Familiarity Or Faith | John 7:1-10

Familiarity Or Faith | John 7:1-10

Opening Remarks:

How many of you were raised in a Christian home?

How many of you attend church fairly regularly?

How many of you have your own Bible?

How many of you have parents that go to church?

How many of you can name most of the books of the Bible?

How many of you could quote John 3:16, or at least get close.

I would say, as a general rule, most young people in this room check those boxes.

Not everyone. Some of you are really new to this whole “church” thing.

But for the vast majority of young people here, you’re at least familiar with Jesus.

Our text tonight is about a group of people that would have definitely been familiar with Jesus. But it becomes clear as you read this passage, familiarity with Jesus doesn’t mean you have a relationship with Jesus.

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What is so interesting to me about this passage is, Jesus’ own brothers had a Familiar relationship with Him, but they didn’t have a Faith relationship with Him.

Too many young people think that knowledge about Jesus equals a relationship with Jesus. But those things are not the same.

PRAY

Introduction: It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, meaning, the more familiar you are with something the less you appreciate it.

Illustration: How many of you have lived in Colorado at least 5 years? You’re so exposed to mountains that you probably don’t even notice them anymore. Flatlanders like me do.

Familiarity breeds contempt

This can happen with people too.

How many of you have siblings? You’ll understand what I’m about to say…

I have a sister, but we had a love/hate relationship growing up. When I say “Love,” I mean I “Loved” it when she wasn’t around. My sister was mean…borderline abusive. She’s 5’ and weighs about 100 pounds, but I’m still scared of her. Here’s my advice. Never trust the little ones. They’re the most dangerous.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my sister…now. We get along great. But when we were young, at best I took her for granted and, at worst, may have prayed for her to be abducted by aliens.

Why? Because we tend to take those we’re most familiar with for granted.

Believe it or not, this happened to Jesus. Not that He ever did anything to deserve it, but His siblings most certainly took Him for granted. Mark 6:3 tells us he had at least four brothers and it says “sisters” (plural), so He had at least six siblings, which means their family was homeschooled and missionaries.

Can you imagine having Jesus as brother? Some of you have that perfect sibling that does everything well. How many of you have a sibling that is clearly your parents’ favorite? Isn’t that annoying?

Maybe you have a younger sibling and everyone thinks they’re so cute and lovable. You older siblings in the room know what I’m talking about. When you were young, you’d get in trouble for the tiniest thing, but your younger sibling could burn down the house and your parents would say, “Doesn’t he make the prettiest flames?”

So now imagine having a brother that IS perfect. That was the challenge for Jesus’ siblings.

He’d never sinned. He grew up and performed miracles. He literally was the perfect Son.

And it should have been obvious to His siblings, but after knowing Him for 30 plus years, in John 7 they still don’t believe that He’s the Savior. Their familiarity hindered their faith.

The signs are clear:

I. They Were Too Comfortable With Jesus – vs. 3

Jesus’ brothers had no problem telling Him what to do.

They say, “Go to Jerusalem so people can see what you can do. No one will know who you are unless you reveal yourself.” Jesus’ brothers are saying, “In case you didn’t know, here’s how life works.” Understand – These are Jesus’ brothers telling Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, “Let us tell you about life.”

Illustration: Can you imagine a 7th grader telling your Pastor how to prepare a sermon? That’s silly..

How much more foolish when we as created and finite beings wave God off and say, “I got this.”

It’s possible to be so familiar with someone that you forget who the authority is.

I hate the way some teens talk to their parents. The disrespect. The arguing. The attitude. They are way too comfortable with their parents, who they ought to respect as their authorities.

Young person, your authorities represent God in your life. Perfect or not, you are obligated to respect and honor them. Your treatment of your authorities is an indication of your view of God.

Listen, Christ is your Creator. He’s your Redeemer, which means He bought you. And if He paid for your life, He owns you. You may be 17 or 18 and you know a lot but your best life is not when you wave God off and say, “I got this.” Your only hope for a quality life is to let go of your pride and submit yourself to God as your Creator and Savior.

Familiarity can cause us to forget that Christ is our Master. He’s our King. He is Creator. His timing is better than ours. His plans are superior to ours. He sees the future and knows what we need. Stop telling God what to do! There’s one God and you’re not Him.

