John 7:1-13: God's timing

TVCC Students,
We are continuing along in our study of John. This week, Sonny taught on John 7. Here is a recap...

~John 7:1-3: Jesus brothers wanted Him to go up to the feast to show Himself off to people. They were missing the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the feast. Everything in Jewish history points to Jesus as the Messiah and they didn't understand this. In looking forward to the feast, they were missing the fact that God was among them. We do this so often today... with Christmas and so many other things. We turn days that were originally set up to glorify Christ into days that are about nothing and leave us empty.

Q: Coming into this holiday season... Thanksgiving and Christmas... we ask you to evaluate the meaning of these times... are you walking in thankfulness for the sweet things the Lord has done for you? Are you continually thankful for the birth of the Savior that has given you eternal life? Let's not get wrapped up in the fluff that our culture has associated with these dates but let us use them as times to grow with our families and the Lord.

~John 7: 4-5: Jesus' brothers are telling Him to go up to the feast. At this point, even His own half brothers do not believe in Him. They knew that He was different but they didn't trust Him as the Messiah. Just being around the things of Jesus does not make you a believer- a true believer has faith that He is God and His death and resurrection payed the penalty for our sins so we could have a relationship with Him.

Q: Are you someone who is just around the things of God but really do not have a relationship with Him? Are you "riding" on the faith of your parents or community or is your faith your own? Please evaluate your faith this week to see if it is genuine or if you are like the brothers of Jesus in this passage.

~John 7:6-7: Jesus' life brought conviction to people. He was/is the righteousness of God and thus people who were around Him were convicted by their sin. His life exposed the evil deeds of others and led them to Him as the Savior. People could not be around Jesus and not be affected.

Q: Are you someone who demonstrates the glory of God in the way you live? When people are around you, is your life pointing them to Christ? Are people okay living in open sin around you or do you take a stand for what is holy and honorable?

~John 7:8: Jesus tells His brothers that His time had not yet come. Jesus was fully submitted to the will of the Father and would not go up to the feast until He was led by the Father to do that. He was in constant communion with the Father.

Q: If Jesus was in constant communion with the Father and this led to Him doing everything in the Father's perfect timing, how much more should we be in constant communion with the Father to know His perfect timing for our lives? Are you spending time daily with the Lord to be near to Him and discern His will for you? Are there any areas that you are not being led by the Lord in? We ask you to evaluate these areas and bring them back into submission to the Father.

~John 7:9-12: The people were waiting for Jesus but the crowd was torn as to who Jesus is. This is still true today. CS Lewis brings to light the fact that there are one of 3 ways we can view Jesus after reading the things He proclaimed... either He was/is a Liar, a Lunatic, or the LORD. Jesus claimed to be the Bread of eternal Life... not just a good moral teacher. He claimed to be the Son of God. We must deal with His claims and not be like the fickle crowd in this passage. He is the LORD!

Q: Who do you say that Jesus is? Do you look at His claims and His life and worship Him as the Lord? We pray that you will read through the gospels and be encouraged to see that He is our Messiah, our Sin-taker and Lord.

~John 7:13: The people would not speak openly about Jesus because they feared the rulers/popular people. Fear and self preservation kept them from loving Jesus openly.

Q: Do you live out your faith even though it is not culturally acceptable to be a person who believes in One way of salvation or are you scared of what the world will think of you? Are you bold in your faith or are you living in fear of the popular crowd?

Dear students,
We love you all very much and pray that you are continuing to grow in your faith and your intimacy with the Lord. We pray that you will spend so much time with the Lord this week, evaluating your relationship with Him and seeing areas that He wants to grow you in. We are so thankful to get to worship with you all. Please know that Sunday nights are available for you to come and be encouraged and held accountable to the things we discuss on Wednesday nights. We all need fellowship and accountability and we want to help provide that for you. Again we love you and are praying for you!

With hope,
~Sonny and Casi

John 6:25-59: The Bread of Life

TVCC Students,
We are back in the normal swing of things. Summer is over and school is back. We love being able to worship with you on Wednesdays. We are still trucking through the book of John. Here are some highlights from the last 2 weeks:

~John 6:26-28: Jesus rebukes the people for seeing Him for just physical fulfillment. They were missing the point- Jesus is LIFE ETERNAL not just a quick fix to an earthly problem. Sonny gave the illustration of Asher in Hobby Lobby- how Sonny wanted to take him to the best part of the store but he was too distracted with the lesser things. We are like this with Jesus on a MUCH larger scale. He wants to give us eternal fulfillment and so often we just want to have peace in this life (which is quickly fading).

Q: Do you just come to Jesus for earthly, temporary fulfillment or do you believe and live in the reality that He is your eternal fulfillment- your everything? Look at your life... are you daily spending time with Him and enjoying His presence or do your just start to pursue Him when things here are not going your way?

~John 6:35: Jesus says that those who come to Him will never hunger. Jesus offers us complete satisfaction. We are complete when we come to Him and nothing else can satisfy. So often though, we do not live in this reality- we are still trying to seek fulfillment in other earthly things. We need to return to Him and cease to hunger and thirst for worldly things.

Q: Are you finding your fulfillment completely in Christ or are you still trying to find satisfaction in the things of this world? Look at your life... what do you spend most of your time doing? Are you carrying out your daily life with the goal of pleasing the Lord in the things you do or are you living life to satisfy yourself?

~John 6:39 & 6:29: We are eternally secure if our true belief is in the One who was sent on our behalf. The "work" of God is that we believe in Jesus and when we do, we are promised eternity with Him.

~John 6:44: When we come to Jesus it is only because the Father has given us the grace to do so. All of us were spiritually dead before the Father put in us the desire to seek Jesus (Ephesians 1-2).

~John 6:48-59: Jesus again calls Himself the bread of life. To receive this eternal life from Him, we must "eat" of Him. This starts with the Father awakening us to our hunger for eternal things. If we are partaking of the bread of life (genuine believers), we have trusted in the death of Christ on our behalf and will be continually coming to Him for fulfillment. We will realize our hunger for His sustenance and come to Him often to be filled. A genuine believer does not just say one time "i believe" and then continue to live a life without Him. Genuine believers long for His presence, His sustaining "bread."

Q: Again, look at your life. Do you hunger for Jesus? If not- ask the Father to grant that you would hunger for Him so that you can eat from the Bread of Life and receive His salvation. If you are a believer and realize that you are not longing for Him anymore, check your life to see if you have been trying to be filled with things that will never satisfy. Come back to Him and ask for the Spirit to renew your hunger for the true Bread.

Dear students,
We love you all so much and love seeing your growing desire for the Lord. We are so honored to do life with you all. We pray that you will continue to "feast" on Jesus and that you will enjoy time with HIm daily. We encourage you to spend time in His Word and in prayer daily- seeking to walk in His presence throughout the day. We love you and are praying for you this week!

WIth hope,
Sonny and Casi