John 4:33-35 · Preached by Dr. Nana Boadum · November 1, 2026
Opening a new teaching theme, Pastor Nana takes Jesus' words at the well in Samaria — "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34) — and asks what it means for believers to find their nourishment, their satisfaction, in the same place Jesus found His.
The seven movements
Saved to save others. When the disciples returned with food, Jesus had already eaten — His nourishment was the Samaritan woman's salvation. Every believer shares this assignment: "All things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). We are ambassadors; God pleads through us. As the Father sent Jesus, so He sends us (John 17; Matthew 28).
You are not qualified to disqualify yourself. The sending may differ — Ephesians 2:10 workmanship, 1 Corinthians 12 diversities of gifts — but everyone is sent, even through hard circumstances, as Joseph was sent ahead through a pit. Moses said "I cannot speak"; Jeremiah said "I am a child"; Gideon called himself the least of the least — and God called him a mighty man of valor. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). The Lord wants your yes and your availability; He supplies the empowerment.
The will of God is His desire. "The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). God's will is His expressed desire — that none be lost.
The will of God is His pleasure — and faith is how we please Him. The Amplified reading of John 4:34 renders the will of God as His pleasure, and Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please Him. Faith is like Wi-Fi: invisible, but with the power to connect you to what you need. You don't understand fiber optics before you connect — you just connect. When God says "go" and you move on His word without demanding the full schematic, you are pleasing Him.
The distance between G and O. "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called... and he went out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). The calling asks two letters of us — G-O — and we act as if there were twenty-six letters in between: "Lord, can I have more clarity?" Abraham moved while uncertain, kept raising his family, doing business, living in tents — life did not stall while direction clarified. Don't pause the whole of your life seeking clarity on one decision. And Sarah "judged Him faithful who had promised" (Hebrews 11:11): you may not have what it takes, but the Lord can enable you — your part is to consider the Promise-Keeper trustworthy.
The work of God — believe, and finish. "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:29) — believing Christ is enough, and growing daily into His fullness by the Holy Spirit. But Jesus said to do His will and to finish His work — that is why the cross could carry the words "It is finished." Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.
The window will not stay open. "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Lift up your eyes... the fields are already white" (John 4:35). We treat God's work the way no one would treat a job offer — "I'll come back when I'm ready" — forgetting that opportunities carry expiration dates. "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:4) — the scriptures beneath Jesus Generation Worship's song "The Time Is Now." The invitation of grace is free — "Come, buy and eat without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1-3) — but it is also urgent: "Seek the LORD while He may be found" (Isaiah 55:6); "Behold, I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:12-17).
The service closed with communion and declarations of the enablement of God — for families, leaders, the Athens and Southeast Ohio region — and a commission to go forth, share the good news, and return with rejoicing.