 But that said, we're here in John chapter seven. We're gonna be looking at verses 25 through 36. So I'll begin by reading simply verses 25 and 26 and then give a little background again, develop my study and move on in. We're looking at the phrase that they're gonna make or a statement they're gonna make concerning Jesus, how that he speaks boldly. And so we'll be looking at that in a few moments. Beginning at verse 25. Now some of them from Jerusalem said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look, he speaks boldly. And they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? And so let me develop a foundation, remind you of a couple of things. In verses 19 and 20 of this chapter, Jesus had stated that it was well known that they wanted to kill him. He had said in verse 19, did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me? So it's well known that they seek to kill him. They want him dead. And so as he's speaking here, that's one of the things that gives rise to the fact that it was well known because when you look at verse 20, it had said, well the people answered and said, you have a demon who's seeking to kill you. Well, it was well known. They were hiding the fact as is so common even to this day, something may be well known. People all know it, but they pretend that it's not true and that's what was taking place here. They were doing the same kind of thing then that they do today. They said, you know, this is crazy. You know, who's trying to kill you? And so Jesus is confronting them and Jesus is speaking and they have said it. They say in verse 25, is this not he whom they seek to kill? So it's well known that it's taking place. Now as Jesus is speaking, we need to give it a context. He's speaking to a mixed group of people. They're not all believers in him, this group that is listening to him at this time. In this group, you have the rulers, you have the priests, the Pharisees, they're open enemies. You have the inhabitants of Jerusalem and they knew their rulers feelings towards Jesus and you also have strangers who are listening to Jesus but unaware of the hatred that these have towards him. And so these are Jews from Jerusalem who are wondering why he was not arrested because they are aware of the fact that they're after him. Some, it says again, in verse 25, some of them from Jerusalem said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? Again, it's well known. But the response in verse 26, but look, he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him and then ask the question, do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? And so Jesus has made a tremendous impression on these people. He has been speaking with an authority that they're not used to hearing. Remember in the gospel of Matthew in chapter seven, verse 28 and 29, it says, when Jesus had ended these saints, people were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Jesus spoke with the confidence. He spoke with the boldness. He spoke with an authority that the rabbis of his day and the rabbis up to this day do not have. Nobody had the authority that Christ had. When the rabbis would speak, they would always quote other rabbis and they would speak of the writings or those who are well known within the rabbinic circle or the influencers of rabbis thought, rabbinic thought. And so they might quote some scholar that they're all familiar with. They may say, is this not, they would say, Shamai said this or Rabbi Hilal said this or Rabbi Gamalial said this. They would quote other sources but not Jesus. When Jesus spoke, he would speak and he would say, you've heard it said, of those of old, but I say unto you and so they would hear him speak in that way. He would compare the traditions, the different writings. He would compare what they had been taught in the rabbinic schools and he would say that. He would say, you've heard it has been said of those of old, meaning he was quoting scholars. It would be like me as a pastor saying, Charles Spurgeon said this or D.L. Moody said this or even more recently, A.W. Tozer said this. So I will quote other sources. I will speak of other teachers. Charles Feinberg said this, John Walbert said this. Even Chuck Smith said this. You will quote others. And that gives a sense of authority to the words that you're speaking but not Jesus. Jesus would refer to the fact that you've heard it said of those of old, in the old times, but I say unto you and so he had a courage and a boldness and they understood that. They impressed, they were impressed by him. They were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Keep that in mind. You'll see this later on as we go through John. They were afraid of the Jewish authorities but Jesus wasn't and they saw that. And so they're saying he speaks boldly. That word boldly means openly or directly. He speaks straight and they say nothing to him. He has courage and confidence. Now there is a proverb that reminds me of joggers. How many runners we have in here? I don't know, we've got a few. Okay, here's this for you. Proverbs 28, one, the wicked flee when no one pursues them. It's a jogger's scripture. But the righteous are as bold as a lion. The wicked flee when no one pursues. But the righteous are as bold as a lion. And so Jesus was bold and they saw that and this kind of courage and let's try and make this practical. This kind of courage, this kind of courageous speaking was expected of their leaders. It was expected of those who were communicating God's message. It was expected of someone preaching a message from God for them to be confident, courageous, bold. It was expected of them. They did not want to follow weak leaders. They didn't wanna follow someone who had no confidence, would you? If someone, there's a fire and someone says, I think we ought to go out here this way. I am following you. If I say