If anyone is willing to do His will

...... he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him (John 17:17, 18). There are a couple of things that come out of these words of Jesus that come to my mind this morning. The first is that our ability to know the truth is a heart matter. In particular it centres around a willingness to do His will. The Amplified Bible translates part of John 8:31, 32 as “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.  And you will know the truth.” The converse is also true. In fact as Paul says, the truth is suppressed by unrighteousness, by the willingness to do what we know is not God's will (Romans 1:20). It's called rationalization and denial!

In the last part of verse 18 Jesus is, of course, speaking about Himself. He is confident of the truth of what He was teaching, even though He had neither gone to the best universities, nor sat under the acknowledged experts of the day (verse 15). And part of this confidence, was knowing that His motives were pure, and He knew they were pure because He was seeking the glory of the Father, the One who sent Him. For the same reason He knew there was no unrighteousness in Him (still in verse 18). This being sure of His motives is no small thing. When we let Him, the Lord will reveal to us the secrets and the intents of our heart, both good and bad (Psalm 44:29, 21; 1 Corinthians 14:25). And for the one wanting to do the will of God, this is important, for “man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Knowing the truth is, as I say, a heart matter!

In the first part of verse 18 Jesus says “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory.” When we do what we do to look good, we will already have received all the reward we will ever get for it (Matthew 6:5) – been there done that, bought the T-shirt. But also we will not be anointed in what we do, because “His Glory He will not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8). I am convinced that part of why the Bible tells us to “not to be many teachers,” is because so often we operate out of mixed motives. And this morning these things reminded me that “the Word of God is living and powerful, it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). And it comes to me again “This Bible knows me!”

Lord, the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes, not to condemn us, for there is therefore now no condemnation to those of us who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). No it comes in order that I might be free, and a vessel fit for the Master's use. Search my heart again this morning Lord, and lead me in the ways of life. And I will be sure to give You the Honour and the Glory and the praise in Jesus Name Amen