WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.860 Hey, it's good to be back with you guys. Thank 00:00:01.860 --> 00:00:04.820 you for letting me be gone last week. Celebrated 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:09.800 31 years of marriage. Heck yeah. That was all 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:12.560 right. So I gotta, I gotta, I'll just stop right 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.080 there. My wife says you get in trouble when you 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:16.899 start doing that and start talking about her, 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:19.920 so. Hey, a couple little things about, one more 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:21.800 thing that Jared missed. He didn't talk about 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:25.219 how good the barbecue's gonna be. Right now, 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.219 just a little sneak peek, we're working on having 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:30.300 barbecue on Saturday. So we're having a meal 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:34.780 like at 5 o 'clock. And we're working on possibly 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:39.960 doing an entire pig. I don't know if that's going 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.039 to work, but that's what we're working on with 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:46.200 the apple in it. And, you know, if any of you 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.679 shoot a bear and you want to donate the bear, 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:50.240 we might be able to do the bear on the other 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.049 side of the cooker. It's just kind of Alaska 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:57.429 pig. That's all it is. Some of you are like, 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:02.170 that's gross. No, it's not. It's wonderful. All 00:01:02.170 --> 00:01:05.230 right. So I'm going to try to pray with a little 00:01:05.230 --> 00:01:08.650 less feedback. We're going to do this. Hey, you 00:01:08.650 --> 00:01:10.890 guys, if you haven't got a Bible, there's one 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:12.750 in the back. The blue one is. That's for you. 00:01:12.989 --> 00:01:14.790 Take that home. We're in the Gospel of John. 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:17.469 We're going to unpack it this morning. But first, 00:01:17.590 --> 00:01:20.849 before I start talking and just blowing it out 00:01:20.849 --> 00:01:23.079 of my mouth here. We need the Holy Spirit to 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:27.640 do the work, right? So will you pray with me 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.799 and we'll just ask the Lord to do the work as 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:34.719 we unpack these verses this morning. Lord, man, 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:42.019 we all face just tremendous amounts of challenges 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:47.560 and problems and hurdles and things throughout 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.870 our everyday week, day. For those in the room 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:54.209 right now, Lord, that are facing some really 00:01:54.209 --> 00:01:58.170 serious challenges, I pray you will meet them 00:01:58.170 --> 00:02:02.090 there this morning. Jesus, you are the fixer 00:02:02.090 --> 00:02:05.430 of our problems. You are the one that meets us 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:09.490 in our darkest place. So Jesus, as we go in this 00:02:09.490 --> 00:02:11.990 morning and we unpack this section in John, which 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:14.830 is such a cool story, I pray that by your spirit 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:17.449 that you will meet us right where we sit in all 00:02:17.449 --> 00:02:22.460 of our stuff. Thank you that we don't have to 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:24.259 come here this morning having it all together. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.060 Thank you that in all of our brokenness, your 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:36.219 arms are extended. You just say, look to me. 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:39.580 Come to me. That's what we want to do this morning. 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:46.000 Amen. Kind of fading in and out, guys. We're 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.680 all right? All right, we'll go. If not, I'll 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.509 grab the handheld. Hey, on Wednesday morning, 00:02:51.830 --> 00:02:59.189 I got the news that Mike Donaldson, who was the 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:01.909 very first elder at the very first Radiant Church 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:08.090 in Fairbanks, went to be with Jesus. I think 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:10.389 I mentioned to you that in January that I was 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:12.229 going up there to go spend some time with him, 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:15.849 and it was really good. And so for about the 00:03:15.849 --> 00:03:19.669 last 30 years, Mike and I... have served alongside 00:03:19.669 --> 00:03:25.330 each other in ministry. So rewind back even farther. 00:03:25.409 --> 00:03:28.189 When Tracy and I were first married, we jumped 00:03:28.189 --> 00:03:30.210 right into being involved with Young Life, and 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:35.330 Mike was a volunteer leader there. And my kids 00:03:35.330 --> 00:03:38.150 grew up. I don't think I've ever not known Mike. 00:03:39.449 --> 00:03:43.969 But he was a good brother, and he was a brother 00:03:43.969 --> 00:03:50.969 who loved Jesus. Yes, but it's a bit sobering 00:03:50.969 --> 00:03:53.050 because you have somebody you've done so much 00:03:53.050 --> 00:04:02.009 life with, and now they're gone. And so, it really 00:04:02.009 --> 00:04:03.789 caused me to do a lot of thinking this week, 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:09.090 as you can imagine. When you experience death, 00:04:09.189 --> 00:04:11.349 especially when somebody is so close to you, 00:04:11.469 --> 00:04:15.250 or someone who you've spent so much time with, 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:17.910 you start thinking about really what matters 00:04:17.910 --> 00:04:22.550 most, don't you? I mean, it's, so I found myself 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:28.370 just constantly thinking, in fact, Thursday night, 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:32.209 I think it was, no, Wednesday night is when I 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:34.269 heard about it. Thursday night I was supposed 00:04:34.269 --> 00:04:37.709 to, I couldn't sleep for hours, just laying there 00:04:37.709 --> 00:04:39.350 and just rehearsing, and it wasn't bad, it was 00:04:39.350 --> 00:04:42.290 just good things. Memories of the past, memories 00:04:42.290 --> 00:04:45.899 of times that, We struggled and challenged together. 