someone, go this way, I'm probably gonna let him go for a while and watch and see if he makes it, but at least he was confident, you know? Well, with people in the time of Christ and prior to him, the people expected their leaders to have a confidence. They expected the prophets to speak with boldness. They expected that. And they saw that in scripture. They would read that in the Bible. They thought of men like Isaiah, who was a very confident, strong man. They thought of Jeremiah or Ezekiel. They thought of men like Daniel or Joel. All of them, as God's prophets, spoke with courage and confidence. Very often in the face of those who were rejecting the message, Isaiah, nobody listened to Isaiah, yet he spoke with confidence. God, when he called Jeremiah, said to Jeremiah, do not be afraid of their faces, meaning don't let them intimidate you. Speak what I gave you to speak, and he would do so, even though it cost them tremendously. So they expected their prophets to speak with a confidence. They expected those who knew God to have a confidence when they spoke about him. If there's anything that is unattractive and works against encouraging people to make a decision, it's when the person speaking doesn't have a confidence in the message he's speaking. You can feel it. You can feel it. When I was a young man, I had just gotten out of the military, so I was around 23. I went to an outreach that was taking place in the city of Downey. There were two bands that were playing. One band was a local band, made up of some kids from different churches that had united to begin to try and do Jesus music. But the lead singer of the local band was known by some friends of mine who later told me, now that guy's not really walking solidly with the Lord. So when he got up and was doing his music, for him it was what we would call a gig. It was time of playing music and singing to an audience. It's pretty much what it was. And he kind of talked for a moment and I still remember this very well. But I sat there as a believer and I, as a young believer was thinking, I don't think he believes what he wants me to believe. You know what I'm saying? I don't think he believes what he's trying to convince me to believe. You can sense that sometimes. And it's like a salesman who doesn't believe in the product. And you ought to buy this, I'm, do you drive that? No, I don't, but you ought to buy it. No, as a person who doesn't believe in the product, it's never convincing. But they had another band called JC Power Outlet. Never forget that, JC Power Outlet. And the guy who came up to speak afterward, he was confident. What he was saying, he knew was true. I've shared this before because right in front of me, directly in front of me, was a guy who was wearing motorcycle colors. He wasn't the Hell's Angels, but it was a motorcycle club of some sort. He was a big guy. I'm not a big man myself, of course. But this guy was, he probably was close to 300 pounds. He was about 6'3", 6'4", maybe. He had the Levi jacket that had the sleeves cut off and he had his colors in the back and his hair was draped over his shoulder, he had a long beard and everything. I was a big old biker. I couldn't see past him. He was so big, I didn't tell him to move. But I couldn't see past him. And so, here comes this guy from JC Power Outlet. He gives this powerful invitation and I'm staring at this guy's back, counting the hairs on his shoulder. No, I'm, if I had a brush. No, I'm looking at him. And I'm thinking, this guy won't get up. This guy's too far gone. I remember that. And I'm shaking my head like this guy, this guy. And I see him as he slowly rises. And then I see him, his big old arms, I'll never forget, as he's wiping tears from his eyes and begins to stumble past people there in the robe chairs and walks up and stands in front, right in front of the evangelist. Just stands there, big old guy towering over everybody. Just big old man. And the spirit of the Lord said, and I'll never forget this. He said, I can save anyone. I can save anyone. That was one of those faith builders in my life where I began to see, you know what? God can save anyone. But the messenger, on the one hand, you have someone who speaks with no confidence because in many ways, probably not living up to the message himself, herself. No confidence that it's a life-changing message. Their life hasn't changed. Then you have the other person who has been transformed by the power of God. They speak with confidence and boldness. They know what they're talking about. So as they're watching Jesus, they're speaking amongst themselves. Isn't this the guy that they're wanting to kill? It's well-known that they want to put him to death. Even though a moment ago, they're calling him demonized. They're saying, you're crazy. Who wants to kill you? It's well-known. And they're speaking amongst themselves. Isn't this one? But look at him. He's speaking with the confidence, with the courage. He's speaking with a boldness. And they see this. They take note of that. That's the kind of courage that's expected from those who carry the message of God. You see, truth is not to be hidden. Truth is to be openly lived and lovingly and plainly expressed to others. In Psalm 40, verses nine and 10, the Psalmist said, I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly. I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart. I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. I'm not hiding it. I'm not a closet believer. Today, we call them closet Christians. I'm not a secret believer. I am open in my faith. And that's what the Psalmist was speaking about. And so Jesus' boldness causes them to wonder if the rulers have changed their minds about him. They knew that they had attempted to kill him. But they see him speaking boldly to the people without interruption from the rulers. And they conclude that