Whitehall Baptist Church
November 1st | John : Jesus is God | John 7:32-39

      • Hebrews 10:24–25KJV1900

      • Romans 15:13KJV1900

      • 1 John 3:1KJV1900

  • And Can It Be?

      • Philippians 3:9KJV1900

  • All My Boast Is In Jesus
  • Magnificent Marvelous Matchless Love

      • Psalm 89:1KJV1900

  • Goodness Of God

  • JOHN 7:32-39 | WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

    ILLUSTRATION: I’ve only ever been in one accident involving another vehicle
    God has spared me!
    I was a sophomore in high school and we had just gotten out of class and I got in my car to drive home.
    I had driven down the little street next to the school and there was a spot where you had to pull onto the next street.
    There wasn’t a stop sign, it was just a yield sign, and so I slowed and looked up the adjoining road, and I saw a car coming
    Now in that split second you have to make a decision, do you try to go and beat the other car or wait.
    And in that moment I made my decision… I waited.
    The problem was, the girl behind me was in her car and she thought she could be the other car and decided to pull out.
    Following a crunch and a jolt, my car shut off and I got out of my car to see what had happened.
    The girl was in my class at school and she was freaked out because her bumper was laying on the ground in front of her vehicle.
    Somehow, my 1998 Ford Taurus was basically untouched other than a little paint chip on my rear bumper.
    You know, that yield sign was important… it tells you that you have to wait.
    The girl behind me was thinking, “what are you waiting for?”
    EXPLANATION: We are in the midst of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles here in Jerusalem.
    Tens and maybe hundreds of thousands of people have made there way into the city, and now Jesus has begun to teach.
    And amidst his teaching, there were many who rejected it, but there were some who were receiving it.
    The last time we were here we saw that John 7:31
    John 7:31 KJV 1900
    And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?
    People were beginning to listen to and respond to the message Jesus was giving.
    They were trusting in the fact that Jesus was Who He said He was.
    It’s an awesome thing when people respond to Jesus.
    When people get their lives right before God
    When people turn from their wicked ways
    When people surrender themselves to God
    When people accept Jesus as their Savior!
    But you can mark it down, anytime God is working, the devil is sure to come fighting.
    APPLICATION: Just a quick side note, if you are truly following Christ, there should be some resistance in your life.
    If you never face any resistance, it’s likely you aren’t actually doing anything for the Lord.
    2 Timothy 3:12 KJV 1900
    Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
    Philippians 1:29 KJV 1900
    For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
    Friend, resistance is part of the Christian life.
    There should be times that serving Jesus feels uncomfortable
    There should be times that serving Jesus is inconvenient
    There should be times the serving Jesus is awkward
    If you are looking for a Christian life that doesn’t have those things, you are aren’t looking to live for Jesus, you’re just looking to live comfortable.
    But Jesus said in Matthew 16:24
    Matthew 16:24 KJV 1900
    Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
    One of the greatest dangers and greatest failures of most churches in America is that they are full of people that are more concerned with being comfortable than they are with truly being a Christian!
    Don’t cheapen the Gospel and the sacrifice of Jesus by believing that a life for Jesus will cost you nothing!
    EXPLANATION: In the midst of the people that were beginning to come to Christ, the opposition shows up.
    John tells us that the officers, or the temple guards, were being sent by the Pharisees and the Chief Priests, also known as the Sadducees.
    Now what’s interesting is these two groups were usually in opposition to each other.
    In fact, normally they took totally different positions in many religious matters.
    The Pharisees held to the oral tradition of the law, while the Sadducees only accepted the written Torah
    The Pharisees resisted Roman involvement and help, while the Sadducees were politically cooperative with Rome
    The Pharisees believed in resurrections, angels, and spirits, and the Sadducees rejected all three.
    These guys were normally enemies of each other…
    But here in John 7, they found that they had a common enemy.
    Someone who was disrupting their religious way of life and belief systems.
    That someone was Jesus, and now they were looking to put an end to Him.
    They were the ones about whom that John 7:1 said
    John 7:1 KJV 1900
    After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
    And now they have sent the temple guard to go and get Jesus.
    When they reach Him, an interesting conversation unfolds.
    And from what takes place we can learn some powerful lessons from today.
    APPLICATION: You see, there are some here today, that you are just waiting.
    You are waiting to serve God
    You are waiting to surrender to God
    You are waiting to trust in Jesus as your Savior
    And I ask you this morning, what are you waiting for?
    If I could just bump your car a little bit this morning and get you to consider some of the lessons we are going to learn from today.
    My prayer is that some here today will choose to stop just waiting.

