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[0:00] Hey guys, thanks for listening to our Calvary Chapel Charlotte podcast. I will walk by faith and not by sight.

[0:48] Well, good morning. Welcome to Calvary Chapel Charlotte. What a blessing just to walk by the Spirit. And that is what we're going to look at very heavily today as we get into the text in John chapter 7.

[1:02] We ended last week on verse 24. We were looking at this idea of unbelief as John continues to put before us through this whole book, right? Believe, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name.

[1:17] And last week we saw unbelief. Unbelief was limiting. It was limiting so much for these people. They saw Jesus' purpose, they saw His proficiency, and they saw His perception of things in unbelief.

[1:29] And so they couldn't receive it. It set limitations on them. What does faith do, though? Faith doesn't see limitations. Faith sees opportunity for love. And how does love come?

[1:41] Love comes by way of what? Truth. Truth. There's no other means for love to come. We saw that Jesus never confronted unbelief for any other purpose than to promote truth in life.

[1:53] He wasn't just out there like, let me just tell you what's wrong. No, he had the reason he wanted them to understand where they were at was so that he could bring them to a place of life. Unbelief will keep us in any relationship, from faith, from trusting either in Christ or someone else, from understanding, from righteousness, and from having a deeper relationship when unbelief comes in.

[2:18] So truth gives opportunity for love. But it also gives another opportunity, as we're going to see today, truth will give us opportunity to be filled, fulfilled, and fulfilling. And that's what we will look at as we go through the text today.

[2:31] And I wanted to finish the chapter, but the Lord stopped it at 39 and was like, hey, we're going to sit in this for a little bit. So I think he has a good word for us today. So Jesus has just finished speaking to a response.

[2:47] He was giving a response. He had a response to his brethren who said, go up now to the feast. And he had a response to then the Jews who marveled, saying, how do you know anything? You know, how do you have any understanding?

[2:58] You weren't taught by us. Who taught you? And then he responded then to the people who said, well, you're crazy. Who's going about to kill you? And in verse 24, he said, judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

[3:11] Jesus always judges righteous judgment. Jesus always sees past the appearance. What we see from the outside, we say, Lord, do you see? He's like, well, I do, but you don't. The issue isn't that he doesn't see.

[3:22] It's that I'm judging according to appearance. I need to judge with something deeper than that, something that sees past that. And that is found as we what? As we fellowship with the Lord, as he reveals things to us through his word, as Peter said, where else shall we go?

[3:37] You have the words of life. If I want to understand life, I'm going to have to then spend a little time in those words. I'm going to have to let those words spend a little time in me. And so then there's another response here in verse 25.

[3:49] We're going to kind of continue this theme, of course, as John does through the book of belief and unbelief. And then Jesus will transition here, and John will transition the narrative as we get to our last few verses for today.

[4:03] Excuse me. But then said some of them of Jerusalem, is not this he whom they seek to kill? So this some of them of Jerusalem, these are those who have come up for the feast. Remember, it's the feast of tabernacles, the feast of booths or Sukkoth.

[4:15] And these are those that are there at Jerusalem. They're like, okay, we've heard about this, Jesus. Isn't this he whom they seek to kill? But he's speaking, look, he's speaking boldly.

[4:26] And they don't say anything to him. Do the rulers know indeed this is the very Christ? They're confused. Like, wait a minute. We came up to see Jesus, and we had this expectation. It's different than what we thought.

[4:38] They were there for the feast, and they were confused because they've heard about Jesus. But the Jesus they encountered was different than what they've heard about. Because what they've heard was through unbelief. And unbelief causes confusion.

[4:51] Unbelief always causes confusion, whether about Jesus or another situation. And when I do not accept Jesus' words for what they are, I'm never going to understand him for who he is.

[5:02] And here you have a group of people that, here's Jesus in their midst. Like, I don't get who he is. I can't quite get him. Well, you won't, because you won't accept his words for what they are. How many times has he spoken to them?

[5:13] The same thing. That's the thing in studying through a book. It's like, didn't we just say this last week? Lord, you said that? How many times is he going to say, my words are not my own. My works are not my own.

[5:24] The truth bears witness that I'm of my father. How many times is he going to say this? I think, how many times he said the same thing to me about things? You know, Jared, you're still not willing to let that go.

[5:35] No, I've let it go, Lord. I've moved on. No, you haven't. You're confused, because you won't believe that I can do what I'm telling you I'm able to do in that situation.

[5:46] Jesus presents himself to us by his words and works, as he'll continue to say, all the way up until John 14, when he's in the upper room with his apostles. He'll say, do you not believe that I'm in the Father and the Father in me?

[6:00] The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I'm in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake.

[6:12] And here we are at the beginning, essentially, of Jesus's ministry. He's going to spend three years with these guys. By the time he gets to the end, he's saying the same thing. Guys, believe me. Believe me. If I don't accept his words, I'm going to be very confused over his works.

[6:27] If I don't accept what he's telling me, I'm going to be confused at what he's doing. God, this isn't how I thought it would go. I thought you would do it this way. His timetable's different. In John 14, 3, Jesus says, If I go and prepare a place for you, speaking to those apostles in the upper room, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

[6:49] Unbelief causes much confusion over Jesus's words. If I don't accept them for what they are, what does he say? I'm going to go away. And I'm going to come again and receive you to myself. Do you know how much confusion there is over Jesus's words, or over his works, because people won't accept his words?

