Christ came to make their lives happy,
and not to bear their past sins and free them from slavery to sin,
you are sinning,
and you cannot hear the Father’s voice.

The Lord says that what the church-at-large is presently teaching
is evidence that she does not hear the voice of the Father,
for the Holy Spirit would never teach her to say what she is saying,
because it is contrary to what the Father says.

IF you, O Christian and you, O Church,
who are called the people of God,
will humble yourselves (confessing that you are sinning)
and pray (for forgiveness)
and turn from your wicked ways

THEN the Lord says He will hear from heaven,
and forgive your sin,
and heal you. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Then what will you be able to do?
Things that unbelievers and sinning Christians are unable to do —
good works from the Father!

You will be able, O Christian and O church, to:

–Heal the sick without even going to them (John 4:46), causing whole households to be saved.

–Heal ones who have been paralyzed even for 38 years (John 5).

–Feed 5,000 without any help from a food bank (John 6).

–Offend many with the Father’s words which He teaches you (John 6:51), causing many disciples to leave (John 6:66)!!!!

–Cry out truth and cause division (John 7:37-39, 43)!!!!

–Bluntly tell the self-righteous that they will die in their sin (John 8:24).

–Promise freedom from the slavery of sin to those who continued in His word so they would know the truth (John 8:31-36).

–Give eyes made from clay to one born blind (John 9), resulting in salvation.

Luke 7:22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the  BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the  POOR [in spirit] HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.”

These things you will do, O Church and O Christian,
if you confess your sins and repent, completely turning away from them.

Another trumpet sounds:

The Lord says that if we do not do good works that are from the Father,
but do good works that any human being can do in his own power,
these things are like wood, hay, and straw.
Salvation does not result from such works.

When Christ judges such works,
they will be burned up,
even though, as we do them,
we might be willing or allowed to mention His name
(see 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

But the grace of the Father is here for you today,
if you will hear the words He has spoken to me by the Holy Spirit.
Confess your sins against your God,
and He will forgive you and draw you near to Him.
And then you will do good works from the Father!