The Gospel of John - What is Saving Trust/Faith Pt 4 - Trust him Above all.

GREET EVERYONE-

Good Morning Loved Ones

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

Our Vision:

We Desire see every follower of Jesus well equipped and fully deployed on the mission of Jesus.

What mission? - This questions leads us to articulate His mission for His church in a simple way.

Our Mission:

Is to engage people into a multiplying relationship with Jesus!

BAPTISM CLASS

LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to the Gospel of John - Chapter 6 and Verse 52 as we continue in our new series which is part of our verse by verse walk through the Gospel of John,

A Series that Answers an enormous question that everyone must ask “What is Saving Faith?”

And as A reminder - in the original language of the New Testament - Faith means “TRUST”

SO

The question that this series will expose from the Bible how God answers the question “What is Saving Trust?”

PRAYER OVER SERIES

is and has been that we would understand the importance of faith - i.e. TRUST in how we live our life out as Jesus Followers.

and Trust - Saving Trust is Eternally important!

Not only this idea of trust but the depth and severity of trusting Him.

I want all of us to hear this this morning - Loved ones pay attention to me.

There are lots of people in this world that would claim the Identity of “Christian” and there are even more that would not claim the identity of Christian, but rather some other identity -

If you claim the Identity of “Christian” and you have No idea what that is supposed to mean in your life with any sort of Historical/Biblical accuracy.

You are in danger!

If you are trusting in a prayer you prayed or some work you did or something that you did way back when - back when you were younger - and you are gauging if you were sincere back then and trust that as your salvation in what you did and your sincerity - You might be in danger!

According to the Bible the confirmation of your salvation is based on three things.

1- There is fruit of salvation - Fruit that indicates new creation - Fruit that leads to initial, continual and growing life altering obedience to Christ.

2 - A Steadfastness of Faith of trust that lays all hope on Jesus - A trust that Endures till then end.

3- The Confirmation of the Holy Spirit.

My prayer is that our trust in Jesus - our faith - A faith that saves - A faith that goes so far beyond just agreeing to a set of historical facts that Jesus died and was raised - but our faith would be a trust that alters our life completely.

OR maybe you are someone who does not claim the identity of Christ at all but you claim, Agnostic, You claim Atheist - or buddist or Hinu or Musslim.

My prayer is for you is that you would come to a saving Trust in Jesus Christ, Be adopted by His spirit - Regenerated unto knew life, saved by grace through faith from the very wrath of God that every human being is under, in their natural state because we are all sinners by nature and by choice!

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

is really pretty plain and simple that we would come to exercise our faith no matter how small or large no matter how young or old our faith is - My Prayer is that we would all Come to a saving Faith - A saving trust and exercise it to the fullest!

and here is what that might look like to exercise saving faith, saving trust.

To have and exercise:

A Trust that seems to go beyond reason -

A Trust that seems to be contrary to reason!

A Trust that is all consuming -

A Trust that is deep inside our souls that eclipses anything else in this world.

A saving trust given to the person of Jesus above all.

I think this is one of the reasons why the Apostle Paul said to the church in Colasae-

Colossians 2:8 NASB95

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

ENGAGEMENT –

There is a huge amount of conversation lately about a few things that we as human being seem to consume on a regular basis.

One of those things is vacciens- And we can see it in various ways talked out in the public form - On Social media and other outlets.

I saw this one the other day - Some country like Sweeden or finland or some where like that - Eliminated all of the early childhood vaccines and their infant mortality rate dropped by 96% with in like a year.

Ya know there is lots of talk about the Covid Shot - not really a vaccine in the original definition of vaccine but there is lots and lots of talk about it and the longer term effects since we are a few years out from the pandemic.

and listen - I’m not putting out there in front of you any opinion of right wrong or upside down or sideways -

I’m just saying there is lots of conversation going on about the subject of vaccines.

The other big topic about things we consume that is out there today is Food.

Natural - processed - Food pyramid Good Food pyramid bad -

Natural grass fed beef vs grain fed -

I even heard this this other day - They have gone way beyond just Grass Fed - They are now Grass fed and grain finished vs Grass fed and Grass Finished -

Not to mention the whole organic food thing -

Farm raised vs wild fish.

Micro Plastics - Processed - Packaged - What to Package -

Cook ware.