    V.33-34, THERE WAS A LIMITED TIME

    John 7:33–34 KJV 1900
    Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
    EXPLANATION: The people who were listening couldn’t fathom what Jesus was telling them.
    They were being given an incredible gift:
    The opportunity to listen to words from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    And here Jesus gives them a warning, He wouldn’t always be there to give them this message.
    There was coming a time when He would be gone and they would not longer have the opportunity to hear what He was telling them.
    Their time with Jesus and their opportunity to respond was limited.
    ILLUSTRATION: Last weekend, Tressa and I had the blessing to go over to Newington, CT for a church conference.
    On our final evening there, we made our way to Old Wethersfield, CT.
    It was a very old town with houses and building build in the early 1800’s for many of them
    One of the main focal points is a large brick church in the town.
    The building was build in 1761, and it was a beautiful structure.
    We read of how some of our founding fathers actually attended church there at one point or another.
    John Adams visited in 1774
    George Washington worshipped at the church on May 20, 1781 while passing through
    And one of the great preachers of yesteryear, Jonathan Edwards studied and went to church there from 1716-1718.
    Behind the church there was a cemetery.
    We made our way through the cemetery and looked at many of the gravestones.
    Some were worn to where you couldn’t even read the writing anymore.
    But on the ones that you could, they always had similar things:
    A name
    There was a birth date
    There was always a death date
    The oldest in the graveyard was one for Leonard Chester who died December 11, 1648
    And in between the dates was a little dash
    And while it didn’t say it on the gravestone, that little dash was the most important part
    Because within that dash was a life that was lived.
    And for everyone one of them, there was an end.
    APPLICATION: Friend, did you know there is an end to your dash?
    Everyone in here could tell me when your dash began… the day you were born.
    And every person in here is somewhere along the dash of your life.
    You don’t have any idea how long your dash will be
    But you can be sure of one thing, one day your dash will have an end.
    Hebrews 9:27 KJV 1900
    And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
    Psalm 90:12 KJV 1900
    So teach us to number our days, That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
    Friend, the time in your dash is limited!
    What are you doing with the time you have left?

    V.35-36, THERE WAS A MISUSE OF TIME

    John 7:35–36 KJV 1900
    Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
    EXPLANATION: Jesus had just told them the time they had with Him was limited, and they totally missed what He was saying.
    They start asking, “where does He think He can go that we wont find him”
    If He goes somewhere else, we could just find Him again…
    Here Jesus was standing right before them, and they were missing Him!
    They were convinced that they would always have time to find Jesus.
    ILLUSTRATION: In Acts 26, Paul was brought before a king named Agrippa.
    And throughout the chapter, Paul preaches a masterclass of a message to the king.
    As he reaches the conclusion of his message, Paul makes a final plea to the king Agrippa
    Acts 26:27–28 KJV 1900
    King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
    “You nearly have me convinced to trust in Jesus.”
    We never hear of king Agrippa again.
    As far as we know, that was the last time he was ever given the opportunity to trust in Jesus.
    But king Agrippa had made an dangerous mistake… I guess it could be said, “I’m almost convinced… maybe another time.”
    APPLICATION: Friend, don’t misuse the time you’ve been given by God.
    Can I tell you, if you don’t know Christ as your Savior, don’t put it off!
    Maybe you’ve sat in services here at WBC and you’ve thought, “Almost… maybe next time”
    Do you understand how much mercy and grace God has shown to you to allow you to hear the Gospel again?
    What pride we must have to think we deserve to hear it another time.
    ILLUSTRATION: Friend, if I was standing before you today with a brief case with a million dollars in it and I told you that you could have it, no strings attached, you just had to believe me and accept it.
    If you said… “You almost got me to take it… maybe next time.”
    We’d all saying, “You’re crazy!”
    APPLICATION: Friend, Jesus stands before you with a gift far greater than a million dollars, and you say, maybe next time?!?
    You are misusing the time that God has given you in believing that there will be a next time!
    Friend, you are a sinner, Jesus died for your sins, and He offers you eternal life instead of eternal death by accepting the gift He offers
    And you say, “Almost you persuaded me”
    Friend stop waiting!
    Maybe you are a Christian, you have accepted Christ, but I wonder, what are you doing with your dash?
    There are a lot of people who are going to get to heaven today because they accepted Christ as their Savior, but they are going to arrive having done nothing for Jesus.
    James 4:14 KJV 1900
    Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
    We get so busy doing all the things we’ve deemed important that we’ve missed what is of greatest importance…
    Doing things that will actually last into eternity.
    Matthew 6:19–21 KJV 1900
    Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
    Friend, what did you do for Jesus this past week?
    What did you do for him this past month?
    What are you going to do for Jesus this next week?
    The truth is, there are many Christians who have Christ as their Savior, but they are only “Almost persuaded” to live and serve Him!

    V.37-39, THERE WAS AN URGENCY OF TIME

    John 7:37–39 KJV 1900
    In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
    ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever been really thirsty?
    This past summer at our family camp, some of us took a little hike.
    There were a few of us that actually went all the way to the top.
    Because I hadn’t planned to walk the full way I had brought 3 water bottles, for the entire family.
    All of the water was gone by the time we reached the top.
    When we got all the way back to the bottom, there as one primary thought on most of our minds: we were thirsty.
    You know, when you are really thirsty, it isn’t something that you make plans to address in a day or two.
    It’s something that we are making plans to address right away!
    I need water now!
    It’s urgent!
    EXPLANATION: Jesus tells these temple guards standing before Him, “if anyone is thirst, let him come to me and drink.”
    Jesus paints a beautiful picture for these people in v.38, as he takes them back to the time in the wilderness, exactly what this week reminded them of.
    And He says, just like those people in the wilderness were so thirsty, and God gave them water from the rock, Jesus will fill you… but it’s from the inside out!
    And John gives a clarifying point… He says, “Jesus was talking about people being filled with the Holy Spirit!
    I love this, Jesus is saying, don’t wait… come and get a drink today!
    APPLICATION: Friend, have you been putting off coming to Jesus?
    Have you put off living for Jesus?
    Have you been saying, “Maybe another time.”
    Don’t misuse the time God has given to you!
    Sense the urgency, and decide to start living for Him today!

    CONCLUSION

    ILLUSTRATION: It was in the late 1800’s that Charles would come to faith in Christ at the age of 16.
    He was an incredible athlete and if it weren’t for the sport that he played, the world would recognize him to this day.
    Charles was one of the world’s greatest cricketeers.
    Not only that, but he came from a family of wealth.
    He had the opportunity for a luxurious life with all the fame that came with being a world renowned cricketeer.
    But rather than follow the path of ease, he gave his life to God.
    Most of his fortune, he gave away, and he gave his life on the mission field until he died in China at the age of 70.
    Charles, better known as CT Studd, had made the decision to serve God, rather than the world.
    CT Studd’s life and ambition could be summed up in a poem he had penned. 
    Throughout the poem there is one little phrase that is repeated over and over again, that was truly the theme of his life:
    “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
    APPLICATION: Friend, are you sitting at the sign just waiting this morning?
    Your time is limited… don’t misuse or waste the life God has given you.
    If you don’t know Christ as Savior, why don’t you receive Him today.
    And when you do the Holy Spirit of God comes and lives inside of you.
    And for the rest of your dash, you can choose to allow Him to flow out of your life!
    Tell someone about Jesus this week
    Invite someone to church this week
    Dive deeper into know God and being faithful to Him this week!
    Because friend, ““Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
    So let’s get busy living this life for Jesus!

      • John 7:32–39KJV1900

      • John 7:31KJV1900

      • 2 Timothy 3:12KJV1900

      • Philippians 1:29KJV1900

      • Matthew 16:24KJV1900

      • John 7:1KJV1900

      • John 7:33–34KJV1900

      • Hebrews 9:27KJV1900

      • Psalm 90:12KJV1900

      • John 7:35–36KJV1900

      • Acts 26:27–28KJV1900

      • James 4:14KJV1900

      • Matthew 6:19–21KJV1900

      • John 7:37–39KJV1900

Whitehall Baptist Church
whitehallbcmt@gmail.com
406.285.1003
http://wbcmt.org
6 members