[7:05] What is Jesus doing? When's he going to come back? How's he going to come back? What is he going to do when he comes back? Well, let's just go to his words and see what they say. See, unbelief has nothing to say.

[7:17] These people, they have nothing to respond. Do the rulers know indeed this is the very Christ? Because they say nothing unto him. Unbelief has nothing to say.

[7:28] And when it does speak, what does it speak? Simply more unbelief, more confusion into the situation. If you look down in verse 47 and 48 of the text in John 7 here, we won't get there today.

[7:40] But what does it tell us about the Pharisees? The Pharisees are responding to their servants who they've sent to take Jesus. They say, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? Not a good look, guys.

[7:52] That's not going to age very well, that saying. We haven't believed on him? No, you haven't. And all you are speaking is more unbelief. They're encouraging these people who are essentially responding to Jesus' words like, well, wow, this might be true.

[8:04] They're saying, no, don't you dare believe that. Because look at us. See, the truth speaks freely, speaks boldly. Jesus is speaking boldly. Speaks without reservation because it has something to say.

[8:17] You and I can speak boldly. We can speak without reservation because we have something to say. That's the only reason that I could ever sit up here and teach or preach a message.

[8:28] Because I have something to say. And it's not because I talk a lot. And if you ask my wife, I do. But a lot of times I'm not saying much. We have something to say when we have God's word.

[8:39] We have the truth of his word. We can say it boldly. We can say it without reservation. I don't have to fear. Is that going to go over well? It doesn't matter. It's settled in the heavens. God has accepted his word.

[8:52] Whether someone else does or not isn't going to change his word. But it has the potential. It's potential to change them. And that's why we continue to say it. How be it we know this man, they're saying.

[9:04] These are the people in Jerusalem. They're saying, well, we know this guy. We came up to see the Messiah. This is just this carpenter dude. We know who he is. We know where he's from. But when Christ comes, no man knows where he is from.

[9:18] Now, there is no scripture specifically that says that. This seems to be something that was being taught at the time. When Messiah comes, boom, he's just going to be here all of a sudden. Seems like it's possible it came from Malachi 3, verse 1.

[9:32] Behold, I'll send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

[9:45] They say, well, when Messiah comes, nobody knows where he comes from. Well, it doesn't actually say that. You see, God's word is always true. Always. But not every teacher stays true to it.

[9:57] Not every teacher of the word of God stays true to it. I don't think that, you know, if someone said, hey, when Messiah comes, we're so excited. We don't exactly know how he's going to come.

[10:08] Well, okay. That's one thing. It's another thing when a teaching leads us to unbelief. It's another thing when a teaching leads us into an error that then causes us to shut off God's word.

[10:18] In Ephesians chapter 4, the scripture says that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive.

[10:37] We looked at the scripture last week. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. It's so easy to be carried about, tossed about.

[10:48] That's what it is. If you find yourself being tossed about from one idea to the next, or I'm not really sure, I'm over here, but then there's this, hey, settle back into what? Man, just go to the simplicity of Jesus's words.

[10:59] They're true. They bring love. They bring growth. Things I want growth now. I want to know now. What is it? The Lord says, you know what? Why don't you spend time with me? Think of the apostles.

[11:10] Three years. The things they wanted to know. Lord, can I sit on your right hand and my brother sit on your left hand? Can we do that? What do you say?

[11:21] Let me explain how this is all going to work. No, he just said it's not. It's not for me to say. That's for my father. They would come to understand. But it would be years later. How do you know if someone is staying true to the word?

[11:34] When they let the word say what it truly means. Allow the word to speak for itself. That's when you know they're staying true to the word. If the word says one thing, and they're telling you it actually means something else, but you can't actually see that in the word, they may not be staying true to the word.

[11:51] And then cry Jesus in the temple as he taught. So he's teaching. And now he cries out, saying, you both know me. And you know from where I am. I'm not come of myself.

[12:04] But he that sent me is true. And here's the issue. You don't know him. See, you do know me. And you know where I'm from. I've not come of myself.

[12:18] He that sent me is true. But the problem is, if you don't know him, none of the rest of it's going to work for you. What do we see here? Jesus' words, they give clarity. Where unbelief brings confusion, bam, Jesus just cuts right through it.

[12:30] He said, here is the issue. You won't accept what is true. They were right. The people were right. They did not know where Messiah came from.

[12:41] But not because of some mystery. But because of their unbelief. They could have known, and they should have known, where Messiah came from. They should have known where Jesus came from. But it wasn't because it was like some secret or some mystery, or Jesus, poof, appeared over here.

[12:55] It was because of their unbelief, and they wouldn't accept the word. They thought they had Jesus all figured out, but all they had was unbelief. What did unbelief keep them from in this instance?

[13:07] It kept them from understanding the truth of who Jesus was, of where he was really from, of what he said, and then who sent him? Unbelief will do that.

[13:19] You know, in my own life, unbelief, even though I'm, Lord, I'm in the truth. I believed you. I've received you. I've eaten at the table. I've been born again.

