To Whom Shall We Go?

Introduction

Last week we left off with Jesus walking on the waves of the Sea of Galilee. The sea, the wind, and the waves were giving the disciples trouble. They had been rowing for around nine hours and had only gone half way, and somewhere between 3AM and 6AM, Jesus comes walking on the water to them, absolutely unphased by the issues that caused so much trouble to the disciples.

At first, when the disciples saw Him, they did not recognize Jesus, but immediately after they started to cry out in fear, Jesus spoke to them telling them to “be of good cheer,” because it was just Him. So, Peter asks to walk on the water to Jesus, and Jesus calls him to do so. At first, everything is going well. Peter is walking just fine on the waves, but after a little while, in fact, when he is very near Jesus, Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to look at the waves and listen to the wind blow. This causes Peter to begin to lose faith and to fear, and consequently to sink. But he does the right thing and immediately calls for Jesus to save him, which He does.

The two walk back to the boat, and when they step in, the wind and the waves calm, and they miraculously arrive at their destination, the lands of Gennesaret.

This is where we pick up today in the book of Mark 6:53-56

Mark 6:53–56 KJV 1900

53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

So Jesus and the disciples arrive on the shores of Gennesaret, and make their way toward Capernaum. As soon as they arrive, those that are up at that time of the morning recognize Jesus and they begin spreading the word that He is there. It doesn’t take long for a multitude to gather and for people to bring Jesus their sick.

Now, Jesus does not stop at this time, He continues to travel north through the towns and villages from Gennesaret to Capernaum, and as He makes His way through, people bring out the sick to be healed by Him. Evidently, work that a woman with an issue of blood had simply touched Jesus’ garments and was healed had spread quickly, because that is all that these people are hoping for, a brush of their fingertips on the hem of His clothes.

And as they touch His clothing, they are healed. This happens in every town, village, and countryside that Jesus travels through as He makes His way to Capernaum.

Selfish Motivations

Meanwhile, back at the other side of the sea, near Bethsaida, the crowd that had been fed the day before goes looking for Jesus. Though the evening before they had agreed that Jesus was the Messiah, they now go seeking Him for selfish motivations.

John 6:22–25 KJV 1900

22 The day following, [the day after the feeding of the 5,000] when the people which stood on the other side of the sea [near Bethsaida] saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. [This is a very long sentence from v.22-24! Basically, what it is saying is that the crowd that had been fed that was near Bethsaida went back looking for Jesus the next day. They had seen Jesus go into the mountain alone and His disciples get into the boat and go away, so they are surprised to not see Jesus there (as they had not witnessed Him cross the sea on foot at the 4th watch). However, other boats from Tiberias, that was near Gennesaret, had seen the multitude on on the other side near Bethsaida, and they were now, presumably, ferrying people from that desert place to Capernaum, where the multitude supposed (correctly) that they would find Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea [in Capernaum], they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

So, Jesus has arrived at Capernaum in time, we shall see, for the evening synagogue meeting. This is where these people encounter Jesus. And at this synagogue meeting, Jesus has some words to say to those that are following him for the wrong reasons.

John 6:26–27 KJV 1900

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you [Verily, Verily meant that Jesus was about to say something serious. They came into the synagogue with a simple curiosity about how Jesus had gotten there and when he had arrived, but Jesus was about to get serious on them. Have you ever approached a conversation with someone in a relaxed and flippant manner, only for them to instantly change the mood on you? You arrive at work in the morning and as you pass your manager’s office you stick your head in and say, “Hey, boss! How was your weekend? You doing alright this morning?” Only for him to look at you without a smile and say, “Hey, go ahead and come have a seat. I need to talk with you. Shut the door behind you, please.” Oh, boy! This is exactly what Jesus does to the crowd. “Hey Jesus, we were looking for you. How’d you get over here? We could have sworn you went up into the mountain and that your disciples left in the boat, but here you are and your disciples. How’d you get here?” And Jesus responds, “Have a seat, I have something to tell you. You might want to close the door behind you. Jesus sets the tone with this phrase.], Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. [Remember, Jesus speaks to the hearts of people. He knows why they are there and why they are seeking him. They did not seek him because of the signs. They were not there to acknowledge what the signs meant, though they had acknowledged it the day before. Today, they sought him for another meal. They had no interest in Jesus meeting the needs of their hungry souls, they merely wanted their stomachs filled again.] 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

“Don’t work for physical food, but set your sights on obtaining the spiritual food that I can give you”, is what Jesus is saying. When we make something our own or claim authorship and ownership of something, we sign it with our name - we put our signature upon it. In the middle east, however, during this time, when something was claimed as one’s own it was affixed with a seal.

