I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 16.
!
I'm going to be up here and appeal to you to have the Scriptures resonate when we're
singing.
Everybody look up.
I ought to be able to make a biblical argument for that.
Would you agree to that?
I should be able to point to a passage of Scripture and say, well, here's why I was thinking that
way.
Sidebar, just so you're following me here, and it'll come together.
You can be here and not be full of the Holy Spirit.
Would you agree with that?
And should the believer be filled with the Holy Spirit?
What's the answer from the Bible?
Absolutely!
We're commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
And how many of you have on occasion been uncertain that you were filled with the Holy Spirit?
Besides me, I'm just wondering.
You know, one of the things that we know from the Scripture is that now you can sing and not
be filled with the Holy Spirit.
How many of you would agree with that?
But the Holy Spirit does prompt the believer to sing.
That's what it tells us in Ephesians chapter 5.
And I want you to understand that another indication of the working of the Holy Spirit is that when we are thinking and when we're, let's try singing, the Holy Spirit, when He's at work in us, He's bringing up passages of Scripture.
Because listen, nothing magnifies Jesus more than this Bible.
And so, the Spirit of God says, hey, Tim, hey, what about that passage?
Click.
And Christ is amplified or glorified in that.
Okay.
Bible passage.
Ephesians.
John chapter 6.
My Bible went to Acts by my hand, by the way.
Okay, here we go.
John chapter 16, verse 13 and 14.
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.
So the Holy Spirit speaks, and how do we know that He speaks?
We don't have these little whispering words in our ears, but we have the Word of God.
This is God's Word.
Verse 14.
He will glorify me, for He will take that which is mine, Bible, and declare it to you.
So, there's nothing wrong with when you come to corporate worship saying, Holy Spirit, would you help me this morning that as we are singing, you would enable me to sing joyfully, enthusiastically, with an affection for the Lord Jesus Christ and an ambition for heaven.
And would you bring to mind, and would you bring to mind, passages of Scripture that relate to what we're singing?
Okay, enough of that.
John 6.
We'll get there.
John 6.
As I preach, you have a very active responsibility.
What is that, too?
You are to pray.
And I trust you will do that.
That the Word of God might have free course and make a difference in your life.
And that God would use this very earthen vessel to remind you of the glory and the supremacy of Christ, and that you would have a desire to see Him face to face.
And that the day you live in the day to come would be a tangible evidence of your walk with Christ.
Let's pray.
Our hearts this morning are reminded of the passage in Zechariah where the prophet penned these words,
says,
to be the physical manifestation of His character and nature and affection for lost mankind.
And that those who are here that do not know Christ would be drawn by His grace to cry out for salvation and for deliverance from their sin.
And we ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I have to tell you that I remember at a point in my life being very, very hesitant to launch into the book of John.
Early in my ministry, I was intimidated at the prospect of John in particular
because it is a gospel different from the others in that it doesn't have so much of the narrative.
You can't kind of follow the history of Jesus as you're working your way primarily through the gospel of John.
There are only a certain number of incidents that kind of follow a narrative.
Much of the gospel of John gives to us a picture of the person of Christ and draws us to recognize that He is the Savior of mankind and the one with whom we have to do.
As I have been working my way in private study and prayer through the book of John,
I have grown to look back in retrospect and say,
why didn't I do this earlier?
Because John is such a rich picture of who Jesus is that it is helping me in my process of growing to love Him more.
And I trust that is what is happening to you.
We saw last week in particular the heart of our Savior in not only meeting the needs of a hungry and very, very shallow crowd,
and we know that He fed how many?
About 20,000 is the estimate.
He fed 20,000 people.
And on the heels of that,
you remember if you look back just a little bit in John,
you'll pick up there that what He did after the feeding of the 5,000,
the people were ready to come and take Him by force and make Him their king.
And we know that in His sympathy and sensitivity for the weakness of the disciples in particular,
in facing that fickle and selfish crowd and their own spiritual frailty,
He pushed them off into the boat and sent them into a storm.
And then He delivered them from the storm.
What we are looking at this morning as we pick up in John 6, verse 22,
is the next day.
And I want you to recognize as you look at this extended passage
that it is a lesson for us of the heart of our Lord Jesus
for people that can be profoundly frustrating.
And I preach to you, primarily, who are part of our fellowship,
and know the Lord Jesus Christ,
because you are here by assignment and appointment
to minister to other people.
Do you recognize that?
I mean, it'd be better to be in heaven.
Would you agree with that?
Truthfully, it'd be better to be in heaven.
Nothing wrong with that place.
The reason I draw breath and the reason you draw breath
is He left me here to be His ambassador, His representative,
and doing that means that He wants me to be in direct contact
with broken, wounded individuals whose hearts are an absolute mess.
And I need to be reminded of how Jesus dealt with those people
because every now and then, in my flesh,
I would like them just to get entirely sanctified
the moment I give them a Bible verse or two
and leave it go at that.
I want you to look at what we find here in this passage,
beginning there in verse 22 as we work our way through
and kind of see the heart of Christ towards unbelievers in particular.
Let me begin reading.
John 6, verse 22, it says,
On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there
and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples,
but His disciples had gone away.
Other boats came from Tiberias,
came near the place where they had eaten the bread
after the Lord had given thanks.
So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples,
they themselves got into the boats
and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
I want us to look this morning at a picture of the Lord Jesus
ministering to some very short-sighted individuals.
Our lesson starts there in verse 22,
and we recognize that as we kind of pick up the narrative,
we find that Jesus, after having ministered to these 20,000 or so people,
you'll remember that they had followed Him into the wilderness
because they'd been impressed with His miracles.
I mean, He'd done some things that were stunning,
and they were intrigued, they were interested.
I'm certain there were ones in the crowd that wanted healing and things done for them.
And Jesus, after He had taken them out there in the wilderness,
at least they'd followed Him,
He saw their need, their very physical need,
and He was willing to feed them.
When they decided that they would force Him to be king,
Jesus sent His disciples out of harm's way into a storm,
and then He went off to pray.
So what we find in verse 24,
and I want you to kind of put your finger on 24,
it tells us that after the crowd found that Jesus wasn't where they had anticipated Him,
they went looking for Him,
and they went to the reasonable place,
at least in their thinking,
back to the city of Capernaum,
and they were going there with the expectation of finding Jesus.
That's their goal.
When they found Jesus,
I want you to mark His conversation with them,
because instead of complimenting them on their pursuit of Jesus,
He exposed the shallowness of their ambition and their interest.
It serves us well to remember that Jesus loved these people,
and that He would weep for them later on,
as we read that on the day of His crucifixion,
as He looked upon the crowd,
His heart was deeply touched by them.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Earlier than that, when He'd come into Jerusalem for the last time,
it says that when He looked upon the city, He wept.
Jesus had a heart for these unsaved, lost, blinded individuals,
and we see that even here.
Listen to what He says.
He says,
I want you to stop and think just for a moment that Jesus,
as He was speaking of this,
He started out by reminding them of what had taken place,
and there wasn't a heart on the part of Christ that says,
I should have never fed you.
He was willing to do that for them.
And so I want to recognize that genuine love willingly does meet physical needs,
but it doesn't stop there.
And what Jesus said was very convicting,
because what it did was expose the most ancient trap
that Satan has used in all of our lives,
including Adam and Eve,
to draw us away from our Creator and our Savior.
And what do I mean by that?
Satan relies upon the things that we're interested in
that are of superficial and temporal worth
to draw our affections and our attentions away from Christ.
He seduces people today
to choose jobs that enslave them
for no other reason than accumulating material goods
that will not satisfy
and ultimately will end up in a dumpster.
You know, one of the things that I hear families say,
I've got to be careful here when I say this,
but I've got to tell you the truth.
I've heard more than one family say,
when my mom and dad die,
I'm going to rent a roll-off
and we're going to clean the house out.
Has anybody ever said,
don't raise your hand,
but just kind of nod very, very carefully
so nobody else knows that you and me understand each other.
When mom and dad die,
we're going to rent a roll-off.
You know what that's an indication of?
What they put their energy into
really didn't last.
Agreed?
We can all do that.
And Jesus, as he looked at this crowd
that had come to them,
he says, hey, you're here
just because I fed you bread.
He misleads people also into thinking
that the time they invest in consumptive pleasures,
activities, and entertainments,
sometimes in the name of their children.
Did you realize that doing something
in the name of your children
is Trump in our contemporary culture?
How many of you realize that?
It's amazing.
You can do all kinds of things for your children,
and everybody just kind of nods.
Yeah, I mean, I understand.
I'm with you there.
I remember parents
several years ago
who commented to me
that they were really
in a financial bind.
And I, you know, curiosity.
I'm a pastor.
I'm a shepherd.
I care about people's hearts.
And I said, what's the problem?
Well, it's going to cost me $1,800
to send my daughter
to the travel team for volleyball.
I hope nobody plays volleyball here,
you know, that level.
I mean, I wasn't thinking of you.
Not thinking of you.
Okay?
Being an older man
and moderately mature pastor sometimes,
I just kept my mouth shut
and I just let the person go on.
You know, hey, listen,
we have come a long way
from where Eric Liddell was
who was unwilling to run on Sunday.
Do you follow that?
Oh, we like watching
Chariots of Fire.
I mean, hey, the music is outstanding.
But really, if it comes down to us
deciding if we're going to choose
between corporate worship
and some physical activity
for our children,
children trumps.
We've fallen into the trap
of Satan, of thinking
that things that are
of no eternal value
are significant and supreme
in comparison to the glory
of Christ
and the body that he loves.
I remember another parent.
I'm on volleyball today,
so you can kind of pass
if you're not.
Another parent that came to me,
their home was just
an absolute disaster.
It was, the wheels had come off.
I'm not talking about one,
you know, and a little bit
of the retread popped or something.
All four wheels were off
and the marriage
was an absolute disaster.
And I said, listen,
I want to minister to you guys.
And so let's set up a time
for counseling.
I mean, you know,
let's work at this marriage.
And the guy grabbed his calendar
and you know what?
He couldn't pull it off
because his daughter
was in a travel league.
Cincinnati this weekend,
Cleveland the next,
somewhere in West Virginia.
And he says, you know,
I don't think I can work this out
for the next three or four weeks
because every single night
I got to get my daughter
to volleyball
or I have to get her
to a game some other city.
And I thought to myself,
well, I guess your marriage
isn't very important, right?
That's Satan.
And here were people
coming to Jesus and saying,
hey, listen,
what we'd really like you
to do for us
is kind of help us
with the things
we think are important.
He snares people
into thinking
that the answers
to life's problems
really can be found
in things
or causes
that are not
of eternal worth.
I choked this week
in anger
and I was kind of worked up
over the fact
that so many people
were just absolutely traumatized
by the slaughter,
and I think a senseless slaughter
of Cecil the lion,
you know, whatever,
hang it on your den.
But you know what?
Not a peep of concern
for what Planned Parenthood
has been doing
of harvesting unborn babies
and selling their parts
for profit.
So what's our Savior
want us to focus on?
You look at the passage here
and He says,
you ate your fill
and that's what
you're interested in.
So listen to what Jesus said
as He follows.
See there in verse 7
He says,
Do not labor
for the food
that perishes.
Now stop,
just for a moment.
You might underline
that in your Bible
because that is Jesus
speaking to you
about your agenda,
your checkbook,
your life.
And He says,
Do not labor
for things
that will perish.
if God's people
put as much time
into things
that are of eternal worth
as they do
into all the other activities
that they engage in,
I tell you what,
it'd be a different world
that we live in.
And here's Jesus.
He says,
work for the food
that endures
to eternal life
and that's the food
that the Son of Man
will give you.
So ask yourself
the question,
did these people
believe in Jesus?
And in one sense,
I want you to follow this,
they did.