[13:30] But I can allow unbelief in my life to where Jesus can be unrecognizable to me. Because I expect him to come in a certain way, and he doesn't. And all of a sudden, I'm like, well, Jesus, where are you coming from?

[13:42] What are you saying? And who's sending you? What's going on? Why are you doing this in my life? Why are you sending me there? Who's this person you're sending me to? Because I won't accept his words. But Jesus says, but I know him.

[13:56] Man, isn't it a blessing we can say that? You can say that. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things have become new. You can say, I know him, but I know him, for I am from him, and he has sent me.

[14:12] You see, Jesus never proclaimed the truth defensively. We looked at that last week. He never used the truth to confront for the sake of confronting. And we see here, he's not using the truth defensively. Oh, you don't understand?

[14:23] Well, let me explain why this is true. Let me show you all the reasons. Let me, no, he says, well, I know him, for I'm from him, and he sent me. Well, I don't, I don't agree with you.

[14:35] Okay. It's not me that says it. It's God's word. You know, if you don't agree with it, then, well, I think God's word says something else. Okay, that's between you and the Lord. You know, and if we want, we can look at why the scripture says what it says, but Jesus didn't feel he needed to explain how or why what he said was true.

[14:52] He simply proclaimed the fact of that truth. I think sometimes we, we kind of get pushed into a corner by the world, or maybe my own fears. Lord, I don't think I can explain this very well.

[15:03] And the Lord's like, nobody has. Nobody can. Nobody explained this to where they can contain the whole thing. I can't explain it. I can't explain you how, that as I grow in grace and the knowledge of him, that God changes my heart.

[15:18] I can't explain that, but I know it's true. It was on the part of the hearer to either accept or reject the truth. Jesus is proclaiming in this verse, three truths of the father that can only be known through faith, only be known through belief.

[15:35] The first is a relationship with the father, but I know him. Well, you're only going to obtain that through faith. That's a truth regarding the father that can only be known through belief. For I am from him, that is origin from the father, that's only known through faith.

[15:50] And lastly, purpose, our purpose in the father, and he has sent me. Those three things are only going to be known in faith. They're only going to be known as we believe and accept Jesus' words.

[16:01] A relationship with the father, origin with the father, purpose in the father. And what is their response? You know, Lord, you had a lot of interesting things to say.

[16:12] I think I'll go home and think about this. You know? Well, no, let's instead try to kill him. I can't understand, so I'll eliminate it from my life.

[16:23] Unbelief has no answer for itself and has no answer for the truth either. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come.

[16:34] And then, as we saw last week with his brothers, he said, then they said, go up to the feast. And he says, I'm not going up. My hour is not yet come. You see, they understood what Jesus said, but they rejected it.

[16:47] And in rejecting it, they then sought to destroy it. If I don't receive it, right? The parable of the sower, the seed that falls on the hard ground, what does that represent?

[16:57] A hard heart. A heart that won't receive. And what happens? The enemy comes and takes it away. So that's someone who's not born again. That's not, it doesn't say that. It just says, this is a condition of a heart.

[17:09] A heart when God's word hits it. Can you, can I tell you how many times God's word has hit this hard heart and that seed's been taken? The enemy's like, oh good, you're not going to do anything with that? Let's get that out of there before it finds a place to root.

[17:21] And then God eventually brings me to a point where it's like, Lord, thank you for doing this in my life. Why didn't you do it sooner? I couldn't find a crack. It was some hard ground. I had to turn it up and churn it up and churn up your life and plow upon it to bring you to a point where you would open your heart.

[17:40] They understood him. It wasn't that they didn't understand. It was that they rejected. And in rejecting, they then thought, sought to destroy his words. Remember in Acts chapter five, after Pentecost, and the apostles are excited and they're out preaching and they're taken by the Sanhedrin and they're put in prison and they're commanded, don't you speak in this name anymore.

[18:00] But then an angel comes and opens the door and says, go, go into the temple and preach in this name. It's like, oh, which do I do? Do I follow this judge or do I follow the miraculous angel who just opened the prison door and told me to go and preach?

[18:14] Oh, these are the hard decisions as a Christian. You go when you do it. And then they went to find him. They said, well, the prison's locked, but they're gone.

[18:24] And then they find him in the temple preaching and they bring them in and instead of being like, tell us how this happened. No, they say to them, we did command you. You should not teach in this name. We rejected this.

[18:36] And so now we're seeking to destroy this. Behold, you filled all Jerusalem with your doctrine and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Not that they didn't understand. You filled all Jerusalem with this doctrine.

[18:47] You're intending to bring his blood upon us. We understand exactly what you're doing, but we're rejecting it. So we want to destroy it. And many of the people believed on him though and said, when Christ comes, will he do more miracles than these?

[19:04] Which this man has done? Many of the people there, they believed on him. They saw the works and they responded. Think of when Nicodemus came. Remember in John chapter 3?

[19:16] He came to Jesus by night and he said, Teacher, Master, we know you are a teacher come from God. For no man can do these signs, these miracles that you do except you be, except God be with him.

[19:28] So they believed. They believed the words and the works that testified to Jesus, testified to his authenticity, testified to his authority. Many of them believed. And they said an interesting phrase, when Messiah comes, when the anointed comes, will he do more?

