Our scripture reading for this morning hour worship service can be found in the New Testament, the Gospel according to John. We turn to the 7th chapter this morning and begin reading at verse 1 through to verse 24. and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the worse that thou doest." Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come. said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he up also unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? There was much murmuring among the people concerning him. Some said, He is a good man of a set name, but he deceiveth the people. Now he hath no man, 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. 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 the devil to go about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, all marveled. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers. And he on the sabbath day circumcised a man. A man on the sabbath day received circumcision, and the law of Moses should not be broken. Are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit bold on the sabbath day? Judge not according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. My dear congregation, despite all the good things that happen in the world and that happen to people in the world, the reality still exists that we live in a world that is filled with depravity It is filled with sorrow. It is filled with confusion. And we know, of course, all these sad things, these bad things, these dark things, they are present in this world because of the reality of sin, of original sin. The Lord said to Adam, In the garden, the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die literally. In dying, thou shalt surely die. Mankind has lived in a world that is filled with not only death, but pain, sorrow, affliction, violence, And many, many things that we say are so, so sad. And it's literally everywhere in this world that we look. On the average in the United States, there is one death every 13 seconds. Two and a half million people a year. That means before we exit these doors for our worship today, over 400 people around this world will have met their maker and have to stand before the judge of heaven and earth. Think of sorrow in terms of crime statistics. In the last 30 years, there's an average in the United States alone of three million crimes a year Those who catalog these things catalog degrees of crime and those many of those degrees of crime are domestic crimes within our own homes most emergency calls a 911 happen from the safety of our own homes. And that's only in the United States of America alone. We are just a little bit over 4% of the entire world's population. Think of depravity and sorrow and suffering in terms of a few worldwide statistics. In World War I, 30 million people died. In World War II, approximately double that. 60 million people had to meet their maker. In the 1950s, shortly after the Second World War, a cultural revolution in China, there was a dictator who executed 22,000 people a month, resulting in tens millions of deaths. There was a savage civil war in Rwanda in 1994. It claimed 800,000 lives and left 350 children and infants orphaned and homeless. Think of these realities in terms of natural disasters in the year 2004 there was a tsunami in Indonesia that claimed 220,000 lives They commit in terms of disease in the year 1918 there was an outbreak of What what is often referred to as the great flu sometimes it's referred to as a Spanish flu that spread over the entire entire world, and it's estimated that 100 million people died. It's not an over-exaggeration to say that we live in a sorrowing, a death-filled world that is filled with people who are hurt, who are grieving And then add to that, of course, all the confusion of mind of many, many people. We're fallen people. Depravity not only affects the reality of death that happens, and sorrowing that happens, but it also affects how we process information. There's much confusion in the minds of people about many, many subjects, not the least of which is the main questions On the average in America today, when people are asked, what is life all about? Why are you here? What is your worldview? Only 2 in 10 people could give an answer with any degree of clarity. The rest weren't sure or confused by the very questions that were posed to them. It should not come as a surprise to us, dear congregation, that there is nothing new on this side. That which is a reality today, in the 21st century in which we live, was a reality in the days that Jesus Christ ministered in the flesh upon the earth as well. There was much sorrow, there was much depravity, And today, with God's help, as we make our way through what may appear a very difficult passage in our series in the Gospel According to John, we'll see some of those things. The reality of confusion and depravity, but then also how Jesus teaches in light reality. So Jesus teaches in Galilee. C is our theme, as we consider these verses, which God's helped today. In the first seven verses, we see more of the depravity of the heart of mankind. In verses 8 through 15, we see much confusion when the Lord Jesus Christ So Jesus teaching in Galilee, first we consider depravity, secondly confusion, and then Jesus' response and guidance. In our continued study of your congregation of the Gospel according to John, we find that the Lord and Jesus Christ ministering here in Galilee at the beginning of chapter 7. Now we ought to note, at least in passing, that chronologically there is about six months that pass between the close of chapter six in John's Gospel and the beginning of chapter seven. And we can pick that up, actually, as we lay all of the four Gospel accounts side