When God Says Not Yet: Trusting His Timing Over Human Pressure

In John 7:1–13, Jesus navigates one of the most revealing moments in His earthly ministry — pressure from His own brothers to go public at the Feast of Tabernacles while the religious leaders of Jerusalem are actively seeking His life. This lesson exposes a truth that every believer must wrestle with: God's timeline is never ours, and the pressure to move before He says "go" can come from the people closest to us. Tony Padgett unpacks why Jesus' refusal to make a grand public entrance was not fear or confusion, but sovereign obedience to a divine plan that had been set before the foundation of the world. We also examine the stunning transformation of Jesus' own brothers — James and Jude — who moved from unbelief and mockery to calling themselves servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, a change that can only be explained by one thing: they saw the risen Savior. Finally, we are challenged to guard our own spiritual conclusions against the pull of popular opinion, and to stand on the unchanging Word of God even when the crowd is divided, the leadership is hostile, and the cost of speaking openly feels too high.

Sunday, April 12, 2026 @ 9:30 a.m.

by The Brookfield Church of Christ

Facilitated by Tony Padgett