(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

you You You You You You You You You All right good afternoon everyone good to see you all in the house of God Can I get you to grab your hymnals and turn to him number 29 Turn to him number 29 at the cross Number 29 and when you found it, can I get you to stand please? Oh Oh Now Oh Oh Okay, uh, dear heavenly father, I just want to thank you that we can be gathered in your house this afternoon lord I just hope that you um be with us and edify us through pastor. Kevin lord And in jesus name. Amen. You may be seated I'm going to get you to turn now to him number 424 Number 424 oh come all you faithful number 424 Oh And triumphant Born the king Let us adore him christ the lord Sing In the highest Here in christ The lord Now Joy Okay for our final uh hymn for before the bible reading can I get you to turn to him number 100 Number 100 day by day Number 100 So Is The protection of his childish wistful, He's in charge at all himself he gave. As thy face, a strange-sounding pager, Leaks the picture he leaving me. He won't be fading in its revelation, Such as as thy blackness is alone. That I lose not my sweet conservation, Offered me within thy holy word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble may cling, Where to take us from the Father's name. If I'm by my side, the dancing man's waiting, Till I hear the answer from his hand. Okay, can I get you to grab your Bibles now and turn to John chapter 7. John chapter 7 and Brother Colm's coming up for the Bible reading. John chapter 7. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come, But your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, Because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up into this feast, I go not up yet under this feast, For my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, Then went he also up unto the feast, Not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, And said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, For some said, He is a good man, others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, Whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory, But he that seeketh his glory that sent him. The same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the Father. And ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Howbeit we know this man whence he is, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am, and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. 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? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. 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, hither ye cannot come. 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? 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 valley shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, This is the prophet. Others said, This is the Christ, but some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him, and some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto him, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, and every man went unto his own house. Let's pray. Heavenly Father God, we thank you, Lord, that we can be here this afternoon, Lord, to hear your word preached. Be with our pastor, fill Pastor Kevin with your Holy Spirit, give him the words to speak, in Jesus' name, Amen. Sorry, there we go. Are we doing some of it on Sundays as well? So I just want to catch up to get back to where we want to get to. Now, I haven't told you guys this yet, but there's a reason why I'm going for the book of John. Once I'm done with the book of John, usually between books we do three Psalms, then I want to tackle 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, I want to tackle all of the books of John, and then after 3 John I want to tackle the book of Revelation. But the thing is, you actually don't really appreciate Revelation unless you've gone through 3 John, and you don't really appreciate it until you've gone through 2 John, and you don't really appreciate it until you've gone through 1 John, and you don't really appreciate 1 John until you've gone through the book of John, because one thing that you notice about John's writings, it just continues to build on each other. Like when we hit 1 John, you're going to see a lot of similarities with what we cover in the book of John, and 2 John, 3 John, etc., and the book of Revelation, etc., you'll see a lot of similarities, because all of these books are written by the same man. But let's start there in verse 146, John 7, verse 146, it says, The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. That's the title for the sermon this afternoon, never man spake like this man. They're saying about Jesus Christ, we've never heard anyone speak like Jesus Christ. You know, these men were taken, were asked to arrest Jesus, we just can't do it. The way he speaks, we just cannot lay our hands upon him. And, you know, if we're commanded to, especially as a pastor or as preachers, if we're commanded to follow the steps of Christ, then we need to learn how to speak like Christ. We need to learn how to teach and how to preach like Christ, and I believe in this chapter, we can get a lot of great principles on how a man ought to preach and teach God's word. Let's start there in verse number 1. After these things, after, obviously chapter 6, you may recall the story, that's where Jesus Christ had some hard sayings, and many of his disciples stopped following after him. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, now let's stop there for a moment, walked in Galilee, I just want to bring you back to speed with sort of the general map of the time of the ministry of Christ. So you've got Jerusalem, the capital city of Judea, that is the southern part of the nation. Then, the further you go up north, you get to Samaria, and the people there were known as Samaritans, because they were taken, the people there, the 10 tribes, were taken away into captivity, they were intermingled with other people of the kingdom of Assyria, and then you go a little bit further north and you've got Galilee. Now, Jesus Christ was born where? Bethlehem, right? He was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is in Judea. But after he escaped with his family into Egypt because of King Herod, and they returned back, where did they go back to? Where was Jesus Christ raised? Nazareth. Where is Nazareth? Galilee. So when people say this is Jesus of Galilee, they say he's of Nazareth, because that's where he grew up, but he was born in Bethlehem. Alright, so what it says here, after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, so he's in his general area, it says, for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. So when you read verse number 1, is Galilee Jewry? No. Jewry, of course, refers to the Jews, it's referring to the powerhouse of the Jews, which is Judea. You know, even though Judea was under the Roman Empire, under Roman power, it still was a very Jewish place. Okay, you've got the capital city, you still have the Pharisees, you still have the rulers that have some power and authority in that area, but Jesus Christ says, you know what, I'm not going to go there, because they're seeking to kill me. So he's happy to hang around Galilee. Now, as I've already preached about in previous chapters, Galilee was also known as the Galilee of the Gentiles. It was a place that was predominantly Gentiles, and yes, they were Jews, but they intermingled with the Gentiles. So, the Jews in Galilee aren't as Jewish as the Jews of Jewry, of Jerusalem, or of Judea. Okay, now again, the reason I want to just talk about that, is because I just want to go over and over and over again, when you see the story of Jesus, how often he's involved with the Gentiles. You know, and I keep attacking this doctrine, that Jesus Christ only came for the Jews. Or, you know, he only cared about the Jews, and the Gentiles were some other thought. Look, he's spending time in Galilee, where the Gentiles are, okay. He doesn't want to walk in Jewry, he doesn't want to hang around the Jews, because they're seeking to kill him. I just want to show you that, okay. And he's there for a lengthy period of time. He said, why do they want to kill him in Jewry? Why do they want to kill him in Jerusalem? Well, if you can just backtrack again, just as a reminder, come to John chapter 5, John chapter 5, verse number 18. John chapter 5, verse number 18, just as a refresher, it says, therefore, so Jesus Christ is in Jerusalem at this point, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he had, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but also, but said also, that God was his father, making himself equal with God. So why do they want to kill him? Number one, because he worked on the Sabbath day, he healed on the Sabbath day, and number two, because he's saying that he's equal with God. Alright. So, Jesus Christ has a choice. Do I hang around Jerusalem, do I hang around Judea where they're seeking to kill me, or do I go and spend my time working in the ministry in Galilee? Where does he choose? Galilee. Galilee of the Gentiles, okay. Now this should be common sense. We should look at this and go, you know what, if there's ever persecution on the Sunshine Coast, and we can't serve the Lord Jesus Christ the way we would like to here on the Sunshine Coast, you know what the right thing would be to do? Go to a place where there's no persecution. Go to a place where we can go and do the work of God, and be effective instead of being tied down with arguments and people trying to stop you in the ministry. This is all good and proper. I like the example of Jesus. You know, if there's ever a time where there's persecution, tribulation, and we can't just serve the Lord the way we ought to, or the way we want to, let's go find somewhere else. Let's go serve the Lord somewhere else, and Jesus Christ sets this example for us. Now, he does have to go back to Jewry though. He does have to go back to Jerusalem, because in verse number two it says, now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand, and you know that the Jews required on these holidays to come into Jerusalem. So, oh man, he's got to go there. He's got to go to the place where they're trying to kill him. Verse number three, his brethren, stop there for a moment, verse number three, his brethren are talking about his half-brothers and his half-sisters, okay, his actual family, okay? The offspring of Mary, his mother, and Joseph, his stepfather. It says, his brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, like hey, get out of Galilee, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. He goes, why don't you go to Judea where you can show yourself to your disciples again? Now, this is not talking about his disciples that he has on his journey, but you may recall earlier in John, Jesus Christ spent some time ministering and baptizing in Judea before the Pharisees came and started causing problems. So there are many people in Judea, in Jerusalem, that have believed in Christ, that are his disciples, and his brethren are, hey look, stop saying around Galilee, go to Jerusalem. Now, they know that he's going to receive persecution there. They know that they don't like Jesus down there in Judea, okay? His brethren aren't, this isn't like an encouraging message from the brethren. In fact, you'll soon see here, his brethren do not believe on him, okay? His own family, his own brothers and sisters do not believe on Jesus Christ, okay? I guess they think he's just some religious lunatic, okay? Hey, why don't you go to Judea then? Okay, so hang around Galilee. It says there in verse number four, these are continuing the words of his brothers, it says, for there is no man that doeth anything in secret. They're kind of mocking Christ. Like even though Christ is prioritizing his ministry in Galilee, they're like, oh, you're just hanging around, you're doing things in secret. Why are you doing things in secret? Why don't you go to Jerusalem, Jesus? He goes, his brethren therefore said, sorry, for there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly, if thou do these things, show thyself to the world. Look at this. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Jesus go to Jerusalem. Go show yourself to the world. Where you're going to get persecuted, where you've got death threats. Look, these guys are not on the same page as Jesus. They don't believe in him. And it's like, to me, can you even understand that? I don't get it. You know, that his own family do not believe in him. His own family are not saved. His own family are mocking, he's mocking his ministry in Galilee, as, hey, stop hanging around in secret, go show yourself openly. Go show yourself where you're going to be persecuted. They don't believe in him. And, you know, what I like about this story here is that you, brethren, also have family that do not believe in Christ. You also have family that will mock you and laugh at you for your love and ministry that you do for Jesus Christ. And what I think is wonderful about this is that Jesus Christ's own family rejected him. It's amazing. And that's his family. He grew up with these people. Surely they could, you'd think, I don't know, surely you'd think he'd stand out from the crowd. Surely you'd see, and by the testimony of his own mother, that it was a virgin birth. But they did not believe in him. Now, what's great, if you can, quick, just keep your finger there, and come with me to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. Come with me to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, because his brothers do eventually believe in him. Okay? And the encouragement there, once again, is that sometimes we feel like we can give up on our family, or we give up on our family too easily. Okay? And they mocked our faith, they've laughed at the Bible, or whatever it is, but you'll soon see that his brothers eventually did believe on him. And one of the people that is traditionally or historically accepted as someone that did trust Christ is James. Because one of the names that is given to Jesus's brother is James, and it is commonly accepted that the book of James is written by the brother of Jesus. And that could be true, I don't know, it probably is true, but I can't 100% confirm that from the scriptures. But if you look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse number 5, 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse number 5, look at these words of Paul. He says, Have we not power to lead about a sister? He's talking about he has authority as a church leader, as an apostle, to get married. Okay? That's what he's talking about, as a church leader. Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife? Look at this. As well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas. He goes, look, the other apostles have the power to have a wife. They've got the authority to do so. So does the brethren of the Lord, and so does Cephas, Peter. You'll see that some of the brethren of the Lord actually became leaders in the Christian faith. You know, we see that there in 1 Corinthians. And so, look, they didn't start believing on him. Eventually, hopefully all, maybe all, believed on him. And some of them became influential leaders in the Christian faith. Alright. Come back with me to John, chapter 7, verse number 6. John, chapter 7, verse number 6. And as we keep going through this chapter, I've got seven points. I believe it's seven. Yeah, I've got seven points, especially for men that preach. You know, men that maybe one day want to be a pastor. You know, you have a desire to just proclaim God's word and be more like Jesus. I've got seven points for you that can help you with the way that you preach and teach God's word. Let's continue. Verse number 6. Then Jesus said unto them, so unto his brothers, my time is not yet come. His time is come at his death. He goes, look, it's not time for me to die. Okay, my time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. He goes, look, I can't just go to Jerusalem whenever I want. My time is not come. You can go to Jerusalem whenever you want. Like, you're not facing death threats. No, you can anytime do whatever you want. You're free to do whatever you want, but look, if I show myself in certain places, you know, they're going to try to kill me. Then he says this, verse number 7. The world cannot hate you. Who's he talking to? His brothers. He says the world cannot hate you, but me it hateth because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil. So when he says to his brothers, look, the world cannot hate you, again, he's just confirming that they're not saved. Okay, the world hates who? God's people. You know, the world hates Christians. The world hates the Bible. You know what, if you don't stand out from the crowd, you're not even a believer of Christ. The world's not going to hate you. The world cannot hate you. Then he says this in verse number 8 to his brothers. Go ye up unto this feast. I go not up yet unto this feast, because you guys go, but I'm not going to go yet, meaning that he will go, but he's not ready to go just yet. Then he says, for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. All right, so I've got my first point for you, brethren. If we're going to speak like this man, if we're going to use the example of Christ and be like him, number one, you need to understand that Bible preaching is hated by this world. Didn't he say that? The world doesn't hate you because they're not believers, but it hates Christ. And brethren, if you're going to speak the words of Christ, the world will hate you too. Don't be surprised when people hate you standing on God's word. Don't be surprised. And look, I've been surprised. You know, I remember growing up as a child and thinking, surely everybody, even the unsaved world, appreciates the Bible and appreciates God's commandments and appreciates commandments like thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not kill. Surely the world appreciates God's word. I was very naive as a child until now. And then I realized later on, actually, everyone hates the Bible. They do. You know, you stand on God's word and they want to tear you down over it. Who are you to judge? Brethren, if this church is going to have Bible preaching, you need to understand this preaching is going to be hated or is hated by this world. We think sometimes that we can take the great lessons that we get from God's word and throw it out there in the world and think of people that are going to receive it. Nope. They hate it. Okay? And they'll hate you for preaching it. That's point number one. Bible preaching is hated by this world. You know, if you want to be a pastor one day, you have to understand that you're not going to be loved. In fact, the preachers that are loved by this world, Jesus Christ says they're false preachers. They're false apostles. You know, they're false pastors. They're not of Christ. You know, the religious leaders that have been upheld and loved by this world, they're not of Christ. Billy Graham, right? People talk about Billy Graham as a great evangelist, a great preacher. He is loved by the world because he is not a believer in Jesus Christ. If he was a believer in Christ, the world would hate him too. If you want to speak like Christ spoke, we need to just be able to say things, even knowing full well, that it's going to be hated by the world. Let's keep going there. Verse number 10. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast. So he goes privately. Okay? I mean, his brothers did not believe in him. They're kind of mocking him, right? I guess Christ understands that if he's traveling with his family, that his brothers aren't going to protect him. Like he's better off just going on his own. Alright? And I guess those that are seeking to kill Jesus are not expecting Jesus Christ to walk on his own. Okay? I suppose they're expecting a great crowd to be amongst him or something like that. Christ decides to go on his own. It says, yeah, verse number 10. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast. Not openly. See? Just privately, secretly. But as he were in secret. Now, you can say, well, Jesus, just preach the truth, Jesus. I just want to show you that, you know, Christ is, you know, an intelligent person. He understands the risks. Okay? There are some things that he has to do in secret. Okay? And that's fine. Christ sets the example. Alright? Look, he's trying to avoid trouble, isn't he? He's still preaching the truth. Don't get me wrong. He says, look, it's not worth going to Jerusalem. I'm going to hang around Galilee then. Okay? And I'm going to preach there. Christ is preaching the truth. He's getting people saved. He's getting Samaritans saved. He's doing a great work for God. But I'm sure there are people that are willing, just like the brethren, to criticize Jesus. Oh, why are you doing this secretly? You know what? Sometimes there are things to do secretly. You know, I'm not trying to get out there and pick a fight with this world. I'm not trying to intentionally go out there and have an argument and have a fight and face persecution, but I'm not trying to hide it either. I mean, again, all our preaching is online. If people want to find a problem with our church or a reason to hate me, they'll find it easily if they spend the time. But at the same time, I'm not just trying to throw myself in the mouth of the lion. You know what? If I can protect ourselves to some extent, then so be it. It's good and proper, as long as we're not hiding the truth of God's word. Verse number 11. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? So the people trying to kill him, where is Christ? Verse number 12. And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said he is a good man, others said nay, but he deceived of the people. So you see, in Judea, there's a mixed opinion about Jesus. There's a controversy about Jesus. Some say yeah, he's a good man. Some say no, he's a deceiver, he's of the devil, et cetera. Look at verse number 13. Howbeit, no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. So even though that said, yeah, he's a good man, I'm sure he seems like a good man, but the people that actually believed in Jesus, those that were actually his believers and disciples, they were too afraid to say, hey, we're a follower, we're a believer of Christ, we've trusted him, we believe in him for fear of man. Okay, so I just want to bring you up to speed. There's a controversy, right? Some people think he's great, some people think, you know, he's wicked, the true believers are too quiet to speak, though. No man spake openly of him. And so, essentially, it's controversial. And this is my second point for you, brethren. My first point was Bible preaching is hated by this world, but point number two is that Bible preaching is controversial. Bible preaching is controversial, okay? You know, and this is why sometimes people don't like our style of church. Because I'm willing to say controversial things. You know, I'm willing to say things that God's word says, even though they're at odds with this world, even though they're at odds with society, or our current generation. But if we want to speak like Christ, we have to be willing to acknowledge there are things that we teach and believe that are controversial. Some people in the world are going to be like, hey, that's good. A lot of people are going to go, yeah, there's a fever, it's a lie. Bible preaching is hated by this world, but Bible preaching is controversial. You know, I'm glad you guys, many of you, you know, I've known for a long time, for many years, now many of you have been in this church from the very beginning, and you've heard controversial things. You know, I appreciate that you haven't just walked out. You know, I really do. Just as a human being. You know, I hope you guys know that, look, my heart is just to preach all of God's word. Once again, I'm not just actively looking for persecution, I'm not trying to cause trouble, but the right thing to do as a pastor is just to preach the truth of God's word. It's controversial in the world, and sometimes it's even controversial amongst Christians. But even if it's controversial, can you just do your due diligence of opening the Bible and finding out for yourself, is this what God said? If it's what God said, then let's preach it. Never man speak like this man. You know, we need to have a church of preachers where we would say, I've never heard a man speak like this man. Not because man is wonderful, but we're trying to follow after the steps of Christ. Bible preaching is controversial. Verse number 14. Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. Okay, so he's gone. Now he's gone to the temple and he's starting to teach. Jesus Christ, yeah, he secretly came, but now that he's there, he's openly preaching. Okay, Jesus Christ is trying to avoid the troubles. Okay, but when he gets the opportunity to preach, he preaches boldly. He's there in the midst of the temple. Now again, don't forget, these are Old Testament times. Okay, the temple in the Old Testament is what? The house of God. So when we see Jesus Christ teaching in the temple, we're now in New Testament times, don't forget what the house of God is in the New Testament, your local church, right here at New Life Baptist Church. Okay, so what Christ is teaching in the temple is good teaching that we ought to receive even within this church, within the churches that are here in New Testament times. Look at verse number 15. And the Jews marveled. They're like, whoa, what kind of preacher is this? The Jews marveled, saying, how knoweth this man letters have he never learned? Like, this guy's not been educated. Now look, I don't believe that's true. I do believe Jesus Christ learned letters. I mean, that's a pretty basic education level, right? But they're essentially saying, this man did not graduate from Bible college. How is it that this man is preaching in the temple? What are his qualifications? You know, what Bible college commends this guy? How can he preach in this way, have he never learned? Verse number 16 is important. Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. He goes, look, you're thinking about some earthly education. I'm not here teaching you earthly wisdom or man's wisdom. I'm not even coming to you with new doctrines. He goes, the doctrines that I'm teaching you are from the one that sent me, from the father. These doctrines are God's doctrines, is what he's saying. Point number three, brethren. Bible preaching is God's doctrine. Bible preaching is God's doctrine. Doctrine means teaching. Behind this pulpit, we're teaching God's word. We're teaching God's teaching, not man's. This is what Bible preaching ought to be. It's coming from God's word. It's coming directly from God. This is why it's so important for you to have a Bible that you can open up and compare. Is this coming from God's word or is it not? A lot of churches teach you some doctrine, but it's doctrine of men. It's their learnings. It's their philosophies. You know, it's their self-help guide to Christian living, Christian living, but they're not doctrines of God. A lot of churches will, yeah, preach nice things, never been hated by the world, never been controversial. I'll tell you now, it's not Bible preaching. It's not the way Christ spoke, okay? But Jesus Christ is telling us, look, anything that needs to be taught in the house of God ought to be doctrine of him that sent Jesus Christ, doctrines of God. Verse number 17, he says, if any man will do his will, that's the will of the Father, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God. You know what Christ is saying? Not only should you know the doctrine, but you should do the doctrine. Because if you do, right, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. You know, it's so important that you not only listen, but that you're a doer of his word, that it will help cement the doctrines that you've learned in life. He goes, you shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. How many churches, you know, are speaking of themselves? How many pastors speak of themselves? You know, you go to church sometimes, and even amongst independent Baptist churches, I mean, I've heard this amongst my friends, I'm like, man, you know, I went to church and one Bible verse was read. You know, the rest of it was just the pastor's thoughts and ideas. I want you to notice this in verse 19. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. Reverend, the preaching behind this pulpit is not for the glory of man. We're not seeking the glory of pastors of Pulvera, the glory of brother Jason or brother Callum or brother Matthew or whoever gets up to preach. It's not about the glory of man. Okay, it's the glory of God, right? He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. But he that seeketh his glory, that's the Father's glory that sent him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in him. Point number four, Reverend, is that Bible preaching glorifies God, not man. Bible preaching glorifies God, not man. Be careful not to raise a man on a pedestal, even a pastor. You know, yes, I appreciate your love and support and prayers, but don't forget I'm just a man, I'm just a vessel, I'm a sinful creature saved by grace like the rest of you. The purpose of preaching behind this pulpit, the purpose of hearing God's word at New Life Baptist Church is to glorify God. This is where we learn God's doctrine. And if we're teaching God's doctrine, we glorify him. Men seek to glorify themselves. They don't want to be hated by this world. They don't want to be controversial. They want to be well-liked by this world. Well, if you want to be well-liked by this world, you can't teach God's doctrines and you can't glorify God. You have to glorify man. You have to teach your own earthly wisdom. People like that. You have to teach your own earthly wisdom. People like that stuff. But I have no doubt that if we just put aside the Bible and started to teach the wisdom of this earth and started to tell man, you guys are just wonderful people all the time, God's not mad at you, everything's going to work out well, you're all going to be healthy, wealthy and wise, I guarantee you we'd run out of room in this auditorium right now. We need a bigger church building. That's not why I started a church. I don't want to glorify man. Why would I want to glorify man when I know what's in my heart? And even then I don't really know. And if I know what's in my heart, then I know what's in your heart and I know how filthy we are. Why glorify man? Let's glorify God. He's the one that saves. He's the one that empowers us to live a life that pleases Him. Bible preaching ought to glorify God, not man. Verse 19. Christ says, Did not Moses give you the law? And yet none of you keepeth the law. Why go ye about to kill me? Because why are you trying to break the commandments? One of the laws of Moses was thou shalt not kill. And these people are trying to find Jesus to kill him. And that's a danger, right? They're in the temple. They're in the house of the Lord. They're hearing preaching, but they're not doing it. They're just going about the motions. They're just checking the box. Yeah, we went to the Feast of the Tabernacles. Done. Do you care about God? Do you care about what you heard? Do you care about putting into practice? How is it that you can go to the house of God and also try to kill the God who's trying to save you? Verse number 20. The people answered and said, Thou hast the devil. Who goeth about to kill thee? What do I think to say about Jesus? I want to touch, but just very quickly, what was the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost when they said that what Christ does is from the power of the devil? Remember? Said you cast out Satan by Satan, and Christ says, You won't be found. You won't be found. And Christ says, You won't be forgiven in this world, nor the world to come. Some of these people are reprobate, and where are they? In the house of the Lord. They're in the church, as it were, in the New Testament times. Christ is teaching them, teaching great things of God, glorifying God, giving them great wisdom. They're so amazed. They're marveling. Hey, this guy did not even graduate from a Bible college, and look at the great things he's teaching us. And then they just call him the devil. Reprobate's in the house of the Lord. The house of the devil. Who goeth about to kill thee? Because who's trying to kill you? Jesus? We know they definitely were trying to kill him. Verse 21, Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses, and the work he's talking about there is the healing on the Sabbath day. Remember, that's why they're trying to kill him. That's the work that he's talking about. As we keep going, you'll soon see that. As we keep going, you'll soon see that. It's all about that. Verse number 22, Jesus Christ says, Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers, and ye on the Sabbath day circumcised a man. All right, let me explain that to you quickly. One of the laws of Moses was that when a man child, a boy would be born, that on the eighth day, he would have to be circumcised. Well, what if that eighth day fell on a Saturday? On the Sabbath? Well, are they going to do the work and do the circumcision? Or are they going to say, well, no, that's the Sabbath. It can't be worked. No, they're following the commandment that the child didn't get circumcised on the eighth day. So if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath, guess what? Someone was doing that circumcision. Some work is getting done. So Christ takes this example. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers, and ye on the Sabbath day circumcised a man. He says, look, this is what you guys do. It's not saying that's a sinful thing to do. He's just giving them an example. Then he says, if a man on the Sabbath day receives circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? Because why are you angry at me? Why are you trying to kill me? All I've done is made a man whole. How much better is that than just doing a circumcision? We're both working. We're both doing something for the glory of God. Jesus Christ is pointing out their inconsistencies. How is it that you're trying to kill Christ for healing a man? And Christ is just pointing out the fact that they're still angry with him for healing on the Sabbath. Then he says in verse 24, judge not according to the appearance, but judge not according to the appearance. But judge righteous judgment. He goes, look, you're looking at me, and the appearance is that I'm breaking God's Sabbath, that I'm actively trying to hurt God's laws, damage God's laws, actively trying to do some wicked work or something. You're judging me by the appearance. But then he says, but judge righteous judgments. If you're going to pass judgments, pass it righteously. Righteous means rights. Judge righteously. Make a right judgment. Your judgment is wrong, he's telling these people. Point number five, brethren, is that Bible preaching instructs righteous judgment. Bible preaching instructs righteous judgment. The point of hearing God's word is so that you would have a better ability to determine what is right and what is wrong. And don't forget, they're in the house of the Lord. They're in the temple. They're in the place where they ought to be hearing great preaching. But these people can't judge righteously. Because they're not hearing the preaching of God's word. They're hearing opinions of man. They're hearing traditions of men rather than the doctrines of God. It's so important that as preachers, we don't just explain what's happening in the passage. But we try to draw out the application, the spiritual teaching. What is right according to this? How do I apply this in my life so I can make better decisions in my life? Point number five, Bible preaching instructs righteous judgment. It's the only place, brethren. Where else? Remember the church is the pillar and the ground of truth. Where else are you gonna hear the truth? Where else are you gonna hear the wisdom of God that will help you in life? It's the place to be. Thank you for being here this Sunday. Not for my sake. We're here to glorify God and say, God, we want to be able to make better decisions. All right, we go to God in prayer. Lord, Heavenly Father, help us make better decisions in life. We mess up so many times, Lord. You know, we fail and we don't always know what the right decision is to make. You know, can you please equip the preacher to teach something that I need to hear so I can go about life and make better decisions, that I can pass better judgments, that I can do what is right? That's what we need from Bible preachers. That's what people receive from Jesus Christ. Because never speak a man like this, man. We've never heard preaching like this before. Verse number 25, Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? So they were trying to kill him. Like some people are like, hold on, isn't this the guy, the guy that's teaching in the temple right now, isn't this the same guy they're trying to kill? But Lo, Lo means look. He speaketh boldly and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? All right. So here's the thing. Jesus Christ is in the temple in the public. Everyone is hearing him preach. They can't find fault with him. They want to kill him, but they just can't figure out how to take hold of this man and what to accuse him of because Jesus Christ has literally done nothing wrong. I mean, what are they going to kill him for? Oh, because he killed a man. And people are like, they're letting him preach? They can't stop him. Since this preacher, Jesus Christ, he preaches, he speaks boldly. Point number six, brethren, is that Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. And boldness is not arrogance, okay? The word boldness speaks of courage, speaks of a lack of fear, of confidence. Look, you know, being a human being, I'm sure over the five plus years I've said wrong things. I've made certain mistakes, okay? But I try really hard. Like, I try really, really hard, you know? Even if I think that Scripture's, I think it's saying this, I'm not sure, so I'm not going to be bold about that. I might not touch that. I might just give my opinion that, you know, I think it's this, but I'm not sure. And I try to preach with authority and boldness on the things that are crystal clear in the Bible. That's my decision. That are crystal clear in the Bible. That's my desire, right? Of course, Christ knows all truth. Christ never spoke a word out of line. He never made a mistake like the rest of us do, okay? But you can see that the boldness of Christ was something that these people in Jerusalem were not used to. And, you know, for the preachers, you know, you see something God's word, something that is black and white. You can confer with multiple passages. Just preach it boldly. Preach it like Christ would. Have the confidence. Don't have that fear. We're to preach boldly. And we go out door to door soul winning. Boldness. Speak with courage, right? Knock that door. And realize you have the words of eternal life. You have the words that can win someone, someone's soul to Jesus Christ. Give them eternal life. You've got those words. Doesn't matter how intimidating they might be across that door, you know what you're speaking about and they don't know what they're speaking about. So you go with confidence, not arrogance. You have a humility, a servant's heart, a tear in your eye. Say, Lord, utilize me to see someone saved today. And you go out with boldness. And sometimes, you know, when people see that boldness, they say, you know, it portrays this person believes what they're saying to be true. But when you're timid, it's like, I don't think this guy even knows what he's talking about, right? You know, how are you going to convince people? This is how Christ was. Point number six, Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. And I know we're not all bold. I know we wish, I wish I was more bold, you know. I'm sure we all wish we could be a little bit more bold and not arrogance, not a show-off, just sure of what Christ taught us in His Word. And if you can keep your finger there, come with me to Ephesians chapter six. Come with me to Ephesians chapter six. Ephesians chapter six. Ephesians chapter six, verse number 18. We all need boldness and the answer to this, Brevin, is very simple. Ephesians 6, 18. The Bible says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. So verse number 18 is just teaching us the importance of praying, bringing all our requests before God. Then one of the requests is mentioned here in verse number 19, and for me, so Paul is saying to Ephesians church, can you pray for me, Ephesians church? He says, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, utterance is the way I could speak, may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. And Paul is a seasoned soul winner. He's a church planter. He's got the revelations of Jesus Christ. He's writing New Testament scriptures and even then he says to the Ephesian church, guys, can you pray for me? I need boldness so I can open my mouth to preach in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, let's not forget, if you're not a soul winner, don't forget to pray for those that are soul winning. Pray specifically that God will give them boldness, that have the courage they would not like to fear. They would speak with confidence and clarity the truth of God's word. Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. You know, I'm thankful to grow up in a Christian home and gone to many churches but when I was about the ages of 8 to 12, 15 maybe, there was just so many watered down churches. I just I kind of started to hate church and I don't want to say that because, you know, Christ died for the church. Right? You know, the church is an institution that God has set up in the New Testament, the way we're set up as local churches but I started to hate church. I didn't hate God. I didn't hate the Bible. I love the Bible. I was like amazed by the stories of the Bible but I just didn't like people. Say, what are you doing? There was just no boldness. There's no confidence. There's just watered down. There's no strength. It's just what am I doing here? That's what I thought. I'm sitting here. I know I need to be in church. As a child, I just I loved God. I loved his word but I just didn't have what I needed to grow and, you know, just men, effeminate men, you know, like church not taking I like to muck around. I like to sometimes joke around even behind the pool but sometimes I try to laugh a little bit but, you know, church is serious business. I'm not here to just oh, great to see you, brother or sister. Let's have a few words of God's word and love the Lord and God loves you. What am I doing here? Look at these sissies, these soft men. I don't know if it was my dad because my dad was a hard worker and even though he's in his late 70s, my dad's got bulging muscles. I don't know what he's like. You know, I had this idea of what a man ought to be like and I just see these men come behind the pool but like why would I want to be a pastor one day? I see these soft spoken men but I just not get anything out of this preaching. I didn't want new life to be this way, that way. I was like God, if you want me to be a pastor, you've got to give me something, Lord, you've got to give me something. You know, the strength of your spirit. I need to have clarity of your scriptures. I want some strength. I don't want to see weak men. I see strong men in the Bible, strong men in the spirit. I see Christ speaking boldly in the temple even when they're trying to kill him and a lot of Baptist union churches are like this. That's why girls just get up and start preaching because they're preaching stronger than the men and so when I was in 19 or whatever I was 18, 19, 20, I went to my first IFB church. I said wow, the preaching. Wow, there's food here. Spiritual nourishment. Wow, I'm growing. This is awesome. They do soul winning. They actually worry about souls. Wow. But what am I finding in 2020s now the IFB churches are softly spoken, offend nobody. It's becoming the same and then what are you finding in these IFB churches? Half the people are saved and half the people are not saved. It's so watered down, so weak, they don't want to offend anybody so they don't even give the gospel to anybody in case they get offended and leave the church. Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. Let's keep going there. Verse number 27. And they continue speaking. They're looking at Christ, right? They're just amazed. Verse number 27, how be it we know this man whence he is. Whence means from where? He goes, hmm, we know where this guy's from. He's from Galilee. And then he says, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. They're saying, look, when Christ comes, nobody knows where he's from. That's not a true statement. That's just what they're saying. These guys don't know the scriptures. They're going down to watered down temple service. They don't know the Bible and they think, or they've been taught that when Christ comes, nobody will know where he's from. And they're like, but we know where Jesus Christ comes from. He's from Galilee. He's from Nazareth. We know his family. I'll soon show you why that statement is incorrect. Verse number 28. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught. Then cried Jesus. Christ was not crying tears. He lifted up his voice. That should be our next point. I forgot that point. You can throw it in there. The point is that Bible preaching requires a bit of yelling, an elevated voice, a bit of crying. Why am I saying that? Because I've actually been criticized. And I don't think I'm even that loud. Maybe I am. I don't know because I don't sit there. But I've been criticized. Pastor, you're too loud. I don't like the church. You're too loud. Why are you screaming all the time? Do I scream that much? I don't know. Maybe I do. I'm sorry. You can see, look, Christ is doing it. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, you both know me and you know whence I am. He goes, you know me and where I'm from and I am not come of myself but he that sent me is true whom ye know not. He goes, I was sent by the one, right, that is true. But you don't know him. So these people, they're not even saved. If they don't know the Father, brethren, they're not saved. Because this is why you don't even know who I am. You don't even get it. You don't get that I've been sent by the Father. Whom ye know not. Yeah, you're going to church, you're going to the temple, you're hearing watered down preaching but you're not even saved. His own brothers at this point aren't even saved. He says in verse number 29, but I know him, that's the Father, for I am from him and he have sent me. Look, he's saying to these people at the house of God, you're not even saved. You're not saved. You know, sometimes, look, you know, look, my heart is is the same will as our Father's will. That he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. You know, my hope and desire is for people in church to be saved. I like to think they're saved but brethren, when I go to church sometimes I have to call it out and say look, this man's not saved. This pastor is not saved. This man that everybody loves and knows in the IFB realm is not saved. It shouldn't surprise us when Christ, even in his own temple is saying look, you don't even know the Father. You don't know him. You don't know God. You're not saved. Look, it's no different in churches today. You know, I find it hard to, I think everybody here I believe is saved because we preach on the Bible again. We teach the gospel again. Brother Jason preached a great sermon on repentance to make it clear. It's so obvious. The Bible over and over again. Salvation is by faith alone. Okay. On Christ's finished work. But look, when a preacher, a Bible pastor, I don't care how respected he is in the IFB world, stands up and says but you've got to but believing's not enough. Even the devils believe. Right, they'll say things like this. But you've got to put in the effort or you're not doing the works. You haven't turned from your sins. That man's not saved. He doesn't know God. He doesn't know the Father even within the IFB world, as sad as it is. And like I talk to, I think sometimes people think I'm weird when I say, oh, you know Pastor so-and-so and I'm like, yeah, he's not saved. Look, it gives me no pleasure though. I'm not like, woohoo, yeah, he's not saved. I want him saved. I want people going to heaven. But by his own words, he testifies against himself that he does not know the Father, that he doesn't understand the gospel, that he doesn't know the Bible, that he doesn't know the Bible. That he doesn't know the gospel. Look, the religious leaders in Jesus' day were not saved. You think it's going to be any different today? It's the same. So look, he's telling them you're not saved. So what's the next thing that Jesus Christ tries to do? He tries to get them saved. Isn't that the right thing? Like if I meet one of these pastors that I believe are not saved and I've got the opportunity, guess what I'm going to try to do? I'm going to try to get him saved. Hopefully. It's not too late for him. I don't know. I don't know where that line is crossed. Where am I after? Where am I lost? Oh, verse number 30. Verse number 30. So he just finished telling them they're not saved. They don't know the Father. Verse number 30. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come. So when he says, look, you're not even saved. You don't know the Father. Now they're really trying to get a hold of him. Now they're really trying to kill him. But they can't. It's incapable. They're not able to get a hold on Jesus Christ because his hour was not yet come. This is somehow, Jesus Christ is experiencing that protection from the Father. Even though they're trying to find a way to kill him, his hour has not yet come. And what encourages me about this, brethren, is that our life is determined by God. We all have an hour when God knows we're going to pass on. And I've heard it preached, and I think it's awesome. I liked it when I heard it preached, that we're basically invincible. We're invincible until God says, all right, the hour is come. And our life will end when God says, yep, it's time. Wouldn't I exactly? They're trying to get a hold of him, but they can't. His hour has not yet come. They've been prohibited by God from taking hold of him. Verse number 31. Look at verse number 31. Isn't this amazing? And many of the people believed on him. Where are they again? In the temple, in the house of God. In the house of God, there are many that aren't even saved. Christ comes, preaches boldly, preaches doctrines of God, glorifies the Father. Like, man, no one's ever preached like this, man. And many believe on him. Amazing. And said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man have done? They're like, surely this is the Christ. Like, if we're waiting for another Christ, will he do more miracles than this man? In other words, this is him. Like, that's not gonna happen. This must be the Christ. So they believe on him. You think the Pharisees are gonna like that? Verse number 32. The Pharisees heard that the people murmured that such things concern him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Jesus Christ says, look, I've got a little time left with you guys. And then I go with him that sent me. Then I'm gonna go to the Father. So, let me bring you up to speed. As we go through the book of John, we've already gone through two passovers, and the third passover is the one where Christ is crucified. This is where we get the idea of Christ's ministry being three years long. Now, we saw that Christ came to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles. The Feast of the Tabernacles occurs on the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The Passover, does anyone know which month is the Passover? What's that? No, it's the first month. Correct. Nisan. So, the Passover was, literally God says, okay, this is the start. This is your first month. So, the Passover is the first month, and the Feast of the Tabernacles is the seventh month. So, let's count that. We're in the seventh month. Eighth month is one month. Nine, 10, 11, 12. And the first month Passover, when Christ will be crucified. So, what we're reading back here in John, chapter seven, is six months before his crucifixion. It may not seem that way in the Bible because we're only up to chapter seven. It's like we're still early days, aren't we? No, we've gone for two and a half years of Christ's ministry already. There's six months left to go from basically John, chapter seven, all the way to John, chapter 20. What's it get up to, 22? I haven't got my Bible open here. But the majority of the book of John is these last six months, okay? So, what Christ is saying is true. When he says, yeah, a little while, I'm with you. Yeah, I've got six months left of this earthly ministry. Then I'm going to go to be with the Father. Verse number 34, it says, ye seek me, and shall not find me, for where I am, thither ye cannot come. He says, I'm going to go to the Father. I'm going to go to heaven. For those that are trying to kill Jesus, he says, you can't even come here, okay? So, again, Christ is not just dealing with unsaved people that many that got saved, believed on him, but some of these people are just complete reprobates. They can't come. It's too late for them, okay? They can't go where God, where Jesus Christ is going. Verse number 35, then said the Jews among themselves, whither will he go, that we shall not find him. Like, where is he going to go that we can't find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles? So, they don't get it. They don't get what Christ is speaking about here. Verse number 36, 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. 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. This is the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, and Christ is once again teaching and proclaiming that salvation is by believing on him, faith alone on Christ alone. Reverend, point number seven, Bible preaching teaches salvation by faith on Christ alone. Bible preaching teaches salvation by faith on Christ alone. Not Christ and your church, not Christ and your baptism, not Christ and your good works, not Christ and turn from your sins, not Christ and your life at this church. It's Christ alone. Believe on him, and you cannot be saved. Amazing. He gets there. He turns it upside down. People are now believing on him. He's preaching the gospel with clarity. He's preaching the gospel with clarity. It's faith on him. Believe on him. Verse number 39. But this spake he of the Spirit, that's your belly flowing with 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, but that Jesus was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. And I believe this is talking about the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Ghost. You can see, but this spake he of the Spirit, Spirit which they which believe him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given. Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, same person. Okay. Verse number 40. Many of the people therefore, when they had heard this saying said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? And remember I told you, they're like, we know where you're from. You're from Galilee. And so some are still doubting. They're like, really? Is the Messiah, is Christ coming from Galilee? Come on. That's not even Jewry. That's like mixed with all the Gentiles. Really? Now, if you can, keep your finger there and come with me to Isaiah chapter nine. Isaiah chapter nine. So, they're asking the question, is he really going to come out of Galilee? Remember they said, hey, we know where you're from, Galilee. But, you know, before we saw that, you know, basically, no one knows where Christ is coming from, where Messiah is coming from. No, he's actually coming from Galilee. Okay? Because that's where he grew up. He grew up in Nazareth. Now, let me show you this. Isaiah chapter nine, verse number one. So, if these people knew their scriptures, they would not be saying things like this. If they knew their scriptures, they should know that he would be in Galilee. That he would be coming from Galilee. Because the Bible says in Isaiah nine one, nevertheless, the dimness, from dimness is a lack of light. Okay, so it's a, there's darkness. Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously affect her by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. So, it's saying here that Galilee is going to be a place of dimness, a lack of spiritual light. Alright. And it says Galilee of the Gentiles, of the nations. The New Testament says Galilee of the Gentiles. Gentiles means nations. Okay, just once again, reaffirming that Galilee is not Jewry, that Christ cared even for the Gentiles in Galilee. Alright. Now, look at verse number two. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, that includes Galilee, of the nations. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them have the light shined. So you need to notice, land of Zebulun, Naphtali, Galilee. There's going to be a light that shines in this place. And you and I both know this is about Jesus Christ. But, if you drop down a little bit further, in verse number six, very famous verse, you all know it. Who is this light? What is this light? Verse number six. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. What is this great light that will light up Galilee? The mighty God. The mighty God. So they're like, is Christ really coming from Galilee? The Bible says God is coming from Galilee, and he's going to light that place up. He's talking about Jesus Christ. You see, when you read the Bible, and you read these words of these Jews, don't take that to be the truth. They don't know what they're talking about. Again, they've been hearing watered down preaching in the temple. They've never heard preaching like Christ's teaching. They don't know the Bible, Reverend. Isn't that how it is sometimes with you Christian people that you meet that are not saved? Those speak, oh, that's not in the Bible. That's in the Bible. They don't know what's in the Bible. They've got no idea. Bible preaching teaches salvation by faith in Christ alone. Christ is salvation, even for the Gentiles from Galilee. And then look at, if you go back to John, chapter seven, verse number 42. So they're still asking this question. Is Christ really coming from Galilee? Well, yes. The Bible says so. Okay, verse number 42. Have not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? They're like, yeah, the Bible says he's coming from Bethlehem, not from Galilee. Don't forget, he was born in Bethlehem, then he was raised in Nazareth in Galilee. Okay? So what they're talking about is found in Micah 5, 2, which says, but thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me, that is, to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. The ruler of Israel is going to come from Bethlehem. And we saw in Isaiah 9 about Galilee, that light, you know, that Christ is going to have the government upon his shoulder. He is going to be a ruler as well. He's talking about the same person. But yeah, he's coming from Bethlehem. But Galilee too, because he was raised in Galilee. But these people don't know the scriptures, because they've been wasting time, we've watered down preaching, in the house of God. So, you know, if we as preachers, or me as a pastor, we want to improve and be more Christ-like, we better take heed of how Christ taught, and follow after Christ. None of this Ned Flanders Christianity. It's rubbish, soft, effeminate, watered down preaching, where you don't even receive much from God's word. You say, why do people go to church? Why do people go to the temple? Why do they go to the Feast of Tabernacles? To tick a box, I did what I have to do. Who cares if I'm put into practice? Who cares if I'm learning anything? No, we better, New York Baptist Church better be a church where we're learning things. Where we're being fed God's word. Verse number 43. John 7, 43. So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them that would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees and they said unto them, why have you not brought him? The officers answered, never man speak like this man. Wow. And you know what's strange? We think that if we speak like Christ and we speak with boldness and we say things that are hated by this world are controversial, we think surely we're putting our tiger on our backs. Surely we're gonna be attacked. But even then, they can't get a hold of him. So this just tells me, let's just teach God's word. Let's just be truthful, without compromise, just openly proclaim God's word. And in fact, there's a greater protection just teaching what God says. Right? Than trying to hide the truth. Jesus Christ did not hide the truth. He was just careful about where he conducted his ministry because he wanted things to be profitable. What's the point of always arguing with the Pharisees when you go to a certain place, another place, where people can receive him? Never man speak like this man. Verse number 47. Then answered them the Pharisees, are you also deceived? Pharisees are like to the police officers, the chief, no. Are you deceived as well? Why can't you arrest him? Take him. Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him? Any of the important people here, do any of these believe on him? But this people, who knoweth not the law, are cursed. These are interesting words. They're saying, look, they don't know the law. They're not doing things the way we think they ought to be doing, therefore they are cursed. They're saying, in order to not be cursed, you have to know the law, or you have to do the law, which is complete opposite to what the Bible teaches. I'll just read it to you quickly. Galatians 3, 13. Christ have redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is every man that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, yes, on the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, through faith, by believing on Christ. Then the curse is lifted off us, the curse of the law. They're teaching the complete opposite. They're saying, you've got to keep the law to redeem yourself from the curse. You can't do it, you Pharisees. Isn't it strange, how you can go to one church, and I'm teaching you, if you're trying to keep the law to be saved, you're under the curse, and you can go to some other church, and it says, believe in that. It's not enough. You're still under the curse, but we all say, in the name of Jesus, we all say we believe in him. We all say we're Christians. Some people have a hard time, honestly, people have a hard time with this, to think the church down the road, where the church is, surely there's safe people there. Maybe there are. Maybe you hope so. Even safe people can get caught up in bad places, but that preach is unsaved. The gospel is not true. Just because they say Christ or Jesus doesn't mean anything. It's not the Jesus of the Bible. The Bible warns us of other Jesuses. The Bible warns us of other gospels, of other spirits. They're all over the Sunshine Coast. So the Pharisees are like, are you deceived, man? These guys are under the curse. The first of them are 50 Nicodemus. Remember, he's one of the Pharisees. He's one of the rulers. He's one of these people. Nicodemus saved fun to them. He that came to Jesus by night being one of them. He says, Doth our Lord judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth? He's like, isn't it right for us to just arrest him? Come on, guys. Shouldn't we first hear him? Shouldn't we bring him before us and just question him first to see if he's really this troublemaker, deserving death for what? It sounds to me that Nicodemus is trying to come to the defense of Christ, but at the same time, he's still got a fear of the Jews. You know, he's just fearful. You know, he's timid to just stand up for Christ. It sounds to me he's trying to defend him. He's probably saved at this point. Verse number 52. They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? To Nicodemus. Search and look for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. They're telling Nicodemus, hey, search the scriptures. Don't you know the Bible says no prophet comes out of Galilee and you're saying Christ is coming out of Galilee? Verse number 53. And every man went unto his own house. Now, is that true? In the Bible, okay, I really showed you that Christ is coming from Galilee. Okay. But is that true? Now, just quickly, I'll just tell you that. You know, Jonah. Remember Christ uses the illustration of Jonah as himself being in the whale's belly for three days and three nights. Well, Jonah, according to 2 Kings 14, 25, it says that Jonah is from Gath-hetha. Gath-hetha. Look up Gath-hetha. Guess where it is? Galilee. Jonah. But these Pharisees are like, search the scriptures. No one's come out of Galilee. These men don't even know the Bible. And look, sometimes I say this when I'm preaching. Sometimes I'm like, guys, search the scriptures yourselves. But you know what? I actually want you to search the scriptures. I actually want you to open the Bible and find out what is true. I want you to do that, brethren. These Pharisees, it's not in the scriptures because they don't know the scriptures. They don't read the scriptures. They're not saved. And they can't understand the scriptures being unsaved. Churches on the Sunshine Coast right now teaching apparently from the Bible. But they're not saved. They don't know what they're saying. They don't know what they're saying. They don't know God. They've got a false gospel everywhere on the Sunshine Coast this morning, this afternoon, this evening. Brethren, we ought to be preachers like Christ. Let me just summarize those seven points. I've gone over time. Thank you for your patience, brethren. Let me go through them one more time. Number one, Bible preaching is hated by the world. Number two, Bible preaching is controversial. Number three, Bible preaching is God's doctrine. Number four, Bible preaching glorifies God, not man. Number five, Bible preaching enables righteous judgments. Number six, Bible preaching must be spoken with boldness. And number seven, Bible preaching teaches salvation by faith on Christ alone. Okay, let's pray. Amen, Father, Lord. I just want to thank you once again to be here at New Life Baptist Church with the brethren. Lord, I thank you for giving us a church that loves your word, that teaches the scriptures. Lord, that we actually actively Lord, search and try to learn. Lord, not just by the preaching alone, but that every family here, Lord, has their Bibles and opens them up, Lord. And if it's any of us, Lord, that are being lazy in our Bible reading, Lord, I pray that you just encourage us to pick up those Bibles once again, to dig in deep and to learn great truths from your word. And Lord, for the men that preach, not just myself, but other preachers, Lord, I pray that we would be more like Christ in the way that we would preach and teach. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Hymn number 156. 156. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 156. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 156. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 56. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 57. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 58. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 59. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 60. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 61. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 62. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 63. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 64. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 65. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 66. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 77. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 78. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 79. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 80. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 81. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 82. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 83. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 84. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 85. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 86. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 87. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 88. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 89. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 90. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 91. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 91. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 92. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 93. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 94. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 95. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 96. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 97. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 98. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 99. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 90. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 91. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 92. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 93. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 94. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 95. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 96. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 97. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 98. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 99. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 90. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 91. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 92. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 93. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 94. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 95. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 96. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 97. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 98. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 99. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. 100. Jesus is the sweetest name I know.