Beyond the Finger: Finding Assurance in God’s Sovereign Grace

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I invite you to open your Bible to our main scripture for today.
[00:00:05] It's John 6.
[00:00:07] John chapter 6.
[00:00:07] One of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible.
[00:00:10] While we're turning there, we're going to read a quote for today.
[00:00:15] It's from Votie Bonham.
[00:00:19] He says,
[00:00:38] I believe in Christ.
[00:00:39] To God be the glory for that.
[00:00:41] For everything that you can think of, and everything you don't even know about, to God be the glory for those things.
[00:00:48] Our scripture today, and really everything from this point all the way through the end of chapter 6, separates the wheat and the chaff.
[00:00:55] This is one of the most deeper theological parts of John's Gospel.
[00:01:00] And it does that.
[00:01:02] It separates the wheat and the chaff.
[00:01:03] But how we respond to the things that we get to read today.
[00:01:07] The words of Christ are going to elicit a response from us as we read it.
[00:01:12] We're either going to be very comforted by what we read here or we're going to go, what's that?
[00:01:16] How have I never heard this before?
[00:01:17] I'm kind of offended by what I'm reading here.
[00:01:19] The way that those people in that big crowd are offended.
[00:01:35] This portion of Scripture is one of the most comforting parts of the entire Bible.
[00:01:40] But for those with a high view of man, as opposed to a high view of God, this portion of Scripture is offensive.
[00:01:46] They don't want to hear it.
[00:01:47] You won't hear these verses read in every church.
[00:01:50] You should, but you won't.
[00:01:52] Because there are people in this world that really don't like what we're about to read today.
[00:01:57] This part of scripture, it will challenge what you think about your role in salvation.
[00:02:03] And as we work our way through the rest of this chapter, you'll see why some people really don't like what Jesus is about to say here.
[00:02:13] We know, we've been saved by grace, our eyes have been opened, our hearts have been changed.
[00:02:17] We know that we have no righteousness of our own, but any righteousness we have
[00:02:39] This is one of those places that they're going to read and go, don't let that at all.
[00:02:42] Let's never speak of this again.
[00:02:44] And you're going to have conversations with people that call themselves Christians and you'll point to this part of the Bible and they'll be like, let's not talk about that.
[00:03:06] People that do get offended by these things are going to tell you who they are by the way that they respond to them.
[00:03:13] There's this big crowd that we see pursuing Jesus in our scripture today.
[00:03:17] They're pursuing him because they want to see what he might do.
[00:03:19] They're really interested in what's going to happen next.
[00:03:34] They're not looking at him for salvation.
[00:03:36] They're looking at him to do something for them.
[00:03:39] So when Jesus tells those people what his ministry is really for and why he does the things that he does, they don't like what he says.
[00:03:48] And because of what he says to them, they stop following him.
[00:03:51] These are fair-weather followers that we see in the scripture today.
[00:03:55] And the same reason that those people stop following Jesus after he says these things
[00:04:00] is the same reason that some people in our time don't like what we're about to read in the gospel of John here and that lets us know that there's something that we as Christians are supposed to see here there's something important to this when those self-righteous goats don't like what the good shepherd says to his sheep you have to ask yourself why that is let's all stand as we read the word of God our main scripture for today is
[00:04:51] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
[00:05:03] When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here?
[00:05:45] So that we may see and believe you.
[00:05:48] What work do you perform?
[00:05:49] Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.
[00:05:55] Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
[00:06:16] He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.
[00:06:23] But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe.
[00:06:27] All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.
[00:06:34] For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
[00:06:44] I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
[00:06:47] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on that last day.
[00:06:58] Let's pray.
[00:07:00] Our Father in heaven, Lord God, we praise you.
[00:07:03] Lord, we thank you for this privilege you've given us
[00:07:17] We thank you for this.
[00:07:22] We love you.
[00:07:24] We praise you.
[00:07:26] In Jesus' name.
[00:07:31] Amen.
[00:07:33] This is describing what happened the day after that miracle with the fish and the loaves, where Jesus fed that mass of
[00:08:21] They're scared at first.
