“God’s Timing, God’s Plan”
Notes
Transcript
“God’s Timing, God’s Plan”
“God’s Timing, God’s Plan”
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Church, one of the hardest lessons of faith is learning to let God be in charge of the timing of our lives. We have our calendars, our deadlines, our schedules. And if we’re honest, we often want God to work on our timetable. We pray and expect Him to answer quickly. We dream and expect Him to make it happen now.
But Scripture reminds us again and again: God’s plan is always wiser, higher, and better than our own.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Have you ever made a plan, only for God to completely rearrange it? I’ve literally had it happen with sermons the night before or morning of preaching it.
Maybe you thought you’d be married by now, or further in your career, or already healed from something you’re battling. And you look around and think, “Lord, why not yet?”
Here’s the good news: God’s delays are not His denials. His timing is perfect, His wisdom is unsearchable, and His plan is always good.
That’s the truth we see in John 7:1–9. Let’s pray and take a deeper dive into this passage.
Point 1: The Feast of Booths (v. 2)
Point 1: The Feast of Booths (v. 2)
John tells us in verse 2:
2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.
The Feast of Booths — or Tabernacles — was one of Israel’s greatest feasts. You can read about it in Leviticus 23:33–43. For seven days, the Israelites would build little shelters, or “booths,” out of branches and live in them. Why? To remember how God cared for them during the wilderness journey after the Exodus.
And here’s the beauty: the Feast also pointed forward to God’s presence. In the wilderness, He dwelled among them. That’s why John 1:14 says: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” That word “dwelt” literally means “tabernacled.” Jesus is the true fulfillment of the Feast — the God who came to dwell with His people.
So when His brothers urge Him to go up and make Himself known at this feast, they don’t realize the fulfillment of the feast is standing right in front of them.
Point 2: Persevering When Family Doubts (vv. 3–5)
Point 2: Persevering When Family Doubts (vv. 3–5)
3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.
This is the brothers talking to Jesus. They’re basically saying: “If you really are who you say you are, go make a name for yourself. Go public. Get the spotlight.”
The brothers were tempting Jesus to grab the spotlight, to take the fast road to fame. That’s how the world operates — “Show yourself. Build your brand. Make sure people notice you.” But Jesus wasn’t moved by the world’s wisdom. He knew the Father’s way is not self-promotion but self-denial.
The world says, “Lift yourself up.” But God says, “Humble yourself before Me, and I will lift you up in due time”. That’s exactly what Paul says of Christ in Philippians 2 — though He was God, Jesus emptied Himself, took on the form of a servant, became obedient to death, even death on a cross. And then — not before, but then — God highly exalted Him.
Church, hear me: when you chase man’s applause, that’s the only reward you’ll ever get (Matthew 6:1). But when you lay your life down in humility and obedience, God Himself will lift you higher than you could ever lift yourself. God’s path to glory is always through humility, never through hype.
Think about a rookie on a basketball team. The world tells him, “Show off. Take every shot. Make sure everybody notices you.” But the wise coaches and veteran players know — it’s not the rookie who tries to grab the spotlight that lasts, it’s the one who learns discipline, who shows up early to practice, who listens, who puts in the unseen hours in the gym. That’s the player who gets trusted when the game is on the line.
It’s the same in the kingdom of God. The world says, “Prove yourself. Show yourself.” But God says, “Obey Me in the hidden place. Serve Me when no one is watching. And when My timing is right, I’ll put you where I want you to be.” Just like the rookie has to wait his turn to be exalted, God’s children must wait for His hand to lift them up.
Imagine the pain the statement in verse 5 causes Jesus:
5 For not even his brothers believed in him.
Isn’t it often those closest to us who doubt us the most?
Joseph’s brothers mocked his dreams.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
David’s brothers ridiculed him when he came to fight Goliath.
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
Even Jesus’ family once said in
21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Sometimes the loudest voices of doubt are in our closest circles. But listen: their unbelief does not cancel God’s plan.
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Faith perseveres even when family misunderstands. Faith obeys even when others don’t approve. If you’ve ever felt the sting of rejection, you’re not alone — Jesus Himself walked that road.
Point 3: Trusting in God’s Timing (vv. 6–9)
Point 3: Trusting in God’s Timing (vv. 6–9)
6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Now, here’s the heart of the passage. Look at verse 6: “Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.’”
The word “time” in Greek is kairos — it’s not clock time, but the divinely appointed moment. God’s appointed time or a decisive, opportune moment when God’s purposes are revealed and break into human experience.
Jesus lived on the Father’s timetable. He would not be rushed by family pressure, public opinion, or human agenda.
And here’s the lesson for us: Trusting in God’s timing is the very essence of faith. Because it means surrendering our need for control and believing that God knows not only what we need but when we need it.
Trusting God’s Timing Means Trusting His Wisdom
Trusting God’s Timing Means Trusting His Wisdom
One of the ways we do that is understanding God sees the end from the beginning.
