{"id":30849,"date":"2024-04-29T22:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-6_60-71-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T22:17:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T05:17:25","slug":"john-7_1-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-7_1-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Timing Can Be Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 7:1-13\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is John 7:1-13.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 7:1-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For even his own brothers did not believe in him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0 The Feast of Tabernacles was the biggest festival in the Jewish calendar, so much so that it is sometimes in Scripture it is just called \u201cThe Feast\u201d.\u00a0 With the Feast closely approaching, Jesus\u2019 brothers tell Jesus to go to Judea and show himself to everyone, since they know Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah, though they themselves did not believe him.\u00a0 They tell Jesus to go to Judea for the Feast since naturally that\u2019s what anyone who wants to get famous in Israel would do (v4).\u00a0 To follow their advice would have been unwise, since certain Jews in Judea were already waiting to kill Jesus (v1).\u00a0 It is not clear whether Jesus\u2019 brothers were aware that Jesus was already a wanted man in Judea.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  1. Sometimes you may find that the people who are the most opposed and the most resistant to your faith and calling are members of your own family.\u00a0 That can be tough, but Jesus knows exactly how you feel.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Sometimes people who are not in tune with God\u2019s will and calling for your life will have all sorts of opinions about what they think you should do.\u00a0 That\u2019s why\u00a0it is so important that you be in tune with God and keep your relationship with Him close, so that you can better discern what is from God and what is not from God.\u00a0 Not everyone who has advice for you is worth listening to, so you need to be discerning.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    John 7:6-10 (NIV)<\/strong>
    \n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.
    \n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.
    \n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.”
    \n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
    \n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.<\/em>On verses 6-10:\u00a0 At first Jesus tells his brothers that the right time for him to go to Judea has not yet come, but then after his brothers leave for Judea he also goes to Judea, not publicly but in secret.\u00a0\u00a0 Was Jesus being dishonest?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Remember that Jesus did not say he was not going to the feast.\u00a0 He said \u201cI am not\u00a0yet<\/em>\u00a0going up to this Feast\u201d (v8) and the reason he gives is because \u201cfor me the right time has not yet come\u201d (v6).\u00a0 In other words, Jesus was waiting for his Father\u2019s go ahead before he went to Judea. (Remember that Jesus did nothing by himself and only does what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19)).\u00a0 I believe that soon after Jesus\u2019 brothers left for Judea, the Father gave Jesus the go ahead to go as well.\u00a0 That\u2019s when Jesus goes, but wisely Jesus goes in secret since there were people out to kill him.<\/p>\n

    People who are not led by the Spirit are not sensitive to the guidance of God in terms of timing and direction.\u00a0 They\u2019ll just do whatever they feel like doing when they feel like doing it, with no sense as to what God wants them to do and when.\u00a0 As Jesus says about them, \u201cFor you any time is right\u201d (v6).\u00a0 Jesus, however, was different.\u00a0 In many ways,\u00a0for Jesus, timing was everything.\u00a0 The right timing can sometimes be the difference between saying something wise and saying something foolish, between doing something good and doing something inappropriate.<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019ll find that what often separates the greatest in any field from the rest is their timing; the greatest tend to move at a different speed than most.\u00a0 No one had better timing than Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus would look to the Father even on issues like when to time his moves.\u00a0\u00a0Like Jesus, be timing-conscious.\u00a0 Look to the Father for a sense not of just what to do but when to do it.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0Also, when you don’t have a good sense of what the right time is, trust Jesus that His timing is always the best.<\/p>\n

    John 7:11-13 (NIV)<\/strong>
    \n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?”
    \n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”
    \n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.<\/em><\/p>\n

    On verses 11-13:\u00a0 The Jews in Judea who were waiting to take Jesus\u2019 life (v1) are at the Feast looking for Jesus.\u00a0 People were expecting Jesus to show up and the whispered conversations about him ranged from \u201cHe is a good man\u201d to \u201cHe is a deceiver\u201d (v12).\u00a0 But no one would speak up one way or the other about Jesus, for fear that they would be discovered by the Jews who were trying to kill Jesus.
    \nWhat can we learn from this?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n
    1. Just as it was at the Feast in Judea, so it is today: you will hear all sorts of people say all sorts of contradictory things about Jesus.\u00a0 Rather than rely simply on what other people say to you about Jesus, go to the source and ask Jesus himself.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019re curious about Jesus, don\u2019t just read articles on what people think about Jesus, but read the Bible for yourself.\u00a0 Pray and ask Jesus to show Himself to you.\u00a0 I believe He will when you ask with a sincere heart.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. People in these verses were afraid to identify with Jesus.\u00a0 If you are a follower of Jesus,\u00a0may you not be afraid or ashamed to identify with Jesus.\u00a0 May you be wise and courageous in following Him and leading others to him.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      Lord Jesus, You always have perfect timing.\u00a0 I pray that I would be sensitive to what You want me to do and when You want me to do it.\u00a0 That way I would not be swept up in the opinions of people.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n

      Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is John 7:1-13.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

      John 7:1-5 (NIV)
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,
      \n3\u00a0\u00a0Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
      \n4\u00a0\u00a0No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
      \n5\u00a0\u00a0For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
      \n\u00a0
      \nOn verses 1-5:\u00a0 The Feast of Tabernacles was the biggest festival in the Jewish calendar, so much so that it is sometimes in Scripture it is just called \u201cThe Feast\u201d.\u00a0 With the Feast closely approaching, Jesus\u2019 brothers tell Jesus to go to Judea and show himself to everyone, since they know Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah, though they themselves did not believe him.\u00a0 They tell Jesus to go to Judea for the Feast since naturally that\u2019s what anyone who wants to get famous in Israel would do (v4).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30852,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30849\/revisions\/30852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}