======================================================================== THE WATCH WORD OF CHRIST by Stephen Kaung ======================================================================== Summary: The watchword of Christ is 'my hour', which refers to His ultimate purpose and time of glory, and is characterized by humility, broken tradition, and a desire to manifest His glory and obtain a bride. Duration: 1:19:07 Topics: "Ultimate Purpose", "Jesus Sacrifice" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this sermon, the preacher discusses the ultimate purpose of Jesus' life and movement. The sermon is based on a booklet called 'The Watchword of the Son of Man' by Chiosen Sparks. The preacher highlights four subtopics related to the ultimate purpose: the sign of the ultimate purpose (marriage), the security of the ultimate purpose (living a life in the time of God), the law of the ultimate purpose (death and resurrection), and the basis of the ultimate purpose (Jesus being sent by God to deliver humanity from the curse of the law). The preacher emphasizes that Jesus' sacrifice, symbolized by the pouring out of His blood and water from His side, is what builds His church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ John, the second chapter, we'll read from the first verse. And on the third day a marriage took place in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also and his disciples were invited to the marriage. And wine being deficient, the mother of Jesus says to him, they have no wine. Jesus says to her, what have I to do with thee, woman? Mine hour has not yet come. His mother says to the servants, whatever he may say to you, do. Now there were standing there six stone water vessels, according to the purification of the Jews, holding two or three measures each. Jesus says to them, fill the water vessels with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he says to them, draw out now and carry it to the feast master. And they carried it. And when the feast master had tasted the water which had been made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servant knew who drew the water. The feast master calls the bridegroom and says to him, every man set on first the good wine. And when man hath well drunk, then the inferior. Thou hast kept the good wine till now. This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed on him. The same book, chapter twelve. John, chapter twelve. We begin with verse twenty. John twelve, twenty. And there were certain Greeks among those who came up that they might worship in the feast. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee. And they asked him, saying, Sir, we desire to see Jesus. Philip comes and tells Andrew. And again Andrew comes and Philip, and they tell Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone. But if it die, it bears much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there also shall be my servant. And if anyone serve me, him shall the Father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but on account of this have I come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name. There came therefore a voice out of heaven, I both have glorified and will glorify it again. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for this privilege of coming to Thee with holy boldness. We thank Thee that we can enter into the holiest of all without any fear or trembling. It is all because of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, as we are in Thy presence, we do expect Thee to reveal Thy mind to us and draw us into the very center of Thy purpose that Thy Son, our Lord Jesus, may be glorified. We commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to do its work. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Yesterday morning, we went through the Old Testament to prove what King Solomon says, there is a season for everything. A time for each purpose. And a wise man's heart knows the time and the manner. That is to say, a wise man knows when and what to do. Now this morning we would like to continue on this into the New Testament. And of course when we come to the New Testament, the first one that we will focus our attention upon is none other but our Lord Jesus. It is said in Galatians chapter 4 verse 4, when the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son into the world. Born of woman, born under the law, that He may deliver us out of the curse of the law. That we might receive sonship. Four thousand years ago, in the Garden of Eden, after the fall of man, God gave man a wonderful promise. Saying that the seed of the woman shall crush the head of the serpent. And four thousand years had passed. But these times were not passed in vain. Why? Because God was working. God was working towards the time, the fullness of time. When He shall send His beloved Son into this world to deliver us out of the curse of the law into sonship. From the human standpoint, it seems as if the time was not right for the coming of the Son. Why? Because it was the time of the Roman Empire. A Caesar was upon the throne of the world empire. A Roman governor was in Jerusalem. And Herod, the Idomite, Idomite was the king of the Jews. Not only that, but even you find the people, the Jewish people, they were really not ready for the coming of the Messiah. Even though it was their prayer through the years for the Messiah to come. Every morning, after the temple was opened, there will be that morning prayer and the priest will enter into the holy place, burn incense at the altar, and there he will offer prayer for the whole nation. And no doubt, the prayer for the whole nation is a prayer for the Messiah to come. And yet you