The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 5: Do You Believe Even When Doubts Creep In?

Episode Date: May 7, 2023

What do you do with doubts and unanswered questions? You pick them up and follow Jesus. He is the only one offering eternal life.  “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”” – John 6:68

Amen and amen. How we doing church? Good? You look great. If you got your Bibles, and I hope you do, John chapter 6 is where we're going to be. We are in week five of this

anything as possible series. And what we're going to talk about is all of John chapter 6. We're going to cover 71 verses. So this should be like the best three or four hours of your week. So buckle up. It starts out great, man.

It starts out with two miracles. And then it takes this turn and it ends in a mess. Kind of like life, right? Like everything's just tootling our own real nice. and all of a sudden you're like, where did this come from? And so what we're going to talk about is what do you do when God doesn't do what you think

he ought to do. Now, I know this is church. There's no place to have these kind of conversations because you're just supposed to show up here and we make you feel good and then you go home. By the way, if that's what you're thinking you're getting here at 1122, you're in the wrong place, all right? So what do you do, man? What do you? You ever been there before?

Like, you're like, God, what are you doing here? I don't understand. Could you please explain yourself? So this is, I think this is a needed thing to talk about as we do in nine-week series on miracles, to make sure that we're not chasing after miracles. We're chasing after the maker of miracles. Because here's what I'm going to tell you, man. If all you're ever doing is chasing after a change in situation, then you will always be frustrated.

You'll never be satisfied. But when we chase after Jesus, miracles may follow us. That's how this thing goes. And so 71 verses, so you've got to listen faster than you normally do. I'm going to put this on you. John 6, beginning of verse 1, says this, and after this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius,

and a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. And remember, in the Gospel of John, he doesn't call miracles miracles, he calls them signs because they point to something greater than the miracle itself. And so what is pointing to is to the glory of God, that when Jesus does these miracles, He's not just flexing his raw power.

He's revealing his redemptive purpose every single time. And so Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, where are we going to buy bread so that these people may eat? Verse 6. Underline this. Highlight this.

Bite your finger on it and bleed on this verse. okay. He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. So you mean the Lord tests us? Uh-huh. Like he knows exactly what he's going to do, but he's just going to see what Philip's going to do, what Philip's going to say. We're Phillips putting this hope and trust, that the Lord test us. Some of you are going to do tests right now. We covered this last week, but just as a quick review, the reason that you're going through test and trials, first of all, the thing you need to know is God is not surprised. It did not catch him off guard.

He did not sit up in heaven and look at your situation and go, what in the name of me is going on down there? That is not how this thing works. Sometimes it is a direct test from God. Sometimes it is a result of your own sin or stupidity. Sometimes the pain that we go through is because somebody else sin against us. Sometimes it's a specific demonic attack. Sometimes it's a result of the fall.

regardless of what it is that God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. That it all sifts through his fingers. So whatever you are going through, God is at work and he is sovereign for his glory and your good. Sometimes he tests us. Now the book of Hebrews says that God disciplines his children. And that if you are not disciplined, then you are an illegitimate child. Well, I can tell you, if discipline is the definition of legitimacy, I grew up super legit. My dad was super legit that I was his son because he disciplined me.

I mean, like in a physical kind of way. I know some of you are like, what? We know. We know who you are. Okay? So here's how J.I. Packer says it. I love this. He says, and still he hates the sins of his people.

and uses all kinds of inward and outward pains and griefs to wean their hearts from compromise and disobedience. And still, he seeks the fellowship of his people and sends them both sorrows and joy in order to detach their love from other things and attach it to himself. So he says, Philip, how are we going to feed all these people? And Philip answered, 200 denary, that's eight months' wages.

Worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little. Look what Philip immediately does. Philip immediately goes to the temporary, immediately goes to the natural, immediately decides, this is an impossible situation. To which, man, that's a good thing I wouldn't have a disciple. I would probably be like Peter just talk all the time. However, I want to be like, Philip, bro, were you not around for the water to wine thing? I mean, wouldn't you think that, okay, Jesus, if you could turn water to wine, surely we can get you some sticks,

you can turn it in a bread or something, right? But that's not what he does. his instinct, his first step is not, I'm sure you can do this. His first instinct is this is an impossible situation. Now, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says to him, there's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? Now see, this is at least like an itty-bitty little bit of faith. I mean, here's something.

By the way, barley was the grain of the poor. This is a little poor kid. He's got this little lunchable. He's got five loaves of bread. And when it says two fists, it's not like two nice redfish, you know. They would use this as like the, it was more like a sardine, and you would flavor your bread with it. You would take the bread and rub the fish on it.

It sounds delicious, doesn't it? And you put it on there so it wouldn't just be like stale bread. But here's what's crazy, man. This one little kid, when he looks at the situation, He does not see an impossibility. He sees at least a glimmer of a possibility. And he looks at what God has put in his hands, and he begins to realize, you know what?

If I take this little bit that is in my hands and Jesus, I put it in your hands, then you could do exponentially more than I could ever do with it if it's in my hands. Okay? See how everybody gets nervous because you think I'm going to start talking about tithing? Because I am.

