This is the Truth Network. Welcome to the broadcast ministry of Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews, where we seek to glorify God by making him known and guiding others towards their true purpose in life. No one is here by chance. God put us here for a reason. And the most important thing we can do is discover his plan for us and commit ourselves to it.
Keep listening as we learn from the Bible how to live wisely in God's world. which is the first step towards finding your purpose.
Well guys, I'm going to ask you to take your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 7. Yes, I said Matthew. Matthew chapter 7. even though we're going to be in Matthew, excuse me, John 7 shortly. Last week I asked this question.
Do you know God? This week, I want to ask you another question. One that I believe is a much more personal question. Do you know Jesus? Was it?
more personal.
Well, the Bible tells us that God sent His Son Jesus into the world.
So that we might know him personally. And the only way that you'll ever know God personally. is if you know Jesus personally. Therefore, when you mention the name of Jesus to anyone, it's a reminder to them that a personal decision is called for. It's just kind of intuitive.
It's it's in the air. Everyone has to really answer the question: who is Jesus? And there's something about that name that is offensive. And when you Ask someone, do you know the Lord? It makes them very uncomfortable.
The greatest sermon ever preached was by Jesus, and it's known as the Sermon on the Mount. And we find it in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. I believe it's actually a series of sermons that he gave over a number of days. And it begins in Matthew chapter 5, verse 1. It begins like this, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
And then his disciples came and sat down around him. And he began to teach them.
Now when we come to chapter 7. In verse 14, he begins to address false teachers. He says, You will know them by their fruit. And then he addresses in verses 21 through 23 false believers. False believers are people who in reality are not what they appear to be.
They may look good on the inside, but on the outside, but on the inside, as Jesus told the Pharisees, they're full of dead men's bones and everything that's unclean. A false believer. Is someone who masquerades as a believer in God, but he really isn't. And listen, this is the most dangerous condition for anyone to be in, religious and lost. False religion, in my opinion.
It's the most dangerous weapon in Satan's arsenal. Why is this? Because he uses religious practices, churchism, churchianity, religiosity, to convince people. that they're headed to heaven. when in fact they're not.
In fact, they'll sometimes say often, We're all God's children. Many of these people belong to denominations which became unmoored from Christianity back in the early 1920s. It began in the seminaries and then just began to spread through the mainline denominations. And when you get to the 50s and 60s, it's really bad, and it's just gotten worse and worse every day. every every every year.
And every Sunday These members listen to what is generally false teaching. It may sound true, but it's not. And when they pass through the exit doors of these churches, they leave feeling good about themselves that they've been to church and they feel safe. and secure. The prophet Jeremiah, I'm reading through the book of Jeremiah right now.
It's. It's not an easy book to read. But I believe if Jeremiah were alive today, he would say the exact same thing he said to Israel back in the, around 600 B.C. Here's what he says in chapter 23. This is what the Lord says.
Do not listen to what the prophets are. By the way, when he said this, God told him to go stand at the front door of the church. The temple. And say this when they're walking in. And the priest walked in first, and he said, Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you, they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me. The Lord says, you will have peace. And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts, they say, No harm will come to you. But which of them has stood in the counsel of the Lord to see or to hear his word.
Who has listened? to God's Word.
Now guys, I don't say this pridefully. But before I come and stand before you on Tuesday nights, I kneel before the Lord in my office. Before I get out my Legal pad. and start preparing The words that I'm going to share with you on Tuesday nights. Because I want to make sure that the words I share with you are not my words.
But God's words. Here's what Jesus says. In Matthew 7, verses 21 through 23, he takes the time to teach a very important truth, a truth that should serve as a warning to those who are outwardly religious but inwardly far from God. He says, he declares, not everyone who says to me, y'all with me, verse 21, Matthew 7, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who's in heaven.
Now, that does not mean go out and do good works. What's the will of God? What's the one work that God requires? That you believe in the one He sent. That's the will of God, that you believe in His Son.
