Like Christ (3)

In Surrender

John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

Introduction

Have you ever known exactly what you were supposed to do…and still didn’t want to do it?

Not because you didn’t understand…but because something inside of you resisted it?

Maybe it was a decision you knew was right…but it cost too much.

Maybe it was letting go of something…you didn’t want to release.

Or maybe it was God dealing with your heart…and you kept putting it off.

The truth is—every one of us knows what it feels like to struggle between what we want…and what God wants.

And that struggle has a name.

It’s called surrender.

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been learning what it means to be like Christ.

We’ve learned that:

If we are going to be like Him, we must abide in Him

And we must live separated unto Him

But today we come to the next step—and really, the heart of it all:

To be like Christ…we must surrender to the will of the Father.

Because Christlikeness is not just about what we believe…or even how we behave…

It’s about obedience.

Jesus is the perfect example of surrender because He did not live His life based on preference—He lived His life with purpose.

Over and over again in the Gospel of John, we hear Him say:

“I am sent.”

He understood that His life was not His own.

He was sent by the Father, empowered by the Spirit, and committed to accomplishing the Father’s will.

In fact, in John 4:34, Jesus said:

“My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.”

That word meat in the Greek means “sustenance”

In other words—doing the will of the Father was not a burden to Him…

It was His source of energy.

What food is to the body— obedience was to Christ.

And here’s where it confronts us:

Many people can go to church, to serve, sing, and even preach…

without ever truly surrendering to the will of God.

But you cannot be like Christ without it.

And the good news is— Jesus doesn’t just command it…

He shows us how to live it.

Look with me at John 5:30..

I. The Renunciation of Self-Will

“I can of mine own self do nothing…” (John 5:30)

Jesus, the Son of God, declares His independence from self-direction.

He says:

“I can of mine own self do nothing.”

that statement is astonishing.

Because this is the eternal Son of God speaking.

He possesses:

all power

all authority

all wisdom

all glory

Yet during His earthly ministry, He voluntarily chose to live in perfect submission to the Father.

Philippians 2 tells us that Christ:

“made himself of no reputation.”

He did not cease to be God, but He chose to lay aside the independent exercise of His divine will.

Why?

To live as the perfect example of what a surrendered life looks like.

Christ shows us that true power is found in surrender.

The world says:

assert yourself

defend yourself

promote yourself

But Christ teaches us:

deny yourself

submit yourself

yield yourself to God.

Christ understood that:

Self-will is the greatest enemy to God’s will.

You cannot walk in your will and God's will at the same time.

II. The Reception of Divine Direction

“…as I hear, I judge…” (John 5:30)

Jesus lived His life by listening before moving.

He lived in perfect communion with the Father.

Everything He did flowed out of that relationship.

In John 8:28 Jesus said:

“I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”

And again in John 12:49:

“The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”

That means

every miracle,

every sermon,

every step of Christ's ministry

was carried out in harmony with the Father's will.

Jesus never acted out of impulse.

He acted out of obedience.

And the same principle must guide our lives.

God’s will is not discovered through:

emotion

impulse

circumstance

Illus. : I am your typical man. I get something that needs to be put together and what do I do?

Open it up and discard the instructions

I start putting it together and everything is going right, then I come to the last couple of items and what do you know, they dont fit. Why?

Because those last few items should have gone in at the beginning

But because I did not take time to read and listen to the instructions, I have to take it all back apart and rebuild it

same things happens to us Spiritually

We like to move before we hear.

Decide before we pray.

Speak before we seek God.

And we wonder why we fall flat on our faces.

You may be asking, your right, but how do I find the will of God?

Answer: God’s will is only discovered through:

His Word

His Spirit

His wisdom.

Christ shows us that before we move, we must first listen.

And when we listen we will quickly understand that there must be…

III. The Rejection of Personal Agenda

“…because I seek not mine own will…” (John 5:30)

One of the most striking things about the ministry of Jesus is not just what He did…

but what He refused to do.

In John 6, after feeding the five thousand, the people wanted to make Him king.

That was influence. That was recognition. That was everything most people spend their lives chasing.

And yet—Jesus walked away.

Why?

Because it was not the Father’s will.

Jesus never allowed opportunity to replace obedience.

And that’s where many people miss it.

Because not everything that is good… is God’s will.