some change must have taken place and has yet to be made public. So he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? Verse 27, however, we know where this man is from. But when the Christ comes, no one knows where he's from. Some thought Messiah at that time, some thought Messiah would remain hidden until the appointed time of manifestation. That was a common belief. They got that from the book of Melachi, an Old Testament book, the last book of the Old Testament. Melachi chapter three, verse one, where it says, behold, I send my messenger. He will prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Well, they knew that Jesus had come out of Nazareth. So they're confused because they're saying, we don't know where he's gonna be coming from. Well, in this they were greatly mistaken because they really didn't know where Jesus had come from. When they say we know where he's come from, Jesus said, no, you don't, you don't know. Remember in chapter six, remember how it said in verses 41 and 42 at this time, or at this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say I came down from heaven? And they had rejected what he had stated concerning the fact he's a bread from heaven. So they didn't know where he had come from. They didn't know that he had come from heaven. So they may be saying we know where he came from, but the fact is they really don't. And so as this is taking place, verse 28, Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple saying, you both know me and you know where I am from and I have not come of myself but he who sent me is true whom you do not know but I know him for I am from him and he sent me. Now, so he begins to speak to them. When it says in verse 28, Jesus cried out, the term cried out speaks of a loud shout. One commentator pointed out that this speaks of a loud shout perhaps tinged with strong emotion. So when it says he cried out, it's a strong loud cry with some kind of emotion, some kind of passion in it. He's making sure that his voice is heard above the crowd. And he says, you both know me and know where I'm from? This is where you've aired because in verse 28, he says, he who sent me is true whom you don't know. You only think you know me, but you don't. There are a lot of people today that if you speak to them, and this gives us 2,000 years of history in the United States over 200 years of it related to Christianity, there are quite a number of people who will tell you that they know Jesus. Those of you who have unbelieving friends and family, on occasion maybe you speak to them, hopefully you do, you give an opportunity to. They're unbelievers, they don't go to church, they don't believe in Christ, they've never been born again, they're not interested in him. You love them, the people you love very much and all of that, but then they're not believers. But when you got saved and you spoke to them, I don't know if your experience was like mine. My experience was interesting in that when I told people I'm born again now, I've given my heart to Christ. Most everybody that I can remember speaking to said, yeah, I'm already a Christian. You know, family members, friends, people I was sharing with from high school. Yeah, yeah, I know that, I'm a Christian. There's that mentality. Yeah, I'm a Christian, and that's when I began to discover as you have, that's when I began to discover that there's an awful lot of Christians in name only. A lot of people who, if you have a form that you're filling out and it says religious affiliation or denomination, they will write down, whether it's Baptist, Episcopal, whether it's a Catholic or whatever, they will write down some denominational affiliation. And you'll speak to them, and I've done this many times, you have two, and yeah, I'm a Christian, they'll say, they say I know him, but they don't. If Jesus walked in and sat next to them, they wouldn't know who was there. They wouldn't, if you were to be able to or would choose to do that. They wouldn't know him. They don't know him. They may have heard his name. They may be able to speak about him. They may have conversations. Maybe they've read some books by some people who've said they knew him. All of that goes into what they say. When they say, yeah, I know him, but Jesus is saying, you don't know me. You don't know me. You know some things about me. You've heard word about me. There are testimonies about me. You've heard of the miracles that I perform. Perhaps somebody's repeated to you some of the things that I've said. Maybe you know somebody who is a genuine follower of mine. I mean, the list goes on. But the fact is, you really don't know me. You don't have a relationship with me. You don't know me at all. You don't know me as the bread from heaven. You only know me as the man from Nazareth. That's all you know about me. I'm not self-appointed. I've come from God. That's what he's saying in verse 28, when he says, I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don't know. I've been commissioned by my father. And by the way, you asked a moment ago about courage, or at least made mention of it. He speaks boldly. You mentioned my courage. Well, that's where my boldness, that's where my courage, that's where my confidence comes from. My intimate fellowship with him. And so I wanna share with you for a moment something I think is rather practical. I wanna share with you where boldness comes from. There are a lot of people I think in the Christian faith that today need to be reminded of this. Where does boldness originate? I'm gonna kind of speak from my heart. Forgive me if it doesn't make sense to you, but perhaps it will to some degree, I hope it does. I have my notes and I'll follow them, but I wanna share some things that I feel very strongly about with you today. Where does boldness come from? Do you guys think that only certain people can be