[0:00] Now we'll turn in our Bibles to the New Testament to the Gospel of John chapter 6 and we'll read from it again this time verses 22 to 46.
[0:19] The Gospel of John chapter 6 at verse 22. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there save that one wherein his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone, Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias, nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, and after that the Lord had given thanks.
[1:07] When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.
[1:22] And when they had found them on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, whenst camest thou, when camest thou hither?
[1:34] Jesus answered them, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
[1:50] Labour not for the meat which perished, 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.
[2:09] Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you might believe on him whom he hath sent.
[2:33] They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee?
[2:44] What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
[2:56] 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.
[3:11] For the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
[3:26] 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.
[3:43] But I said unto you, That you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
[3:59] For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
[4:23] And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
[4:39] The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
[4:54] How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
[5:07] 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.
[5:19] 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.
[5:34] Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God. He hath seen the Father.
[5:45] And may God himself bless the reading of his truth to us all. So let's sing once more from Psalm 37.
[6:02] We sing from verse 37. We sing the last four stanzas of Psalm 37. Mark thou the perfect, and behold the man of uprightness, because it surely of this man the latter end is peace.
[6:28] But those men that transgressors are shall be destroyed together. The latter end of wicked men shall be cut off forever. But the salvation of the just is from the Lord above.
[6:44] He in the time of their distress their stay and strength doth prove. The Lord shall help and them deliver. He shall them free and save from wicked men, because in him their confidence they have.
[7:01] Psalm 37 at verse 37. Mark thou the perfect. Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Psalm 37.
[7:12] Psalm 37. Psalm 37. And behold, the last man on the right hand, because the church, the hopeless man, the black dead will please.
[7:45] But those men that trust us are, shall be the joy to have.
[8:03] The latter end of the wind in the air, that we adore forever.
[8:22] The first salvation of the cast, who is from the Lord above, the Lord above, the Lord above, the Lord above, the Lord above, the Lord above, you shall let thee, I'll see.
[9:17] From within the air, the light that there is, the Lord above, the Lord above, the Lord above, and the Lord above, Rehoboam.
[9:43] Well, let's turn to the passage of God's Word, which we read in the Gospel of John, chapter 6. And while I want to refer to much in what we read in the rest of the chapter, we'll just read again verses 28 to 30.
[10:04] John, chapter 6, verses 28 to 30. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
[10:20] Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent.
[10:34] They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work?
[10:50] What sign showest thou? What sign showest thou that we may see and believe?
[11:01] What dost thou work? He's just walked on water. He's just healed an impotent man. He's just fed five to ten thousand with equivalent of half a dozen rolls.
[11:18] And they say, What sign showest thou? Doesn't that show us once more? Sin is not merely wicked.
[11:31] Sin is blind. Sin is blind. The context is that Jesus has been performing miracle after miracle before them for the specific purpose of demonstrating he is the Messiah sent from God.
[11:55] But they won't have it. They won't have it. Sin is blind. Sin is blind. Sin is blind. Sin is blind. The crowd have been asking them questions.
[12:06] They search for Jesus and they ask questions. Jesus answers directly, pretty simply, but is not accepted by the Jews.
[12:22] Due to their prejudice against Christ, they're in confusion. And in sheer desperation, they ask this one question.
[12:39] What is the one thing you want us to do, Jesus? And of course, he tells them very clearly, this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent.
[13:00] What's wrong? What's wrong with them asking that question? Mention two, three things.
[13:11] Number one. They are not genuine seekers of God or of truth or indeed of the Messiah.
[13:23] Verse 26 makes that pretty clear, doesn't it? You seek me not because you saw the miracles, not because you accept the miracles I've performed as evidence and divine and of heavenly power.
[13:40] You seek me because you want another free lunch. And he says to them, look, you need me because the Father has set his seal of approval on me.
[14:00] That's essentially what he says in verse 27. Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endure unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him, him hath God the Father sealed.
[14:23] Referring, of course, to himself. So, they're not genuinely seeking spiritual food or blessing from Christ.
[14:36] But there's something else not right. It's the wrong question they're asking. They asked, what work can they do to please God?
[14:53] What can we do to please God? Are you asking that question? Do you think there's something you can do to please Him?
[15:06] Listen. Jesus, Jesus answers it very simply. It's not something you do to please God.
[15:19] It's not an act you have to perform to please God. It's a person you have to believe. Didn't she, didn't, isn't it said in Hebrews chapter 11?