Jesus is saying that He and His works belong to the Father, and the Father has affixed His seal upon Jesus and all that He does. Why? To show the world the signs of the Messiah, not simply to feed hungry people.

So, the crowd then asks a very important question.

John 6:28–29 KJV 1900

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? [Pretty important question. They are wanting to know what they must do to earn this spiritual food. Honestly, this is the question that everyone should be asking. Now, often, humanity comes up with all sorts of answers to this - from self-punishment to self-sacrifice, to pilgrimages, and fasts, and donations. None of these things are sufficient to earn favor with God or His salvation, but this crowd did the smart thing - they asked the Messiah Himself for the answer.] 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

“This is how you get it - believe on me.” The work is not really a work at all, it is to have faith in Jesus Christ, whom God sent. The title of this message is To Whom Shall We Go? And it is a rhetorical question, because there is salvation in no one else and in nothing else other than in Jesus. So Jesus tells them, “Believe on me. Trust me. Have faith in me for salvation, for the food that will not leave you hungry in a few hours.” Jesus reiterates this several times in this encounter with these people.

Blind Eyes

And when we read the next verse, I am astonished at how Jesus didn’t go on a slapping spree. When we read these, you will see why I titled this section “Blind Eyes,” as the people were totally blind to what Jesus had done.

John 6:30–31 KJV 1900

30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

WHAT!!!! What sign do you offer?! Are they serious?! Didn’t Jesus just perform healings and a miraculous feeding of a multitude, THAT multitude that was asking Him these questions?

I want you to remember back in John 4, there was a Samaritan woman who also asked Jesus questions and in a similar fashion, compared Jesus with someone. Here, the crowd is comparing Jesus with Moses - saying that he gave them manna from heaven. In John 4, the Samaritan compared Jesus to Jacob (who had dug the well where Jesus and the woman were), and she asked Jesus, “Are you greater that Jacob, our ancestor?”

She had doubts, and this crowd had doubts about Jesus. And as we go through this conversation, I’ll make references back to Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman that can be found in John chapter 4. The link to listen that sermon will be posted at the end of the notes, if you are following along with those.

Look at what Jesus says. John 6:32-33

John 6:32–33 KJV 1900

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

The Jews believed, correctly, that the Messiah would be greater than all of the prophets. Their belief led them to think that the Messiah’s signs and miracles must be greater than all of the prophets’ signs. Jesus had feed thousands with a little bread and fish, but Moses had fed millions for 40 years with manna from heaven.

So Jesus clarifies to them that Moses didn’t give them spiritual bread, and the bread that He is offering, not the barley loaves and the fish, is bread that truly is spiritual and truly is from heaven, and it gives life not to thousands, not to millions, but to the world.

John 6:34 KJV 1900

34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

Again, a very important request. And not only are they asking the right things, they are asking the right person too. This is similar to the request that the Samaritan woman had. Jesus said, “If you drink the water that I give, you will never thirst again,” and she said, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not.”

The Jews here recognized that insufficiency of manna (as it needed to be eaten every day) just as the woman realized the insufficiency of the water from the well. So, Jesus answers in a way that revels Himself.

To the woman at the well, Jesus tells her about her personal sinful lifestyle, then reveals God’s plan for men to worship Him - in spirit and in truth, not merely in a specific location. She then asks about the Messiah that is to come, to which Jesus responds, “I am that Messiah.” That is all she needs to believe. She runs into town and begins to tell everyone she can about the Messiah that is sitting at the well.

But let’s look at Jesus’ response to these people, and see what they have to say.

John 6:35–36 KJV 1900

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

The Jews, by this time, are very much aware of Jesus’ personality, His miracles, and His message, but none of that is enough to convince them. Why? Because they have come seeking Jesus for their own selfish reasons. Some of them want Jesus as a king to replace Rome. Some want Jesus to fill their bellies and meet their every whim. Others seek Jesus for physical healing, but very few are seeking Jesus for their spiritual needs. Though Jesus has preached for now 2 years about the Kingdom of Heaven, very few actually want that, they want the kingdom now. They want to be satisfied now, physically, without a thought for the spiritual.

Jesus has shown incontrovertible proof of who He is, quoting the prophecies as He works miracles, but blind eyes cannot see it.

We are going to skip verses 37-40 for now, but we will come back to those in just a moment.

