Sunday Gathering - John 7 : 1-9 - Nick Lugg - Sermon Only

Nick Lugg preaches on John 7:1-9 as the series in John’s Gospel pauses before a busy summer break, under two titles: the courage of conviction, and the call of God on our lives being greater than the pressure we face. Jesus has been travelling around Galilee because the Jewish leaders in Judea were plotting his death; when the festival of shelters approaches his brothers urge him to go south where his followers can see his miracles, since he cannot become famous if he hides like this, and they want him to show himself to the world even though John notes they did not believe in him. Jesus refuses: now is not the right time for him to go, though they can go at any time, and the world cannot hate them but it does hate him, because he accuses it of doing evil.

The preacher names the pressure as double-sided: enemies plotting to kill him, and those closest to him pressing him to dance to their tune, to turn his miracles into a miracle circus and make a name for himself. He reflects that we all face pressure, and that it only damages something when the pressure inside is less than the pressure outside, like a balloon popping or the implosion of the Titan submersible. Facing pressure for faith does not invalidate it; it proves it is genuine. The illustration carries through to the church’s own 146 project, where a million-pound cost and a roofless building could have been reasons to back off; instead he tells of Erica’s parents, David and Margaret, Elim missionaries sent to Ghana in the 1960s who were told there was nothing to do there, found 60 people at a welcome service and left eight years later to 6,000. The closing appeal is to step in, since God will do it with someone else if we decline.

Bible passages

• John 7:1-9 (main text)
• John 7:7 (the world hates me because I accuse it of doing evil)
• Mark 8:34 (if anyone wants to follow me they must take up their cross and follow me)
• Hebrews 12:2 (Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him)
• Luke 22:42 (not my will but yours be done)
• Esther 4:14 (who knows that you were brought to royal position for such a time as this)

Key points

• Jesus stayed in Galilee because the Jewish leaders were plotting his death, facing it without panic or crisis.
• Jesus would not take his direction from anyone; he stuck to the timetable his Father had given him: my time has not yet come.
• Pressure only damages something when the pressure inside is less than the pressure outside, like a balloon popping or the Titan submersible imploding.
• Facing pressure for our faith does not invalidate it; it proves our faith is genuine, and the pressure to conform is huge in our society.
• As people of God we hold out the word of life, which calls us to change, align our will with God’s purposes and lay down our ego.
• Conviction and courage are inseparable, and without conviction we get blown about.
• He quotes Alexandre Auguste Ledru Rollin: there go the people, I must follow them, for I am their leader, and says we cannot live like that as followers of Jesus.
• Erica’s parents were redirected from Zimbabwe to Ghana in the 1960s, and on arrival they were told there was nothing to do there.
• They found 60 people at the welcome service and 6,000 at the farewell eight years later; Margaret co-founded Ghana’s children’s movement.
• He recalls his 1994 appointment as a pastor when Erica’s dad said, you haven’t got any experience and you are very young, but are you called? I said, yeah. Well that settles it then.
• He calls the congregation to humility about the 146 project: it is not our vision but God’s plan.
• He quotes Erica: we never step into a situation where God is not present, Emmanuel, God with us.
• He closes with Esther: God will do it from somewhere else if we will not, but who knows that you were brought to royal position for such a time as this.

Calls to action

• Appeal to anyone who has never professed faith: the closing question is what is God doing and will you step in, with an invitation to respond in your hearts.
• Invitation to believers under pressure: recenter yourself this morning, focus again on him, and ask what the Lord is calling you to and what he is doing.
• Invitation to come to the front if you want prayer: come here down the front and we’ll pray if you want to settle it there.
• Ongoing challenge to believers: hold out the word of life without compromise, and let the call of God on our lives be greater than the pressure we face.
• Ongoing challenge to the church: be the engine room of transformation, not just a group that meets on Sunday, and transform communities by standing up, standing out and speaking out.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/lVkaUdmxdAQ