That's right, man. Look, man, there's three attitudes when it comes to money. We talk about this all the time. The predominant attitude in our world right now is what's mine is mine. That's called selfishness. There's another attitude which says what's yours is mine. And again, individually, that's called stealing. When the government does it, it's called socialism, but that's just what it is.

But God's attitude is this, what's mine is God's. And that's called stewardship. And so when we take what we have and we say, God, I want to put it in your hands, here's the thing. You have no idea what he could do with it. You have absolutely no idea. So one of the questions I would ask is, what has he put in your hand? And I need you to realize, as long as you hold on to it real tight, he can't put any more in your hand.

A close hand can't receive any gift. And so this little boy, man, the faith of a child. He says, I ain't got much, but what I have here, Jesus, would you take it? And so he does. And Jesus said, have the people sit down now. There was much grass in the place. and so the men sat down about 5,000 in number in the first century. You would only count heads of household.

So this could be up to 20,000 people, 15 to 20,000 people. And then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, that's why we say the blessing before he eat, I think. And he distributed them to those who were seeded, so also the fish as much as they wanted. Now, this miracle is recorded in all four Gospels. And the way the gospel of Matthew records it is Matthew says, that Jesus gives, like he takes the bread, he takes the fish, he blesses it, he breaks it,

he, and then he says, the Matthew says, he gives it to the disciples, and he says to the disciples, you feed them. Think about this. Don't run back. See, if you grew up in Sunday school, God bless Sunday school, but if you grew up in Sunday school, you already know the end. You already know how it's going to end, and you miss so much. I mean, sometimes you've just got to stop and pause and ask the spirit to let you, like, use your spirit-filled imagination to what it would be like. Can you imagine being one of the disciples? Hey John, Peter, y'all come here.

Come here, come here. Okay, boss, what's up? He goes, we're going to take this food. We've got five loaves. We got two fish. We got 20,000 people. Okay, well, this isn't going to work. No, don't worry about it.

God, thanks for the fish and the loaves. And then he breaks it. Like, this isn't enough to feed the disciples. And then he's going to divide it by 12 and hand it and be like, okay, feed them. Now think about this, right? There's Jesus. There's 20,000 people.

You're in the middle. Hey, boss, I don't think he's going to work. Like, I'm a little like an idiot. Like, how do you take two fish and divide them, divide one up into six pieces and another little six pieces? Here you go. Here's some bread. And then at some point, you've got to turn around and walk up to the first person.

But like, can I get you some loaves and some fishes? and you're probably looking at the second person be like, I think this is as far as this is going to go. Like, how's this going to work? I'm so sorry. I'm going to look like a fool. I'm just going to shoot you straight. If there has not been a time in the past few months in your life

where you felt like the Lord told you to do something and you know a step of obedience in that direction might make you look like a fool, if that has not been your experience, you ain't listening to the good shepherd. Because it's a different kingdom, man. It's a totally different kingdom, a totally different economy. Everything's different about him.

So then what begins to happen? Listen, where did the miracle take place? It did not take place in the hands of Jesus. He did not break the bread, give thanks, and then interdress all the bread. He goes, all right, hand it out. That's not how it worked. It was as the disciples were handing out the fishes and the loaves. The miracle happened in the hands of the disciples.

And it wasn't until they began to give it away that it got multiplied in their hands. If you can't make the connection there, then I can't preach to you. Okay, you understand? What are you holding on to in your hands? and Jesus is telling you, no, no, no, give it away and give it away and give it away. And then trust me, I got you. So they distribute them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

How about this? At first, they're like, I don't know if it's going to be enough. A little while later, a guy in Rothera, he's like, can I get some more of that fish? And it's like, hey, can't, you can? Because I can't give it away enough. It just keeps replenishing and replenishing and replenishing. And everybody eats and eats and eats. And when they had eaten their fill, he told the disciples,

gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost. Notice Jesus is a good steward of it all. Not just the part dedicated to God, but 100% of what was given he wants to be a good steward of. So they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. All right, by the way, how many apostles or disciples are there gathering up?

12. This means every dude's got a full basket. That is not an accident. By the way, how many tribes of Israel are there? 12. Do you know there's another miraculous feeding in the gospel of Matthew? He feeds 4,000 people, and you know how many baskets left over? You're not going to know this. I don't put you on the spot. There's seven baskets left over that time. Do you know how many tribes in Canaan there were when Joshua took over Canaan? Seven. You know what? The Lord is trying to tell us here, my grace is sufficient for the 12 tribes of Israel and the Gentile tribes all over the world. Why? Because this thing is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's what's going on there. It's a sign.

So they gather up the bread. Verse 13. So they gathered them up, filled 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. And when the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, this is indeed the prophet who has come into the world. Look, man, their hearts, their minds, their bellies are full. Have you ever been there? Like when God just shows up and shows out, you come to some worship service and you're like, man, I'm full. Go to Beach Baptism and you're like, you feel like Peter on the mountain of Transfiguration, it is good that we're here, right? I hope so, because we work real dang hard for you to have that kind of experience in these places. Look, I'm into it, man.

These moments matter. They matter a bunch. Last week at the prayer and anointing. Oh, my goodness. I got home from church last weekend. I was like, babe, we should just shut it down. We're done. That is it.

That is it. We did it. The pinnacle of the mountain. But here's the thing, man. Those moments, they matter like crazy. You'll never forget them, and they change you, but they will not sustain you. You can't live upon the mountaintop. Because God didn't call us up to the mountain top to live forever.