[15:35] Is it 11, 6? Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
[15:47] Will you get that? Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church, he says, Though you give your body to be burned.
[16:04] Though you give your body to be burned. And you don't trust Christ. You don't believe God.
[16:15] It's impossible to please Him. You can be as religious as you like. But unless you're depending on Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to forgive your sin, you cannot do anything to please God.
[16:40] Understand that if you get nothing else. You see, they're completely ignorant, really, of their sin.
[16:51] They don't seem to grasp that their greatest need is spiritual. And you know, the cause of all our problems, and there's more, we've got plenty problems, but the root cause, the root cause of all our problems are spiritual.
[17:10] Material problems only contribute. They do contribute. But the root cause is spiritual. The root cause of all our problems is spiritual unbelief.
[17:44] Now, unbelief is not the same thing as doubting. Think about it logically. Think about it logically.
[17:55] You can only doubt something you believe. Matthew 28, 17, if I'm not mistaken, gives you a perfect example.
[18:14] Yes. Yes. The eleven disciples, just before the Great Commission is given to the disciples. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, this is after the resurrection, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
[18:31] And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. Genuine disciples.
[18:46] They worshipped Him, but some doubted. You can only doubt what you believe. Unbelief is quite different. Unbelief is the rejection of information.
[19:01] Unbelief is a decision you make. I'm not accepting that information about God or about Jesus.
[19:11] I don't believe what's in the Bible. It's through rejection. Unbelief is rejection. Whereas doubting is questioning something you actually believe.
[19:24] You actually do. You actually trust. Well, their problem was unbelief.
[19:36] Rejection. We are not having this information. Whatever miracles you perform, Jesus, you are not the Messiah sent from God. You're not what we need.
[19:47] You're not what we hope in. And maybe that sin is in you in a very subtle way. You might say, ah, look, that's not enough for me simply to believe this.
[19:59] I've got this issue. I've got this problem. I need something else. My friend, are you saying you need something else other than simple faith in Christ?
[20:15] That's unbelief. Unbelief. That can be unbelief. All you need is Christ. And all you need to do is believe what's written for no other reason but that it's written in the Bible.
[20:41] Jesus spells us out in verse 29 in our text. This is the work of God. This is the one thing God requires of you. That you believe on him whom he has sent.
[20:56] Believing, trusting, loving, following, obeying, believing all his claims, all his commands, accepting him intellectually, following him physically, worshipping him spiritually.
[21:18] God created human beings. God created human beings and placed them on planet earth for worship.
[21:29] That we would worship him. That's why we were made. That's why we were made. And we will never ever find fulfillment on earth until we carry out what we were made for.
[21:44] When is a bird happiest? When he's flying in the air. He was made to fly in the air.
[21:56] When is a fish happiest? When it's swimming in the water. He was created to swim. Doing what it was created to do. You and I were created to live on earth by pleasing, enjoying God.
[22:14] God. Now, until you're born again. Until you come to Christ. You can't do that. But you've got to understand it and realize there's one thing and one thing only.
[22:28] We need Christ. Jesus. Jesus. Now, do you see, isn't it sad you hear their rejection of him here?
[22:38] After all these miracles performed before him, they said, we want a sign. We want evidence you're from heaven. Well, walking on water, healing diseases, feeding five, ten thousand, twelve thousand probably, with a few rolls.
[22:58] What more signs do you want? But they reject it. We need to see a miracle first, they say.
[23:09] Now, they dismiss the miracle of just what we looked at this morning. They dismiss it. Verse 31. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert.
[23:23] As it's written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Isn't that interesting? See what they're saying? See what they're saying? They're saying, look, Jesus. You're talking about a miracle feeding five thousand.
[23:35] Listen. We have Moses to our father. He fed two million people every day for forty years. Here are miracles. Nothing in comparison to what Moses did for forty years.
[23:47] Moses. He gave us bread from heaven. That's their complaint. But see what Christ says. See what Christ says.
[23:59] Moses did not give you that bread. My father gave you that bread. My father who's in heaven.
[24:09] He gave you that bread. And he's now offering you the bread of life. In me. But you won't have me. You don't want me.
[24:21] You won't take me. They say in verse thirty-four. They want it. Does that evermore give us this bread?
[24:31] Well, Jesus says, I am that bread sent down from heaven in the ultimate. I am that bread of life.
