The Promised One
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John 6:25-35
John 6:25-35
Good morning, church!
I would like to start off with a personal moment with you.
This Sunday marks Candace and my 6th Sunday morning with you. And from my heart, I want to say thank you!
You all have been so friendly, accepting, and caring for myself and my family and I can’t thank you enough!
Transition can be hard, but you all have made it smooth and welcoming for me.
Thank you!
I hope to get a chance to sit down with all of you over the coming weeks to get to know you and let you get to know me! We have to build a relationship and trust with each other and that is so important to the health and future of our church. Its a priority for me.
Next week’s the launch of our connect groups and those are great ways for us to get some time to get to know each other as well!
Next Sunday 9am. Please come and join us for Sunday morning connect group! We all need to be going deeper in our relationship with God and with each other. And connect groups are the first step in doing that!
One more thing, last week, I laid out a challenge to pray for 60 seconds with us at 8pm praying Isaiah 40:5. How did that go for you?
I pray that you would commit with us to pray that prayer every day! Prayer always precedes a move of God and we are already seeing the stirring of God in our church! But we want more! Amen??
This morning, we are continuing our series called the Promise leading up to Easter! I hope you are inviting your friends, family and neighbors to our Easter Sunday Service! Just two weeks away!
But here this morning, we are focusing on preparing our hearts for Easter. This morning, we are talking about the Promised One.
Our passage this morning is from John 6:25-35.
Let me set this scene up for you. Jesus just performed the miracle of feeding 5000 men, some estimate the total to be closer to 20K people including the women and the children. He fed them 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.
And after 20K people ate as much as they wanted, they had 12 baskets of food left over. After seeing this miracle and getting full bellies, they started to think about how nice that would be more often.
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
So, Jesus says, nope! Not my time! Not my Father’s will!
And slips away to the mountain. The disciples hop on a boat to go across the sea.
Storms and waves start blowing the boat everywhere. Jesus walks on the water to them and scares them a bit. As soon as Jesus gets in the boat, they immediately show up where they are going. They teleport. I mean, that a little talked about miracle!!
So, that sets the scene for this conversation and teaching of Jesus to these people that He just fed.
They have all hopped in boats and crossed the Sea of Galilee to find Jesus!
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
3 things to see in this story.
1. They were looking for the Promised One.
1. They were looking for the Promised One.
In verse 14, John 6:14
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
They are specifically referencing a prophecy made by Moses right before the end of His time leading the Israelites. Moses is on his way out and Joshua is stepping into leadership. And Moses prophecies about Jesus.
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
Moses, their favorite prophet, leader and “provider” in the history of Israel, said God would,
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
So, the Israelites were holding on to this prophecy of a coming Prophet.
Think about what Moses did for them. Led them out of captivity, spoke to God for them, built the tabernacle, led them to the promised land, and asked God for food that fell from heaven everyday! And Moses says there is another Prophet coming and they were looking for Him!
The Jews saw the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 and thoughts, well that’s something that the Promised Prophet would do! Moses said He was coming and this looks like Him!
You see them argue that case in verse 30, John 6:30-31
So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
“Moses brought us bread from heaven, what do you have to offer?”
“Feed us daily like Moses and we will believe in you….”
They were looking for the Promises One and they were looking for proof that Jesus was Him.
2. They worked hard to find him.
2. They worked hard to find him.
These folks, believed that Jesus was the Prophet and really liked their bellies being full!
First, they tired to force Jesus to be their king.
First of all, its never a good idea to try to force Jesus to do anything… But they really worked hard to make that happen! They were trying to force Him to announce Himself as their king and like Moses, lead them out of the rule of the Romans and feed them bread and fish everyday.
Jesus slipped away because it was not His time and this was not His way.
But the next day, when their hungry bellies started to rumble again. They must have finished off those 12 baskets and they were like, where is that guy that fed us yesterday? Where is today’s meal, new Moses??
So they all got into boats and sailed across the sea to find Him for another meal!
