If you would, please be turning
to John 6. John 6. After these things, Jesus went
over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a
great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles
which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into
a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover,
a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his
eyes and saw a great company coming to him, he said unto Philip,
Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this he said
to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip
answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for
them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his
disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, there
is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes,
but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, make the men
sit down. Now there was much grass in the
place, so the men sat down, in number about 5,000. And Jesus
took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed
to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down. And
likewise of the fishes, as much as they would. When they were
filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that
remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them
together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five
barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that
had eaten. Then those men, when they had
seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, this is of a truth, that
prophet, that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore
perceived that they would come and take him by force to make
him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. I know this world likes to see
big numbers. They like to be a part of a religious
institution that has a lot of numbers with a lot of things
to do. Or maybe even so no one else can really notice them at
all. Some will even say this, and
if they don't say it outright, you can tell by the way they
talk, this is what they look for. You can even find this in Sovereign
Grace Assemblies. We have here a big number of
people, about 5,000 men, not counting women and children,
it says in other places. Christ, even though they were
basically tired themselves, because it says they did not even have
time to eat, but Christ had compassion on them that followed them to
this place, because they had followed him to this place, and
he wanted to feed them. Christ fed these 5,000 from the
five barley loaves and two small fishes that this lad had that
was there with them. There was enough for everyone
and some left over, 12 baskets worth is what it says. We can
keep reading this passage, and these people went to great lengths
to follow Christ. We're talking about 5,000 people
that followed Christ. First they followed to this desert
place, and then we will see they followed him to Capernaum. They
were following Christ everywhere he went, wanting to make him
king, it says right here, we just read here at last. So we
need to get them in, right? sign them up on the church roll,
have them recite the Romans Road, walk the synagogue aisle, pray
the sinner's prayer, anything to get and keep them committed,
right? What does our Lord do? First,
he sent the disciples away, and then he also sent the 5,000 away,
and then he went away himself to pray. Christ did have compassion
on these people, and not only did he end up feeding them, but
he also healed many that needed healing as well. Why did our
Lord not stay with these people? I think when we see what they
do, it will be evident why our Lord did not stay with these
people. What happens next is he meets the disciples on their
ship by walking on water. And you all know this account
where Peter asked to walk on the water and he begins to sink.
I'm not gonna go through that part of it, but that's what happens
next. They were going over to the other
side to Capernaum. It says those, they, those 5,000
followed him. There were a lot of people, and
I'm sure they had to spend some kind of money to get on that
ship to get over to the other side of that sea. These people did more than people
will do today to get to Christ and to follow Christ. Most folks
now won't even drive 15 minutes to go somewhere where they can
hear something preached, let alone 45 minutes to two hours
to hear the gospel proclaimed. But then Christ began to tell
them some things once everyone was finally over on the other
side in Capernaum. I want to talk about a few things
this morning. What words did the Lord tell
them and what was their response? What did Christ do after the
response? How do God's people respond to
Christ's words? So how did Christ talk to the
numbers when he had thousands of ears listening to him at one
time? What loving, gracious words did
he speak to them? And they were loving, gracious
words. I'm telling you, this is just
the same words that we speak here today, and people think
we are hateful, but these words are loving, gracious words. He first says to those that the
things which minister to your physical needs are not what gives
life. That true bread from heaven is
what gives life. We read in verses 26 through
28 this. Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw
the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were
filled. Labor not for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. For him hath God
the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What
shall we do that we might work the works of God? All they hear
is labor. So what do they think? We have
to work, we have to labor. Tell us what we have to do. He
is telling them that he himself, it is he himself that gives life
and sustains life. He tells them that believing
is the work of God in verses 29 through 31. Jesus answered
and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe
on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore to him, what
signs showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee?