[19:47] Is there anything more than this? And I think for you and I, we can say, like Peter, no. Where else can we go? You see, there's nothing found beyond Jesus. There's nothing beyond him.

[19:58] You're never going to get to the point in your walk where you're like, Lord, I'm so glad I've grown to this point. Or I don't need the basics. I don't need to be in the word. I don't need to be in fellowship. Lord, I am just like a supercharged saint.

[20:11] And I will just go out into the world and make a mark. We're never going to get to that point, guys. There's nothing beyond Jesus. For all of eternity, there's going to be nothing beyond Jesus.

[20:23] For all of eternity, we will marvel that the only scars in heaven will be born by him. The Pharisees, they heard that the people murmured, discussed, contended about such things concerning Jesus.

[20:39] And the Pharisees and the chief priests, they sent officers to take him. You know, officer, we got one in the temple. They sent the officers to take him. Officer just means servant in this case. It'd be like the temple guard or the house guard.

[20:51] It's not the Romans. Unbelief seeks to contain the truth. Like, we got to contain this. This is getting out of hand. We cannot let Jesus become something more than us.

[21:06] In 2 Timothy, Paul will write this. At the end of his life, writing his last letter, he writes to his young son in the faith, Timothy, he says, remember, Timothy, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.

[21:23] Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds. They're trying to contain me, Timothy, but you know what I found in my bonds? The word of God is not bound.

[21:35] You know when most of Paul's letters are written? When they sought to contain him. We can't have him traveling as a missionary. God's like, finally got this guy sitting down.

[21:45] All right, I want you to write some stuff, Paul. It needs to be here for generation after generation, after decade, after century, after thousands, thousands of years, 2,000 years. We have Paul's writings with us because the word of God is not bound.

[22:00] I love how Paul says, remember, Jesus Christ at the end of his life is of the seed of who? Of David. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus came of the house of David.

[22:13] You know, we live in a world where that is one of those things that men don't always hold to the truth. They don't always hold to what the scripture says. And even within the church, we see where the church is turning to a place where they're not recognizing or acknowledging the nation of Israel as God acknowledges them.

[22:30] And then said Jesus unto them, yet a little while I am with you. The unto them, he's speaking now to these officers. He's speaking to the servants is who he's speaking to. If you look down again in verse 45 and 46 towards the end of the chapter, in chapter 7, it says, then came the officers, the servants, to the chief priests and Pharisees.

[22:49] And they said unto them, the Pharisees and chief priests said, why have you not brought him? We gave you one job. Why didn't you bring him? And the officers said, never a man spake like this man.

[23:02] We couldn't figure him out. So Jesus is now speaking to them. And he says to them with full authority, they've come to take him and he turns to them.

[23:12] He says, I'm with you a little while longer. Yet a little while am I with you. And then I go unto him that sent me. Not yet. You're not taking me yet. You shall seek me.

[23:23] You shall not find me. And then he says this, and where I am now, you can't come. Well, Jesus, you're right here in front of us. He's like, where I am now, you cannot come.

[23:37] Can you imagine the authority that Jesus spoke with? Can you imagine the love that he spoke with? Can you imagine the absolute assurance that Jesus spoke with? Those words that he spoke were the most sure words this planet's ever heard as he spoke to people.

[23:52] See, the truth confidently speaks reality despite unbelief's attempt to force its own reality on it. Despite unbelief's attempt to conform it to its own reality.

[24:03] Jesus conformed to our reality now. And Jesus says, no, this is reality. This is the truth. Were they able to do anything against the truth? Could they say anything against the truth?

[24:14] Could they stop Jesus? No, they couldn't. You see, when Jesus goes, where Jesus goes, and to whom Jesus goes will not be determined by men.

[24:26] We will not determine that. We get the privilege and the joy to walk with Jesus. We can follow Jesus, but we're not going to lead Jesus. We're not going to tell Jesus where to go and when to go and who to go with.

[24:40] And I do that, and a lot of times it's very well-meaning. Lord, you need to go to this person. You need to tell them what's what. And you need to, let me tell you how to fix the whole situation, Lord, with my natural perception.

[24:51] The Lord's like, oh, thank you for that. The Holy Spirit, praise God, it says, interprets our groanings and prayers with, our prayers with groanings that cannot be uttered. They saw Jesus, they found Jesus.

[25:06] But what they did with Jesus would determine if they could be with Jesus. Here are people who came to find Jesus. They found him. They were there. But what they would do with Jesus, how they would respond to Jesus, would determine if they could be with him.

[25:21] He says, you can't be with me now. But you could. You could. You see, to be with Jesus in the future, you and I, we must first choose to be with him in the present.

[25:34] It's just the truth we tell the world. Do you want to be with Jesus in the future? Oh, when I die, I'm going to heaven. Yes, I'm going to go. How do you know? I just hope. Well, you see, I know him.

[25:44] You know God. Yeah, because I'm from him and of him and born of him and sent by him. I don't believe that. That doesn't matter. You cannot be with him then, unless you're with him now.

[25:58] In fact, I can tell you, you're not going to want to be with him. You're not going to want to be with him then if you're not with him now. These servants of the high priest, they sought to take Jesus to their high priest.