They sailed farther away from their homes and towns to sail across the sail for another meal.
Look thats a lot of work to get to the Promises one!
Most people won’t drive 20 minutes to church but they will drive 45 minutes for a good meal!
These people sailed across the Sea of Galilee for the next meal!
Which shows us point number 3,
3. They were focused on the wrong Kingdom.
3. They were focused on the wrong Kingdom.
Have you ever have a conversation with someone and midway through the conversation, you realize, we are talking about two totally different things…
I feel like Jesus felt like that all the time talking to us humans.
But this conversation must have been like this.
Jesus though starts off trying to clarify. He says,
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
He said, you are seeking me for the wrong reason! You are seeking me because you are hungry and you want me to feed you again, not because you believe that I am the Son of God!
You’re not here to see a move and miracle of God, but you are here to have your stomachs filled!
He says, you did a lot of work to get over here to me but you did it for the wrong reason!
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
He said, don’t put in all of this effort and energy into working for the physical but work for the spiritual!
He was inviting them to see that He was offering spiritual, eternal food that leads to eternal life!
See, Jesus is talking about and had been talking about bringing to the world a spiritual Kingdom to this Earth but people were constantly misunderstanding Him.
From the beginning to the end of His earthly ministry Jesus was talking about the Spiritual Kingdom! He referenced the Kingdom 126 times in the gospels.
Jesus’ first words in His ministry was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
Standing before Pilot before His crucifixion,
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
He said, my kingdom in which I am the King of is not of this world, in fact its higher than your kingdom and your authority! This is not even a comparison.
So, Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God to this world and the jews were so focused on this kingdom and there physical world they were missing what Jesus was saying. They were talking about physical food and Jesus was talking about eternal, spiritual food that is better and greater than all of the physical needs of this world!
Jesus was saying your need for spiritual food, sustenance and fulfillment is greater than your physical needs and I’m here to take care of the greater need!
You are working for the wrong food!
And He tells them, vs 35, John 6:35
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
You are seeking the right person for the wrong reason! What I have to offer is greater than food.
So, church, I have two questions for us to ask ourselves from this lesson. and they are in reverse order of these points.
1. Am I focused on the right Kingdom?
1. Am I focused on the right Kingdom?
We live in the physical world. Surrounded by it daily. Its all our eyes see, its all our ears hear, and its all our physical body craves. We are immersed in this earthly kingdom. Marinated in it. From birth to death.
And if we are not careful, we can spend our entire lives focused on a temporary kingdom that will carry absolutely nothing into eternity for us. Trust me, its easy to do and it comes naturally to us because of how immersed we are in it! Our flesh is constantly hungry for it!
But as believers, we are citizens of another kingdom, a higher kingdom! This world is not our home even though its all around us and its hard to see past it.
There is a spiritual kingdom at play all around us! And it is actually MORE real than this physical kingdom!
(talk about Pastor Joe and Mazatlan, we need to be convinced that there even is a spiritual kingdom)
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
There absolutely is a real, eternal kingdom warring around us constantly. And we have been lulled to sleep to it. We have been convinced that there is a neutral ground that we can stay in that is neither in one camp or the other. We think that we can live our lives in neither kingdom and be okay.
Church, there is no neutral ground. You are either focused on, living for the Kingdom of God or your NOT.
Don’t allow yourself to focus so much on the physical that you are actually missing what Jesus is saying to you. There is a spiritual Kingdom that God wants to use you to advance in your life, family and community. But if you never focus on it, your missing it.
Question number 2 is
2. Am I working hard for the right Kingdom?
2. Am I working hard for the right Kingdom?
The jewish people were willing to sail across a sea to have a fish sandwich.
How hard are you working to be right in the middle of the Kingdom of God working out in your life, in your family, in your church or in your community?
We really do, just want to kick back and not work for anything, don’t we?
We will preach and preach about these later generations not being willing to put in a hard days work. But the moment we talking about working for the Kingdom of God, we scream “Legalism!!”
