Well, if you'll take your Bibles and turn with me to John, Chapter 7. If you'll recall, John 7 flows chronologically off of Chapter 6. Only Chapter 6 takes place six months prior, primarily during the season of the Passover. And then we come into chapter 7, and it's the season of the Feast of Booths. Jesus was nearing the end of his Galilean ministry, coming to the end of chapter 6. But sadly, and it really is a, if you consider these souls, these individuals who lived their lives and In all indication, they are in hell tonight. In spite of the teaching of Jesus, in spite of His miracles, very few had been saved. Verse 66 of chapter 6, as a result of this, many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. Reminds us of the words of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 8.20, Harvest has passed. The summer has ended and we are not saved. How few in our generation respond to God's offer of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. So few Christians. It grieves our heart. It's a continued source of anxiety for us as we consider multitudes who live their lives in the brevity For they pass so quickly, and they live their brief lives, and then they die in their sin, where there will be no mercy, and stand before the Lord Jesus Christ condemned. Harvest has passed, the summer has ended, and we are not saved. But then we open a new chapter, chapter 7, and if you'll recall in the past weeks, that it begins with a dialogue between Jesus and his earthly brothers. Now, they're on their way to the Feast of Booths, and they're absolutely convinced that Jesus needs to go as well. They're convinced that he's a miracle worker, and they're convinced that he needed to go to Jerusalem and make himself known, that others might see the miracles that he is able to do. They believed in his miracles. They did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The phrase in verse 5, for not even his brothers were believing in him. Oh, they believed in him as a miracle worker. They understood that he was one worthy of making himself known in Jerusalem. They did not possess saving faith. And so their words to Jesus, and they're instructing him of all things, verses 3 and 4, leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see your works which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourselves to the world." And of course, Jesus' response was firm and resolute. He says in verses 6 through 8, So Jesus said to them, My time is not yet here. But your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves. I do not go up to the feast because my time is not yet fully come. But we looked at this last time, and I pointed out that the Scripture says that he was functioning according to the will and purpose of the Father. And his hour had not yet come. We see that in verse 30. So they were seeking to seize him, and no man laid his hand on him because his hour had not yet come. The word for hour is hora. The same expression is used in chapter 8 verse 20, these words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple and no one sees him because his hour had not yet come. Well, the hour is a fixed time, a definite time, a determined time. And so the Lord Jesus Christ was functioning perfectly according to the eternal counsel of God. Everything was unfolding perfectly according to the predetermined counsel of God. His hour had not yet come. But that's not the word used here in verse 6. Verse six says, my time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. And we saw last time that the word there is kairos, not hora. And kairos just points to a particular time, more the sense of an opportunity. And Jesus is saying, this is not the right time. This isn't the opportune time. This isn't the time that I will give myself to. He's not saying that his appointed hour had not yet come. He's simply saying, this isn't the right time, the opportune time. And he tells his brothers that their time was always opportune, and it's simply because they were of this world. Their hearts were fixed upon this world. They were at home in this world, and this world loved them. From their perspective, it really didn't matter when they went to the Feast of Booths, because no one would give them a second look. Their opportunity was whenever they went. Charles Barkley wrote, and I read this to you last time, it made no difference when Jesus' brothers went to Jerusalem. Any day would do for them, for no one would notice that they were there. Nothing whatsoever depended on their going to Jerusalem. They could go in their own time, and it made no difference. But if Jesus went, it was a very different thing. Why? Because Jesus' brothers were part of the world. Their sympathies were with the world. They did not make the world uncomfortable, and the world had no quarrel with them. But Jesus enters with a disturbing dynamic power. His very presence is a condemnation of our way of life. His very coming is a challenge to our selfishness and lethargy. Jesus had to choose his moment, for when he arrives, something happens. Well, verse 7, Jesus inserts. He says, the world cannot hate you, But it hates me, because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil." He