So look at verse 41 right now. John 6:41-42

John 6:41–42 KJV 1900

41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

They crowd does not believe Jesus. Less than 24hrs ago they were ready to make Jesus their king, but they do not believe him today. Why? Because their faith was a faith of convenience. As long as Jesus gives us bread and heals us when we are sick, sure, let’s make him king. But now that Jesus is talking about deeper things, things that will cause them to change their whole lives, they don’t like it as much.

See, making the miracle working Jesus that fulfills your every need physically is a no-brainer. That sounds like the perfect Messiah. Think about it. The Messiah in their mind was one that would enable them to live their best life.

He would

get rid of the Romans

provide them with food

heal them from their sicknesses

bring peace and prosperity

Are these actual things that the prophecies said the Messiah would do? Yes, but they had not been thought out fully by most Jews. Because these people had not thought that if the Messiah would rid them of Roman rule, His right would be to have not just the present and rather lax rule of the Roman government over the Jews, but He, as God incarnate, would have total and absolute rule. Really, what the Jews wanted was someone to get rid of the Romans, and let them keep their lifestyles the way they wanted it.

They wanted food to be provided for them, but they wanted the provision on their terms, not God’s terms.

They wanted to be healed from their sicknesses, but did not seek to be healed from their sin.

They wanted peace and prosperity without submission to the Messiah. They viewed submission as a hindrance instead of seeing the freedom it brings.

This is the problem, they said they wanted all of these things, but did not want to do what was necessary to enter into it. And Jesus was offering something better.

He was offering freedom from the total oppression of sin. He offered spiritual fulfillment that can never be satisfied by anything physical. He offered healing from the disease of sin, and a way to to have peace within - and that is better than any kind of circumstantial peace. And finally, Jesus was offering success and prosperity in ways that would be eternal, not just lasting this lifetime. And yes, for all of that to happen, Jesus must reign supreme in the hearts of individuals. There is no peace, no freedom, no fulfilment without submission to Christ.

And the thing is, He will bring all of those things that the Jews expected Him to do one day, but in those physical freedoms are only the end of the spiritual fulfillments that He offers. And without the spiritual freedom, without the spiritual fulfillment, without the spiritual healing, none of the physical aspects will mean anything.

But they are blind to this.

Look at Jesus’ response. John 6:43-45

John 6:43–45 KJV 1900

43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

God draws people to Himself, and He had been drawing the people of Israel for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. How? Through His word. God had sent prophets to Israel to teach them His word. Why? To reveal Himself to Israel. Why? Not so they would have some knowledge and information, but to draw them to himself.

This is why Jesus later pronounces His lament over Jerusalem. Matthew 23:37

Matthew 23:37 KJV 1900

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

God was trying to gather them under His wing, He was trying to gather them to Himself, but they would not. Ah, but those that allow themselves to be drawn to God, what amazing promises we have. John 6:37-40

John 6:37–40 KJV 1900

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. [All those that are taught by God (as we saw in verse 45), are drawn by God to Jesus. Those that come to Jesus (this implies that they make their choice to come, as we saw earlier that not all those that are drawn actually come to Jesus) will not be cast out. -promise #1 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. [They will not be lost, even to death. promise #2] 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. [promise #3 They will have eternal life.]

And what does it mean to come to Jesus and to receive eternal life? How does one do that? Well, earlier Jesus had said that they needed to believe in Him as the one that was sent by the Father. They needed to have faith in Him.

He has now stated that He is the bread of life. But now He will go a bit further, explaining what it means to have faith in Him with the metaphor of the bread of life.

John 6:47–59 KJV 1900

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

Jesus is teaching that it is not just the acknowledgement that He is the Savior that saves, it is the acceptance of Him as savior that saves. It does no good for someone that is starving and in need of bread to look at a loaf of bread and say, “Yup, that is bread. It is fresh and warm. Just look at that nutritious, delicious, freshly baked bread. Wow! It smells so good too!”

That acknowledgement does nothing. That person must eat that bread for it to do any good for him. Remember, at this time, Jesus was speaking mainly in cryptic parables. He did not explain himself to the crowd, many of whom thought that Jesus was being literal in his discourse. Kind of like when Nicodemus thought Jesus was being literal in his use of the phrase, “You must be born again.” But now, they are thinking that Jesus is telling them they must all take a bite of his flesh and sip of his blood.