[00:08:25] They think he's a ghost when they first see him.
[00:08:27] But they see him.
[00:08:28] He says, don't fear, it's me.
[00:08:29] And they invite him onto the boat.
[00:08:31] And then they worship him.
[00:08:33] They worship him with the awareness that he is the Son of God.
[00:08:37] And when that happens, their boat then arrives instantly at their destination on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
[00:08:44] There's a lot of really important things that happen in a very short period of time at the start of this chapter.
[00:08:50] And our scripture today
[00:08:54] When that big crowd that Jesus fed with the bread and the fish goes looking for him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
[00:09:01] As we read this, it's important that we know who that crowd is.
[00:09:04] Who are these people that are seeking Jesus, that are willing to get these little boats to cross this crazy lake that is known for its terrible weather?
[00:09:14] Why are they seeking Jesus?
[00:09:16] And who are they?
[00:09:17] What is it that they want?
[00:09:19] These are not true disciples that want to follow the Messiah.
[00:09:30] These are fair-weathered followers that we're reading about here.
[00:09:33] They're people that just want to see another miracle.
[00:09:35] They just want to get fed and want something from Jesus.
[00:09:38] And Jesus shows us who these people are.
[00:09:41] We see it by the way that they respond to what He says.
[00:09:45] We know a tree by its fruit.
[00:09:46] And you can see who a man is by the things that he does and the way that he responds to certain things.
[00:09:51] And the way that these people respond to the Word of God, the way they respond to what Jesus revealed
[00:10:04] What the will of God is, and these people don't like it.
[00:10:08] As a Christian, as someone who has had grace change you and give you life in Christ, when you read the will of God and His Word, there's something exciting about that.
[00:10:18] There's something that comforts you in knowing what God wants you to do, what it is that you've been called to.
[00:10:33] So you see who they are by the way that they respond to the truth being revealed to them here.
[00:10:39] Jesus explains to these people what God's will is.
[00:10:43] He tells them the reason for those miracles that they really want to see.
[00:10:46] They want to see some more.
[00:10:47] He tells them what those miracles are for and why he's doing them.
[00:10:50] He tells them what he came to accomplish and why.
[00:10:52] And they do not like it.
[00:10:54] In verses 22,
[00:11:16] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they themselves got into small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
[00:11:29] This huge crowd of people is pursuing Jesus because of the sign that they witnessed the day before with that bread and fish.
[00:11:36] These people have no idea that he's walked on the water though.
[00:11:39] They're looking for the miracle before that miracle and they're like, we want to see
[00:11:57] That gives that life to the world.
[00:12:00] And it gives us really good contrast for what we're going to see later regarding Jesus' popularity.
[00:12:05] At first, everybody loves Jesus.
[00:12:08] Everybody except for those religious leaders.
[00:12:09] They love Jesus.
[00:12:11] The masses love him.
[00:12:12] They embrace him.
[00:12:13] They're telling all their friends and family about him.
[00:12:16] That word of mouth gets around and people start talking about him.
[00:12:25] But as soon as Jesus speaks up and explains his ministry, how it's this inherently spiritual thing, and that the physical miracles that he does points to what he came to accomplish, how they're all for the glory of God, how he came to save us.
[00:12:43] When he starts talking about those things, most of these people that hear him explaining, they choose to walk away from him and not follow him anymore.
[00:13:05] When you hear the truth of what Jesus came to accomplish, the masses turn, and many of them don't want to follow him.
[00:13:16] Only that grace is at work in their hearts.
[00:13:19] Do they still want to follow him?
[00:13:20] Because it reveals the truth to them, and they respond with faith.
[00:13:24] In verses 25-27, the Bible says, When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here?
[00:13:33] Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, or amen, amen, I say to you, you seek me not because you sought signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
[00:13:43] Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on him
[00:14:04] Jesus, breaking those loaves and the fish and feeding the mass of people, it would stir something in you and you would want to draw close to Him because of grace.
[00:14:13] There's this thing happening that God is responsible for as He works in the people's hearts.
[00:14:20] They're confirmed with the truth and they want more of it.
[00:14:23] They want to know their Creator.
[00:14:24] They want to draw close to Him.
[00:14:38] The way you feel reading about Jesus' miracles is supposed to stir something in us.
[00:14:44] They're supernatural events that always accomplish what God intends for those things to do.
[00:14:50] But these people in that crowd, this huge mass of people, they're not seeking God.
[00:14:55] They're seeking the miracles.
[00:14:56] It's like, you ever heard that expression about the finger that points at the moon?
[00:15:00] You're pointing at a thing, but they're not looking at the thing you're pointing at.
[00:15:02] They're looking at your finger as you point.
[00:15:34] Those miracles and the words that Jesus speaks in our scripture today, they do accomplish exactly what the Lord God intended for them to do.
[00:15:45] These people followed Jesus all the way over the Sea of Galilee, but they followed him for the wrong reasons.
[00:16:04] In this case, things that they don't like to hear come their way.
[00:16:07] They fall away because it hasn't taken root in their hearts.
[00:16:11] Jesus says, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate with the loaves and were filled.
[00:16:18] So what he says here is using their intentions to shine a light on their hearts and show what they really saw.
[00:16:25] And from there, he then reframes it to direct their attention to
[00:16:32] He uses their physical hunger to point to their spiritual need.
[00:16:36] The food of this world, it perishes.
[00:16:39] It spoils.
[00:16:40] But the spiritual food that the Messiah offers is never going to spoil.
[00:16:45] It's going to endure to eternity.
[00:16:47] It gives eternal life to those who receive it.
[00:16:50] But so many of the people in this crowd, they can't even hear what Jesus is saying.
[00:16:55] It goes right over their heads.
[00:16:57] It's bouncing right off of them.
[00:17:03] As the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2.14, the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
[00:17:17] Some people, you can share your faith until you're blue in the face, and they cannot hear what you're saying.
[00:17:22] They don't understand what you're saying.
[00:17:23] It's not that they don't know the words you're speaking, it's that they can't really receive it because they're in the flesh.
[00:17:29] They're the things of the Spirit you're trying to share with them, but they're looking at it from a worldly perspective.
[00:17:36] The weight of the truth in what Jesus is saying to these
[00:18:08] We're looking at their circumstances and everything that they do in their lives is a response to what's happening in their life.
[00:18:14] They're not looking to God and putting their hope in Him.
[00:18:17] They're looking at the world and hoping that their happiness is based on what's happening in their lives from one moment to the next.
[00:18:25] How many people do you know that get that way?
[00:18:27] We get that way sometimes when we get distracted.
[00:18:29] We start focusing on the storm.
[00:18:37] Proceed whatever our circumstances are as a gift that God has given us.
[00:18:42] In verses 28 and 29, the Bible says, That question shows us their mindset, doesn't it?
[00:18:54] Jesus answered and said,
[00:19:10] The Bible is telling us that our belief is rooted in Christ, in the grace of God that is at work in us.
[00:19:24] Our faith is a response to His grace.
[00:19:29] False teachers will tell you that faith comes before grace.
[00:19:32] You have to believe and then He gives you grace and He saves you.
[00:19:39] that some people don't even want to talk about, much less have a conversation about.
[00:20:07] It is the gift and command of God.
[00:20:10] It is the good fruit of grace that He bears through His people.
[00:20:14] We are saved by grace through faith.
[00:20:17] Your faith is what marks you and sets you apart as His people in this world.
[00:20:22] He marks you.
[00:20:23] You don't mark yourself.
[00:20:24] He has marked you.
[00:20:26] You have His seal upon you.
[00:20:28] The faith that you have.
[00:20:37] Jesus' people shine His light through the life that you live as you live out your faith.
[00:20:42] You can only do that because of His grace, because He is at work in your heart.
[00:20:47] He takes people who are spiritually dead, like we were, and He gives us life in Christ.
[00:20:53] Praise the Lord for that, because if it was up to us, none of us would ever receive that eternal life.
[00:20:59] Jesus says, this is the work of God, that you believe in Christ.
[00:21:10] A self-righteous heart cannot hear that.
[00:21:13] But that is what Jesus is saying here.
[00:21:17] It really challenges us to examine what we think our role in salvation is.
[00:21:22] If we read this and we say, I don't like that, it kind of punches us in the gut.
[00:21:27] And it forces us to examine what we think we do to contribute to our salvation.
[00:21:33] But if we read it, we say, of course it's the work of God, obviously.
[00:21:42] We don't try to take any credit for it because we know that to God goes all the glory.
[00:21:48] The Bible teaches that all of us, every person that has ever lived, were born in sin.
[00:21:54] We were all born as spiritually dead sinners.
[00:21:57] Our nature is sinful by default.
[00:21:59] That's what our flesh is all about.
[00:22:20] We are the battlefield for the spiritual war that is being fought in this world.
[00:22:30] You're a soldier for Christ, but you're also the battlefield that that battle is happening on.
[00:22:36] Jesus said,
[00:22:47] Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.
[00:22:54] It doesn't say some of us.
[00:22:55] It doesn't even say most of us.
[00:22:57] It says all of us.
[00:22:59] All of us have gone astray, but the Lord Jesus Christ has caused our sin to fall on him.
[00:23:07] There's something comforting in that, but it also humbles you knowing that you can
[00:23:30] Our scripture makes self-righteous people very, very uncomfortable.
[00:23:35] The fact that any of us believe in Christ is a supernatural work of God and He gets all the glory from it.
[00:23:42] He doesn't get 99% and you get 1%.
[00:23:54] We inherited that nature from Adam.
[00:23:58] In Romans 5.12, the Bible says, Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.
[00:24:04] And in this way, death came to all people, not just most people, to all of us, to all people.
[00:24:10] Every one of us is in Adam,
[00:24:42] Meditation of Life
[00:25:14] We were by nature deserving of wrath.
[00:25:17] We earned those wages.
[00:25:19] We deserve God's wrath.
[00:25:21] Not only because of our sinful actions, but because of our very nature that is sinful by default.
[00:25:27] And we inherited that sinful nature from Adam, our common ancestor.
[00:25:39] You can only know God.
[00:25:43] You can only see his kingdom because you've been born again as a new creature with a new nature in Christ.
[00:25:50] 1 Peter 1.3, our call to worship scripture today, says that God our Father has caused us to be born again.
[00:25:59] You didn't cause yourself to be born again.
[00:26:01] That's something that God did out of his great mercy.
[00:26:06] Jesus is telling us here in verse 29.
[00:26:09] It is a supernatural work of God that grabbed a hold of us and changed our hearts and causes us to believe.
[00:26:16] Faith is the fruit of the Spirit that dwells in you.
[00:26:20] He dwells in you because Christ hung on that cross and died in your place.
[00:26:24] Because God has given you grace and you've been reborn as a new creature.
[00:26:29] A self-righteous man will tell you that he has done something to allow God to save him.
[00:26:43] of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit,
[00:27:20] They say to him, What then do you do for a sign, so that we may see and believe you?
[00:27:31] What work do you perform?
[00:27:33] In verse 31, those same people cite Moses giving manna in the wilderness as the standard for why they believe.
[00:27:40] They need a sign.
[00:27:42] In verse 31, they say, Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness.
[00:27:46] As it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.
[00:27:52] He corrects what they're saying here, and he reminds them that it was God, not Moses, that gave them that manna in the wilderness.
[00:27:59] Jesus says to them, Truly, truly, or amen, amen, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
[00:28:10] For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.
[00:28:16] Jesus is the one that comes out of heaven and the true bread out of heaven it's not some physical thing that we can eat it is the one that gives life to the world but these people don't understand
[00:28:43] The bread of life.
[00:28:44] He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.
[00:28:49] That's the first of Jesus' I Am statements that we're going to read in John's Gospel, where he tells you directly who he is.
[00:28:57] And this is him telling that crowd of people directly that he is the great I Am.
[00:29:02] He is Yahweh.
[00:29:03] But the truth of what he's saying is lost in that crowd.
[00:29:07] Jesus tells them, I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe.
[00:29:16] They have seen the one that gives life to everything in his creation.
[00:29:20] They have seen the miracles that he does that testify about who he is.
[00:29:24] They have heard his words.
[00:29:26] They've spoken directly to the Messiah, but they do not believe because they are blind to the truth.
[00:29:32] For us to believe, it takes a supernatural act.
[00:29:35] It takes a miracle from God to take dead people and give us life in Christ.
[00:29:41] Our salvation is this amazing
[00:29:51] We're confronted with it, we respond with faith.
[00:30:20] The point that Jesus is making here in his last few verses is that he is the ultimate provision from God.
[00:30:32] He is the eternal sustenance that all of creation is rooted in.
[00:30:36] Through faith in him we are given life and without him we are spiritually
[00:31:14] And as you go through your week, make this the verse that you chew on and think about what Jesus is saying in the scripture here.
[00:31:24] Think about what he is implying by what he says here.
[00:31:28] All that the Father gives to the Son, all of them will come to Jesus.
[00:31:34] All of them.
[00:31:36] Not one is going to fall away.
[00:31:38] Not one is going to slip through his fingers.
[00:31:41] That means nobody falls through the cracks.
[00:31:43] For those with a high view of God, that is the most comforting thing in the world.
[00:31:47] Because when God decided to save us, when He created us for the purpose of being His, He factored in how stubborn and stupid we can sometimes be.
[00:31:55] We read this and we say, all that the Father gives to the Son are going to come to Him?
[00:31:59] Praise the Lord.
[00:32:01] Because if it was something that could be messed up, I'm probably going to mess it up.
[00:32:04] If it was something I could stumble over, I'm going to stumble over it.
[00:32:07] If I have to grab a hold of it and hold tight to it, I'm going to lose it.
[00:32:11] Because I'm not capable of grabbing a hold of it or holding on to it with everything that I have.
[00:32:16] It's only by God's grace.
[00:32:28] and the Holy Spirit.
[00:33:05] If every single person that the Father gives to Christ always come to him 100% of the time, and those that do come to him, he will never turn away.
[00:33:16] He sees every single one of them without exception.
[00:33:19] If this is true and we know it is, then why is there anyone in hell?
[00:33:24] What do we do with that information?
[00:34:32] We're supposed to point each other to scripture and say, this is what God said.
[00:34:36] What do you think about it?
[00:34:37] How has this affected you?
[00:34:38] How does this grow you in your faith as you dig into his word?
[00:34:42] You can see why this portion of scripture would offend self-righteous people.
[00:34:46] You can see why some preachers avoid this chapter of scripture at all costs.
[00:34:51] They will not talk about it.
[00:35:04] You're comforted by it because you know you can't mess it up.
[00:35:42] Jesus is saying it directly here.
[00:35:45] Everyone that the Father gives to the Son will come to Him.
[00:35:48] And all that come to Him, He will give eternal life to.
[00:35:52] But we cannot come to Christ unless the Father who sent Jesus draws us to Him and gives us to His Son.
[00:36:19] Even the way that we love God is reliant on His grace.
[00:36:25] All of it is about God.
[00:36:45] Miracle.
[00:36:46] That he could take someone from the spiritually dead and give you life in Christ.
[00:37:14] God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[00:37:25] Praise the Lord God for His great mercy.
[00:37:27] Because without the supernatural work that He has done in our hearts, none of us would be His.
[00:37:32] If it were light on us, we'd all be in trouble.
[00:37:34] We'd all be going in the wrong direction.
[00:37:48] All that the Father has given me, I lose none, but raise it up on the last day.
[00:37:59] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.
[00:38:09] The glory of God is revealed to his creation
[00:38:28] is faithful to perfect it.
[00:38:30] According to Jesus, all that the Father gives to His Son, 100% of us, will come to Christ and be saved.
[00:38:36] Every sheep will arrive at their destination because the Good Shepherd ensures it.
[00:38:42] Praise the Lord for that.
[00:38:44] His grace humbles us.
[00:38:46] Our faith is His gift.
[00:38:48] Our perseverance is His promise.
[00:38:51] Because
[00:39:37] We pray that you would make us bold in how we share it with the people in our lives.
[00:39:42] We pray that you would help us in the ways we need help.