That's what Peter wanted to do. Make tents. We'll stay here. He wanted to fill us up because all the ministry happens down there in the valley. And so they're like, oh, this is our guy, man. Indeed, this is the prophet

who has come into the world. Verse 15, perceiving then that they were about to come and take Jesus by force to make him king, Jesus just deuses, withdrew to the mountain by himself. You ever notice how everybody wants Jesus on their side? you ever noticed that but here's the thing man Jesus didn't come to take sides he came to take over he's bigger than whatever your pet project is that's it and so he's not going like he came to establish

his kingdom not work for their kingdom and there will be a day when he returns to rule and reign but on his first trip it was to redeem the loss that's why he came and so he played hide and seek real good they couldn't find him all day over 16 when the evening came His disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Copernium. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. And the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. I don't know if you've ever been to Israel. If you ever go with me, we'll go to the Sea of Galilee.

It's really great. It's like a long thin. It's really like a lake, but, you know, they're really into their stuff, so they call it a sea. And the wind can come from the north of the south, come over these steep hills, and it can go from flat to super rough. an instant. So the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. And when they had rowed about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. And so Jesus is going to say to them, the most commanded thing in all the scripture, it is I. Don't be afraid. These professional fishermen are filled with fear because of the circumstances, they're afraid.

And then Jesus says, the most commanded thing, don't be afraid. Here's the thing. We talk about this all the time, all right? Because we live in a society that is gripped by fear. Fear is not a feeling. Fear is a spirit. Paul tells Timothy, God has not given you a spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and of self-control. Now, scared is a feeling, and scared is given to us so that we don't get eaten by the bear. You see, the bear and you run, okay? But when we're scared and you take a step of obedience in the direction of the thing that's scaring you, that's called courage and praise God for courage. I mean, we saw it in Nashville, right? In the past, we've seen people be scared and wait while a school shooter was happening,

and fear paralyzes and terrible things happen. And here we see some men first responders. There's no way these people aren't scared that their heart's not beaten and that their blood pressure isn't elevated, but they ran towards the gunfire and not away from it. That's called courage. Praise God for courage. Praise God for courage, okay? But fear paralyzes and faith always produces action.

And Jesus says, don't be afraid. 366 times in the Bible there's some version of don't be afraid. Why? I don't know about you, but every single day in my life, I need to hear a spirit of God go, don't be afraid. And the reason that they are not to be afraid has nothing to do with the circumstances. It's not because God has control over the wind and the waves that he can change the circumstances. The reason is he says, because it is I, because I am with you.

Three times in the first chapter of Joshua, God tells Joshua, be strong and courageous, strong and courageous. Why? Because he's weak and afraid, weak and afraid, weak and afraid. And the reason the foundation for him to be strong and courageous is, like God doesn't come down and give me a little pep talk. but you know what Joshua you're a skittal and a butterfly and snowflake and dog on it you got this no you don't got this man he says be strong and courageous for I am with you that's where our strength comes from that's where our courage comes from and they're frightening he says that his eye don't be afraid and then they were glad to take him in the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going just look at that man it just gets in and stories over

You see, this is not an event where Jesus is getting somebody out of the storm. This is an event where Jesus wants to get in your boat. That's the difference. That's the difference. So here are back-to-back to epic faith-building events, which should be enough to sustain you for a while, right? These mountain-top moments. And again, man, I love the moment.

I live for those moments. There's some time, and we have the moments here. I'm just telling you, man, see, y'all don't even know. You don't even know how good our worship team is. And here's why, because you just come to church here. I get to travel to all my friend's churches, and they're like the famous churches, okay? And they play the same songs we play, and I'd be like, oh, that's adorable how good you think you are. But it's not even close to how good our people are.

It's not even close. And there are these moments, man, like last week at prayer and an an an anointing, I'm just telling you, I'm praying for some people and praying all over them and all that. And I felt like, I felt like in any moment, if I just, oh, my eyes real quick, God's face will be right there. Like, whoa, you got me, okay? Do you ever feel like that? It could be a mission trip.

It could be in your disciple group. It could be while you're serving. It could be in one of our worship services. And you think those moments are going to sustain you. But pay attention all throughout the scripture, man. The valley comes quick. The valley comes quick. I mean, Jesus gets baptized.

High holy moment. Think about this, man. For all of eternity, from eternity past, to the moment Jesus shows up on this planet. He is in this perfect love relationship with his heavenly father, and there is some separation when he comes on this rescue mission for us. And then when he gets baptized, the heavens open up, and God the Father speaks out loud and says,

Behold my son in whom I am well pleased. Think about how good you feel when your dad brags on you. We can't even, we don't even have a category for what's going on in the heart and mind of Christ. in that moment. Very next thing that happens, he's in the desert being tempted by the enemy. Very next thing. The mountain of transfiguration,

Jesus is displaying his glory. God shows up again, says the same thing. Behold my son, in whom I am well pleased. The very next thing to happen, he's down in the valley casting out a demon from this demon-possessed boy. How about the Lord's supper? That had to be a thing, right?

He serves his disciples, he washes his disciples' feet. He institutes communion. This is my body, broken, for you, this is my blood poured out for you. He tells his boys, listen, man, I call you friends because you're my friends. A high holy moment.