Not every open door is a door you are supposed to walk through.

And not every opportunity is an assignment from God.

Many people today want God to bless their plans… instead of surrendering to His.

We ask:

“What do I want?”

“What do I feel?”

“What makes sense to me?”

But Christ teaches us to ask a different question:

“What does the Father desire?”

Christlikeness requires that we lay down:

our plans, preferences, ambitions, and even our timing.

Because as long as you are holding onto your agenda… you cannot fully embrace God’s.

You cannot live in two wills at the same time.

Eventually, one will win.

And the reason many people struggle in their Christian life is not because they don’t know what God wants…

it’s because they don’t want to let go of what they want.

IV. The Rendering of Perfect Obedience

“..But the will of the Father which sent me.”

Jesus said in John 6:38, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Then in Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

Now don’t misunderstand what is happening there.

Jesus is not resisting the Father— He is revealing the cost of obedience.

He fully understood what lay before Him.

The suffering.

The shame.

The weight of sin.

And yet—He willingly submits Himself to the Father.

Not partially. Not reluctantly. But fully.

Because the will of the Father for Christ was not to teach… or to perform miracles… or to gather followers.

The will of the Father was redemption.

And that redemption would be accomplished on the cross of Calvary.

Every step Jesus took was leading to that moment.

Where He would bear our sin, carry our shame, endure our judgment, and die in our place.

Isaiah said it centuries before: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him…”

The Father’s will meant that Christ would become the sacrifice for sin.

And Jesus obeyed.

Not because it was easy— but because it was necessary.

Philippians 2:8 says: “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Think about that.

The sinless Son of God submitted Himself

to the nails… to the mockery… to the rejection… to the suffering… and to death.

Why?

Because it was the will of the Father for sinners to be reconciled back to God.

If Christ had not obeyed— there would be no cross,

no atonement,

no forgiveness,

no salvation.

But because He did— there is now hope.

on that cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserved.

The wrath of God that belonged to us fell on Him.

Jesus did not just teach the will of the Father— He fulfilled it.

Where Adam rebelled, Christ obeyed.

And through His obedience— salvation was accomplished.

Romans says: “By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Conclusion

How should we respond to Christ’s obedience?

If Jesus willingly submitted Himself to the Father’s will— even when it led to suffering—

then we must learn to submit ourselves to God as well.

Not only when His will is easy.

Not only when it is comfortable.

Not only when it makes sense to us.

But even when it costs us something.

So how do we live in light of Christ’s obedience?

First, we must surrender our will to God.

Jesus said, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.”

That must become the posture of our own hearts.

We live in a world that says, follow your heart, do what feels right, live for yourself.

But we are called to something higher:

to deny self, to take up the cross, and to follow Christ.

First, we must surrender our will to God.

Second, we must trust God even when obedience is painful.

There are moments when doing the will of God is hard.

It may cost comfort, relationships, reputation or our convenience.

But Jesus shows us that obedience is always worth it.

The cross came before the crown.

And sometimes in the Christian life, suffering comes before glory too.

First, we must surrender our will to God.

Second, we must trust God even when obedience is painful.

Third, we must rest in what Christ has already accomplished.

This passage does not only call us to follow His example— it calls us to trust His sacrifice.

We are not saved by our obedience.

We are saved by His obedience.

We are not redeemed because we suffer enough.

We are redeemed because Christ suffered in our place.

So the call today is this:

Repent and believe the gospel.

Turn from sin.

Bow to Christ.

Trust in the One who obeyed the Father perfectly and died for sinners completely.

And for those who already know Him, walk in daily surrender.

Say yes to God. Say no to self.

Submit your life, your plans, your future, and your desires to the will of the Father.

Because the same Savior who obeyed unto death is worthy of our full obedience today.

Challenge

So the question is not “Did Jesus obey the Father?”

We know He did that.

The question is, Will you?

Will we trust Him? Will we surrender to Him? Will we follow Him even when obedience is costly?

Because Christ did not go to the cross reluctantly.

He went willingly, obediently, and lovingly—

so that sinners like us could be saved.

Prayer

“Father…You did not spare Your Son— and Your Son did not withhold His life…

So help us not to hold anything back from You.

Give us the grace to surrender. Give us the faith to trust. And draw sinners to your Son Jesus Christ…

In His name… Amen.”