200404.ser
“Food That Cannot Satisfy”
CLBC Jan. 25/04 a.m.
Subject: Faith
Theme: Learning to walk by faith
Passage: John 6: 22 - 27,
Learning to walk by faith is one of the most difficult and yet one of the most
rewarding concepts of the Christian life. But that was the principle which Jesus had to teach
the huge crowds that were following him everywhere, that is what he had to teach his 12
disciples, and that is what he is still teaching us every day of our lives.
The crowd was puzzled. They couldn’t find Jesus.
They had followed him around the lake. They had listened to him all day. And then he had
fed them all. They had no idea where he got the food. It was as though he could just create food,
good food, the best bread and fish they had ever eaten. This Jesus was totally impressive.
Somebody started saying that this must be the promised king of Israel, and they all agreed.
Perhaps this was the one who could lead them against the Roman armies.
But then he had sent his disciples away in the boat, and he told the crowd to go home.
They saw him walk up the hill all by himself, and night fell. It was too late to walk home around
the lake, so they slept out in the open. This morning, they searched for him, but he was not to be
found. Then boats came and took many of them back to Capernaum. Others walked back around
the lake, and when they got back, there he was, talking to people.
How did he get there, they asked him, but he didn’t answer. Instead, Jesus said to them,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you
ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the
food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the
Father has set His seal on Him."
What on earth did he mean? That is what we want to find out today.
1. He meant that they were following him for all the wrong reasons.
The disciples may have been fooled into thinking that all these people were following
Jesus because they believed in Him and wanted Him as their Saviour and Master, but did they?
Jesus knew better. Jesus knew that they weren’t thinking about their souls; they were only
thinking about their stomachs. They were not seeking heavenly things; they were perfectly content
with earthly things.
Did they understand that all the miracles he performed were signs of his deity, and his
power to forgive sins and to change lives? Or were they just excitement junkies - waiting for the
latest thing to ooh and ahh over?
Of course they were. They hadn’t learned to trust Jesus as the true Messiah or as Saviour
and Lord. They were just normal human beings full of carnal, fleshly ideas and motivations. Hey,
Jesus was an exciting guy! After all, if he could feed over 5,000 people from nothing, if he could
cast out demons, and if he could heal people, he could do anything!
They were walking by sight, not by faith. That’s what normal human beings do.
See how well Jesus knew their true motivation.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because
you ate of the loaves and were filled.” They couldn’t deceive Jesus, even if they could fool
others.
In John 2: 25 we read that “Jesus knew all men, and had no need for anyone to tell him
about man for he knew what was in man.”
In 1 Samuel 16:7 we are told, “The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Conclusion:
There is a message there for all of us, isn’t there? Jesus know all about us. He knows us
through and through. He not only knows our words and our actions; he knows our thoughts and
our motivations. There is no use of trying to hide from God. Frankly as a Christian, I find
that knowledge freeing. Since He knows all about me, I can be open and honest with him, even
about my weaknesses and failures. I can confess all my sins and shortcomings to Him.”If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all
iniquities.” 1 John 1:9
If there is anyone who has not yet trusted Jesus for salvation, that knowledge can free you
also. If he already knows all about you, and if Jesus gave his life for you, he did it in full
awareness of every failure you have ever experienced or ever will experience, and he is willing to
receive you, and forgive you, and draw you to Himself. He has paid for all of your sin and wants
you to surrender all of it to Him.
Does it not make sense for us to be honest before God, and acknowledge the true state of our
heart, and turn our lives over to him now?
2. He meant that there is something far more important than satisfying our physical needs.
27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal
on Him."
a. Walking by sight says that the physical things are all important.
The job that we do, how much money we make, the house we live in, the food we eat, the
clothes we wear, the toys we buy, these are the things that the world counts as important, the
marks of success.
b. Walking by sight is so natural, so logical, so universal, that it surely must be the only
way to look at things.
For Christians as well as those who have not yet trusted Christ, it does seem that these are
the things that we need to consider. The world so easily presses us into its mould because it is the
way we have learned to think from childhood - but walking by sight leads to worry and to fear
and to depression.
c. “There is a better way than walking by sight,” says Jesus
“Don’t labour for food which perishes” he says.
Every bit of food that we eat perishes. No matter how many times we eat, we soon have
to eat again. No matter how much time and effort our wives put into preparing a tasty meal, and a
nourishing meal, and a beautifully presented meal, and no matter how it fills us, it never really
satisfies us for more than a few hours and then we have to do it all over again. No wonder that
wives get tired.
And so it is for everything that we give our energy and our time and our money to. There
is no lasting satisfaction in anything material and physical, even though that’s what dominates
people’s thinking.
Now don’t get this wrong. There is no excuse here for just sitting back waiting for
someone else to feed us or clothe us or house us. There is no prohibition here against working, or
earning money or providing for our family. As so often in scripture, Jesus is pointing out the
relative importance of what we are doing.
None of these things can really satisfy the cravings of the heart.
3. He meant that our spiritual needs are far more important than our physical needs.
27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal
on Him."
Food may satisfy our physical hunger but there is a spiritual hunger that physical food can
never satisfy. There is a haunting dissatisfaction, an unsatisfied longing in the heart, a sense of
incompleteness, which nothing physical or temporal can ever quench. People can be appallingly
rich, and appallingly hungry all at the same time.
To the woman at the well, Jesus spoke about living water. To Nicodemus he spoke about
a new birth. To the rich young ruler, he spoke about selling everything and giving to the poor.
Each of these people understood what he was saying in literal terms, and were confused. But the
woman at the well came to see that he was not promising that she would never come to the well
for water to drink. She came to trust Him as her saviour and her soul was satisfied, and she
wanted all the rest of the village to have this also. Nicodemus eventually came to see that Jesus
was talking about a spiritual rebirth and became a follower of Jesus. I dare to believe that the rich
young ruler eventually became a follower of Jesus who found his true riches in serving His new
Master. Some have suggested that he later was known as the apostle Paul.
Each of these learned the far greater importance of walking by faith, than walking by
sight. Each of these learned the truth of Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”
4. So how do we learn to walk by faith rather than by sight?
a. It is essential that we place our trust in Jesus Christ.
He does not wish people to think that they are safe when they are not.
People so easily believe that there is something in them which commends them to God,
even while their hearts are far away from him.
People think that because they are not atheists, they must be o.k.
They think that because they haven’t committed the worst sins like adultery or
murder, they must be o.k.
They think that because they have warm fuzzy feelings toward God, they
must be o.k.
They think that because the were baptized as a baby, or because
they went to Sunday School when they were children, or because they go to church once in a
while, they must be o.k.
People hope that if there is a God, He must be a kind and
loving God who will accept everyone and not condemn anyone, and so they are o.k.
But they are not o.k. By one means or another, Jesus must strip away all false hope until
they depend on him and on his sacrifice and on his righteousness alone and not on any good
works or fond hopes about their own goodness.
Jesus Christ is the One whom God the Father has sealed as the only way to God. No
one may come to God in any other way than through trusting Jesus.
b. But what of those who are Christians? Is there no word for us in these verses?
Of course there is. In fact we are the ones who are really able to "Labour for the food
which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father
has set His seal on Him."
It means that we need to feed ourselves on Christ by faith, continuously
learning to trust Him in every circumstance of life. What are the things you are concerned about?
What are the things you are worrying about. Have you taken God into the equation? After all, He
is the one who gives you health and strength and ability to do anything. If He were to withdraw
His hand even for a minute, everything you are working for and hoping for would all go out the
window.
It means that we need to feed ourselves on His Word.
Tell me, do you put even a fraction of the energy into feeding on His Word for your soul
that you put into feeding your body? Do you read a portion of God’s Word every day? Do you
take time to think about it, to meditate on it, to apply it to your daily life?
It means that we feed our souls by sharing with others in the study and the discussion of
the Word of God. Have you made hearing the Word on a regular weekly basis a priority in your
life? It is so easy to let it slip, and once we let it slip, we find it easier to let it slip again.
Do you use every opportunity to gather with your brothers and sisters in the study of
God’s Word? Do you count the fellowship of God’s people to be precious to you? Do you thrive
on discussing the Word, on digging into the truths of the word, on chewing it over with others?
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his brother.”
Do you spend time with God in prayer, worshipping Him, praising Him, bringing your
own needs to Him, as well as the needs of others?
Have you made Him a full partner in your financial affairs? Do you see your money as
your own, and grudgingly give him a little of it? Or do you recognize that every dollar that enters
your pocket is a gift of God, and that it is all His over which He has given you the privilege of
being a steward?
"Labour for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give
you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."
Here then is walking by faith, not by sight. All of this was in the mind of the Lord as he
challenged the crowd about their carnal mindedness. All of this was in his mind as he began to talk
to them about feeding on Him, on his flesh and on his blood. All of this was on his mind as he
watched them go away, because they were unwilling to understand what he was saying to them.
All of this was in his mind as he trained the twelve.
And all of this is in His mind this morning as He is here in our midst. Are you walking by
faith this morning? Amen
