John 7:17

John 7:17 says, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or I speak of. myself.  Jesus said that if anyone would do His will, he would know if the doctrine was of God, or whether He spoke of Himself.  Speaking to the Jews, Jesus said if they knew God's will, they would know the doctrine of Christ, of the Messiah, and whether He only spoke of Himself.  The only way we can know the truth of whether what someone is proclaiming as the word of God is or nio is if we do the will of God.  Verse eighteen adds, He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.  Jesus said if someone is calling attention to himself, and not to God, he is seeking his own glory.  The message some people proclaim today is all centered around what God has done for them, how He has blessed them, and how they have been rewarded materially.  We need to point people to Christ through the power of God's will.  Again, if we are to be His followers, we must look to His example, and that leads us to daily take up or cross.  Jesus never said He would make us rich in this world, but that we were to lay up our treasures in heaven.  If we follow Him, we must live by faith in Him and not by faith in things of the world. When we hear someone say that God wants us to be happy, so He is going to materially bless us, point them to the example of Christ.  Material things will never satisfy.  We must learn to be content in Christ, no matter our material status in the world. 

John 7:14

John 7:14 says, Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.  Jesus went up to the Temple to teach.  This is not the action of someone who is hiding in fear.  Even if the whole world were to be against Him, God will never hide in fear.  That is what we as His followers often do, though.  We often surrender without a fight because we fear those who are in power more than we trust God.  Verse fifteen adds, And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?  The people marveled, wondering how Jesus could know so much when He was unlearned.   People may marvel at the teachings of the Bible today and still not accept it as the truth of God.  Verse sixteen continues, Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  Jesus told them that His doctrine was not His own, but that of He Who sent Him.  There are many highly educated people today who do not know God and they look down on poorly or less educated people who proclaim Christ as Savior.  We must realize that education, though important, is not the determining factor in knowing Jesus and understanding God's will.  The only way to understand the will of God is through a personal relationship with Him, and then we must listen to and proclaim His doctrine.  We can almost come to worship formal education more than a calling from God.  Jesus did not call His disciples based on their education, but instead on their willingness to follow Him.  If we are to be effective witnesses today, we must be grounded in the doctrine of God.  We will understand His doctrine as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, and His doctrine will always be consistent with His written word, the Bible.  Jesus did not cite His credentials or His degrees, but simply said He was teaching the doctrine of God.  That is our challenge today, no matter what the opposition might be. 

John 7:10

John 7:10 says, But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  After His brethren left, Jesus went up to Judea Himself to the feast, but He went quietly.  It says He went not openly, but as in secret, but I think this means without announcing His coming.  Sometimes, we may be better off just quietly going about doing God's work without calling attention to ourselves.  Even though He was in their midst, the Jews were still looking for Him, but for the wrong reason.  If we today are looking for Jesus for the wrong reason, we are not going to find Him.  If we are looking for someone other than the Savior of the world or for some reason other than salvation by His sacrifice, we are not going to find Him, even though He is always in our midst.  When I see signs that say, "Let's bring God back to America," I cannot help but think that He never left.  When we feel a lack of the presence of God in our life, our community, or our country, we need to acknowledge that His absence is not the problem.  We can even say that the actions of the lost people are not the problem.  Verse eleven adds, Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?  The religious people, the Jews, looked for Jesus, the other people around Him recognized Him.   We need to be able to recognize Jesus for Who He is, or we will be looking for Him in the wrong place. Verse twelve continues, And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. They murmured about whether He was a good or bad man, but they knew He was there.  The people of God, the Jews, did not recognize Him even when He was there.  If there is a lack of the presence of God in America, or anywhere today, the problem lies with His people. Verse thirteen concludes, Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.  Jesus was not hiding at the feast, and God is not hiding today.  He is with His followers, expecting us to make Him known to the world.  When people began to recognize Jesus, they didn't say anything for fear of the Jews.  We do not need to let fear keep us from witnessing for Jesus.   