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:50.019 But what I found myself doing is I found myself 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:52.620 thinking, really as you boiled it all down to, 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.040 I found myself really honestly thinking about 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.519 Jesus. I found myself thinking about Jesus and 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:04.480 eternity and how temporary life is. Death will 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:10.420 do that for you, won't it? Our lives are so packed 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:14.519 with the temporary things of this world. House 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:20.379 projects, family struggles, work problems, politics, 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:23.839 world news. I could just go on and on and on 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:25.779 and you can sit in your chair right now and think 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:28.560 about what it is that's packing your life full 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:31.720 of stuff. I'm not saying those aren't important 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:35.160 things and many of them are very important. And 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.870 many of them, but... My question is, where in 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:42.029 all of those struggles, in all of the chaos, 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:46.110 in all of the packed everything in our life moments, 00:05:46.329 --> 00:05:53.930 where is Jesus in all of that? Who is Jesus to 00:05:53.930 --> 00:06:03.910 you in the middle of all of that? Are your eyes 00:06:03.910 --> 00:06:06.730 on Jesus? That's what I found myself when I was 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:10.089 thinking about Mike and all of the history. That's 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:15.750 what it came back down to. And so as we've been 00:06:15.750 --> 00:06:18.589 walking verse by verse, letter by letter through 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:21.610 this gospel of John, you can't walk away from 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:23.889 not studying John and it's not pointing us to 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:28.110 Jesus over and over and over again. In fact, 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:33.689 two weeks ago in John chapter 5, I said that 00:06:33.689 --> 00:06:36.610 the focus was, A call to us to look to Jesus. 00:06:36.750 --> 00:06:38.050 And that's why we have these little bracelets. 00:06:38.269 --> 00:06:40.250 And I think there's more in the back if you want 00:06:40.250 --> 00:06:42.250 one. If not, we'll get them out, throw them on 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:45.689 there. I'm sure there's plenty of them. Just 00:06:45.689 --> 00:06:48.910 a reminder to look to Jesus with everything. 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:54.990 Last week, Jared unpacked this idea of come to 00:06:54.990 --> 00:06:59.569 Jesus. Come to Jesus. Don't just look at him, 00:06:59.629 --> 00:07:03.420 come to him. Move toward him. And this week, 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.019 I believe our text is really pushing in front 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:09.339 of us this question of what do we really think 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:17.500 Jesus is? What do we really think Jesus is? Like, 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:19.759 yeah, you're like, yeah, he's God. We talk about, 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:24.199 okay, at a deep, deep level. And so we're going 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:27.120 to, as we enter into the gospel, John is constantly 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:31.300 challenging us to make much of Jesus. It is unapologetically, 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:34.040 it is massively, like every week you're going 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:35.980 to hear like this over and over, what are you 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:43.279 doing with Jesus? Is he Savior and is he really 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:45.879 Lord of your life? That's what John is pushing 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.740 in front of us all the time. Is he really your 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:54.500 Savior? And I think the bigger question is, is 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:58.920 he continuing to be Lord of your life? And so, 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:03.300 As we enter into chapter 6, chapter 6 is one 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:07.040 of the most important chapters in this entire 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.779 gospel. Why? Well, because it challenges us to 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:16.220 think about how important Jesus is to us. How 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:22.180 serious are you about following him? How important 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:29.069 is Jesus really to you? I can't stand up here 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:31.189 and throw that kind of question in front of you 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.649 if I'm not wrestling with it myself. I think 00:08:33.649 --> 00:08:35.129 that's one of the things that God did with my 00:08:35.129 --> 00:08:37.190 heart this week as I'm working through this and 00:08:37.190 --> 00:08:39.090 as I experienced the death of my good friend 00:08:39.090 --> 00:08:46.149 Mike. How serious am I about Jesus? I think in 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:48.070 North American church, man, we give a lot of, 00:08:48.169 --> 00:08:50.870 there's not a lot of seriousness when it comes 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:53.549 to Jesus. We may all say, oh yeah, I believe 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:57.960 in him. How deep is it for you? And so I think 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.200 chapter 6 is going to challenge us in that. Now, 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:04.059 it's a massive chunk, and today is just going 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:07.059 to be part one of what could be four parts. I'm 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:10.460 going to try to do it in two. I'm not going to 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:12.840 do 71 verses in one week, though. I guarantee 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:16.000 that. I can't. I'm not that good. But there is 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.879 so much packed in here, and so I encourage you, 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:19.559 even just on your own, read through it over and 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:24.460 over. It is a very critical... And here's why 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:26.600 I think one of the reasons we know it's so critical 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.559 is that this story that we're going to unpack 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:31.840 today is in every one of the Gospels, all four. 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:34.419 And you know what the only other story that's 00:09:34.419 --> 00:09:37.340 in every one of the Gospels? The resurrection 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:42.039 of Jesus. So this is a pretty big deal. And so 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:44.980 all of... But here's the thing. All of chapter 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:50.220 6 takes place in a 24 -hour period. And so... 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:54.830 Here's something else you need to know as we 00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:57.830 go through these verses. And this really kind 00:09:57.830 --> 00:09:59.929 of came alive to me as I studied it this week. 00:10:00.049 --> 00:10:02.470 That Moses, from the Old Testament, the book 00:10:02.470 --> 00:10:07.029 of Exodus, Moses in the Old Testament, and what 00:10:07.029 --> 00:10:11.730 God did through Moses is a major thread in chapter 00:10:11.730 --> 00:10:15.129 6. So I'm going to go back and forth between 00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:18.419 Moses. and Jesus in this situation. But if you 00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:20.340 know your Bibles at all, man, let's keep going 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:22.799 back to what went on with Moses, because there's 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:27.120 a thread there. First of all, to the Jews in 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.620 Jesus' day, you need to understand how big a 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:33.100 deal Moses was. And we understand him. If in 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:34.960 the church, you've heard of Moses, if you read 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:38.059 your Bible, he's there. But to the Jew in that 00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:42.700 day, he was their great hero. In their eyes, 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:45.600 he was responsible for bringing them out of Egypt. 