Illustration: Young man rebelling, met with him and dad, sat in my office and said, “I don’t want your life. I want to do my own thing.” Today? Divorced. Not in church. Miserable. Thought he knew better than God. God doesn’t take it lightly when we wave off authority.

Teenager, Jesus isn’t your buddy. He’s your King. Your Master. He’s God and you’re not.

You would never tell your doctor how to treat you.

You would never tell a firefighter where to point the hose.

You would never tell a pilot how to land a plane.

But some of you are so familiar with God that you are essentially telling Him what your life is going to look like.

Don’t get so comfortable with the idea of God that you wave Him off and live life on your terms.

Second sign that Jesus’ brothers familiarity hindered their faith:

II. They Were Too Curious About The World – Vs. 4

At this point in His ministry, Jesus has been losing followers because He’d been preaching some difficult truths.

So his brothers tell Him, “Hey, everyone’s going to be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. You need to go and clean up your image. You can regain some followers if you’ll go to Jerusalem and prove you’re the Messiah.”

Vs. 3-4 – They wanted Jesus to impress the world at the feast. They were more curious about the world’s perceptions of Jesus than anything else.

Vs. 4b-5 – It seems as if they’re almost embarrassed by Jesus. Mark 3 says His friends thought He was out of His mind. In Matthew 12, His family tried to stage an intervention. Almost as if they were embarrassed by His controversial behavior.

It’s easy for God’s people to get too curious about the world’s ways. Some of you are really consumed with the world right now.

Too many of your generation is looking at the world and fascinated by it.

Maybe you have friends at school or church or you have cousins that get to do a lot more than you do. Your parents are super-strict and you just want to see if the world is as fun as it looks.

Illustration: Chandler telling a friend, “When I turn 18 I’m just going to try the world for a little bit to see what it’s like.”

Maybe you wouldn’t say that out loud, but it’s in your heart. You’ve tried Jesus. You’re familiar with Him. The luster is gone. You’re used to all this. And now you’re curious about what is out there.

You wonder what it would be like to live that way, go to those concerts, dress like them, try this or that. And your curiosity has created a sort of resentment over the life you’ve been forced to live. You think you’re missing out.

I can tell you this, “They’re not having as much fun as you think.” Sure it’s looks fun and sounds fun, but living for yourself doesn’t end well.

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.”

The people who abandon God and do their own thing are the most miserable people I know. And their end with not be fun and cool and positive.

Not to mention, these people that Jesus’ brothers were so concerned about impressing are the same people that would crucify Him 6 months later.

Why would you sell yourself to live like the crowd that hates your God?

Here’s another proof that Jesus’ brothers’ familiarity had hindered their faith.

III. They Were Too Complacent To Make A Difference

Jesus tells them something interesting in vs. 7. “The world cannot hate you.”

What He was saying is, “You’re no different than the world, so you’re at no risk to make a difference.”

You have to be different to make a difference. Jesus says, “It hateth me, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

Jesus was hated because He called out the world’s sins. But His brothers were at no risk of being hated because they were trying so hard to fit in.

One sign of having familiarity instead of faith is you grow complacent about things you should be excited about.

Some of you young people have been doing the Christian thing your whole life. And it no longer excites you. I know you can get excited.

You get excited about candy getting passed out.

You get excited about winning a game.

You get excited when the new version of your favorite video game drops.

But when’s the last time you were moved about something about God?

The Lord, “You’re so complacent about the things of God that you’re in no danger of making a difference.”

Illustration: Carrying Olivia on my shoulders and being worried about hitting her head on the door frame. I was ducking and my wife was like “You have nothing to worry about.”

Too many teens have “nothing to worry about” when it comes to making a difference for Christ.

Some of you have grown so accustomed to the Christian life that you’ve lost all urgency.

It used to be that young people flooded the altars at camp.

I’m wondering, where are the young people impacting their schools for God?

Where are the teenagers talking to people about Jesus Christ on the streets?

Where are the young people surrendering to give their lives to God?

Where are the young men saying, “I’ll preach the Gospel to a world that needs it more than ever!”

Where are the young ladies saying, “I’ll do whatever you want me to, God!”

Where are the teenagers making the commitment to walk with God and read their Bibles?