[24:49] Now in verse thirty-five. Jesus promises. Well, let's read it. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
[25:00] He that cometh to me shall never hunger. And he that believeth in me shall never thirst. Now we need to understand that Jesus is saying, speaking, regarding spiritual desires.
[25:21] Spiritual needs. Spiritual longings. He's saying you will never thirst. Never hunger to know God again. Once you get to know me.
[25:33] Once you know me. You know God. He that has seen me. Has seen the Father. Do you want to see God?
[25:44] Do you want to know God? See Jesus. Jesus is the human version. The identifiable version of God.
[25:59] He's not saying here. I used to be confused about this. Because you find, especially people who backslide. They start going after, hunkering after their old sins.
[26:09] But Jesus is not saying here. That they will never have any other physical need. Or any other emotional need. Or any other psychological need.
[26:20] He's not saying you'll never have that again if you become a Christian. You'll never need ordinary bread. Or anything like that. He's saying you'll not need anything more spiritually.
[26:33] Spiritually. You'll not hunger or thirst spiritually anymore. Once you feed on me.
[26:47] I am the bread that came down from heaven. Spiritually. All you need is me.
[26:59] Spiritually. Christ satisfies every spiritual desire. Every spiritual need.
[27:15] He satisfies it before God. Whatever we feel. You see. The truth. Is not what we feel.
[27:26] The truth. Is what God has said. What God has written. That's the truth. That's the only reliable thing. What God has said.
[27:38] This is the truth. That's the truth. And Jesus said. I am the truth. You remember. You know. Most of you will know the story of.
[27:49] Of Isaac. Jacob. And Esau. How Jacob. Double crossed. His father. On his deathbed. You'll know it.
[27:59] And you remember. They put goat skin on his hands. And his arms. To feel. When all blind. Jacob said. Remember what he said.
[28:13] The voice. Is the voice. Of Jacob. Of the hands. Of the hands. Of Esau.
[28:24] See the mistake he made. He went by feelings. He depended. On his feelings. The voice.
[28:35] Was the voice. Of Jacob. But he felt. Felt the wrong thing. Feelings. Feelings. Are not reliable. And we have to go by.
[28:46] What God states. What God has written. In his word. Not by. How we feel. And we might feel.
[28:57] Many a thing. And. It's very. Very common. Especially with. The presence of God. You know. The presence of God.
[29:09] Is not always. Comfortable. We pray. That we'll sense. His presence. But it's not always. Comfortable. To feel. You remember.
[29:20] Peter. When. When. When. They threw in the nets. And. They got so much. All night. They toiled. Toiled all night. And got nothing. But when Christ told them.
[29:32] To cast it on the other side. You remember. They got the whole. The shoal of fishes. And the nets were breaking. Remember. What Peter said. Depart. From me.
[29:42] I am. I am. A sinful man. The presence of God. He felt his sins. So much. So having the presence of God. Man. Now. Feel.
[29:53] Presence. Pleasant. That is true. In fact. You all know very well. You can have. God's presence. And not realize it. For long afterwards.
[30:04] Is that not the story of the. 20. The disciples. And the two disciples. And the way to Emmaus. And Luke 24. We did not know. Until.
[30:15] Afterward. He opened the scriptures to them. They did not know him. But they had his presence with them. So always remember that. When you complain about.
[30:26] Not sensing. Feeling. The presence of God. It's all. It's not always pleasant. And it's not even always felt.
[30:37] But if God says. When two or three are gathered together. In my name. There. Am.
[30:48] I. Don't. Don't. Reject. That. Truth. Whatever. You feel like. You might go home and say.
[30:58] I got nothing there. If Christ. If God. Says something. It's. That's the fact.
[31:09] Whatever we feel. Well. From then on. To the end. To the end. Of the chapter. Really. Christ is concentrating. On.
[31:19] Showing. To the disciples. And the crowds. There's. There's. There's multitudes here. But there are. There's the twelve disciples. But there's other disciples as well.
[31:32] But they're the ones that. Well. They left them. But he's showing. Trying to demonstrate. Here. Look. I. Am that. Bread. Of life.
[31:43] I came down. From heaven. To do what God wants. Not what I want. What an example. He is. Not my will. But thine be done.
[31:55] In the garden of Gethsemane. The most horrific trauma. Ever confronted. In this. In the history of the universe. Christ said.
[32:06] Not my will. I'm terrified of going through it. But. Your will. Not my will. But thy will. Be done. Now.
[32:18] Here. In verses. Thirty-seven. To fifty-eight. In fact. Really. To the end of the chapter. He. He's just saying. Look. God. Wants. You. All.
[32:29] To accept. Me. As his son. As the Messiah. Promised. As the only one. That can give us. Eternal. Life. And he says this.
[32:41] Difficult. Difficult. Statement. That's hard. To accept. And that. Divided. Shall we say it. As we say it. Today. The men.
[32:53] From the boys. Verse 44. No one. Can come to the father. Except. No one. Can come to the son.
[33:04] Except. The father. Draw him. Now. That is not. Meant. To discourage.
[33:15] Anyone. It's actually meant. To encourage. Always let a red light. Flash. In your mind.
[33:27] When you think. You hear something. God has said. You hear something. Which Christ says. And you find it discouraging. You're not understanding it. Christ.
[33:37] Would never. Discourage. Anyone. And you see it so. Clearly. In verses. Thirty seven. All that the father.
[33:48] Giveth me. Shall. Come to me. And him. That cometh. To me. I will in no wise. Cast out. Not one.
[34:01] Will be lost. Not one. Will be lost. All. Whom God. Has chosen. Will. Come. To Christ.
[34:13] And here's the next bit. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. Who comes. Will be received.
[34:24] Him. That cometh. And to me. I will in. No wise. Cast out. Do you hear. What he's saying.
[34:36] Anyone. Who comes. As it were. Chosen. Or not. Will be received. A. Hodge.
[34:47] Tells us that. And we. To study that. As. Students. The gospel. Is a genuine. Offer. From God.
[34:58] To everyone. Who hears. The gospel. Anyone. Who hears. Who comes. Whoever he is. Will.
[35:09] Be. Received. That's what he's saying. In verse. 37. So if you. Love. Christ.
[35:21] If you. Find yourself. Coming. To him. Remember. It's because. The father. Drew you. You're one of.
[35:33] God's chosen. If you love him. I tell you. It is not natural. To love. Christ. And that's why. There's so much. Hope for someone. That says. Can you show me.
[35:43] Christ. I want to see. Jesus. That is quite. Different from. How do I escape. From hell. Hell. It's perfectly. Natural. To want. To escape. From hell.
[35:55] It is not. Natural. To want. Christ. So if you. Want. Christ. It's from God. It's from God.
[36:08] Because. As we are. By nature. Christ. Is a. Root out of. A dry ground. As we are. By nature. But when God. Works in you. And changes.
[36:19] And you want. Christ. You say. I can't get hold of him. Enough. I can't get enough. That's of God. That's not natural. That's spiritual. That's the work. Of God.
[36:30] So if you love. Christ. If you're. In Christ. Remember. It's because. The father. Drew you. You have nothing. To be proud of.
[36:41] Will you remember that? If you were. It's a contradiction. In terms. To speak about. A proud. A proud. Christian. What are you proud of?
[36:54] Christ. Did the work. Christ. Did the dying. Christ. Did the suffering. Christ. Holy Spirit. Drew you to him. You've done nothing. But receive it. You have nothing.
[37:05] To be proud of. Walk humbly. Walk softly. It's a wonderful thing. It's all. Christ. It's all of him.
[37:17] In verse 53. He says. Except you eat my flesh. And drink my blood. You have no. Life. In you. Do you see. What he's saying.
[37:27] He's really saying. What Paul said. On another occasion. Christ. Who is. Our. Life. Christ. Is everything.
[37:38] To the Christian. It's all about. Being. Obsessed. With Christ. It's all about. Being. Infatuated. With Christ. And you have to.
[37:51] Think. More. Of Christ. Than you think. Of your sin. The devil. Can be very. Very subtle. Especially.
[38:01] Before a communion. Especially. Before a communion. He's got you. To. Concentrate. On your sinfulness. Since the last communion. What's his intention.
[38:12] To get you. To feel miserable. But the communion. Is not about. Advertising. How bad you've been. The communion. Is about. How wonderful. Christ is.
[38:24] What love. He has. When he. Gave. His life. A ransom. For many. Christ. Christ.
[38:36] Is everything. In Christianity. That's why it's called. Christianity. Being full of Christ. Having nothing.
[38:46] For eternity. But Christ. Simply. Believing him. Because he said it. Because he said it.
