574 - Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time#
(JP Text Group - shalom 整理)
Peace be with you, dear family, and welcome. Today is Sunday, and we will look at God's word together.
The topic of the sharing is: Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time.
John 7:1-9:
1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2 But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he said this, he stayed in Galilee.
Let us pray together first.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you. Thank you for giving us the beginning of a new week and for allowing us to have faith and wisdom through your word, so that we can do the right thing at the right time and experience your great power. During this time, give us the revelations we need, so we know how to act in our lives. May the Holy Spirit also help us to renew our thoughts through your word. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.
After we believe in the Lord, we all hope to live out the example of the Lord Jesus, to overcome in all things, and to manifest His glory. At the same time, we hope to see good results in our lives, no matter what we have experienced, we can overcome through the Lord's words.
Many people know how to be saved; just believe in Jesus and you will be saved. However, regarding victory, Christians receive less teaching in this area. Some even think: as long as you have faith, that’s enough. With faith, you can accomplish anything and do everything to the best. But in fact, it seems that it is not like that. If faith is misused, it may not yield good results. What is needed is wisdom; doing the right thing at the right time will surely yield good results.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."
Everything has a time; a time refers to the development of things having a certain time and a certain result. We see that everything in the world created by God follows certain laws. To be saved, God's law is that one must believe in Jesus. To overcome in the world, one must obey God's laws. These laws were established when God created the world. Whether one believes or not, if they obey these laws, they can succeed in certain matters; if they violate these laws, even if their faith is great, the result will not be good.
Let me give an example that may help everyone understand. For instance, God created fire; fire can be used to boil water or to cook food. But if someone insists on putting their hand in the fire, what will happen? They will get burned. Will it be different if they have great faith? The result will still be the same. This is what we mean when we say that God has established laws in the world that we can understand.
There are also hidden laws that we cannot comprehend, but these things have their own time and season. All things in the world are like this, such as the time flowers bloom, the time they fall, and the time of the changing seasons. Through these periodic occurrences in nature, we should also understand that in the spiritual realm, everything has its time. If a person can do the right thing at the right time, it will surely yield good results. If the right thing is done at the wrong time, the results may not be ideal.
Proverbs 27:14 says: "If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse."
This is an example of doing the right thing at the wrong time. Blessing a friend is a good thing, but doing it loudly in the morning may not be good for them. It may disturb their sleep or wake them from a dream. So, from the perspective of their friend, it seems like a curse. Unless the right thing is done at the right time, there will certainly be a good result. Today, let us look at how Jesus used wisdom to do the right thing.
Looking at the text: After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders were looking for a way to kill him. The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near.
This indicates the location and reason for the events. "After this" refers to the miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, after which Jesus spoke about the truth of the heavenly bread.
Unfortunately, many people could not accept such truth at that time, and they left Jesus. However, His words indeed had a significant impact, including on those in the religious community who heard such words and felt that Jesus was a threat. About six months later, the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles arrived, and during this time, Jesus preached only in the Galilee region. From the map, we can see that Galilee is the northernmost part of Israel, farthest from the holy city of Jerusalem.
The reason Jesus chose to preach here is that after the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, He declared Himself to be the Son of God, which made the chief priests and scribes very uncomfortable, and the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. To avoid these conflicts, Jesus chose to preach in the Galilee region. This is where we need to see Jesus' wisdom.
Today, some people misuse faith and say, "I am the Son of God; I will say whatever I want, whether people like it or not. I will shout with a trumpet: The kingdom of heaven is near; you must repent and believe in Jesus." And so on; some people distribute flyers everywhere, on high-speed trains, on trains, on planes, doing these things everywhere. In fact, this is called a lack of wisdom.
You cannot say they lack faith; their faith is great, believing they are working for the Lord. "Why should I fear these people? Why should I obey their regulations?" They even say, "It is right to obey God and not man." Well, what is the result? Such people are called in for talks, and their things are taken away. After a few setbacks, these people feel very uncomfortable and wonder: How could this happen? This is not the result I wanted; I am working for God; how could I encounter such a result? They cannot understand, and some even become weak and fall. In fact, this is a lack of wisdom.
Look at Jesus. After He performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, He indeed caused a great stir among the people, and His fame rose immediately. The religious leaders also noticed Jesus' power, so He avoided the limelight and went to the Galilee region. These places were not favored by the Jews because they were already on the border, with many Gentiles living there. Jesus began to preach the gospel in the Galilee region.