Mediterrainian - keto - Carnivore - Vegan - Vegetarian - Pesceterian -

Here is he funny part - These are no longer really considered diets - they are now called eating lifestyles -

Here is the reality behind all of the conversation about all of these things -

There seems to be a reality that for the last 70 plus years our food sources have changed and not for the better.

That is one of the reasons this conversation is happening in our culture.

And that reality is clearly based on the objective truth that - What we put into our bodies - Weather Vaccines or what we eat or what we drink -

Anything and Everything that we put into our bodies - Anything and Everything that we consume

has a direct effect on the well being of our physical health and the quality of our physical life.

TENSION

Here is the deal - we can Listen to the Conversations about these things -

Learn from them

possibly learn some new things and new wisdom about the things that are being revealed -

and then make a choice -

Follow the wisdom that we find -

Or stay in our old was of placing in our bodies the things that are detrimental to our physical health.

We have a free choice.

And what is sometime difficult is giving up old ways and old eating patterns and changing what we do.

And Just like what we put in our physical bodies has a significant effect on our physical health and quality of life -

What Jesus is going to un-vail for us is what we consume has an eternal effect on our Spiritual health and wuality of eternal life.

BACKGROUND

What is so very interesting about the whole of Chapter 6 is that there is this central thyme - This Central Idea - This Melody that seems to continue to play throughout these 71 verses of Scripture

The Gospel of John that God, by the power and influence of the Holy Spirit used the Apostle John, the very best friend of Jesus, record for us late towards the end of the first century.

And what is interesting is that Jesus begins with Lunch - Food - 5 loaves of bread - The very plentifill substance that these 1st century people would work for, rely on, be sustained with and flourish on.

So up to this point in the narritive:

Jesus has feed the 20k out of young boys afternoon snack of 5 loaves and two fish -

He has been chased across the large lake call the sea of Gallelee by the same people he fed -

He has narrowed down what God requires of any person including them and Us -

The Only Work God requires is to Trust the one whom God has sent.

He began to speak in terms that this large Jewish crowd would understand using the images of work and food and bread -

He uses the terms “the bread that comes down from Heaven” The bread that the Father gives -

He then makes that food, that bread a person and says “He is the bread that the father sent from Heaven -

He then Makes the 1st of 9 definitive “I AM” statements that define for them and for all who read the Gospel of John Who and What Jesus is.

He does this when He says “I am the bread of Life” and in good old Jesus tradition - He does say this just once he says it twice.

Then after he says it twice - He lays down the gauntlet - He lays down the Paradigme - When He says:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If ANYONE eats of this bread he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of this world is my flesh!”

This is where we pick up this discourse that Jesus is laying out for this crowd of Jewish people that have chased him around

UNPACKING

Verse 52

- They miss the point all together

John 6:52 ESV

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Then Jesus in Verse 53-56 unwraps what he means when He made the statement “I am the bread of Life”

and what is important for us to grasp is the severity by which Jesus unpacks this -

Watch, listen and experience what Jesus says:

John 6:53–56 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Jesus begin this with a phrase that the Apostle John will record for us some 27 times.

“Truly Truly”

Now that sounds like a pretty funny phrase here in the English - But in the original language of the New Testament what Jesus is saying is “Pay attention” “ what I am about to say is of extreme importance”

Listen Loved ones - What Jesus has said is pretty straight forward -

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and you drink His blood you have no life in you.

VSS 54

He then opens it up to anyone - Whoever -The invitation is always open to everyone!

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

and If you have eternal life - That is realized in the last day when Jesus raises you up.

VSS- 55

Here is how that is possible because my flesh is true flesh and my blood is true drink. He differentiates his supply and his nourishment to be true verses everything else that is false -

VSS56

Jesus then explains how this is possible.

and VSS56 is a central verse in this text and begins to unfold what Jesus is saying, why Jesus is saying these things and gives an opening picture of what Jesus is actually saying.

John 6:56 ESV

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Jesus is making reference here to Consuming - To the idea of taking into the body. This image of “feeds on”

Who ever feeds on Jesus Remains in Jesus and Jesus remains in them - That is what abide means

VSS57

Jesus then tells us the eternal reality of how that is even possible.

By exposing his hearers, in this Jewish synagog and eternal theological truth.

Because God the Father is alive and is the giver of life. Sent Jesus, who is alive by the will of the Father, so again “who ever feeds on me” who ever consumes me He will life - Because he is consuming life.