describes that this world, in contrast to his brothers, who could go at any time, and they wouldn't give them a second glance, that the world despised Jesus. There were two reasons why the world hated Jesus. And I use it in past tense because we're reading here the words of our Lord 2,000 years ago, that we could read this presence. Why does the world hate Jesus universally? I mean, this is the condition of the world. It's no different today than it was 2,000 years ago. Why is it that churches are largely empty? In our generation, we are such a secular society, especially in the United States, that people don't have any room for Christ. They absolutely despise him. Well, there's two reasons. because of his teaching. The religious leaders hated him, especially as he taught regarding his deity. In chapter 5 verse 18, for this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him Because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. And because of this, they despised him, and they were said to kill him. And this is the reason that It took him a while to even go into, outside of Galilee. Verse 71 of the previous chapter, I'm sorry, verse one of chapter seven, after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee for he was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him. So, on one hand, they despised his teaching. He taught with authority, and the religious leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their own authority, so they wanted to get rid of him. They absolutely despised him. But there's another more particular reason why the world hates Jesus. And verse 7 gives us that chief reason. More than anything else, more than His teaching, men hate Jesus because His holiness condemns them. His very presence condemns the people of this world, which is what He says in verse 7. It hates me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil." John 3, 19. This is the judgment that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. J.C. Ryle writes, These words reveal one of those secret principles that influence men in their treatment of religion. They help to explain the deadly enmity which many during our Lord's earthly ministry regarded him and his gospel. It was not so much the high doctrines which he preached as the high standard of practice which he proclaimed, which gave offense. The principle, which we may be sure, is one of universal application. It is at work now as much as it was 1,800 years ago. He says 1,800 years ago because J.C. Ryle's writing in the 1800s. But the real cause of many people's dislike to the gospel is the holiness of living which it demands. This is why men hate Jesus. It's why they are not willing to come and submit to Jesus, because they are not willing to have their lives conform to His holiness. The gospel demands repentance. The gospel demands turning from sin. The gospel demands following Jesus, and that is the last thing they're willing to do. Men love their sin, and they're not willing to part with it, and so they despise Jesus. William Barclay again says, when a man's ideals clash with the ideals of Christ, either the man must submit and surrender, or he must fight Christ and seek to destroy Him. Well, that's what most people do. Oh, they crucified him 2,000 years ago, and they can't crucify him today, but they hate him nonetheless, and they want nothing to do with him. And if they could, they would annihilate him. Men loved their sin, and they hate the light. Well, people don't preach that much today. It would seem that the preaching of holiness has fallen upon hard times. Too many well-meaning pastors complain that the preaching of holiness is legalistic, that it denies grace. But the truth of the scripture is God demands holiness. Be ye holy, for I am holy. So tonight I want us to consider this for just a few moments. First of all, the gospel call is a call to holiness. God is holy and He demands that His people be holy. We're to imitate Him. We are to live holy lives. Peter writes, 1 Peter 1.15, But like the one, or like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior. Because it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy." Adam's fall into sin was a fall from his original righteousness, and he had lost communion with God, and he was unable to approach God in the infinite holiness of God. And Adam's fall into sin affected the entirety of humanity. But in redemption, Jesus Christ restores us to a place of righteousness. He made atonement for our sins and he imputes his righteousness to us. This is God's work of justifying grace. He declares us At the same time, salvation involves sanctification. And the word sanctification is from the Latin word sanctus, which means holy. So, salvation also involves sanctification. Well, we are saved unto holiness. In Adam, we were hopelessly corrupted, defiled, we became wretched before God, abominable in His sight, but we have been saved unto holiness. So Christians are followers of Christ. And over and over and over, the command of Christ is, follow me. Now I've preached the last couple Sundays that holiness is not, first of all, morality. It is morality, and it includes morality, but it is not first and foremost about morality. It is first and foremost about meeting Christ, seeing Him as altogether lovely, precious in our sight. We have a love relationship with Him, and holiness is ultimately a life lived in His presence, a continual understanding of His presence in our life, and our delight in His presence, and our delight in pleasing Him with everything we do. Thus, holiness, thus we desire obedience. We desire to reflect Him. We desire to be holy as He is holy. So holiness includes morality, or shall we say it results in morality. But in essence, it is a life consecrated and set apart unto Christ, a life lived in his presence. So when Jesus would approach individuals and say, come, follow me, he was talking about a consecrated life, a life lived unto Christ. And some would follow. And some would not. The rich young ruler says, Lord, what must I do to have eternal life? And Jesus says, well, keep the law. And the rich young ruler says, well, Lord, I've done these things for my youth. And Jesus says, OK, there's one more thing that you lack. Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor. And then he says, come follow me. Well, that's a consecrated life. That's a life lived before Christ. It is following Him as more precious than anything else. It is a life lived with our sights fixed upon Him in eternity, longing for the glorious day of His return. But who's willing to do that? Who in the world would live such a life? only those who have been transformed by His grace. It surely did not include His brothers. It didn't include the multitudes that had just departed from Him. But there are Christians who follow Him. It's a radical life. It's a life set apart under Christ and a desire to conform to His holiness. The kingdom of our Lord is a holy kingdom because its king is a holy king. And so, I mean, that's the nature of our life before Christ in his kingdom. In the Lord's Prayer, we pray, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed means holy. So we pray unto the Father, Father, Your very name is holy, and the name of God is the full expression of his divine being. He is holy. And then as Isaiah looks into the very throne room and he sees Jesus Christ seated upon his throne, and the seraphim are continually saying, holy, holy, holy, Jesus Christ is holy. And then, of course, the spirit he is referred to as the Holy Spirit. We take that for granted because we're just so used to that's his name. That's what we refer to him as. But it's descriptive as well. He is the Holy Spirit. So the very essence of God, He's thrice holy. He's holy, holy, holy. In the Hebrew, multiplied words are used to stress. It gives a higher definite meaning to it. God is holy, holy, holy. And so those who follow Christ reflect Him, are united to Him, and thus, we are holy. One of the definitions of the Christian is saint. And saint is from the Greek word hagios, which simply means holy. And so, we are the holy ones. We are the saints. We are those that reflect the holiness of Christ. And in the New Covenant, we find the ultimate expression of God's covenant people as they're described by Peter. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." So verse 7 describes the great contrast between the holiness of Christ and the world. The brothers of Christ shared in the universal corruption of this world, and for them, going to Jerusalem meant nothing and no one would pay any attention to them because they were just like the world. They were comfortable in this world, comfortable in their sin. Their mindset was consistent with the sinfulness of this world. It's a mindset that seeks to dethrone God. The world embraces those who have this mindset. So if you have this mindset, the mindset of this world, a mindset that is contrary to the rule and law of God, then this world will love you as their own. You will not stand opposed to them. You will not be abrasive to them. They will love you because they love their own. So Jesus tells his brothers that the world would not hate them because they were part of the world. Verse 7 again, the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil. Which in essence is Jesus saying to his brothers, but you do not testify to the evil of this world because you are just like it. Well, Jesus was distinctly different from this world, wholly separated from the corruption of this world, and because of this, the world hates Him. Which means, then, it also hates us, because we reflect Him, because we are one with Him, because we are united to Him. because he is the focus of our life. So Jesus is despised. They despise his character because he's holy. They despise his person because he's infinitely holy. And the presence of Christ calls for a decision. You cannot have a neutral position. If you're here tonight, you cannot walk the fence. Jesus calls for a decision. His very presence calls for a decision. Will you follow Him and be joined to Him? Or will you continue to love the world and follow the ways of this world? No one takes a neutral position on Christ. We will either love Him or we will hate Him. There's no other position. We will either love Him, and to love Him is to see Him as altogether lovely and worthy of our life, and we joyously follow Him. But to hate Him means, I have no room for Him, I do not delight in Him, I do not want Him, I will not follow Him. It's one way or the other. Well, Christians have made the right choice. I know we're afraid of the word choice because it seems like an Arminian position. But the gospel does call for a choice. The gospel does call for a decision. The gospel does call for an individual to turn from their wicked ways and follow Christ. Now, we know that it is a supernatural work of God's grace when we do so. But there is a call, a charge to every individual, take up your cross and follow me. Well, the Christian has followed Christ, we are united to Christ, and thus we reflect His holy character. We shine forth the glory of Christ. In Matthew 5.16, Jesus says, Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Always look at that. Not as a light that we have in and of ourselves because we have none. I always look upon that as a reflective light. A light that is not our own. It is the light of Christ. And I've heard so many times the illustration, you know, you look up at the sun and it's a blinding light and it's putting off its own light. It emanates light from itself. You look up at the moon, it too shines brightly, But it's just a dark blob of rock circling our Earth. It has no light of its own. It merely reflects the light of the sun. Well, we reflect the light of the sun, S-O-N. Well, just as Jesus stands apart from the corruption of this world, so do we if we are united to him. As we reflect Christ, we will experience the displeasure of this world. In verse 7 again, the world cannot hate you. Well, you could turn that around and say, The world will not love you, Christian. The world will hate you just as it hated Christ. J.C. Ryle again says, true Christians must never be surprised if they are hated like their Lord. In fact, the more like Christ they are, the more likely to be hated. What the world hates about Christians is neither their doctrines nor their faults, but their holy lives. Their lives are a constant testimony against the world, which makes the men of the world feel uncomfortable, and therefore, the world hates them." Well, the world will smile upon its own. If you embrace the ways of this world, And they've got their own system of morality, their own sense of right and wrong, their own sense of values, their own sense of what they consider valuable. And they will have nothing to do with those that hold a different worldview than theirs. So the world will smile upon its own. It doesn't mean that there's nothing but harmony in the world. Quite the contrary. Paul says in Romans 129, the world is filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness, greed, envy, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. There's not much harmony in this world. But one thing they share in common a universal hatred of Christ. In this, they are in harmony. In one accord, they are seeking to dethrone Christ. But while they seek to dethrone him, We're continually declaring His glory and seeking to keep Him on His throne in our lives. That's the reason we pray, all hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. In this world, the world hates us. because they despise our King. And make no mistake about it, He is our King. John 15, 18, Jesus says, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this, the world hates you. Well, the brothers could go up and... mingle with the people of this world, go in and out of the temple, enjoy the Feast of Booths, have the grand celebration, smiles on their faces and smiles on the faces of everyone around them. No fear of hostility, because their lives had never given testimony against the sins of this world. On the other hand, when Jesus went up, everything was different. And when we go into this world, we bear testimony against sin both with our words and with our lives. And because of this, they hate us. But what a glorious thing. Jesus says, if they hate you, rejoice and be exceedingly glad. So we continue to bear testimony, and we continue to reflect our Savior. The gospel is a gospel that demands holiness, and it demands we forsake our sins. It demands we follow Christ. But I've never met a Christian yet that laments the fact that they have left this world to follow Christ. He is worthy. May he continue to be the source of our great joy as we live our life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the testimony of Christ. His testimony was that the world despised him and hated him. because His very life, His very presence condemned them. Father, may our lives be so holy that without saying a word, the very presence of our lives in this present world of darkness might have such an impact that they can't ignore us. And if they despise us, Father, may it not be because of our evil deeds but simply because we reflect our Savior in holiness. May our love continue to be made manifest, and may our patience and forbearance continue to be made known. And when they look upon us, may they see grace, may they see compassion, may they see love. My Father, help us to be unwavering in our dedication to our Savior. Bless us, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.