[0:00] In St. John chapter 7, we read at verse 8 and also verse 17, Jesus said, Go ye up unto this feast. I will not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet full come.
[0:15] Then in verse 17 he says, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. In other words, whether he's just seeking to promote himself as a person or whether he is seeking to convey the word of his father.
[0:35] Now it says at the beginning of this chapter that Jesus was walking in Galilee, he stayed based in Galilee, not in Judea, because the Jews, that is those based in Judea, sought to kill him.
[0:47] Now we know this from chapter 5, when we turn back a couple of pages, at verse 18, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, as they thought, when he healed the lame man at the tomb of Bethesda, which we have at the beginning there of chapter 5, but also, not only had he broken the Sabbath, he'd done that healing on the Sabbath day, but also that God was his father, making himself equal with God.
[1:14] Now here's a thing that we need to recognize right away. The Jews recognized, the unbelieving Jews, in Jesus' own day, recognized that by understanding God as his father, Jesus was, as he says, making himself equal with God.
[1:31] They understood that, yet there are still those nowadays, in some particular cults and sects, who will say, oh yes, of course, Jesus is the son of God, but he's less than God.
[1:42] He's not equal with God. Now, how is it that they have to deny it now? But the Jews in Jesus' day said, oh no, if he's calling himself as God as his father, then he's making himself equal with God.
[1:55] They recognized it. That's why they considered it blasphemy. Not having a recognition of the Trinity. Not understanding God as three persons, father, son, and Holy Ghost.
[2:08] And that in recognizing God as his father, the Lord Jesus is simply, yes, in claiming equality with his father. But he is doing so truthfully and revealing God to them.
[2:21] But the fact is, they seek to kill him. So that's why he's been staying in Galilee and not going down into the hotbed of where the opposition was. Remember it had been in Jerusalem that he healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda.
[2:33] So they had a grudge against it. But the Jewish feast of tabernacles was at hand. Now, of course, it was in the law of the Old Testament. Three times in the year, all the males of Israel had to present themselves before the Lord.
[2:48] That means gather at his tabernacle or his temple as it later was. Now, when the tabernacle was at Shiloh, that's where they would have to come. When the tabernacle then was set up later in Jerusalem, that's where they would have to come.
[3:01] When the temple was built, that's where they would have to come. And presenting themselves before the Lord and bringing the suitable sacrifices. So this is part of what God's law requires.
[3:12] And remember that Jesus fulfilled the law in perfection in every respect. So if he had stayed away, that would have been a breaking of his father's law. So he's not going to stay away, but he's not ready to go yet.
[3:26] This feast of tabernacles is one of the three, as we say. Deuteronomy chapter 16 and verse 16. We read, three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which ye shall choose.
[3:38] In the feast of unleavened bread, that's the Passover. And in the feast of weeks. And in the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the Lord empty. Now these three festivals are sometimes given slightly different names.
[3:52] In Exodus 23, for example. We read verse 14 where it says three times. Thou shalt give a feast unto thee in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Again, that's the Passover.
[4:03] Thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days. The feast of harvest, which Deuteronomy calls the feast of weeks. When so many weeks have passed. Or the weeks of gathering in the harvest.
[4:13] The first fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field when the harvest begins. And the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year. When thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
[4:24] So the festival of the tabernacles is the festival of ingathering. It was set in the seventh month of the Jewish year. Now the Jewish year began roughly in what would be our March.
[4:38] At the Passover time. Because if you go back to Exodus 12, when it says at verse 2, at the time of the Passover, it says, This month shall be the beginning of months to you.
[4:48] This will be the first day of the year to you. So their year began at the Passover. So by the time of the seventh month, that's when it came to the time for the feast of tabernacles.
[4:59] Now, ironically, the seventh month was what would be our September. September used to be the seventh month in the old style calendars of the ancient world. Because, you know, September.
[5:11] And then October, eighth month. November, ninth month. December, December. Tenth month. These used to be the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months. But then a couple of extra months were thrown into the year.
[5:23] Probably by the Romans, I think. Julius Caesar calling a month after himself. July. And another one after, you know, Caesar. Augustus, August and so on. And that kind of skewed things a wee bit. So now is it September.
[5:34] It's the ninth month to us. But it was meant to be the seventh month. And it was in the seventh month of the Jewish year. The autumn of the year. That they had the feast of tabernacles.
