Class 3 from this series was used in GCT Episode 367.
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Deep love for God’s people in
spite of their rebellion and
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Deep love for God’s people in
spite of their rebellion and
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their hard heartedness.
He definitely had the spirit of
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Christ.
Here’s one that you might not
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remember.
Who this is Jehoshaphat.
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She’s the one that took Joash,
the King’s son, and hid him from
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Athaliah.
That was when Athaliah was
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trying to kill all the heirs.
And the comments from the sister
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was it doesn’t matter who you
are, great or small, you can
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quietly do the right thing and
have an important place in God’s
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great design.
That that was a a really cool,
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cool one had Daniel, he prayed
even though the law prohibited
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it.
That was his faith.
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David, when Shimiai threw the
rocks at him, it showed the
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incredible grace that David
showed Jonah, his reluctance to
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do what needed to be done when
God told him to do it, and God’s
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grace in working with him.
And then Mark’s record of when
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Jesus cleanse the temple.
Jesus went to the temple and
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inspected it, and then he went
back the next day, we’re told,
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and turned over the tables of
the money changers.
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Sometimes we need to think about
our actions for a while before
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we act.
If we have an e-mail or a plan
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to have a conversation with
someone that might be a hard
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conversation, it’s a good idea
sometimes to write it down, to
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look at it the next day before
we actually make those comments.
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So those are the ones that I
received.
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Thank you for for all of those
this week.
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I still am accepting more even
though we won’t have a time to
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share those, but love to hear
those as well.
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So just a quick recap of
yesterday’s class, the lessons
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we learned.
Real belief motivates us to make
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changes in our lives.
Belief based on man made rituals
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and traditions is weak and
hesitant to combat sin.
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Worship based on faith is life
changing and filled with
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passion.
And then the last one, the word
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of God has the power to show us
what we’re really like and to
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inspire change in US.
And that brings us to to our our
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final class.
And the title for today is the
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work of God.
So we’ve been looking this week
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about, about the fact that John
wrote in his gospel in order to
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show people, in order to help
people to believe that Jesus is
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the Christ, the Son of God, and
that by believing that they
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might have life in his, in
Christ’s name.
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So the course of this work, the
work that he was doing was
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actually the work that was being
done by the Lord Jesus Christ.
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So John goes and writes these
things down.
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That was John’s work to help
people believe Jesus was doing
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these things to help people
believe.
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That was the work that Jesus was
doing.
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And then in John chapter 6, we
see that not only was it the
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work of of Jesus in doing these
things, but that it was also the
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work of God.
So in John 6:00 we we come to
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the feeding of the 5000, we come
to Jesus walking on the water.
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And then some of the people that
had eaten with the 5000, they
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came to Jesus and they asked him
what must we do to be doing the
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works of God?
And then in verse 29 Jesus
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answered them, This is the work
of God that you believe in whom
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he has sent.
And so Jesus was telling them
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that the work of helping to
people believe was not only his
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work, but it was the work of God
himself.
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It was the lurk, the work that
God was looking for people to do
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as well.
So we’re going to look at that
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this morning.
We’re going to look at this idea
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of people coming to believe, and
we’re going to look at God’s
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role in that.
So John 6 begins with Jesus
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being very very popular with
thousands and thousands of
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people following him.
But by the time we get to the
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end of chapter 699% of them,
probably more have stopped
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following Jesus and the chapter
ends with most of Jesus
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disciples leaving him and he is
alone with the 12.
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Now John six bridges 2 important
segments in Christ’s ministry.
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It forms like a transition
chapter between Jesus ministry
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in Galilee and the specialized
training of the disciples.
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And I think you could see that
with with him going from many,
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many people following him at the
beginning of the chapter to just
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the 12.
And Jesus at that point is going
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to begin to focus on specialized
training for them.
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And chapter 6 kind of is this
crossover chapter where Jesus
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moves from the one to the other.
And I think that makes total
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sense.
And we have two iconic, iconic
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miracles.
We have the feeding of the 5000,
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which one of is one of the few
events found in all four of the
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Gospels that gives us a bit of
an idea of its importance.
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And then we have Jesus walking
on the water, a miracle that I
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think almost everybody knows,
whether you know the Bible at
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all, you have heard of Jesus
walking on the water.
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And so we have these two
miracles that are so well known
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and they come right back-to-back
in John Chapter 6.
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And I’ll tell you at 1st, when
I, when I started to fit these
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two, started to try to fit these
two events together, I really
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struggled to, to find the
continuity between the two of
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them.
Each miracle seemed to have its
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own lesson.
And more than that, I think each
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miracle seems to have multiple
lessons in it.
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And the lessons didn’t seem to
really connect for me for for
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really a long time as I was as I
was studying this.
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And I would go over it and I
would go over it and go over it.
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But then I found a divine
comment about this in Mark
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chapter 6 that I think really
helps us to bring the 2 events
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together.
And the event comes after the
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feeding of the 5000.
It’s actually a comment that’s
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made just after Jesus came
walking on the water and then he
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gets into the boat with the
disciples.
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So if you’ll open your Bibles to
Mark chapter 6, we’re going to
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look that, look at that.
We’re going to look at what
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happens here.
We’re also going to look at Mark
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chapter 8.
So in Mark chapter 6, and we’re
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going to look at verse 50, it
says for they all saw, they saw
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him.
They saw Jesus walking on the
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water.
So this is the disciples,
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they’re in the boat.
They saw Jesus walking on the
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water and they were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them
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and he said, take heart.
It is.
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I do not be afraid.
The disciples were terrified
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when they saw Jesus walking on
the water because they didn’t
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know what they were seeing.
And when they realized that it
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was Jesus, we’re told that they
wondered what kind of man was
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this, that that could do this,
that that had control of nature
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like like Jesus did.
And then it says in verse 51.
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And Jesus got into the boat with
them and the wind ceased.
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And they were utterly astounded.
They were utterly astounded that
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Jesus could control the wind and
the sea.
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And then Mark says, for they did
not understand about the loaves,
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but their hearts were hardened.
So Mark’s telling us that the
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disciples did not understand the
lesson of the feeding of the
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5000.
And he’s telling us that if they
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had understood the, the, the,
the lesson of the feeding of the
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5000, they would not have been
so terrified or utterly
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astounded that Jesus was able to
walk on the water.
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And then John adds, and this is
back in John chapter 6, verse
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20.
John tells us that they were
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immediately at their
destination.
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So Jesus gets into the boat and
they’re immediately at their
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destination.
Now they’ve been rowing and
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rowing and rowing and getting
nowhere.
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Jesus gets into the boat and
they’re immediately at their
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destination.
I could picture them getting out
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of the boat when they they land
at Ganeserit and I, they’re just
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bewildered at what has just
happened.
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Their heads must have been
spinning.
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And Mark tells us that they were
utterly astounded because they
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haven’t learned the lesson of
the feeding of the 5000.
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But that’s not the end of it.
As we said, come over to Mark
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chapter 8.
The disciples are still
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struggling with this same lesson
and there has been a lot that
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happens.
Jesus goes up and, and does a
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miracle with a Sierra Phoenician
woman.
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They, they have the feeding of
the 4000 and then they come
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back.
But there’s, there’s, there’s
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much that happens here.
You remember the time that Jesus
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and the disciples are in the
boat and the disciples have
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forgotten to bring bread on the
trip across the Sea of Galilee.
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And the disciples are really
concerned about forgetting the
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bread.
And Jesus sits them down and he,
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he, he doesn’t care that they’ve
forgotten the bread.
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That’s not on his mind at all.
He sits them down and he wants
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to teach them.
He wants to, to share with them
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an important lesson.
And he says to them, watch out
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for the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.
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And then in Mark 8, verse 16,
the disciples began discussing
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with each other the fact that
they had no bread.
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And then in in Mark 8, verse 17,
it says, and Jesus aware of this
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said to them, why are you
discussing the fact that you
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have no bread?
He says, that’s not what I’m
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talking about.
That’s not what we’re here to
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discuss.
Do you not yet perceive or
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understand?
Are your hearts hardened?
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It’s the same comments as as as
back in chapter 6, isn’t it with
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with the feeding of the 5000 and
the and The Walking on the
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water.
Jesus is saying why aren’t you
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getting this?
Verse 18 he says having eyes, do
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you not see, having ears, do you
not hear and do you not remember
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Jesus is is actually quoting
from Isaiah 6 here about how
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Israel would have such a hard
time in understanding verse 19.
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He says when I broke the five
loaves for the 5000, how many
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baskets full of broken pieces
did you take up?
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And they said 12 and the seven
for the 4000, how many baskets
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full of broken pieces did you
take up?
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And they said seven.
And Jesus finishes with, do you
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not yet understand?
Do you still not understand the
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message of the loaves?
Now I have to say that when I
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got this far, I still didn’t
understand either thinking about
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the disciples that I felt like
I’m in the same, the same
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position as the disciples.
So what was the lesson then of
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the feeding of the 5000 that was
then given again in the feeding
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of the 4000?
And what was the meaning of
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Jesus walking on the sea?
We have Jesus sitting down
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wanting to talk to the disciples
about the leaven of the
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Pharisees, an important lesson
for them.
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But all the disciples can think
about is that the fact that
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they’ve forgotten to bring
bread.
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Now what’s that like?
So just to give you an idea of
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what that must have been like
for Jesus, let me give you a
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scenario that’s maybe a, a more
up to So the, the, the, the boss
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at Apple, he called a meeting of
his senior staff about a, a
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strategic challenge that the
company was facing.
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Maybe Apple has just discovered
that it might be important for
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them to put AI in some of their,
their devices and some of their
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technology or something like
that.
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But Tim Cook gathers his, his,
his staff together, his senior
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staff, and he brings them into
the boardroom and he puts the
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slides up and he starts to talk
to them.
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And all his staff can think
about is what all they can think
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about is what they’re going to
eat for lunch.
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That’s all they’re talking about
is what they’re going to eat for
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lunch.
So they have no interest really
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in what their boss is is saying
to them.
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That’s the disciples.
That’s what the disciples were
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doing here.
You know, if I think if you
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think about that happening at
Apple, there would be some new
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senior staff at Apple in a very
short order, right?
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Well, Jesus wants to talk to the
Pharisees.
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He wants to talk to the talk to
the disciples about the
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Pharisees and about Herod and
all the disciples can think
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about is that they forgot to
bring bread.
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So why does Jesus then keep
taking them back to the lesson
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of the feeding of the 5000?
Let’s go back to John 6 then and
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let’s see if we can figure this
out.
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And I think the context of John
six really, really helps us to
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00:13:18,600 –> 00:13:22,600
begin to understand.
So Jesus had sent out, just
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before this, he had sent out the
12 disciples to perform miracles
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and to teach, and they returned
to him.
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00:13:29,760 –> 00:13:32,400
Now you, you remember him
sending out the 12 and then
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00:13:32,400 –> 00:13:35,440
later sending out the 70.
So that’s what we’re talking
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about.
He sends out the 12 disciples
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00:13:38,240 –> 00:13:40,640
and they come back.
And Luke tells us that Jesus
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took the 12 after they had come
back and they went aside
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privately into a desert place
belonging to a city called
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00:13:47,760 –> 00:13:50,400
Bethsaida.
And it seems like they’ve gotten
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together.
Then Jesus has called them
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together to talk about the work
he’s about to begin, the
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specialized training of the
disciples.
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So he brings them together,
they’re going to talk about
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00:14:00,360 –> 00:14:02,760
that, that work that they’ve
come back from doing, and he’s
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going to talk about what they’re
going to be doing next.
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But there was another big issue
that had just come up, and that
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was the death of John the
Baptist.
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00:14:11,640 –> 00:14:15,360
Now, that would have been just
just an incredibly difficult
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00:14:15,360 –> 00:14:18,360
thing for Jesus and a really
difficult thing for the
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00:14:18,360 –> 00:14:22,120
disciples.
The the leader of the team that
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00:14:22,120 –> 00:14:26,520
was doing the same work that the
disciples were doing had just
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00:14:26,520 –> 00:14:32,400
been killed by Herod.
How could that have happened?
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00:14:33,960 –> 00:14:39,640
Had God deserted John?
Were they going to be next?
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00:14:41,360 –> 00:14:46,480
So we can imagine Jesus hoping
to spend time with the disciples
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00:14:46,800 –> 00:14:51,080
to reassure them about the work
that they’re doing, to reassure
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00:14:51,080 –> 00:14:55,240
them that Herod wasn’t going to
come after them and to remind
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00:14:55,240 –> 00:14:58,720
them of the importance of the
work that they were doing, To
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00:14:58,720 –> 00:15:05,200
remind them that it was God that
they were working for and that
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00:15:05,200 –> 00:15:08,360
it was God’s work that they were
doing.
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Now we remember what happened
next, don’t we?
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00:15:11,760 –> 00:15:13,520
So Jesus sat down with the
disciples.
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00:15:13,520 –> 00:15:16,320
He’s, he’s about to, to begin
reassuring them about these
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00:15:16,320 –> 00:15:18,760
things.
And soon there was a large crowd
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00:15:18,760 –> 00:15:21,040
of people that were coming to to
Jesus.
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00:15:22,120 –> 00:15:23,960
And Jesus stops the
conversation.
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00:15:24,520 –> 00:15:28,640
He has compassion on the people
because there’s this huge
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00:15:28,640 –> 00:15:32,360
opportunity that he has to speak
to the people about the Kingdom
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00:15:32,360 –> 00:15:38,680
of God and to heal their sick.
And so that reassurance about
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00:15:38,680 –> 00:15:44,040
the importance of their work was
going to have to wait, wasn’t
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00:15:44,040 –> 00:15:51,640
it?
Or was it When the day began to
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00:15:51,640 –> 00:15:57,600
wear away, the disciples came to
Jesus and they said we need to
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00:15:57,600 –> 00:16:00,840
send people away so that they
can buy food for the people.
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00:16:01,960 –> 00:16:07,360
John 6, verse 6 tells us that
Jesus asked Philip where should
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00:16:07,360 –> 00:16:10,440
we buy food so that these people
can eat.
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00:16:11,320 –> 00:16:14,640
And verse 6 also tells us that
Jesus had asked this.
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00:16:15,320 –> 00:16:21,440
He’d asked this to test Philip,
for he himself knew what he
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00:16:21,440 –> 00:16:24,360
would do.
So Jesus already knew that he
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00:16:24,360 –> 00:16:29,680
was going to ask God to help him
by multiplying the bread.
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00:16:30,760 –> 00:16:33,440
He already knew what he was
going to do here.
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00:16:34,080 –> 00:16:36,640
He already knew that he was
going to show the disciples that
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00:16:36,640 –> 00:16:39,720
they were not on their own in
the work that they were doing.
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00:16:40,480 –> 00:16:44,760
And of course, in verse 7,
Philip says to Jesus, 200
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00:16:44,760 –> 00:16:48,840
denarii worth of food would not
be enough for each of them to
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00:16:48,840 –> 00:16:52,680
get a little.
Philip says this is a much, much
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bigger problem than we can
handle.
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00:16:55,720 –> 00:16:59,800
And then Andrew says, there’s a
boy here with five loaves and
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00:16:59,800 –> 00:17:03,240
two fish, but that’s not really
going to help us solve the
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00:17:03,240 –> 00:17:06,319
problem.
And Jesus is thinking, that’s
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00:17:07,160 –> 00:17:08,560
what I thought you guys would
say.
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OK, watch this first verse 10.
Jesus says have the people sit
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00:17:17,000 –> 00:17:22,560
down and there just happens to
be this grassy area that’s big
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00:17:22,560 –> 00:17:26,880
enough for 5000 men plus plus
their their families to sit
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00:17:26,880 –> 00:17:32,520
down, huge grassy area.
When they sat down, they find
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00:17:32,520 –> 00:17:37,480
out that there are 5000 men plus
women and children and they know
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00:17:37,480 –> 00:17:39,840
the number.
They know that’s how many there
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00:17:39,840 –> 00:17:41,920
there are.
The disciples are fully aware of
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00:17:41,920 –> 00:17:48,040
this because they’ve got them
sitting now in groups of 50 and
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00:17:48,040 –> 00:17:51,880
the disciples see the magnitude
of the situation.
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00:17:52,680 –> 00:17:56,480
And then Jesus tells us and then
verse 11 tells us that Jesus
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00:17:56,480 –> 00:18:00,400
took the loaves and all eyes
would have been on him.
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00:18:00,680 –> 00:18:02,640
Everybody would have been
looking at Jesus.
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00:18:04,000 –> 00:18:06,720
There was no semi truck full of
food Outback.
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00:18:07,320 –> 00:18:13,280
There was no food really at all.
And Jesus gives thanks to God,
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00:18:14,000 –> 00:18:20,440
and everyone is watching him.
And at that moment it became
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00:18:20,440 –> 00:18:24,560
clear to the disciples and
probably to many others that God
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00:18:24,560 –> 00:18:27,880
was going to be the one that was
solving the problem.
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00:18:28,960 –> 00:18:33,240
It was clear to them that God
was helping them with this work.
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00:18:34,160 –> 00:18:38,200
And so Jesus broke the loaves,
He gave the bread to the
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00:18:38,200 –> 00:18:43,280
disciples, and all the people
ate their fill.
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00:18:44,280 –> 00:18:46,000
And there were 12 baskets
leftover.
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00:18:46,880 –> 00:18:50,040
And the baskets that they had
leftover that that that this is
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00:18:50,040 –> 00:18:53,240
talking about were the kind of
basket that a person would carry
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00:18:53,360 –> 00:18:55,720
their food, their provisions
with them when they would
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00:18:55,720 –> 00:18:59,120
travel, the the kind of basket
that you carry your luncheon.
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00:18:59,800 –> 00:19:01,200
And so there was enough, there
were 12.
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00:19:01,200 –> 00:19:04,920
There were enough for each of
the disciples to have a basket
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00:19:04,920 –> 00:19:10,400
of their own to take with them.
And Jesus had to be thinking,
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00:19:12,200 –> 00:19:16,840
now can you see that God is
behind this work?
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00:19:17,520 –> 00:19:24,640
He is so with us that He just
fed 5000 people with five loaves
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00:19:25,240 –> 00:19:29,120
and two fish.
And not only that, He is so with
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00:19:29,120 –> 00:19:35,680
us that He has literally showed
us how He is going to help us do
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00:19:35,680 –> 00:19:38,320
the work of helping people
believe.
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00:19:39,160 –> 00:19:41,640
He’s going to give the spiritual
bread to His Son.
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00:19:42,280 –> 00:19:46,880
His Son is going to give it to
his disciples and they are going
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00:19:46,880 –> 00:19:51,160
to give it to the people to help
the people believe so that they
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00:19:51,160 –> 00:19:55,880
can be in His Kingdom.
And it becomes clear that the
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00:19:55,880 –> 00:20:00,400
reason he is so with us, it’s
clear the reason is that God is
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00:20:00,400 –> 00:20:06,320
so with us is that we are
actually doing the work of God.
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00:20:07,760 –> 00:20:10,880
It’s been God’s work really,
from the beginning.
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00:20:11,880 –> 00:20:16,640
You see, God created the earth
so that potential believers
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00:20:17,120 –> 00:20:21,000
could have a place to live.
He provides us with food and
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00:20:21,000 –> 00:20:24,480
shelter so that they can be
sustained while they go through
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00:20:24,480 –> 00:20:28,480
the process of believing.
He sends His angels to help
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00:20:28,480 –> 00:20:32,080
people believe.
He gave His Son so that they can
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00:20:32,080 –> 00:20:34,640
learn faith from the example of
Jesus.
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00:20:35,240 –> 00:20:39,080
Everything He does, He does
ultimately to help people
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00:20:39,080 –> 00:20:41,320
believe.
This is God’s work.
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00:20:41,520 –> 00:20:43,040
And, and this is an amazing
thing.
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00:20:43,720 –> 00:20:48,000
Los Angeles, the city of Los
Angeles exists so that people
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00:20:48,000 –> 00:20:51,880
like you and I, many of us, can
be a part of his ecclesia.
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00:20:52,680 –> 00:20:57,000
California, America, the world
exists so that there is a place
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00:20:57,200 –> 00:21:01,280
for potential believers.
So when the disciples needed
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00:21:01,280 –> 00:21:05,880
assurance, God showed the
disciples that he was committed
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00:21:05,880 –> 00:21:07,960
to the work of helping people
believe.
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00:21:08,640 –> 00:21:12,080
And he does this on this this
massive scale with probably the,
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00:21:12,080 –> 00:21:14,920
the most massive miracle that’s
been done so far.
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00:21:15,320 –> 00:21:19,800
He feeds 5000 people.
And there were many, many people
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00:21:19,800 –> 00:21:21,400
then that were affected by this
miracle.
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00:21:23,120 –> 00:21:27,680
But when all those people were
fed, they didn’t think, wow,
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00:21:27,680 –> 00:21:31,560
isn’t it amazing how committed
God is to the work of helping us
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00:21:31,560 –> 00:21:35,480
believe?
No, that’s definitely not what
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00:21:35,480 –> 00:21:39,240
they were thinking.
Instead, they were hard hearted.
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00:21:40,200 –> 00:21:41,760
They were thinking about
themselves.
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00:21:42,760 –> 00:21:46,680
Look at verse 14.
When the people saw the sign
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00:21:46,680 –> 00:21:52,760
that Jesus had done, they said,
hey, this is indeed the prophet
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00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:55,320
who’s come into the world,
right?
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00:21:55,320 –> 00:21:58,080
That’s Deuteronomy 18.
This is the prophet like Moses.
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00:21:58,080 –> 00:22:02,440
They said they thought he’s fed
us just like Moses fed fed
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00:22:02,440 –> 00:22:04,840
Israel.
And then he says, and they were
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00:22:04,840 –> 00:22:10,240
about to come and take Jesus by
force to make him king.
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00:22:11,600 –> 00:22:16,440
They completely forgot about the
work of God and the disciples,
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00:22:16,840 –> 00:22:18,520
they got caught up in that too,
didn’t they?
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00:22:20,680 –> 00:22:23,480
And so Jesus decided to get the
disciples out of there.
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00:22:24,320 –> 00:22:27,280
If you look at Matthew chapter
14, verse 22, it says
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00:22:27,680 –> 00:22:32,760
immediately he made Jesus made
the disciples get into the boat
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00:22:33,320 –> 00:22:35,200
and go before him to the other
side.
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00:22:35,680 –> 00:22:39,640
Well, he dismissed the crowds.
The disciples had completely
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00:22:39,640 –> 00:22:42,320
misunderstood the message of the
feeding of the 5000.
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00:22:43,160 –> 00:22:46,680
And after he dismissed the
crowds, verse 23 of Matthew 14
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00:22:46,720 –> 00:22:51,760
says he went up into the
mountain by himself to pray and
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00:22:51,760 –> 00:22:54,280
when evening came, he was there
alone.
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00:22:56,160 –> 00:22:58,160
We can see what Jesus was
talking about, can’t we?
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00:22:58,640 –> 00:23:03,120
They didn’t understand at all.
This was the disconnect that
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00:23:03,120 –> 00:23:06,920
Mark was talking about.
Remember Mark’s words for they
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00:23:06,920 –> 00:23:10,800
did not understand about the
loaves, but their hearts were
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00:23:10,800 –> 00:23:13,240
hardened.
They didn’t understand the
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00:23:13,240 –> 00:23:15,640
lesson of the loaves.
Their take away was very
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00:23:15,640 –> 00:23:16,840
different than what it should
have been.
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00:23:17,640 –> 00:23:21,640
The disciples had been given
this absolutely solid assurance
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00:23:21,640 –> 00:23:23,200
that God was with them in the
work.
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00:23:23,880 –> 00:23:26,680
The miracles show them that they
didn’t need to worry about Herod
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00:23:26,680 –> 00:23:29,680
or the Pharisees.
God was was much greater than
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00:23:29,680 –> 00:23:33,400
either of them and and Jesus had
shown them in the distribution
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00:23:33,400 –> 00:23:37,320
of the food, the work that he
was expecting them to do that
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00:23:37,320 –> 00:23:41,880
even though all they had was 5
loaves and two fish, God would
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00:23:41,880 –> 00:23:45,600
make up for what they lacked.
But that wasn’t the take away of
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00:23:45,600 –> 00:23:48,320
the people not to take away the
disciples.
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00:23:49,040 –> 00:23:53,440
They saw an opportunity to make
Jesus King because their hearts
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00:23:53,440 –> 00:23:57,720
were hardened and so they didn’t
understand what God was doing by
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00:23:57,720 –> 00:24:01,880
feeding the 5000.
And so is the disciples set off
380
00:24:02,960 –> 00:24:09,160
in their boat on their own, no
doubt still thinking about how
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00:24:09,160 –> 00:24:12,240
they could convince Jesus to be
king.
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00:24:13,120 –> 00:24:16,720
Thinking about the fact that
there were 5000 men ready to go,
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00:24:17,400 –> 00:24:21,120
how they could easily fix all of
Israel’s problems, how they
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00:24:21,120 –> 00:24:23,400
could get and, and, and
wondering how they could get
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00:24:23,400 –> 00:24:28,160
Jesus to be on their side.
And as they were out there on
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00:24:28,160 –> 00:24:31,440
the lake on their own without
Jesus.
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00:24:32,600 –> 00:24:38,280
John 6 verse 18 says the sea
became rough because a strong
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00:24:38,280 –> 00:24:41,200
wind was blowing.
And the picture you see on the
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00:24:41,200 –> 00:24:44,480
screen there is probably pretty
accurate of what it was actually
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00:24:44,480 –> 00:24:48,120
like.
There’s been waves over 10 feet
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00:24:48,120 –> 00:24:52,920
high on the Sea of Galilee.
And verse 19 says and when they
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00:24:52,920 –> 00:24:56,760
had rode about 3 or 4 miles,
Matthew tells us it was the the
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00:24:56,760 –> 00:24:59,720
4th watch of the night.
So they’ve been rowing almost
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00:24:59,720 –> 00:25:03,960
all night and they’ve made very
little progress that they saw
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00:25:03,960 –> 00:25:09,080
Jesus walking on the sea and
coming near the boat and they
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00:25:09,080 –> 00:25:12,720
were frightened.
They were absolutely in awe.
397
00:25:13,320 –> 00:25:16,040
They didn’t think that this was
a man that was walking on the
398
00:25:16,040 –> 00:25:18,040
sea.
Matthew says that they thought
399
00:25:18,040 –> 00:25:22,280
it was a spirit and that they
cried out when they saw this.
400
00:25:23,240 –> 00:25:26,880
A good verse, I think for your
margin is, is Job 9 verses 7 and
401
00:25:26,880 –> 00:25:29,680
eight.
Job gives us help in
402
00:25:29,680 –> 00:25:34,080
understanding how amazing this
miracle really was, the miracle
403
00:25:34,080 –> 00:25:38,400
of Jesus walking on the sea.
And the verse Job 9 verses 7 and
404
00:25:38,400 –> 00:25:42,480
eight is talking about God, and
I’m going to read it to you from
405
00:25:42,480 –> 00:25:48,520
the NLT talking about God.
It says if He commands it, the
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00:25:48,520 –> 00:25:52,400
sun won’t rise and the stars
won’t shine.
407
00:25:53,480 –> 00:25:58,360
He alone has spread out the
heavens and marches on the waves
408
00:25:59,000 –> 00:26:02,360
of the sea.
He alone marches on the waves of
409
00:26:02,360 –> 00:26:05,600
the sea, having the the waves
under his control.
410
00:26:06,520 –> 00:26:09,000
It was it was an incredible,
incredible sight.
411
00:26:09,880 –> 00:26:13,960
They had seen Jesus calm the
water before, but they’ve never
412
00:26:13,960 –> 00:26:17,680
seen anything like this.
What they thought was a spirit
413
00:26:17,680 –> 00:26:20,760
walking on the water fully under
its control.
414
00:26:20,880 –> 00:26:23,080
It was as if they were seeing
God walking on the water.
415
00:26:23,760 –> 00:26:26,920
And Mark tells us that the Jesus
would have passed right by them.
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00:26:27,640 –> 00:26:29,880
They had two completely
different goals.
417
00:26:30,440 –> 00:26:35,760
Jesus, the work of God and the
disciples still focused on the
418
00:26:35,760 –> 00:26:39,640
trivial work of men.
And the disciples had no idea
419
00:26:39,640 –> 00:26:43,560
that the man walking on the
water was Jesus was their
420
00:26:43,560 –> 00:26:47,600
teacher.
It had never dawned on them that
421
00:26:47,600 –> 00:26:53,440
God had given him such power.
But it should have, shouldn’t
422
00:26:53,440 –> 00:26:57,120
it?
Because this man had just fed
423
00:26:57,120 –> 00:27:00,440
5000 people.
It should have been clear to
424
00:27:00,440 –> 00:27:02,000
them they should have made that
connection.
425
00:27:02,920 –> 00:27:05,320
But the disciples had blocked
that out of their minds.
426
00:27:05,720 –> 00:27:08,440
They weren’t thinking about the
work of God.
427
00:27:09,240 –> 00:27:12,320
They were caught up in their own
their own ambitions, leading
428
00:27:12,320 –> 00:27:16,480
Israel in it in some sort of an
uprising, making Jesus the king
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00:27:16,600 –> 00:27:19,520
of a of a little province in the
Roman Empire.
430
00:27:21,160 –> 00:27:26,680
But the work of God, the work
that Jesus was doing was far,
431
00:27:26,680 –> 00:27:30,680
far greater than that.
Why would a man that could feed
432
00:27:30,680 –> 00:27:35,200
5000, a man that could walk on
the waves, a man that could
433
00:27:35,200 –> 00:27:40,760
control nature, why would that
man be interested in leading a
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00:27:40,760 –> 00:27:45,680
political uprising?
His work was to save the whole
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00:27:45,680 –> 00:27:51,600
world and God was with him.
Now that takes us right back to
436
00:27:51,600 –> 00:27:54,800
Mark chapter 6 and Jesus walking
on the water.
437
00:27:55,720 –> 00:28:00,160
Mark 6 verse 50 says they all
saw him and they were terrified,
438
00:28:01,080 –> 00:28:04,160
but he immediately he spoke to
them and said take heart.
439
00:28:04,160 –> 00:28:07,920
It is I do not be afraid.
And he got into the boat with
440
00:28:07,920 –> 00:28:13,680
them, and the wind ceased.
And they were utterly astounded
441
00:28:15,120 –> 00:28:19,120
that this was Jesus, that this
was their teacher.
442
00:28:20,160 –> 00:28:23,600
For they did not understand
about the lows, but their hearts
443
00:28:23,840 –> 00:28:28,160
were hardened.
Somehow their minds were unable
444
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:31,680
to see that they were doing the
work of God.
445
00:28:32,920 –> 00:28:36,120
And if God is for us, who can be
against us?
446
00:28:36,800 –> 00:28:38,400
They didn’t understand God’s
goal.
447
00:28:39,040 –> 00:28:42,240
They didn’t understand that God
was working to develop people,
448
00:28:42,240 –> 00:28:45,960
to be in His family, that that
was what God cared about.
449
00:28:46,520 –> 00:28:49,560
And everything that He’s done
was for that development, the
450
00:28:49,560 –> 00:28:54,640
development of that family.
And He can and He does control
451
00:28:54,640 –> 00:28:58,480
all of nature and He uses it to
attain His purpose.
452
00:29:00,680 –> 00:29:02,640
But what we care about is very
different, isn’t it?
453
00:29:04,040 –> 00:29:07,480
Our hearts are naturally focused
on ourselves.
454
00:29:08,360 –> 00:29:12,440
We mostly care about what we
need right now and what we want
455
00:29:12,440 –> 00:29:14,880
right now.
And that’s the hardness of our
456
00:29:14,880 –> 00:29:19,240
hearts.
And the work of God is to
457
00:29:19,240 –> 00:29:24,040
breakthrough that hard heart.
And breaking through that hard
458
00:29:24,040 –> 00:29:29,280
heart is hard to do.
So what happened after Jesus and
459
00:29:29,280 –> 00:29:34,280
the disciples had come ashore?
Let’s go back then to the
460
00:29:34,280 –> 00:29:39,720
location where Jesus had fed the
5000 to John chapter 6 with the
461
00:29:39,720 –> 00:29:43,680
crowd that had eaten of that
that food, the five loaves and
462
00:29:43,680 –> 00:29:47,360
the two fishes.
And John 6 verse 22 says on the
463
00:29:47,360 –> 00:29:50,320
next day the crowd that remained
on the other side of the sea saw
464
00:29:50,320 –> 00:29:53,520
that there had been only one
boat there and that Jesus had
465
00:29:53,520 –> 00:29:56,360
not entered the boat with the
disciples, but that His
466
00:29:56,360 –> 00:30:00,360
disciples had gone away alone.
The people were looking all over
467
00:30:00,360 –> 00:30:03,400
for Jesus.
They wanted to find Jesus and
468
00:30:03,400 –> 00:30:06,120
they’re trying to figure out
where he went and how he how he
469
00:30:06,120 –> 00:30:09,320
had left there.
And then in verse 24, the the
470
00:30:09,320 –> 00:30:11,840
crowd finally figures out that
Jesus has gone.
471
00:30:12,840 –> 00:30:16,280
And it seems that some jump into
boats and others go around on on
472
00:30:16,280 –> 00:30:19,640
the land to Capernaum in order
to find Jesus.
473
00:30:20,240 –> 00:30:23,720
And John gives us these verses,
these details to show us how
474
00:30:23,720 –> 00:30:27,800
much effort the people are
willing to put into finding
475
00:30:28,080 –> 00:30:32,400
Jesus.
And they come to Capernaum.
476
00:30:32,400 –> 00:30:34,720
And this is a a picture of of
Capernaum today.
477
00:30:34,720 –> 00:30:38,320
And when they found him on the
other side of the sea in, in
478
00:30:38,320 –> 00:30:42,200
Capernaum, they said to him,
Rabbi, when do you come?
479
00:30:42,200 –> 00:30:45,840
When did you come here?
You didn’t know how he got
480
00:30:45,840 –> 00:30:49,680
there.
And they wonder, was it also a
481
00:30:49,680 –> 00:30:53,320
miracle?
And Jesus answers them, getting
482
00:30:53,320 –> 00:30:54,480
right to the heart of the
matter.
483
00:30:55,000 –> 00:30:59,120
He says, truly, truly.
I say to you, you’re seeking me.
484
00:30:59,600 –> 00:31:04,000
You’re putting all this effort
in, not because you saw the
485
00:31:04,000 –> 00:31:09,080
signs and Lt. says not because
you understood the miraculous
486
00:31:09,080 –> 00:31:11,160
signs.
They were just like the
487
00:31:11,160 –> 00:31:13,800
disciples.
They didn’t understand what God
488
00:31:13,800 –> 00:31:18,600
was doing, but because you ate
your fill of the loaves.
489
00:31:20,200 –> 00:31:23,200
So here’s the man that we’ve
been looking at this week.
490
00:31:23,200 –> 00:31:26,680
Here’s the man with the living
water, the man with the bread of
491
00:31:26,680 –> 00:31:30,000
life, and he’s ready to teach
the people.
492
00:31:30,240 –> 00:31:34,480
He he’s ready to help them to
understand, to help them believe
493
00:31:34,600 –> 00:31:38,760
so that they can live forever.
And they’re really only
494
00:31:38,760 –> 00:31:42,640
interested in the physical food
that Jesus had given them.
495
00:31:43,600 –> 00:31:51,880
So what does Jesus say to them?
He says do not work for the food
496
00:31:51,880 –> 00:31:57,520
that perishes, but for the food
that endures to eternal life,
497
00:31:58,600 –> 00:32:00,240
which the Son of Man will give
you.
498
00:32:00,240 –> 00:32:04,880
Now, those might be the most
important words of the week that
499
00:32:04,880 –> 00:32:07,920
we have.
These people had just gone to
500
00:32:07,920 –> 00:32:11,040
these great lengths to find
Jesus because he’d given them
501
00:32:11,760 –> 00:32:14,040
physical food, the food that
perishes.
502
00:32:14,600 –> 00:32:18,760
But Jesus says that food is
nothing compared to what I can
503
00:32:18,760 –> 00:32:22,120
give you.
I can give you the bread of
504
00:32:22,120 –> 00:32:26,840
eternal life, but none of you
seems to be interested in that.
505
00:32:28,080 –> 00:32:31,720
You’re following me because I
healed you, because I fed you.
506
00:32:32,800 –> 00:32:34,920
You’re following me because you
want to make me king.
507
00:32:36,080 –> 00:32:40,120
But I can give you life.
God wants to give you eternal
508
00:32:40,120 –> 00:32:42,640
life.
That’s the work of God.
509
00:32:43,560 –> 00:32:46,400
Couldn’t you see that in the
bread that God provided?
510
00:32:47,840 –> 00:32:53,200
Verse 28, John 628, they said to
him, what must we do to be doing
511
00:32:53,200 –> 00:32:57,360
the works of God?
They say, OK, So what works do
512
00:32:57,360 –> 00:33:00,640
we need to do that?
And Jesus answers them.
513
00:33:01,920 –> 00:33:08,000
This is the work of God that you
believe in whom he has sent.
514
00:33:09,200 –> 00:33:10,800
This is the work that you need
to do.
515
00:33:11,920 –> 00:33:16,600
It’s the work that God is doing.
It’s working to develop your
516
00:33:16,600 –> 00:33:20,560
belief, and it’s working to help
other people to develop their
517
00:33:20,560 –> 00:33:25,320
belief.
Your work is to labor to believe
518
00:33:25,720 –> 00:33:32,040
in the one that God has sent.
It turns out, brothers and
519
00:33:32,040 –> 00:33:36,640
sisters, that the work of
bringing people to believe is
520
00:33:36,640 –> 00:33:39,640
God’s work.
And it’s our work too.
521
00:33:41,240 –> 00:33:45,360
Developing our faith is the most
important thing that we can do
522
00:33:45,360 –> 00:33:47,880
with our lives.
It’s the most important thing we
523
00:33:47,880 –> 00:33:50,840
can do with our time.
It’s the most important thing we
524
00:33:50,840 –> 00:33:53,960
can do.
But doing that work is not easy
525
00:33:54,840 –> 00:34:00,000
because a saving faith calls on
us to make changes in our lives.
526
00:34:00,680 –> 00:34:04,880
We don’t like to do that.
We naturally love darkness.
527
00:34:05,960 –> 00:34:08,760
Now I have a quote here from a
brother, HP Mansfield, that I
528
00:34:08,760 –> 00:34:13,280
have, I have loved this quote
for for many years and I’d like
529
00:34:13,280 –> 00:34:16,120
to share it with you, which kind
of gives us a picture of the
530
00:34:16,120 –> 00:34:18,400
process that we’ve been talking
about this week together.
531
00:34:19,760 –> 00:34:25,360
So HP Mansfield Mansfield says
God’s purpose is not merely to
532
00:34:25,360 –> 00:34:30,600
save people, but to make them
worth saving.
533
00:34:31,480 –> 00:34:33,840
God’s not looking to fill the
earth with sinners.
534
00:34:34,199 –> 00:34:37,760
He’s not looking for a family of
people that don’t love him
535
00:34:37,760 –> 00:34:42,080
enough to do what he says.
HP Mansfield continues
536
00:34:42,159 –> 00:34:44,080
continues.
This can only be brought about
537
00:34:44,080 –> 00:34:48,320
by changing their outlook and
characters to conform to his,
538
00:34:49,159 –> 00:34:53,639
and this can only be done by
superimposing his mind on
539
00:34:53,639 –> 00:34:57,040
theirs.
God desires to change the
540
00:34:57,040 –> 00:35:01,360
characters of individuals.
Then we know that we need to be
541
00:35:01,360 –> 00:35:04,920
changed, don’t we?
This change is motivated by
542
00:35:04,920 –> 00:35:09,600
faith, the faith that we’ve been
talking about this week, He
543
00:35:09,600 –> 00:35:13,080
says.
He is thus provided a book
544
00:35:13,240 –> 00:35:19,320
sufficiently profound as to
cause us, its readers, to think
545
00:35:19,560 –> 00:35:21,880
in order to understand its
message.
546
00:35:23,160 –> 00:35:26,600
Now I had people for years and
years in the seminars ask me why
547
00:35:26,600 –> 00:35:30,040
it’s so hard to understand the
Scriptures.
548
00:35:30,880 –> 00:35:33,600
And I think this helps us to
understand that it takes work
549
00:35:33,880 –> 00:35:39,200
because God is working with us.
Our hearts are hard, and God is
550
00:35:39,200 –> 00:35:45,440
trying to penetrate that and to
help us to develop faith in most
551
00:35:45,440 –> 00:35:48,800
of the rest.
Then of John chapter 6, Jesus
552
00:35:48,800 –> 00:35:53,600
goes on to challenge his
disciples to think in order to
553
00:35:53,600 –> 00:35:57,240
understand its message.
But most of the many disciples
554
00:35:57,240 –> 00:35:59,320
of Jesus were not interested in
doing that.
555
00:36:00,320 –> 00:36:04,160
They were really only interested
in the food that perishes, only
556
00:36:04,160 –> 00:36:06,560
interested in the physical
things of this life.
557
00:36:08,280 –> 00:36:12,600
HP Mansfield’s quote finishes.
Then he says as thoughts, bigot,
558
00:36:12,600 –> 00:36:20,040
ideas, actions, habit,
character, this habit of
559
00:36:20,040 –> 00:36:22,640
thinking on God’s word can
change men.
560
00:36:23,800 –> 00:36:26,240
This habit of thinking on God’s
word can change men.
561
00:36:26,800 –> 00:36:30,520
I like the fact here that he
uses the word habit because
562
00:36:30,520 –> 00:36:34,120
habits can really make a big
difference.
563
00:36:35,320 –> 00:36:37,880
In a, in a recent study that I
was working on, I was looking at
564
00:36:37,880 –> 00:36:41,320
the life of Brother Robert
Roberts and I stumbled on some
565
00:36:41,320 –> 00:36:45,120
habits that Brother Roberts
implemented in his life to help
566
00:36:45,120 –> 00:36:46,760
him.
And I’d like to share them with
567
00:36:46,760 –> 00:36:49,160
you now.
And I think as, as we go through
568
00:36:49,160 –> 00:36:51,360
these, maybe you’ll, you’ll
chuckle a little bit at these
569
00:36:51,680 –> 00:36:54,360
because they’re, they’re so
familiar to us.
570
00:36:55,240 –> 00:36:58,560
So this is a, a comment that
Brother Roberts makes about
571
00:36:58,560 –> 00:37:00,320
getting up and giving his first
address.
572
00:37:00,760 –> 00:37:04,400
He says.
I got up in imitation of others,
573
00:37:05,040 –> 00:37:08,560
and I leaned forward with my
hands helplessly outspread on
574
00:37:08,560 –> 00:37:12,080
the table before me.
My brain got into a whirl.
575
00:37:12,080 –> 00:37:15,560
I managed to gasp out a few
words and then I sat down.
576
00:37:15,560 –> 00:37:18,760
So, so many of us brethren can
probably relate somewhat to
577
00:37:18,760 –> 00:37:21,240
that.
In itself the effort was a
578
00:37:21,240 –> 00:37:24,000
frightful failure, but it was of
great importance as the breaking
579
00:37:24,000 –> 00:37:27,240
of the ice.
The next time I was called on,
580
00:37:27,240 –> 00:37:31,200
the ordeal was not so severe,
and gradually the embarrassment
581
00:37:31,200 –> 00:37:34,280
diminished with every occasion
until I found facility of
582
00:37:34,280 –> 00:37:37,840
utterance taking place.
That’s interesting.
583
00:37:37,840 –> 00:37:40,160
But the interesting part to me,
the real interesting part to me
584
00:37:40,160 –> 00:37:44,480
was what he tells us about why
he was able to improve.
585
00:37:45,480 –> 00:37:49,000
He says this result was aided by
the practices of trying to take
586
00:37:49,000 –> 00:37:53,080
down all the speeches delivered
at the meeting of the brethren
587
00:37:53,640 –> 00:37:55,840
on Sundays.
What was he suggesting?
588
00:37:56,640 –> 00:37:58,240
What did you decide that he was
going to do?
589
00:37:59,160 –> 00:38:02,280
He’s going to take notes right
in the classes that he went to.
590
00:38:02,880 –> 00:38:06,520
This is a fantastic habit for us
to get into by taking notes of,
591
00:38:06,520 –> 00:38:09,520
of an expectation of a Bible
class, of a lecture, of a study
592
00:38:09,520 –> 00:38:11,680
day.
Amazing results can happen.
593
00:38:12,040 –> 00:38:16,280
This can can definitely be us
making a habit of the work of
594
00:38:16,280 –> 00:38:18,840
God.
So how much time does it take
595
00:38:18,840 –> 00:38:23,040
for us to do that, to take notes
in a Bible class or a, a, a
596
00:38:23,360 –> 00:38:25,840
meeting, an excitation?
How long, how much time does it
597
00:38:25,840 –> 00:38:28,920
take us to do that?
None, right?
598
00:38:29,640 –> 00:38:33,560
It takes none.
It’s just changing a habit to
599
00:38:33,560 –> 00:38:36,960
what we can do.
I’ll share a little bit with
600
00:38:36,960 –> 00:38:38,880
that with our experience with
our children with this.
601
00:38:38,880 –> 00:38:43,720
If, if when we were raising our
children and trying to get them
602
00:38:43,720 –> 00:38:46,960
to take notes in Bible classes
and, and things, we bought our
603
00:38:46,960 –> 00:38:49,840
kids these filing cabinets.
So you wouldn’t need to do this
604
00:38:49,840 –> 00:38:52,680
today, but we bought them these
filing cabinets and they had
605
00:38:52,680 –> 00:38:57,240
folders from A-Z in them and
then books of the Bible.
606
00:38:57,600 –> 00:39:00,160
And what they would do is they
would take, they were required
607
00:39:01,480 –> 00:39:05,760
to take notes in the classes.
And if they didn’t take notes in
608
00:39:05,760 –> 00:39:08,440
the class, we’d ask him at the
end of the class, hey, can we
609
00:39:08,440 –> 00:39:10,040
see your notes?
They didn’t take notes.
610
00:39:10,040 –> 00:39:12,600
Then they would have to go to
Uncle Chuck, who’s the guy that
611
00:39:12,600 –> 00:39:14,920
did the recording.
And he would give them one of
612
00:39:14,920 –> 00:39:18,080
those silver things that James
was showing us the other night,
613
00:39:18,080 –> 00:39:19,800
right?
One of those discs.
614
00:39:20,240 –> 00:39:22,480
He would give them one of those
with the class on it and they
615
00:39:22,480 –> 00:39:24,800
would go home and they would
take notes at home of the class.
616
00:39:25,280 –> 00:39:27,200
But what they did then is they
would take those notes and they
617
00:39:27,200 –> 00:39:30,160
would put them into that filing
cabinet, you know, by alphabet
618
00:39:30,160 –> 00:39:34,120
or by by subject, and they would
have those notes available to
619
00:39:34,120 –> 00:39:37,560
them in the future as a great
benefit to them.
620
00:39:38,480 –> 00:39:41,440
If we think about it for
ourselves today, we can take
621
00:39:41,440 –> 00:39:44,960
notes with digital tools, with
our iPads, our phones, our
622
00:39:44,960 –> 00:39:47,760
computers.
And if we would take the time to
623
00:39:47,760 –> 00:39:53,240
do that, we will have an immense
library of classes and notes at
624
00:39:53,240 –> 00:39:57,560
our disposal with us all the
time in a very short period of
625
00:39:57,560 –> 00:40:00,080
time.
So I started doing that 14 years
626
00:40:00,080 –> 00:40:02,360
ago.
And I wish I had started 20 or
627
00:40:02,360 –> 00:40:05,960
30 years ago, but that was not
technology permitting, I think,
628
00:40:05,960 –> 00:40:08,360
at that point.
So what other things did that
629
00:40:08,360 –> 00:40:10,040
Robert, Brother Robert Roberts
do?
630
00:40:10,960 –> 00:40:14,600
He says about this time I
commenced the systematic reading
631
00:40:14,600 –> 00:40:19,120
of the Scriptures, which is now
a general practice with the aid
632
00:40:19,120 –> 00:40:22,080
of the Bible Companion.
Anybody know how old Brother
633
00:40:22,080 –> 00:40:25,280
Roberts was when he put together
the Bible Companion?
634
00:40:26,440 –> 00:40:28,520
I had 14, but probably the same
thing.
635
00:40:28,520 –> 00:40:31,240
Yeah.
So 14 years of age, he noticed
636
00:40:31,240 –> 00:40:34,120
that his Bible knowledges was,
was developing in some parts of
637
00:40:34,120 –> 00:40:36,800
the Bible, but not others.
And so we decided, you know
638
00:40:36,800 –> 00:40:38,440
what, I need to get familiar
with the whole Bible.
639
00:40:38,920 –> 00:40:41,960
And he starts to go through this
process then of doing the daily
640
00:40:41,960 –> 00:40:46,240
Bible readings, doing that.
So he started to to take notes
641
00:40:46,240 –> 00:40:48,360
in people’s classes.
He started doing the Bible
642
00:40:48,360 –> 00:40:49,960
readings every day to great
habits.
643
00:40:50,320 –> 00:40:52,800
Does anybody want to guess what
the third thing that he decided
644
00:40:52,800 –> 00:40:58,280
he was going to do?
It’s maybe not totally so he
645
00:40:58,280 –> 00:41:02,640
says reading led to marking
special passages with ink
646
00:41:03,280 –> 00:41:07,040
arising from the need to for
ready quotation and conversation
647
00:41:07,360 –> 00:41:10,320
with those opposed to the truth.
What what do we call that today?
648
00:41:11,160 –> 00:41:13,120
Bible marking isn’t that
interesting.
649
00:41:13,560 –> 00:41:17,800
So he adopted these habits and
Brother Roberts was, was able to
650
00:41:17,800 –> 00:41:20,880
go on and to, to really be
helpful for many people in the
651
00:41:20,880 –> 00:41:23,600
work of God, which is helping
them to believe.
652
00:41:24,400 –> 00:41:28,080
So there’s just so much then
that that we can do with our
653
00:41:28,080 –> 00:41:30,480
technology today.
There’s there’s many classes
654
00:41:30,480 –> 00:41:33,880
that we can listen to.
If you’re not doing that or, or
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00:41:33,880 –> 00:41:36,840
or haven’t heard how you could
do that, you might check with
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somebody because I think a lot
of people are really taking that
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00:41:39,880 –> 00:41:43,520
opportunity.
So just some final remarks.
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Then as we read through the rest
of John 6, we see Jesus trying
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to explain to them that God has
always been there trying to save
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00:41:51,880 –> 00:41:54,520
them.
It was God that had provided
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00:41:54,520 –> 00:41:59,120
them manna in the wilderness.
That manna represented Jesus,
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00:41:59,840 –> 00:42:03,080
the bread of life that had come
down from heaven, that was
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00:42:03,080 –> 00:42:06,560
provided by God.
The manna that they needed to
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00:42:06,560 –> 00:42:09,640
eat, they needed to put into
their minds every day.
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00:42:09,640 –> 00:42:13,600
And when they heard that Jesus
when they heard him say, when
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00:42:13,640 –> 00:42:17,160
Jesus say that he had come down
from heaven and they needed to
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00:42:17,160 –> 00:42:24,680
his flesh to eat his flesh, they
said this is a hard saying, who
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00:42:24,680 –> 00:42:27,560
can listen to it?
And they were like Israel in the
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00:42:27,560 –> 00:42:32,400
wilderness.
Many of Jesus disciples then
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00:42:32,400 –> 00:42:35,440
murmured because they had no
desire for the man.
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00:42:36,200 –> 00:42:38,800
They preferred the food that
perishes.
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00:42:39,920 –> 00:42:43,120
And then in verse 66 we read
after this, many of his
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00:42:43,120 –> 00:42:46,880
disciples turned back no longer
and no longer walked with him.
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00:42:48,040 –> 00:42:52,320
Many of them weren’t willing to
follow Jesus and to get the meat
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00:42:52,320 –> 00:42:56,600
that perishes because they they
wanted the meat that perished.
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00:42:56,600 –> 00:42:59,360
I’m sorry.
As we as we bring our thoughts
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00:42:59,360 –> 00:43:02,320
to close, I’d like us to just
kind of review the people that
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00:43:02,320 –> 00:43:07,240
we’ve considered this week.
What if the blind man hadn’t
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00:43:07,240 –> 00:43:12,480
washed his eyes in the waters of
Siloam in the words of Jesus
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00:43:12,560 –> 00:43:16,040
sent to him from God so that he
could see?
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00:43:17,320 –> 00:43:20,920
What if Nathaniel hadn’t gotten
around to looking into what
682
00:43:20,920 –> 00:43:26,640
Micah said about the Messiah?
What if Nicodemus hadn’t kept
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00:43:26,640 –> 00:43:29,720
listening to Jesus?
What if he hadn’t allowed Jesus
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00:43:29,720 –> 00:43:33,360
to show him the cross and his
need to be born again?
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00:43:34,880 –> 00:43:37,920
What if the woman at the well
had gone home with her water jug
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00:43:38,400 –> 00:43:42,560
and just continued on with the
water from Jacob’s hole in the
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00:43:42,560 –> 00:43:44,680
ground?
And what if the people of
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Shechem hadn’t gone out to the
well to hear the words of Jesus
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00:43:48,480 –> 00:43:51,480
themselves?
Well, if the people hadn’t done
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00:43:51,480 –> 00:43:56,160
these things, none of them would
have tasted the living water of
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00:43:56,160 –> 00:43:58,440
faith.
None of them would have eaten
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00:43:58,440 –> 00:44:01,160
the bread of life.
None of them would have
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00:44:01,160 –> 00:44:06,480
believed.
But John 6 doesn’t end in
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00:44:06,480 –> 00:44:09,640
failure.
Look at verse 67.
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It says so.
Jesus said to the 12 Do you want
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00:44:15,200 –> 00:44:22,200
to go away as well?
And I’d like to end with end
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00:44:22,200 –> 00:44:28,040
with Simon Peters words.
He says, Lord, to whom shall we
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00:44:28,040 –> 00:44:31,960
go?
You have the words of eternal
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00:44:31,960 –> 00:44:39,680
life and we have believed and
have come to know that you are
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00:44:39,680 –> 00:44:41,680
the Holy One of God.
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