In verses 3-4:
3 Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
The Festival of Tabernacles was near, and thousands of Jews would flock to Jerusalem. Jesus' brothers said these words to Him: “Leave here and go to Judea.” Why did they want Jesus to leave the Galilee region? Because the ministry in Galilee was not very obvious, and the Jews were not very interested in this area.
Perhaps they had been there for several months and found that the results were not particularly significant; or perhaps the number of disciples was decreasing because after the five loaves and two fish, many people were following Jesus. Now, after a few months, everyone found that Jesus was no longer performing miracles, no longer multiplying bread, and many people stopped following Him.
So His brothers suggested to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea.” Do they think it is a matter of location? Did Jesus do anything wrong? Clearly not, because Jesus was only concerned with preaching the gospel, and it was fine to preach the gospel anywhere. His brothers thought: You should go to Jerusalem because it is the holy city, and there are more people there. If you can win over Jerusalem, wouldn’t that mean you have won over everywhere else? So from His brothers' perspective, they were not focused on how the gospel could expand, but rather on whether their own reputation could rise quickly.
Dear family, why do you believe in Jesus? Is it to enter the kingdom of heaven or to achieve victory on earth? What do you rely on Jesus for? Is it for God to bless you to show off yourself, or to testify to the glory of Christ? For those who serve, as a pastor, is the focus on the number of believers or on whether the believers' lives are growing? This is something everyone needs to consider. As for Jesus, He came to earth to preach the gospel and to complete His work on earth, Amen. His audience was the Jews.
Jesus could perform miracles; He could do miracles, and His disciples had already seen these things. But His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do.” The disciples here clearly do not refer to the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus, but rather to those who had previously followed Jesus.
Because Jesus had already performed miracles at the wedding in Cana, His disciples had seen it, and the brothers mentioned here should be Jesus' physical brothers. They urged Jesus to publicly reveal Himself during the Festival of Tabernacles so that other disciples could also see His miracles. What would be the best way? To perform another great miracle like the five loaves and two fish, and then everyone would recognize you.
What was the purpose of His brothers' suggestion? To attract people. They believed: since you have the ability to perform miracles, you should quickly go to the holy city of Jerusalem, where everyone is gathered for the Festival of Tabernacles, and take this opportunity to make your name known. Why always act in secret? Why always preach the gospel quietly? Can’t you do it openly? You are speaking the truth; what are you afraid of?
I don’t know if people around you have ever said this to you. In the past, many people have said this to me. Of course, I do not refute these things. If some people have faith, they can certainly do it boldly, but you must bear the consequences.
Is it appropriate to do this in the current situation? If you really did this, what kind of result would it produce? Is this what God wants us to do? Since it is to preach the gospel, should it be to reveal Jesus or to reveal yourself? If it is to reveal Jesus, why can’t you act in secret? If it is to make your own name known, people are constantly packaging and revealing themselves in this way.
So Jesus' brothers said, “If you do these things,” indicating that His brothers knew He could perform miracles, so they encouraged Him to reveal Himself to the world. It clearly refers to Him going to Jerusalem during the Festival of Tabernacles to show off His abilities. Perhaps Jesus' brothers heard that after Jesus performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, so many people heard His truth and were unwilling to follow Him anymore. Now they hope Jesus will show off a bit more to attract those people back. During the bustling Festival of Tabernacles, what could be more explosive than performing miracles at that time?
Matthew 12:18-21:
18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope."
Now is an era where everyone strives to make themselves known. With the rise of short videos, it seems everyone has their own stage to showcase themselves, so people try various methods to stand out, using all sorts of ways to display their talents and abilities in front of the public.
What is the purpose of these people doing this? To show themselves. What will showing themselves bring? It will bring traffic, it will attract followers, and the more followers, the more successful they are. This is the approach many in the world take, using every method to increase their followers and ultimately to monetize themselves. But this is the path of human success, not God's way.
Is this method of humans good? It is quite good because they succeed quickly, but their failure is often even faster because their foundation is unstable. Their foundation is built on having some new tricks or ideas, and once that is gone, those followers will immediately go to someone else. So, are they successful? It seems not. Therefore, this is the way of humans.
And Jesus' brothers actually hoped Jesus would quickly go to Jerusalem to reveal Himself in this way, and at that time, His follower count would likely skyrocket. But can performing miracles attract people to continuously follow God and understand the truth? It cannot. The Israelites in the wilderness saw miracles every day for forty years and still did not believe in God's power, which has given us a very realistic result. So why should we walk this path?
