Memory Verse:
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has
said,
out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water.”
(John 7:38)
One of the hardest things to do is to listen and obey
the Lord, when it seems He is whispering to us (if that!) rather than listening
and obeying the world, when it seems it is shouting to us. Jesus had the same
struggle and often withdrew to pray. Chapter seven brings us to the final year
of our Lord’s life, and Jesus faces some serious challenges. There are lessons
to be learned for new and old believers, including how to know God’s Word
(doctrine), God’s Will (discernment) and God’s Ways (discipleship).
If you watch the movie The Gospel of John you will see Jesus speaking boldly. Perhaps this
chapter will give you courage to speak boldly, despite opposition. Last chapter
we saw about God’s spiritual food, and in this chapter we see about the living
water, quenching our spiritual thirst and also reviving those whom we influence
through Christ. This theme of living water is not a new theme, but a
fulfillment of a very old theme, reaching as far back as Moses in the Old
Testament.
You are a third of the way through this study. Keep
going and learn more about your faith.
Day 16: Morning
Don’t Listen To
The World
(Read John 7:1–13)
There are a lot of
distractions in the world: social media, ear buds, satellite radio. From sun up
to sun down, constant sounds from the world can distract us from hearing from
God. Though different, distractions existed in Jesus’s day, tempting even
Christ from His mission.
John 7 is in the fall of the
year, the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus had withdrawn to Galilee
because the Jews sought to kill Him in Jerusalem. Christians must have wisdom
in knowing God’s will and timing.
Does it surprise you that
the Lord’s brothers did not believe in Him (v. 5)? Unbelievers, like Jesus’s
brothers, try to put Christians in a mold that doesn’t fit. There are no
cookie-cutter Christians. That is why our faith is a personal relationship with Christ. Don’t be surprised if
unbelievers try to tell you what a Christian is or isn’t. Instead, listen to
God!
Other things will also distract
us. Frequently John wrote about Jesus’s time (verses 6, 8) or His hour (2:4;
7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; and 16:21), usually in regards to His death. It is
possible to do the right thing at the wrong time and only discernment and the
prompting of the Holy Spirit will help in waiting on God’s timing. See Isaiah
40:31; Ps. 25:3; 40:1.
In verse 8, most readings
include the word “I am not going to the festival yet.” Jesus intended to
go to the Feast, but just not yet. His brothers were pressuring Him to do something
He was not ready to do.
The world today tries to
squeeze us into its mold by getting something that is not in God’s timing “yet.”
There are get rich quick schemes (lotteries), instant success books, credit
cards, prayerlessness, sex before marriage, and countless other pressures to
distract from God’s will.
I listen to audio books. I
love playing D.J., picking out music for the day. And everyone knows I am a
news junkie. But there are times I have to be still before God and tune out the
world and listen to God.
Pray this prayer to God: “Heavenly
Father, help me to wait for You. No matter what the world says, help me to
always call on You first before making any decision. Help me to listen for Your
answers, especially when Your answers are different from the world’s desires…or
mine. Amen.”
Day 16: Evening
Do Listen To God
(Read John 7:11–24)
People have never had a “middle-of-the-road”
opinion about Jesus. In the 1970s, there was a song called “Jesus is Just Alright With Me.” Despite its popularity, the song
is not very accurate. Jesus stands as a mountain peak. You can be on one side
and agree with Him, or on the other side and disagree. Or ignore Him
completely. But He can never be just alright.
Verse 16 uses a word, “doctrine”
which we don’t use often. It means teaching, usually according to a system of
beliefs. In Christianity, we are to follow the doctrine of Christ. But how can we
know true teaching?
To know truth, first notice Jesus’s
standard. He said that His doctrine was not His own, but from God (verse 16).
Unless you are perfect (and
none are), true doctrine does not begin and end with you. In humility, you must
admit that you are not the standard of truth, only God is. He reveals His
perfect will in His Word, the Bible.
Jiminy Cricket’s advice was
“Let your conscience be your guide.” But
John 7:17, tells us our guide should be truly seeking God’s will. That is how
we can tell what true doctrine is. What are some pitfalls in allowing an
imperfect conscience or public opinion to guide you in right and wrong?
If you want to find true
teaching, you must not only seek God, but also have the right motivation. It is
possible for you to read God’s Word and distort it to fit your own purposes.
That is the making of a cult.