The very next thing that happens is he's arrested on his way to the cross. Listen, this is your life. Pay very close attention to it. Oftentimes, right on the heels of the high holy moments that you think are going to sustain you that the enemy's coming and you will walk through the valley of the shadow of

death, but fear no evil. Not because the valley is not evil. It is evil. But don't fear the evil. Why? Because he's with you, his rod and staff, man. He's going to take care of you. So 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 along. Other boats from Tiberius came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. And so when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his

disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Copernium seeking Jesus. The ministry's off to a great start. Your six chapters into the gospel of John, and it is rock and roll, man. People are getting healed, miracles are happening, he's walking on water, he's feeding people with his kids luncheble, it's going real good. They don't even announce the next service, and people are just looking around in boats to find him. Verse 25, when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? And you've got to think at this moment the disciples are feeling super good about their life decisions. Peter's looking at his brother and he's like, I told you we should leave dad's fishing business.

That's a mess. Look what we're into now, man. They're probably feeling super good. It's like fastest growing ministry ever in Copernium. And so Jesus answered them, 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 you for on him, God the Father has set his seed. That's like relational language. Here's what Jesus is saying, though.

He's like, you're not following me for me. You're following me for you. And I don't play that game. I did not come here that you would have full bellies. I came that you would have a full life. And a full life is being fully surrendered to me. Jesus is here saying, I will not be a means to your end. He is saying, I will not play your games of idolatry,

and you treat me like a genie in a bottle or a vending machine. you could just say the right prayer or tickle me J-Bez or whatever, then I'll just give you Cadillacs and cash and prizes. Because then you were trying to use me for your real God, which is whatever the thing that you want, which could be a healthy family or more money or prestige, whatever it is, I ain't playing that game. So he's jacking with them, man.

And we say this all the time around here, man. We don't follow Jesus because he makes your life better. We follow Jesus because he is better than life. Now, listen, man, currently in America, I say currently, it could change. In America, if you follow Jesus, typically your life goes better. If you do life the way Jesus says do life. Like if you don't lie and you only sleep with your spouse and you don't steal and you don't covet,

typically life goes better. But that is not the point. I mean, listen, man, in that new song that our team wrote, the amen song, that's not what it's called, but that's what I'm going to call it. It says, Lord, I'm on my knees. Lord, I'm crying out. Okay, those are legit things. there's so much I think I need

what I really need is you Jesus is like bingo man but the reason you're here not you you these people are here it's because you're just chasing a full belly you're just chasing another moment you see if you think that Jesus is merely practical

and not glorious you'll never know him as your Lord and Savior ever he did not come to give us bread he came that he would be the bread that would sustain us. And so they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God? This is always the religious question.

What must I do? It's not the right question. The right question is what must be done? Because what we must do according to Jesus is be perfect because he is perfect, be holy for he is holy. Well, that was the moment you were born, that was over.

So then what must be done? Because I need somebody to do for me what I cannot do for myself. Jesus is going to put this on the bottom shelf, man. This is like tea ball. He's going to take, this answer is not a trick. He doesn't be like, well, let me tell you a story about birds and seeds and fields.

None of that that you've got to figure out. He is just going to put this one on the tea and be like, all right, hack away out. This is so simple. So they say, what must we do to be doing the worst of God? He goes, all right, Jesus answered them. This is the work of God. and everybody's ready. All right, write this down. It's going to be like, say this many Hail

Mary's, and you've got to feed this many people, and what is it? You know, got to go to the temple, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So what's the work of God? He goes, here's the work of God. The work of God is that you would believe. Pestuo is the Greek word. You got to know it. Because it doesn't just mean believe that. It means believe in, trust in. He goes, you want to do the work of God, put your faith in me. That's the work of God. This is as plain as it gets, man. And so they said to him, the way they should have said is, okay, that should be the answer. That is not the answer. Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven

to eat. Now, how quickly we forget, man. I'm like, you dummies, you're still in the same chapter as feeding 5,000 and walking on water. Are those not two good signs? Pretty good signs. Everybody knows about those two signs. We're less than 24 hours away from the miraculous happening and the feeding of the 5,000.

They actually participated in it. And they're like, man, not enough. See, here's the thing. Proof and practicality will never be enough. It's not until you were overcome by the presence of God. And that includes when you show up to church, man, a great sermon and a great song

or never sustained you. It may make you feel better, but it will not take you over the line. It is not until you sense that you're in the presence of a great Savior. You see, the point of church is not singing and it's not sermons. The singing and the sermons are a means to an end that you would know him. That's it, man. That is it. By the way, the example they bring up is like the worst example ever,

talking about, well, Moses gave him bread from heaven to eat. Have you read Exodus? all they do is complain. I had another word, came to mind, but my sanctification filtered it out, praise God. To have an elder meeting, that would be less than ideal. God provides manna from heaven every single day, and all they did is complain about it.

Not only that, they complain about being in the wilderness, and at one point that were so twisted in their mind that they're like, did you bring us out here to die? Could we just go back and be slaves in Egypt? Like, what are you talking about? The beginning of exit, it starts out, and the Lord heard the cry of his people and sent a deliverer who was Moses. Do you know the majority of the things that we complain about? Are answers to our previous prayer request?

You complain about your job? That's cute. Remember when you were praying you'd get it? You complain about your spouse? Dear God, please let her say yes. Because she's young and it's a covenant and she can't get out, okay? I get it, man. married young. Praise God. You never pull that off again. And then you can be, our kids, right? Dear God,

please let us have a baby. And then there are teenagers and you're like, what have you done to me? Yeah, man. So Jesus says to them, truly, truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. Now what he's going to do now, he does this in the Gospel of John all the time, he's going to speak on two planes. He's going to use the natural to explain the supernatural. He's going to use what they can see to explain the unseen realm. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they said to him, Sir, give us this bread. Now notice, what he's saying here is, you don't work your way up the mountain, but this bread comes down as a gift. He's talking about our salvation. And then he's

using this bread and manna. They're going to be a little slow on the uptake, but he's like, And the reason that we did this, we being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the reason that we did this is because this manna was a picture of me. From heaven, by God's grace, he gave you something that sustained you, but it was only temporary. It was the shadow. I'm the substance. In a similar way, by God's grace, I'm coming from heaven, but I'm going to satisfy you for all of eternity. And so they were like, give us some bread.

And Jesus is like, I got your bread. Verse 35. 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. Here's what he's saying, man. The temporary things of this world will never fully and finally satisfy.

The fact that we have an insatiable appetite for more is evidence that we were created to be satisfied by an almighty and eternal God. The God has put eternity in your hearts, and there's nothing on this planet. None of the temporary things will ever be able to do what you're actually looking for, that Jesus is what you're looking for. What you need is him.

And then he says it. He says, I am the bread of life. Seven times in the gospel of John, Jesus makes these I am statements. And he is claiming to be God when he does it. Seven is the number of completion. So every time he does this, he's saying, I am completely God. That the covenant name for God in the old covenant in the Old Testament in Hebrew is Yahweh. Yahweh is translated, I am that I am.

It's a Hebrew word that is supposed to resemble the sound of breathing so that you would know that you breathe in, you breathe out. Yahweh, that God gave you that breath that you have, and he is as close as your next breath. And when Jesus says, I am the bread of life, he's saying, Yahweh. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me,

and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. You theological nerds, this is where we get words like unconditional election and perseverance of the saints. Sometimes people ask me the question, can a Christian lose in salvation? Wrong question. The question is, can God lose one of his children? Nope. No way. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me.

This is a rescue mission. 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 the 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. So some people look at these two verses because they're real close together, and they're like, all right, pastor, which one is it? So does God draw us to himself, or do we have to believe in Him?

And Jesus would go, yep. That's exactly right. Well, which one? Well, see, man, God doesn't live in the tyranny of the war. That God draws, and you need to believe. and if you're asking, well, is God drawing me? I'm telling you, the empirical evidence, if you're hearing this sermon right now, is in this moment right now.

If you don't know him, God is drawing you unto himself, so you need to look on the sun and believe. Yeah, man. And now the Jews are going to grumble. That's what 41 says. And remember, we learned last week, man, Jesus knows the heart of every man, so he knows they're grumbling. So he's going to, like, thin the crowd.

That's what he's going to do. He's going to thin the crowd. He's going to start teaching in a way that in the business, we call this as a space maker. Because Jesus isn't in the crowd business. He's in the disciple making business. Look, man, in Jacksonville, if you want to be in the crowd business, just through monster trucks, the biggest crowd we ever have, all right?

And so here's what he's going to say. It's not a very secret sensitive sermon. So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. And they said, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? This is crazy, man.

They can't see beyond their own religion and tradition. I mean, there are a few feet away from Jesus, and they miss Jesus. This one worries me about church folk. There's a bunch of church folk, and you're in the presence of Jesus every single week, and you miss Jesus. Some people miss Jesus because of their tradition. They're more interested in conserving their culture than bringing about the kingdom of heaven. Some people miss Jesus because you think your works earn your right. righteousness, which means this, that like you look at Jesus on the cross and be like,

that was not enough for my salvation. I got to help you out here by doing good works. Some people miss Jesus because they treat Jesus as a means to your own end, your political agenda or whatever your personal goals are. Some people miss Jesus because they think grace is a license to do whatever you want. You can do whatever you want. He's just not your Lord if you do that. Some people miss Jesus because they walk away from him because they weren't treated right by people that claim to follow Jesus. Listen, man, when you get mistreated by a Christian, it's just more evidence that we all need a Savior.

Some people walk away from Jesus because of their own shame and pain, and then the enemy begins to isolate them, and when you get isolated, you're in a perfect position to be taken out by the enemy. And then some people are like the rich young ruler, man. You like Jesus, you're into Jesus, but he requires everything, and there's one thing you like, like, and the shiny things of this world are just too important. So you walk away, sad. And so here's how Jesus answered them. He says, 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. It is written

in the prophets, and they will be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Here's what he's saying. This is very unpopular today. He is saying, you cannot claim to know God the Father and reject Jesus, God the Son. Impossible. You can't do it. Not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God. He's saying, I have. He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. He's going to repeat himself, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. He said, and that was temporary. This, talking about himself, this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. 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. To which if you're one of the disciples in your note taker, you're like, wait, what? Now, it was super cool up to this point. I mean, miracles, walking on water, and I love when you jab, the religious people, who doesn't love that? Did he say the bread that he will, He didn't say he would give his flesh, right? Do you get, no takers are like, did you get flesh? Sound like he probably said fish.