find that in reality, the people, the Jewish people, though they pray for the coming of the Messiah, day after day, and yet their hearts were not ready for Him. Now even though in man's eyes the time was not right, but God said it was the fullness of time. So God sent His Son into this world. There were some people there who were ready for the Messiah. A remnant, not many, we have Mary and Joseph, we have Zechariah and Elizabeth, we have Anna and Simeon, we have those temple shepherds, and we have also those who became the disciples of John. And these were the remnant among the Jewish people who were prepared in their hearts to receive the Messiah. And God looked upon these hearts, and God said the time is right to send His beloved Son into this world. As we look into the life of our Lord Jesus, we find that His life is characterized by one thing. We find that He has a watchword, and the watchword of Christ, as you'll find especially in the Gospel according to John. It is repeated again and again, and it is that word my hour, the time, my time, these are the expressions of what is upon His heart. Our Lord Jesus knows His time. He has not only the knowledge of the time, but He is ever conscious of His time. His whole life moves with the hour, with the time that God has assigned for that particular period. The first time we find our Lord Jesus mentioned this watchword of His is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of John. And there you'll find there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and His disciples were also invited. Now marriage was a happy occasion. And evidently this young couple they were to be married were very popular. Because you'll find that more people were at the wedding than they expected. And probably more people lingered there longer than they expected. So the result was after maybe a day or two of feast and happiness, the wine began to be exhausted. And it would be a most embarrassing situation to the young couple. At the very height of their happiness, sorrow will come in. Shame will come in. Evidently the mother of Jesus was a close friend of either the young man or the young woman. Therefore she was drawn into the inner circle. She knew about the situation. So she came to the Lord and said, they have no wine. Now why did Mary told Jesus about that need? Humanly speaking, we would think that naturally she was expecting that Jesus would do something about it. But to her surprise, the Lord Jesus said, what have I to do with thee, woman? Mine hour has not yet come. Now in the English language you find that it seems a little bit harsh. But actually in the original it is very different. Because when the Lord Jesus said, woman, well in the English language we would say little woman. So actually it wasn't a very harsh word. It is a word of affection. Little woman. Now why is it that the Lord does not say mother and say little woman? Now probably the reason is because our Lord Jesus now had begun His ministry. When He was at home He was under the authority of His parents. But when He was thirty years old and you remember how He came to John to be baptized. He stepped out into the public. That was the beginning of His public life, of His public ministry. And as He entered into His public ministry to be occupied with His Father's business. You find He was in a different realm. He wasn't in home. He was in the work of God. And in the work of God He was to be directed by none other but His Heavenly Father. Human relationship, natural relationship could not enter into the work of God or interfere with God's work. And probably it is for this reason that He does not address His mother say mother. He says woman, little woman. He loves His mother very much. There is an affection in it. But He calls Him her little woman. What have I to do with thee? Now this, what have I to do with thee? Brother T. Austin Spock said in the original actually it has that kind of meaning. What is there in common between you and me? What is there in common between you and me? You are thinking of one thing. They have no wine. But I'm thinking of another thing. We are on two different wavelengths. You are thinking that they have no wine. They need a wine. In order that this marriage may be a success. But this is not in my thought. In my thought I'm thinking of something very different from what you think. I'm thinking of another marriage. The marriage that God has in His purpose. Even from the very beginning. I'm thinking of that union typified by Adam and Eve. God put Adam to sleep. God said it was not good for man to be alone. God put him to sleep. And then out of His sight God took out something. Now in our Bible it says a rib. But in the original it is took out something. God took out something out of Adam. And God used that something out of Adam to build a woman. And the word build is a word used in architecture. To build a woman with that something coming out of the side of Adam. And then He led Eve to Adam. When Adam saw Eve he said this is bone by bone and flesh of my flesh. He shall be called a woman. And from that time on they are united into one flesh. And the Lord as if the Lord is saying now little woman you are thinking of this marriage in Cana of Galilee. Now it is important to see that this marriage will be a success. But I'm thinking of a greater thing than that. I'm thinking of the marriage typified by Adam and Eve in the beginning of human history. I'm thinking of the marriage between the Lamb and His Church. I'm thinking of the union of God and man. I'm thinking of that eternal marriage. And surely I want to see that marriage to be a success. So we are on two different wavelengths. You are thinking of one