John 7:1 mentions that our Lord Jesus Christ is going to the feast of tabernacles, but not immediately with the rest of the Jews. Instead, He delays and goes on different timing.
In John 7:1-10, the passage tells us that Jesus is supposed to go to the feast of tabernacles. Still, He tells His brethren that He won’t be going and end up getting mocked by them about His unwillingness or inability to perform miracles. Jesus replied to them ‘My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready’ which is what the sermon is about.
This reminds us that God’s time never goes by our time, as many of us always expect God to answer our prayers and gives us victory over the situation almost immediately.
We are always ready to receive God’s blessings, but what truly matters is, is it the perfect timing in God’s eyes and will?
The Bible mentions a lot about God’s attributes as being patient and never rushes, and that is how usually the Bible will convict us as well, through passages and messages about longsuffering, because God wants to teach us important lessons.
John 7:1: “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.”
We see how Lord Jesus killed time and refused to go to the feast of tabernacles because of a solid reason. He knew it was not His time to die in the hands of the Jews then.
We don’t always have the full answer or understand the full picture. When we expect God to listen and answer our prayers according to our timing, we know that it will do us more harm than good, and spiritually hurt our walk.
Earlier could have always been worse timing. We need to learn to kill time, and not let time kill us, time is not our master, but our Creator is, so trust Him instead of what we deem is perfect timing.
Back to the passage, where many people would mock Jesus for going to Galilee. So is the one who is willing to walk with Jesus Christ, or mock Him just like everyone else who does not respect and kill time in God’s will?
No matter what decision we make in our lives, as long as we attempt to stay in God’s hands, we will for sure be under His protection. However, if we choose to go according to our own timing, and lack patience. Time will rob us with our joy, our blessings, or even God’s plans for us.
John 7:2-3: “Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.”
When situations happen, we tend to be impatient in wanting victories over our trials. Our understanding of timing at hand is always different from God’s. The Jews’ who are eager for Jesus to perform miracles at the feast of tabernacles, claiming otherwise it will be too late, clearly do not walk according to God’s will and timing. We need to know that it is never too late until God says it is, so learn to be more patient with God.
John 7:4-5: “For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.”
Our unwillingness to wait for God’s timing to unveil reflects on how much we lay our trust in Him.
If we truly believe in His almighty power, whatever timetable He has planned for us will leave us no question. If anything, our faith in God should be able to stand the test of times and continue to grow.
When trials hit us, whether financial, health or relationship related, we tend to yield to our expectations of how and when our prayers should be answered and how the outcome should be, shown in verse 4. God will not answer our prayers with such an attitude, and there is no way we can attain true peace because our trust is not in the Lord.
Ironically, verse 1 indicates that going through trials or sometimes death situations that we avoid will give us life. For example, Jesus needs to die for us to acquire salvation and live forever in God’s Heavenly Kingdom. The Bible also says that we are killed all day long, but we live unto Jesus Christ, just like the martyrs.
Fruits can only bear and blossom until situations truly get killed and die out with God’s timing. God loves us enough to want us to die in our flesh so that we can start living unto the spirit.
When our expectations get killed, trust that God can go beyond our expectations.
Also important to remember that if we always demand God to answer our prayers according to our desired time, then our faith is fleshly, not spiritual. Real faith is where God can use those trials to kill our flesh.
John 7:6: “Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.”
This means that we may claim that we are ready, ready to receive God’s blessings, ready to carry our duties for Him, ready for His plans to be revealed to us, but often God will reject our timing.
John 7:7: “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”
God shows us that our redeeming time to be perfect can only be considered perfect in the worldly sense, which feeds our flesh. The world brainwashes us about instant gratification. Therefore, it is more important for us to ‘walk-in Galilee,’ to attend Church meetings, read the Bible, fellowship with the members, listen to spiritual counsels, and constantly pray to God. Subsequently, God’s sufficient grace can continue to shower us and deliver us away from the world, to despise the world.
John 7:8: “Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.”
God has two wills: His perfect and His permissive will. This means that sometimes God will allow things to happen for us, but that’s not fully according to the perfect will that He wants for us. This is not because of how deserving we are, but it is because of how gracious He is.
Nonetheless, when we settle for second best, we miss out on God’s perfect purpose and blessings for us. What’s the point of clinging onto God’s partial blessings, when we can have them in full? Don’t let our fleshy wants and desires rob us of God’s full blessings.
John 7:9-10: “When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.”
In the face of trials and afflictions, the best encouragement is to know that God does not promise us a life full of sunshine, yet secretly God always fills our lives with riches of His glory, even temporary or worldly riches at times. This is because God wants to see the world dies. First, He wants us to truly believe in Him, in His purpose, before He gives us the blessings. We can already see that in the from Job himself.