John 7:25-36

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
 
2) Scripture Reading: John 7: 25-36

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom ^they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, ^speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that ^the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But ^we know ^where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, ^no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, ^ “You know me, and you know where I come from? But ^I have not come of my own accord. ^He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.  I know him, for I come ^from him, and ^he sent me.” 30 ^So they were seeking to arrest him, but ^no one laid a hand on him, ^because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet ^many of the people believed in him. They said, ^ “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

3) Devotional:
I am a child of the 90’s.  What does that mean?  It means I watched t.v. from the 90’s, listened to music from the 90’s, and watched movies from the 90’s.  One of my favorite movies from that time period was a movie called Clueless, starring the adolescent love of my life, Alicia Silverstone.  The film is actually a clever retelling of Jane Austin’s novel Emma, but with some modern twists.  One such twist, is the language.  There was an entirely new language that you had to learn to understand what the characters were saying.   One such word was Monet, as in “That girl is such a Monet.”  Meaning?  Like in the paintings of Monet, she would look good from far away, but a mess up close.  This is what is happening to Jesus.  From far away the people are looking at Jesus and thinking that he is their political liberator, but up close He reveals the true mess that they are in.  He shows them that they are in need of spiritual awakening, salvation and forgiveness.  Jesus’ message and mission is often misunderstood.  From a certain distance it looks good, but when we allow His message and mission to intersect with our lives it is certain upheaval.  Yet, when the message of Jesus begins to take root in our lives and bring life change, the mess it brings is temporary, but the healing and restoration that comes will be eternal.

 4) Questions to Consider:
How has following Jesus messed you up recently?  If not, why is that?

5) Prayer:
Father, let our faith be something that continually causes us to evaluate our priorities, our life and our passions.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

John 7:14-24

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
 
2) Scripture Reading: John 7:14-24
14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”
16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

3) Devotional:
Each one of us has the responsibility of having Godly knowledge. This knowledge must line up with the teachings in the Bible. The local church provides learning opportunities which most people do not take advantage of, which is very unfortunate. However, the Holy Spirit of God is our primary teacher, just as He was for Jesus,  and we do not need to have others teach us. Did you see verse 15? The Jews were amazed because Jesus was so learned without being taught. The implication here is that Jesus did not have an earthly rabbi teaching Him. But He did have the Holy Spirit of God present in His life, and that is all He needed. If we are to reflect Jesus to others, people should say the same thing about us, “How did she/he become so learned without having been taught?”.

We must personally take on the primary responsibility of becoming learned in the things of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” We are charged with the task of being able to handle the Word of Truth. If you are counting on the Pastors, Elders or Teachers in the local church to be your primary source of Biblical Knowledge, you are making a big mistake. They are to supplement the teaching of the Holy Spirit that you receive in your own private time of study, meditation, memorization and prayer. As Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:3 recommends that this time be daily, even day and night.

 4) Questions to Consider:  What must I do to become learned in the things of God? How often am I cracking open my Bible? Am I not so learned because I am charging others with the responsibility of my personal God knowledge?

5) Prayer: Lord, give me the discipline to open my Bible every day. Holy Spirit, please teach me as you taught Jesus, and it is in His name I pray, Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)