by side. We can glean that when we read through Matthew and Mark and Luke's record. And we are reminded again, as we think of these things, that not every single gospel account has every single detail in them. The gospel accounts, some illustrated as, Jesus Christ is in the center. And then you've got Matthew, you've got Mark, you've got Luke, you've got John, as it were, on four corners, viewing the same So, from their perspective, they write things by the Spirit's influence from their perspective, and the next one writes it from their perspective, and therefore you have many overlapping accounts of the same thing. And then others, they say something that you don't find in the other accounts, and they're not contradictory, and they're not conflicting records, but they're simply what they have seen in the eyewitness accounts of the same gospel church. the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so John records here that Jesus would not walk in Jewry, literally in Judea, because there were some Jews there that sought to kill him. And just as a passing note here, Jesus Christ, you remember, is the sovereign king, the king over all the earth. But he still did the responsible thing. His time was not yet come, he says it a couple times in his chapter, but he knew that there were people who were seeking to kill him, and so he does the responsible thing. He does not place himself in those dangerous situations. I think there are many levels upon which a Christian here can follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought not to also place ourselves in our lives, whatever that may be, in dangerous situations. The Son of God, as the Great Wise One, didn't. And we too, in very, very practical ways, whatever that may be, ought not to place ourselves in dangerous situations. Dear Jesus knew that there were those who sought to Before them he did the responsible thing How much of Christianity very practical terms is very simply being responsible Christian fallen nature of the human heart in several different ways. What are those? Well, first of all, in verse 1, we see that there were some who indeed wanted to kill the Lord Jesus Christ. They wanted Him dead, very simply, no matter what Their view he was disrupting the religious scene. He was disrupting the moral scene overall he was he was shaking things up in the church scene and This sorely displeased Unbelieving Jews not the leading views of course, but unbelieving Jews and so they out and out simply wanted to kill him they wanted to be away with their problem. They saw Jesus, the person of Jesus, and the ministry of Jesus, the core, the root problem, and so they just wanted to take him out. They wanted to kill him, the text tells us. Well, even though Jesus is alive in heaven today, and he is not physically on earth with us today, The depravity of the heart of your congregation is no less true today for many people as it was then in Jesus' day in his earthly ministry. Sadly, this reality is still true today. From the great famous German philosopher in the century and a half ago who famously declared that God is dead, and millions have followed his teachings. To the evolutionists who deny his very existence, many still want him dead, or at least non-existent. Today, really and principally, it's the same thing. And so how does that happen? Well, he gets written out of existence in educational textbooks, People refuse to talk about Him in common conversation. They talk about everything else but God. And the only reference some people have about God is taking His name in vain. Even though that's not shedding physical blood the DNA of physical blood Principally, it's the same thing not wanting a living Christ before us And then think the irony of the situation think of this who Wanted to kill him The Bible says it so clearly it was the Jews And what were the Jews? Paul tells us in the book of Romans what the Jews were. The Jews were the ones distinguished from the Gentiles. And what did the Jews have? The Jews had the living oracles, the lively oracles of God. They had the Bible. Outwardly religious, moral people. There's nothing new in the Son. As many people today, sad as it is true, with Bibles in their homes, that would rather that the Lord Jesus Christ is not part of each sermon. People like to hear colorful Bible stories. They like to hear inspiring messages. They like to hear the Word of God, the tough things of the Word of God, but especially those applied to other people, but not to ourselves. And when Jesus Christ is proclaimed as the full Savior and the free Savior, and it's sin when we don't flee to Him, well that news isn't well received by the multitudes. The sad truth is today, dear congregation, that there are many people who could well do without the existence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I come to us this morning and I ask us all, myself included, what about us? Could we live without Jesus Christ? It's a sobering question. When a couple is in love, we say, I just can't live without you. And when we are in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, we say the same thing. I just can't live without you. I need you. We say, with all, for me to live is Christ. Many people, religious people, have lived I think we can ask ourselves that question here, daily sometimes. Can I live without Jesus Christ? The depravity of the heart here is expressed, that some can well be without him. But then in the next couple of verses, in verses three through four, had sinful hearts expressed in the direction of their own brother in a couple different ways. Here, when he's talking about his brethren in verse 3, that's very likely a reference to his aunts, siblings. Of course, he had God