bold? Because they already have personalities that are bold? We all have friends who have bold personalities. I'm sure you do. You have any friends that you say, shut up, be quiet. You have any friends like that? Can't you be quiet? Why are you doing that? Shut up, you're embarrassing me. Shut up, come on. Nobody asked you, would you shut up? Have anybody like that? That was me. My mom would do that to me, because when I got saved, and this is true, I'm just gonna be real with you right now, just thinking about it might as well. My body, when I was first saved, would physically, I would physically, visibly respond to error. I would visibly, my mom, I remember being in a Bible study with my mom. I was in my mid-20s. I'm sitting next to her and this person's given a Bible study in a small church and they were teaching error. And my body began to shake. It physically began to shake. And my mom saw me and she was wondering what was wrong with me. And later, I discovered that when I heard error, I would begin to shake. And it wasn't because I was having some kind of seizure. It was because I wanted to say something and I was telling myself, don't say anything. My mom discovered that about me and she eventually learned to turn to me and say, don't say anything. She'd say that, don't say anything. Don't say anything, because I'd be going. That's a fact and I'm not even playing. It's just true. I'd be going, Marie can tell you, I'm gonna say something. Someone's got to, nobody is. And that's how I think to this day at my age. I still do that. When I see someone teaching error, I still do that. I still, no, I'm gonna talk to that guy. I'm gonna talk to him, I'm gonna talk to him. Because he's not telling the truth. Not telling the truth. And so, where'd that come from? Where'd it come from? Wasn't something I personally desired? It isn't something I thought, oh Lord, please make me a shaking prophet? No, I never, I'm not that guy. I'm very shy, I'm very quiet. I'm very to myself, I'm that guy. I'm not the, I'm gonna speak guy. Oh, I have opinions and all of that. But when it comes to the Bible and when it comes to people speaking error, and my mom saw it many times, and a Jehovah's Witness came to the door, she would see me shaking, you know, because we're gonna have a talk. She would see that. And there was just, it's just the truth. It's just what happens. Where'd that come from? Where's that come from? How can we have confidence? Now, I wanna speak to you about that. Because confidence for the believer is the product of fellowship with the Lord. And his love for us and our response to his love gives us great boldness, a spirit-filled boldness. In 1 John chapter four, verses nine and 10, in this, the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent us to be the propitiation for our sins. And when you grab that, when you actually grab that and say, I am completely forgiven and Jesus Christ died on across the satisfy God's righteous anger at my sinful life and I have been humbled by that and I am so thankful for that, your life changes. It changes. Now you've got purpose. Now you've got something to speak about that matters. Now you have something of value to give the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the gospel, that message. It is something that is, something you wanna give away. It's something you want your friends to know. It's something you want your mom and your dad to know. It's something that you want the world to know. And that isn't unusual. That is the normal Christian life but we have been stifled for the last several years told by the world to shut up, told by the world that what you believe is just one of many things that are all possibilities. Why do you push your stupid faith on us? And what have we done as a result of that? We've gotten quiet and the world continues going to hell in a hand basket. And the church doesn't wanna say anything. We don't wanna be offensive. We don't wanna cause people problems. I mentioned just last week one of our guys ministering at the mosque of the street from here talking to a guy outside. Here comes a Christian woman who pulls up and says I'm ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you bothering that man. Leave him alone. No, Jesus said if you're ashamed of me I will later be ashamed of you. The one who's being ashamed or will be ashamed wasn't our street minister. It's a person rejecting and denying Christ. That's very important to understand. That's very important to understand. Someone says all roads lead to God. Well, you know, ultimately there's some truth to that but he'll be your judge when you take the wrong road. There's only one true way. That's Christianity. People don't like hearing this message throughout the world. We're the idiots. We're the off scouring. We're the lowest. We're the intellectual idiots. We're the hillbillies. That's what we are. That's what we are. Because they think that we're devoid of experience when in reality the world is jaded by sin, hardened by it and accepting things to the degree that the world itself has forgotten how to blush in shame. The things that people wouldn't even whisper to somebody else behind closed doors are now paraded through our streets to the applause of people. That's what's happened. Well, the church has been silent and afraid to speak because we wanna be popular, don't we? We want people to like us, don't we? When in fact they're going to hell. They're gonna enter into judgment and the Jesus freaks like me as old as I am. We knew that. We knew that because Jesus said it. And if Jesus said it, we believed it and that settled it. And what we were to do is tell people about him. Where does confidence come from? Where do you have the confidence to speak? How does that happen? Turn with me to the book of Acts chapter four for a moment, I wanna show you something. Acts chapter