The religious leaders
selectively misapplied God’s Word to Jesus. When you make a judgment on whether
a teaching is true or false, it must line up with the doctrine as taught by the
entire Word of God. 2 Tim. 3:16 says, “All
Scripture...is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness.”
The three-prong test for
true and correct teaching is: “Does this teaching lead me to do God’s will ?” “Does
this teaching motivate me to glorify God?” and “Does this teaching line up with
the entire Word of God.”
Pray this prayer to God: “Heavenly
Father, guide me as I seek the truth. You alone are my standard. Help me to do
Your will for Your glory as I read Your word and apply it to my life. In Jesus’s
Name. Amen.”
Day 17: Morning
Speak Boldly Despite Opposition
(Read John 7:25–36)
When I was an editor of a
south Texas newspaper, I had a coworker who knew I was a Christian but she was
not. When the subject of Christianity arose, she told me, “Oh, I know Jesus.”
One time I told her, “You know about Jesus but you don’t know Him personally.”
People were divided on
whether Jesus was good or a deceiver. In verses 25–27, they were not seriously asking
whether the rulers were believers, but were taunting the inability of the
rulers to respond to Jesus.
The religious leaders knew
of Jesus’s earthly background, but were ignorant of the spiritual power behind
Him (see John 9:29). They also were ignorant of where Jesus was going (verses
33–36). They knew Jesus was of Nazareth, a place from where no prophet arose.
They also knew that he was from humble means, that He had never formally
studied (verse 15). Since Jesus was not born with an earthly father (Luke
1:35), some implied Jesus was born of fornication (John 8:41) and called Him a
Samaritan (a slang for a mixed-race person) in John 8:48. Despite His
background, Jesus spoke boldly to the powerfully respected and esteemed rulers.
We too know where we are
from and where we are going and that should give us the boldness to testify. Opposition
to the truth and lack of true knowledge should lead us to be bold in our
proclamation, because they truly need of someone to stand up for what is true.
The guards were asked “have you ever known of ... one
Pharisee to believe in Him?” Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were there (John
7:50–52, John 19:38–39) but were afraid to speak boldly. Imagine what would have happened if two
Pharisees had been bold!
Acts 4:13–31 shows the
source of the disciples’ boldness. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John...they realized that they had been with Jesus.” We should not look to ourselves
for the boldness to witness for God, but rather we should look to God’s power
alone.
Pray this prayer to God: “My Father in Heaven, as I spend time with You, give
me boldness to speak strongly about You, not just at church, but where there is
opposition and unbelief. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.”
Day 17: Evening
Faith In Jesus Will Quench Your Thirst
(Read John 7:37–53)
The “Great Feast” likely was
the Feast of the Tabernacles. The feast reminded the Israelites of when they
had lived in tents or “tabernacles,” wandering in the desert before entering
the Promised Land. This feast reminds Christians that we are living in earthly
tabernacles, inhabited by the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
The Jews had an elaborate
water ceremony on the final day of the Feast, remembering their forefathers
thirsted and water flowed from a rock. Jesus used this time to proclaim He was
the fulfillment of that ceremony.
Read 1 Cor. 10:4: “all drank the same spiritual drink. For
they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”
John 7 parallels Exodus 17:1–7.
The people were thirsty in a dry place and asked Moses for water. They argued
with him, asking “Is the Lord among us or not?” and were almost at the point of
killing him. In Jesus’s day, the Jews argued whether Jesus was the Messiah or
not (verses 40–44), and like with Moses, some even sought to kill Him (verse
25).
Moses struck a rock with his
rod and water flowed from it. Isaiah 53:4 says that Jesus was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
The living water that flows out of Christ is the Holy Spirit (John 7:39), which
God pours out on His people who trust in Christ.
The Old Testament speaks of
living waters (Jer. 2:13; Ps. 36:8–9; Ps. 42). Isa. 44:3 says “For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants
and My blessing on your offspring.”
The people were concerned
about where Jesus was from than who He was and what He had to say. God’s
concern with you is not where you have been, but where you are. He looks at
what is within you, not what is behind you. From your “inner being” He will
flow rivers of living waters.
Pray this prayer to God: “Our Father
in Heaven. Give me spiritual drink today. Allow me to be a source of life for
others as I drink from You. No matter what others say I will put my faith in
You. In Your Holy Name I pray. Amen.”
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