thing, I'm thinking of another thing. You know our Lord Jesus when He was on earth His life was directed, focused to a very clear and definite purpose. He was not just walking upon this earth drifting finding His way hitting upon things. No, our Lord Jesus His whole life on earth was governed by an ultimate purpose. And that purpose is the marriage. And you find that the whole Bible actually is centered upon this. Because in the book of Genesis it begins with a marriage and when you come to the end of the Word of God, you'll find in Revelation chapter 121 and 22 another marriage. The marriage of the Lamb and the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. So that is what the Lord has in mind. What is there in common between you and me? This is upon my heart. But anyway in order to save the situation, the Lord, after the mother told the servants whatever He says, you do. In other words, let the Lord be the Lord. And you do not try to direct the Lord or even to suggest the Lord what He should do. So when she put the Lord in His rightful place then you find our Lord Jesus moving and He told the servants to pour the water into the water vessels that stands at the door for purification and fill these six water vessels to the brim. And then He said, draw them out and show it to the feast master. Let the feast master taste it. And when the feast master tasted it he found that it was the best wine. Now brothers and sisters when the Lord performed this miracle He said this is in conjunction with my hour. My hour has not yet come. Now what is His hour? He is very conscious of His time. Now what is that hour? What is that hour that He is looking forward to? He is actually looking forward to that hour when He will pour forth His life like the water drawn out of the water vessel in order to quench the thirst of those who are thirsty. In order to make that marriage a success. And this is the hour that our Lord Jesus is looking forward to. The Bible said this is the first sign He did. To manifest His glory. Now you know in the gospel according to John all the miracles, wonders performed by our Lord Jesus are called signs. These miracles are wonder works. No doubt about that. But in the gospel of John all these wonder works, all these miracles are called signs. Why? Because they are not just work of wonders. These work of wonders point out to something. There is something deeper just performing a miracle. These miracles are to lead us into something more. And that is lead us to see the ultimate purpose of God. Through the working of these wonders we are to be shown the eternal purpose of God. And that is to manifest His glory. Dear brothers and sisters, how does Lord Jesus manifest His glory? He manifests His glory not just by turning the water into wine. To us that is glorious enough. But to the Lord that is nothing. That cannot be considered as glory. To manifest His glory He has to perform something much more than that. And what is it that He has done? Through that sign He is telling us that He is going to pour out His life. And by pouring out His life He is to obtain from Himself a bride. And there will be a marriage. And that marriage will be successful. And that marriage will be eternal. Now dear brothers and sisters, this is His glory. And that is what the Lord Jesus refers to. And this is the hour that He is looking forward. Now the second mentioning of the time on the hour in the Gospel of John is found in chapter four. Now in chapter four you'll find our Lord Jesus. He was in Judea. And there was some kind of murmuring that He made. He baptized more people than John. In other words you'll find there was some kind of murmuring. There was some kind of suspicion. There was some kind of unpleasant feeling. And our Lord Jesus is so gentleman-like. He wouldn't even allow such thing to happen. There was no competition between Him and John the Baptist. So when He heard about that, He decided to leave Judea. To go back to Galilee. And the Bible said He must pass through Samaria. Now dear brothers and sisters, you know that even geographically, Judea is in the southern part of Palestine. Galilee is in the northern part. And in between is Samaria. But according to the custom of the Jews at that time, because of their hostility towards the Samaritans. And the hostility of the Samaritans towards the Jews. These two races if you can say that, because the Samaritans actually are mixed race. But you'll find there was such enmity. Such hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans. That the Jews will not enter into the land of the Samaritans. They will have nothing to do with them. So when they want to go from Judea to Galilee they would rather cross the river Jordan to the eastern shore. And then they would travel in Piraeus. And then bypass Samaria and re- enter through the river Jordan into Galilee. That is the way that the Jewish people travel in the days of Christ. But here you'll find the Bible said he must go through Samaria. The must there is not according to tradition. The must there is a spiritual must. Because our Lord Jesus knew that there was a woman there that needed Him. And for that reason He broke the tradition of the Jews. You know, because our Lord Jesus broke so many traditions of the fathers. He incurred their wrath. And even eventually you'll find that crucified Him. They wouldn't want Him. Because He did not follow their tradition. But the Lord Jesus said, you hold on to the traditions of the father and even violate the commandment of God. And dear brothers and sisters, this was not something new. We find that it happened even today. But our Lord Jesus broke the traditions of the time. In order to meet that Samaritan