10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
We see just one frame of the movie, but He sees the whole story.
A parent won’t hand the car keys to a 12-year-old. The child may want to drive, but the timing is not right. The parent isn’t being cruel — they’re being wise. In the same way, God often delays because He knows what we can handle and when.
“Faith is not just believing God will do it — it’s believing He will do it when the time is right.” It’s also trusting that it will work out for our good and His glory.
The internal Battle: Our Desire for Control vs. Surrender
The internal Battle: Our Desire for Control vs. Surrender
The reason waiting is so hard is because we crave control. We want the timetable in our hands. But control is an illusion.
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
When Moses went up Mount Sinai, the people grew impatient and fearful. They didn’t want to wait on God, so they built a golden calf. Impatience led to idolatry. And isn’t that us? When we refuse to wait, we end up worshiping something else — our plans, our desires, our way.
“When you try to control the timing of your life, you’re not just impatient — you’re saying, ‘God, I don’t trust You with my future.’”
But there are great promises in waiting on the Lord.
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Waiting on God Builds Our Faith
Waiting on God Builds Our Faith
Waiting is not wasted time — it is faith-building time.
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
A farmer doesn’t plant seed today and expect fruit tomorrow. He waters, nurtures, waits, and trusts the process. In the same way, God uses waiting seasons to grow our roots deeper in faith.
God’s Timing Protects Us
God’s Timing Protects Us
Sometimes what we ask for is good, but receiving it too soon would harm us. God said He would give Israel the land “little by little” so the land wouldn’t be overrun. Too much, too fast would have destroyed them.
22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.
“God’s delays are not denials — they are shields of mercy.”
In verse 7 Jesus is telling His brothers: “The world cannot hate you.” Why? Because at that point, they were still part of it. They hadn’t stepped into faith. They weren’t confronting darkness — they were still in it.
But Jesus was different. His very life — not just His words — exposed the emptiness of sin.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
“The world doesn’t mind religion. The world doesn’t mind good deeds. What it hates is the Light — the exposing presence of Jesus Christ, who calls sin what it is and offers Himself as the only way out.” That’s what the world hates.
But there is a cost to following Jesus, and that is sharing in His rejection.
If Jesus faced hatred because He spoke the truth, then His disciples should expect the same.
He said in...
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
When you live by truth, people will sometimes walk away. When you refuse to compromise integrity, you will be mocked or sidelined. The issue is not you personally — the issue is Christ in you.
It’s like this, think of a dark room where everyone’s eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Suddenly, someone flips on the light switch. What happens? People shield their eyes, squint, maybe even yell, “Turn it off!” That’s exactly how the world responds to the light of Christ.
But this is actually really good news, because if you face pushback because of your faith — maybe at work, in your family, among your friends — that’s not failure, that’s confirmation. You’re walking the same road as Jesus.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
“Persecution is not proof that you’re abandoned by God — it’s proof that you belong to Him.”
The reason I’ve loved preaching through John so far is the clear picture we have of Jesus. It makes so that when all these things we have to face or are called to do come up we know the standard. Jesus is the Standard!
Over and over in John’s Gospel, Jesus says: “My hour has not yet come.”.
4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”
20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
He refused to move before the Father’s appointed time.
But when the hour did come, He embraced it:
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Even in Gethsemane, He prayed: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” .
“If Jesus, the Son of God, waited on the Father’s timing, why would we think we can run ahead of Him?”
Application
Application
So some questions to think about: Where are you trying to rush God?
Is it a relationship? A job? Ministry? Some major breakthrough?
Hear the Spirit saying: “My time has not yet come.” That’s not rejection — that’s preparation. That’s not punishment — that’s protection.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
It’s Like The Microwave vs. Crockpot
It’s Like The Microwave vs. Crockpot
We live in a microwave generation. We want things instantly — heat it up in 60 seconds and it’s done. But some meals don’t taste right when they’re rushed. Some meals require a crockpot — hours of slow cooking — and the result is far richer, far deeper.
“Some blessings in our lives are crockpot blessings, not microwave blessings. You can’t rush them. God is slow-cooking something that will be far more satisfying if you trust His timing.”
“Faith is not proven when God moves on your timetable. Faith is proven when He makes you wait, and you still trust Him anyway.”
Conclusion: So what do we see in John 7:1–9?
Conclusion: So what do we see in John 7:1–9?
God’s plan is always wiser.
God’s presence sustains us as we remain patient.
Faith perseveres even when family doubts.
And God’s timing is always perfect.
Who’s timetable are we on? Are we living on our timetable, or God’s? Are we trying to control the story, or are we willing to surrender to the Author of it all?
Joseph dreamed as a teenager that God would exalt him, but instead he was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. Thirteen years passed before the dream came true. But when it did, he could look back and say: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”.
God’s timing. God’s plan. Always perfect. Always wise. Always good.
Amen? Amen!
Let’s Pray
