\\ John 6:60-71

The kingdom of God is built on people who are in for the long haul.

We terribly overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in five. -- Ted Engstrom, Leadership, Vol. 3, no. 2.

Most of us can remember folks who once were active in their local churches and zealous in their relationship with God who no longer profess or practice their faith.  They come and they go and many times we don’t understand the “why’s”.  I have read statistics that tell us that an average church loses ten percent of it’s adherents on a yearly basis.  They may not be people who have been around for a long time who make this exodus and they may not be people who have accepted Christ as Savior but they are around long enough to be known and then they disappear.

Obviously, from the scripture lesson this morning we can see that Jesus’ ministry was greeted with great enthusiasm in it’s early days and yet he had those who could not or would not understand his teaching and in turn, they too left.

Have you reached the point of no return in your spiritual walk?  It’s not a prideful declaration or a profession of great spiritual wisdom or extraordinary insight.  It is not a point of great personal victory necessarily, merely the recognition that there are no other viable alternatives that remain for you.

We used to sing the chorus around the bonfires on the beach, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.”

Why do people turn away from God?

People seldom lose their religion by a blowout--it is usually a slow leak.

Ø      The don’t get what they expect. These people had a typical understanding of prophecy.  Even though the predictions re: the Messiah are clear to us (hindsight) - they were in error in terms of what this person might look like.  Consequently, their dogmatism caused them to reject their Messiah and blinded them to truth unfolding before them.  Application - we need to be very careful as we look to the future and beware of any particular teaching that interprets the future with certainty.  Often our certainty about things that are uncertain can cause us to miss what we are so desperately looking for.

John 3:14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”  15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. [1]

They had a political agenda for the Messiah.  They had already decided that this is what he would come to do.  It is a difficult thing when the church adopts any kind of political agenda.  I think today that there are still those who wish to politicize the mission of the church.  Politics hold no promise for eternal values.  Jesus still has a different agenda.

John 3:41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”  42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” [2]

They expected someone that they did not know.  They were sure that they would not know his parents or be familiar with his parents.

There was a common belief in their day that when the Messiah returned, he would once again feed them the manna that they were fed in the desert.  This prompted Jesus reference to the manna, telling them in effect that he was the bread of heaven.

There are so many people today who expect things that they never get or experience when they come to Christ.  Think of the false expectations that people hold.  Some of these because they are promised them.

Ø      Bad things will no longer take place in my life

Ø      God will give me anything that I ask him for

Ø      The scripture guarantees my healing

Ø      God wants to make me prosperous

Ø      I will get along with everyone who calls themselves Christian

Ø      What I feel God telling me personally is a justifiable source of guidance in itself alone.

On and on the list goes.  We soon find out that these are false assumptions or expectations.

v     They reach an impasse. John 3:60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?  62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!  63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.  64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.  65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. [3]

There have been things in my own Christian experience that I have struggled to understand.  I am unclear in certain scripture passages.  The one thing that I understand is that it is quite normal to lack understanding at times. 

v     Depleted resources.  There are times when people turn back because they have exhausted their ability to serve or to follow.  They have done everything that they know to do and still look for more to do.

John 3:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” [4]

A truth that I remind myself of is that God chose to love me just because He chose to love me.  There is no service that I can offer God that he cannot arrange without me.  I remember years ago hearing sermons where someone would say something like,  “If you don’t witness to your neighbor and he goes to hell, God will require his blood at your hand.”  We witness to our neighbors whether we realize it or not.  These are people who get to see how you live.  If my neighbors are turned away from Christ because of my poor witness then that is one thing but I do know something about God.  He loves our neighbors just like he loves us and he loves them too much to make them an object lesson of my disobedience.  If I can’t get myself in gear then he will find someone who will go.  He will find some other way because He is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Most people learn sooner or later that the place where we stop is the place that God begins in our lives.        

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible.  There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible.  Faith begins where man's power ends.

            -- George Muller.  Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 4.

I think that when people finally understand that they cannot do anything in and of themselves that will secure for them a place in heaven, then they are poised to experience vital Christian living.  It took me years to understand that there was no hope in me and if I was ever to get to heaven it would be because of Christ’s goodness.  Then suddenly the Great Commandment began to make sense to me.  I began to sense real love for God – not the “heady” kind but something that began to stir in my heart because I was starting to comprehend the great love that God has for us.

It also ushered into my life a new depth of compassion for those who struggle with various things in their faith.  I realized that there hope was not to find the strength to set everything right and order or discipline themselves properly so that God would be pleased but the hope was that they could totally cast themselves upon Christ and His mercy and grace.  Our behavior follows what we are on the inside if it is true and lasting.  We cannot for long maintain a façade.  But we can grow in this grace and mercy, moment by moment.

v     Issues of the will.  Often people part company with the church and with Christ over these sorts of things.  You must know that Christ would be the Lord of your life or nothing.

The following words are from an old engraving on a cathedral in Labeck, Germany:

   Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us:

   You call Me master and obey Me not.

   You call Me light and see Me not.

   You call Me the Way and walk Me not.

   You call Me life and live Me not.

   You call Me wise and follow Me not.

   You call Me fair and love Me not.

   You call Me rich and ask Me not.

   You call Me eternal and seek Me not.

   If I condemn thee, blame Me not

Personally, I believe that it is at this point that a person makes a choice between a dynamic, vital experience with God and dead religion.  When we try to make our faith work by circumventing what God wants from us then we choose spiritual death.  You cannot run from God’s will in your life brothers and sisters.

v     Sentimentality is poor glue.

