John, Chapter 7. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, yet we tend to listen to the words, the actual recorded
words of our Lord more carefully, don't we? I know I do. It shouldn't
be that way. All Scripture is given by Him,
but we do tend to listen to the words that He spoke. And that's
okay. And we have been looking at and
listening to, and I hope hearing. The very words of the God man,
God manifest in the flesh, his very words, often, all through
the Gospel of John, he says, barely, barely, I say unto you,
with emphasis, with double emphasis, this is the truth now, this is
the truth, this is vital, this is vital. There's not one thing
that he said that's not vital, that we don't need to listen
to carefully. Our Lord, Scripture says, would be he who comes with
a sharp, two-edged sword that comes out of his mouth. That's
what it says, that he would come and what would proceed out of
his mouth is a sharp, two-edged sword. And the things our Lord
is saying here are sharp words. True, he never spoke without
compassion and mercy and grace. No man spake like this man. Yet,
he said, my word is a sword that pierces, a sword that divides. This is how he separates the
truth from the thought. This is how he winnows the threshing
floor. This is how he reveals himself in his true people, the
word of his mouth, the sword, the sword. Verse 10 in chapter
7, we start off here, we left off there. It says, his brethren,
remember this is where he was earthly kin or supposedly his
earthly kin, the Lord did not have the blood of man in him. No seed of Adam in him, no blood
of man in him. He had the blood of God, which
he purchased with that blood. But his brethren, his blood kin,
so to speak, they left him. Remember, they wanted him to
go up to the feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, and show himself
openly. It says they didn't believe in
him either. Remember? So they left him. So that means they weren't his
disciples, was they? His disciples didn't leave him. His disciples
were with him always. They never left him, did they?
Not only the eleven, but the women, and there were many. They
never left him. Perhaps they had some responsibilities,
but as soon as those were fulfilled, they were right back with him.
They hung on his word. They lived by him. He was their
life. That's what it means to be a
disciple. Well, His earthly brethren, they went to the feast. What's
the point in going to that feast if Christ is not there? Huh? What's the point in going to
a so-called worship service if Christ is not there? Where's the Lamb, Isaac said?
Where's the Lamb? Wood and fire won't do anything
for us without the Lamb. They went up into the feast,
verse 10, but he also went up to the feast, not openly, but
as it were, in secret. You see, our Lord is omnipresent. He's everywhere. Though he himself
is not seen, though things he does are in secret, nothing we
do is in secret. Nothing that man does is in secret.
Darkness and light are both alike to him. Thou, Lord, seest me,
Hagar said. The eyes of the Lord run to and
fro on the earth. Behold him, his eyes behold,
his eyelids try the sons of men. He sees all, he hears all, he
is everywhere. Though it was secret to others,
they didn't know he was there. He was there. And they asked
in verse 11, the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where
is he? They're not seeking him, people.
If they were seeking him, they'd know where he is. He's always
to be found when he's sought. Our Lord said, seeking me, you
shall find that, didn't you? If you search for me with all
your heart. His disciples knew where He was
at all times, didn't they? There's no doubt to them. Where
is He? Well, He's right here. Where?
In our midst with His true people. Where is
the Lord? Psalm 46 says, The city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High God, God is
in the midst of her. And that's where you'll find
Him. Every time. You want to know where God is?
Find the people that are worshiping God in spirit, from the heart. None of this trapping. None of
this stuff. And rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. A man standing up preaching the
gospel of Christ and Him crucified. None of this stuff that goes
on. But pure worship from the heart. No outward things. No confidence in the flesh. No
flesh. Our Lord just said, that which
is flesh is flesh. Spirit is spirit. Flesh won't
add to spirit. Flesh won't attract spirit. Flesh
has nothing to do with spirit. Nothing. Not by might, not by
powers, not by tactics, not by gimmicks, not by methods, not
by our this, our that. It's by my Spirit, saith the
Lord. And the wind bloweth where it listeth. The Spirit. You cannot
tell the sound thereof. And I'll tell you where he...
I will tell you. Because he said that wherever
Christ is, that's where the wind is blowin'. The Spirit is. You
want to find Him? They said, where is He? I know
where He is. He's right here this morning.