00:10:46.090 --> 00:10:51.029 and leading a whole nation. He was the greatest 00:10:51.029 --> 00:10:55.509 spiritual leader they ever had. They put Moses 00:10:55.509 --> 00:11:01.250 way up there on a pedestal. He was the one that 00:11:01.250 --> 00:11:04.549 went up on the mountain to meet with God and 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:07.029 to receive the commandments of God that they 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:12.809 were called to live by. To the Jews, this reverence 00:11:12.809 --> 00:11:16.309 for Moses is the background. In John chapter 00:11:16.309 --> 00:11:19.789 6. You have to understand that. So if you look 00:11:19.789 --> 00:11:24.230 back at John chapter 5, starting in verse 41, 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:29.029 it says this. For if you believed Moses, you 00:11:29.029 --> 00:11:31.870 would believe me. Jesus is what Jesus is saying. 00:11:31.889 --> 00:11:34.870 If you believe Moses, because I know he's a big 00:11:34.870 --> 00:11:38.029 deal to you all. Like we don't get the weight 00:11:38.029 --> 00:11:41.769 of that. But if you believe Moses, you would 00:11:41.769 --> 00:11:46.230 believe me. Because he wrote about me. That's 00:11:46.230 --> 00:11:48.629 what he says in verse 5. And so in chapter 5, 00:11:48.690 --> 00:11:53.269 Jesus connects himself to Moses. Now in chapter 00:11:53.269 --> 00:11:58.850 6, we discover that God has sent a greater Moses 00:11:58.850 --> 00:12:01.529 to rescue his people. So when you think of Moses, 00:12:01.690 --> 00:12:04.330 you have to also think of Jesus as a greater 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:07.590 Moses. That's how he's attaching himself to it, 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:12.809 okay? This rescuer, though, is Jesus. Moses was 00:12:12.809 --> 00:12:16.710 the rescuer. Jesus says, I'm greater. That's 00:12:16.710 --> 00:12:18.409 what's going on behind. So let's jump in verse 00:12:18.409 --> 00:12:22.250 1. We'll get the first four verses. After this, 00:12:22.429 --> 00:12:25.470 Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias. 00:12:25.789 --> 00:12:29.309 A huge crowd was following him because they saw 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:32.669 the signs that he was performing by healing the 00:12:32.669 --> 00:12:36.909 sick. Jesus went up a mountain, sat down there 00:12:36.909 --> 00:12:40.730 with his disciples. Now the Passover, a Jewish 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:45.669 festival, was near. One of the commentators said 00:12:45.669 --> 00:12:48.389 that as you look at these first four verses, 00:12:48.610 --> 00:12:53.470 the first four verses, the context is set. That 00:12:53.470 --> 00:12:57.809 Jesus is to be understood as a Moses -type figure. 00:12:58.509 --> 00:13:01.889 Okay? First four things you see. One is that 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:04.049 Jesus is leading a crowd just like Moses did. 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:07.649 Second thing is that the crowd is following Jesus 00:13:07.649 --> 00:13:14.159 because they saw the signs that he did. was the 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.639 one God used to bring plagues on Egypt. Those 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:24.320 signs gave the authority to him as one sent by 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.259 God. He gave him the role. He had a power. He 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:29.740 had a staff. He would do these things. And they 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:34.059 were like, whoa, he is connected to God. He comes 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:36.240 from God. The third thing is that his disciples 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.879 went up on a mountain. Moses and Joshua went 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:42.840 up on a mountain to receive the law from God. 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:47.600 Fourth thing is that the events took place during 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:51.980 the Passover. Passover was a yearly celebration 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:55.600 that celebrated God's rescue of his people from 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.120 Egypt. Incredibly important. You cannot read 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.700 your Bible and not realize how many times the 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:06.299 Passover comes up. Old and New Testament. It's 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:08.299 just constantly coming back to it because it's 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:11.179 a critical moment. They're coming, and so when 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:14.980 John drops this statement that it is the Passover, 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:19.659 this is a critical time when there's thousands 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:22.139 upon thousands of people going to Jerusalem to 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:25.600 celebrate this event that happened in the Exodus, 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:31.159 where God rescues his people from Egypt. Now 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:34.100 think about what it must have been like for Moses. 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:36.379 I want you to... Put yourself not only in the 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:38.759 shoes of the disciples today, but also sometimes 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:41.000 in the shoes of Moses and that involvement, okay? 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:42.519 So you're going to use your imagination. Go back 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:44.580 and forth. Think about what it must have been 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:48.580 like for Moses, who was tasked to lead one to 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:52.240 two million people out of Egypt into the desert. 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:59.019 God says, take them. Now, use your imagination. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:04.450 You're Moses. Up to two million people. There's 00:15:04.450 --> 00:15:07.409 no vehicles. There's no cars. There's no transportation. 00:15:07.769 --> 00:15:11.070 They're just walking into the wilderness. What 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:13.990 do we know about the desert wilderness? It's 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:19.610 a bad place. It's a hard place. What would the 00:15:19.610 --> 00:15:22.769 biggest problem be? Well, it's pretty simple. 00:15:22.929 --> 00:15:25.909 Food and water. What would you eat? What would 00:15:25.909 --> 00:15:28.889 you drink? Hey, you're drinking too much. We 00:15:28.889 --> 00:15:31.129 only have so many gallons, but there's a million 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:33.889 or two million of you, and you've got to drink 00:15:33.889 --> 00:15:36.350 water. How in the world is God going to provide 00:15:36.350 --> 00:15:40.669 that? So in the story of the Exodus, God would 00:15:40.669 --> 00:15:44.389 provide bread called manna. It would appear each 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:48.149 day, and they were taught each day to depend 00:15:48.149 --> 00:15:51.990 upon God. That was the theme. That was the theme 00:15:51.990 --> 00:15:55.500 of why the manna? You know, the crazy thing about 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:57.659 the man, if you remember the story, is every 00:15:57.659 --> 00:16:00.419 time in the morning it would appear and they 00:16:00.419 --> 00:16:03.679 were to eat what they needed. But if they collected 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:08.360 it, save it, what would happen to it? It'd rot. 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:14.179 Why? Because God wanted them to learn to depend 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:19.759 every day in every movement upon him. And so 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.179 he created this system. He provided water for 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:25.279 them. So in the worst of worst places, in the 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:30.500 biggest challenges, he said, trust me. Depend 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:36.600 upon me. Come to me. Like, I'll provide. Like 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.399 Moses, Jesus faced a similar problem. This huge 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:46.220 crowd had followed him. No food. Okay? So look 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:50.580 at verse 5. So when Jesus looked up and noticed 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.519 a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:59.519 where will we buy bread so that people can eat? 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:03.539 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:07.420 what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:12.740 200 denarii worth of bread wouldn't be enough 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:16.839 for each of them to have a little. One of his 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.079 disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother said 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:23.960 to him, there's a boy there who has five barley 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:29.220 loaves and two fish. What are they to so many? 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:34.119 Interesting little story. If you read it in all 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.700 four of the Gospels, you'll find that there's 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:38.400 slightly different angles to it. It's the same 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.920 story. Jesus is up on this hillside with his 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.079 disciples. And from the vantage point, he sees 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:48.059 this huge crowd coming toward him. And one of 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:50.000 the gospels that says he had great compassion 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.539 on them because they were like lost without a 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:54.220 shepherd, sheep without a shepherd or something 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.900 along that line. He says basically there's great 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:59.420 compassion. And the other gospels we see that 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:03.319 they all come and he sits there and he begins 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:07.500 to teach them. And there's an estimated 15 ,000 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:12.180 to 20 ,000 people. All four gospels tells us 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:15.769 what happened. And presumably, Jesus had taught 00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:17.990 them about the kingdom of God, and so they'd 00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:20.109 had time. And I don't know how in the world they 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:22.690 did this, but late in the day, they're hungry. 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:29.809 This is the problem. In Luke, it tells us that 00:18:29.809 --> 00:18:32.029 the disciples approached Jesus and said to him, 00:18:32.309 --> 00:18:35.369 in Luke it says this, send the crowds away so 00:18:35.369 --> 00:18:37.730 they can go into the surrounding villages and 00:18:37.730 --> 00:18:40.250 countrysides and find food. They had a solution. 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:43.859 We've got to stop the show. There's just too 00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:46.599 many people, and people are getting hungry. Lord, 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:48.839 they're glued to you, and what you have to say 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:50.640 is really good, but we've got to come up with 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:54.579 a plan here. You need to send them all away so 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:58.140 they can go get food. Notice what Jesus does 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:03.119 in verse 5 and 6. It says that he uses this situation 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:09.339 as a test. He asks his disciples, in a sense, 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:14.619 what do you do? What do we do? He turns to them, 00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:21.180 and he says, what do we do? Why does Jesus ask 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:23.339 this question? What do you think, church? By 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:24.880 the way, if you're new, we dialogue here every 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:27.720 so often, so it's okay. But if you were in this 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:29.920 situation, and Jesus looks to you, you're one 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.880 of his disciples, and you see this problem, they've 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:35.920 already brought the problem to Jesus, in the 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:37.200 sense of, like, you've got to send them away. 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:41.630 And he says, well, what do we do? What do you 00:19:41.630 --> 00:19:44.250 think? Why do you think Jesus asked them that 00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:51.390 question? What do you think? Why would Jesus 00:19:51.390 --> 00:19:53.450 just not deal with it? Like, oh yeah, you're 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:56.289 right. Why did he say, hey Craig, you're one 00:19:56.289 --> 00:20:02.369 of my disciples. What do we do, Craig? Why would 00:20:02.369 --> 00:20:08.190 Jesus pose that kind of question? What's that? 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:11.710 Test their faith. In what way? Like, how does 00:20:11.710 --> 00:20:21.630 he want to, what's he want from them? Yeah. Okay? 00:20:21.829 --> 00:20:23.609 There's no earthly way this is going to happen. 00:20:23.730 --> 00:20:25.049 Acknowledgement. Okay, what did you say, Craig? 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:31.809 Ah. He wanted them to believe in him. Maybe a 00:20:31.809 --> 00:20:36.329 belief on a deeper level. He wanted them to see 00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:39.849 who he really was. He's asking this question 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.269 because he wanted them to understand his power. 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:47.109 He wanted them to believe on a deep level. He's 00:20:47.109 --> 00:20:48.730 taking their faith and he's saying, okay, you 00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:51.509 may have some faith. Let's drive that faith deeper. 00:20:52.990 --> 00:20:58.230 Deeper into who I am. He wanted them to put him 00:20:58.230 --> 00:21:03.670 at the center. Ask the question back to Jesus, 00:21:03.869 --> 00:21:08.230 well, what do we do, Jesus? It's almost like 00:21:08.230 --> 00:21:09.769 Jesus was saying, hey, what do we do? And he 00:21:09.769 --> 00:21:12.849 goes, I don't know, what do we do? Turn your 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:16.329 gaze off of your own solving of a problem and 00:21:16.329 --> 00:21:22.730 get it back on Jesus. What do you do when problems... 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:25.750 What do you do, church, with the problems you 00:21:25.750 --> 00:21:30.309 face? I always think about this. I get the privilege 00:21:30.309 --> 00:21:34.220 of preaching God's Word. And I look out over 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:36.400 every one of you and I can see eyes looking back 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:38.460 at me and every one of you have a different set 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:44.720 of issues. Jesus knows that. He's willing to 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:47.619 meet you right there. So what do you do with 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:51.799 the problems? Maybe it's sickness. Maybe it's 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:54.059 just plagued with it. What do you do with the 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:58.180 conflict in your marriage? What do you do with 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:01.079 the challenges you're facing with your children? 00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:07.390 What about money problems? What about work problems? 00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:13.410 What do you do when you're falsely accused? What 00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:17.250 do you do when you've got to be struggling with 00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:21.470 addiction? What do you do when somebody's been 00:22:21.470 --> 00:22:28.170 unfaithful to you? What do you do when life seems 00:22:28.170 --> 00:22:34.130 to be unraveling? What is the problem that seems 00:22:34.130 --> 00:22:42.829 impossible for you? Give it to Jesus. Give it 00:22:42.829 --> 00:22:47.690 to Jesus. Let go. Let Jesus. Let go of the outcome. 00:22:50.410 --> 00:22:53.490 You're not just giving it to Jesus with an expectation. 00:22:53.589 --> 00:22:56.309 You're saying, God, I surrender all of it to 00:22:56.309 --> 00:23:03.750 you. Even the outcome. Trust. in Jesus. Walk 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:09.730 with Jesus through it. You know, a lot of times 00:23:09.730 --> 00:23:12.910 when we have a problem, we're trying to find 00:23:12.910 --> 00:23:15.869 a way around the problem. We're trying to find 00:23:15.869 --> 00:23:17.930 a way to get away from that problem. And when 00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:20.390 Jesus says that, many times that's not what we 00:23:20.390 --> 00:23:22.150 get to do. We have to walk through that problem. 00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:24.089 The question is, how are you walking through 00:23:24.089 --> 00:23:27.890 that problem? Are you walking with Jesus? Are 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:30.690 your eyes on Him? Then I'll walk through it. 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:33.799 Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. The verse that probably 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:37.220 has meant more to me over my life than any other 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:40.920 verse. It says, trust in the Lord with all of 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:45.599 your heart. And don't lean on your own understanding. 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:49.680 In all your ways, know Him. I love how the CSB 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:53.960 says that. I think we have that slide up there. 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:57.700 It says, trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:59.539 And don't lean on your own understanding. In 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:01.859 all your ways. One of the versions will say, 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:03.559 acknowledge Him. I like this one because it says, 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:08.799 know Him. He will make your paths straight. You 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.119 can make sense of it. Maybe not the timing you 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.259 want it to be. Maybe not the way you think it 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:19.319 should be, but in His way. This is what God is 00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:22.680 asking the Israelites in the wilderness. This 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:25.819 is what He's doing with them. Trust in the Lord 00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:29.319 with all things, guys. We're going into a desert. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:32.180 Are you kidding me? We're thirsty. If you walk 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:34.960 through the Exodus, you see how much they whine 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:37.339 and complain. And we're kind of hard on them, 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:42.240 right? But isn't that our daily challenge? To 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:46.319 trust Jesus with everything? This is the test 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:49.019 that he puts in front of his disciples. This 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:52.880 is also the test he puts in front of us. Look 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:57.980 what Andrew does in verse 9. In verse 9, he says 00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:02.099 he brings a boy who has five loaves and two fishes. 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:04.740 Just to kind of give you perspective of what 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:06.380 this is, because we don't even eat this way. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:12.640 Five barley loaves and two fishes. Barley loaves 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:15.299 were all the poor people ate, just so you know. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:19.119 And they were not very big. So I've got five 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:22.660 little Sailor Boy pilot bread cracker type things 00:25:22.660 --> 00:25:26.019 that... are here, it would not be anything more 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:30.220 than this. And in here is probably two or three 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:32.500 or four sardines, which is about the size of 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:34.740 the fish that they're talking about. And no, 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:42.519 I don't eat these on a regular basis. He pulls 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.460 them out and says, this is all we got. This is 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:52.400 all we got. Andrew says, Jesus, this is all I 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:55.400 got to offer. It's almost comical, isn't it? 00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:00.279 10 ,000, 15 ,000 people? Are you kidding me? 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:05.420 This is what? This is it? For a long time I thought 00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:07.480 about this, like, is he just being sarcastic? 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:10.299 Like, this doesn't make any sense. Like, this 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:13.400 is it. Look what Jesus does. Look at how Jesus 00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:17.799 responds to the problem and their solution. Look 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:21.079 at verse 10. Jesus said, have the people sit 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:28.339 down. Then there was plenty of grass for them 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:31.220 in that place. So they sat down and the men numbered 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:33.880 5 ,000. The reason we know there's 10 to 15 is 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.099 that when they numbered people, they only would 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:40.279 count the men in that culture. But men never 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.119 came alone. So we know that there's at least 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:45.779 that many more people. So that's why they say 00:26:45.779 --> 00:26:50.079 10 to 15. I want you to picture this scene. They're 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:53.259 there on the hillside. Then Jesus took the loaves. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:57.559 And after doing what? That's why we give thanks 00:26:57.559 --> 00:27:01.779 for our food. Jesus said, give thanks. And then 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:05.960 he distributes to those who are seated. So also 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:09.400 with the fish, as much as they wanted. When they 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:11.839 had their full, he told the disciples, collect 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:14.579 the leftovers so that nothing is wasted. So then 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:17.079 they collected and filled 12 baskets with the 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:20.160 pieces from the barley loaves and what was left 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:26.059 over by those who had it. who had eaten. Just 00:27:26.059 --> 00:27:30.619 like Moses, Jesus miraculously feeds the multitude. 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:36.519 He takes five little loaves and two fish and 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:41.279 turns it into an all -you -can -eat buffet. Crazy. 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:44.259 You're like, really? This is the point you're 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:48.319 like, I don't know if I believe that. Okay. He's 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.200 either Lord, lunatic, or a liar. One of those 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:57.990 three. But he did it. Two things that stick out 00:27:57.990 --> 00:28:02.470 from this miracle or sign of Jesus. One, that 00:28:02.470 --> 00:28:08.089 he loves us. He meets our needs, whatever those 00:28:08.089 --> 00:28:11.710 are. The second thing is that the feeding of 00:28:11.710 --> 00:28:15.589 the 5 ,000 sets the stage for Jesus' teaching, 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:18.450 which is coming in the next chapters. This is 00:28:18.450 --> 00:28:21.630 a critical moment. What Jesus does here sets 00:28:21.630 --> 00:28:26.009 the stage for the future. That he is the bread 00:28:26.009 --> 00:28:27.730 of life. In fact, what he's going to do in the 00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:29.509 future, and we'll see this next week and on, 00:28:29.609 --> 00:28:32.490 is that he, in fact, somebody was telling me, 00:28:32.529 --> 00:28:35.890 it's crazy how many times in John he references 00:28:35.890 --> 00:28:40.210 himself as bread to be eaten. And he says, I'm 00:28:40.210 --> 00:28:43.450 the bread. He's going to go down that road, but 00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:46.309 we're not going to quite go there yet. God miraculously 00:28:46.309 --> 00:28:49.170 meets the needs of the people through his son. 00:28:51.150 --> 00:29:00.309 Jesus. So the bread or what you get is not the 00:29:00.309 --> 00:29:05.309 focus, though. Look at me, church. This isn't 00:29:05.309 --> 00:29:09.190 the focus. What you and I get is not the focus. 00:29:09.710 --> 00:29:11.970 The signs were not for that purpose, were they? 00:29:12.549 --> 00:29:16.369 Jesus was the focus. They were there to point 00:29:16.369 --> 00:29:21.019 our affections, our attention to Jesus. And so, 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:23.880 before we keep going in this story, think about 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:27.900 what you would do if you were one of those in 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:30.839 the crowd that had just been fed. You're on the 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.220 hillside, okay? I'm going to ask you to respond 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:37.420 to this. You're sitting on the hillside. You've 00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:41.500 just been fed as much as you can eat. And you 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:43.519 just experienced this buffet of God's provision. 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:51.019 How would you respond? What would be your response? 00:29:56.599 --> 00:30:03.839 Take a nap? Gratitude? Wow. I mean, you think 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:05.400 about all those people and they're just like, 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:10.039 where did this come from? How do they, we can 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:13.720 have as much as we want? Remember, if you're 00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:15.880 bringing barley loaves, good chance you're not 00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:19.319 got much money. And all of a sudden, you're just 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:23.039 eating whatever you can have. As much as you 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:25.099 want. And they're sitting around. There's a buzz. 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:30.019 It begins to happen. Let's look at how they responded, 00:30:30.180 --> 00:30:35.099 okay? Verse 14. John 6, verse 14 says, When the 00:30:35.099 --> 00:30:38.599 people saw the sign that he had done, they said, 00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:41.759 This is truly the prophet. Underline that in 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:43.920 your Bible. That's a critical word. Not prophet. 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:48.059 It's the prophet. Who is... to come into the 00:30:48.059 --> 00:30:52.720 world. Therefore, when Jesus realized that they 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:57.140 were about to come and take him by force and 00:30:57.140 --> 00:31:00.460 make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:03.200 by himself. Now, there's a lot going on. We're 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:05.259 going to touch a lot more of this on as we jump 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:08.359 in next week to this. But here's, they wanted 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:11.259 to follow Jesus as king. Good problem, right? 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:16.650 He just created a huge fan club. 20 ,000 people. 00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:23.690 He just met their needs. The king is here. Jesus 00:31:23.690 --> 00:31:26.529 is the king. And it's a king for their benefit. 00:31:26.730 --> 00:31:30.130 A king that would give them freedom over Rome. 00:31:30.410 --> 00:31:37.250 They wanted to make him their puppet. No, what? 00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:43.930 Yeah, they wanted to make him their puppet. Meaning, 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:50.119 They were wanting to follow Jesus because of 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:52.880 what he could do for them. This is what's going 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:59.319 on. The Jesus of the Bible is not our prophet. 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:08.160 He's not. But that is how we often treat him, 00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:13.500 isn't it? I'm guilty of it. We bargain with him. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.369 We follow him as long... is it works for us. 00:32:18.690 --> 00:32:22.650 We want the benefits and the blessings Jesus 00:32:22.650 --> 00:32:26.589 can give us without actually having to obey or 00:32:26.589 --> 00:32:31.269 to surrender to Him fully. That's what I struggle 00:32:31.269 --> 00:32:35.009 with. Every one of us in this room want what 00:32:35.009 --> 00:32:39.710 Jesus has for us. If you deny that, something's 00:32:39.710 --> 00:32:43.150 going on. Because what He gives is good. It's 00:32:43.150 --> 00:32:47.839 right. It's perfect, right? But what Jesus is 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:50.740 saying is, these things, what you really want 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:56.740 is me. Not the stuff. Jesus will address this 00:32:56.740 --> 00:33:00.240 later in chapter 6, but now he withdraws. He 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:02.079 sees what's going on, he knows their hearts, 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:05.759 and he withdraws into the mountain by himself. 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:10.539 Look at verse 16. When evening came, his disciples 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:14.140 went down to the sea, got into the boat, and 00:33:14.140 --> 00:33:17.430 started to cross the sea to Capernaum. Darkness 00:33:17.430 --> 00:33:20.789 had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come 00:33:20.789 --> 00:33:24.109 to them. A high wind rose and the sea began to 00:33:24.109 --> 00:33:29.309 turn. After they had rowed about three or four 00:33:29.309 --> 00:33:33.009 miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He 00:33:33.009 --> 00:33:35.769 was coming near the boat and they were afraid. 00:33:36.690 --> 00:33:41.690 But he said to them, it is I. Don't be afraid. 00:33:43.150 --> 00:33:46.289 Then they were willing. To take him on board. 00:33:46.390 --> 00:33:49.390 And at once, the boat was at the shore where 00:33:49.390 --> 00:33:52.789 they were heading. Now, if you read all the other 00:33:52.789 --> 00:33:55.230 accounts of this, it's crazy. It's like they're 00:33:55.230 --> 00:33:58.589 in this massive storm. And they're scared. These 00:33:58.589 --> 00:34:01.150 are fishermen. These are experienced boat people. 00:34:02.029 --> 00:34:05.089 Jesus had sent them across. And as you think 00:34:05.089 --> 00:34:10.030 about what we just read, we need to remember 00:34:10.030 --> 00:34:12.610 the story of Exodus and the Israelites. We've 00:34:12.610 --> 00:34:15.070 got to go back to that story again, right? In 00:34:15.070 --> 00:34:19.750 the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was in hot pursuit 00:34:19.750 --> 00:34:23.829 of the Israelites, led by this vengeful pharaoh 00:34:23.829 --> 00:34:26.150 who wanted them dead. He wanted to take them 00:34:26.150 --> 00:34:30.289 down for all the pain and suffering. Remember, 00:34:30.309 --> 00:34:32.050 he'd released them, and then he changed his mind 00:34:32.050 --> 00:34:34.610 again, and he was coming after them. But they're 00:34:34.610 --> 00:34:38.190 standing at the sea, this Red Sea, and the army's 00:34:38.190 --> 00:34:41.710 coming, and all they got is their stuff. They 00:34:41.710 --> 00:34:45.869 don't have any way to defend themselves. And 00:34:45.869 --> 00:34:48.190 they're facing this problem that just seemed 00:34:48.190 --> 00:34:50.769 bigger than they could ever imagine. God told 00:34:50.769 --> 00:34:53.630 Moses to stretch out his staff toward the sea. 00:34:53.829 --> 00:34:59.469 And when Moses did that, the sea parted and the 00:34:59.469 --> 00:35:01.530 people walked through on the other ground. And 00:35:01.530 --> 00:35:03.710 we know that they got to the end. The army came 00:35:03.710 --> 00:35:07.630 in. Ocean swallowed them up. Death was theirs. 00:35:08.690 --> 00:35:12.650 Crazy story. In our story, Jesus sends his disciples 00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:16.679 across the sea without him. The sea starts to 00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:22.099 churn, and it gets really rough. Why is the sea 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:27.139 rough? Because of the high wind that had kicked 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:31.019 in. A powerful wind was blowing, so the sea was 00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:33.880 churning. And look what it says in Exodus 14, 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:38.099 what happened with the Israelites. Then Moses 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:40.280 stretched out his hand over the sea, and the 00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:43.599 Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east 00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:47.940 wind. And all of the wind all of that night turned 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:51.320 the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided 00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:54.340 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry 00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:59.199 land with the waters like the wall to them on 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:05.380 their right and on their left. What do you think 00:36:05.380 --> 00:36:09.539 is going on with the winds of the disciples as 00:36:09.539 --> 00:36:14.650 they go out in the boat? And all of a sudden 00:36:14.650 --> 00:36:17.510 they end up on the dry land. So what's going 00:36:17.510 --> 00:36:19.269 on in their minds? They've gone through this 00:36:19.269 --> 00:36:22.690 wind. It's crazy. Jesus boards and all of a sudden 00:36:22.690 --> 00:36:26.230 they're on the bank. And they went through that. 00:36:26.269 --> 00:36:28.550 They have this background, this history, all 00:36:28.550 --> 00:36:31.090 the stuff that's gone on that day before. And 00:36:31.090 --> 00:36:33.809 all of a sudden they're rowing for their life 00:36:33.809 --> 00:36:36.230 and they can't figure out what to do. And there's 00:36:36.230 --> 00:36:37.789 a problem. And all of a sudden they're afraid. 00:36:37.829 --> 00:36:40.719 They see this. what is coming across them walking 00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:43.000 on the water like it's like weird like movie 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.579 stuff and they realize it's jesus and they say 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:48.219 he says don't be afraid it's me and they let 00:36:48.219 --> 00:36:49.699 him into the boat and the minute they let on 00:36:49.699 --> 00:36:53.320 the boat they're on dry land what would be going 00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:55.639 through your little puny brain as a disciple 00:36:55.639 --> 00:36:58.260 if that was you and you're sitting on the other 00:36:58.260 --> 00:37:06.760 side what do you think what do you think jay 00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:15.269 what do you think What just happened? Why would 00:37:15.269 --> 00:37:19.809 Jesus do this miracle? Why the winds? Why not 00:37:19.809 --> 00:37:23.389 just meet them on the other side? I think every 00:37:23.389 --> 00:37:25.550 time you see a sign in the Gospels, you've got 00:37:25.550 --> 00:37:29.110 to ask this question. Why? Why would Jesus do 00:37:29.110 --> 00:37:35.849 that? Jesus walked to them on the water for the 00:37:35.849 --> 00:37:41.260 same reason he fed the 5 ,000. Same reason. So 00:37:41.260 --> 00:37:44.599 they would witness his power and understand and 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:47.920 know him at a deeper level. He wanted the roots 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:52.159 of their life to go deep into who he was. Get 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:54.980 me. And we're going to see this unpacked in the 00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:57.500 rest of John chapter 6. He's going to go even 00:37:57.500 --> 00:38:00.079 deeper with them in this area. And he wants to 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:03.519 do that with us. He says, stop having this shallow 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:07.699 faith. I want you to see how big I am. how wonderful 00:38:07.699 --> 00:38:10.800 I am, how I can deal with your problems, how 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:14.280 I can deal with your life, how I am bigger than 00:38:14.280 --> 00:38:17.940 those things. That's what he's saying. And so 00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:20.099 when he gets in the boat, they're afraid, of 00:38:20.099 --> 00:38:22.480 course, and he gets in and goes, what's the difference, 00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:29.300 Jesus? Jesus is the difference. He's showing 00:38:29.300 --> 00:38:34.519 them that he is their Savior. Who saved them 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:38.719 in the boat? Jesus. Who fed them on the hill? 00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:43.300 Jesus. Who turned water into wine? Jesus. You 00:38:43.300 --> 00:38:45.079 just go down miracle after miracle. Who did it? 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:50.760 Jesus. He's our Savior. He's calling them, though, 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:53.900 not just to say, yep, you're my Savior, but I 00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:57.539 want you, I want to call you to a deeper level 00:38:57.539 --> 00:39:02.739 as Lord of your life. Are you ready to go there? 00:39:04.489 --> 00:39:06.989 This theme carries us all the way through the 00:39:06.989 --> 00:39:10.130 gospel. And it carries us all the way through 00:39:10.130 --> 00:39:12.710 the birth of the new church in Acts. And it carries 00:39:12.710 --> 00:39:15.150 us through all the epistles. And it carries us 00:39:15.150 --> 00:39:18.190 all the way through. And he's calling us to say, 00:39:18.309 --> 00:39:21.929 are you want me, is Jesus not just your Savior, 00:39:21.969 --> 00:39:25.889 but is he your Lord? Are you serious about that? 00:39:26.090 --> 00:39:29.309 Are you ready to go there? Are you ready to have 00:39:29.309 --> 00:39:32.769 a deeper level of faith in him? Not a faith that 00:39:32.769 --> 00:39:36.349 earns anything. But a faith that trusts in a 00:39:36.349 --> 00:39:39.429 Savior where you had nothing to do with it. Did 00:39:39.429 --> 00:39:42.190 they have anything to do with the food? Did they 00:39:42.190 --> 00:39:45.210 have anything to do with the storm being calmed? 00:39:45.309 --> 00:39:53.289 No. It was all Jesus. He's calling them to not 00:39:53.289 --> 00:39:56.889 have a faith where Jesus is your puppet. Where 00:39:56.889 --> 00:40:00.090 he is there for your needs, although he will 00:40:00.090 --> 00:40:03.559 meet your needs. Maybe not always the way you 00:40:03.559 --> 00:40:11.139 want him to. But is he Lord? He's calling us 00:40:11.139 --> 00:40:16.059 to a faith where Jesus is Savior. And you accept 00:40:16.059 --> 00:40:18.579 the fact that he paid for your sins. You're not 00:40:18.579 --> 00:40:21.559 trying to earn it anymore. But you're honestly 00:40:21.559 --> 00:40:24.400 looking at your life and you're going, I'm a 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:30.300 mess. It's me that is in need of a Savior. I 00:40:30.300 --> 00:40:34.079 am. Struggling. A lot of the stuff I'm struggling 00:40:34.079 --> 00:40:36.679 with, a lot of the problems I'm facing is because 00:40:36.679 --> 00:40:41.519 of my own brokenness. And I can do nothing to 00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:46.519 earn God's saving grace. But He gives it anyway. 00:40:47.500 --> 00:40:51.679 He is your Savior. He paid for your sins when 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:57.460 He hung on that cross. He is your Savior. He 00:40:57.460 --> 00:41:03.670 did it for us. And then he says, I'm calling 00:41:03.670 --> 00:41:06.409 you to a faith where Jesus is Lord over all. 00:41:07.650 --> 00:41:10.530 In every area of your life. Are you good at it? 00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:13.590 No. I struggle with it every day, just like you. 00:41:14.769 --> 00:41:18.150 But here's the call. He's calling every one of 00:41:18.150 --> 00:41:24.269 us, every day, to say, Jesus, I want you to be 00:41:24.269 --> 00:41:28.429 Lord. That means rule over all of my life, in 00:41:28.429 --> 00:41:32.909 every area of my life. All to Jesus I surrender. 00:41:33.889 --> 00:41:37.730 All to him I freely give. That's what he's calling 00:41:37.730 --> 00:41:40.289 us to. In fact, the crazy thing is that's what 00:41:40.289 --> 00:41:42.929 community is for too, is to one another each 00:41:42.929 --> 00:41:45.630 other to that place. That's why we need each 00:41:45.630 --> 00:41:49.349 other, because we're all a bunch of broken -hearted, 00:41:49.489 --> 00:41:52.889 jacked -up people who need a Savior, who need 00:41:52.889 --> 00:41:55.650 that Lord, and we need to be reminded, we need 00:41:55.650 --> 00:41:59.210 each other to push each other toward that. That's 00:41:59.210 --> 00:42:01.190 why we're in a marriage where your marriage needs 00:42:01.190 --> 00:42:03.349 to be centered around Christ. If it's not centered 00:42:03.349 --> 00:42:05.590 around Christ, you have two individual selfish 00:42:05.590 --> 00:42:10.210 people. And Jesus says, no, that's not the way 00:42:10.210 --> 00:42:11.610 it's supposed to work. It's not the way I designed 00:42:11.610 --> 00:42:14.289 it. I designed myself to be at the center where 00:42:14.289 --> 00:42:20.190 the two of you are pulling to me. Together. For 00:42:20.190 --> 00:42:24.510 Jesus is Lord. He's Lord over all. I want a band 00:42:24.510 --> 00:42:27.300 to come on up, you guys. Shut this down. This 00:42:27.300 --> 00:42:30.260 week I really want you to think through. What 00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:34.820 does it mean for me to surrender all of my life 00:42:34.820 --> 00:42:37.539 to the Lord? Not everything is going to happen 00:42:37.539 --> 00:42:40.579 in one moment. But what areas do you need to 00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:44.679 lay down at the feet of Jesus and say, you got 00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:50.019 this, not me. All to Jesus. I surrender. I think 00:42:50.019 --> 00:42:52.340 the beautiful picture, we celebrate communion 00:42:52.340 --> 00:42:54.219 every week. And please, don't take communion. 00:42:55.920 --> 00:42:59.500 You're not a follower of Jesus. We have communion 00:42:59.500 --> 00:43:03.940 in the back. And for us, it is a regular, not 00:43:03.940 --> 00:43:08.599 just a reminder, but how significant Jesus really 00:43:08.599 --> 00:43:12.480 is. That his body was broken, that his blood 00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:17.639 was shed for me, Savior. And that what he did 00:43:17.639 --> 00:43:20.980 requires, it calls me to consume him to say, 00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:23.179 I need all of you. In fact, we're going to unpack 00:43:23.179 --> 00:43:26.099 this next week in the last part of chapter 6 00:43:26.099 --> 00:43:28.219 where he just kind of goes into this fact. He 00:43:28.219 --> 00:43:33.059 says, eat me. Drink me. And you're like, what? 00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:37.480 What he's saying is take me in. Make me Lord 00:43:37.480 --> 00:43:39.380 of your life. So as you go to the communion table 00:43:39.380 --> 00:43:43.239 today, go there with this posture of saying, 00:43:43.360 --> 00:43:47.960 God, I know I'm a mess, but I take these elements 00:43:47.960 --> 00:43:51.949 and remember who you really are. And I give my 00:43:51.949 --> 00:43:55.190 life, I continue to surrender to the lordship 00:43:55.190 --> 00:44:00.489 of you, Jesus, in my life. And I thank you for 00:44:00.489 --> 00:44:02.989 your body that was broken for me and your blood 00:44:02.989 --> 00:44:06.489 that was shed for me. That I may have real life 00:44:06.489 --> 00:44:17.840 in you. Let's pray together. Lord. It's only 00:44:17.840 --> 00:44:19.920 by the power of your spirit that any of this 00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:26.500 can really happen in our lives. Thank you, Jesus, 00:44:26.619 --> 00:44:28.960 that you love us so much that you provide for 00:44:28.960 --> 00:44:33.719 us. Thank you that you love us so much that you 00:44:33.719 --> 00:44:36.599 would tell us over and over, make me Lord of 00:44:36.599 --> 00:44:41.579 your life. Put me first in your life. Lord, today 00:44:41.579 --> 00:44:44.800 as we sit here and respond, I pray that you will 00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:48.119 help us. To deal with our own hearts right where 00:44:48.119 --> 00:44:56.500 we sit. To help us to surrender to you. In your 00:44:56.500 --> 00:44:56.980 name we pray.