Acts5:12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.  13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.  14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.[5]

There are people who hold some sort of attraction toward the church and the things of God.  They come and flirt with spiritual issues perhaps hoping that a mild interest is better than none at all.  It’s sort of like the relationship that we have with the bedtime God or the mealtime God.  Very casual, very cute.  Impotent most always.

Mark 6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,  20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. [6]

Acts 24:24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”  26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison. [7]

How do people get to the point of no return?

It is contrary to reason for a thirsty person to turn from a pure, sparkling mountain stream to quench his thirst at a stale, putrid cistern-yet that is what the human race does when it rejects God's truth and standards in favor of the devil's impure philosophies. Billy Graham (1918- )

Ø      They personally experience God.  It’s not enough to be a Jesus “groupie.”  One of the things that I struggle with are activities that are exclusive to Christian people.  I feel that most everything that we spend our time at in the church ought to have some appeal to people who have not yet come to Christ.  They ought to be able to come and feel included.  At this point  in the scriptures, Peter was already an active participant in the ministry of Christ.  He was there when Christ had fed the 5,000.  He was one of those who served the food that was multiplied from a small boys lunch.

John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”[8]

No one had to talk to Peter about the reality of the ministry of Christ.  Peter was in the boat tossed on the water when Jesus came walking to them over the waves.  He on one occasion wanted to walk on the water like Christ and began to do so until fear sank him.  You see you don’t really experience God in the multitude on the hillside, you experience Him as you become involved in what He is doing.  If you want a vibrant relationship with Christ it has to be more than a feeding experience where others are serving you – you must become the servant yourself and begin to feed others.

Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.[9]

Ø      They discover truth.

John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” [10]

A preacher was invited to this outstanding church in view of a call.  They were trying to impress him and they said, "Whatever you want, just ask."

He said, "Well, I'd like to visit the Sunday School in the morning."

They said, "Oh, we have the best Sunday School with the finest teachers. 

The Director of Church Education is well prepared and the students are really into the Word."

The Preacher said, "Well, I'd like to visit around."  So they took him to the adult department and he said, "That's fine." Then they went to the youth and to the junior boys and he said, "I'd like to ask a question."

“Well just ask, these students can take care of any question you want to ask."

"All right, boys.  Who tore down the walls of Jericho?"

One bright student said, "I didn't."

The preacher said fine.  When they got outside, the trustee said, "Now pastor, I know these boys very well and they all have good parents and if that boy said he didn't tear down that wall....  See we have basic honesty and integrity in this church and we want you to know that you're coming to a fine church."

So after the sermon, the trustee said, "Now brother, we've just had a meeting and we understand that there is a problem about some walls... and we don't want you to be burdened... and we just voted that whoever tore them down... we voted to build them back."

This is sort of a humorous look at the way that we miss the truth at times.  It is convictional to me related to our church today and the state of the church far and wide.  We must know the truth because it is the truth of God’s word that sets us free.  And the truth is that we don’t know it or we just ignore it.  We ignore it behaviorally.  If we don’t agree with it then we just pretend that it isn’t there and go on as though there were no reason to stop to consider whether or not we should be making adjustments.

There is a difference between conviction that comes from God and guilt that the Devil rubs in your face to make you quit.  Guilt is not a popular word these days.  When you experience the sort of emotion that tells you to give up as you evaluate your experience with God then this is from the Devil.  When you find a holy dissatisfaction inside you that stirs you to grow and develop in your relationship with God then that is from Him.  That is what we trust that you will experience today.  We want you to understand that God is the lifter of our souls.

Larry Richards wrote in an old youth ministry text, that we adjust or change our values according to our perception of reality.  If we want to change a person’s values we have to change their idea of what reality is.  The way that people have their values changed is through personal experience.  You cannot change a person’s values by giving them different information – they must expereince it for themselves.

Ø      They discover an inescapable reality.  I cannot escape this reality in my own life.  Regardless of the twists and turns of life, I am convinced that there is a God in heaven who loves me and is obsessed with the idea that I should know Him intimately.  He strives and struggles to make himself known to me at every turn and at every twist.  I am dull and often miss His messages bbut still he speaks and pleads aand loves.

There is no God.  All of the wonders around us are accidental.  No almighty hand made a thousand billion stars.  They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course.  The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun.  Infants teach themselves to cry when they are hungry or hurt.  A small flower invented itself so that we could extract digitalis for sick hearts.

The earth gave itself day and night, tilted itself so that we get seasons.  Without the magnetic poles man would be unable to navigate the trackless oceans of water and air, but they just grew there.

How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas?  It maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy.  Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die.

Why does snow sit on mountain-tops waiting for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops in farms below to drink?  A very lovely accident.

The human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without faltering. How does it get sufficient rest between beats?  A kidney will filter poison from the blood, and leave good things alone.  How does it know one from the other?

Who gave the human tongue flexibility to form words, and a brain to understand them, but denied it to all animals?

Who showed a womb how to take the love of two persons and keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in time, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, eyes and ears and hair in the right places, and come into the world when it is strong enough to sustain life?

There is no God?

   -- 1966 by Jim Bishop, Miami Herald, July 27, 1987

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[1]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[2]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[3]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[4]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[5]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[6]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[7]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[8]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[9]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

[10]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.