four. In Acts chapter four, we have what took place after a powerful miracle had taken place that is recorded in Acts chapter three. A man who had been laid at the gate called Beautiful who was begging had encountered the apostles Peter and John as they were entering in during the hour of prayer. And as they were about to enter in, the apostle Peter stopped and they both stopped and looked down at the man who was there on the ground and they said, look at us. And the man looks up expecting to receive something from them. And the apostle Peter speaks with a confidence, boldness of faith, silver and gold, have I none. But such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I say unto you, rise to your feet and walk. And Luke tells us that the apostle Peter reaches down, takes the man by the hand and begins to draw him up. And that's an act of faith, a supernatural faith. And the man receives strength in his feet, his ankles, his knees, his thighs, and he stands and he immediately has the ability to walk without stumbling, he walks, he leaps, he praises God and the people begin to surround. They'd known this man, he'd been there begging for many years. They knew who this guy was. And as they see this taking place, they marvel at what had happened. And that's when the apostle Peter takes an opportunity to preach, he said, Men of Israel, don't look upon us as if something, some good thing about us has made this man to be whole and able to walk before you. It's in the name of Christ that this man stands before you perfectly whole. And he begins to give a message, causes tremendous problems because Jesus is mentioned and the gospel is mentioned in. So what happens is the Sadducees and the captain of the temple came upon them, as scripture says, and they laid hands on them, put them into custody. And it says in verse four, many of those who heard the word believed, a number of the men came to be about 5,000, and it came to pass on the next day that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the High Priest were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name have you done this? And Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man stands here before you whole, this is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus. Where did this confidence come from? They were described again, verse 13, uneducated, untrained. That's how they're described. They didn't go to rabbinic school, they weren't trained in ministry, they were simply average people, unschooled, ordinary people, they were uneducated. The word uneducated speaks of persons without literature, they weren't brought up nor were they given to what are called literary pursuits, they weren't readers of deep things. They were untrained, when it speaks of untrained, that's without cultural refinement. They were not wealthy, they weren't upper class people when the Jesus movement began. This was said about us, this was said about me, this was said about my friends. This was said about Chuck Smith, uneducated, untrained. People used to say, where'd you get your degree? Where did you go to school? Where it qualifies you? Well, how can you do these things? I was going to APU, I was taking a master's class in APU years ago, and as I was in the class, Jeff Johnson, a friend of mine, and I were seated together. And this older fellow, he was from the Nazarene church, I remember him for some reason, Nazarene pastor, older than us, he had to be at least 50, an old man. I was in my 30s at the time, and he interrupted the class on one occasion, and he spoke to the professor, Dr. Grant, and he said to Dr. Grant, I have to ask this question, now this was after several weeks of going to school, and this man was in the class with us. And he turns and looks at Jeff, and he looks at me, I'll never forget this, and he says, I just want to know why, and kind of points his finger in our direction. I just want to know why. Dr. Grant looks at him and says, why what? I just want to know why. And he says, what do you want to know why about? Why are there churches growing churches? He was actually saying, why these untrained and uneducated men, why are they doing what they're doing? And so many who are properly trained, according to the standards of the world, are not. What made us have confidence? I looked at the guy, I said, I don't know. I don't know, maybe it's just because we're just, off-scouring guys. We're just the off-scouring of the world. I don't know. Dr. Grant said, no, that's not why. There's a lot of people who are off-scouring kinds of guys, and he tried to explain what he thought. But I felt most comfortable saying, it's all God. We have no explanation for it. And where does boldness come from? Where does effectiveness come from? Where does it come from? These people are on school. They're uneducated and untrained. But something happened through them. How? How did that happen? These were ordinary people. They did have extraordinary courage and extraordinary conviction. But one of the things I want to encourage you with is to remember, and I say this often, you've heard me say it before, God uses ordinary people. Never, please, never succumb to the temptation to believe that somebody can be used in great ways and you just can't be. That's nonsense. That's just not true. Anybody who's available to God, who loves the Lord and wants to be used, anybody can be used by God. It isn't some special person out there with special connections. The only special connection you need is the one with the Lord and a heart to be used by him. A love for God and a desire for people to know him. A belief, a confident belief that you were a sinner but Christ saved you. An awareness of how undeserving you are of the grace of God. But a gratefulness because he saved you. If you have that, you've got something to talk about. And God has a way of using ordinary