woman. So He went to Samaria. And He was so weary in His journey. Because He was walking. And when they came to the well of Jacob, He rested there. His disciples went into the city to buy food. Because they were not only weary, they were also hungry and thirsty. And they left the Lord Jesus there resting a while while they entered into the city to buy bread. It was at that time that a Samaritan woman came out of the city to draw water. Now this was most unusual. It wasn't according to the custom of the time. Because according to the custom of the time, when the women came out to draw water, they usually came out either in the morning or towards the evening. Because these were the time that they were, it was not very hot. And they usually came out in groups. They were like companies. They like to talk, you know. So they usually come out to draw waters in companies. I remember when I was in Israel, and I still saw the same thing going on. Saw that these women, you know, came out in groups to draw water. And actually in that area, that was the only well. Only source of water. But the difference was, in those days, you know, when they came to draw water, they may have a pitcher on their head. But now, you know, you find there was a gasoline can upon their head. Now that was the difference. But anyway, they came to draw water. But this woman didn't come in the morning. Nor in the evening. Nor with the other women. She came alone. And at no time. Why? Evidently she wanted to avoid people. She didn't want to have anything to do with people. Because she was well known in the city as a bad woman. Nobody would keep company with her. And when they saw her, probably they would curse her. So she became very hostile to the whole world. She came at no time. But she was thirsty. So she came at no time to draw water. She thought that there would be nobody there. She would all be by herself. And to her surprise, she found that a man was sitting by the well. And more so, when that man began to talk with her. Now that man was a Jew. By his garment, you know that he was a Jew. And there was nothing between the Jews and the Samaritans. And yet a Jewish man talked to her. And not only talked to her, but said, give me some water to drink. Now that was most strange. Because a Jewish man asking a Samaritan woman for water, that was not done in history. But our Lord Jesus, in order to contact that woman, he was willing to humble himself even before a Samaritan woman. And asked that woman to give him water to drink. That's the humility of our Lord Jesus. But the woman did not respond. The woman said, now you are a Jewish man. Why do you ask water for me? And the Lord said, if you know who is talking with you, you will ask him to give you water to drink. That water that will become a fountain within you. And you will never be thirsty again. And of course, when that Samaritan woman heard about that, of course she would like to have that water. She didn't understand. So she said, sir, you do not have any instrument, vessel, to draw the water. The well is very deep. Now how can you draw water without the vessel? And this well, our father Jacob give it to us. Now are you greater than our father Jacob? You can give us a water that will not be exhausted? Give me that water. And the Lord said, go and get your husband. In other words, the Lord pointed out to her, her sins. And when the Lord said that, she realized that she met a prophet. And her conscience was awakened. And dear brothers and sisters, you'll find when a person's conscience was awakened, the first thing is worship. Worship is something that is built in human beings. When we were dead in sins and transgressions, we forgot to worship God. But once our conscience is awakened, the first thing is, how can I worship God? Where can I worship Him? How do I worship Him? So you know, it is very strange. When the Lord pointed out the sins of that woman, and her conscience was awakened, now this woman was deep in sins. She wasn't thinking of worship God at all. But suddenly you'll find her conscience was awakened, and immediately she found that this problem, this question of worship became a supreme question, a problem. So she asked the Lord, where should I worship? You Jewish people said, if you want to worship God, you must worship God in Jerusalem, in the temple. But we Samaritans, we said, we worship God in this mountain, Mount Gerasing, because there on Mount Gerasing, they built a temple. And that's the place where we worship. Now, which is the right place to worship? And the Lord Jesus said to that woman, woman, the hour is coming. When you do not worship, either in Jerusalem, nor on Mount Gerasing. Because the hour is coming, and now is. Those who worship God, worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Father is seeking for true worshipers. Those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is ever conscious of His hour. He is not only the man of the hour, that He does everything according to the time that God has assigned for Him. But you know, with the coming of the Lord Jesus, He Himself lived His life in the hour, and more so, with His coming, He brings in an hour. A new era, a new time. He is the one who in a sense terminates the old time and brings in a new time. With the coming of the Lord Jesus, the hour is changed. It is changed from the time of the law into the time of grace. In the time of the law, worshiping God is an external thing. In other words, worshiping God is limited by time and space. There is a place that you go to worship God. To the Jews, it is Jerusalem. To the Samaritans, it is Mount Gerizim. Under the law, worshiping God, there is a time. With the Jews, they