What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in
the desert, as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven
to eat. Believe you must, and if you
do believe, It will be him working that in you. You can read that
in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. But what is their response? Show
us a sign. I first wanted to say, duh, really? He just healed those who had
some kind of problem. He fed all of them from five
loaves and two fishes, and they want to see a sign? Then they
start preaching to the Lord of glory, the very one that gave
them the manna from heaven. He tells them that he is that
true bread come down from heaven, which gives life in 32 through
34. Then Jesus said unto them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. So what do they answer him? Lord,
give us this bread. I say again, really? Folks, this is me by nature.
I could not see God's word when it was right in front of my face.
but once God opened my eyes, I seen things all over the place. There is no special or specific
issue to these people. This isn't an issue of the heart,
which all of us have by nature. The heart is desperately wicked.
Who can know it? Jeremiah 17 and nine. So what
does Christ tell them in this dull moment? He tells them he
is the bread of life and that they have seen him, but they
still do not believe in verse 36. But I said unto you that
ye also have seen me and believe not. Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory, is telling them to their face that they, even though they
have the true bread from heaven right in front of them, they
still will not believe. This is what we do every time
we preach Christ. We are setting Him before people,
but they still will not believe. But even then, when they had
Him right in front of their face, and they could even reach out
and physically touch Him, they did not know who He was. He tells
them that the Father gives those to Him, and that all He gives,
He will not cast out in verses 37 through 40. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I am come down from heaven
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up in the
last day. So anyone that Christ was given
by the Father, this is election. God chose who would be in Christ.
Scripture is clear and plain on this. but anyone the Father
gave would not be cast out. So this also means that anyone
that has not been given will be cast out. All those for whom
God the Father gave to Jesus Christ before the foundation
of the world would not be lost, but Jesus Christ himself would
raise them up at the last day. All those chosen will be given
life from and by Christ himself. What is their response? Murmuring
and complaining. Jesus Christ is what gives me
life? Jesus Christ was just a man.
Yeah, we know Joseph and Mary. They are nothings and nobody.
How can this man say he is life itself? Then he, Jesus Christ
himself, says this. Stop complaining. No man can
come to me except verses 43 through 44. Jesus therefore answered
and said unto them, murmur not among yourselves. No man can
come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him, and
I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. What is the exception to coming
to God, to coming to Jesus Christ? I don't care if you have a free
will, which you do not, but even if you do, you cannot come to
Jesus Christ. The only way you can is if God
draws you. This here does not say that you
will not come. It says you cannot come unless
God draws you. that except God the Father draws
a man, he will not come. This is Jesus Christ himself
saying this. Now, I remember an analogy that
was given, and I want to give it again. And it was done well,
and I remember this for a long time. But it's like you have
a well of water. You know, in those days, they
had holes in the ground that had water down in there. You
may have had some rocks piled up around it. And maybe it had
an apparatus or something so you could let a bucket down.
Or maybe they had a bucket on a string or something to that
effect. So how did that water come up out of there? Did they
just yell down in the hole, come on up out of there, water? No. They put the bucket down in until
it got down into the water. And then whoever it was would
draw that water up. pull that water up, drag that
water up. This is what that word draw means.
That word draw means to force or to drag. You don't want to
be dragged by God to Jesus Christ? All those that will come to Christ
will be those who are dragged by God unto Jesus Christ. You will be glad it is so. This
is true, if he does not drag you or draw you, then you will
sit at the bottom of the well forever. Because Christ says
here that God does the drawing and does not ask or need help
from that one being drawn. He will do this in love, in truth,
in spirit. He will woo you in by his dragging. You will be glad it is so once
he does this. You will begin to realize where
you would have been left had it not been for him. God Almighty
drawing you to Jesus Christ. What else does Jesus Christ say?