[26:10] But what did Jesus declare? And he said, you shall not find me and where I am, you cannot come. They sought to take Jesus to their high priest and Jesus declared they needed instead to come to a different high priest.

[26:26] I am. You need to come to the I am. Seeing then we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

[26:38] We can be with him in the future because we have chosen to be with him now and he has gone ahead and secured that place for us. These servants said, you need to come to our high priest and Jesus said, no, you need to come to the high priest.

[26:52] You need to come to the I am. And then said the Jews among themselves, well, where will he go that we're not going to find him? And then they kind of just, in a very disparaging way, in a mocking kind of way.

[27:09] Will he go into the dispersed among the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles? Imagine God sending truth to the Gentiles. Imagine God sending someone to the Gentiles.

[27:21] Unbelief willfully misunderstands God's word. It willfully chooses to misunderstand what God says. But faith is not surprised at God's word.

[27:33] And faith is also not surprised at God's goodness and God's grace because what did he do? He went to the Gentiles. Here we are, Gentiles. Isaiah 49, 6, and he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel.

[27:53] I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles that you may be my salvation unto the ends of the earth. Where's he going to go? Is he going to go to the Gentiles? Yes.

[28:05] Yes. Do you believe that scripture? Do you believe it as it's written? Then you need to believe the first part too. He will raise up the tribes of Jacob. There is a day where God will again raise up the preserved of Israel.

[28:20] When Israel says, the nation says, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And the remnant of Israel at that time turns in faith to Messiah. Jesus will again do that. But faith is not surprised.

[28:32] It's not surprised at God's long suffering, at his grace, at his goodness. Unbelief just willfully misunderstands. Well, we don't know what that really means. I'm sure it doesn't mean this. Because Jesus, if I accept that you are that gracious, you don't expect me to be that gracious.

[28:49] And I don't want to be that gracious. I don't want to let go of my prejudices. I don't want to let go of my unbelief. Lord, if you could just give me some assurance that I'm going to be with you someday, and just leave me alone right now.

[29:03] He says, well, no, if you want to be with me where I will be, you first must be with me where I am. What manner of saying is this that he said?

[29:14] You shall seek me and not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. What is he saying to us? You know, I love the way it's phrased there. What manner of saying or what saying is this? Well, we know what manner of saying it is because Jesus told them if only they would receive it.

[29:29] It is the spirit that quickens. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. And Simon Peter answered him and said, Lord, to whom shall we go?

[29:41] You have the words of eternal life. What manner of saying is this? It's a spiritual saying. It's a life-giving saying. It's the words of truth. You're not going to receive it in the flesh.

[29:51] You're not going to receive it according to your natural perception. What manner of saying is this? You see, they had rejected his will. In John 6, 29, this is the work of God that you believe on him who is sent.

[30:04] They rejected his will and when they rejected his will they could then no longer understand his word. If we reject Jesus' will we're not going to understand his word. We saw that last week in our verse in John 7, 17.

[30:18] If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. He shall have understanding. But first comes the will. First comes faith.

[30:28] Then comes the choice to obey and to follow. Then comes the understanding. Whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. So if they had done his will, if they said I will believe, I will choose to believe this work of God is to believe, then guess what?

[30:43] They would have known and would have accepted that he doesn't speak of himself, he's speaking truth. And in that last day now, and this is where it shifts, John shifts the narrative now.

[30:54] The Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23, it says, And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel saying, The fifteenth day of the seventh month, which this year, that's September 25th to October 2nd, so it's the Feast of Harvest, shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.

[31:16] On the first day, shall be a holy convocation. Shall be like a Sabbath, a special Sabbath. You shall do no work therein. And then it says this about the last day. Seven days shall you offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

[31:30] And on the eighth day, the last and great day of the feast, on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you, and you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

[31:41] It is a solemn assembly, and you shall do no servile work therein. So at this point, during the second temple period, after the Jews had come back into the land from the Babylonian captivity, had built the temple, Herod then, Herod the great, then adds on to the temple, and it's this massive temple complex.

[32:02] And they added rituals and things to the feasts. At this time, in the second temple period, during the seven days of this festival, the priests, they would go down and they would draw water from the pool of Siloam, and they would do it in a golden pitcher.

[32:15] They would come up and they would pour it on the altar every day for those seven days. they would take wine and also pour it. There was two bowls with spouts that went down to the base of the altar, one for wine and one for water.

[32:33] The wine and water would be simultaneously poured into two silver bowls, and each bowl then would send its spout down to meet together under the altar, mingling the water and the wine together at the base of the altar.

[32:47] And on the eighth and final day, the priests returned with an empty pitcher. It was a symbolism. It was to show that while they were in the wilderness, God provided for them. Every day God provided for them.

[32:58] But now they've come to the promised land, eight, seven, completion, eight meaning new, brand new, and they acknowledged that the old ways of miraculous wilderness survival had passed.

[33:11] It was marking a shift toward trusting God for a new permanent sustenance. No longer were they wandering in the wilderness. They were now trusting God for something new and something permanent.

[33:23] And in this last day, Jesus stands and cries. This last solemn moment as the priest brings the empty one and symbolically nothing comes out and everybody's quiet.