John 7:6

John 7:6 says, Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.  Jesus told His brethren that His time was not yet come.  Even though He was the Son of God, Jesus came to earth for a purpose, and He set the example for everyone who believes in Him to follow. We are to do things on God's schedule.  Again, this does not mean every minute is preordained, but that we need to daily seek God's guidance for that day.  Jesus then told them their time was always ready. They had nothing to do to keep them from going to the feast, but Jesus had to use His time wisely. As His followers, when we have time to spare, do we look for ways to serve God, or do we look for ways to serve self?  Verse seven adds, The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.  Jesus pointed out another difference between His brethren and Him. No one was trying to kill them as they were Jesus.  We may have problems where we live, but very few people are trying to kill us because of our faith. In many countries where they are trying to kill Christians, the Christians there are more faithful than we are.  We need to follow Jesus' example and follow the will of the Father no matter what.  Jesus said He could testify that the works of the world were evil.  We seem to think we have it a lot worse than anyone before us, but the world has been evil since the Garden of Eden.  Our time is much better spent witnessing to the salvation of Christ than moaning about the evils of the world.  If we begin to spend all our time talking about how bad the world is, then how do we get out the message of hope? Verse eight continues, Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come.  Jesus told the disciples to go up to the feast, but once again said His time was not yet come so He wasn’t going.  The people were still trying to make Him a physical king and the religious leaders were still trying to discredit or arrest Him, but it was not yet time for that to occur.  Verse nine concludes, When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.  After saying this, Jesus abode in Galilee. 

John 7:1

John 7:1 says, After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.  Jesus was still in Galilee.  He was there because the Jews wanted to kill Him.  He was not there out of fear of the Jews, but because His time had not yet come. We, as His followers, must never retreat from a situation because we are afraid of the world, but we must make sure that God's timing is right before we confront any situation.  Jesus was not hiding out but was walking around Galilee. Again, even if we know God's timing is not right for us to witness in one place, that does not mean it is not right in another.  Of course, it also means when we know God's timing is right, we must move into the battle, no matter the cost. Verse two adds, Now the Jew's feast of tabernacles was at hand.  Verse three continues, His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.  The Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles was approaching, and His brethren encouraged Jesus to go to Judea to celebrate.  They wanted Him to show His disciples His works.  They implied that He was wasting His time in Galilee.  We must be content to witness for and serve God wherever He leads us.  Some preachers are always looking for a bigger church, but God may want them where they are.  Verse four states, For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.  His brethren told Him that He wasn't getting enough acclaim by staying in Galilee.  When we start to look for personal acclaim in our service to God, we are already off course. Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost, not to be a world acclaimed leader.  Verse five adds, For neither did his brethren believe in him.  We see that Jesus knew that they weren't doing this because they believed Him, but because they didn't.  They were basically daring Him to prove He was the Christ by worldly deeds.  Some today who do not believe will challenge us to prove that Jesus is the Savior by doing some worldly miracle, but faith can never come by sight.  His brethren knew Who He was physically, but they did not know Who He was spiritually.  We must have that spiritual relationship with Him to truly understand what He is calling us to do.  We can never act just because people urge us to. 

John 6:67

John 6:67 says, Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Jesus asked if the twelve would leave Him also.  There may come a day when we have to answer that question.  Verse sixty-eight adds, Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.  We need to be able to make this confession as Peter did.  If Jesus is not Who He said He was and is, where will we go?  There is no other way to salvation.  Verse sixty-nine continues, And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.  Peter said that they believed and are sure that Jesus was that Christ, the Son of the Living God.  We must believe and be sure of this above all else. Unless Jesus is Who He says He is, we have no hope.  Verse seventy states, Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?  Verse seventy-one adds, He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. Then, Jesus said He chose the twelve, and one, Judas, was the devil.  He did not send him away, and Judas still could have believed.  If we are following without believing, we still have a choice.