So dear family, if you want to increase your faith through performing miracles, or if you want to let those around you believe in Jesus through miracles, do not walk this path; it is all temporary. It may instantly open someone's mind and make them feel enlightened, but very quickly, within a day or three, that person will return to reality.
If Jesus performed great miracles during such an important festival as the Festival of Tabernacles, perhaps afterward, all His ministry would no longer be able to continue because the obstacles would be infinitely magnified. Those Pharisees and scribes would not let Him go because they would steal the limelight.
Look at how Jesus did it: "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations."
Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit; He is God's servant, chosen and beloved by God. Therefore, in what Jesus did, we can see both faith and wisdom. We need to learn this part from Jesus; otherwise, many Christians constantly fail in their endeavors, and if they experience failure, they will become discouraged. Over time, they may even lose their faith.
How did Jesus do it? First, He did not compete. Jesus spoke the truth, but He never argued with others, never criticized others saying you are wrong and I am right, and insisted on using various theories to prove you are wrong and I am right. Jesus did not argue about these things.
He did not make a loud noise. Making noise means loudly showing oneself, beating drums to make known what one has done. Indeed, some people do this today; to show off themselves, they perform a miracle and want the whole world to know that they prayed for someone and they were healed, or that they prayed for someone's finances to turn around, wanting everyone to know they did this. They are showing off themselves.
In fact, we have experienced many such miracles, right? But we never publicize these. We can share testimonies in this area, but we do not promote them because these are not the center of our boasting. We only need to share the truth of Jesus and the grace of Jesus Christ, and that will produce endless good fruit.
No one hears His voice in the streets. Jesus did not carry a trumpet to proclaim what He had done and to get people to follow Him. He simply gave the truth to those in need, to those willing to accept it, allowing the sick to see healing and seekers to find what they were looking for. Therefore, Jesus' voice was not heard in the streets because He spent more time in people's homes.
Do you know how many so-called pastors hope their territory is large and their congregation is numerous? They can speak with all their might because they hope to have countless fans in the streets. Isn’t that what today’s celebrities do? If there are no audience members below, they cannot perform. But we cannot preach the gospel like this; even if there is only one person, if you go to their home and explain the truth to them and share God's grace with them, God recognizes this approach. Amen.
A bruised reed He will not break; a smoldering wick He will not snuff out; till He has brought justice through to victory. This is what Jesus did. He is filled with compassion and grace; He simply gives such truth to those in need and to those who accept it.
What is the final outcome? The nations will put their hope in His name. These people genuinely received the benefits of Jesus, understood the truth, and gained benefits. Therefore, after experiencing God's grace, they are willing to testify for Jesus and are willing to look to the name of Jesus in their lives. Amen. This is what we should do.
So when we rely on Jesus, is it to show ourselves or to show God's power? This is what we need to consider, Amen. Once you understand this, your service will be elevated to a new level.
Now Jesus' brothers hoped He would go to Jerusalem to show off His abilities, but Jesus did not adopt this method because even His brothers said this because they did not believe in Him.
This is the author's commentary, saying that even His brothers said this because they did not believe in Him. If they did not believe in Him, why would they want Him to go to Jerusalem to reveal Himself and perform miracles? This is a very interesting question. Why did His brothers hope Jesus would do this? Perhaps it was to bring glory to their family. Because Jesus was from Nazareth, people generally did not think much of Nazarenes, believing nothing good would come from Nazareth.
If Jesus could perform miracles in Jerusalem and attract countless followers, wouldn’t that bring glory to their family, making Galilee and Nazareth famous? But these are all human thoughts. Jesus would indeed reveal Himself during the Festival of Tabernacles, but not now, and certainly not in a miraculous way. The time has not yet come.
6 Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do.”
Jesus knew that it was not appropriate for Him to go to Jerusalem in a grand manner for the festival. Everyone should know that at that time, Jesus had already gained fame. Besides His disciples, many people were always following Him. If Jesus entered Jerusalem in this way, He would likely be assassinated on the way.
So Jesus said, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do.” This means that others are not affected; they can go to the festival. Thank the Lord.
Jesus is a person who acts according to time; He knows that doing the right thing at the right time will yield perfect results. As God's children, we must understand this; being too early or too late is not appropriate.
God made everything beautiful in its time. When God created everything, there was an order; there was a time for what was created first and what was created later, all accomplished in the best way. Therefore, when reading the Bible, we should not only see that God did these things, but we also need to see that there is wisdom in what God does. As long as we discover these rules and obey them, good results will appear in our lives. Thank the Lord.
Galatians 4:3-5:
3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Through this passage, we can see that when we were children, we were held in bondage under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. If our lives are merely that of a child, we can only be under the bondage of the world.
If Jesus had not come, we would not know what life is; if Jesus had not gone to the cross, we would not know how to obtain redemption. At that time, the Jews lived under the law; they were bound by the law and could not truly be free under the law. But God does things in His time; the time had come.
Verse 4: "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law."
When God's time came, He allowed Jesus to come into the world, born of Mary and born under the law. When reading these scriptures, we need to know that God actually has a plan. After Adam and Eve sinned and fell, God's salvation was already prepared. It was just that people had to first experience the law; if people did not experience the law and did not know they were failing under the law, they would not cherish God's grace.
After one thousand five hundred years, the Israelites completely failed under the law; they could not bear these blessings and often fell into suffering. Isn’t this the true state of everyone today? We may not be under the law of Moses, but we are under the laws of this world. From the moment you are born, you are under the various rules of the world. A child is born and must prepare to go to school, to get good grades, to work in the future, to get married, to have children, and to continue this cycle. If one does not know God, they will live a busy life and end up like a dead end.
Where is life? If Jesus had not come into the world, people would be like this; being born means death. When you look back on your time on this earth, you will see that most people are weary and troubled. What to do? If God does not grant salvation, we cannot obtain salvation. This is being under the bondage of the world.
Fortunately, God prepared salvation. After one thousand five hundred years of law, the Israelites could not bear it any longer; they urgently hoped for another way out. So God prepared Jesus Christ as the path of salvation. Jesus came to this earth and lived under the law, and He overcame in the law. What was He to do? To redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
So when you believe in Jesus, it means you have entered into the good things that God has prepared for you. We have entered into the salvation that God has prepared, which means we can receive God's grace. Amen. Why do many believers still not experience God's grace and live in misery, always failing? Perhaps it is because people have entered into grace but their thinking remains under the law. Many people are like this. Amen.
Especially some people who have recognized the grace of Jesus Christ, after hearing it for a while, feel that it is wonderful. But when they encounter problems in life, they still act according to their past thoughts, listening to everything from others, thinking that this or that in the world is also right and can be acted upon. They often receive mixed messages, and the confusion in their hearts leads to failure.
So family, we must know that God has a time; God's time is willing to give us blessings. Jesus has already come to this earth and completed His work of redemption; His grace has already been given. If at this time, as God's people, we live as if there is no salvation from God, it shows that we do not know that God has prepared everything. That is people missing out on this blessing.
Let me give you an example. When a person's thoughts participate in God's plan, they can break these blessings. After hearing God's promise, Abraham believed God's promise that He would give him a son. During the waiting process, his wife Sarah could not wait and wanted to help God by having Abraham have a son with her maid Hagar.
This is something anyone with a bit of sense could do. Abraham agreed, and as a result, Ishmael was born through Hagar. Unexpectedly, after some time, about ten years later, God's promise came, and the time had come; his son Isaac was born. These two children were born years apart, and afterward, they each had their own descendants. But these two lineages looked down on each other, resulting in a continuous history of conflict between brothers.
We can imagine that if Sarah had not done this, even if the environment seemed dire, if they had continued to believe that God's promise would surely be fulfilled and held onto that faith, they might have had a different outcome. Amen.
So these things are written in the Bible to give us faith in our God; this is one aspect. At the same time, do not use your own cleverness, as it may lead to very bad results. Some may ask, "Why didn’t God stop her?" This is God's gift of free choice to us. Because God loves us, He does not turn us into robots without thought; He allows us to have our own ideas, but He will tell us His thoughts and His promises, allowing people to choose whether to believe and hold onto them.
Clearly, in this matter, Sarah could not wait because she saw that her body was no longer capable, and she thought that if she waited a few more years, Abraham would also be unable. So she wanted to act according to her own way before despair set in.
In life, many times, it is because we think this way that many bad things happen. When we encounter problems in life and call out to God, if you have faith, you can ask God to accomplish it in the best way for you. Amen. That will surely bring the best blessings. I am talking about the best blessings.
Of course, sometimes people cannot wait and insist that God accomplish things in their way. Sometimes God, in His mercy, will accomplish it for us. But I want to say that what God wants to give us is certainly the best blessing. After we pray, we can rest and expect this beautiful result.
Let’s continue with the example of Abraham. If God told Abraham: "From your wife, you will surely have a son." Since God has said this, if the two of them have faith and hold onto God's words, they can just continue to wait. If it is not this month, wait until next month; if it is not this year, wait until next year.
Many people might say, "I can’t wait; you don’t know what is happening in my life! If I wait any longer, my family will be ruined; if I wait any longer, we will both die." People will have such worries. In fact, this is unbelief. If a person insists on doing something when God's time has not yet come, it may lead to unfavorable results, but God's blessing will still be fulfilled. If there had been no Ishmael, how wonderful it would have been for Isaac! Thank the Lord.
So we must believe that if Abraham could hold onto God's promise and wait for God's time, Isaac would surely be born. The same principle applies to other matters in our lives. Sometimes people are just too anxious and say, "I can’t wait." Perhaps what you really need is faith and wisdom from God. Just being anxious to do things does not guarantee good results; sometimes being anxious can lead to mistakes.
Galatians 6:9 says: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Here, a very key matter is mentioned: "Let us not become weary in doing good." How can doing good lead to weariness? Logically, if you keep doing good things, you should become more confident and hopeful, right? But here it says: "Let us not become weary in doing good."
It turns out that whether you are preaching the gospel, serving God, or doing good deeds in life, it does not mean that people will necessarily be grateful to you or appreciate your good intentions. In fact, many times, others may respond maliciously, even ridiculing or mocking you. People easily become weary and discouraged, saying, "I believed in the Lord; I treated him kindly; how could this be the result?" If people only look at their current situation, they may not want to do things anymore, not want to serve anymore, and may even stop believing.
But here God says: "Let us not become weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest." At the right time, you will see the harvest. When the time comes, there will be a harvest. So what kind of mindset should we have when facing this result? It is like a farmer who plants seeds and patiently waits for a good harvest. Hallelujah.
No matter what difficulties you encounter in your life, I want to say: don’t be anxious, don’t be restless. Instead of worrying every day, it is better to use this time to continue receiving God's truth. Since you have prayed to God, you must be confident that God has heard you, and He will give you the best blessings at the right time. Amen. Many people are not yet at that time and insist on doing something themselves, giving up midway. This is truly a pity. So can we hold on? This requires faith to help us continue moving forward. If a person loses faith, they will not want to continue moving forward, nor will they want to continue waiting. Amen. But at the same time, wisdom is also needed; we need wisdom in our actions. Thank the Lord.
Matthew 2:13-15:
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
This is a manifestation of wisdom. Let’s look at what this passage is talking about. After Mary conceived Jesus and He was born, when Jesus was born, several wise men saw this situation and went to Jerusalem to ask, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” At that time, who was the king of the Jews? It was Herod. When these wise men came, their inquiry caused fear in Herod's heart. He thought: How could someone be born as a king?
So he secretly tried to gather information to kill Jesus. After the wise men left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.” Have you noticed why the angel said this? Couldn’t the angel defeat Herod, a mere mortal? Did Jesus have to flee immediately after being born?
Today, many people say: “I am a princess of God, a prince of God. I will declare how to make those who persecute me die.” This seems a bit different from what we read here. Logically, Jesus had just been born and was not suitable for long-distance travel. If Herod wanted to kill Him, couldn’t He just eliminate Herod? But it seems that God’s way is not like this. Herod's policy would inevitably persecute Jesus, and God knew all this, so the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him to escape to Egypt.
If people do not understand these spiritual principles, they might think that Joseph lacked faith. But this is God's arrangement. God told Joseph: “Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you.” Thank the Lord. Why do it this way? Because Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him.
Look at how Joseph acted. Faced with such a situation, he immediately got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt, where he stayed until Herod died. Thank the Lord; this is called wisdom.
Some might say, “After all, Jesus is God; He is the Son of God, right? I won’t leave; who can kill Jesus?” This is not faith; this is foolishness. God allows us to live on earth, but He does not break the laws of the world to make a way for us. The rules that God has set in life also prove one thing: how do evil people become evil? It is because they do not listen to God's words and persecute God's people by doing things against God.
How do these things come to pass? It is within these laws. How is Herod's sin established? It is because he killed these people; that is his evidence. So when he is judged in the future, Herod will be speechless, and God’s justice will be revealed.
If to let Jesus live, God killed Herod, wouldn’t God’s justice collapse? If Christians had such power, how terrifying it would be. If someone persecutes me for preaching the gospel, I will eliminate them; wouldn’t we be just like Satan? Living entirely centered on ourselves. Therefore, God's fairness and justice can also be manifested on this earth.