I know where he is. There's a little group here and
there, and that's where he's to be found. He's not in Judea
in the midst of the camp. You want to find Christ? He's
in the church. That's where his people meet in his name. That's
where his honor is seen. That's where his glory is seen.
That's where true worshipers worship. God is in the congregation
of the righteous. That's what David said. God is
in the congregation of the righteous. Who are the righteous? Who are
the righteous? What makes a man righteous? Ask
them. Ask the righteous. They'll tell
you. Surely shall one say, in Isaiah
45, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. He is our righteousness. We don't have any. He is our
righteousness. He has made unto us righteousness. Who are the righteous? They are they who trust Christ
alone, not themselves. Verse 12, there is much murmuring among
the people concerning him. Murmuring. Scripture says much
about murmuring, doesn't it? The children of Israel would
murmur in their tents. What is that? That's private
talk. That's whispering. Undiscernable to the naked ear. God hears it all. God hears it all. Murmuring. You ever do any? You know, that's
why the children of Israel did not go into the Promised Land.
All the blessings that God sent them, all the things, all the
advantages they had, all the mercy and the grace that God
showed them, yet in their tents. They had tents. Our Lord said,
having food and rain, that's all you need. But they had tents.
And yet they were murmuring in their tents. Oh, my God. Did you see that? Can you believe
that? I can't believe it. Why is this happening to me?
Oh, my God. It's evil. And these men, these people,
were murmuring concerning him. I don't believe he knew that. You know, God's people don't
murmur against truth. God's people don't murmur concerning
the things of God. They don't murmur. They bow.
They believe. They receive. Anything about
Him, everything about Him, everything He said, everything He did, they
rejoice. They believe. They lay hold.
They don't murmur. It's the Lord they say. If anything, they want to say
it out loud. Isn't He wonderful? Praise the
Lord. If God is sovereign, then why
is He selfish? murmuring, causing him, private
talk, whispering, and it's usually evil. It's always evil. Whenever there's private talk
and whispering, Scripture said it will separate very friends.
Anything said in private to someone else, and God hates it. It's a form of sowing discord,
especially about the brethren. Do you know what I heard about
that? God hates it. Hates it. A whisper separates
the fairy friend. A backbiter, a backtalker is
a coward and a thief and a robber and doesn't love that person.
And God hates it. God hates it. And God hears it
every bit of it. Oh, we need mercy, don't we?
Salvation is by grace. We need mercy. Private talk. Usually cowardly. People do that.
Don't talk to you in your face because they're cowards. Aren't
they? That's what they were about the
Lord Jesus Christ when He was around. And He heard every word
you said. What did you say? I heard what you said. Talk to
my eyes here. Talk to me. You got a problem? Talk to me. Anybody? They were afraid. He didn't want
the truth. He didn't believe the truth.
But those that do, boy, they come to Him. It bared their hearts. It bared their souls. Lord, I've
been murmuring. Forgive me. It was concerning Him, he said.
It was concerning Him. It was all about Him. Verse 12,
some said, He's a good man. Others said, No, He's deceived
of the people. And you know, whatever is concerning
him is concerning his people, concerning his preacher, his
apostles. They said the same things about
his apostles that they did about him. Married a good man. No,
they're not. They're deceivers. This is the
truth. No, it's not. It's cult. Murmuring,
complaining, murmuring, and finding fault, and criticism, and this
and that and the other, when all they were doing was preaching
the Word of God. When all the Lord was doing was telling the
truth. All He was doing was exposing man for what he really is. Telling
the truth about God and one way to God. And it offends man. But
those, buddy, who are His people say, cut me wide open. Expose
me. Make me naked. And then clothe
me. No murmuring or complaining there among God's people. No murmuring about Him. Misunderstanding
about him. Oh, they know him. They said
he's a deceiver. Our Lord said, they hated me,
they'll hate you. If you come out and tell the truth, he said,
count on it, count on it, that they'll hate you. So if not, the Lord said, if
not, you must not be very clear about it. There's no doubt, it's
very clear what he's saying. And the ones that loved it, they
loved it. There was no murmuring whatsoever,
but rejoicing. And those that didn't, they may
have smiled while he was talking, but in private, they didn't. And God said, Verse 13, ìNo man spake openly
of him for fear of the Jews.î Well, his disciples did, didnít
they? They did. They went out. And, buddy, they were despised
for it, werenít they? But God was with them. He said to his disciples when
he went out, he said, they're going to hate you, they're going
to despise you, they're going to kill you and think they do
God a favor. But he said, not one hair of
yours will fall to the ground. Not one. Tell it. This is the sword that slaves
need to slay. This is the hammer that breaks.