people. Always remember that. Read your Bibles and look at all the names in the Bible. You don't even remember because there are nobody's in. And to us, they have no great testimony. Not everybody's in Elijah. Not everybody's at Jeremiah. Not everybody's at Daniel. Not everybody is the Apostle Peter or Apostle. Not everybody's that guy. There's the Thaddeus's whom we know nothing about. Simon the Zealot, who we know nothing about other than the name is mentioned. And that's it. Traditions may be held concerning them but nothing in scripture. Keep that in mind. God delights to work on the platform of human impossibility. He loves it because he gets all the glory for it. And if he gets all the glory, he will use you because you don't steal it from him. And you don't become that special person that has to be invited to certain places or people won't know God. That's such nonsense. In 1 Corinthians chapter one verses 26 through 29, Paul said, you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. God has chosen and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are that no flesh should glory in his presence. That is so powerful. He said there's not many wise. The word wise means the educated, the skilled, the cultivated. It speaks of Greek philosophers or Jewish theologians. He speaks of the mighty. The mighty were those who excelled in skill. They were powerful. They were strong. And he speaks of the noble, the nobility, the well-born. He said, notice that there aren't many wise, mighty or noble. Why? Because they want the glory and the average person wants to give glory when you get saved. What makes an average person bold and courageous? Well, notice verse eight of chapter four here. Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, that's one. Being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Next time when we come back in John's Gospel, I'll be looking at the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the one who baptizes. We'll be looking at that. But one, you need the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit. Greg Laurie tells a story that I delight in. It's a funny story of how that he as a young man went to church and then prayed that God would baptize him in the Holy Spirit. And Greg says that he didn't feel anything. He didn't have some electric charge from heaven and didn't feel some heavy weight on his head. And suddenly his whole body is just filled with energy. He didn't feel anything. And it bothered him. He said until he went home and he wanted to stop and get something to eat. Now, here's a blast from the past. Some of you have seen this in movies. Some of you experienced it in real life. Jack in the box used to have a big clown head that you talked to. Some of you might remember that. A big old clown head. And Greg says he went to order at a jack in the box and the big old heads talking to him. And he said, and I started sharing with him about Christ. And he said, here I am speaking to this big clown head about Jesus. He said, and I realized that though I didn't feel anything, something had happened. And he would harken all the way back to when he prayed and said, God, fill me with your spirit. I want to be used by you to where you see Greg now preaching to so many people, the good news of the gospel. Where's this confidence come from? The power of the Holy Spirit. Being drenched in the God's spirit. God, fill me, overflowing me. Use me, I want to be used by you. The Jesus movement. No, I'm not taking back 50 years so you can just walk down memory lane with me. But that was the key, the power of the Holy Spirit. It wasn't dynamic preaching by Chuck Smith because of any of you knew Chuck. Chuck was somebody who just kind of droned on and spoke. He didn't get up, sweat, throw holy handkerchiefs on people. He just gave us Bible studies. And Lonnie Frisbee, who was the young guy who used to teach the guy I sat under for my first several weeks of being a Christian, before I went into military, he would only talk from the Bible about Jesus Christ. Never encouraging us to anything weird. Just seek him, seek him, seek him. You want to have confidence? You need the power of the Holy Spirit. You need to believe. You need to believe with every fiber of your being and who Jesus Christ is. That has to be the driving force in you. That sense of there is no other. There's only one and it's Jesus Christ. You have to have that. I don't disrespect other people's religious faith. I don't. But I hold fast to what is true and what is true is Jesus Christ. And you hold fast to him and let God be true and every man a liar, Paul would say to the Romans. So you hold fast to it. And so not only do you do that, but also in verse 13, when it says they realized they had been with Jesus, that's the second aspect. One is the power of the Spirit and two is fellowship with the Lord. Spend time with them. Spend time in prayer. You're to pray without ceasing. That doesn't mean that you have to have five times a day, three times a day or whatever, or you're not really. No, it means that your life is a prayer. I pray you pray. We pray in the car, right? I always keep my eyes open, but I pray when I'm driving all the time. I pray when I wake up, first thing in the morning, I'm having a conversation with the Lord. That's a fact. You do too. Lord, be with me today. God help me and I'll pray my wife's next to me and I'll pray, God, be with my honey here. I love this one so much. I pray like that, be with my babies. Be with our church. Father, I just peaked him all the time. It's a constant flow of conversation of speaking to him, fellowship with him, knowing his word, walking in faith, wanting to please him, walking the power of the Holy Spirit. Know him and believe him and believe his word and be willing to speak. Be willing to speak. Here am I, Lord, send me. I wanna be used by you. I