He says in the Old Testament, it tells us that they will all
be taught of God, verses 45 through 52. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the
Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting
life. I am that bread of life. Your
fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This
is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat
thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The
Jews therefore strove among themselves saying, how can this man give
us his flesh to eat? He is saying all of those who
the Father gave to Christ in choosing them will be drawn of
God himself. And because of this drawing,
this teaching, they will follow Christ. What do they do now? Continue to complain. How can
this man give us his flesh? Christ is trying to get them
in as quick as he can, right? Tell them nice words and kind
words. He makes sure he does not run them off. No, he just
continues to speak to them truth, truth, truth. No matter what
the response is, it is always the truth that we should tell
men and women. It goes on to say in verses 53
through 66 that those who believe on Jesus Christ, the Jesus Christ
we are talking about right here where God has to drag to himself. If you believe this God, then
you have everlasting life. Jesus Christ says that if you
do not eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, you are dead. Dead men do not eat and drink.
Only those living will eat and drink of him. If you do eat and
drink of Christ, you have been vitally joined with Jesus Christ
himself. That's what it says in verse
56. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. What was their response
to what he told them? Verse 60. Many therefore of his
disciples, when they had heard this, This said, this is a hard
saying, who can hear it? This is a hard saying, a hard,
tough, or harsh saying. That is the reaction of dead
in sin, this flesh, totally corrupt, fallen man, when Jesus Christ
tells them the truth, always. Jesus Christ told them the truth.
This is the same truth that we have been trying to proclaim
to men for 30 or more years. It just depends on who you are
here, but we've been doing this for 30 or more years here. We
get the same reaction to what we say as Jesus Christ did most
of the time. Those who hated him then are
the same type of people who hate him now. Those who have not been
drawn by God There may be some that have not been drawn yet,
but there are certainly some that will never be drawn. That's
all up to him. Those who hate him will hate
us as well. What do we do about that? Nothing. We just keep telling the truth
by his grace, and maybe, just maybe, he might be pleased to
draw someone to himself. These people went to great lengths
to be where Jesus Christ was. They were glad to have their
flesh satisfied, just as many today are satisfied to do things
for Jesus. As long as they feel they are
in control, it is just fine with them. They will go to great lengths
and do great works. But when the truth is spoken,
they will leave. What did Christ do after their
responses? Did Christ go running after them?
Did he tell them, oh, wait a minute, I'm sorry, I've been a little
bit too pointed or harsh with what I said. I did not mean to
offend your free will. Won't you please bow down to
me in just whatever way you want, as long as you're sincere. Can't
we all just get along? 5,000 plus people somewhere close to
that number followed him. They went to great lengths to
follow him. You see, Jesus Christ is God
manifest in the flesh. He does not beg anyone. He does
not cow down to anyone. He does not lie to anyone. Him
telling this people the truth, just as I'm telling you exactly
His words today, is what makes people mad. They are not upset
for Him healing their sick or feeding them food. When he tells
them the truth that God is in absolute control, that he decides
or chooses who and how everything will take place, they hate him
for it and in turn will hate anyone who is sent by God telling
this very truth. People hate it when you tell
man that free will is a myth made up by rebellious man who
wants to make their own choice. They do not even understand the
stupidity of what they are saying. It's like they say, don't bother
me with God's truth, is their attitude. They will say things
like, we all just have to love one another and get along, and
you are so hateful. They do not know how ignorant
they are. I know why they do this, the same reason I did when
I first heard it. I was dead in trespasses and
in sins until he, Christ, here, willed to draw me to himself. This based on his own choosing
from before the foundation of the world and nothing to do with
what I did. But until he does this, you will
reject and hate this truth just as I did before he gave me life. But what does Christ do here?
