WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.200 Well can I just say again it's great to be with you again here at Brunsfield. It's always a joy to be here to meet up with Graham, to meet up with Archie and to meet up with others. 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:25.620 I bring greetings of the church family at Charlotte Chapel and to say you are our brothers and sisters and it's lovely to have fellowship in this particular way. 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:47.100 I mentioned my grandfather earlier, my grandfather from born in Falkirk but my grandfather was an interesting character. He was a very strong personality and he encouraged my grandmother in certain eating habits and they went through various fads and fancies. 00:00:47.100 --> 00:01:01.300 There was the egg diet in which they ate at least half a dozen eggs a day. There was the apple diet in which they consumed vast quantities of apples. 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:16.920 There was the grapefruit diet in which they had half a grapefruit before every meal. There was the fad of having a glass of hot water every morning and every night. 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:26.760 I especially remember a vile concoction that they drank called Biostrath. Maybe it's only the older ones here who could ever recall that. I've tried to block it out from my memory. 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:37.320 It was appalling but they drank this because apparently it did them good and of course there were the numerous pills and the numerous tablets that they took every day. 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:47.199 And I remember thinking to myself, I'm not going to do that when I get older. But now here I am. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:02:01.179 And every morning there are lined up for me by my wife, six tablets that I am to take. She says they'll do me good. I'm not quite sure what each one does. 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:08.540 But if she was to put a cyanide tablet there, I would take it without thinking, not knowing any better. 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:15.439 And I've got the sneaking suspicion I may not be alone in doing this. 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:24.400 And by the way, at the end of the service when we're shaking hands, don't feel obliged to give me a list of all the things that you take and define them. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:30.599 That's fine. The Lord bless you. Now, why do we do it? Why do we do this sort of stuff? 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:38.680 Why do we pay such attention to our diets? Well, there's a saying that goes, you are what you eat. 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:48.340 It's the reasoning that suggests that what you take into your body will inevitably shape and affect how you are physically. 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:53.599 Now, if you've grasped that, and probably we all think it's quite reasonable, 00:02:54.039 --> 00:03:03.680 then you're in a position to understand the illustration that Jesus used when preaching to the Jews there in that synagogue in Capernaum. 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:12.939 He said, I'm the bread of life. He said, you need to eat me to live. 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:22.139 And for those there who didn't understand the illustration, but who took him literally, this was a problem. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:27.979 In verse 52, we read this, then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:33.060 How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:38.560 You see, they failed to understand the metaphor. They failed to understand the illustration. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:48.099 They failed to understand that not only are you what you eat physically, but you are also what you eat spiritually. 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:54.020 And it is actually the latter that is more important than the former. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:04:02.500 It is far more important that you are well spiritually than you are fit and healthy physically. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.039 So I trust you can see why Jesus used this illustration as he did. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:14.379 He was contrasting physical food with the spiritual sustenance that he could give. 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:22.039 But more than that, he was also contrasting, deliberately contrasting, the feeding of the Exodus people, 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:26.860 1,200 years before, with the food that he provides. 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:33.480 You see, he was not only the provider, he was also the provision. 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:42.160 And he wanted his listeners to grasp this vital lesson about himself that had been pictured so clearly with the giving of manna, 00:04:42.259 --> 00:04:44.640 1,200 years before, in the desert. 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:48.520 So the first point I want to bring to you, I just have two points. 00:04:48.640 --> 00:04:51.860 Don't get overly excited by only two points. It doesn't mean too much. 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:56.160 But it's this. Number one, the saviour who provides. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:57.780 The saviour who provides. 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:02.959 You see, Jesus is the bread that, first of all, satisfies completely. 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.519 Jesus is the bread that satisfies completely. 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:09.599 Jesus declared there in verse 35, 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:10.859 I am the bread of life. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:13.879 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. 00:05:14.859 --> 00:05:18.259 And whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:05:18.619 --> 00:05:24.479 You see, whereas we constantly need to be taking into our bodies food and drink to survive, 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:27.980 probably most of us here have had breakfast. 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:31.580 If we haven't had breakfast, probably we've had a cup of coffee or something like that. 00:05:31.640 --> 00:05:32.780 We do that to survive. 00:05:32.900 --> 00:05:35.220 We're thinking about our Sunday lunch. 00:05:35.340 --> 00:05:39.980 We do that because we realise it is important for our wellbeing. 00:05:41.140 --> 00:05:45.439 You see, the gift of Jesus is completely satisfying. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.960 We need to keep doing these things. 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:54.620 But Jesus satisfies, he meets our deepest spiritual needs. 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:58.120 He satisfies the deepest cravings of our soul. 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:03.560 All that we were ever looking for is found in him. 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:08.219 You may have had some good experiences in life, 00:06:08.479 --> 00:06:13.319 whether that's in what you achieve or who you're with. 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:18.500 But like a meal, it's never enough. 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:24.759 It satisfies for the moment, but can soon leave you empty. 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:30.779 Whereas Jesus, lastingly and completely, fills that hole in our soul. 00:06:31.219 --> 00:06:36.360 Peace with God, purpose in living, joy in serving, confidence in dying. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.980 Jesus is the bread that satisfies completely. 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:44.420 Jesus is the bread that saves eternally. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.600 There in verse 47 through to verse 50, Jesus said, 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:53.040 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 00:06:53.520 --> 00:06:55.020 I am the bread of life. 00:06:55.780 --> 00:06:59.500 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 00:07:00.640 --> 00:07:03.040 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, 00:07:03.140 --> 00:07:07.259 which anyone may eat and not die. 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:13.920 You see, food, like the manna the Israelites ate when they were traveling to Palestine, 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.039 that can't stop you from dying. 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:19.079 It keeps you going for a while. 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:26.139 But it can't answer the problem of aging and decay and death. 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:31.259 Whereas Jesus said that he had come to give us eternal life. 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:36.279 In fact, this particular truth is repeatedly emphasized in this passage. 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:39.379 Did you note that as the passage was read to us? 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:45.459 Verse 40, everyone who looks to the sun and believes in him shall have eternal life. 00:07:45.539 --> 00:07:47.920 Verse 47, I tell you the truth. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.800 The one who believes has eternal life. 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:55.579 Verse 51, whoever eats this bread will live forever. 00:07:55.579 --> 00:08:01.859 Verse 54, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:06.319 Verse 58, whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:10.259 You see, that's the problem of our sin. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:16.839 It destroys the body and it condemns the soul to an eternity separated from God's grace 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.279 and subject to God's just and holy anger. 00:08:20.459 --> 00:08:23.519 But Christ deals with that. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.459 He saves eternally. 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:32.679 But then Jesus is the bread who secures certainly. 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:36.659 Who secures certainly because he goes on to say in verse 56, 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:46.220 whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:49.539 See, when we eat food, it becomes a part of us. 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:58.399 For example, the calcium from our milk that we drink is used to strengthen and to build bones. 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:02.319 It becomes an integral part of who you are. 00:09:03.339 --> 00:09:07.639 In the same way, Jesus is saying when we receive him as our Lord and Savior, 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:14.299 we are connecting to him in such a deep, in such an inseparable way. 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:18.959 Let me tell you something quite stunning. 00:09:20.479 --> 00:09:27.620 Actually, the Christian is just as strongly connected to Jesus as the Holy Spirit is. 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:32.460 When you go back to John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 32, we read this. 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:33.980 Then John gave this testimony. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:41.360 I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him, remain on Jesus. 00:09:41.560 --> 00:09:46.940 And in fact, it's that word remain, which is the same that we have in chapter 6, verse 56. 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:51.200 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:56.700 And just as strongly connected as God the Father is to God the Son. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.880 In chapter 14, verse 11, John records these words. 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:07.240 Believe me, Jesus says, when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:08.900 The Father remains in me. 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:13.180 In fact, it's the same words that we're just looking at in verse 56. 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:23.899 So when someone becomes a Christian, they are inseparably connected to him. 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:26.000 They can never be parted. 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:27.699 They are eternally secure. 00:10:28.139 --> 00:10:34.019 You could be no more separated from Christ than I could separate metal alloys. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:38.359 I don't know if this is an alloy or plastic or what? 00:10:38.479 --> 00:10:40.339 Metal, I think, made of some sorts. 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:46.120 And if it's a combination of metals melted together and then forged in this way, I'm not a metallurgist, as you can tell. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:51.620 But I could no more separate the alloys than you could be separated from being in Jesus. 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:59.460 When you are a follower of Jesus, when you are a believer in his name, you are inseparably, inseparably connected to him, 00:10:59.560 --> 00:11:05.340 just as much as the Holy Spirit is connected to Jesus, just as much as Jesus is connected to the Father. 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:10.420 So the obvious question we must ask is this. 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:20.540 What is required for us to feed upon and enjoy all the blessings that Jesus, the bread of life, brings? 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:27.500 Well, have a look at the conditions outlined in five of those verses that we've already considered. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:32.019 Those verses that I briefly read talking about eternal life. 00:11:32.019 --> 00:11:41.519 Verse 40, it says, everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:49.879 Verse 47, I tell you the truth, he who believes has eternal life. 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:57.179 Verse 51, if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. 00:11:57.179 --> 00:12:03.799 Verse 54, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. 00:12:03.839 --> 00:12:07.759 Verse 58, he who feeds on this bread will live forever. 00:12:07.859 --> 00:12:15.919 So what becomes clear is that when Jesus talks about feeding on him, it means the same as believing on him. 00:12:17.079 --> 00:12:25.319 It's just a very strong way of describing the trust and faith and belief that we must have in Jesus Christ. 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:30.660 You see, just as a starving person would hungrily devour food when given to him, 00:12:30.760 --> 00:12:39.140 so the lost and helpless sinner will hungrily, passionately, absolutely throw themselves upon the only Savior. 00:12:41.060 --> 00:12:43.760 But there's actually even more implied in this passage. 00:12:43.900 --> 00:12:48.320 What is it that the seeker will be especially resting in? 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:49.800 What will be the hope? 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:51.880 What will be the center of their trust? 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.720 We've just said, yeah, it's believing in Jesus, but there's more here. 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:57.360 The clue is in verse 54. 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:01.500 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:02.639 Now, what is this flesh? 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:09.000 Verse 51, this bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:11.919 Jesus is pointing to the cross. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.139 What is this blood that's spoken of? 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:21.759 It's pointing to the sacrificial death, that he will die on behalf of sinners like us. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:30.460 So the call is for us to place our trust in the work of Jesus on the cross. 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:35.939 To hungrily feed on that. 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:38.760 That is who a believer is. 00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:39.780 That is who a Christian is. 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:46.000 A Christian is someone who recognizes their sin, recognizes their need, recognizes their standing before God, 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:52.280 and puts their trust in the work of Jesus there on Calvary's cross, 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.200 when Jesus took our sin upon his own body, 00:13:55.280 --> 00:13:59.520 when he, the substitute sacrifice, died in our place. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:09.059 Yet the tragedy of this chapter is that it began with a crowd of about 20,000 people, 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:14.079 and it ends with just a dozen. 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:15.679 About just a dozen. 00:14:16.439 --> 00:14:19.279 You see, thousands of people had witnessed a stunning miracle. 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:22.059 Thousands of people had heard Jesus speak, 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:27.740 and thousands had rejected him and walked away. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:31.080 So my second, my final point is this. 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:33.580 The saviour who divides. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:36.600 The saviour who divides. 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:42.539 For it's possible for us to identify three separate categories of people 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:46.740 mentioned by John in this last section of the chapter. 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:52.279 And each one of us here, sitting here, will fit into one category or another. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:53.120 Where do you come? 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:55.879 The first category is that of followers. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:57.680 Followers. 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.019 You see, in the first two years of Jesus' public ministry, 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:03.360 he attracted a lot of attention. 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:05.320 Well, little wonder that he did that. 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.480 He was performing amazing miracles, 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:11.560 such as healing the sick and feeding the hungry. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:15.700 And he was teaching some amazing and glorious truths. 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:20.060 And he was showing amazing compassion to individuals. 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:23.339 And in the context of a country like this, 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:27.939 with its rich history and yet occupied by the Roman army, 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:33.759 he initially, Jesus initially appeared to many as the conquering deliverer, 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:36.079 this Messiah that they had been expecting, 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:40.819 who they thought was going to come and throw out the occupiers 00:15:40.819 --> 00:15:45.139 and give dominance back to Israel itself. 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:47.899 So around him flock large numbers. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:54.779 Freedom fighters, outcasts, the spiritually hungry, the dispossessed. 00:15:54.779 --> 00:16:03.000 And for two years, Jesus was followed by this large but motley crew. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:12.340 But it was these who began to leave him in large numbers at this point in the story. 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:16.240 These are actually the ones that John refers to as disciples. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:23.080 We just need to be canny enough to see this in verses 60 to 61 and verse 66. 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.159 Let me give you three reasons why they left. 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:33.180 Number one, I'd say mental laziness. 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:34.399 Mental laziness. 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:37.560 Because there in verse 60, they say, this is a hard teaching. 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:39.620 Who can accept it? 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:45.379 See, there were things that Jesus was saying that they weren't prepared to think through. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:51.779 They struggle over the picture language of eating flesh and drinking blood. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:57.240 They fail to grasp the truth behind the metaphor, behind the picture. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:03.039 And today, there are some issues that cause people to stumble 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.120 because they don't take the time to think through them sufficiently. 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:13.180 For example, we as Orthodox Christians, gladly as biblical Christians, 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:17.740 say we believe in the Trinity, the God who is three in one and one in three. 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:19.299 And people go, oh, it's too tough. 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:20.560 I can't believe that. 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:24.320 Or there's the issue of God's control over everything. 00:17:24.460 --> 00:17:27.340 You know, we declare God is sovereign and he is ruling. 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:30.560 And people go, well, I look around and how can that be? 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.080 Or there's the issue of God's holy anger. 00:17:34.820 --> 00:17:37.500 That must deal with sin, the justice of God. 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:39.619 And people say, oh, I don't get that. 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:42.980 I want justice, but I don't want justice for me. 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:48.079 And there's the issue of Jesus dying in the place of sinful people. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:50.940 And it's not something that is taken in. 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:52.779 It's not something that is thought about. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.380 So you see, we have mental laziness. 00:17:57.720 --> 00:17:59.599 But then secondly, there's personal interest. 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:01.779 Verse 61, we read this. 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:14.839 See, what was offending them was Christ teaching that it wasn't enough just to follow the law of Moses to get into heaven. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.500 What offended was Jesus pointing to the fact that he was going to give his life and he was going to spill his blood. 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:25.460 And only by total commitment to that work might people be saved. 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:39.559 And what offends maybe some people here, I don't know, what they can't get their head around is the Bible's teaching that salvation is a grace gift from God. 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:42.700 It's not something that you could merit. 00:18:42.840 --> 00:18:45.700 It's not something that you could earn. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:51.259 It's entirely of God's grace from start to finish. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:19:00.619 And it offends people to tell them that they are not good enough, even the religious, even the moral people who gather here at Brunsfield. 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:03.920 Your religion will not save you. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:10.619 I have many good Muslim friends and have been thinking and praying for them during this time of Ramadan. 00:19:10.619 --> 00:19:17.339 But the whole time that I would engage in conversation and talk to them about the Christian faith, 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:22.879 we were just missing each other by miles because they were saying, but I need to do this. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:28.839 Maybe, maybe Allah will receive me if I do all these things, the five pillars of Islam. 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:36.599 And if I keep the fast and if I go on the pilgrimage and give charitably and stuff like that. 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:39.759 And I'm saying, but you can't keep that perfectly. 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.119 The Christian faith proclaims it is not by our works. 00:19:44.199 --> 00:19:46.699 It is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:48.319 It is his work completely. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:50.059 And that offends some people. 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:53.620 Personal interest. 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:56.220 But then thirdly, I notice with them spiritual blindness. 00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:59.240 Verses 63 to 64. 00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:00.460 The spirit gives life. 00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:02.319 The flesh counts for nothing. 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:05.460 The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the spirit and life. 00:20:05.840 --> 00:20:08.720 Yet there are some of you who do not believe. 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:14.840 I wonder, have you ever tried explaining color to a blind man? 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:16.699 You know, he just won't be able to get it. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.399 It's outside the categories that he has. 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:22.379 It's impossible to describe. 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.259 The only way he will ever understand it is for his eyes to be opened. 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:36.420 And Jesus was saying that there were some there who just couldn't get what he was saying because it had to be spiritually discerned. 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:48.100 And I realize that the only way that some people here will ever understand is for God to do a miracle and to open their spiritually blind eyes. 