as his father, but he had Mary as his mother. But we are told that he had Joseph would have been their father, and Mary would have been their mother. And there were some unbelievers in his family circle, at least at that time. We know that some came to faith. James, for example, came to faith and was one of the gospel writers later on. But at this point in his ministry, there were some of his own flesh and blood who saw him in his own home Growing up with their own eyes hearing him teach seeing his godly Christ Christian example And it's a sobering reminder again That as great as the blessing of the covenant of grace is from generation to generation The sobering reality is grace is not genetic It doesn't flow through the DNA Automatically. If one sibling has grace, it doesn't mean all siblings have grace. It's not true in Jesus' family. It's not true in many families today. But they did see him, interestingly, as many other unbelievers saw him as well. As a great miracle worker. And so his brothers actually here, they goad him on and they encourage him to do a miracle, to do a work in Judea, where there would be much people, they're implying, you do these things in secret, you do these things in front of people, they said, so they would see it. They likely knew, just like in the beginning of John chapter 6 in verse 2, the multitude would see these things happening, and As Arthur King puts it, they probably thought, I'm going to pull this specifically in the text, but they probably thought that they would share in the honors that would be keeped upon him. In other words, Jesus would do a miracle, they encourage him to do this miracle, don't do it privately, do it where all the people are, and maybe they could say, well, you know, he's my brother. Well, they should make people proud. This is my brother. I'm related to this man. And indeed, if that is the case, as it appears in the text, it reminds us again that depravity will morph into any situation, will adapt to any situation. The sin of the heart will seek to manipulate any situation, even apparently good and honorable situations. It's so true that sin in your congregation is like a chameleon. A chameleon is that little creature. You put it on a blue carpet and it turns blue. You put it on brown and it turns brown. It walks on a white floor and it turns white. And it sits halfway and it turns white and brown. It just adapts to the situation. Well, that's what sin does. It just adapts to any situation. Second, that slows us down. That comes as a result of the primacy. But then third, we see in verse five very specifically why all this was happening. Four, because they were asking him to do this. For neither did his brethren, Brothers, then after the Pledge, the General Brothers believe in Him. That was the root, really, of all their sin. That was the root problem. Unbelief is the mother sin. It gives birth to all the different sins. And this verse, I think, is a very arresting one. Short verse 5. For neither did his brethren believe in him. They saw him growing up. They witnessed him growing up. And what is happening here, dear congregation, is not sibling rivalry. In some families, young children and even adults, sibling rivalry is living in well. Or living in unwell, probably better said. This is not sibling rivalry, why they aren't believing in Him. The reality of why they aren't believing in Him is because they have depraved hearts, unrenewed by the Holy Spirit of God. And that's why God says to us as well in Romans 14 in verse 23 that whatsoever is not of faith is Sin And even though we're talking now about Jesus brethren after the flesh who were unbelievers yet we have to warn ourselves we confess the Lord Jesus Christ as believers that We have to pray that everything that we do do may be Because it is true. Isn't it for believers as well that we have the capability to Even with a renewed heart, even though we've been given the gift of faith, even though God has given us to be new creatures in Christ, even though he has deposited the Holy Spirit within our heart as that one who takes up his residence there, Paul says, we still have the capability of living and functioning in an unbelieving way. And so, that which Paul says in Romans 14 verse 23 is not only applicable to unbelievers, it's applicable to believers as well. Whosoever, whatsoever rather, is not of faith is sin. And therefore our daily prayer hath been for, please, Help me to exercise faith today. Help me with my words, with my thoughts, with my demeanor, in my life. Help me to live the life of faith. There are many who don't. Certainly his own brethren didn't go to church five. But then verse seven, another way depravity is manifest, The world cannot hate you, but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. He says in verse seven. The world hated him because he testified that their works were evil. Again, this is striking. He's talking here, isn't he? About Jews. So when he's talking about the world, he's referencing the unbelieving Jewish world. He's not talking here so much about the Gentiles, the faraway Gentiles, and the Philistines, and the Midianites, and the Yiddishites. He's talking about the unbelieving Jews in reference to the world. And he lived before them. at the light of the world, and he testified before them. And their works were evil. He didn't testify against them, but he testified of it with his godly life. You see, his holiness made them not only uncomfortable But His Holiness made them angry. You see, we feel comfortable, don't we, sometimes, when we're set beside the standard of the world. That's a sad reality. But when we're set beside the standard of perfection, It makes us feel uncomfortable because then we don't