This is the fire that burns up the dross and destroys all false
religion. This is the truth. Tell it. loud and clear, that there be
no doubt. But these people didn't speak
openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now, over in the Revelation,
turn quickly, Revelation 21, is this powerful Scripture. You know, whenever I say that,
I think, you know, all the Scripture is powerful. It's God's But Revelation
21, look at this, verse 7. He that overcometh, that's the
world. And who is he that overcometh,
John wrote, is he that believeth. Faith, God's elect, overcometh,
is not overcome by. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things, and I will be his God. And he shall be my Son, but be fearful. and unbelieving. They go together. Meaning, they fear man more than
God. That's what they mean. They're fearful and unbelieving.
And he goes on to talk about the abominable. And that includes
not only open and outwardly immoral, but that's secretly, well, religion. And murderers and whoremongers
and sorcerers and so on. Liars. Liars have their place
right alongside murderers. Fearful, unbelieving, not going
to be there. Those that fear man more than
God. No man spake openly of Christ for fear of the Jews. They feared man more than God
because their religion was their earthly advantage. Religion for
them was gain, like salt, like Religion for him was gain. It
was his livelihood. It was his occupation, his vocation. That's where he made his money.
And he's moving up. Religion for gain. Religion for
reputation. Religion with all of its friendships
and all its connections, earthly connections. All of its associations,
that if you're a good Christian, you have these advantages, these
benefits, and people put a fish on their sign, their business
signs. Why? To exalt the Lord Jesus
Christ? To glorify God? No. To show people,
hey, we're Christians, you want to do business here. Make money.
Make money. That was what the Jews did. Their
religion was because of all their connections, because of their
family. It was a social thing. It was for business reasons. Their businesses depend
upon them being in good standing in the community. Not one of
these outcasts. Not one of these cult people. And the minute you come to Christ,
Hebrews 13 says, you go without the camp and then you begin bearing
his reproach. And our Lord said, if any man
saved his life, saved his reputation, saved his social standing, saved
his business connections for the sake of himself, Christ said,
you lose your life, you lose your soul. But he that says,
it doesn't matter, I lose it all. I don't need all
that. The Lord provided it anyway. I've got to worship Him. I've
got to tell the truth. Christ is my life. I don't fear
what man can do to me. He said, You'll save. Your life
will be saved. Your eternal life will be saved.
You'll lose a lot of business. You'll lose a lot of friends,
but they weren't your friends. They weren't your true people
after all. David said, And David had more
enemies than he had friends. David! David, man after God's own heart,
had more enemies than friends. Why? He stood for the God of
truth. And the whole world said, you
all think you're right and everybody's wrong. No. Now say it again. Let God be
true and everybody else wrong. And that's the way it is. Hebrews 11, go over to Hebrews
11. Oh, how I love these stories of those who the Lord gave this
faith of God's elect, delivered to the saints, and how they all
stood in their day like Abel. One brother, and he hated Abel. Why? It wasn't because Abel was
mean. This Abel was apparently a nice,
kind, Christlike fellow, but he hated what Abel was saying.
He hated Abel's God. It sounds like Enoch walked alone,
but you know there was somebody else. The Lord made it sound
like. It's just hard to find. Noah being warned of God, it
says. Warned of God. Warned of God. Moved with what? Fear. It says you prepare the heart
for the saving of his house and the condemnation of the world. The truth condemns this world.
Oh, the truth saves the people out of the world. But the truth
condemns this world for what it really is. Abraham, when he
was called out, left his home, his family, his false god called
out. You see all these people burying
his repose. But here it is, Moses. Oh, I
love this. Oh, how I love this. Let me be
like Moses. By faith, verse 23. Moses, when
he was born, verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was
come to years, forty years old. Before then, he was living in
Pharaoh's house. He was moving up the ladder.
He would have been the next Pharaoh. All of the advantages, all of
those friends, a friend of the world, a friend of Egypt, all
of those connections, all of those people that made him rich when he met Christ. Verse 24, he refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Oh, Moses said, I want to be
called the son of God, not Pharaoh. Look at this, verse 25. There is a choice. Choosing rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God, a bunch of poor,
a remnant of poor people, despised by the world, looked down upon,
scoffed at. than to enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a season. Read on. Esteeming the reproach
of Christ, or for Christ, the enmity of the world with
the friendship of God, greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt, he had respect under the recompense of reward. By faith
he forsook Egypt. He didn't fear the retribution.
Oh, Lord. That's got to be every one of
us people, and we're not his disciples. And it said in Hebrews 13, 13,
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing
his reproach. Bearing his reproach. Without
the camp. Do we fear God or man? And I
was going to have you jot it down, 2 Corinthians 6, 14 through
18. Jot that down and read it for
yourself where the Lord said you can't have fellowship with
Baal. You can't have fellowship with darkness in your life. You
can't do it. Oil and water don't mix. And
he said, you come out from among them, be you separate. But I'll
lose all my... You won't lose nothing. You won't lose anything. Like
Abraham, God said to Abraham, Abraham lost everything. What did God say to him? Abraham,
I am your portion. You got me. You got it all. You don't need anyone else at
all. Is that right? Oh, my. Go back to the text now,
John 7. Now, about the midst of the feast,
our Lord went up. He went up into the temple. He
taught. He told his disciples. He says
of a preacher, teacher, pastor, that he must be apt to teach,
always willing and ready to teach, and do him just that, not only
by his words, but by his action, by his example. God's men are,
and he was. He taught every time, always,
at all times. He was teaching, teaching. His
very actions, his very gestures, his very walk was teaching, teaching,
teaching. And he taught them. He sat in
the temple. Where are you going to find him again? Where are
you going to find him? He's in his temple. Whenever the Sabbath
came around, the Lord was found either in a synagogue, in a little
village, or in the temple if he was in Jerusalem. He wasn't
in Jerusalem very often, but when he was, you'd find him in
the temple. I remember the first time he
came, he cleaned it out. And I thought about this. He
cleaned out all the money changers. This is the Lord whom Malachi
said shall suddenly come and cleanse his temple and purge
his temple. And I used to think, well, it
was empty. No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't
empty after that. There was a few still left. A true worshipper. A remnant, he said. There were
a few there. With the Lord, you'll find him
amongst his people, wherever God's people are worshipping.
A man says, I worship God, but I don't go to church. Not possible. It's just not possible. You want to show me a sheep that's
not in the fold? You want to show me a person
that's worshiping God alone? I worship God in private. You
worship God in private. When it comes to God's people
gathering together, a place where God has put His name there, the
gospel is preached there, the Holy Spirit is promised to be
there, Christ is promised to be there, that's where His sheep
will be. That's where they want to be.
That's where they want to be. David said, O how amiable are
thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. How amiable. He said that one
time when he was banished, one time when he was on the run,
one time when he couldn't be there, he wanted to be there,
and he said, I'd like to be a bird in the raptors. I'd just like
to be a bird in the raptors. All right, look at verse 15. The Jews marveled, saying, how
knoweth this man letters that he never learns? You see, they don't know him,
do they? How does he know letters? He made man's mouth. The Lord
answered them and said, and I believe they said that in private. And
he answered them and said, My doctrine, my teaching is not
mine, but his that sent me, God. And he says, If any man will
do his will, do God's will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God, or I speak of myself. 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." Now, here it is. The title of this, the subject
of this, is Knowing God's Will, Doing God's Will, and Knowing
True Doctrine. Oh, my. The whole world is full
of religion in it, especially the Bible Belt. And everybody says they're preaching
the Bible. Everybody says they believe God's
Word, blood, the book, and the best of hope. Some even say elections. Some say God's softening. Say
the right words, mercy and grace. You know, how do you know? How do you know? Can you know? Our Lord said you can. All right,
the first thing He said. is if any man will do his will,
he'll know the doctrine, whether it's of God or the man speaking
of himself. Doing God's will. What does that
mean? This is the revealed will of
God. There's nothing new under the
sun. The way we're to worship, the
methods we use, the message we preach, Everything is written
right here. There's nothing unclear in it. It's all plain to him that understands
it. Not flesh, not gimmicks, not tricks, not tactics, not
man-made reasoning, not the wisdom of this world, not the business
tactic, not the money. Worship God the Spirit. Do His
will. This is the will of the Father,
that everyone worship the Son. That you come and you worship
God's Son. That's what God said, let all
the angels worship my Son. Let my ministers worship the
Son. Let my ministers stand up and preach my Son. And let the people calmly and
quietly sit and worship the Son. Let everybody sing. About what?
The Son! This is His will. They came to
Him in the other chapter. Remember, what shall we do to
do the works of God? This is the work of God, that
you believe on Him. Not self, not man, not works,
not righteousness. This is doing His will, believing
on the Son. Ask a person about themselves.
A person claims to be a believer, claims to be a Christian, ask
them. I asked a man one time, and he was arguing with me, he
was murmuring, and I got to quit. And I said, finally, and I did
what we shouldn't do, I was arguing with him. And finally I said,
tell me about yourself. What do you think about yourself?
Good question. Ask somebody. Tell me about yourself. What do you think about yourself? He said, I'm a pretty good theologian. If you ask any of God's people,
If you ask all of God's people, you know what they'll say? You
know what will come out of their mouth? In my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. Oh, wretched man. People talk
in generalities. Oh, I'm a sinner. That's not
what Paul said. He said, Oh, wretched man that
I am. In me dwelleth no good thing. Nothing commendable. No redeeming
qualities. No goodness. No righteousness.
None whatsoever. That's the most revealing question
you'll ever ask. The next one will be, what's
your hope of heaven? What's your hope of salvation?
Believe on the Son. This is His will. Hear Him. God
said it out loud from heaven, this is my beloved Son. Hear
Him. Don't go where He's not preached.
If a man, if a place is standing up and doing this and that and
the other, and it sounds good, it's humanitarian effort, it's
social causes, that's not worshiping the Son. He said, this is my
beloved Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. The rest of it's just nothing. Worship the Son. And all these
things, our Lord says, flesh is flesh. And wherever the Spirit
of God is, our Lord is going to tell us in John 14 and 16,
wherever He sends the Spirit of God, He takes the things of
Jesus Christ and He shows them unto you. They'll all be taught
of the Father, He said, and every man that hath heard and learned
of the Father does what? They come to Christ, they worship
Christ, they believe Christ, and that's where they stay. They're
not unstable anymore. They've found the message of
Christ, and that's where you'll find them for the day they die. Establish strength and settle
on the rock of Christ Jesus. Look at verse 18. It says, He
that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. And he that seeketh
his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness
is in him. And the same is true, people.
of those who are true, true preachers, true believers. You want to know
the truth of a doctrine? Listen, listen, here. You want
to know the truth of a doctrine? You want to know the truth of
a place? You want to know the truth of a man, of a woman? You want
to know the truth? You want to know the truth? Here
it is. Here it is. Who is giving the
glory? Examine everything. Everything
that's done. To the songs that are sung, to
the methods they use, to the messages being preached, examine
it by this question. Who's getting the glory? It's
pretty obvious, isn't it? Examine the doctrine, all right?
Does God love everyone or does God love a remnant? Who gets
the glory? If God loves everyone, some of
them go to hell anyway, why should we glorify God's love? It didn't
do anybody any good. It's man's decision. Who gets the glory? Who chose
who? Who gets the glory? Is free will
true or is free grace true? Is man choosing God or God choosing
man? Who gets the glory? All of it,
not some of it. All of it. You see, this gospel
is to the praise of what? The glory of His grace. It's all of Him. That's how you
know the truth. And the truth will set you free
from the God of this world who blinds you, from the God of this
world who has the whole world captive to His ministers of righteousness,
robed in light, and nobody can discern from. God's people can.
It sets you free from the bondage of this world. Sets you free
from ignorance. Sets you free from guilt, from sin. Sets you
free. Free in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Free, free, free. Oh, may the Lord bless that.