The sermon 'Timing Is Everything' focuses on the events in John 7:1-9, where Jesus chooses to remain in Galilee instead of attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Judea due to the threat to his life. The speaker discusses the misunderstanding of Jesus' brothers, who urged him to show his works publicly, failing to grasp his true mission, which was not rooted in earthly ambition or popularity but in fulfilling the will of the Father through his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. The sermon highlights the critical nature of divine timing in Jesus' ministry and the importance of recognizing and responding to God's call in our own lives. It emphasizes the need for obedience to God's will and the call for individuals to accept salvation through Christ, stressing that 'today' is the time to respond to God's invitation.

Music Morning. Morning. We are back in the book of John, chapter 7. As we look at it this morning, our text will be verses 1 through 9. Let me Read that to us.

After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brothers, therefore, said to him, depart from here and go into Judea that your disciples may also see the work that you're doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to know openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.

For even his brothers did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify that its work is evil. You go up to the feast, I am not yet going up to the feast for my time has not yet fully come." When he had said these things to them he remained in Galilee. Father as we look at this portion of Scripture We realize it's not just a historical event.

It's not just an account of Jesus speaking to his brothers, declaring his time. But it's meant for each and every one of us to see who we are in this account and begin to apply your word to our hearts and lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I don't usually have a theme kind of thing, but I think this morning it's just important that we look at just timing as everything.

We're going to take a look at that this morning. As we read through the text together and as we looked at the first couple of verses, it kind of sets the scene for what's going on. It just reads this way, after these things Jesus walked in Galilee for he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews feast to the Tabernacles was at hand. I don't know about you, but I look at John's phrasing here and you know he just casually says after these things, you know like it was just after these things.

Folks We're not just talking about after these things. We're talking about Jesus healing the man at the Bethesda Pool and all of the conflict that followed that. We're talking about Jesus on the hill feeding 5, 000 people with crumbs and fish left over. We're talking about him discoursing that he is the bread of life and his whole internalizing of the person and the presence of Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of believers. It's not just, oh after these things, you know, it's just that like after Jerry got back from Alaska, I mean we're talking about some major events here in the history of the Lord.

We're talking about the storm, we're talking about Jesus telling Peter come and Peter walking on water until he takes his eyes off the Lord. We're talking about his discourse with the disciples and talking about the bread of life, as I shared. And some of his disciples left him. He turned to his disciples over there and said, are you going to leave us too? Peter said, where would it go?

This is after these things that John is talking about. Jesus is explaining to them now that this Feast of Tabernacles is going on in Jerusalem, but he doesn't want to go. And so it reads, this is why he didn't want to go. They want to kill him. We learned that from John chapter 15 where it says the man departed and told the Jews it was Jesus who made him well.

Remember this is a guy that was healed in the Sabbath and Jesus told him pick up your bed and he did that work which was you know not it was against all the laws of the Pharisees and the scribes, and they were most upset about it all. And It tells us that for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath. His brothers. Jesus had brothers, you need to know that. They were not born like Jesus was born from a Virgin Mary.

There were his blood brothers from Joseph as some people call him a stepfather. I really don't know what the right term is for Joseph to be honest with him, But these were Jesus brothers. So what does his brother say to him in verse chapter 3 verse 3 of our text? It said his brothers therefore said to him depart from here and go into Judea that your disciples also may see the works that you're doing You should go You know, They didn't understand what was before Jesus Christ. They're looking from an earthly perspective.

They're looking from their mindset. They're saying, your disciples would be encouraged. You're going to go there, you're going to perform some miracles, you're going to be open to the public, people are going to see what you're doing. This is a great opportunity to promote your ministry. In fact, they tell him that in the next verse.

They say, no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. Now if you do these things, show yourself to the world. Show yourself to the world. Let them see just who you are. Let them see these miracles, this amazing power you have.