Basically, Christ has no reaction to them. All he does is continue
to tell the truth over and over again. sometimes not even responding
to their questions or statements specifically. He tells them that
it is the spirit that gives life to a dead alien sinner. The flesh,
including the will of the flesh, is profit of nothing. God draws a poor, vile, wretched
sinner unto himself, and it has nothing to do with sinful man
at all. God will get all the glory because
it is his. But after that, he even turns
to the 12 and asks them, will ye also go away? Verses 61 through
67. When Jesus knew in himself that
his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, doth this
offend you? What and if you shall see the
son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit
that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are
some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believe not and who should betray him. And
he said, therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto
me except it were given unto him of my father. From that time, no, From that,
from that saying, that's wrong, take the time out of there. From
that saying, many of his disciples went back and walked no more
with him. Then said Jesus unto the 12,
will ye also go away? So what is, how does God's people
respond to Christ's words? And when I say God's people here,
I am talking about those who have been drawn or are being
drawn. Those for whom God the Father
chose to salvation. Those for whom Christ died to
secure that salvation. Those for whom He draws and woos
them in with love. Those for whom Jesus Christ will
be revealed by this drawing. Those for whom Jesus Christ makes
intercession for. Those for whom Christ will return
one day so that they may be where He is. Those people will always
answer the question the same way once they are drawn by God. To whom shall we go? There is
no other place where eternal life can be found but in the
face of Jesus Christ the Lord. I was once blind, now I see. Was lame, but now I walk. Was bloody, now I'm clean. Was deaf, but now I hear. Was dumb and could not speak,
but now my mouth is opened to cry out for mercy to God. My
hands were withered, but now I can stretch them forth to reach
for Christ. Was dead, now I am alive evermore. Who else am I going to go to?
Who else can do that? The answer is quite clear. There
is no one that we can go to, but Jesus Christ. And praise
be to his name, what he does is forever. Now that he has done these for
me and he alone, I have no more needs really, because he tells
me everything I need, he will provide. He will guide me through
this world, having given me life, and I will live by him. I will
live from the gospel. Hearing words of Christ will
comfort me and keep me until he returns or he takes me to
be with him. Is there another that you can
go to? He has the words of eternal life. and wherever He is proclaimed,
I want to be right there, because there is not another like unto
Him, Jesus Christ our Lord. You will go to hell choosing
Jesus Christ if all that happens is you choose Jesus Christ, if
you make a decision for Jesus. If God has not chosen you and
then drawn you to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God by
His Spirit, you will perish in your will. Jesus Christ reiterates
what He previously said. Unless it is given to you from
God the Father to follow Jesus Christ, the Lord, you cannot
come to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said these words.
These are not my words or my paraphrasing. They are exact
words given us here in God's Word, which is God breathed,
right here in black and white, or maybe even red and white.
God's word is what we have that God uses to teach his people
by his spirit. In Luke 16, we have the account
of the rich man and Lazarus. Basically, it says, the rich
man lifted up his eyes in hell and asked for a drop of water.
He asked Abraham to send back Lazarus from the dead to warn
his brothers. In Luke 16, 29, we read this,
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets,
let them hear them. Abraham basically told him they
have God's word and those who proclaim it, let them hear them. God says in his words by the
apostle Peter that his word is a more sure prophecy, even more
so than when they heard God speaking from heaven. And let me read
that to you, 2 Peter 1, starting in verse 16, it says this. For
we have not followed cunning, devised fables, when we made
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from
God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice
to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased, and this voice which came from heaven we heard,
when we were there with him in the holy mount. We have also
a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. until
the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. If you proclaim Jesus Christ
as he is revealed in scripture, you will be hated. Scripture
testifies to this. In John 15 20 it says, remember
the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than
his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying,
they will keep yours also. All I can say to those out there,
keep fighting against this one true God, then what will happen
is you will go away. No man by his own will will ever
come to Jesus Christ. And in fact, that man or woman
will eventually leave Jesus Christ. Will you also go away? Amen. Dear Lord God, thank you for
allowing us to be here. All power, all ability is yours. May it be that you give to us
the ability to believe you, to love your word, dear Lord, to
proclaim your word. Open our hearts, minds, ears,
dear Lord, so we can hear your word of your son. May it be that our mouths will
be open that we can proclaim Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ
alone. Oh, keep me from Preaching myself,
dear Lord. