John 7: 11-24

Pastor Jess spoke on John 7 this week about the pitfalls to genuine spiritual growth, referencing Heb. 5 and how Christians are supposed to 'grow up' in our maturity. Often our priorities are wrong, and we devote precious hours to goals that have no eternal worth. We should all repent, pray and ask for grace to grown and learn.

In his message, he took a "shotgun" approach with the points, identifying ten things that, in some way or another, are bound to hit someone.

1. Getting Wrapped Up in Hearsay (the crowds had falsely maligned Jesus with gossip)
2. Fearing Men rather than God (the crowd was hushed and fearful of the Pharisees)
3. Erecting Unbiblical Tests for Orthodoxy (Jesus' teaching and miracles wowed the crowd, but they rejected it on a wrongful basis. "He had not been to through the Rabbinical schools, so where is he getting this teaching from?")
4. Being Unwilling to Obey God's Will (Choosing to follow Christ is never a strictly intellectual decision.)
5. Living for your own Glory (The teachers refused to change their views and opposed Jesus at every turn.)
6. Nurturing Sinful Desires (Jesus - "Did not Moses give you the law, and no one from you does the law")
7. Becoming Defensive when you should become introspective (Don't be quick to form an opinion to something you don't understand fully.)
8. Applying the Bible Inconsistently (In John 5, Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda, and the Pharisees were ready to kill Jesus, even though they would have no problems with circumcising on the Sabbath day.)
9. Engaging in Superficial Judgments (Don't judge according to outward appearance, and don't simply follow what looks good externally)
10. Neglecting to Employ Righteous Judgment (Use fair judgment, taking in all information. How you judge is how you will be judged. Once you take out your own problem, then help your brother with his problem.)