You are not saved by works but make no mistake, you were saved to work FOR the Kingdom of God!
But which kingdom do we work harder for?
If your focus is solely on this earthly kingdom, you are going to spend the majority of your time, money and energy on the temporary things of this life that you are just going to be hungry for tomorrow!
But Jesus said, John 6:27
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.
Now, again, we love to push things to extremes right??
Jesus is not saying, quit your job, stop working on your house, stop spending time with your spouse, stop spending time with your kids.
He is not saying, join a monastery and devote your life to sitting a corner and having eternal quiet time with Jesus.
Jesus said, John 6:29
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Again, last week’s conversation comes back. This word “believe” is not a simple acknowledgment in the existence of Jesus but putting your belief into action in your life. Letting what you believe about Jesus to affect how you live your life!
This is the work that Jesus is asking of you, have faith in Him and do the things that He asks you to do! Live your life like the promises of God are real and you want to experience them in you life!
You have to have faith!
Jesus said, don’t focus on the earthly kingdom! You will just be anxious and worry all of the time! He said, have faith in ME! Don’t worry about what you will eat or your physical needs!
But seek first my spiritual heavenly kingdom and all of those things will be added to you!
Focus on the eternal, the unseen and all of your seen and temporary needs will be met!
Church, listen to me, focus on the Kingdom of God, work hard to advance His Kingdom, seek it first in your life, and the spiritual kingdom will spill out, over onto everything in your physical kingdom and all of your needs absolutely will be met!
This is the working of faith that we are to be focused on and working towards!
If you believe this to be true, work it out and you will see the kingdom of God in every area of your life! This is a promise from God!
Well, how do I do that?
How do I focus on the Kingdom of God?
How do I know how to work hard towards the Kingdom of God?
3. Look to the Promised One
3. Look to the Promised One
After verse 35, Jesus goes on to tell them that they have to feed on His flesh and drink of His blood to abide in Him. To live with Him, to walk with Him, to see His Kingdom, you have to feed on the King!
Again, talking about two different things!
Those so focused on the physical kingdom are grossed out and turn away from following Him. But those focused on the eternal, spiritual kingdom know that He is talking about be nourished and fed by Jesus’ words, love, life and death!
He said, John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
He says, I’m talking to you about the Spirit and life not flesh!
And Peter and the disciples got it! They saw it! They were looking to Jesus not for the physical things in this life! They were looking for eternal, spiritual life and they knew that only could come from Jesus!
Jesus asked them if they were going to leave too.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
We have come to KNOW that you are the Holy One of God!
Church, focus on the Kingdom of God by focusing on Jesus!
Work hard to see the Kingdom of God come down into your life, family, church, workplace, neighborhood and city by fixing your eyes on Jesus!
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith!
Look to Jesus, daily, hour by hour, moment by moment.
Become obsessed with Jesus!
The jewish people were so focused on the kingdom of earth that they were looking to add Jesus to their physical lives by making Him their earthly, physical king.
May we not be a people that seek to add Jesus to our lives, but seek to make Jesus everything to our lives!
Do not let Jesus be an additive to your live but let Him be the addiction of your life!
The more you seek after Him, read about Him, pray with Him, meditate on Him, walk with Him, abide in Him, the more you are going to see the Kingdom of God explode all over your life, family and community!
The Spiritual Kingdom will overflow into every aspect of your earthly life and also all the way down into the depths of your soul! Complete filling!
There is absolutely nothing better in life than that! And it is worth giving up everything physical for it!
But it takes more that just believing that its true for it to be reality in your life.
You have to pursue Him like a man who finds a treasure in a field. He sees how much more valuable the Kingdom of God is than everything else he owns and in JOY goes and sells all that he has to have the Kingdom of God in his life!
Church, if you focused on the Promised One, you will be focused on the right Kingdom and you will be stepping out in faith and working hard to see it come to reality in your life!
Where is your focus? Why are you seeking Jesus?
Are you seeking Him to have your physical needs met?
Or are you seeking Him to find Him?
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