Did he say fish? I bet he said fish. Because there's no way he said flesh, because we, I mean, we're Jews. We can't eat pork, much less the prophet. You know what I'm saying? Like, what are we doing here? And listen, I'm telling you,

this does not land as heavy on us because we are not under the Old Testament dietary restrictions. Do you understand? Like, they couldn't eat a medium-rare steak. Right? And I've told you before, a bacon rat filet cooked medium rare. That's gospel meat. It is, man. Pre-crucruciedion resurrection,

can't eat that. Now, glory to God. You know what else? Some gospel meat? Sausage. You can eat sausage. I got two friends that started a sausage company called the sausage dudes. Do you need to know these guys to go to our church? As an act of your expression of believing the gospel, you should go to public and buy out all the sausage dues sausage and eat of it and read this right here, okay but they couldn't do it verse 52 and the jews then disputed among themselves saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat because that doesn't make any sense and so jesus said to them now if you're one of the disciples you're probably thinking all right no hold on hold on he's going to explain it he's going to make it better like one time i heard him tell a dude to gouge out his eye but nobody was like

with their eye okay it's going to be like he's going to turn this thing around and i mean we don't want to get canceled we just got started so he's going to make it all better that's what he does He invented the Jesus juke, okay? So he's going to explain it, and it's going to be great. Okay, so everybody just hang in here. So here's his explanation. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Uh-oh, he just added blood.

He's like, I see your flesh and I up you some blood. Did he add blood? What are he doing, man? Then he keeps going. Whoever feeds on my flesh. I don't know why, but feeds on makes it sound worse to me. Eat is like a bite. Feeds on is like walking dead, like, ah, y, you know?

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. They're like, not better. This is not better. All right. This did not happen, except only in my mind. I can't imagine if you were one of the disciples there, and Jesus is, I mean, the crowd is going great.

They're like, look, man, we've got 20,000 people, right? This is going so good. Everybody's full. just walking on water. I mean, man, we are, all our Yelp reviews are super great. This is going awesome. What you're talking about, so what if Peter comes in and goes, hey, time out, we're just thinking a quick break.

The Messiah is kind of tired, kind of worn out, you know, because he walked on water all the way here. Anybody want to talk about that for a little while? And so if you just, tell you what, we're going to do a quick intermission. We've got some snacks out in the lobby. We've got leftover fish and loaves. Remember that one? Can we talk about that miracle for a little while?

And then we'll just, you know, let me have a little talk with the Messiah. We'll be right back. He'll be like, Jesus, what are you doing? What are you doing? We left everything for you, and now you're talking like a crazy person. What are you doing? All right, come on back together. Now the Messiah is going to make everything clear.

Verse 55, for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink, and whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I and him as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so whoever feeds on me, he, also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread that fathers ate and died. Jesus is like, you want the bread? I got your bread. Eat my flesh and drink my blood. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. And Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught in Copernium and then Mike drop. Just no explanation whatsoever. See, Part of the reason he doesn't explain it is this, man, we're not saved by understanding of

teachings. We're saved by faith, period. I know some religious experts in Hebrew and Greek, and they have never surrendered their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And then I know some people, man, and they don't really know the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And in the beginning of the service, when I'm like, turn to John and you're like, who's John? Hey, John, what's up? All right? But those people know that when Jesus died on the cross, of them how eight counted for them. That's how you're saved. Not some kind of deeper understanding of a teaching. It's about surrendering to the Lordship of Christ. And when many of his disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard teaching. Who can listen to it? You ever been there? You ever get to

parts of the Bible and you're like, uh-oh? I mean, things that you don't understand. Hard teachings about salvation and who goes to heaven and who goes to hell and why do bad things happen, all those kinds of things? Yeah, man. Ultimately and fundamentally, we just have to trust that he knows better than we do. But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, do you take offense at this? And they're like, yeah. Yes, we take offense at this. What are you talking about? I don't know if you notice this, but the king doesn't give suggestions. And he does not owe us an explanation. His ways are not our ways. Then he says, He gives you a little clue here, okay?

As a post-resurrection believer, this next verse is the key to unlock what he's talking about. He says, then what if you were to see the son of man ascending to where he was before? Here's what he's saying. He's like, just hanging here. One day it's going to make sense, okay?

There's going to come a day where you're on the other side of the Mount of Olives, and I, at that point, will have some past in the rear view, meaning my full life, death, resurrection, and I'm about to ascend to the right hand of God.

the Father, and as you see me ascending the right hand of God, the Father, giving out the Great Commission, this is going to make a lot more sense then than it does now, but right now I just need you to trust me. Then he says, it is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and Life, but there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was, who would betray him. And he said, this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him

by the Father. Verse 66. This is just kind of weirds me out, but this is verse 6, 66. And after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. And Jesus does not go after them. Listen, I'm just telling you, if I was preaching right now,

and this whole section got up and started to leave, because I said something true, but you didn't understand, I'd be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, sit back down, sit back down. Let me explain what's going on here. Because here's what he's actually talking about. He could explain this in about four sentences. He could say, all right, so you don't have to actually, like, come up and get an IV drip and, like, drink blood and then bite me on the tricep.

