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:22Pray
Pray
Almost exactly one week ago, as I was taking the pulpit, an evil man burst through the doors of a sister church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and opened fire.
By the time most of us got home, that same man was dead in his vehicle.
He had been wounded by someone else, but he had taken his own life.
Less than 24-hours later, CNN posted an opinion article that had the line, “Prayer won’t fix Texas.”
And many evangelical leaders cried foul.
I agree with the author in 1 sense, but not completely.
Let me explain.
I believe in the power of prayer.
I believe that the God we serve and pray to is able to change anything He decides to change.
He is, after all, God!
However, we need to be careful about how we talk about prayer.
There are many people in the world who believe they will receive whatever they pray for.
I do not believe that is a Biblical way to approach prayer.
So, when someone pens, “Prayer won’t fix Texas,” they mean to say God can’t fix the problems of Texas.
And if that is true, then I no longer can be in agreement, can I?
You see, “Prayer won’t fix Texas,” assumes that God’s will and design and desire for Texas is that evil people will not be able to shoot other people, especially in a church.
And this, my dear ones, is just another angle in the health-and-wealth heresy that is prevalent in our world today.
It goes something like this: if God is able to accomplish anything, and if God is good, then whatever I think is good should happen when I pray.
But friends, that is a twisting of - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The idea that only good things happen to believers is not in that verse.
Instead, what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote is that God CAUSES ALL THINGS to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called by Him.
In the next verse, Paul makes it clear that this goodness is us being conformed in the image of Jesus.
And we must never forget that Jesus was beaten, whipped, mocked, and crucified for our good.
So, if we should not expect God to give us what we want, or what we think would be good, what should we expect?
Or more importantly, if being a Christian is not about what’s-in-it-for-me, then what is it all about?
As we look again to the Gospel according to John, we will see a dialogue between a crowd of people and Jesus.
And in this dialogue, Jesus refutes the idea that following Him has any self-benefit beyond eternal life.
Because this is a rather long dialogue, I am going to break it up into pieces.
What the crowd says and how Jesus answers.
As I work through the passages, remember, Jesus is refuting the idea of following Him because of His blessings.
I’m not saying Jesus doesn’t bless those who follow Him, but I am saying that following Jesus because you will receive those benefits is a false conversion, it is a false faith.
It is a self-serving faith that is patently unbiblical.
I’ll remind you once again, this Gospel is different from the other 3 Gospels.
While they are written to provide a timeline of Jesus’ life, John writes his purpose in
:31These words are written, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have eternal life.
Last week, we looked at 2 stories, 3 miracles, and 4 reactions to Jesus.
And all 4 of those reactions boiled down to 1 problem, unbelief.
Now, as I read a few minutes ago, the crowd has figured out that Jesus went to Capernaum and they go to find Him.
They still don’t believe.
And Jesus addresses their need to have a genuine belief in Him and refutes the idea that belief should be motivated by self-interest, or self-gain.
These words are written, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have eternal life.
Last week, we looked at 2 stories, 3 miracles, and 4 reactions to Jesus.
And all 4 of those reactions boiled down to 1 problem, unbelief.
Now, as I read a few minutes ago, the crowd has figured out that Jesus went to Capernaum and they go to find Him.
They still don’t believe.
And Jesus addresses their need to have a genuine belief in Him and refutes the idea that belief should be motivated by self-interest, or self-gain.
1.
All the crowd wanted was more food
1.
All the crowd wanted was more food
1.1.
They ask Jesus when He came to Capernaum.
Now think about that.
They had eaten their fill just the day before near Tiberias.
They had found Jesus this day in Capernaum.
So, apparently Jesus came to Capernaum between the meal yesterday and now.
When did you come to Capernaum?
Their point is more like, “Why did you leave us?”
They are looking to have their tummies full again.
1.2.
Jesus answers that they are looking for Him for all the wrong reasons.
It wasn’t the miracle, but the very mundane fact that they had eaten until they were full the day before.
They wanted that again.
They were ready to eat again.
They looked for Jesus at Tiberias, they saw the boat was gone.
They got boats so they could find Jesus.
They have been working to get a bellyful of free food.
Why?
Because they food they ate yesterday is gone.
1.3.
So Jesus tells them not to work for the food that perishes, or goes away, but for the food that endures to eternal life.
And that food can only come from God’s Son.
No mere human can give them the food that endures, only God can do that.
And they understand exactly what Jesus is saying.
Look with me
2. The crowd just wants food.
2. The crowd just wants food.
2.1.
They understand that Jesus says they must work for God to get this eternal food, but they still think this food will fill their bellies.
They are still thinking in very temporal terms.
Right here and right now.
So they ask what they work they should be doing that would get them this eternal food.
2.2.
Jesus tells them that the work is to believe in the one whom God has sent.
Now, Jesus has already been telling people that He is the Son of God.
So, it is no surprise that He makes that claim again.
But notice that Jesus is answering their question by calling them to change.
They have to believe that Jesus is who He says He is.
That is the work of God.
And that is how they will get the food that endures.
2.3.
Do you see how John is weaving the purpose of the book in this narrative?
Jesus brings the focus right here to believing that He is the Son of God.
And it is that believing that will result in the bread that endures.
It is that believing that will give eternal life.
Do you see? Jesus is speaking metaphorically.
The crowd is still looking for actual bread.
So they try to test Jesus by asking about His credentials.
3. The crowd now wants a sign
3. The crowd now wants a sign
3.1.
The question is downright silly, isn’t it?
What sign do you do so we can believe?
What work are you doing?
Before I go further, let’s just think about this question for a second.
JUST YESTERDAY, they had seen Jesus take 5 small barley loaves and 2 fish and feed 20,000 people.
It is a miracle of food.
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