We’ve become so comfortable with the idea of Jesus Christ that we’ve stopped taking risks. A comfortable life will never make a difference for God. You must be willing to take risks for Christ. He risked it all for you!

Here’s the problem Jesus’ brothers had: They were familiar, but they didn’t have faith.

The majority of teens here are at least familiar with Jesus.

But knowing about Jesus doesn’t mean you know Jesus.

Familiarity Doesn’t Equal Faith.

Illustration: Ask a Lebron James fan to stand up

You may know a lot about Lebron James, but that doesn’t mean you know Lebron James.

How tall is he?

Where did he go to college?

Who drafted him when he first came into the league?

How many times does he flop every game?

Knowing about someone doesn’t equal knowing someone.

What this text teaches us is this: Knowing Christ is not a label. It’s a lifestyle.

Matthew 12:47–50 “Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

What Jesus was saying was, “I’m not as interested in labels as I am lifestyles.”

According to Jesus Christ Himself, just because you wear the label doesn’t mean you have a relationship of faith.

Label says “Christian,” but what do your actions when you’re at school say?

Label says “Church-Goer,” but what do your social media posts says?

Label says “Youth group member,” but what do your words say when the adults aren’t around?

You can embrace the Label of Christian all you want, but a familiar relationship doesn’t equal a faith relationship.

Here’s how Christ put it:

Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? in thy name cast out devils? in thy name done many wonderful works?”

Matthew 7:23 “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

What Jesus Christ was saying is “There are many that wear the label, “I know Jesus,” but the truth is I don’t know them.

Applications

1. It could be that you’ve never met Jesus Christ.

If you were to die tonight, you would spend eternity separated from Him in a place called Hell.

I believe it’s possible that we’ll be surprised at the number of people who wear the Christian label down here but will stand before God and have Him say, “I never knew you.”

If you’ve never acknowledged your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you may have familiarity, but you don’t have faith.

Jesus isn’t just someone you can know about. He’s Someone you can know.

You stand guilty before God with no hope outside of Jesus Christ. Would you place your faith in Him tonight?

Don’t miss Heaven just because you’re familiar with Jesus.

Place your Faith in Jesus.

This is for the kids raised in church, but it’s also for the kids not raised in church and a Christian home. We all have the same need. We’re sinners before God and He died to save us from those sins.

I like what Jesus said in John 7:6 “My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.”

2. And to the Christian young person, it’s time to stop wearing the label and embrace the lifestyle.

Familiarity doesn’t equal faith.

You have all the knowledge of God, but there’s no relationship.

You know the facts, but there’s no fellowship.

You go days on end without walking with God.

You turn your brain off when the preaching begins.

Can you answer Bible trivia? Sure.

Do you go to church? Absolutely.

Are you involved in youth group? Of course.

Those things point to familiarity, but they don’t necessarily point to faith. And Jesus says, “NOW’S THE TIME.”

Now’s the time to walk with God.

Now’s the time read your Bible.

Now’s the time to get serious about serving the Lord.

Now’s the time to be all in with the youth group.

Now’s the time to get that secret sin right and have victory.

Now’s the time to make things right with your parents.

Don’t miss your window. Now’s the time.

Illustration: Got a Nintendo, became a Super Mario Bros. whiz, Could beat the game in about 20 minutes before school, Embraced the label of “Gamer”

Sleepover at Graeme Pexton’s, pulled out a magical box called a Sega Genesis, better graphics, more immersive games, Slogan was "Genesis does what Nintendon't"

I called myself a gamer, but when they pulled out a new game called Sonic the Hedgehog that they had all played, I couldn’t do anything. I left that sleepover embarrassed.

I wore the “Gamer” label, but in reality I was a “Poser”

I was familiar with some of the jargon, but I couldn’t back it up

Some of you have a relationship of familiarity with Jesus, but you don’t have a relationship of faith.

Maybe that means salvation. Now’s the time.

Maybe that means a real walk with God. Now’s the time.

I wonder if Jesus looks at this room and says, “They claim to be familiar, but it’s just a label.”

Here’s the great thing, the fact that Jesus said, “It’s always time,” means you can humble yourself and be saved or humble yourself and get right any time.

Even right now. So why don’t you?

Familiarity does not equal faith.