Let them see how you function in the midst of it. You will expand your ministry. One of the commentaries that I read about this from Wycliffe's commentary, I just kind of was struck by it, But Wycliffe's commentary says this, it would be a capital time to expand your influence. I mean, just like that phrasing, a capital time to expand. You know, it's like, Jesus, this is what you need to do to get popular.

This is what you need to do to become, you know, this guy. You need to expand your ministry." But they had it all wrong. Jesus never self-promoted his ministry or himself. It was never his goal or desire to be popular. He knew his purpose was not to overthrow the Roman rule, that's what they were looking for.

But his purpose was coming to die on Calvary's cross in obedience to his Heavenly Father and establish another kingdom, the kingdom of God. His brothers didn't understand that his ministry was not the miracles. His brothers didn't understand His ministry was not the feeding of the multitude with such little portions. Now John records these events for one particular reason. We've talked about it.

We'll talk about it probably every Sunday that we're in the Gospel of John. John recorded these events. Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in the book of life, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." This is why John is recounting the miracles. It's not because John is promoting Jesus Christ as the miracle worker, it's promoting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He is the Christ, the Messiah.

And that he's declaring, John is writing these things so people who read this account will come to know him as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, and believe and have life in His name. 1 John chapter 5 says it quite clearly, He who has the Son has life. He who has not the Son of God has not life. This is the purpose for John's writing. Jesus did not desire to be known as the miracle worker.

His desire was to fulfill the will of the Father. Jesus explains this to him And he says this, he who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true and has no unrighteousness in him. He's talking about not his own glory, not his own ministry, not his own popularity. He's seeking the one, the glory to the one who sent him. He goes on to say, I don't have a demon but honor my father as you dishonor me.

I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks glory and judges. But we see the reason for his brother's misconception, they were unbelievers. You know, There's some things I think all of us need to understand that we probably will never quite understand. You're born into this family into which Jesus Christ was born into.

You're coming after Him, obviously, but here you are being raised with the Son of God. And you're working alongside of Him, you're living alongside of him, you see all of a sudden you begin to see his public ministry and the declaration and what his account is, and you're his brothers and you don't believe. And that kind of blows my mind. I don't know about you, but that kind of blows my mind. But again, you know, and this is just kind of an aside application, but all of us have brothers and sisters who are watching us.

And some of them are unbelievers. That shouldn't surprise us, because it's the ones who are called, the ones who Jesus draws to, the Father draws to himself, the one who has ears to hear, and our continued life and prayer should be that they would become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. But all of this encouragement is born out of unbelief, thinking Jesus was just like them. He was human. He wanted popularity.

He wanted his name to be known. He wanted to be worldwide known. Not that he came to do the will of his father. Jesus said, Behold I come in the scroll of the book that's written of me. I delight to do your will, oh my God, and your law is written in my heart.

Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. He goes on to say in John, I can of myself do nothing as I hear judge my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me. It's an interesting another aside as he taught his disciples to pray, what was part of this Lord's prayer? Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You and I struggle with our wills and it's before us to see how it needs to be surrendered and submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But Jesus tells his brothers as they're encouraging to go, he's telling them something quite important. He says, look Jesus said to them, my time has not yet come. Your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go up to the feast.

I'm not yet going up to this feast, for my time is not yet fully come." He's explaining to them that there's a higher call in his life that he surrendered and submitted to. There's a purpose and a call in Jesus' life that his brothers didn't understand because they were unbelievers. They didn't believe in him. They didn't acknowledge him to be who he was. As John is writing to us that we might see who he is and believe.

But Jesus was fully aware of what his call was. Jesus was fully aware of what the timing was. Jesus is fully aware of what was about to transpire in his heart and life. We'll continue to read about that and study that and look at it as we go through the Gospel of John. But we know this came as no surprise to him.

John 3.16 tells us that, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Jesus knew his calling wasn't coming to condemn the world. He was coming to save those who would put their hope and trust in him. It's reinforced in Philippians when he gives us this account.

He said, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Now that's an important text for us to look at some other day. That you and I to have this mind of Christ and understand his submission to his Heavenly Father. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God did not consider a robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." the cross. Ponder Jesus, beginning his earthly ministry.

The people who are proclaiming Him as the miracle worker, the one, very few acknowledging that He's the Son of God, but knowing from the onset that He would be obedient to death, even the death of the cross. The most horrendous, painful, disgusting death available to mankind at the time. Jesus knew that was His future. And his unconditional love that he explained and he lived and he gave examples up throughout all of his earthly ministry. Knowing full well one day this would be the time.

And he spoke that at that particular point in time in his life. When Jesus spoke these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son also may glorify you." I've looked at that verse, the verses, and pondered that. Here Jesus is going to be hanging on a cross, and He's saying, glorify your Son. To the world, not glory.

To the world, despicable. To God the Father, who sees the sins of the world placed on His only begotten Son to redeem the world and to reconcile the world back to himself through his shed blood, it's glory. John the Baptist in his acknowledgement of who Jesus was said this way, you know, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In 1 John, he himself is a propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins also, but for the sins of the whole world. He can say to his brothers, my time has not yet come.

It's really not time for me to hang on Calvary's cross. I know when that time is. I know when it's coming and I know what's before Him. You don't understand this. You're not given to that.

But I understand this and my time is not yet come, but I'm surrendered to my Father's time. I'm surrendered to my Father's will. And we read about that this morning when we read the scripture in the fullness of the time, come, God sent forth a son born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoptions of sons. Jesus said, I've glorified you on earth, I've finished the work which you have given to me. And he cried out from Calvary's cross, it's finished.

His time was not yet come. It tells us I won't yet go up to Jerusalem. Now, if you read on in John chapter seven, and I trust you have, you'll understand that he did go up to Jerusalem, but he could declare to his brothers, I'm not going up to fulfill what you think I'm going up to accomplish. I've got another call and purpose on my life and I'm surrendered and going to yield to that. But people, there's a phrase in this text that I think you and I oftentimes perhaps have overlooked, but cannot.

It says in the end of verse 6, your time is always ready. The ESV translation says your time is always here. What is our time? What is he telling us about today, our time? Well, he's pretty clear when he writes it in 2 Corinthians.

He said, When then as workers together, we with him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I've helped you. Behold, Now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of salvation.

We're taught in Romans chapter three, what then? Are we better than they? Not at all, for we have previously charged both Jew and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God.

They've all turned aside, they've all together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no not one. It goes on in that same chapter to just say, clearly all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And He's declaring unto them now is the day of salvation. Confirmed in Isaiah chapter 53, all we like sheep have gone astray.

We've turned every one to his own way and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all, the time for Jesus to hang on Calvary's cross for my sins and your sins. Shed his blood for the forgiveness. James quite clearly teaches, but after each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own desires and entices, then when desires have conceived, he gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown brings forth death. Confirmed in Romans chapter six, the wages of sin is death. But we read about God's solution.

We read about God's solution when he said, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish, would not suffer the consequences of sin. But by believing Jesus and applying his shed blood to a heart, you can be, I can be saved and granted forgiveness, for it's by grace you've been saved through faith not of your works it's it's not of yourselves it's the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast God clearly tells us that as they prayed in 2nd Corinthians that we wouldn't receive the grace of God in vain. He's saying by this same grace, by the same empowering Spirit to do the will of God, you can be saved. And it's a God's gift. But faith is always active, never passive.

It's never just, yeah, I believe that. It's something that you and I respond to by grace. We repent of our sins because we can see ourselves in Romans chapter 3 and acknowledge that we're sinners and need a Savior. And Jesus Christ is the only one who can forgive us of our sins. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

It is only through Jesus Christ shed blood and calvary that you and I can have our sins forgiven and be born again by His Spirit. But we need to repent. And He tells us that if you confess your sins, He's faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. All of us, young and old alike, asking Jesus to cleanse us by His shed blood and invite Him into our hearts and lives and then Live that new life that He's promised to give us. If any man be in Christ, He's a new creation.