measure up. Well, for the Jews, they certainly didn't measure up, and it not only made them feel uncomfortable, it made them angry when Jesus stood before them and exposed them. They couldn't stand it. None of us like to be exposed first and foremost, and that's why we draw back from the light of the world. Jesus said it this way in John 3 in verse 20, everyone that doeth evil hated the light hates the Lord Jesus Christ, neither comes to the light, but will come to him in the light of the world. Why? Lest his evil deeds should be reproved. Lest his evil deeds should be exposed. But he hath doeth the truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are done by their rod in God. And you see, that's why it's always so troubling. And it always ought to always trouble us. When somebody confesses to be a Christian, who confesses to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and stays away from the very means of grace that testifies that he's the light of the world. And people say, well, I love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they stay away from the ministry of the Word of God that shines his light for them. You see, it just doesn't even make logical sense, let alone biblical sense, and it goes against teaching of what Jesus is saying. People don't come to him, he says, because they're uncomfortable and they get angry. And he shows them from their true colors what they really are. That's what life does, it feeds you. You can't see what something is. You can't see true color until you shine true light on it. Well, when Jesus shines his true light, we really see our true colors. And sometimes that brings out the anger of the heart, as it did in situations in previous life. The reality is, dear congregation, the gravity of the heart, the gravity of humanity, expresses itself in many different ways. But we also find, secondly, confusion when the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is preached. You know, sometimes we have, even in Christian, conservative Christian circles, we have this romantic notion about the gospel. Sometimes we have this idea that when Jesus is preached and the gospel is proclaimed, that the birds will sing that the grass will be green, that the flowers will bloom, that it'll be blue skies, and everything will be good in the world. Oh, read through John chapter 7, it's just, it will prove that. Depravity rears its ugly head in many different ways. And then secondly, confusion. Confusion is present as well. Where do we see that? We see that in verse 12. And there were much murmuring among the people concerning him. Some said yes, some said no. He deceived the people. So first of all, we see murmuring, even when the Lord Jesus Christ ministers. Usually when the term murmuring is used in the Bible, it's used in this way. It's a form of muttering complaint. It's a form of muttering complaint. it ought not surprise us that there is still the voice of muttering complaint. That's simply the way it is. As tough as it is, as difficult as it is, it's a reality. And sometimes the sad reality is that that muttering complaint, that grumbling, that groaning of discontentment can come from the very heartful lips of the people of God. I often think of that Old Testament illustration. You remember the Lord Jesus Christ delivering his people from the hand of the Egyptians at the edge of the Red Sea. They left Egypt, and they came to the edge of the Red Sea, and the mountains are all around them. The Egyptians are bearing down on them, and they're complaining, they're crying to Moses and saying, why don't you leave us? leave us in Egypt, where we have all kinds of wonderful food and all kinds of wonderful things, even though it's tough labor, and then the Lord graciously opens the Red Sea, they go through the Red Sea, the Red Sea closes over the Egyptians, they sing a song of praise, the song of Moses, and right on the heels of that, they're right back to complaining. already. It's just amazing. With God's provision, the people of God are filled with murmuring. If we really have to be honest here, congregation, we are really, really good at murmuring, aren't we? It just bubbles from our heart. Like a foul stench. But then secondly, there were those who not only murmured about what Jesus Christ was teaching, but some said, in verse 12 further, that he was deceitful. Early deceitful means that he was dishonest. They're not really told how they thought he was dishonest, but, you know, it just shows again the gravity and confusion and the reality of sinfulness coming to bear. People oftentimes, when they don't know how to argue a situation, they resort to the simple things, as they so call it. They resort to character assassination. That's what they're doing here. They're seeking to tear down his character. With no ground, of course, at all. But smear his name. Oh, he's just deceitful. Sad reality is the heart's unchanged. And then, something that actually appears good at first, in verse 15, that really is an expression of depravity and confusion as well. Then the Jews marveled, saying, how knoweth this man letters, having never learned? How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? How is it that he knows letters, that he knows The reference there to the word letters is a reference to education. How is it that this man seems so educated and he never went to school? It appears very clearly to me that there were some Jews who were extremely caught up with the gifts of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they didn't see him as God's gift to a fallen world. Isn't that striking? Did you hear that delivery? It was just fabulous. The way it was brought, the manner in which it was brought. Many people are charmed by