Thus, the angel told him: “Leave now, and when the time comes, I will bring you back.” Through these principles, we should also learn how to apply the truth in our lives, knowing when to do what. This is important. Amen.
For example, at this time, do not loudly proclaim to others that you are a believer in Jesus, nor should you distribute information about where you gather, recordings, videos, or post these things on social media. Because at this time, it is not allowed; just obey the governing authorities. Amen. Just like Jesus, He fled to Egypt after His birth. You just need to stay away from Herod. We must understand God's intentions and act according to His words. Amen. Knowing what time it is will help us know how to act.
Verses 7-9:
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he said this, he stayed in Galilee.
Jesus did no evil, so why would the world hate Him? Because Jesus spoke the truth, and when the truth is revealed, many people's evil deeds become apparent. So they hate the light that Jesus brings because they are in darkness.
When Jesus reveals the truth, doesn’t the evil of these people become obvious? Therefore, they cannot accept what Jesus said. At this time, Jesus certainly could not lead His disciples to go to the festival with everyone; this way was not correct. But it does not mean that Jesus would not go to the Festival of Tabernacles; He would go secretly and at the right time reveal the truth to everyone.
Do you think Jesus lacks faith? Is Jesus afraid? Of course not; this is wisdom. Hallelujah. We see that when Jesus first preached the gospel, He did not go directly to Jerusalem; He went to the Galilee region, away from those religious leaders, thus minimizing obstacles.
At first, Jesus was very low-key, and only in the last few months did He continuously reveal Himself because His work was almost complete. So we must understand this point: if you flaunt yourself from the beginning, insisting on highlighting yourself, you may quickly fall.
Whether in interpersonal relationships or in a company, this is a principle. We must be low-key in our actions. Amen. Thank the Lord. Those who show off themselves often do not have good results because the more you say, the more loopholes there are, and everyone will catch your flaws, and you may fall.
Jesus actually gave us a great example in this regard. He was to reveal His truth at the right time, but certainly not to perform miracles in front of everyone to prove Himself, to elevate Himself, or to show off His glory. It is not like that. If you hope others will believe in Jesus, what do you hope for? Do you hope that by laying hands on someone, their sickness will be instantly healed, and their problems will be solved? This is not a good method; rather, it is to help them understand the truth.
Do you hope that when problems arise in your family, performing a miracle will solve their problems immediately? This method will still not lead them to follow Jesus. Instead, it is to let them listen to the word in order and recognize God in their lives. Once the foundation of truth is established, they will learn to rely on God, and those problems in life will completely disappear.
Whenever we rely on God and understand His thoughts, we will not be anxious or restless, nor will we seek others everywhere. Jesus wants people to understand the truth, repent, and turn to God, but absolutely not to elevate Himself through performing miracles to gain recognition. He simply explains this to everyone, so those who believe will receive life.
John 7:37-39:
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Although during the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus indeed spoke the truth to the people, it was not through performing miracles but rather an invitation: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. I will give you the truth, and rivers of living water will flow from within you.” This is the right time and the right thing. Amen.
You can hear such words, and I also want to tell you that this is the right time. You have received this message. By continuously receiving the truth, rivers of living water will flow from within you, and the Holy Spirit will guide you to do the right thing. When you do the right thing at the right time, you will surely see very good results.
Family, as we act on earth, we need not only faith but also wisdom. Faith gives us the strength to face all the paths ahead, whether in good times or bad, allowing us to stand firm on God's promises. Wisdom helps us recognize the environment and cleverly complete our tasks.
Matthew 10:16: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
God's children may seem weak, but we have a powerful Holy Spirit within us. Our surroundings are like sheep entering a wolf's den, full of dangers. At this time, we need faith and wisdom, so we must be as shrewd as snakes. The characteristic of a snake is that it will hide away when it senses danger; be as innocent as doves, which are loyal animals that will fulfill the mission given by their master. Therefore, having the cleverness of a snake and the innocence and loyalty of a dove, you will prosper in all things while living on earth. May today’s words bring you some help.
Let us pray together.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for giving us such words and allowing us to imitate Jesus, doing the right thing at the right time, showing not ourselves but the power of Jesus Christ in our lives. Help us continually experience you in life, giving us the faith to face all problems and the wisdom to solve all problems, ultimately witnessing your goodness and your great power in our lives. Thank you, Lord.
A new week has begun, and I believe this is a blessed week. You are with me, granting me faith and wisdom, allowing me to experience you and know you more. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.