All things are passed away. All things have become new. You and I can show forth the salvation of God. Today is the day. If there's anyone here who has never been born again by the Spirit of God, hear his word today.

Turn. Ask him to forgive you. He will Cleanse your heart with his shed blood. And as you invite him into your heart and life and surrender to his lordship to do the will of the Father, you will have a new life that has begun. And you'll have an opportunity to live that life for his honor and glory.

It tells us, Lord, to let our light so shine before men that they might see our good works. We're to show our salvation. Read the Psalms. People today, if there's anyone here today is the day. Don't harden your heart.

There's also another thing about that wonderful verse in end of chapter six. I want to read you a little discourse from my utmost for His highest. If I can find it now. He's talking about obedience. Because if you've been born again by the Spirit of God, there's a call in our lives to hear and respond to God's call for sanctification.

Oswald Chambers writes this way, The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance. Spiritual darkness comes through, comes because of something I do not intend to obey. Listen to that.

Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance. Spiritual darkness comes from something I do not intend to obey. When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don't shirk it. Today, Jesus said in the end of verse 6, your time is always ready, your time is always here. Since Therefore it remains that some must enter in, and those whom was first preached did not enter in, because of disobedience.

He designates a certain day, saying in David, today, after such a long time as has been said, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. You can read that in Psalm 95. Goes on in the book of Hebrews to say this, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginnings of our confidence steadfast to the end. While it is said today if you will hear His voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

We read his word. We hear his word preached. We have fellowship with one another and we're convicted of our sin, either of commission, things we did, or omission, things that we knew we were to do and we didn't do. And we put it off by the deceitfulness of sin, I can wait. It's not really that big of a deal.

I just can't be bothered with that today. But he said today if you'll hear his voice don't harden your hearts. And when our spirit is moved and our conscience is pricked, it's time to respond. And it could be in many areas of our lives. It could be in our finances, you know, that tithe and offering thing, how we surrender our money to Him.

It's not my money, it's His money. It's not my time, it's His time. Today if you hear His voice in relationships with brothers and sisters, family members, brothers and sisters in the body, God has called us to reconciliation. And you and I both know who we have to talk to and who we don't want to talk to. I mean, that's just before us.

God is saying today. Perhaps a couple of weeks ago you were convicted when we talked about gossip and slander, but you've put off reconciling. Don't wait another day. I read the obituaries every day. Just something I do.

But I'm sure nobody in that obituary thought, well today will be the last day. Some of them perhaps have known that, that that last day is coming, but only God knows when that last day is here. Don't harden your hearts. There's family priorities that need to be straightened out. There's stewardship issues of our time and our talents and our resources that need to be surrendered to the Lord.

Listen to the word of the Lord today if you hear His voice harden not your heart. You see God's word is miraculous and that when we hear his voice we also have the grace to respond and to accomplish what God has called us to do. The grace to obey, the grace to surrender to his Lordship. Number of weeks ago before Brother Jerry left, he started a chorus for us with tears in his eyes. You remember he said, I've decided to follow Jesus.

There's a verse in that chorus that says, if no one join you, still I will follow. People don't wait for somebody else. Today, if you hear his voice. James writes it this way, Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him is sin. Paul writes in encouragement, Therefore the prisoner of the Lord, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling which you were called." All of us need to hear the words in 1 Peter, probably every Sunday or every day.

You're a chosen generation, a royal priest of the Holy Nation, his own special people. That you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God who have not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. If you have been born again by the Spirit of God, if you've responded to the gospel message of being a sinner that needs a Savior and to put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ and surrender to his Lordship, it says you have a calling to being praised as to him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Today if you hear his voice, Jesus said to his disciples when he had said these things to them, he said, he remained in Galilee. His time had not yet come.

But our time, my time, your time, is today. Father, give us ears to hear and your grace to respond. It's for your honor and glory. Yeah, man.