They did.
They believed
that the guy
who had fed them
yesterday
could pull it off
again today.
and they were insisting
what we want you for
is for our own
personal benefit
and we're pretty interested
in you taking care
of some of the
superficial things
that we're interested in
but don't mess
with the others.
I've got to tell you
that the health
and wealth,
the prosperity gospel
that is pervasive
in our culture
is a gospel
that proposes
fundamentally
the value of Christ
is in relationship
to what He can do
for you.
Jesus says
to the people
that had come
gathering around Him
for the sake of a meal
or for the sake of whatever
was of their own
personal interest,
they do not labor
for the food that perishes
but for the food
that endures
to eternal life
which the Son of Man
will give to you
for on Him
God the Father
has set His seal.
I know,
that most of you
who are here this morning
are believers
and you're not here
to hear about better food
or better government
or better health
but let me ask you this.
Does your
belief in Christ
lead you
in a different path
than the world's?
Truthfully.
Does it?
How substantially different
are your affections
and the use
of your energy
in comparison
to the unbelieving world
that we're all exposed
to all the time?
If you're caught up
by the world's
magnetic pull
and belief
that what the world
has to offer
is so worthy
then you have to recognize
that what you're doing
is you're devaluing
the significance
of the cross.
Well let's go further
in the text
because we need to understand
the point that Jesus
is making here
and you look there
in verse 33 and 34
it says
for the bread of God
is He who comes down
from heaven
and gives life
to the world.
Here's Jesus
ministering
to the unbelieving.
I love the way
things move here.
Instead of having
humbling hearts
or humbled hearts
when the people
heard what Jesus
had to say
they kind of respond
back to Him
and they say something
pretty crass.
Listen to this.
Look at the passage.
He says
Sir give us this bread
actually going back
a little bit
verse 30
it says
Then what sign
do you do
that we may see
and believe in you?
What work do you perform?
By the way
what had He done yesterday?
Huh?
He'd fed them.
Now agreed
that it wasn't manna
and I don't really know
what the relative
food value
between manna
and fish and bread
I'm not into that.
I really don't know
whether manna
was a more palatable
and a more enjoyable thing
than fish and bread
but I got to tell you
the scripture tells me
that people got
pretty sick and tired
of manna.
And here they are
having had fish and bread
they turn around
and say
hey
what can you do
for us?
And then they go on
and they make
their argument
verse 30 says
what sign
what work
are you going to do
so we can believe?
And then they
step into it
in a really bad way
in verse 31
our fathers
ate manna
in the wilderness
as it is written
but don't you love it
when people recite
scripture for their own benefit?
that little phrase
it is written
was Jesus'
favorite zinger
to the Pharisees
do you follow?
Whenever Jesus said
it is written
you could hear him
bringing down
the eight pound sledge
on whoever else
he was dealing with
you know what
an eight pound sledge is?
I'm talking about
a big piece of iron
on the end
of a long stick
and he put the
whop
he said
it is written
here they're playing
that game with Jesus
of all people
it is written
you know
listen to what
Jesus says
in verse 32
truly truly
I say to you
it was not
Moses
you see
the Jews
had the idea
that Moses
was the
one who brought
it to them
oh
Moses
by the way
how did the people
that Moses
actually ministered
to in flesh and blood
really like him?
Does anybody know?
What was their
attitude towards Moses?
somebody would get up
in the morning
and say
oh Lord
we are so thankful
for that servant
you brought us
that Moses
he is
by the way
he was the most
humble man
do you understand that?
that's what the Bible says
and how did the people
handle Moses?
the incessant
grumbling
and complaining
and whining
they were just
always livid
at Moses
because Moses
wasn't cooperative
do it my way
well here's Jesus
dealing with these
people's attitudes
and he makes a point here
ultimately
Moses wasn't
the key
to the whole thing
look at the passage
again
there in verse 32
Jesus said to them
truly truly
I say to you
it was not
Moses
who gave you
the bread
from heaven
where'd it come from?
God
not Moses
and so I want you
to remind yourself
of this
no human being
can bring
eternal
blessing
to this world
no one
there is no
human being
that is the remedy
to the brokenness
and the messiness
of the world
we live in
I
I really am not
looking forward
to the next
political
cycle
but what I do
know
is that
as we get
closer and closer
to
16
there are going
to be people
even professing
believers
who become
kind of
apoplectic
in their
ambitions
that certain
people
come into
government
because
if they are
elected
guess what
the millennium
is coming
surprise
not true
don't post
anything on your
Facebook
at least that I
will read
that says
anything like
that because
that just
kind of
it kind of
wigs me out
it's like
stop
salvation
does not
come
in the form
of mere
human
individuals
listen again
to what
Jesus said
there in
verse 33
for the
bread of
God
is he
who comes
down from
heaven
and gives
life
to the
world
what was
Jesus
saying
he was
saying
that
salvation
and blessing
comes from
God
through
Jesus
Christ
alone
I got to
tell you
as I think
about this
passage
I am
struck
by how
patient
and how
tender
Jesus
was
in dealing
with
very
carnal
short
sighted
narrow
minded
self
focused
unhappy
can I
keep
going
people
listen
up
as I
was
praying
and
thinking
about
what
this
passage
really
says
to
Tim
Knoyer
I
suppose
to
some
of
you
here
I
was
reminded
that
this
is
an
example
for
Tim
Knoyer
of
the
heart
he
wants
me
to
have
for
the
people
that
I
minister
to
every
day
and
the
people
you
minister
to
every
day
don't
put
your
head
down
listen
up
because
I
want
you
to hear
this
if
you
are
employed
by
Jesus
he
kind
of
expects
you
to
have
the
attitude
he
had
towards
other
people
agreed
!
Everybody
smile
and say
yeah I
hear you
and
he
doesn't
want
you
to
get
discouraged
or
overwhelmed
or a
little
embittered
just
because
they're
not
cooperating
and
just
falling
all
over
you
in
appreciation
for
the
significance
of
your
ministry
stay
with
it
why
because
Jesus
did
I
gotta
tell you
something
he
never
turned
away
in
disgust
or
irritation
never
stopped
reaching
out
to
these
shallow
narrow
minded
self
focused
people
now
he
did
tell
them
the
truth
but
how
many
of
you
know
the
difference
between
having
an
edge
when
you're
dealing
with
people
and
having
an
affection
even
when
you
tell
them
the
truth
how
many
of
you
know
the
difference
he
loved
them
and
when
he
dealt
with
their
shallowness
it
was
not
with
this
bitter
negative
hardened
heart
like
Jonah
you ever
stopped
and
thought
about
why
Jonah
actually
ended up
being
instructed
by
God
to
write
a
book
about
what
a
jerk
he
was
no
I'm
think
with
me
I
do
you
understand
that
there's
not
one
verse
that
gives
us
any
ambition
of
thinking
Jonah
really
ever
got
it
now
he
has
it
now
but
do
you
follow
me
I
think
the
reason
that
book
was
written
is
to
remind
us
you
know
what
if
God
can
use
Jonah
there's
hope
for
me
you
know
now
it's
not
an
endorsement
of
being
a
jerk
I
do
get
that
I'd
like
to
test
God
and
see
how
much
he
can
use
me
being
that
way
no
it's
God
can
use
us
but
hey
have
the
heart
of
Jesus
not
Jonah
so
I
got to
come
around
on
this
so
you
understand
the
point
that
we
find
can
I
say
that
again
we
ought
to
be
more
like
Jesus
in
dealing
with
those
who
have
been
snared
by
sin
let
our
compassion
let
our
humility
let
the
gentleness
of our
heart
reflect
the
heart
he
had
there's
no
place
for
sarcasm
everybody
say
that
out
loud
I
want
you
to
say
that
!
There's
no
place
for
sarcasm
in the
heart
of the
servant
of the
king
there
should
be
tenderness
if
Jesus
dealt
with
a
crowd
that
was
going
to
crucify
him
we
ought
to
be
a
little
more
gentle
with
the
people
that
we
sit
next
to
that
are
part
of
the
family
that
are
going
to
be
next
door
in
eternity
and
the
unbelievers
that he
puts us
face to
face with
day after
day
that don't
get it
we ought
to have
the same
affection and
compassion for
them that
Jesus
had
oh can I tell you
something
you're ultimately
not going to do
very well
outside the
family if you
can't handle it
inside the
family
write that
down
I
get a
kick
out
of
people
who
talk
to
me
about
evangelism
but they
can't
get along
with people
inside
the
fam
huh
everybody
you heard
me
didn't
you
understand
what I'm
saying
I want
to close
with what we
find in
verse 35
you know
they said
to him
sir
well that's
formal
sir
give us
this bread
always
isn't that
just kind of
hokey
and when
stop and
think about
this
this is the
crowd
sir
give us
this bread
always
here's what
Jesus said
promising the
bread of
life
I am the
bread of
life
whosoever
comes to
me shall
not hunger
and whosoever
believes in
me shall
never thirst
what he was
saying is
this is I'm
the only one
who can
really make
a difference
isn't that
true
when you
hear that
said
does your
heart kind
of rise up
within you
and say
yes
do you
follow that
look at me
if your
heart is
connected to
that statement
do you know
that unbelievers
can sense
it
what it
says in
first Peter
is that
when they
see it
they're going
to ask
you what's
the reason
for the
hope that
lies within
you
well it's
the new
therapy that
I've been
involved in
you know
I'm taking
these pills
and they're
just doing
I got to
tell you
something
why is
it
that
more
believers
are not
impassioned
and enthusiastic
about Jesus
are you
listening
you're thinking
with me
it's because
they have
fallen into
the ancient
trap of
Satan
remember
Adam and
Eve
could you
have had
it any
better than
Adam and
Eve did
I mean
in some
senses
you know
it's because
many
of
us
have been
seduced
by the
lie
of
Satan
that
things
that
do
not
last
forever
are
worthy
of our
ambitions
and our
affections
of our
checkbook
and our
time
our devotional
lives
are almost
close to
bankrupt
our prayer
time
is close
to zero
and then
we go out
into an
unbelieving
and a
broken world
and we
think
that just
by dropping
a couple
surly words
we can
make a
difference
in the
lives of
those who
are broken
by sin
it isn't
going to
happen
but when
our hearts
are lifted
up because
Jesus is
the way
and Jesus
is the one
who can take
away the
thirst
and satisfy
the hunger
and we
know that
we know
that
then our
testimonies
are powerful
so where's
that put
you
where's
that put
you
you see
when we
talk about
Jesus
you have
to ask
yourself
a very
very basic
question
number one
do I
know him
right
I mean
that's
important
do I
know him
and you
could be
sitting here
and you
don't know
Jesus
the fact
of the
matter
is
if you
leave
this
place
and you
don't
come to
grips
with the
bankruptcy
of your
own soul
and the
darkness
of your
heart
there is
no hope
in
eternity
and you
desperately
need
Christ
and I
would
plead
with you
this
morning
the
scriptures
make it
profoundly
simple
all you
have to
do
is
come
to
the
point
of
saying
yeah
what
Jesus
says
about
me
is
true
I
am
a
hard
hearted
unrepentant
sinner
and the
only thing
I know
now
is that
I'm
a
hopeless
mess
but I
hear what
Jesus
says
that he
can help
me
and I
come with
a broken
and a
contrite
heart
to say
Jesus
save
me
but most
of you
that are
sitting here
this morning
are people
who know
Christ
you do
and so
here's
my
question
do
you
love
him
as
much
as
you
love
the
things
of
the
world
check
your
agenda
check
your
wallet
check
your
affections
where's
Jesus
in
relationship
to
those
things
if
we
want
to
take
it
from
the
words
of
Jesus
he
says
this
do
not
labor
for
things
that
perish
labor
for
the
food
that
endures
to
eternal
life
let's
close
in
prayer