But again, context is key - Jesus had stated that those that would receive the bread of life were those that would have faith in him. But they were blind to His meaning. Also, this is a reference to Jesus’ death. For flesh to be eaten, it must be broken; for blood to be drunk, it must be poured out. Jesus’ words at the Last Supper would echo this discourse, and His disciples would surely remember this odd turn of phrase.

Offended Hearts

This saying offended many that listened to it. The word offence in the Bible is primarily used as something that makes you stumble, something that trips you up.

So look at what Jesus says.

John 6:60–62 KJV 1900

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? [This thought of what Jesus was saying turned their thoughts about Jesus being their king upside down. Jesus obviously was not on board with it and it made them stumble, for if He was the Messiah, in their minds - shouldn’t He want to be made a king? This talk of Jesus dying, for those that understood the metaphor, did not sit well with their idea of Jesus coming to be a king. This was all very hard to understand.] 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples [not necessarily the 12, but the many who had proclaimed themselves disciples and followers of Jesus] murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? [Does this make you stumble? Does this trip your plans up a bit? Imagine how much it will trip you up if you were to see me, the Messiah, completely leave this world and ascend into heaven! That would really mess up your plans for me being king, wouldn’t it!}

And that is what happened. The disciples that observed Jesus ascend into heaven after his resurrection stood there and wondered. After the resurrection, for Jesus to establish his earthly kingdom, all he would have had to do is to show himself before the ones who crucified him, Jew and Roman alike. The people would once again back him, and he could reign over Israel. And that maybe what some, or even all of the disciples thought Jesus would do after his resurrection. And then, he ascends into heaven.

However, 10 days later, the thought of the earthly kingdom was replaced by a passion for the Kingdom of Heaven at t he day of Pentecost.

Why? Because they learned this truth - John 6:63

John 6:63 KJV 1900

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The flesh, the physical, without the spiritual is nothing.

But in that moment, most people’s hearts were stumbling as their expectations for Jesus had not been met.

John 6:64–66 KJV 1900

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. [Jesus knew, that even among the 12 close disciples, there was Judas who did not believe. His expectations for Jesus were being dashed as well, and this may very well be the moment that Judas began to turn away from Jesus, which would lead to him ultimately betraying his Lord.] 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. [And the thing is, Judas was being drawn to Jesus by God. He was hearing the prophecies and watching them be fulfilled in front of his very eyes. But because the implications of what Jesus’ Messiah-ship really meant contrasted so much with his expectations, Judas did not allow himself to be drawn in, he did not come willingly to Jesus, and instead turned away.] 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. [But that day, many others who considered themselves disciples turned away from Jesus too. They went to their houses, once again hungry, but unsatisfied in both the physical and the spiritual sense.]

What About You?

Jesus turns to his 12 and asks the question, “What about you?” And this is the question that each of us face this morning. What about us? Are we going to turn away too?

This purpose of this series is for us to better know who Jesus is in order for us to better follow Him as disciples. We have been looking at the Life of Christ for 86 sermons now. For 86 Sunday mornings, we have sat and listened to the life of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels be exposited. And in the 2-and-a-half years that it has taken us to get this far into Jesus’ life and ministry, many of us have realized that we have been trying to put Jesus into a box of our own making in some way or another.

Many people thought that discipleship was just adding a taste of Jesus to their everyday lives, and have now realized that Jesus demands and deserves absolute reign in every heart. He is Lord over every day and every aspect of our lives, not just our quiet times with Him and our Sundays. Some people, like you, have come to that realization and they are sitting in churches that preach correctly all across the world today because not only have they acknowledged this truth, but they have begun to conform their lives around Jesus instead of trying to put him in a mold of their own making.

Many others turn away from this teaching because it is uncomfortable.

John 6:67 KJV 1900

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

So what about you? Will you also go away? Have you been trying to fit Jesus into a mold of your own making? Do you keep Jesus in a box, bringing Him out when it is convenient for you? When you need something from Him? “O Lord, I have this problem, come help me!” Oh, yeah, now He’s ‘Lord,’ but not tomorrow. And do you get flustered when you hear or read God’s word say that you are selfish and need to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, before you ever worry about your own needs?

It is enough to make a lot of people turn away. This is a hard saying.

To Whom Shall We Go?

But when you think about it, what else can offer anything close to what Jesus offers? Who else has the words of life? Who else promises and can actually keep the promise of eternal life? Where else is salvation found? Where else is redemption found? Peter said it best.

John 6:67–69 KJV 1900

67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

By this time, Peter had been drawn to Jesus by the Father. But not only that, He had willingly come to Jesus. Not just physically, but his heart was in it. Peter was all in. This is why Peter in another passage says, “Lord, we have left everything for you.” And though Peter had his thoughts and ambitions, as many of the other disciples did about what the Kingdom might look like, Peter was willing to let Jesus take those and change those every step of the way.

So Christian, you can live your life one of two ways. In joyful acknowledgement of Jesus as the sovereign ruler of your life, or in the miserable rejection of that principle.

There are so many Christian examples of loving obedience toward Jesus. We can read about their lives in Scripture, and many times we have. They lived lives of struggle many times, but full of joy and peace and fulfillment.

But then, there is one particular man that I think of. A man that, if the Bible did not call him righteous and just three times, I would have never thought was a child of God.

The man’s name is Lot. We know him from the book of Genesis, but we do not know about his relationship with God from that book. From Genesis we know him as a man that was exposed to faith in God, but ended up doing horrible things, including living as an elder or judge in the city of Sodom at its peak of wickedness.

But look at what 2 Peter 2:6-8

2 Peter 2:6–8 KJV 1900

6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

Three times Lot is referred to as righteous or just (innocent) and when you read the account of his life in Sodom, you know he was not innocent. But he had been justified by faith in God. However, Lot did not live a life of submission to the Lord. And because of it, even though he tried to live it up in Sodom, even making a name for himself there, he was unhappy. His soul was afflicted daily because of it.

Don’t live that life. Don’t live a life of misery, not submitted to the Lord.

Invitation

Maybe your here this morning and you have been following Jesus, but at a distance. You have been researching Jesus, you have been reading about Him, listening to sermons about Him, but you have not come to Him yet for the salvation of your soul and the forgiveness of your sins.

Perhaps you’ve thought, “Jesus sounds like a good thing, but I don’t want to surrender just yet. Maybe later.” Let me tell you something, if Jesus has been calling you, and God has been drawing you to be saved, the Bible says that now is the day of salvation.

Don’t put it off until it is too late. There may be a day when God doesn’t draw you to himself anymore. There is a misconception that I hear every once in a while. People say things like, “I will wait until my death bed. When I am old and when I am dying, then I will get saved. Then I will repent.” But there are two things wrong with that supposition.

You and I do not know when we will die or if we will make it to old age. There may not be a deathbed. There may simply be death.

You and I are not God and do not know when God will draw us and when He will not be doing that work anymore. And we have clearly seen that no man can come to Christ absent the draw of God.

John 6:44 KJV 1900

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.

Isaiah 55:6 KJV 1900

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:

If God is working on your heart today, then now is the day when He can be found. Today He is near. But tomorrow is not guaranteed.

2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV 1900

2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

With your heads bowed and eyes closed, I’d like to ask just a couple of questions.

Are you in need of salvation today? Are you in need of Jesus being your savior? There is nowhere else to go besides to Jesus. Is that you this morning?

Christian - are you molding your life around Jesus? or are you trying to fit him into a box. I’m not asking if you are living perfectly, none of us are. I am not even asking if you are perfectly surrendered to Him, as none of us are. But what I am asking is this:

Is your sincere and honest attitude one that says, “Christ is at the center of my whole life. I know that I am not perfect, but I also am fully willing to change and do anything He reveals to me that needs changing or doing.”

If that is you, would you raise your hand. If you can confidently say, “Mike, I am following Jesus as closely as I know how, and with everything he indicates to me that needs changed, I faithfully follow His guidance,” would you raise your hand?

If you were not able to raise your hand then, I want to remind you this morning, don’t be like Lot. Don’t just have “accessory faith,” faith that is added onto your life. Instead, let Christ and your faith in Him define you in every possible way.

Life Group

WU

1. What, if anything, stood out to you about the sermon or the passage? Any questions or comments?

2. When you first started following Jesus, what were your main expectations of Him (what you hoped He’d “fix” or change)? How have those expectations shifted over time?

SF

3. What, according to Jesus in John 6:29, is the Godly work that leads us to salvation?

HF

4. Where do you see hints of the crowd’s attitude in your own heart—seeking Jesus mainly for relief, provision, or “my best life now,” rather than for Him Himself?​

5. The crowd wanted freedom from Rome, food, healing, and peace—but without surrender. Which of those do you most resonate with wanting, and how open are you to the cost of Jesus’ Lordship in that area?

6. When has it been tempting for you to not follow Jesus because following Him did not fit into your expectations?

AP

7. Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” What alternative “places” or “lords” are you still tempted to run to for life (career, comfort, approval, entertainment)?