Many will say to me on that day, Lord Lord. Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and perform many miracles? And then I will tell them plainly. I never knew you. Depart from me.
You know what Jesus is doing here? Notice it says. Many will say to me on that day, what day is he talking about? He's talking about the day of judgment. He's directing our attention to Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15.
Where John writes. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. In other words, there would be nowhere to hide. And I saw the dead.
The dead are the lost, they're the goats. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead Were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Now let me ask you something. Do you want to b be judged based on what you've done? of what Jesus did. What Jesus did. If you're in Christ, There won't be any books for him to open up except one book, and that'll be the book of life.
And it says right here in verse 15: if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. See, John was on the island of Patmos, which is in the Aegean Sea. I've been there before. It's a real island. It's actually a beautiful island.
About eight miles long, two hills with a little valley in between. It looked like a nice place to go to the beach to me. But John was there as a prisoner. When John was on the island of Patmos, the Lord gave him a vision of this coming day of judgment. It's a day that many people should dread.
For that day Many, many will stand before Jesus, who will be their judge, and they will realize that the door to heaven has been shut to them. And many will stand there with still with Rebellion in their hearts, angry. Hard hearts, and they will say, Lord, why can't I enter heaven? Did you not say I lived my life? I was a good person, I was moral in my business practices.
I belonged to First United Church. I tried to give when I could. What do you mean I can't enter? And I believe that the Lord is going to look at them. with tears in his eyes.
And say these words of justice.
Okay. You could not enter heaven. Because I never knew you. Depart from the I believe that. I believe that's going to be such a sad day.
For so many people. That you and I know. You see, entrance into heaven is not about what you do, but about who you know. And the only one who can open the door to heaven for anyone is who? Jesus.
Acts 4:12 says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. In our remaining time, I want to answer three very important questions. First, What does it mean to know Jesus? Second, What major obstacle will those who don't know Jesus face one day? And third, Maybe the most important question.
How can a man come to know Jesus personally.
So, this brings us to John chapter 7, beginning with verse 25. Read with me. I'm going to read the first. Uh four verses. At that point, some of the people of Jerusalem begin to ask, isn't it, remember, the Feast of Tabernacles is taking place, and people from all over Israel have come to Jerusalem for this incredible celebrative feast.
And the hubbub is all about this man who's doing these miracles. And it says, at that point, some of the people of Jerusalem begin to ask, isn't this the man they're trying to kill? Here he's speaking publicly, and they're not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he's the Christ? But we know where this man is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he's from. Then Jesus who was still teaching the temple courts. cried out. That means he literally yelled. Yes, you know me, and you know where I'm from.
I'm not here on my own, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know him. But I know him. Because I am from him. And he sent me.
He's very clear about what he's saying.
Now, notice four times in verses 28 and 29, he uses the word no. No. Why is this word so important?
Well, let's look at the first question. What does it mean to know Jesus personally?
Well, what you notice here in these first three verses is that the people are so confused, they don't have a clue what's going on. They're not sure who Jesus is. And they were even wondering if the religious leaders Believed that he was the Messiah because they were silent. Have they concluded that he was the Messiah from the Old Testament, the promised one?
Well, of course, the Jews do not believe. In fact, we know that he was doing what? They were plotting to kill him. The people also thought they knew where Jesus was from, and that when the Messiah comes, no one would actually know where the Messiah was from. And they were wrong on both accounts, were they not?
Jesus was sent from heaven. He wasn't really sent from Galilee or Nazareth or Bethlehem. He was sent from heaven. But they do not believe this yet. And the religious leaders all knew that the prophet Micah had identified the exact place where the Messiah would be born.
Because when they're called before Herod, Herod heard there was a new king born. He summoned all the chief priests and the elders, and they came to him. He said, Where is this Messiah to be born? And they quoted Micah 5:2. It's in Matthew chapter 2.
But you Bethlehem Ephraim, remember there are two Bethlehems in Israel. One in the north, near Galilee, and one in the south, right near Jerusalem. And so Micah not only tells us Bethlehem, but he tells us which one. Isn't that amazing? But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you, out of Bethlehem Ephrathah, will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.
whose origins are from of old. From ancient times.
So Jesus Again, he stands up and he says, Yes, you know me. And you know where I'm from. I'm not here on my own, but He who sent me is true. You do not know Him, but I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent me. What was he really saying?
He was saying, you don't know me. He was speaking with irony. or even some sarcasm. You think you know me, but you don't. You think you know where I'm from, but you don't.
See, the people knew that he was the son of a carpenter, that he'd grown up in Nazareth.
However, in a much deeper sense, they really didn't know Jesus. They didn't know God. They didn't understand that Jesus had been sent to earth by the Father. In John 6, Jesus had told them clearly, I am the bread of life who came down from heaven. But see, they were blind to this truth.
Like so many religious people today, They saw Jesus as just a good moral man. but not the Son of God. And this is what a lot of people think today. They just think, a lot of preachers, they just think, well, he was a great moral example. I remember one preacher one time told me, We don't pray to Jesus, we pray to God.
I just kept my mouth sh I should have said something, but I didn't.
So, Jesus points to the underlying problem with this indictment. You do not know him. But I know him, because I am from him and he sent me. When Jesus says that God sent him to this earth. It points to one thing.
Jesus has always existed. He existed before his incarnation. It points to his deity. He's claiming to be God in the flesh, the eternal God whose origins are from of old, from ancient days.
So when Jesus speaks of the Father and says, You do not know him, but I know him. Here's what he means. That word no is it comes there are two Greek there are two Greek words from which we get our word no. One is konosko, one's order.
So the one that's used right here is order. He says, you do not order him. You do not order me. In other words, you do not know me. This word, what it means is you don't have full and complete knowledge.
It's like the knowledge that a a man has with His wife, husband asked his wife after they've lived together for 40 years, they know each other.
So this word, it points to intimate personal relationship. Christianity, men, is not a religion. It's a what? Relationship. To know that you have eternal life.
And to know that one day you will gain access to heaven, you must know Jesus men.
So let me ask you. Do you know Jesus? Do you know him? Back in November of 2017. I was asked to give the eulogy for my good friend Sam Simpson.
Some of you may remember him. He was just a great guy. And I decided that he had four or five really close friends, and I wanted the church was packed. The gymnasium was packed. And I wanted the people to know something about what his friends thought about Beth Sam.
And so I asked one of his good friends, Matt Nile, who's sitting right here. I called him today, asked him if I could do this. He said, yes. But I asked Matt back then, What would you like for me to say? about Sam.
What would you like to say about Sam? And I'll read it today. from you.
So here's what meant. He sent me a text and this is what I read that day. This is from Matt. For over 20 years, Sam would invite me to join a Bible study, a Bible study fellowship. But I would always put him off, telling him, maybe next year.
Sam was persistent and he never gave up on me. Finally, 12 years ago, which is now 21 years ago. I went with Sam to his Bible study and have been going ever since. I feel because of him, I now truly know Jesus. I also know that Sam is now in the presence of the Lord.
and that I would join him there one day. Thank you, Sam. for your persistence in your love for the Lord. The last words that I spoke at his eulogy. of these.
I knew the man Sam. And he knew the man Jesus. And he wants you to know Jesus too. I found out later that a number of people in that church liked everything until I got up and spoke. I'm serious.
So let me ask you again. Do you know Jesus? This leads to the second question. What major obstacle are people who don't know Jesus going to face one day?
Well, look at verses 30 through 36. At this, they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him because his time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man? The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. Jesus said this, listen carefully. I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me. but you will not find him.
And where I am. You cannot come. Those are words you never want to hear. The Jews said to one another, where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
What did he mean when he said, You will look for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, You cannot come.
So the Feast of Tabernacles took place in the fall. And it was about six months before Passover. And at the very next Passover, so we're in John chapter 7. At the very next past level, which we'll get to in John 13, which we won't get to next year because we're not going to do it. But when you read it, read on through John.
So we're just six months away from the time when Jesus will be arrested, he'll be tried before the Sanhedrin, he'll be accused of blasphemy, and then he'll be delivered to Pilate for execution.
So Jesus is getting ready. to be crucified, dead, and buried. But on the third day, what happened? He arose. and they could not figure out what happened to him.
And he began to appear for the next forty days to his followers. And then he ascended into heaven. God sent them to the earth. He lived a perfect life. died for our sins.
Rose from the grave. appear to up to 500 witnesses. And then ascended to heaven. And he sat down at the right hand of God. And today he's ruling and reigning from the throne of God.
And one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. You see, those who refuse to believe in him. Did not come to know him. Did not come to know God. Therefore, they did not possess eternal life.
So, anybody that does not believe in Jesus does not possess eternal life.
So, what obstacle are they going to face one day? A shut door. The door to heaven will be forever shut to them. Instead, they will stand before Jesus lined up. I don't know how long it's going to take.
before the great white throne judgment All they're waiting for is to be condemned. And once they're condemned, the door to hell will be opened up and they will be forced to enter it. Therefore, They will never Enjoy. The presence of God in heaven. and the love that God wants to shower them with.
And the joy of being with loved ones who know the Lord. and peace and joy and rest. Forever. Forever, man, do you understand that? And you've got friends right now that are on the precipice of dying.
Have you ever shared the gospel with them? Yes, this is the most important thing in this world. to know Jesus. When my grandchildren tell me they know Jesus, I don't have to worry about the rest of their life. No matter what happens, they will be with me in heaven one day.
So, this brings us to our final and really most important question. How can a man come to know Jesus personally?
Well, look at verses 37 through 39. Love these verses right here. On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood. Notice he stood and he said in a loud voice: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.
By this he meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
So remember. We learned this last week. For six days, the high priest would get a golden pitcher. He would walk to the pool of Siloam. He would fill it with water.
The people followed him there. They followed him back to the temple area. And then he would walk around the altar once. And then he would climb the steps to the top of a platform. And he would pour that.
This was the highlight of that day. He would pour the water out on the altar. But on this last day, The final day. He walked around that altar seven times. Reminiscent of when the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho seven times because they were getting ready to enter.
The promised land.
So they're remembering God's presence with them. They also remember God's blessings. When He's pulling that water out, They're remembering that God provided them water supernaturally in the desert for 40 years.
So that's what this ceremony is about. It's about thanking God and celebrating His deliverance and His provision of water, living water.
So, this final day was the climax of the entire week. And everyone, you probably, you had hundreds of thousands of people, men, women, and children, all Jews. crowded to the temple area and they were watching intently. And the priest, after he walked seven times around that altar, climbed up those stairs. And everything grew quiet.
They were full of anticipation, waiting for the final time when he would pour that water out. And the moment that he began to tip the pitcher and the water fell, Jesus stood up. Remember, it's quiet. And he yells. Would you like to have seen that?
If anyone is thirsty, Let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, he's pointing them back to their book. Streams of living water will flow from within him, just like he told the woman at the well. And he uses three very important words here, guys. And this is basically, you know what he's doing?
He's yelling because he wants everybody to hear what he's got to say. He is sick and tired of what the Pharisees have been teaching them. Listen to me. I was sent from heaven. I speak living words to you.
Listen to me. He wants everybody to hear the gospel. All you have to do is Be thirsty. Then you have to come. And then you have to drink.
These are, this is a personal invitation to the world today. But before listen, before anybody will come to Jesus, you must first be thirsty. You must have a desire within you to know God. But see, sadly, most people don't thirst for God. Do you know what it means to be thirsty?
I remember when I went off to my senior year to St. Christmas in Richmond, Virginia, I went up there for early football practice, which I wish I'd never done, because we were having three a days. Three days, it was August. It was hot. It was humid.
I came to hate football practice.
Okay. But I loved one part of football practice. Yeah. When we got to the end, all the trends would come out. on the ground that they had barrels of Gatorade.
It crushed ice. And I was one of the fastest guys on the team. I would sprint to that. Gatorade. And I would dip my cup in there and I would guzzle it down so fast I was spilling half on the ground.
And I drank and I drank and I drank. And it was the best-tasting liquid I've ever had in my life. I wish I could have it right now. You know what I mean? King David thirsted for God.
In Psalm 42, 1 and 2, he writes, As the deer, because David was out there with the sheep, he knew about animals. He had watched the deer. When the deer was thirsty, it would go to a stream. He said, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Where can I go and meet God? And Jesus says, Here I am. You can come and meet me here. But you've got to be thirsty before you'll come. You see, most people are drinking from the wrong well.
Jeremiah talked about this in chapter 2. He says he's talking about the Israelites. Same thing we're doing in America today. We're drinking from the wrong wells. We build our own wells.
Wells it cannot hold water. Jeremiah says, My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Listen, cisterns of sports, sisters of pleasure, sisters of sex, sisters of popularity, sisters who climb the ladder. You know that.
They're all broken sisters. And they were never satisfied. I don't care how long you drink from them. Jeremiah 29:13 says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Not only must you thirst for God, you must turn away from your empty cisterns and come to Him.
What does it mean to come to Jesus? It means to believe. in him. You come to him by faith. Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, Come to me, all you who worry and heavy laden, and I will give you what?
Rest. I believe sometimes, men, that God has to make us thirsty. Because we're not naturally thirsty. You know what he does? He sends trials and tribulations, sicknesses, hardships.
He used these tools to cause us to thirst. When you come to the end of yourself and you realize that you're thirsty, Jesus says, Come to me. And I will give you living water. But guess what else you have to do? You have to drink it.
To drink means to receive Jesus into your heart by faith, just like you drink water. That gives you Supernatural nourishment and satisfaction. You drink Jesus in by reading His Word in prayer. And you digest it, which means you believe it. John 1:12 says, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Many were not born children of God. Do you know that, Dorchie? We're born God's enemies. We're born under his wrath. But he wants us to become as part of his family.
He wants to adopt us as his children, his sons. Revelation 3:20. Jesus stands at the door. He actually stands on the outside of the door of the church. Did you know that?
He's outside the door of a church. trying to get into the church. Because he's not in that church, church of Laodicea. He says, Here I am. I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
So let me ask you: if you open the door to your heart. When you do, Jesus will come in. and you will come alive. you'll experience what he means by living water flowing from within you. You will have a joy and peace that you cannot contain.
You look forward to the next day. It doesn't mean your day's going to be perfect. But he's going. Take the bad days and work them out for your good. Did you know the Bible ends with basically the same words?
Thirst, come, die. drink. Revelation 22:17 says, The bride in the spirit say, Come, and let him who hears come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Amen. My challenge you tonight. It's if you have not come that you will come. that you drink this living water. And the children You'll offer this living water to a friend, a family member.
A co-worker. whose life is empty. When a man's life is empty and you can see it, God is working on his heart. He needs you to open your mouth and share what you know, to share the light that you have within you with those around you.
Okay? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word. Thank you, dear God, that you, thank you, Lord, that the door to heaven is still open. That your arms are still spread wide, saying all who will may come.
It's an invitation to the world, Lord. And all we have to do is share it with others, pass it on. We love you, Lord. I pray to Heavenly Father for the men in here who are struggling with jobs, with illnesses, with pain in their body, with heartache. Whatever it may be, Lord.
They may be weary, tired, and thirsty. Fill them up tonight, Lord. I pray that when they put their heads on their beds tonight, they will feel that peace that passes all understanding. Mm. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews. This broadcast is made possible because of the prayers and financial gifts of listeners like you. If you want to learn more about our ministry or support us as we reach others with God-centered Bible teaching, please visit us at findingpurpose.net.