have to go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God. And with the Samaritans, of course, they have their own time of worship. Under the law, you'll find nothing is perfect. Under the law, everything is outward, is external. God is far above, beyond the approach of man. Man can only worship Him from afar, with fear and trembling. Now, that was the time under the law. But with the coming of the Lord Jesus, the law said, the hour is come. And now is. With His coming, everything has changed. We are delivered out of the time under the law into the time of grace. And there the Lord Jesus said, the very nature of worship has changed. You do not worship God externally anymore. You worship God in spirit and in truth. Now, why is it? Because with the coming of the Lord Jesus, this is made possible. Before His coming, man's spirit was dead in sins and transgressions. God is a spirit. And if we want to worship Him, we must worship Him in spirit. But our spirit was dead in sins and transgressions. So the only way men try to worship Him is with His body. And of course, with your body, or even with your soul, you can never really touch Him. You can only worship Him from afar. That external, that imperfect, that is never complete. But thank God with the coming of our Lord Jesus, the time is changed. Why? Because He comes to quicken our dead spirit and make it a new spirit. And with a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit, we are led into true worship. We can contact God, we can worship God, we can please God, we can commune with God. So today, it is not a matter of external worship, worship has to be inward. We worship in spirit, and in truth. The truth there is not only a matter of teaching, or true doctrine. Now the Jews, in a sense, they had the truth. The Samaritans did not have the truth. Because God commended the Jews to God said, I will appoint a place where I will put my name there. So in other words, they had the truth. But to them, the truth was just an objective truth, an outward truth. The truth is in letter. And the letter kills. But thank God, with the coming of the Lord Jesus, you will find the truth has become living. It has become a reality. The Lord said, I'm the truth. There is a reality coming in. And today, we can worship Him in spirit, and in truth. The hour has changed. He has changed the hour. Dear brothers and sisters, if today people are still worshipping God externally, they are out of God's time. And if you behave, if you act out of God's time, then you are out of God's purpose. And if you are out of God's purpose, that you do not accomplish anything, and God does not gain anything. It is vanity. So today, we find that with the coming of the Lord Jesus, the hour has changed. Now, we can worship God in spirit, and in truth. And it is only such worship that you are worshipping in God's time. And you fulfill God's purpose. And your manner, your behaviour is in tune with God. And dear brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord Jesus has provided for us. Then you find the third mentioning of the time. And it is found in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, verse 25. After our Lord Jesus has healed that man infirm of 38 years. Then the Lord Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that have heard shall live. Before that hour came, nothing of this nature could ever happen. How could the dead hear the voice of the Son of God? Now, of course, the dead here does not refer to the physical dead. The dead here refers to the spiritually dead. The spiritually dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And when they hear it, they shall live. Brothers and sisters, before that hour, before our Lord Jesus come, those who were dead in sins and transgressions, they were just dead. They couldn't hear. They couldn't hear the voice of the Son of God, but the Son of God is now come. And when He speak, even the dead shall hear. And when the dead should hear Him, they will live. And this is what is happening since the coming of the Lord up to our present time. And then if you read on to verse 28 and 29. Verse 29. Wonder not at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and shall go forth. Those who have practiced good to resurrection of life and those that have done evil to resurrection of judgment. Now here you Lord find our Lord mention another hour. Actually you find these two are different hours. In verse 25 the Lord said an hour is coming. And now it is. He refers to the hour that the Son of God is upon the earth. The Son of God has come. And He speaks to the spiritually dead. And those who hear will live. But then in verse 28 and 29 He mentions another hour. That is another hour. It is an hour in the future. When those who are in the tombs. Now I think it is very clear. The Lord does not say dead because if He said just dead people think He may be spiritually dead. But He said they are in the tomb. In other words, these are referred to the physically dead. Now those who are physically dead. One day when the hour shall come they shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And when they hear His voice they shall all be raised from the dead. And those who practice good. Now the practice good here does not mean that you live a life doing good things. And because you have merits therefore one day when the voice of God shall come and you will be raised from the dead. And you will be resurrected unto life. It doesn't mean that. In the Bible, the good in the Bible is not the good that we usually think. You remember the young rich ruler coming to the Lord and said, good teacher what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And the Lord