Today’s sermon was from Deuteronomy 31:1-8 and that part of the scripture deals with the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Moses said “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ (v.2) The Jews were whining about having no water and “why have you brought us into this desert to die.” Moses must have been rather frustrated (Numbers 20:10-11) with these malcontents and let his anger at their constant complaining cause him to strike the rock rather than speak to it as God had told him. This angered God, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:12) Moses would not be able to lead them into the Promised Land. An interesting story and a good sermon.
Woke up to another beautiful day. The sunrises this time of year can be amazing. And since the weather is warming up, the snow is melting, we have much to be thankful for. I have a YouTube subscription to Grace Community Church and once a week or so, it pops up with notice of new content on my computer. This is usually John MacArthur’s Sunday sermon or something similar to that. I look forward to what MacArthur preaches and learn from a man who has been preaching at the same church for over 50 years. Today was no different, today’s sermon was titled The Benefits of Suffering for Christ and he outlined how to shine a light into darkness. Or how you, a disciple of Christ, bring the Good News to a non believer. It went like this:
Be honest about sin and the cost of repentance – it is a free gift, salvation, but one that will cost you everything. However the reward is eternal life with our Savior.
Be urgent and tell people they need to repent now. None of us knows the span of our days. Jesus told this parable where a rich man who had much and thought he would live the easy life, found out different. (Luke 12:16-21) You truly have no time to wait. Repent Now!
Give them the truth about Christ, his person and his work. The Bible is the authoritative word breathed out by God. Jesus, through Old testament prophecy and His works and wonders, his crucifixion and resurrection, these you must believe for you to be truly saved.
When all of these things have been done, tell them with joy, that if they repent now and believe the gospel, they will be saved and given eternal life.
Many people fear death. It is what many government types used to scare us into compliance with their wishes. Death is the entry point for all of us, to either standing before our Savior and basking in His glory, or descent into darkness and torment. What would you choose? Where is fear when death is gain? The outer man is decaying while the inner man is renewed day by day when you are a child of God.
We are in John 6 and it’s a big, or better said, momentus chapter. In it, Jesus fed a great many with just a few loaves and fishes, (vv. 10-11) He then walked on water (v. 19) and when the people finally caught up with Him, He told them they were following Him for the wrong reasons. (v. 26) Because the ancient Jews are like us, quite clueless and are never satisfied, they impertinently ask Him for a sign to show them who He really was. (v. 30) I don’t know that any of them were thinking beyond the end of their noses, because they had just seen Him do signs and wonders and the only other guy in the neighborhood that had been directly asked if he was the Christ, this being John the Baptist, did no signs and wonders, (John 10:41) only demand they repent get ready for the Christ. Before that, there were no miracles or prophets for a very long time.
In this dialog between Creator and created, He who created all (John 1:3) informs the created that He is the Bread of Life. This did not sit well with the created, they grumbled amongst themselves, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6: 41-42)
In Jeremiah 18 we find something that explains what’s happening here. The Potter forms the clay and decides what and where it will be used. At no point does the clay have any input, it will be what the Potter makes it to be. It is a very interesting story and one that is very pertinent to our present time, but where Jesus says He is the Bread of Life, the clay disputes this, claiming the voice of their father, satan, that this cannot be. Jesus, the Light (John 1:4-5, 9) knew their hearts and answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (vv. 44-45) I want you to ponder this, verse 44. The Father draws you. In the Old Testament, people knew God and through Moses, were told to obey God. When you were in obedience to Him, He fought your battles, (Deuteronomy 20:1-9) righted your wrongs.
Think of Egypt (Exodus 14) and how God by His hand defeated all who opposed His people. (2 Kings 6:15-17) Those who followed His law given to them by Moses (Exodus 20) knew God to be their creator and protector. That knowledge is written into all our hearts, (Romans 2:15) the right and wrong of things, and God Himself. Notice there was a qualifier in there, that being “those”. While everybody’s heart had knowledge written into it, not everyone chose to acknowledge that. Of those that were drawn out of Egypt, a generation was lost and by saying lost (Deuteronomy 1:35) I mean that when they died, they went to eternal darkness and torment. The reason that happened is they constantly grumbled and chose not to trust or follow God. (Numbers 14:27)
The very same thing can and will happen to us if we choose not to repent, obey, trust and follow Christ. You will be lost, rather than gather with the saints, into eternal life with our Savior, Christ. So I ask, have you been drawn by the Father? For those of you that don’t know, is it too hard for you to pray to God and repent your sins? It’s not like HE doesn’t already know what they are. If you are interested in God, He has already had an interest in you. (John 2:31-31) And He will accept all who come to him, regardless of what kind of life you have lived. You are not too bad that God will not accept you, (Luke 23:39-43) He loved you before you loved him. (1 John 4:19) Repent and turn to your Lord! However, once you have submitted to your Lord, do not expect to remain in your sins. This is where Mercy comes into play. From MacArthur’s Devotionals: “The truth is God does not show mercy without punishing sin. For Him to offer mercy without punishment would negate His justice. Mercy that ignores sin is false mercy and is all too common today. Some think it is unloving and unkind to hold people responsible for their sins. That is what is known as cheap grace—which is neither merciful nor just, nor does it offer punishment or pardon for sin. Because it overlooks sin, it leaves sin untouched and unforgiven. The one who relies on this sort of mercy is left in his sin.”
This is where those creatures were, who followed Jesus around, oohing and aahing at what He did and then when He tells them that they must believe in Him, they ask for a sign so they would know. I say creatures because they speak with the voice of their lord, which again is satan, and are not children of the Light. They did not submit to their Lord.
Continuing with the words of Jesus…
It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ (v. 45) Here is where it is written: Isaiah 54:13, and a raft of other scripture references; OpenBible.info
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
(vv. 45-51)
This is a complete salvation package. Jesus was offering them the Grace of saving Faith and we would do well to pay attention to it in this modern day. They heard it from the Son of Man Himself and they weren’t having it. Darkness cannot perceive the Light. (John 1:5)
So they again started grumbling. Do we see a pattern here? A pattern that has lasted for millenia? We are no different than these ancient Jews. We mock what we don’t understand and hate what convicts us. Look at what’s happening in our government. A lust for power and pride and a depraved mind. Punishing good and rewarding evil. Here is a snippet from Wretched Radio where you will hear what’s going on in Congress and the culture at large:
I am not sure, but I think the Florida Congressman was Greg Steube. Congressman Jerry Nadler was the one speaking in his father’s voice, satan. Jesus, in talking to the Pharisees, when they had said His authority and power come from satan: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37
Here is the whole audio of Wretched Radio for 3-1-21, it is very instructive:
Todd Friel is voice of Wretched Radio and one I listen to frequently.
It’s like we are living in the days of Ahab, which is found in 1 Kings 16:29. Take a read through that and compare it to our days. Then jump on over to Romans 1 and you can read the whole thing, but the pertinent part starts at verse 18. It seems as if many of our legislators would like to write into law the sins of Romans 1:18-32 and punish those of us who follow Christ.
You may wonder how the righteous lived in those days. In obedience and faith, following the laws of God and staying away from evil. It is what we can do today. Keep God at the forefront of your mind and give Him honor and praise in all things. God expects you to rely on Him, so do so. Read the Bible and worship with the saints, which is a biblical way of saying “Go to Church.” Corporate worship is asked for in the Bible. (Hebrews 10:25) Place not your hope in man but Christ. You’ve been offered a free gift of salvation. Are you going to grumble about it or accept it?
We last left Jesus as He entered a boat from the water side, where He had trod across the Sea of Galilee as if walking on land. (John 6:19) The disciples, who had been rowing but not really getting anywhere, had calmed down enough to be happy to see Him and let Him join them in the boat. (v.21) Next thing you know, they had arrived at their destination which was Capernaum, top left of the map. They had spent the day in the Tiberius area, which you will find on the map in the middle left of the map. I looked up how big the Sea of Galilee is and from North to South it’s 13 miles long. You can figure that the boys were planning to row about 5 or 6 miles in what the scripture tells us “The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.” (v.18) It also tells us they had rowed about 3 or 4 miles (v.19) and I know from other reading and hearing from those that have been to the Holy Land, this body of water can get treacherous at times.
The disciples had left a large crowd of people who had been fed with a few loaves and fishes. (John 6:2-14) and this being the next day, they found themselves without food or entertainment. The scripture reads thusly: “On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.” (John 6:22-24) These other boats may have been fishermen or maybe news had spread that something big had happened and they had come to see what the deal was. We are only told that these people felt compelled to chase after Jesus. When they had found Him, they questioned Him as to how He had gotten there. (John 6: 25) Jesus had withdrawn to the mountain because He had perceived them about to make a foolish decision. (v.15) Now, He advises them as to their unrepentant hearts: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:26-27) Jesus spoke to them this way because He saw what was in their hearts. Christ is God and is sovereign over all.
These people had a choice to make, continue in their unrepentant ways or believe what He is telling them. For most if not all of them, they were following Him to be fed with perishable food and to be entertained. Even though He spoke to them with authority (Mark 1:22) to their eyes He was just a man, not the Son of Man. (Luke 19:10) “Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28) His answer was thus: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28) Simple, isn’t it? Just believe, a child could do it. And yet they speak the words of their father satan and ask “What sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30) They had just been fed, maybe up to 20,000 of them, with a few loaves and fishes (v. 11) and had knowledge of healing and demons cast out and now they are asking for a sign. As it is written, they claimed “He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:31) Jesus corrects them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33)
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” (John 6:34) It is basically the same thing the woman at the well had said in John 4:15. We always want convenience, don’t we? Provide for us so we may not have to toil for anything, really. There was no repentance in their hearts, just a want.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40)
This is a good place to end this study. I want you to read those last verses a couple of times. Christ is the bread of life. Anyone who believes in Him will be raised up on the last day. Simple to understand but why is it so hard for people to accept? He is the bread of life, (John 6:51) whoever comes to Him will not hunger. Trust in God to provide, (Proverbs 3:5 ) not man or the government. When you believe in Christ, it’s not a head thing, it involves the heart. You are transformed, (2 Peter 1:2-4) you are convicted and repentant. You don’t get that by just sitting in the pew most Sundays and going home and living as you see fit. You don’t get that by doing things because you think that’s what good people do. That’s what the Pharisees thought too and they hated Jesus for He showed them the unrighteousness of their hearts. You don’t want to get caught in a works based theology: https://www.gotquestions.org/salvation-by-works.html, where you do things to earn God’s love. He loved you before you (1 John 4:19) became what you are now. Nothing you do will work or take the place of just believing and trusting in God for all things. Live not in fear, for what is there to fear with a Father is sovereign over all? Death has been conquered by Christ (Hebrews 2:14) and Christ is your only hope. Bring all your fears and worries to the cross and leave them there.
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:17-18). Those deeds come from He who indwells us and are called fruits of the Spirit. Look into your life and find those Spirit based fruits and while you’re there, search for the joy that comes with salvation. It’s there, I guarantee it.
2 Peter 3 18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