the external delivery and they seem to miss the content of the ministry. That's what was happening here in Jesus' day. They were struck by His gifts. But they were struck by Him who is the gift. The reality is, once again, there are all kinds of responses and confusion when Jesus Christ presents himself to man dying for his word. And that picture that emerges, oftentimes isn't this beautiful, rosy picture, but just a sad and a sorry one. But then, in closing, this morning's congregation We've got to focus here to see how he does this. In verses 16 and 17, he's responding to the Jews who are marveling how that this man was such a gifted man. How the fact that he knew letters, how he knew education having never been taught. And so he tells them, in verse 16, My doctrine is not of mine, but of Him that sent me. My teaching, literally, is not of mine, but of Him that sent me. So what is Jesus saying? He is saying, the source of what I'm teaching you doesn't have an earthly source. It has a heavenly source. It comes from above. It comes from my Father, which is in heaven. It comes from the very courts of glory that come from the water that sent me. This is very, very important, I believe, a principle to teach our children, our grandchildren, and remind yourself again and again, that every time we open the Bible to read, that every time we study the Bible, Bible study time, and especially when the Word of God is proclaimed within the house of God, this is not just the teaching of a church, the teaching of a denomination, the teaching of a consistory, the teaching of a man, this is the teaching of the voice of God from heaven itself. We are under the authority not of human inventions, but of God-sourced truth. His doctrine, his teaching, comes from heaven. And therefore we are called to submit and to surrender and to follow and to obey and to love and to fear this God who gives us that doctrine He doesn't give us options, you see. He just tells us lovingly, firmly, do this and live. Call upon me. Seek my face. Trust in my son. Obey my word. Love your fellow man. Don't say, Lord, well, I'll do that if it works out for me at my own convenience. You have to say, yes, God. I recognize the very source of your teaching. And then secondly, we've got to think a little more deeply about this. He further addresses their concerns. And he speaks words that are very applicable to us today. A very, very wise word. Look at verse 17. If any man will do his will, he shall know of this doctrine, of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether it be of myself. There are many today who were, as Jesus is implying in the very statement, Who's saying things like this? How can I really know what's true doctrine? How can I really know what's true teaching? How can I really, really know? There's so many churches, so many denominations out there. How can I really, really know what's true? What's from God and what's from man? What's from the church? How can I really, really know? And many times, I'm sorry, many times people ask that question as a reason or as an excuse for not practicing Jesus said this if you just put into practice the Word of God by faith you will know What is true and what is not true? In other words you will grow in your discernment You see one of the greatest problems also in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Indian congregation I'm convinced and I'm not the lone voice in this, this is something that many pastors are very very concerned about The lack of discernment. And Jesus hits the nail on the head here. He comes down and he touches a vibe nerve. And he says, one of the great reasons for that, not the exclusive reason, but one of the great reasons for that is that people are not doing God's will. Jesus is ultimately saying if you practice truth-based, because truth-based is God's will, you'll be able to discern, to understand the words of this book, the Bible. In other words, the reason why there is so much lack of discernment, so much presence of confusion today, is not because The Bible is not being read. It's true that the Bible isn't being read and studied, as it should. But that's not so much of the problem. The problem is there are so many people doing that who are not believing. You see, there's so many people who, Jesus implies here, they want to know, first off, whether this is true or whether it's not true. He says it doesn't go that way. He says your first duty is to do God's will, and to do God's will is to believe on Him. The first thing to do is surrender, and then your eyes will be opened. Just like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, He surrendered his heart and soul by the grace of God and only by the Spirit of God, and then the scales came off of his eyes, and then he saw things clearly, and he went out and preached Christ immediately. But mankind, we always get that mixed up, don't we? We want to know all that's right and true, and then we say, well, when I finally understand it, then I'm going to believe, then I'm going to do God's will. God says, no, it's the, Jesus says, it's the other way around. You first do God's will, and then you will understand. Then you will discern. Then you will grasp it. That is why faith is so important. That's why we read in 1 John 3 verse 23. And this is His commandment. That we should believe on the name of the Son of Jesus Christ. So Jesus teaches about the source of doctrine. He teaches about the need of doing God's will. Believing in Him. But then he also teaches on, and touches on briefly, the sin of pride in verse 18. He that speaks of himself, speaketh of his own glory, that he that seeketh his glory, and seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true. And there is no unrighteousness in him, and there is no unrighteousness in God. And how desperately we need to hear these words still today. There is no unrighteousness in God. But there is unrighteousness in us, and there are multitudes, just like the Jews, who go about establishing our own glory and our own pride, and we think that life is all about ourselves and our own honor, and Jesus says, no, it's not about you, it's not about your honor, it's about God's honor, it's about God's glory. The Jews needed to hear that. You and I need to hear that again, and again, and again. And then, finally, in the last verses, verses 19 through 24, Jesus warns about the error of making uninformed And he does that by giving an illustration. And he says that Moses gave the Jews the law. They know that of course, the Ten Commandments. And that law contained also the Sixth Commandment, didn't it? Thou shalt not kill. And yet, they wanted to kill him. And at the same time, the Jews wanted to have something done to Jesus because apparently he was breaking one of their micro-laws about doing something good on the Sabbath day. And so they were guilty of wanting to break God's law And they were accusing Jesus of breaking the law. They were accusing him of wanting to commit an actual sin, while Jesus, of course, the great lawgiver, the great law keeper, he wasn't guilty of breaking any law. Even for a moment. And so, Jesus confronts them on this. He confronts them on this. And they don't know how to respond at first. And so they do. What small children do sometimes, they just call him a name for a point. You have a devil. Little children do that sometimes. When they're playing, they don't know how to respond logically, so they just resort to name calling. Well, the bad truth is, there's some big people who never grew up, and they just do that. not only character assassination, they resort to name-calling. Here the Jews are doing it to Jesus. They feel uncomfortable, so they just say, oh, you've got a devil. But it doesn't concern Jesus at all that they do this. Then he concludes in verse 24, In other words, he's saying when you see something happening You see somebody doing something even though it appears to break up a micro ball that you have said in your mind think it through make Righteous make proper make informed judgments and assessments and evaluations You may judge something in a proper way with a proper spirit to do it properly That's what Jesus is ultimately saying He's not saying like many people say today. Well, they Judge nothing do not judge and so they say well, I'm not about to say anything bad about anyone I may not call this good and they don't call that bad People they don't grasp The depth of what Jesus is keeping he's not saying that he's saying you may discern must discern What's right and what's wrong, but as you do so make righteous make Biblical make proper judgments and evaluations. That's what he was doing. And he's ultimately saying just follow my example. Do the way I do it. And so dear congregation, here we find the Lord Jesus Christ as we close this morning. Again in his teaching mode of ministry. That's what he was doing here, wasn't he? He didn't perform a miracle. He didn't save anyone. He was teaching. And why was he teaching? Was he teaching them just so their mind would be filled with the facts of the Bible and about his doctrine and his teaching? No, he wasn't. He was teaching because his desire, as it ought to be all our desires, that people would hear his word and that their lives would be shaped following him by the truths that he taught. And so, as we close this morning, I ask us on a personal level, as he taught then, so he is teaching now through his word. But are we learning? Are we being good students, putting into practice that which this teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, is teaching? And what is that lesson about? First of all, belief. Are we believing daily in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we living by faith, trusting alone in Him? Are we desiring that He is alive and well? There were those who wanted to kill him, those who wished him not to exist. We must not support those organizations or people who deny the very existence of God. That's how we live out these truths. Are we seeking to exalt ourselves in any way? Here the Jews apparently were doing that, weren't they? Exalting themselves in any way they could. Well, the Bible tells us to repent of those self-exalting ways and that pride that so easily besets us. And remember that God gives grace unto the humble, but the proud, they stand a long ways off. What about the murmuring? There were those who murmured. Are we murmuring in any way what God has given us in life? Are we saying that the psalm is the line, the providential line that all of us meet in pleasant pleasures? Yea, I have a goodly heritage. And finally, are we making judgments, proper judgments, hasty judgments about any in any situation, in anything, also maybe against our fellow Christians? Are we coming to unbiblical judgments? Uninformed judgments? Or are we judging according not to appearance, but to righteous judgments, as Jesus said? So let us remember, dear congregation of the Lord, He gave us guidance many years ago, not only to guide the youth, but also to guide and instruct and inform and teach the shape and the mold of us, the readers of these words, so many years later. So that we would walk in wisdom's ways, working by faith in the Son of God, and the way of faithful obedience. And I pray, as I close this morning, that we would learn to say with solace, as we think of Christ. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, for thou art the God of my salvation. I'll be thy way.