[33:35] Jesus' voice is heard the loudest. And in the last days, Jesus' voice is the loudest. Because we're told in Hebrews that in these last days, God who has spoken to us in the past by fathers and prophets has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world.

[33:57] And in the last days, Jesus' voice is the one that's heard the loudest. The wilderness wandering was ended. A new era of promise was beginning. That's what this ceremony was to show.

[34:09] Jesus now is offering something to the people. He stands. A teacher didn't stand. He would sit. And Jesus stands and cries. He's not just offering life, but he's offering the promise of life overflowing.

[34:22] Jesus stands and cries. Can you imagine, you know, someone all of a sudden standing up in the middle of the church? If any man thirsts, let him know. What's going on here? It's a little awkward. It's a little uncomfortable. What's going on?

[34:33] What's happening? You know, this guy's saying things that, man, it's going right to my heart. And he's not just offering life. Not just come and take a little sip, but he's offering the promise of life overflowing.

[34:47] If any man thirsts, let him come and let him drink. You see, we all desire something. God has put within every single one of us the desire to believe in something.

[34:58] We all want to believe in something. How many ad campaigns, movies, how many whatever out there the world presents to us is based on what?

[35:09] Believe. To believe in something. Believe in this. You can believe this will work. Believe in it. We all desire to believe in something. We all want something to believe in because God wired us that way.

[35:20] However, no other object of belief will ever fulfill our need, will ever satisfy that need, that thirst, except Jesus. He's the only one that we can believe in.

[35:32] We'll satisfy that. Remember in John chapter 4, the woman at the well, Jesus answers and says unto her, whosoever drinks of this water, this well shall thirst again, but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, well, he's never going to thirst.

[35:51] But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up, gushing forth, continually unto everlasting life. Isaiah 51, verse 1 says, ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters.

[36:05] He that has no money, come, you buy and eat, come, buy wine and milk without money, without price. And Jesus is offering now. He's standing and he says the old way is past, a new promise is here.

[36:19] He that believes on me, verse 38, as the scripture has said, out his belly shall flow forth, shall gush forth torrents of living water.

[36:31] He that thirsts for life, Jesus is saying there's a source for life. I have a source. Revelation 21, 6, Jesus again will reiterate this as he's giving the vision of the book of Revelation to John.

[36:51] And he's saying it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. From start to last, I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

[37:03] those who believe, we partake of a life of promise. And it takes us into a whole new experience of life, doesn't it? When you and I believe, we believe in something where we partake now of a life of promise.

[37:17] The old way has passed and we experience something new. But I love here where Jesus says, as the scripture has said. And isn't that all of our experiences with Jesus? All of our experiences with Jesus are as the scripture says.

[37:29] You're never going to have an experience with Jesus that's not as the scripture says. You know, I know this isn't anywhere in the Bible, but the Lord came to me and this is what happened. He spoke to me like this. He told me this.

[37:41] It's all going to be as the scripture says. All of my experiences with Jesus are as the scripture says. You see, the idea here is not a one-time satisfaction of thirst or a continual need to drink.

[37:54] Well, wonderful. I can go to the cup and keep getting a drink over and over. I'm thirsting again. I'm going to go back to the cup and I'm going to get a drink. The idea is to receive an internal source of satisfaction, to never have thirst again, a torrent of life.

[38:12] Those who are then filled are given the privilege to become a source that can fulfill. Out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.

[38:24] You can't contain it, is the idea. It's not just for me. It's just flowing out of me and other people are like, oh, can I get a drink? Yes, let me tell you about this source. We're to be filled and then so God can use us then to be a source to fulfill.

[38:39] But this spake he, John gives us now parenthetically, he's going to tell us now, hey, I want you to understand what this is. We didn't get this at this time, but now we understand. And I'm telling you as I write this book, I want you to understand this spake he of the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.

[38:56] For the Holy Spirit was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. And in your Bible, you may see that given is in quotations or brackets or is italicized.

[39:07] It's added to give us a better understanding. But the word isn't there in the original. The idea is not that the person will be given, but it's a season, the time of the Holy Spirit.

[39:18] This spake he of the spirit, which they that should believe on him should receive. For the season of the spirit was not yet. The time of the Holy Spirit was not yet. Does that mean he wasn't there?

[39:30] No, we know he is. In John 13, Jesus is going to tell the disciples, hey, he is with you. He will be with you. I mean, he will be in you. He's currently with you and he will be in you.

[39:41] And then he's going to come and be your your guide. He will come upon you. The Bible is so faithful. It will always explain itself.

[39:51] The Bible will always give us definition about what it means. You see, we are never to seek a definition for a biblical term outside the Bible. Never go outside the Bible looking for a definition to a biblical term.

[40:02] And I don't know what he means by born again. I'm going to go read some things over here. You know, oh, that's what it means. It means to come into a greater awareness of myself and grow in maturity as a person and contribute to the world.

[40:14] That's not what it means at all. Being born again of the spirit. The Bible is faithful to explain itself. It just did here for us in verse 37. It says that if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

[40:26] What does that mean, Jesus? He explains it in verse 38. He says, but he that believes on me. Oh, so to drink is to believe.

[40:36] Okay, that explains that. What are rivers of living water? Out of his innermost being will flow forth rivers of living water. What is that? Well, we're given the definition here. It's the season of the Holy Spirit.