said, why do you call me good? There is no one good but God. In other words, you will find the good in the Scripture simply means God is good. And that is to say, if you do the will of God, that is good. If it is not the will of God, no matter how good it may appear to the world, it is no good. So those who practice good simply means those who practice the will of God. Those who do the will of God and what is the will of God? The will of God is that we should believe in Him whom God has sent. Now those who practice good, there will be resurrection to life. But even those who have done evil. And again, evil in the same sense. Not evil that the world will call evil. There are many things that the world will call good that God will call evil. Evil simply means do not know the will of God, do not do the will of God, do things against God. That's evil. And those who practice evil to resurrection of judgment. Now, of course, these two resurrections are a thousand years apart. Because the resurrection of the just is before the millennium. And the resurrection of the evil is after millennium. You'll find that all the dead will be raised in Revelation chapter 20. And they will appear before the judgment of the great white throne. So dear brothers and sisters, again here you'll find the Lord Jesus is ever conscious of the hour. There is an hour. And you need to know the hour. You need to discern the purpose of the hour. And you need to act accordingly. There will be hour now. There will be an hour in the future. Now another mentioning of the time of the hour is in chapter 7. Chapter 7 verse 6. You remember at that time there was opposition to the Lord Jesus. And he was in Galilee. Because the Jews sought to kill him in Judea. Now the feast of the tabernacles had come. And during the feast of tabernacle the Jewish people will all go to Judea, will all go to Jerusalem, to the temple, to worship God. But the brethren, that is the brethren according to the flesh to our Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. But after she gave birth to the Lord Jesus, then you'll find through natural means she gave birth to other sons and daughters. So these were the brothers according to the flesh to our Lord Jesus. Now they did not believe in the Lord Jesus. So his brethren say to him, Remove hands and go to Judea, that thy disciples also may see thy works, which thou doest. For no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be known in public. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For neither does his brethren believe in him. Now dear brothers and sisters, here you'll find the natural mind. The natural mind is a person wants to seek fame for himself. And if you are ambitious, and you want to seek fame for yourself, then you have to go where the people are. Appear yourself to them. Draw them to yourself. And that's the way that you become a success. They didn't know that our Lord Jesus, even his brethren according to the flesh, didn't know that our Lord Jesus was not ambitious in the human way. He was not trying to seek fame for himself. He was on earth to do the Father's will. To glorify the Father. That was his ambition, and nothing else. So his brethren could not understand him. And they tried to knock him and said, now go to Judea. Appear yourself. And then you will be success and gain fame. And you know what the Lord Jesus said? Verse 6. Jesus therefore says to them, My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but me it hate. Because I bear witness concerning it, that is works of evil. Ye go ye up to the feast. I go not up to this feast, for my time is not yet fulfilled. Having said these things to them, he abode in Galilee. But after his brethren left, but when his brethren had gone up, then he himself also went up to the feast. Not openly, but as in secret. Now here you find how the life of our Lord Jesus was governed by the hour. He knows his time. It is the time of the Father. And before the Father speaks, he will never move. He will never move before the time. Nor will he lag behind the time. You find that our Lord Jesus always moves exactly on time. So when his brethren was talking to him, the Father hasn't revealed his mind to him yet. So he said, my time is not yet come. You go. You can do whatever you want. That's the way your life is. But that's not my life. My life is strictly governed by the time. By my Father. Oh, what a disciplined life that is. Dear brothers and sisters, how about us? Is our time always in our own hand? We can go anywhere we want to. We can do anything we like to. As Oswald Chambers said, between born and death, between these two limits, you can choose whatever you like to do according to your disposition. You can make your time a sorrowful time, or you can make your time a joyful time. You can do whatever you like. You make your own time. In other words, you do not care about God's timing. But with the Lord Jesus, it's different. He is waiting upon the Father for the right time. And when the right time comes, you'll find He moves very quickly. It may give the appearance that our Lord was a little bit subtle, but that's not the fact. If you really know what it means, you see that our Lord Jesus moves exactly on time. And when the time comes, even if there is danger there, He is willing to face. And if you read on, you'll find in connection with that, in the same chapter, verse 30. They sought Him, therefore, to take Him. And no one laid his hand upon Him, because His hour had not yet come. His time has come for Him to go to Judea. But His hour for accomplishing the work that God has sent Him to this earth has not yet come. And that hour, of course, refers to His crucifixion. His