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:53.759 Maybe you've been coming to this church for, I don't know, weeks, months, years even. 00:20:53.879 --> 00:20:55.039 And you say, well, they're nice people. 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:58.319 They're lovely people and love the music and just love being with them. 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.319 But I don't get this. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:00.980 I don't get this Jesus thing. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:01.980 I don't get this grace thing. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:04.799 I don't get this Jesus dying on the cross in my place. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:10.099 Look, if you're in that category, just pray and see God and say, open my eyes. 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:11.439 Because I'm not seeing it. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:16.320 I need my eyes to be opened by your grace and by your mercy. 00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:28.600 And as a church, pray and pray and pray again that friends and colleagues and family who do not follow Jesus would have their eyes opened that they might see. 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:31.080 So there were the followers. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:34.519 But then the second category of people here were the believers. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.039 Verses 67 to 69. 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:40.680 You do not want to leave too, do you? 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:42.139 Jesus asked the 12. 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:45.559 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:47.599 You have the words of eternal life. 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:52.839 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God. 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:57.740 You see, here's the difference between followers and true believers. 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:02.399 Followers will leave when the going gets tough. 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:06.899 Followers will leave when their own interests are challenged. 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:13.940 Followers will leave when stronger relationships replace their affection for Jesus. 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:17.360 But believers won't. 00:22:20.040 --> 00:22:21.800 Believers stay. 00:22:22.040 --> 00:22:24.000 Believers last the course. 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:28.600 Believers are those truly born again by the Spirit of God. 00:22:28.780 --> 00:22:30.840 Let me give you three quick reasons why. 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:33.040 Number one, because they've heard the words of Jesus. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:38.119 You see, Peter said, you have the words of eternal life. 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:40.940 In essence, what the 12 was saying was this. 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:46.299 What you say to us, Jesus has met our deepest need and has delivered us from our sins. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.440 It's freed us from our fears. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.279 Your words, Lord, are the most remarkable words we've ever heard. 00:22:52.639 --> 00:22:54.519 They explain us. 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:57.900 They explain life to us. 00:22:57.960 --> 00:22:58.900 They satisfy us. 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:00.720 Nobody speaks like you do. 00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:03.759 Nobody understands life like you do. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.220 That holds us. 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:07.859 And it's the same for so many of us here. 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:09.639 It is the words of Jesus. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.319 It is the words of truth. 00:23:11.639 --> 00:23:13.980 That is why this is a Bible church. 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:21.799 Because those who know and love Jesus as their Lord and Savior are those who love this word. 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:25.860 Because they've heard the words of Jesus. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.200 Secondly, because they've seen the work of Jesus. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:32.980 See, for two years, these men had been in the close company of Jesus. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:35.579 Not only had they witnessed his miracles. 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:37.440 Not only had they heard his words. 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:39.000 But they'd witnessed his character. 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:44.319 And what Jesus said tied in precisely with the life that he lived. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:52.640 And from our vantage point now, we've seen so much more. 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:55.299 We've seen the cross. 00:23:55.859 --> 00:23:57.640 And we've seen the empty tomb. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:59.400 We remembered it last week. 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:03.180 Love so amazing. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:06.900 So divine demands my soul. 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:08.339 My life. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:09.799 My all. 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:11.319 We've seen the work of Jesus. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.500 We understand the work of Jesus in ways deeper. 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:20.859 I think the third reason is this. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:23.660 Because they've recognized the worth of Jesus. 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:26.500 Because they've recognized the worth of Jesus. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:27.839 They say in verse 69, 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:34.720 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:38.460 See, they'd recognize Jesus for who he really is. 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.579 He is the promised Messiah. 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:42.180 He is God's deliverer. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.940 God's son. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:44.700 He is God incarnate. 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:46.100 He is the prince of glory. 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:48.340 He is the creator of all things. 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:50.160 And the sustainer of all things. 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.540 And when you've grasped that. 00:24:52.540 --> 00:24:52.580 And when you've grasped that. 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:57.720 Little wonder they should ask, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:02.140 For nothing compares to Christ. 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:06.380 He is the one who is supremely worthy. 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.519 There is none like him. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:11.000 No one comes close to our Jesus. 00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:14.599 They've recognized the worth of Jesus. 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:16.200 And when your eyes have been opened. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:17.680 And you see Jesus. 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:22.059 Oh, you stay with Jesus. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:23.500 You love Jesus. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:25.700 So there are followers. 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.539 There are believers. 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:31.920 But the final category is there are deceivers. 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:39.180 For Peter had spoken those wonderful words on behalf of the 12 chosen disciples who remained. 00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:48.619 But Jesus knew in reality there was still one deceiver among them for whom those words were not true. 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:52.079 So we read this in verses 70 to 71. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:58.159 Then Jesus replied, have I not chosen you, the 12, yet one of you is a devil? 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:03.960 He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who though one of the 12 was later to betray. 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:14.879 And if I'm to be faithful to God's word before us, to this passage, I must alert you to the dangerous truth. 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:19.859 That it's possible to think that you're part of God's people. 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:23.959 When all along, you're not. 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:27.779 You're deceiving yourself. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:31.219 But you're not deceiving God. 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:36.240 And I fear there might be some here, I don't know, 00:26:38.159 --> 00:26:44.699 who think they are Christ's when all along they actually have never placed their trust in him. 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:46.559 They've never been born again. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:55.539 They've never come to that point of repenting of their sins and throwing themselves completely upon the finished work of Jesus. 00:26:57.859 --> 00:26:59.419 You're just going through the motions. 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:01.659 Sunday by Sunday. 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:03.079 You're just playing the game. 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:05.139 You're just acting the part. 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:09.280 So my plea is this. 00:27:10.620 --> 00:27:13.259 Become a true believer in Christ even today. 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:16.200 We know it didn't happen for Judas. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.580 And the role he had to play in the death and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:22.860 But my friend, you may be here. 00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:25.160 You may think, but what will others think of me? 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:31.080 My friends, you have an opportunity to come in faith to Christ. 00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:33.519 To repent of your sin. 00:27:33.600 --> 00:27:34.920 To put your trust in him. 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:36.920 To be born again by his spirit. 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:39.900 To be ready for eternity. 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:45.180 And my plea with you is that you become not a follower. 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:48.140 My plea is that you become a believer. 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:50.720 In the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:53.060 --> 00:27:53.720 Let's pray. 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.259 Father, we want to thank you for these words that we've read. 00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:08.680 Father, we have to say when we heard them read to us, they seemed quite complex and intense. 00:28:08.840 --> 00:28:15.800 But Father, thank you that we can grasp that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is the bread. 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:19.539 That he is the one that we need to feed upon. 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:22.919 Not in a real physical way, but in a spiritual way. 00:28:25.139 --> 00:28:26.200 To trust him. 00:28:26.299 --> 00:28:27.279 To rest in him. 00:28:27.419 --> 00:28:32.159 And to know all the benefits that come through knowing him as Lord and Savior. 00:28:32.919 --> 00:28:37.919 Father, those of us here this morning who do know and love Jesus, we thank you again for saving us. 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:40.759 For bringing us into your family. 00:28:40.919 --> 00:28:42.159 For forgiving our sins. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:48.759 Thank you that we know we are joined to Christ and nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in him. 00:28:50.540 --> 00:28:51.900 Father, keep us faithful. 00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:54.400 Keep us loving Jesus. 00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:57.500 Keep on giving us a bigger vision. 00:28:58.320 --> 00:28:59.620 Of who he is. 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:03.580 That we might be delighted. 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:12.279 That we might be enraptured by the wonder of the Savior who gave himself for sinners like us. 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:13.639 Hear us. 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:15.139 Help us, we pray. 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:16.799 In Jesus' name. 00:29:17.419 --> 00:29:17.759 Amen.