So what I'm going to do, and just, like, in a few chapters here, on the last week of my life, I'm going to get the disciples together. We're going to sit down and wash everybody's feet. And then I'm going to take the bread. Remember the Passover? The Passover was actually about me. I am the lamb who is slain for the forgiveness of sin. And so we're going to take some pita bread and we're going to break it and then we're going to eat it so that we can remember what. I did on the cross. My body is going to be broken for the payment of your sin. And then we're going to

take a cup of wine, not blood, and I'm going to say, this is like my blood. And every time you drink of this, you remember that I poured out my blood for you. And then you fast forward a whole bunch of years, and people are just going to sit in rows and these little like, like, chalkglass cups are going to come around. You're going to get a little geez that and you're going to eat. It's going to get stuck in the roof of your mouth and a little welches. And that's what we're talking about, okay? It's not cannibalism. What he's really saying is, without my life, death, and resurrection, you have no part with me and you have eternal life. He explains none of it. He explains none of it. And people begin to leave. And again, man, especially as Americans, we think we deserve to know

and that Jesus owes us an explanation. We think God owes us an explanation. I don't know where we got that idea. We got that idea from the politicians, not from the Bible. And so a bunch of people start walking away. Why? Because one, they wanted more signs. I can imagine the crowd. Well, he's changed. I was here back in the beginning, and it used to be much different than this. He's changed. He used to walk on water, and we got free bread. I used to somebody eat my flesh, okay? He's changed. And some people were like, I didn't get my knees met. I mean, he fed me yesterday, but what about today? I'm not getting fed. And some people are like, yeah, you know what? They have pre-decided what to believe, and if he doesn't line up with him, they're saying they're out.

for some of them that they're like Jesus didn't act right or I've been you know what I was triggered I had a bad experience with that teaching I'm out and this is where it's crazy man you see because Jesus looks at the thinning crowd and he wasn't real big on counting the people he wanted to know if he could count on the people

see the difference and then he looks at the 12 and he goes do you want to go away as well they're leaving hey boss they're leaving and then he's like do you want to leave too Now here's the deal, man. You ever been there?

I know you're not supposed to talk about it at church, but you've ever been there? You ever look at God and be like, what are you doing? What are you doing? I don't understand. God, I've got this prayer request, and if you'll just do what I say, I got it all figured out. I can already imagine my video that they're going to show at church about how you reconcile the marriage or you heal me or you heal her or whatever it is, and we're going to give you all the glory. People will see what you do, and they will come.

to know you. Or some of you, last week, you came down for prayer and anointing, and you believed, and you're trying to do it right. You're going to get your miracle. And it could be a health thing. It could be a cancer thing. I'm going to tell you, man, why do Christians get cancer? I don't know. I wouldn't work it that way. If I was orchestrating the world, Christians would never get cancer. I think I would do it. Like, if you're a terrorist, boom, you get cancer. You'd be putting your bomb together. And you'd be dead. That's how that would work. Okay? Or maybe it's your marriage, right? your marriage? You try to do right. You make a vow. And it's just, it feels, it feels dead. Or maybe you're fighting an addiction. You know, like, God, I, would you please take these desires away from me?

I don't want to want this anymore. And he doesn't take it away. Or maybe it's a money thing and it wasn't your fault, man. Somebody stole something from you or somebody got sick or a prodigal child. You're like, Lord, I don't get it. Is it my fault? Did I do this? or maybe it's a depression. Do you want to wake up being filled with the joy of the Lord or a church experience? You had a bad church experience. You're like, Lord, I trusted you, and the people that were supposed to shepherd me hurt me, what are you doing?

Here's the one I scratched my head almost, man. Infertility, you struggle with infertility? I can tell you the number of couples I'm praying for that struggle with infertility. I'm just telling you, man, as a pastor, I don't, I can't get, I'm like, Lord, these people are awesome. All they want to do is raise the Lord. disciple. Help me understand why the people that seem like they be the greatest parents on earth can't have a baby and the least qualified humans I've ever seen in my life can

they just crank them out. Can we just swap that? Have you ever been there? You ever pray and pray and pray and he doesn't do what you want him to do and you can't get your mind around it? Listen man I've been in the hospital and praying God would heal this girl. God I got it figured out man, 15-year-old girl, McKenzie Wilson, I go in there. And my Lord, I got it figured out. Listen, just, I'll go in, anointer with oil, pray. There's about 200 kids in the lobby right now. She can come walking out and just give testimony to the power of God

and we'll baptize all these kids. That sounds a good plan, doesn't it? And it won't even dim the lights in heaven, man, you got this. I mean, you healed a girl one time by accident. You're walking around in Copernica. Who touched me? And she got healed. You didn't even mean to, it seems like.

We could leverage this one for your glory. And sometimes you pray and you get a miracle. And sometimes you pray and you don't. I mean, as I was writing this book, I lose my best friend, me and Bradley, go up into mountains of the highlands of Scotland, and he don't make it back, man. And during the same time, Ben Williams goes down with terminal brain cancer. They said he had three years to live.