hour has not yet come. And before that hour comes, no man can lay His hand upon Him. In other words, His life is secured. Dear brothers and sisters, there is a security if you move according to God's time. If you live your life in God's time, then no matter how dangerous it is, no matter how people try to take you, no matter how people try to do something to you, no one can lay His hand upon you before the hour is come. And here you'll find our Lord Jesus, He's not afraid of the danger. He goes, He goes to Judea. And people try to get Him. But they couldn't do it. Because His hour is not yet come. And the same thing you'll find in chapter 8 verse 20. There our Lord was in Jerusalem. No one lay His hand on Him. Again in the treasury of the temple, He spoke of His relationship with His Father. And He said, I and My Father are one. And then in verse 30. As He spoke these things, many believe on Him. And that is not the verse I want. 20? Yeah, verse 20. That's right. That's the verse I want. These were His book in the treasury, teaching in the temple. And no one took Him. For His hour was not yet come. And then the next mentioning is in chapter 12. In chapter 12. Our Lord Jesus came into Jerusalem. That was His last week in Jerusalem. Not only the multitudes went out of the city to welcome Him and say, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord has a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But you'll find a certain Jew, children, Greeks, even want to see Him. Humanly speaking, this was His most glorious time upon this earth. In verse 20. And there were certain Greeks among those who came up, that they might worship in the feast. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and they asked him, saying, Sir, we desire to see Jesus. Even the Gentiles wanted to see Jesus. Now, how glorious that will be! But the sense of glory to the Lord is different from the sense of glory that man has. So, when Philip and Andrew came to the Lord and said, the Greeks want to see you. Now, listen to what the Lord said on verse 23. But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Now, don't make a mistake. Thinking that the Lord said, Now even the Gentiles are seeking after Me, so I am glorified. Not at all. Because immediately He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. In other words, the Lord said, My hour is come. What is that hour? The hour that He is to be glorified. Not in the sense that the whole world is now seeking after Him. But in the sense that He, being the grain of wheat, who has fallen upon this ground thirty some years ago, now is going to die. And in dying, He will bear much fruit. Now, this is the hour that He is referring to. So that He said, He who loves his soul life shall lose it. And he hates his soul life in this world, shall keep it to life eternal. But is it an easy thing for him to do? Listen. Now, verse twenty-seven, now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Our Lord is a perfect man. He is one who knows no sin. Not only He hasn't committed any sin, He does not know what sin is. Because His whole life pleases the Father. Always doing the Father's will. He is of such purity. And He says, what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. The hour is coming. He who knows sin is to be made sin for the world. Not only to bear the sins of the world, but to be made sin for the world. Think of that. One who knows no sin, not just to be tainted with a sin or two, not just to bear the sins of the world, but He is to be made sin itself. That troubles Him. Father, save me from this hour. Naturally, His pure soul refrains from such pollution, defilement. It shouldn't happen. But immediately the Lord said, but on account of this, have I come to this hour. This is the hour that I come to. Father, glorify. And how does the Father glorify His name? By crushing His only beloved Son on Calvary's cross. There came therefore a voice out of heaven, I both have glorified and grailed. This is then we find in chapter 13, verse 1. Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having love His own, who were in the world, love them to the end. The Lord know that His hour had come. After His death, He will be raised from the dead and He will ascend up to heaven. He will go back to the glory that He had with the Father, even before the foundation of the world, in eternity past. He knew that the hour is coming. And you know what He did? He loved His own and loved them to the uttermost. He washed the disciples' feet. Because the hour, the hour is the hour of His glorification. And His glorification is His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. That is His glorification. And what is the purpose of that hour? The purpose of that hour is that by pouring out His life He may purchase for Himself a body. And He is to complete that body by the washing of the water with the Word, that this body may grow up and may become a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any of such thing, but may be presented to Him a glorious church, holy, without blemish. And you know, this is the purpose of the hour. Why did our Lord Jesus die? Why did our Lord Jesus be enraged from the dead? Why did our Lord Jesus ascend to Heaven? You find that the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, the hour, what the Lord had done, is for one and one purpose only. And it is to obtain for Himself a bride. The Apostle John said, when the soldier came to broke the legs of those who were crucified, because the next day was Sabbath, they broke the leg of the two robbers, but when they come to Jesus, they found He was already dead. But in order to make sure that He was really dead, a soldier used a spear and thrust through His side, and out of it came out blood and water. And John said, I witnessed it. And my witness is true, and it's not false. Why He made such a big thing out of that? Because, you know, in 1st John, He said, there are three witnesses upon this earth. The blood, the water, and the spirit. We know what the blood is. The blood is for the remission of our sins. Here you'll find the blood came out of the body of our Lord Jesus. You know, actually, this was the last drop of blood. Because they scourged Him before He was crucified, and blood oozes out. They put a thorny crown upon His head, and beat His head with reeds, and blood coming out of His head. They nailed the nails upon His hand, and blood came out of that. And they put nails upon His feet, and blood came out of that. And here you'll find our Lord Jesus was there, His blood just flow and flow, and until all the blood was gone, and He was dead. Before the normal time of death, by crucifixion. But when the soldier put a spear into His side, evidently it reached to His heart. And we are told that when the heart is broken, the very blood within the heart disintegrate. Become blood, and plasma, and water. The blood for the atonement of our sins. And the water speaks of life. He poured out His life song, 22nd said. He poured out His life like water. And with this life, with this blood, He build for Himself His church. I will build my church. With what does He build His church? With the blood, and the water coming out. Dear brothers and sisters, and after He has born us, Ephesians chapter 5 God said, He purifies us, sanctifies us, by the washing of the water with the word that He may present us to Himself a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. And there you'll find our Lord Jesus washed the feet. It is symbolic of how He will use the life that has been poured out. With the word, living word, to purify and sanctify us. That will take us, take away from us any spot that may be in us. A spot, something too much. A wrinkle, something that has grown old, no longer flesh anymore. And brothers and sisters, the life of the Lord Jesus is purifying His church, is sanctifying us continuously by the washing of the water with the living word. So that all the spots and wrinkles will be taken away. And one day, we will be presented to Himself as a glorious church. That is what He is doing. And the next mentioning of the hour is in chapter 17 verse 1. These things Jesus spoke and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee. As Thou has given Him authority over all flesh, that as to all that Thou has given to Him, He shall give them life eternal. The hour. After He had talked with His disciples, then He turned His heart to the Father and said, Father, the hour is come. Now glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee. And out of such glorification comes out those people whom the Father has given to the Son as a gift. And to these people, He gave eternal life. So brothers and sisters, you'll find the whole life of our Lord Jesus is governed by the hour. He has the knowledge, He is ever conscious of the time that the Father has assigned for Him. And He comes to do the will of the Father within that time. Fulfill that purpose until He is received back into glory. Waiting to come again to receive His bride. Now finally, I would like to close reading something from a little booklet written by Chelsea Fox. It is called The Watchword of the Son of Man. He went, that is the Lord, went towards that ultimate purpose by stages, governed by a consciousness which found His expression in a familiar phrase, Mind Hour. That was the solemn watchword of our Lord's life, and progressive movement into and unto His ultimate purpose. Now I will not read you the whole thing, but I will just give you the subtopic of it. First, the sign of the ultimate purpose. John chapter 2. And that sign is marriage. Number 2, the security of the ultimate purpose. John 7, 30. If you live a life in the time of God, your life is secured. Number 3, the law of the ultimate purpose. John 12, 21. Death and resurrection. That's the law of the ultimate purpose. Number 4, the basis of the ultimate purpose. Matthew 26, verse 18. The law said, I will eat with you as the last Passover. And he mentioned the covenant of the blood. So, the basis of the ultimate purpose is covenant. Number 5, the mind and method of the ultimate purpose. John 13, humility and service. Number 6, the instrument of the ultimate purpose. John 17, 1. The cross. Number 7, the cost of the ultimate purpose. Matthew 26, 45. Loneliness and suffering. And all these you'll find that the Lord just governed by the hour until he reached the ultimate purpose. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank thee for showing us how thy beloved Son, while he was upon this earth, is governed throughout his life by that hour that thou has assigned to him. And we do praise and thank thee that the purpose of that hour is to bring in a bride for himself. And how we do praise and thank thee that he is willing to lay down his life in order to fulfill the purpose that I set for him. And Father, we thank thee because we are now in the good of all that he has done for us. And Father, we do pray that as he is governed by the hour, that we too may know the time, and the purpose, and the method. In the name of our Lord Jesus. ======================================================================== Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/2/SID2336.mp3 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/stephen-kaung/the-watch-word-of-christ/ ========================================================================