[5:45] So the feast of ingathering. And what they did when they gathered in all their harvest was they then made booths for themselves. They made little sort of bivouacs with branches or whatever.
[5:57] Like tents to remind themselves that they were in tents in the wilderness. How the Lord had provided for them through the wilderness. And he had promised to bring them into the promised land.
[6:09] And when they had their harvest all gathered in. It was like they were acknowledging. Yes, Lord. You kept your word. We dwell in tabernacles to remind us of our tent dwelling time in the wilderness.
[6:20] And we celebrate the ingathering of our harvest and our feast. In order to recognize. Yes, Lord. You've done this. You've given us the harvest of this good promised land.
[6:31] You've kept your word. It was a celebration of God's faithfulness. A feast of ingathering. A reminder of how they used to have to dwell in tents in the wilderness.
[6:43] But now they didn't have to. That God had kept his word. So we've got an autumn time feast. A celebration of ingathering.
[6:54] Set in September. And at the time of selecting this text. I can truthfully handle the Bible say. It did not occur to me. That our own communion season.
[7:06] A time of ingathering. If ever there is one. Of whatever hardness the Lord might have prepared. It's not that people's hearts only get touched at communion seasons. It's that whenever the Lord has been touching them.
[7:18] And raising up crops as it were. In his field. That's the time when they get ingathered. And here we are towards the end of the year. Here we are in the autumn stage.
[7:29] September. At this time of ingathering. Or that the Lord has set. For the ingathering. And I can truthfully say. I did not recognize the parallel.
[7:40] At the time when this text was before me. But there's plenty of parallels we can see now. We have our own time of ingathering. We have our own September communion season here.
[7:53] When we remember again. The brevity and frailty of this earthly tabernacle. Which is not going to last. And I remind it of the heavenly tabernacle.
[8:04] Which is not going to fade away. So because we have this parallel here. Particularly poignant for us. But it doesn't. You know. That's just sort of by the by. It's in a background music.
[8:16] Here we have the number of what Jesus is actually saying. The Jews feast of tabernacles is at hand. This joyful ingathering. Autumnal feast of tabernacles.
[8:26] And it is his duty to go up. If he's going to keep the law. It is his duty to go up. It is his duty to obey. Just as it is our duty to obey God's call.
[8:39] To present ourselves to him. To obey his command to come. Now it may be. That may sound like. Yeah. But hang on. Jesus says. You know. You go up to this feast.
[8:50] Where I say. I go not up yet unto this feast. For my time. Is not yet full cup. When he had said these words unto him. He abode still. In gathering. You sitting there today.
[9:02] Thinking. Ach well. That's fine. Yeah. I know what he's just said about in gathering. And if you want to leave it uncomfortable. Ha. Here's Jesus' words saying. I'm not going yet. So I can say. Ach well. That's it.
[9:12] It's not my time yet. I don't have to think about it. I don't have to really worry too much about. Whether I should be. Professing faith in the Lord. Whether I should be going up. Whether I should be presenting myself.
[9:24] At the Lord's table in this way. Because you know. It's not time. I'm not ready yet. That's okay. Others may. Go up to this feast. Go ye up unto this feast. I go not yet unto this feast.
[9:36] But my time. Is not yet come. You can't. That's what you're thinking. You cannot yet do so. You go. But not me. My time is not yet. Look. Jesus says that.
[9:46] That makes it okay. Does that make you feel safe? If your time is not yet. So Jesus. For the meantime. Yes. He abodes still in Galilee.
[9:58] He is not going up to Jerusalem. Or not yet. For now. Galilee is. At the human level. Safer.
[10:09] For Jesus. Where is your. Galilee. Where is it that you feel. Safe. Or secure.
[10:21] For whatever challenge. The Lord might be. Laying before you. Our Galilee is where we started out from. Our home patch.
[10:31] In the world. With our flesh. Our human side. Is comfortable. Our familiar surroundings. Our. Comfort zone.
[10:43] Now we can't draw parallels. Too closely here with Jesus. Because. His Galilee. Yes. It is where he grew up. It is where his. Home familiar. Set up is.
[10:53] It's where he will have. Friends and supporters. But at the same time. He didn't have the honor. That he had. Amongst others. And the crowds in Jerusalem. A prophet is not without honor.
[11:04] Jesus said. Except in his own country. And amongst his own people. He couldn't do many miracles in Nazareth. Because of their unbelief. But still. If anybody had tried to attack him in Galilee.
[11:15] He would have sufficient family. And relatives. And friends and supporters. To protect him there. It was. Humanly speaking. Saver. In that sense.
[11:27] Where is your Galilee? Our Galilee is our comfort zone. Where the flesh feels more comfortable. Comfortable. More at home.
[11:38] Jerusalem by contrast. Is the high risk encounter. With our spiritual destiny. It is where we must come face to face.
[11:51] With our greatest fears. And anxieties. And threat to. If not life itself. As it is here. For Jesus. Then certainly. Jerusalem represents a threat.
[12:02] To the old life. The old. Comforting. Familiar. Life. Of. If not unbelief. Then at least distance. From the Lord.
[12:14] That is our old self. That is our old life. That is what is threatened. When we come face to face. With God's call to us. To go up to Jerusalem.
[12:26] Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where. In obedience. To God's command. We have to face. Our fear of the unknown. That is our Jerusalem.
[12:37] We are not talking about. Physical place. In the land of Israel. We are talking about. Our spiritual Jerusalem. Here. That which is physical. In Jesus day. It is spiritual.
[12:48] For us now. And just as real. Our Jerusalem. This way. In obedience. To God's command. We are called upon. To come. Face to face.
[12:59] With our fear. Of. Whatever the unknown. May hold. We obey. The command. To go. We accept the risk. And we put it all. Into the hands. Of God.
[13:10] Jesus. Fulfilled. All of his father's law. Perfectly. And that law. Included the command. For all the males. To be in Jerusalem. Three times a year. Passover.
[13:20] For the feast of weeks. That is. The feast of the first fruits. And for the tabernacles. In gathering. If he had said. Well no. I am not going this time. I am staying behind. Then that would have been.
[13:32] An act of disobedience. That would have been a breach. In his father's holy law. His brothers aren't too worried. About that at this stage. They don't know. About his. His requirement.
[13:42] To fill the law. In every detail. Sometimes. Everybody went. Sometimes they didn't always go. Sometimes they couldn't go. But if Jesus is to fulfill the law. In every detail. He must be there. He must go.
[13:53] He must be. Perfect. He fulfilled all of his father's law. Perfectly. He must be. At Jerusalem. The Old Testament. Physical command.
[14:03] Was to come up to the Old Dispensation. Physical. Jerusalem. The New Testament. Spiritual command. Is not simply to present ourselves.
[14:14] At any earthly. Tabernacle. Or temple. But rather to present ourselves. In repentance. And faith. Before the Lord. Trusting in him. As we've mentioned often.
[14:26] In the past. So we'll mention again. In Acts 17. Paul speaks to the Athenians. And he says. The times of our ignorance. God winked at. Let it pass.
[14:37] Acts 17. In verse 30. Because. He now commandeth. All men. Everywhere. To repent. And that doesn't just mean males. It's men. In the generic sense.
[14:48] It means men. And women. And boys. And girls. The time of ignorance. God winked at. But now. Commandeth. All men. Everywhere. To repent. Because.
[14:59] He hath appointed a day. In which. He will judge the world. In righteousness. By that man. Whom he hath ordained. When all. He hath given assurance. Unto all men. And that he hath raised them.
[15:11] From the dead. It is to this man. Jesus. That we are called. To present ourselves. Not in a physical temple. Not in a physical Jerusalem.
[15:21] But in a spiritual Jerusalem. To come face to face. With Christ. In repentance. And faith. And trust. And say. Yes Lord. You take me. I say. I'm you.
[15:32] Take it all. Yes. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of the death. Of the old life. I'm afraid. I'm losing my comfort zone. I'm afraid. Of what is going to have to die. Within me.
[15:42] I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm afraid of what's going to happen. And I don't know. Whether or not. This is a safe thing to do. But I have to do it. If I'm going to obey. And Jesus did it.
[15:55] Knowing. That he might die. But. We read in verse 30. They sought to take him. They wanted to kill him. But no man laid hands of him.
[16:07] Because his hour was not yet come. At the end of the day. The requirement is the sign for us. To throw our future into the hands of our father.
[16:21] Eventually. Yes. You can stay in Galilee. But eventually you can stay no longer. Jesus knows. That the day is coming.
[16:33] When he must leave. This Galilee. And go up to Jerusalem. Regardless of the risk. As that realization. Yet dawned upon you.
[16:46] One day you must leave your Galilee. One day you will be required to do so. Whether you and I like it or not. We cannot hold on to this world forever. God could give you the whole world.
[16:59] And all the money and wealth. And peace and power in it. He could give you the world. But what does Jesus say in Mark 8? Verse 36. What shall the profit of man if he shall gain the whole world?
[17:12] And lose his own soul. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? And in reality. You know. None of us ever gain the world.
[17:22] We don't even gain a whole country. We don't even gain all the money in the world. We don't even gain all the houses or property or land in our own little country. We might gain a bigger house.
[17:34] Or a bigger car. Or a massive bank account. We might have all the power and wealth for a few years. That the things that this world can give us. But it's not the world. It's not the world.
[17:44] By any means. And even if we had all the world. It would be a poor bargain. If we lose our own soul. You can be the top of your game in your Galilee.
[17:58] You can be surrounded with all the wealth and protection and love and support. But eventually you must leave it. Or it is going to leave you.
[18:10] But you can't hold on to it forever. And we from the old seed of safety in our own personal Galilee. To the risk and danger and confrontation.
[18:23] Which our spiritual destiny. Our Jerusalem will inevitably hold for us. Is a solemn and serious undertaking. We confront the reality that God has a plan for our lives.
[18:40] And that he is the one in control of it. We're not us. That's a scary thing sometimes. We like to think that we are in control. I don't know how we can think so often that we are in control. But we like to think that we are.
[18:50] But when you think about it. Most things in your life. You didn't choose. Most things in your life. You didn't actually have that much control over. Did you? And you might think.
[19:02] Oh yes I did. You know. I got to choose what job I might do. I got to choose where I might live. Or what my husband. Well. How much did you really have?
[19:13] And how much was in fact conditioned. By where you were born. And what family you were born into. And what your parents did. And what house they had before. And you know.
[19:24] Were you married? Yes. Maybe you had a choice over it. If you are married. Or you didn't have a choice over what kids you got. You got what the Lord said. You didn't have a choice over how they turn up. Yes you can influence them up to an extent.
[19:36] But. They'll go their own way eventually. You can only do so much. And very. Very little of it. Do you actually have any real power over.
[19:48] Most of our lives. We are reacting. Responding to things. Not initiating them. We have actually. Remarkably. We have control. In our own lives. And yet.
[19:59] What little we do have. We cling to so much. I can't let it go. I've got to be master of my own destiny. My own life. You never were. What we're doing.
[20:11] When we come to our spiritual Jerusalem. When we come face to face. With the Lord. When we let go of our old Galilee. And comfort zone. Is that we are recognizing reality.
[20:26] And leaving behind. The old fantasy. The figment of our imagination. The subterfuge that Satan uses. That we are somehow.
[20:36] Masters of our destiny. Which we are not. What we do. When we come to the Lord. Is we finally come to the truth. Jesus says.
[20:46] I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man come upon to the Father. But by me. You come to Jerusalem. You come to the truth. And it's a scary prospect.
[20:58] And you don't do it lightly. Because when we confront. This reality. It is a solemn. And serious fact. That God. Has a plan. For our lives.
[21:09] And so we mix. With all the faithful. Going up to Jerusalem. We prepare to drink. In the truths. That Christ. Would teach us. But. We dare not do it lightly.
[21:22] Nor can we dare lightly. Leave it undone. There is. A time that is right. And it may be.
[21:33] That it genuinely. Isn't yet. Your time. But the worst thing we can do. Is hide behind. A genuine. Delay.
[21:44] And turn it into. A never never land. We dare not do this thing lightly. But nor can we dare. Lightly. Leave it undone.
[21:55] Whether you go up to the Lord. At this feast. And Jesus says. I go not yet. Up unto this feast. For my time. Is not yet full come. When he has said. These words are done.
[22:05] He abodes still. In Galilee. In Galilee. Whether you stay behind. In your own. Galilee. The Lord requires. A new response. A solemn.
[22:18] And deeply. Considered. Response. To go forward. Or to stay behind. Jesus. For his part. Bides his time.
[22:29] He does not lie. He doesn't say to his brothers. No. No. I'm not going to this feast. He just says. I go not up. Yet. Up to this feast. For my time.
[22:40] Is not yet full come. And then he abides. Still in Galilee. He will not go. Yet. He waits. And then. He goes. Because the time has come.
[22:52] You know. It's like. Like Hannah. Remember. Who prayed. For the baby Samuel. And. And she was rewarded. The Lord heard her prayer. And then. Next time. Her husband. Elkanah. Is going up. To the tabernacle.
[23:03] A child. He says. What are you coming? Just no. I'm not coming. I think. Oh dear. Here we go. Now she's got what she wants. She's not interested in the Lord. But no. She said. I will not go up.
[23:14] Until the child is weaned. Then I will bring him. That he may appear before the Lord. And there abide. Forever. And that's what she did. When the baby Samuel was weaned.
[23:26] When the boy was weaned. She made him a little coat. She takes him up to the tabernacle. And she leaves him there. Led to the Lord. For all of his life. Her delay. Was not that she should avoid.
[23:40] This time of spiritual destiny. It was that it should be time to perfection. That when it is done. It be done right. And when it is done right.
[23:50] It be done forever. Because that is what the Lord calls us to. Not to dabble our feet in the water for a wee while. And then when it gets cold. Take our toe out again. Not to spring up.
[24:02] Like the seed in the parable. That manages to a wee while. And then the first little blast of wind. Or sun comes along. And it just withers and dies. That might be what happens. If we try and gather in a harvest.
[24:13] Where it is still green. Or when our ingathering may be premature. So if you like Jesus are saying. I go not up yet unto this feast. For my time is not yet full come.
[24:25] If that be your genuine reason. And your genuine heart. That you want to be sure. It is right. The time you want to be certain. You want to be fully matured. And ripened for the harvest.
[24:36] So that when you go. You can go right. And you can go forever. Then God bless you in it. But if you draw some kind of. False comfort.
[24:48] From verses 8 and 9. You go up to this feast. I don't know if you have to this feast. My time is not yet full come. When he had said these words to him. He abodes still in Galilee. Then you must draw like one.
[25:00] His inspiration and direction. From verse 10. But when his brethren were gone up. Then went he also up unto the feast. Not openly.
[25:12] But as it were. In secret. If the first two verses are true for you. The next must be true. As well. And then at verse 14.
[25:23] About the midst of the feast. Jesus went up into the temple. Untaught. Now he's open. The feast lasted about. About six to eight days. So this is about halfway into it.
[25:33] In the midst of the feast. The third or fourth day. All the rumors. All the chatters. Have now settled down. People have stopped talking about him. He hasn't appeared. So they've kind of forgotten about him. He's come in secret. In the crowd.
[25:45] Incognito. And then suddenly. There he is in the midst of the temple. And suddenly he's teaching openly. And suddenly there's nothing they can do about it. They didn't know where he came from. They didn't know how he was there.
[25:56] But there he is. And there he is. Honest. And faithful. And having obeyed his father's command. So what will you find if you go up to Jerusalem?
[26:09] If you obey his command. And respond to his call. We are told to respond to his call. We are told that we must repent. That we must present ourselves to the Lord.
[26:21] Because he hath appointed a day. In which he will judge the world in righteousness. By that man whom he hath ordained. Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men.
[26:32] In that he hath raised them from the dead. What will you find when you respond to his call? If you will do his will. We'll go to verse 17. If any man will do his will.
[26:42] And it will always be God's will. That you respond to his call. That you respond to his invitation. The only person that will ever try to keep you away from the Lord.
[26:55] Is the devil. The only person who will ever say to you. He doesn't want you. Is the devil. The only one who will ever say. Your sins cannot be covered. Even by his sacrifice.
[27:07] Is the devil. Because it is lie after lie after lie. God so loved the world. That he gave his only begotten son. And you and me my friend.
[27:19] We are well truly firmly in the world. You cannot escape this love. If you were in the world. You cannot pretend it was not for you. You cannot say.
[27:30] This invitation does not apply to me. If any man will do his will. And it is the will of the Lord. That sinners should be saved. That the sacrifice for their sin.
[27:42] Which is costly. And which is the highest price ever paid for anything in heaven or on earth. In all time of history. God the son. Spilling out his blood.
[27:53] Giving of his life. For the sins of those who love them not. That price is a high price. That is a price that is paid for those who are precious.
[28:04] In his sight. And you cannot say. Oh well. It wasn't for me. How do you know? God's invitation comes to you. God's will is that sinners be saved.
[28:16] God's will is that sinners like us be redeemed. If any man will do his will. He shall know of the doctrine. Whether it be of God. Or whether I speak of myself.
[28:28] You begin to taste and see. And you will see that the Lord is good. You will taste his word as it were in your mouth.
[28:39] You will understand. You will know. You will sense. You will recognize in your heart and soul. Whether this doctrine be of God. Or whether it is simply of the world repackaged.
[28:51] Like a clever salesman saying. Do this. Buy this product. This will happen for you. That will happen to you. And maybe we would think part of us would be relieved. If we found out it was just another con.
[29:04] Just another worldly thing. Just another man of the world selling a product. But Jesus says. You will know. My doctrine is not in mine.
[29:14] But his that sent me. If any man will do his will. He shall know of the doctrine. Whether it be of God. Or whether I speak of myself. Nobody can say. Hey come and believe in me.
[29:26] No church can say. Come and join us. And you'll be saved. No minister can say. Do what I tell you. And do as I say. And everything will be alright with you. All that anyone like me can do.
[29:38] Is point you to Christ. Because Christ will endure. When all the churches in the world have crumbled to dust. Christ will still be king. When there are no more badges of denominations.
[29:50] When there are none of us left. When we're all just bones and dust. The Lord will still be reigning supreme. No man in this world can save you. But Christ.
[30:02] Who can and does. Desire to say. The lost. Come and do the will of God. And you will see. You will taste. You will recognize.
[30:12] You will know. The truth. Of what he says. If Jesus. Were a mere man. Speaking of himself. If he just wanted a following. Then his word would fail.
[30:24] It would have died with his crucifixion. It would have gone no farther. But is he speaking of his father who sent him? If he was sent from his father.
[30:34] He must have come from his father. He must have come then. From where his father is. He must have come from heaven. Yes he's from Nazareth. Yes he is born in Bethlehem. Yes he's completely human.
[30:46] And this is what throws people to say. But we know this guy. We know maybe his mother. We know his brothers and sisters. We know his home in Nazareth. We know where he comes from. How can he be the Messiah.
[30:57] When he is so human. He is wholly human. But he is wholly God. As well. Because his father sent him.
[31:08] That means he has come from his father. That means he has come. Ultimately. From heaven. He must be from heaven. He must be of God. And the unbelieving Jews recognized.
[31:22] That that is the claim he was making. That was why he wanted to kill him. So the question comes back again to us. That was their response. What think ye of Christ?
[31:36] Not. What do you think about his other followers? That is an excuse for so many people. Oh well I would be more inclined towards Christianity. If Christians weren't such hypocrites. Because I know this person.
[31:48] They are a really bad example. And I know this person. And they are gossip. And I know this guy. And he was a drunkard. And I know this guy. And he was an adulterer. And they all claim to be Christians. My goodness.
[31:58] What a shout of dross. If that is your Christians. Forget it. Never mind trying to turn the spotlight on his followers. They will fail. Because they are human beings. They are sinners. That is why they need to be saved.
[32:11] Just like you and me. You turn your spotlight and your attention on Christ. Because he is the only one that will save you or not. He will save you if you come to him by faith.
[32:23] He will not if you go in the opposite direction. You turn away from him. But Jesus says. Him that cometh unto me. I will in no wise cast out. Come unto me all ye that labour.
[32:35] And are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Christ. Not then. What do you think about his followers. But what do you think about Christ. The world cannot hate you for yourself.
[32:49] And it will come to hate you. If you start putting Christ and his teaching ahead of the world. And eventually the world will hate you regardless. Because that is what it does.
[33:00] It hates all things ultimately related to Christ. It will accept Christianity and Christianity's followers. Only to the extent that they will accommodate themselves to the world and its values.
[33:11] These are nice, cuddly, cosy, so-called Christians. That the world is comfortable with. Because they don't challenge them. They don't require anything different of them. They leave them in their Galilee.
[33:22] They don't require them to come up to Jerusalem. So, his hour, verse 30, was not yet come. So, they couldn't do anything to them.
[33:33] There was yet time for Jesus to complete his teaching and witness and example. But that time, too, would eventually end. Because when they arrested him, remember what he says.
[33:45] You know, I could have sent for twelve regions of angels if I'd wanted. You could have arrested me any time in the temple. Why didn't you? But this is your hour and the power of darkness.
[33:57] But at this stage, his hour had not yet come. But he knew that eventually it would. As were ours. If we go up this time to this feast.
[34:10] To face our Jerusalem with its challenges and threats and privileges and unspeakable joy. If we do come to the Lord now to this feast.
[34:21] Then, one of the regrets we will have with hindsight. Is that we let so many opportunities and days of grace pass.
[34:35] When we have the chance to seize them. No sooner will we come to the Lord than we will wish that we had done it years ago. And we'll lament that we let slip so many.
[34:49] Now Jesus went up to the feast in secret. Now over the coming communion season, there will be plenty of more secretive times. There will be plenty of early morning prayer meetings.
[35:00] When you can come in quietly in the street. You can talk to others then. You can pick up phones. You can stay behind after services. There's plenty of occasions you can be away from the crowds.
[35:11] Plenty of occasions you can be as secretive as you like. There will be no shortage of opportunities. One of the things when we come to the Lord that causes us regret.
[35:23] Is that we let so many opportunities slip away. That we didn't do it years ago. But if we do not come to Christ. If we do not go up to Jerusalem either this time nor any future time.
[35:39] Then we will lament for all eternity. That of the years and days and opportunities we let slip. Not many. But all.
[35:51] All. All. Think about sometime today. When you're on your own. Sit down and run your fingers together like that.
[36:03] Think of sand. Running through your fingers. If every grain of sand was a day in your life. There would be 32,850 grains.
[36:17] If you lived to be 90. Now if you didn't live to be 90. There would be less. If you lived to be 20 years old. Then there's 7,300 days.
[36:29] That's 7,300 grains of sand. Probably a big handful of sand has an awful lot more grains than that. When you feel them slipping through your fingers. You can imagine them running as you do it.
[36:42] Every one a day. Every one an opportunity. Every one a time lost. If you enter eternity. Without Christ. You will long. Long.
[36:52] For just one day to sit again. In the very pew. Where you sit. Now. To hear just once more. The free offer of grace. And forgiveness.
[37:04] In Christ Jesus. And you will lament. And wail for all. All the times and chances. You let slip through your fingers.
[37:14] When light still shone in through the church windows. And you weren't in outer darkness. When you could still sing the songs of Zion from your throat.
[37:25] And it wasn't caked with ash. When you could go out the church door. And a cool breeze would greet you. Instead of the infernal heat. Of an eternal death.
[37:38] When there would still be opportunity. For the sound of the word of God. To be sweet. And as music in your ear. When the opportunity was still there.
[37:50] To repent. And believe the gospel. When it was still ahead of you for a time. Instead of behind you. For an eternity. You will long.
[38:03] For just one more chance. One more Lord's day. In the Lord's house. If you put off forever.
[38:15] Going up to this feast. And yes. This may not be the one. This may not be the time. There may be right for him to do. There may be opportunities. Yeah. Remember the sound.
[38:27] Remember your fingers. But remember also. That you and I know. That any time you try to get sand off your hands. There's always some that stick to it.
[38:40] The Lord always gives some grace. For those yet willing to act. Don't let it be that you are left. To long in a lost eternity.
[38:52] For one more chance. One more Lord's day. In the Lord's house. One more day. Like today. One more Sabbath.
[39:04] Such is this. the God of God will nosows. Oh. templates. Many times. Th repent. Oh. Probable. 싶 July. Why shall we get to it? Aboulders. Today.
[39:16] Over. There. I do not know each side. You should not add to a bar. A home. Remember. VP? Because of us. Okay.chaft hat. You should not add to a bar. A mother to slip. You should not add to a bar. The name is for us. It will pin. It will just be 45 minutes. To make something for us.
[39:26] It will never open us. And say we have a key trick that will live in that. If the world is on the right. It is okay. About the help of us.