[40:48] When does that take place when Jesus is glorified? When was Jesus glorified? The scripture gives us that too. In John 17, Jesus in his high priestly prayer is praying and he's talking about, Father, I have glorified you on the earth.

[41:06] And then he gets down to verses four and five and he says this, I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, oh, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was.

[41:23] See, Jesus says, I have glorified you. I have finished the work. Jesus, excuse me, Jesus' entire life was glorifying to the Father. But how is Jesus specifically glorified by the Father?

[41:37] Jesus was glorified by the Father in his resurrection and his ascension. God glorified Jesus essentially saying, well done, son. He rose from the dead.

[41:47] Death couldn't hold him. But that wasn't enough. If Jesus was just rose from the dead to die again, no, he rose to die no more. And he was accepted into heaven, the heavenly sacrifice.

[42:00] After Jesus is glorified in his resurrection, the Holy Spirit is given by Jesus to the disciples for them to be indwelt by the Spirit. In Job chapter 20, verse 22, Jesus is in the upper room with them post-resurrection.

[42:16] And he says to them, and he said this, he breathed on them and said, receive you the Holy Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit at that point because Jesus had been glorified by his resurrection.

[42:28] Jesus will be glorified in his ascension. He'll tell the disciples, it's needful for me. It's better. It's better for you. It's needful that I go away because if I don't, then the season of the Holy Spirit operating in your life in this specific way won't come.

[42:42] So post-resurrection, they receive the Spirit to be indwelt. But after he is glorified by his ascension, the Holy Spirit is given to the indwelt disciples for immersion.

[42:56] God desires us to be immersed in his presence and being assembled together with them. Jesus commanded them they should not depart from Jerusalem. Don't go anywhere yet, guys.

[43:08] But wait for the promise of the father, which he says, you've heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but you should be baptized, you should be immersed with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

[43:21] If we continue on reading there, it says, and when they therefore were come together, they asked him saying, Lord, will you at this time restore again to the kingdom of Israel to Israel? And he said, no, don't you know, guys, that Israel's no more, that the church has replaced Israel.

[43:35] Don't you know that I don't have a plan for them anymore? They knew what the scripture said. They knew that restoration would come to the kingdom of Israel. And he said unto them, it's not for you to know the times and the seasons which the father has put in his own power.

[43:50] Guys, for you, it is the season of the spirit. There will be a day of the season of the kingdom, and that is in the father's hand and his timing. But you shall receive power, ability, after the Holy Spirit's come upon you.

[44:01] He's saying this to men who have received the spirit, who have been born again. He says, there's something more you need, guys. You shall be witnesses unto me in both Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, the uttermost parts of the world.

[44:15] The season of the spirit. And John tells us here in verse 39, he uses a word here. He says that they which believe on him should receive. The word should means in the Greek to intend something and to be about something.

[44:29] For those who believe, it is intended for them to have the spirit. For those that believe, they should be about this something. They should be about the spirit. The verb tense here is once it happens, it will continue to happen.

[44:45] They would continue to receive. It's not just one time I take a drink, but it's to be continually receiving. Ephesians 5.18, where Paul writes and says, do not be drunk with wine where it's in excess, but contrasting that, be filled with the spirit.

[45:01] Spirit, right? Which spirit are you going to be motivated by? Which one takes over your life? And the phrasing there, the verb tense is in the imperative. It's a command. It's not an option.

[45:12] But command you, commanded to be filled with the spirit. You see, faith does not allow us to receive only forgiveness. It's not the only thing it does for us, but it commands us to live lives that are filled, fulfilled, and fulfilling.

[45:28] Every faith-filled believer, everyone who has drank, is intended and commanded then to be a spirit-filled believer.

[45:39] Are you a faith-filled believer? You've drank from that cup? Man, then it is in the imperative. Be filled. You are commanded to be a spirit-filled believer, to be an overflower. God desires you to live a life of overflow.

[45:54] Believers are not only intended to have life on the inside, but we're to have it overflowing on the outside. John chapter 1, verse 33, remember John the Baptist said, I didn't know who he was, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom you shall see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which immerses, which baptizes, baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

[46:20] We're intended not just to have life on the inside, guys, but it should overflow to the outside. We are immersed from the inside out when we receive into our lives not just a new life, but a new Lord.

[46:36] Right? It's not just I have new life, I have a new Lord. Immersion takes place when the cup overflows, is the idea. See, I don't have a source in myself, but God promises that he will give me a source of life-giving water that will well up, spring up unto everlasting life, torrents of living water.

[46:55] Why? Because if I put the cup under the faucet and I leave it there, it's going to fill it and it's going to overflow it and it's just going to continue to do that. Immersion takes place when the cup overflows.

[47:07] It's not something strange, it's not something weird. What does it mean being baptized by the Holy Spirit? It means that our life is overflowing with the life and love that God has for us. It means that I have not just accepted that, you know what?

[47:19] I'll be with him someday. Someday. I want you to be with me now. And Jesus lived an overflowing life. God desires for us to live a life overflowing with satisfaction.

[47:32] The entirety of the New Testament, the entirety of the epistles are written from and written for spiritually overflowing believers. The whole thing is written for those that were expected to live this life.

[47:46] Men of overflow, they wrote to a people of overflow. And unfortunately, I think today for myself, for many of us, much of the New Testament can feel like a closed door.

[47:59] We're spiritually alive, but I'm spiritually dry. And so much of the New Testament, I read it and I think, how? How? It seems like that door is closed to be bold, to speak truth, to have that type of forgiveness, that type of love, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

[48:18] I got so many other things I need to seek. I'm spiritually alive, but I'm spiritually dry. You see, just as the promised land was the culmination of the old and the beginning of something new for Israel.

[48:32] So Jesus is the end of the dry and empty. And he's the beginning of the full, the fulfilled, and then the fulfilling. What do we do?

[48:44] What do we do? We drink of the cup. That's what we're going to do today. We're going to drink of that cup of communion. We drink of that cup, as it says in Psalm 116, verses 12 and 13.

[48:56] What shall I render unto the Lord? For all his benefits toward me, what can I give back to him? Oh, Jesus says to us what? Well, this is the work of God. Believe.

[49:07] That's what I really want you to do. That's what pleases me. That's what pleases the Father. I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. We can drink from the cup. We can draw from the well.

[49:20] Isaiah 12, 2-3. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.

[49:31] Therefore, with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. We drink from the cup. We draw from the well. And we live in the place of the overflow.

[49:44] We live in the place where the wine and the water mingled together at the altar. When they came to Jesus and they saw that he was already dead, hanging there on the cross, they didn't break his legs.

[49:55] But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and there came out blood and water that mingled at the base of the altar. As Jesus says, I have something new, a new promise. The well had been opened, the cup has been offered, and life has been given to us.

[50:12] And the question this morning then is, will we drink deeply of that life-giving water? Will we live in the overflow? Will we live dry lives?

[50:24] You know, someday, someday, Paul writes and says, be filled now. Be filled now. Do not let unbelief keep you from living in the overflow.

[50:38] 1 Corinthians 2, 9 and 10. Verse 9 is just one of the most wonderful scriptures to quote. It's quoted all the time as such wonderful application in general truth and principles. But look at what it's attached to.

[50:51] But as it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Is that so true or what? God has prepared such good things for those that love him.

[51:03] But what is that linked to? But God has revealed them unto us by his spirit. For the spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

[51:15] Unbelief would keep us from living overflowing lives. Unbelief would keep us from living in that. But God doesn't want us to be some mystery.

[51:26] I don't know about this. No. He wants to reveal them unto us. What has God prepared for you? Do you know he loves you? Do you know he's prepared something for you? I'm not sure. You can know. He revealed them unto you by his spirit.

[51:39] That means you need to be in the spirit. It means you need the spirit in your life and overflowing your life. Hebrews 4 verse 1 says, Let us therefore fear. Lest the promise being left us of entering into his rest.

[51:54] Of entering into promise. Any of you should come short of it through unbelief. You know, throughout scripture, throughout the New Testament. The overflowing life of the spirit.

[52:08] There's a connection point that happens. It seems very often. It's when people are prayed for and hands are laid on them. That God pours out his spirit on them. You know, I was thinking of Naaman.

[52:18] Remember Naaman the Syrian? He was the commander of the armies of Syria. And he had leprosy. And he goes to Elisha to be healed. And Elisha says, Well, go and wash. Well, actually he doesn't. He sends his servant to him.

[52:29] And he doesn't like that. Go wash seven times in the Jordan. He gets so angry. And he says, If you had given me something. And, you know, I could have gone to the wells of Damascus. These beautiful waters. You sent me this muddy little Jordan.

[52:40] And as he's leaving in anger and frustration. He says, That would be awkward. That would be uncomfortable. To go and be seen doing that in the Jordan. And his servants.

[52:54] His unnamed servants. They say, Master, if he had given you something hard. Wouldn't you have done it? If he says, Go climb this mountain and kill the dragon of wherever. Why wouldn't you do this easy thing and receive it?

[53:05] And what a wise man Naaman was. He said, Yeah, you know, you're right. And he went. He washed in the Jordan seven times. And he was healed. Jesus is the end of dry and empty.

[53:23] And the beginning of full. Fulfilled and fulfilling. And what should we do? What should we intend to do? What should we be about? We should come and continue to receive. Maybe you're like, I'm living in the overflow.

[53:35] Great. Continue to receive. Maybe it's been dry. Maybe you feel like, Man, it seems like the door has been closed. There's so many things that I wish it was open to about this life.

[53:47] And I don't know how these other people are walking in it. Man, come. And live an overflowing life. Let God fill you. Let him overflow you. Jesus is the end of the dry and empty.

[54:00] The beginning of the full. Fulfilled. And fulfilling. Father, thank you so much for the overflowing life. Lord, you want us to live in the overflow. You've not just given us life.

[54:13] But life more abundantly. And Lord, I know I need it. I need to live in it. I know so many times I'm dry. When the source is there. I know so many times I'm unable.

[54:27] When you've given the ability. And Father, it is through the promise that you have poured out upon us. Jesus' request. To the life of the Spirit. Now may the Lord bless you.

[54:40] And keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. And be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you. And give you peace.

[54:52]  The overflowing, overwhelming peace. Of being immersed in his Spirit. God bless.