[38:58] Come. Come. To me. And I. Will give you rest. He. That believeth. In me. Has.
[39:09] Is. Forgiven. The. Sad. Thing. Here. The real. Sad. Thing. Here. Is. The sequel.
[39:20] The Jews. Are hardened. And. Reject. Him. What verses. Is it. We see. In near 68. Verse 66.
[39:34] From that time. Many. Of his. Disciples. Went. Back. And. Walked. No. More. With him. They couldn't. Stomach it. You see.
[39:46] The first sin. In heaven. Was what? Pride. Satan's pride. And we're proud. But you've got to be. Humble. If you believe. In Christ. And they weren't.
[39:57] They couldn't. Stomach. Verse 44. No man. Can come to me. Except the father. Draw me. They couldn't. Stomach it. And they hardened. Themselves.
[40:07] And they. And they walked. No more. With him. Now. The disciples. In verse 66. Is. The multitude. The crowd. The followers. No doubt. There were some.
[40:18] True believers. Amongst them. No doubt. But it's. Disciples. The general. Wide term. For disciples. It's not. The twelve. And the sea. The following verse.
[40:29] Verse 67. Then said Jesus unto. The twelve. You see. He knew. What was in man. He knew. The twelve. Were genuine. So he said.
[40:41] To the twelve. Will you. Also. Go away. Are you. Feeling it. Are you. Feeling it. Are you.
[40:51] Feeling it. Since. Lockdown. How. Few people. Come to church. And how. Some are.
[41:02] Not coming. Going away. Do you know. What it's like. To lose people. In the church. Christ. Knew about it. Christ.
[41:13] Felt it. Christ. Is feeling it. And he says. Here to the twelve. You see. He turned. He says. And are you. Going to go away too. You twelve.
[41:25] No. No. No. To whom. Else. Will. We. Go. There's no one else. There's no one else.
[41:35] Who'll have us. But Christ. And there's no one else. We need. But Christ. We believe. And are sure.
[41:48] That thou. Art that Christ. The son. Of the living. God. There's nothing else. That's it. There's no room for pride.
[42:01] We know. You're the Messiah. You died on the cross. To pay for our sins. That's all I need. That's all I want. And that's all. God wants. Our trust.
[42:13] Our faith. In his son. And that is. It's very serious. People say. When you're trying to do. Outreach.
[42:23] Or gather them in. And they say. Ach nah. Religion's not my thing. Christ. Coming. To face the horrors.
[42:33] Of crucifixion. And we say. Not interested. It's a big sin. That's sin. That's the greatest sin.
[42:44] In fact. What's the whole lesson. Of this. There's only one. Real problem. Unbelief. In me. The Lord. Jesus Christ.
[42:55] He says. And there's only one. Remedy. There's only one. Solution. There's only one. Cure. Believe.
[43:06] On the Lord. Jesus Christ. And you will be saved. Whoever you are. Whatever you've done. Whatever condition you're in.
[43:19] May God. The Holy Spirit. Make his word. Effectual. To every one of us. Let's pray. Our Father.
[43:31] Father. In heaven. Please. Take. The things. Of Christ. And make them ours. Please. Unite us.
[43:42] To your dear son. And a living. Vital. Faith. Hear us in mercy. Answer us in peace. For we pray only.
[43:55] In blessed Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Well. We'll conclude our service of worship.
[44:06] By singing. To God's praise. From Psalm 34. Psalm 34. Verses 5. To 10. Psalm 34.
[44:19] At verse 5. They looked to him. Enlightened were. Not shamed were their faces. This poor man cried. God heard.
[44:31] And saved them. From all his distresses. Down to verse 10. The lions young. May hungry be. And they may lack their food.
[44:42] But they that truly. Seek the Lord. Shall not lack. Any good. Psalm 34. Verses 5. To 10. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[44:52] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[45:10] Amen. Amen. Yeah. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. For all.
[45:22] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. The angels of heaven are in countenance, but when they come last day, all those above, like dew and fear on them delivereth.
[46:00] For this time see thy God is good, who trust the living blessed.
[46:19] Fair goddess saints, none that in fear shall be willed to rest.
[46:36] The lions of heaven are free, and they will have their food.
[46:53] Avella truly seek the Lord, shall the clock be good.
[47:10] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore.
[47:26] Amen. . . . . . . . . .
[47:37] . . .