Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John

John 6:22-29 07/17/05

Message: ‘Jesus: My All In All’                                                                              Text: John 6:22-71
 

Introduction:  Ravi Zacharias tells the following true story. “Two years ago, a woman in my audience wrote to invite me to visit her, if I could. A few weeks ago, I was in her home city, along with my teammate and my wife. The woman was suffering from AIDS and by that time was dying. She had come here two years ago knowing she had AIDS. She hungered for something more than she had found in life. She had found Christ and came here for the deeper teaching and enrichment. When we walked into her apartment, she was absolutely surprised. I'll never forget her expression. Her mom and dad stood next to her with a friend. She looked like a bag of just bones--a pathetic sight. She muttered words of gratitude that we had come. We spoke with her and prayed with her. When I turned to leave, I noticed a book on her table: The Hunger for Significance by R. C. Sproul. In her loneliest moment, her greatest hunger was being filled, her hunger for significance. Jesus Christ gave her life new meaning. That's what our faith in Christ can do. People are able to endure life's unavoidable tragedies. Today she is with her Lord.” 
 
(Ravi Zacharias, "If the Foundations Be Destroyed," Preaching Today, Tape No. 142)
 

What is it that you’re hungering for in life?
        Financial security; a more loving and fulfilling marriage; an increased sense of who you are?

In and of themselves, these are all desirable goals. But truth be told, they will never satisfy the way we hope they will. Yet, we continue to strive for what will eventually leave us empty looking for something more, something else.

Is there something greater, a deeper hunger in all of us? Yes. But we suppress it until God works to open our eyes to what he offers to bring lasting satisfaction and complete fulfillment to our life. What is it that God wants us to hunger for in life?

Read: Matt. 5:6a ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’

Righteousness….a right standing before God? How do we become righteous?

Read: Romans 5:19 ‘For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.’

We don’t work to become righteous, we are made righteous. How?

Read: Gal 3:11b ‘The righteous will live by faith.’

OK, so we are made righteous by Faith. Faith in what…in who?

Read: 2 Tim. 3:14-15 ‘But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.’

Righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ.

And what does God promise to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin and the promise of eternal life?

Read: Matt. 5:6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled’ Another way of saying that is ‘They will be satisfied’.

This background is important so we don’t miss what Jesus is saying in our text, like those in the crowd did.
Jesus will say that your hungers are short lived and will never be fully satisfied. Just like trying to live a good life to obtain eternal life, a right standing before God, righteousness. It will never happen.

But, Jesus will tell them, and us this morning that he has something that will last, that will bring you fulfillment and complete satisfaction in life…himself.

Transition: Open your Bibles to John 6:22 (pg. 814 in the church Bible) Where we will see that while Jesus wants to satisfy the hunger in the people’s soul, all they are looking for was to have the hunger in their stomachs filled.

1. John 6:22-24    Looking For Jesus
Read: John 6:22-24

Here is the same crowd what had been fed, miraculously by Jesus the day before, and they were looking for him. Why? Perhaps I am a bit cynical but can it be they were hungry again? Jesus had satisfied their hunger by filling their stomachs, he had met their immediate need and they liked it.

Isn’t that a Jesus you would want around? One that does what you want, when you want it?

Transition: Jesus, knowing their hearts…and hungers, confronts them.

2. John 6:25-27    Wrong & Right Work
Read: John 6:25-27

There are 5 truths we need to understand about Jesus comments to the crowd.

1.    Jesus beings by saying ‘I tell you the truth’. When he says that, our ears should perk up and we should pay especially close attention to what he will say as it is the absolute truth from Almighty God, Himself.

2.    Jesus confirms my suspicions. The people were looking for a free lunch, they were searching for Jesus not because of the miracle, but because they were hungry…their stomachs were beginning to growl. Jesus rebukes them for their material/physical motivation and their lack of spiritual perception.

    Just like many today who want Jesus to be the dispenser of good stuff, the bearer of  unending blessings but not the Lord of their lives. That’s because their priority, their focus is the physical not the spiritual.

3.    When Jesus told them not to work for food that spoils, he wasn’t saying they shouldn’t work to earn a living to get the things they need to survive like food, clothing, shelter. He was saying that shouldn’t be their primary focus in life. Instead they should work, strive, hunger for that which lasts, that which is eternal, that which is spiritual.

    Sounds a lot like what the Apostle Matthew wrote when Jesus said ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.’ (Matt. 6:33) All what things? All the physical, material things you need to live.
   
    Jesus asks the same question to you this morning…what are you working for? What  is your passion, what hunger is deep in your stomach that you just haven’t been able to satisfy?

    Jesus promises to provide what we need, all we need, even many of the desires of our heart, when our priorities, our focus is right: when our passion, our hunger is for righteousness and the kingdom of God.

4.    I want you to notice that even though the crowd was way off base, because Jesus had compassion on them, he still told them where they could get this food which  will not spoil….from Him. The phrase ‘give you’ implies giving as a gift. Jesus is contrasting bread that is earned by work (the kind that spoils) with the bread that is given as a free gift and will never spoil because it brings eternal life.

5.    Finally Jesus once again proclaims his divinity by saying that God has placed his seal of approval on him. I am not a Greek expert but if I translate this correctly, it literally reads ‘For this one the Father has sealed, the  God’. Jesus is saying that the Father has sealed him, authenticated Jesus to be God.

Transition: The crowd understood exactly what Jesus had just said. So they ask him to prove his divinity.

3. John 6:28-29    The Work of God
Read: John 6:28-29

I believe this was an honest question. Not unlike what we often hear. ‘What do I need to do to go to heaven?’ ‘What can I do to please God and then earn eternal life?’ To the Jewish crowd, heaven was earned by good works, like following the Law of Moses.

Sound familiar? People today think the same thing. As long as I do good things, I will please God and he will let me into heaven. And Christians today have been guilty of teaching some of the same things these Jews believed…

    You need to stop drinking and go to Jesus.
    You need to stop the drugs, stop the lying, stop the…whatever and go to Jesus.

We are often guilty of telling people that BEFORE they can be accepted by Jesus they must clean up their act. That’s a salvation by works. Listen again to what Jesus tells the Jews of his day and us today.

Read: John 6:29

Jesus directly contradicts the peoples understanding of eternal life. And Jesus contradicts our bad theology when we tell people they need to do something, like clean up their life, before God will accept them.

We can never please God, we can never earn eternal life by doing good works, good things, or by living what we consider a good life.

There is only one work of God, one thing God requires for eternal life, for righteousness, a right standing before God..just one thing. Belief. Belief. Belief in Jesus. It is believing even when you don’t understand everything.

It is belief like the man in Mark 9 had. ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’. It is being honest with God and saying that while I don’t know nor do I understand everything about you, I believe in Jesus, help me to believe in him more.

Jesus was telling the crowd that salvation, eternal life, being fulfilled and satisfied in life is a matter of believing in him, not how hard you work to live a good life…just believe. It was that simple. And it still is today.

Conclusion

Perhaps you are here and you have been told that you had to clean up your life in order for God to accept you.

Perhaps you are here and your have been told that in order for God to forgive your sins allow you into heaven when you die, you had to stop doing something and start doing something else..like going to church.

I am going to say something that may shock some of you this morning. But I believe I am saying what Jesus said to the crowd in our text.

Don’t listen to what you were told. Forget it. God loves, will accept and forgive you just as you are. There is only one requirement…belief. Do you believe in Jesus?

Let me tell you what belief is: Belief is an assurance. Just as you believe the chair you are sitting on will not suddenly break and fall. It is having trust in something or in this case someone…Jesus. Belief that he won’t let you down, no matter what.

It’s believing and asking God to help you believe more. Believe what specifically?

    That you are a sinner in need of a savior.
    That you are unable to do anything to save yourself. You can never be good enough to earn a spot in heaven.
    That Jesus’ death on the cross brings forgiveness for your sin. That he died for you.
    That the forgiveness Jesus offers, opens heavens gates and gives you eternal life and makes you a part of God’s family, forever.

It’s that simple. Do you believe in Jesus?

If you do, you will learn that Jesus alone is enough to bring you complete fulfillment and lasting satisfaction in life…now and forever.

Do you believe?