Jesus' Daily Planner: Doing Whatever the Father Does

John 5 places Jesus under pressure because the Jews understood exactly what his words meant. Jesus was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God, and yet the Son says he does nothing on his own. The Son lives with his eyes on the Father, doing only what he sees the Father doing. The Father loves the Son, shows him his work, and opens the way for greater works so that people may marvel.

The image of Jacob Smith skiing nearly blind gives flesh to that truth. Jacob can fly down a mountain only because his father’s voice guides him through narrow shoots and away from cliffs. The son trusts the father enough to turn right or left when he is told. The Father in heaven calls people into that same kind of trust, not automatically as children of God, but through adoption by faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ daily planner was simple: whatever Dad’s doing. The Son did not move by personal agenda, religious instinct, or whatever seemed good in the moment. Jesus looked for what the Father was already doing in a life, and then partnered with him there. The Great Commission becomes a co-mission because Christ invites disciples to walk with him, make disciples, baptize, teach, and trust his presence to the end of the age.

The call to discipleship requires unlearning the habit of holy-looking self-initiative. God does not need help creating ministry. God calls disciples to wake up, consecrate themselves, pay attention, and step into the doors already opening in front of them. The Spirit reveals the Father’s work through Scripture, prayer, circumstances, and the church, and that revelation brings a crisis of belief that requires faith-filled action.

Jesus came to undo the works of the devil. The knotted extension cord pictures the chaos of lives tangled by sin, addiction, pain, and brokenness. Christ enters that chaos with the power of love, not as a show-off, not with theatrical flare, but with mercy, healing, wisdom, deliverance, gentleness, and humility. Jesus’ healings show that bodies, pain, and daily existence matter to him because love moved him.

Love, not fascination with power, marks the true way of Jesus. Matthew 11 shows the Lord as gentle and lowly in heart, giving rest to the heavy laden. John 21 says the world could not contain the books if every work of Jesus were written, yet what is written is enough to show his way. The Father still guides disciples down paths they cannot see, and kingdom ministry means being available for him to spend a life so souls can be set free to worship.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus followed whatever Dad was doing. The Son’s obedience was not passive or aimless. Jesus watched for the Father’s activity and joined it with perfect trust, which means discipleship begins with attention before action. A life that looks spiritual can still be driven by flesh, schedule, comfort, or pressure unless the Father’s work is actually being discerned. [66:35]
• 2. God opens doors before ministry begins. The Father does not ask disciples to invent his mission from scratch. God is already working in people, circumstances, prayers, and holy interruptions, and obedience means adjusting life to join what he reveals. The crisis of belief comes when the invitation is clear enough to require faith and costly enough to expose whether trust is real. [64:54]
• 3. Love untangles what evil knots. Jesus did not stand at a distance from chaos. The Son entered the tangled places of addiction, immorality, pain, broken bodies, and demonic bondage to bring the Father’s loving order back into human lives. The church’s participation in that work must move toward pain with prayer, courage, mercy, and the expectation that Christ still undoes the devil’s works. [68:45]
• 4. Power must wear humility’s clothing. Jesus carried real authority, but people left marked more by his love than by his giftedness. A fixation on power without gentleness should raise holy concern because the Spirit bears the fruit of Christ’s own nature. True ministry can be bold and supernatural while still being lowly, tender, and free from showing off. [75:42]
• 5. The Father guides unseen paths. Jacob’s skiing pictures a disciple’s life with striking clarity: danger is real, vision is limited, and the Father’s voice is enough. Trust is not sentimental; trust turns right or left when the Father speaks. Kingdom ministry becomes possible when disciples stop demanding full sight and start listening for the next faithful step.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [53:21] - Father's Day and John 5
• [55:09] - Jacob Smith Trusts His Father
• [58:05] - Adopted Through Jesus Christ
• [59:18] - Jesus’ Daily Planner
• [61:51] - Jesus Calls Disciples to Follow
• [64:54] - God Reveals His Work
• [68:02] - Undoing the Works of the Devil
• [73:44] - Love Moves Jesus to Heal
• [77:40] - Gentle and Lowly Ministry
• [79:57] - Listening to the Father’s Voice
• [82:33] - Communion and Christ’s Love
• [94:30] - Sent in Partnership with God

1. According to John 5:19, what does Jesus say about his ability to act independently? How does this connect to the story of Jacob Smith skiing with his father’s guidance? [56:06]
2. In the sermon, what metaphor was used to describe lives tangled by sin and brokenness? How does this relate to Jesus’ mission in 1 John 3:8? [08:45]
3. What does Matthew 11:28-30 reveal about Jesus’ character, and how does this contrast with a ministry focused on “showing off” power? [17:40]

1. Why might Jesus emphasize that he only does what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19)? How does this challenge common assumptions about “spiritual” productivity?
2. The knotted extension cord symbolizes lives marked by chaos. How does Jesus’ approach to “undoing the works of the devil” differ from human efforts to fix problems? [08:45]
3. The sermon states, “Power must wear humility’s clothing.” How does gentleness guard against misuse of spiritual authority? [15:42]

1. What practical step could you take this week to shift from relying on your own agenda to actively looking for what God is already doing around you? (Example: Pausing to pray before making decisions.)
2. When have you encountered a “tangled” situation (e.g., conflict, addiction, pain)? How could you intentionally move toward it with Christ-like love instead of avoidance? [08:45]
3. In what areas of your life (work, relationships, service) do you feel pressure to “show off” competence or control? How might humility reshape your approach? [15:42]
4. Jacob Smith said, “I trust [my dad] enough to turn right or left when he tells me.” What makes it hard to trust God’s guidance when you can’t see the full path? What would it look like to act on one prompt from Him this week? [57:02]
5. The sermon warns against “holy-looking self-initiative.” How can you discern whether your spiritual habits are driven by genuine partnership with God or by routine/obligation?