wanna make a difference. I wanna impact people for Christ. I don't wanna be a bench warmer when I was a kid playing ball. I don't wanna clean uniform. I don't wanna sit there with my glove chewing on the edge, looking forward to the snow cone. I appreciate the snow cone. I'll eat too. But I don't wanna be that kid on the edge of the bench. I wanna be in, I wanna dirty this uniform. I wanna knock somebody down. I wanna play ball. That was me. And that's still me on God's team. That's a fact. I don't wanna be a bench warmer. I wanna be used. I wanna be used until I'm used up. That's Christianity. Forgive me. That's my passion. I wanna be used by Christ. And so should you. So should you. One day, and it's not that long. It's not next week, not next month, but it's coming, I will not be here because he'll take me home. But if Jesus shouldn't come, somebody has to occupy this pulpit. And I'm already praying for that guy. Father, bring someone with a fire for Christ and a love for these people and a love for the word because that's what we need. And that's how I pray. And I do that all the time. All the time. Where does confidence come from? They took note. They were with Jesus. They took note. They were with Jesus. And that is something that when you're with Him cannot be denied. There's really no such thing as a secret Christian. You can't be. You can't be. When you're a believer, you are known. You are known. You're on the devil's hit list. He doesn't like it when you wake up because you're gonna give him trouble today. That's what happens. That's a fact. That's a fact. That's why he comes after you. If he can cripple you, maim you hurt you, discourage you, he will because you're dangerous. Armed and dangerous. And I have a shield that I wear. And I have a sword that I've learned to use. I have a belt that I put around my waist. I have a helmet that I have on my head. And I have my feet shod with the gospel. And it's a time for war. And that's what men and that's what women of God do. That's where your confidence comes from. No, you're not a bully. No, you're not argumentative. No, you're not always looking for a spiritual fight. No, I'm not saying that. You're just ready. You're just ready. You're prepared. You have an answer. And you're not afraid to be counted as one of Jesus's people. You're not afraid of that. You're not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the power of God and to salvation, to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And you know that. And so, even as a young believer and I'd be in college class and yes, I went to secular college and yes, there is an antagonism then that is worse now. The first day I had a class with one particular professor, first thing in the first day of class, he said, how many of you are born again believers? We raise our hand. There were a handful of us there. First thing he said in his opening speech to the class, I feel sorry for you. First day, first thing, first attack. I feel sorry for you. You believe in that book and you take all of your truth from that book called the Bible and I use studies. My studies trump your belief in the Bible. He told us I have a belief that smoking doesn't cause cancer because I have studies on my desk. He died of lung cancer. That's where his faith took him. That's where his faith took him. This man had been married several times, a miserable, one of the most miserable professors I've ever had but he pitied me because I walked with Jesus, had a great wife, had babies. He pitied me, but in fact, he was to be greatly pitied. He had nothing. You need to know this. You need to know what you have in Jesus Christ. You have everything you need. Everything that pertains to life in godliness, Peter told us, is yours. He has abundantly blessed you above. All that you could ask or think. Your name is written in the Lamb's book of life and he will never leave you, nor will he forsake you. You are more than a conqueror in Jesus Christ because he loves you. These are things we know, see? And that's what keeps you going. That's what keeps you going. He speaks boldly, they said, and he did because he has relationship with his father. And so it says here, and I'll close with a couple of thoughts and then move back to the passage. It said again, they marveled and realized that he'd been with Jesus. They had been with Jesus because their power and the courage and the wisdom was a result of their fellowship with him. So if you desire boldness and effectiveness, you spend time with the Lord because it's the fruit of intimacy. You see half-hearted disciples are normally not effective. Someone said, Jesus leaves us with the definite choice. We must accept him fully or reject him absolutely. That is precisely why every man has to decide for or against Jesus Christ. It's a decision we make. So turning on back to John's gospel and moving to conclude some day. He says in verse 28, you both know me and you know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. In other words, you say you know where I'm from, but are wrong. And you also don't know the one who sent me because to know Jesus is to know God. In John 14, verse seven, he says, if you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him. And so what is their response to this? Verse 30, they sought to take him. No one laid hand on him, a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. They sought to take him but could not lay a hand on him. Why? Because his hour, that word hour is a Greek word that speaks of a precise moment. His precise moment for this to take place had not yet come. His hour of arrest and death has not fully arrived as the point that he's making. And then it says, verse 31, many of the people believed in him and said, when the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this man has done? So in contrast to those who were rejecting him, were the ones who followed him. Jesus's words were convincing. They believed him. And not only the things he said but the works he performed had convinced him. You see they expected miracles to be performed by Messiah and Jesus fit their expectation. In Isaiah 35, four through six, it says, say to those who are fearful hearted, be strong and do not fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be open. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. The lame shall leap like a deer. The tongue of the dumb shall sing. For waters shall burst forth from the wilderness and streams in the desert. They expected this from Messiah when he came. And so as this is taking place, verse 32, the Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning him and the Pharisees and the chief priests and officers to take him. And Jesus said to them, I shall be with you a little while longer and then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and not find me and where I am, you cannot come. The Jews said among themselves, where does he intend to go? That we shall not find him. Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that he said? You will seek me and not find me and where I am, you cannot come. And so the Pharisees are hearing this and they're upset. This crowd of Pharisees are getting greatly concerned. They were a very influential group of people. There were Sadducees and Pharisees. Sadducees outnumbered the Pharisees but the Pharisees had greater influence. And so they're upset. They're upset that people are following Jesus. They wanna get him arrested. And so that's why Jesus says to them in verse 33, I shall be with you a little while longer and then I go. My death is determined by my father and it isn't gonna be determined by you. So Jesus is unconcerned about their plots. His greatest concern is to finish his mission. He's well aware that he's gonna lay his life down and he knows he returns to the father. So he says in verse 34, you're gonna seek me and not find me where I am. You cannot come. You're gonna look for Messiah to deliver you but you've missed the opportunity. You have sought me out not to trust me but to harm me. Well as they're saying this, the response in verses 35 and 36 is simply to mock him. And so they say, does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? Is he gonna go to the Jews who are scattered throughout the world? At that time there were Jews in Babylon and Egypt and Syria, Greece and Rome, various other lands. Is he gonna go to them and see if they'll follow him? We don't, maybe they will. So they cannot see what others are clearly understanding. They're spiritually blind. Remember that always by the way and I'll close with this thought. They're spiritually blind. I used to, as a young believer, I used to have arguments fairly regularly. See when I was a hippie, when I was a hippie, I used to be one of these guys that would say, whatever you believe, we used to use this term. We'd say, whatever turns you on. Whatever turns you on. That was just another way of saying, I don't really care, it's your opinion. I don't care, believe what you want. I don't care. That's why when, if a Christian spoke to me, I was like, whatever, whatever. Hippies were that way. We were very non-conformist in many ways. As a group, as a group. Then I got saved and I still remember, I've said this before, I went into the military and I was stationed in North Carolina and I was part of a division that was known for being runners. We were the 82nd and we ran everywhere. We were known for that in the military. We were runners and so I ran all the time because I enjoyed it. I don't even run to the bathroom now but I used to run all the time. I used to love to run. It's something I did, for enjoyment, for relaxation. Every day, three miles, every day. I just loved it. And that's what we were known for. And I can still remember when I would walk out to this path I used to take and I run by myself. I can still remember, as a new believer, 20 years old, as I would walk to this path, I can tell you the way I prayed. I'd say, Father in Jesus' name, Father in Jesus' name, help me to be strong and to believe with a confidence. Help me, I used to say this, help me to have a spine. Help me to find something that I will hold fast to, die for. I don't wanna be weak anymore, moving with the wind of man. I wanna be straight and strong for you. I prayed that at the age of 20 and I still pray that. Make me strong or give me a spine to stand up for Jesus Christ, no matter what, whether I'm liked or disliked, doesn't matter. The well done does. Help me to have that. Instead of fearing men, may I fear you. For Jesus, you taught me, do not fear the one who can kill you and after that has no power over you. If you choose to fear the one who can kill you and cast you to hell, that's the one you should fear. So help me Lord, to have a godly fear and to live for you. That I need your power and I need to know you. So help me to have that time with you, fill me with your spirit. And Lord, if no one speaks, give me the words and I will. I will speak for you because sometimes somebody has to, not because I want to, because I'm more comfortable being quiet. But I will if you tell me to. And I've been praying that guys for a long time. You should pray it too. God use me. God use me. I want to be used by you. Because in the end, I want to be able to hear that well done. I want to hear that. I want to hear it. So I will live for you. There's nothing better on this face of the earth than knowing you and having a relationship with you. That's called Christianity, the early church, not that way. The last day's church needs to be reminded too because we've forgotten. That's all that matters. And never forget it. Jesus Christ, him crucified and heaven is my home. That's what matters. That's what matters.