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by Senior Pastor, Denis Beausejour.
Series: Practicing the Presence of Jesus - Encounters that Renovate the Heart
Message: KNOWING GOD'S TIMING
Text: JOHN 7:1-13
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Introduction: The next two chapters in the life of Jesus revolve around the Feast of Tabernacles, which takes place in October. Roughly six months after the feeding of the 5000, we find ourselves in Galilee. Jesus has stayed in the north because he knows the Jewish leaders want to kill him. It is not yet his time. This season of Jesus' Galilean ministry dominates the three synoptic Gospel accounts.
The Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three major Jewish feasts that required every male to make a trek to Jerusalem (also Passover and Weeks, or Pentecost). These three pilgrimage festivals were connected to the agricultural harvests as well as to days of national calamity, so they had physical and spiritual meaning interlocking them. See Leviticus 23, especially verses 33-43. The people would "go up" to Jerusalem (a climb of 3000 feet) signing Psalms 120-134, which are known as the Psalms of Ascent. These are excellent texts to practice God's presence!
The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the desert wanderings, so people would make temporary shelters and sleep in them instead of their normal homes, to remember and give thanks. The Feast occurred at the autumnal equinox, when the daylight reached equality with night, and the days began to get shorter. As a result light was an important symbol. It was also a time of drought when cisterns and water supply in general was at the seasonal low, awaiting the fall rains, or the "latter rains". Both of these were keen concerns in an agrarian spiritual community.
The Feast included two daily ceremonies which help us to understand what Jesus meant when he made certain claims. The daily drawing of water every morning symbolized the need for physical and spiritual renewal for the soil and the people. The daily ceremony of lamp lighting commemorated the passing of the longer days and their need for spiritual light. Jesus will exploit these motifs and themes brilliantly when he makes his claims to bring rivers of living water (John 7:37ff) and to be the light of the world (John 8:12ff).
Today's Main Idea:
Faith (believing and knowing) involves a keen sense of timing and understanding in both the physical and spiritual realm. It is a seemingly passive willingness to wait and an ability to go "all in" at the right time. This lifestyle is very challenging to learn and requires great discipline. People of the world want to make things happen "in the flesh", now. They are willful. Disciples of the Kingdom learn to live life on God's timing. In the Master's flow, we experience "Kairos" living.....and God's "unforced rhythm of grace".
I love the Message translation of Matthew 11:28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." MSG See also Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 — a time for everything!
Today's passage gives us three insights to the appreciation of Kairos: the timing of Jesus' mission despite temptation, the timing of our faith journeys, and the timing for speaking and acting on spiritual information.
Let's look at each briefly.
The timing of Jesus' mission despite temptation (v. 1-4)
We see Jesus avoiding the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. To many, even his brothers, this may look wimpy. But Jesus is no wimp. He just knows the Father's timetable. He is a master of knowing physical and spiritual reality. He is not acting out of fear of man. He is not procrastinating. He is exercising what the ancients called the most important virtue of all - prudence. Prudence is not prudish. Prudence is to understand reality as it is, and to respond to that reality in the exact right way. Godly understanding and action.
Application: Jesus reminds us that it is not always time to make something happen! Ask Abraham if he would like a "mulligan" on his decision to make a baby with Hagar! (See Genesis 16) How many "Ishmaels" have you been involved in recently? Projects at home or at school that were not ready? Forcing relationships? Taking action to force someone else to respond? Jesus was tempted in John just like in the desert (see 6:15 King, 6:31 bread, 7:3 power and compare to Matthew 4:1-11). How are you tempted? Ask God for prudence. Ask Him also for healing and supernatural power to overcome.
The timing of our faith journeys (v. 5-9)
Jesus interacts with his unbelieving brothers. He is not in a hurry with their spiritual development. He has far greater hopes for them than to "rack up converts". In Matthew 13:53-58, we learn that Jesus had four brothers (James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Jude)) and sisters who were not named. These children were likely born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus was born. (A minority of scholars believe they were cousins.)
It must have been hard, but Jesus was waiting. They had seen the miracles in Cana and Capernaum (2:12). His family (including Mary apparently) thought he was out of his mind (Mark 3:21). He walked the talk and gave them space - and did not assign a timetable to them (v. 6). The cross did it's job, and by Acts 1:14, they were praying. In 1 Corinthians 15:7, we see Jesus appeared to James. James led the church and wrote the book by his name, and Jude also wrote a book of the New Testament.
Application: Are you operating on Kairos as it pertains to the loved ones in your life? What of you loved them and asked Jesus to change them? What if Jesus appears to them like David Pease experienced? What if they have a dream about Jesus? What if Jesus puts someone in their path? What if they have an overwhelming burden and then turn to God? Do you see how important prayer is? Look at Nicodemus' journey in the Gospel of John. Being patient with one another matters a great deal, because all we have is by grace, not our own efforts! (See Ephesians 2:8-9)
The timing for speaking and acting on spiritual information (v. 10-13)
Jesus appears and observes the crowds wrestling with the spiritual information that his ministry has generated. There are detractors and their are those who are open-minded. But no one would speak openly for fear of the Jews. Who is this Jesus? Widespread whispering. Even accusation! Rabbinic writings in the
Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) claim Jesus was a sorcerer who led people astray - a claim that still persists to this day. Notice in these chapters the questions people ask. Who is this man?
Application: Does this sound familiar to you? Just turn on a TV! What can we see? Oprah. Televangelists. You can even see a revival that began in Lakeland Florida on April 2. Look at God TV between 7-11 every day or at www.freshfire.ca. God seems to be using a young, very unusual man to release great miracles of healing. It is not a comfortable or predictable manifestation of God's power. There are other places with revival underway all over the world. Prophetic ministries are expecting intensification of this move of God. What do we make of this? Jesus, what are you up to? Can you discern the real from the fake?
Practicing His Presence: Prayer
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