The Apostle John makes multiple references to this in all of HIs writings that

Jesus is Life -

John 1:4 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

VSS58

Jesus then makes a differentiating statement between Him being the giver of life for those who consume Him and the bread that the father of the Jewish people ate in the wilderness again that was provided to them by God the Father.

VSS60-71

There is this change in what is happening a Change in the story line

Record for us the reactions of those who hear this - Jesus and the disciples -

VSS60

record for us the reaction to what Jesus has said -

This is a hard statement - The reason that these Jewish people through this was so hard is because of several things:

Jesus has just claimed that He is the bread of life - He is the bread that comes down from Heaven - He is the true bread that the father has sent - and the Bread that He gives is his flesh - And in order to have Life and Eternal life and to be raised up on the last days - You have to eat his flesh and drink His blood.

NOW Here is why this is a major problem for any Jewish listener and most if not all readers for the last 2000 years.

The Idea of eating human flesh and drinking human blood is well lets just say Grotesque for us to read about.

and for them it was even more offensive - Jesus said this to a large group of Jewish people.

According to Jewish Law - in the laws of the old testament in Leviticus 17 and Deut 12 - Not only could you not eat human flesh and drink human blood you could not even touch a dead body. Much less eat the flesh of any animal with the blood still in it.

so all of these people that had been following Jesus and learning these things from him were like “ahh nope” were out of here!

Jesus confronts them in their discomfort -

Ys know loved ones - If we were to actually read the words of Jesus - Ya know the ones that in most of our bibles are in red - Jesus in multiple places and in multiple ways is going to say things that are very very uncomfortable.

And Jesus turns to these Jewish people and confronts them knowing they are uncomfortable with what He said - Knowing they were complaining again.

VVS61

“DO you take offence at this?”

It is a rhitorical question - Jesus already knows they are offended - Jesus absolutely knows that there are things he says that people will get offended by -

and many of those things that will offend people both then and now are the definitive “I am” Statement that Jesus will say.

VSS62

Jesus askes another Rhitorical question:

John 6:62 ESV

Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

In other were how Jesus is confronting them in their discomfort is: “would you still be offended by what I have said if you see and witness my ascension? My returning to the father who is the one who sent me?

If you witnessed that would you still be offended? - If God the father who you believe is there and exists - Validated me and every thing I have said by raising me - would you still be offended?

Jesus of course knew that for some of the people in the crowd the answer to His question is: “YES we would still be offended!”

VSS63

Jesus then unpack for everyone who hears that He is not talking about a physical consumption of His flesh and His Blood - Jesus gives clarity that He is NOT referring to this idea of canibelism that is clearly not something that any person would participate in.

But here is what Jesus DOES say - This is a spiri reality -

and this is also a defining verse in this passage -

in VVS 56 Jesus has said the first central verse here -

John 6:56 ESV

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Abide - Remains in Jesus - and Jesus in Him

Whoever consumes Jesus - Not part of Jesus not a little of Jesus who Consumes his flesh and drinks His blood remains in Jesus and Jesus remains in Him

That is the gauntlet that Jesus has been laying down in all of chapter 6 -

and in VSS 63 Jesus then clarifies for all of those people listening and for everyone reading for the next 2000 years - this is a Spiritual Reality that is driven by a Physical imagery.

John 6:63 ESV

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.

Jesus says in this verse - The flesh is no help - In other words what you do on the outside - what other people see - what you say you do and what you actually do are on the outward appearance - NO HELP.

But the Spiritual - That is where the rubber meets the road.

The Spiritual - The Inside of a man

The Inside of a woman -

The desires of the heart -

The appetites of the heart and the mind.

This is what Jesus is saying -

This is a SPIRITUAL matter - Our outward consumption must feed our inward spirit -

VS64

And yet there are some that don’t believe - There are some who don’t trust!

There are some who will ignore the expert of life and continue searching and striving and working and laboring for the bread that does not satisfy -

Jesus knew from among the crowd who would trust and who would not.

VSS65

And Jesus verifies once again the worker of Trusting Jesus - The Father.

VS66

The a great schism happens - All of these people Jesus feed free lunch to that chased him and followed him from across the sea -

Cornered Him to lay down the rules of eternity -

What are the WORKS (Plural) that God requires? Jesus answers in the singular - The WORK the ONE THING that you must do - The One thing that GOD requires is that you TRUST in the one whom He has sent -

Jesus then said - Labor for bread that endures for ever - They did not trust Him.

He said - I am the bread that comes from the Father - They did not trust HIM

Jesus said - I am the bread of Life whoever from among you eats this bread will have eternal life and be raised on the last day - They did not trust Him.

Jesus says - You must eat my flesh and drink my blood or you have no life with in you - In other words - You must consume ME or you have no life you are dead -

They did not trust Him.

Jesus has said some HARD things - and they did not trust Him.

and in verse 66 the live out not trusting him - They walk away - The ignore the wisdom and they go back to their old ways - They went back to the things that would kill them.

VSS67

Jesus turns to the very closest followers - The ones who have been walking with him now for several years - and Jesus turns to them and gives them an out -

“DO you want to go away as well?”

VS68-69

Simon Peter answers for the group - Remember when the new testament uses the word “you” many many times it means “you all”

Jesus had asked this of the 12 and Simon Peter speaks for all of them

John 6:68–69 ESV

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.”

VS70-71

John records for us this final comment of this part of the discourse between Jesus and these Jewish people. that Jesus was aware that even though He had given the twelve an out - An opportunity to walk away like everyone else - An opportunity to go back to their old ways beck to death -

Jesus knew one of them would go back anyway -

John 6:70 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION

This is the Gospel loved one - It is a promise that Jesus said 5 or 6 times in this chapter- Whoever - The invitation is open.

Whoever consumes Jesus will have eternal life -

Whoever does not - Life - Eternal life is not in them.

CONFRONTATION

Loved ones - we are confronted this morning with what Jesus has just laid down for those people he was speaking to a little over two thousand years ago - WE must be confronted today.

In all of Chapter 6 there is this image this melody that runs through the chapter - This idea and image of food - Bread - these things in this life that are supposed to sustain life and allow humans to flourish -

The things we consume - The things that we put into our bodies and derive life from

The staple back in those days was Bread

What Jesus has just in general terms said - I am the thing, I am the person you must consume, I am the person the father has sent down from heaven for you to consume -

And whoever consumes me will remain in Him and He will remain in us.

and in that abiding we will have eternal life and be raised up in the last days.

This morning we are confronted in two areas -

One area is the central thyme of this text -

What are we consuming?

What are we placing in our lives, in our minds, in our vision, in our hearing, in our experiences, What are we consuming?

Are we consuming the things of Christ or are we consuming the things of this world?

We must ask - are our appetites our desires the things of this world or of Christ?

Before we go on to the second way we are confronted by the text this morning - I want to give you a very practical way that you can consume Christ in this world.

The Jesus Diet - or better the Jesus consuming lifestyle.

These are overarching things but what I can observe in my life and in the life of others is:

that if you are missing one of these - the Jesus Consumption lifestyle of incomplete and less effective.

Music - Mediation - Message - Mission

The second thing we are confronted with is DO we trust HIM?

and not just do we Trust - Do we trust Him to follow in complete devotion like the apostles did!

When Jesus says hard things - Do we trust Him?

When Jesus says “consume me for in me is life” DO we trust Him enough to change what we put in our lives?

When He commands “Love one another, not just love one another but love one another as I have loved you? DO we trust Him enough to Strive to love like that?

When He commands that we forgive others the same way you have been forgiven so we trust Him enough to strive in our imperfection to forgive completely?

When He says: Not everyone who says lord lord is getting in? DO we trust Him - Do we trust Him enough to strive in our imperfection to will of the Father?

When He says - Feed Hungry people - Give thirsty people something to drink, Clothe naked people, shelter homeless people, visit sick people and go to prison to visit people in prison - Do we trust Him to where we set out agendas to this?

When commands “As you Go into the world and make disciples, preach the gospel to all people groups, baptize new disciples and teach them to obey all that I have commanded - Do we trust Him enough to Obey him?

Loved ones

DO we Trust Jesus?

DO we Trust in the way that seems to go beyond reason -

Do we Trust in the way that seems to be contrary to common sense!

Do we Trust in a way that is Against the vain philosophy of men and the elementary prinicpals of this world, a trust that is only on Christ?

Do we Trust with a Trust that is all consuming?

DO we Trust with a A Trust that is deep inside our souls that eclipses anything else in this world?

DO we trust with a saving trust that gives all of our trust to the ONE person God has sent - The person of Jesus?

Do we trust HIM above all else in this world?

COMMUNON