The original diagnosis, according to what they said, he's supposed to be in hospice right now. He led worship last week. Okay? So what do you do, man? What do you do? Because I can tell you, here's what the enemy wants you to do. The enemy wants you to doubt your beliefs and believe your doubts.

And the Spirit of God wants you to believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. So what do you do when it doesn't make sense? Peter's answer is like my lifeline. Jesus says, you want to leave too? The reason he asked him is because he wants to leave. He's like, I've made a terrible decision. I think I probably need to go back to my dad and fish with him. But he looks around and he weighs all of his options.

And in verse 68, Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? He doesn't say where should we go. He says, to whom shall we go? Because here's what he knows is to walk away from Jesus. You're going to walk to some other thing in this world. And what this world has for us is not what you're looking for. I've seen a bunch of people get in some jacked up situations and walk away from Jesus, and they did not walk toward peace.

They walked toward pain. None of their questions got answers. Now they've just got scars to go with it. He says, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And then notice the order of these words. He says, we have believed and have come to know that you are the holy one of God. You see, as Americans, we want to come to know and then decide if we want to.

to believe. That's not how the gospel works. We have trusted you. We have no idea what you're talking about with the eat, the flesh, drink, the blood stuff. We have no idea the direction that you're going. But we believe that you are the Holy One of God, that you have eternal life. And because we believe we are coming to know more about who you are and more about your character and more about what your word says, because if you think he's just practical and not glorious, he'll never be enough for you. So here's the point, man. What do you do with doubts and unanswered questions

and when life doesn't go your way? Here's what you do. You pick them up and you follow after Jesus. He's the only one offering eternal life. And I don't know what you're going through. I know it's rough. I am not trying to diminish the pain that you may be experiencing

or the bouts of doubt that you may have. And if we sat down one-on-one and you shared this with me, man, I'm telling you, I'd weep with you, and I'd pray with you, and I'd feel for you. But the reason that I know he can be trusted is imagine with me if we could back ourselves up 2,000 plus years and you were standing on that Good Friday at the foot of Galgotha, Mount Calvary.

And you saw the Holy One of God, Jesus the Christ, the lamb, butchered and hanging on a cross. I think every single one of us, if we didn't know how the thing was going to go, pre-resurrection, pre-death, and Jesus is hanging on across every single one of us. We go, God, have you completely lost control? What are you doing? This doesn't make any sense to us whatsoever. What are you doing? And he would say, I'm redeeming the world. You see, this is not the end of the story. See, what Peter says is, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And when, and when you put your faith in Jesus, then the current pain that you're in,

the current doubt that you're in, the current fear that you're dealing with is not the end of your story. The end of your story is an eternity with him. And somehow, I don't know how to explain it. I have a long list of people I would love to take out. Brad Bowen was not on my list. You understand what I mean?

But somehow, somehow, right now I see in part, one day I'm going to see fully, and I trust and believe because of the goodness of God on the cross and the empty tomb, that there will be a day where the curtains part and I see completely and no and full, and I go, there you are. You did it again, Lord. That you were at work in all things for the good of those that love you and are called according

to your purpose. So some of you are there right now, and I dare you to choose to believe. You got doubts, you got fears, you got unanswered questions, you got a thing that you've been praying and praying and praying for, and it doesn't seem like there's any movement, man, don't give up. You just pick up your doubts, you pick up your questions, you pick up your fears, and you just follow after Jesus. In fact, Peter writes this.

Peter says, cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. This is why we make such a big deal about coming and praying at the end of our services. We've loaded up the carpets to make sure that there's enough room. We all join our voices together and sing corporately, and we're going to sing what we mean. We're going to sing the words of the song say this. A million things are pulling me away. a million idols screaming other names, but you're the only one with the power to save.

Oh, God, help me to see it. Does that sound like a prayer to anybody? So we're going to do what Peter does. Without any explanation from God, we're going to pick up our doubts, going to pick up our pain, pick up all the what-ifs, and we're just going to come and cast him on him

because he cares for us. Would you be standing? Let me pray for you. good and gracious Heavenly Father God, we love you more than anything. And Lord, I pray for the man, the woman, the student. God, I pray for the health situation and the marriage. Lord, I pray for the addiction. I pray for the person that is, finds themselves in a situation and all of their effort and energy has been focused on the situation that they're in. And so, Lord, I pray that by the powerful work of the spirit of God and the believer in Jesus, Lord, that you would

lift up our eyes above the horizon of the temporary that we live in, and you would help us fix our eyes on you, the author, the beginner, and the finisher of our faith. And God, we know that you hear our prayers and that you care about your children. And God, even when we can't see it, we know you're at work, and that you can be trusted. And that your love for us is not primarily expressed to us in our current situation, but your love for us is demonstrated at the cross once and for all. And so, God, we love you, and we want to love you, and we want to so fix our eyes on you that the things of this world grow strangely dim. God, would you do that for us? We prayed in Jesus' name, amen. So, church, we respond. I would invite you to come and pray, cast all your cares upon him,

because he cares for you, that you would physically not go away from him, that you would come to him, and that we would join our voices together, like one church in 11 locations now. We all sing the same song at the same time, and we would join our voices together as a prayer. We want to love you. And you would bring your ties and offerings. You would take what He has put in your hands,

and you would say, here, Jesus, do what you will with it. So let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond.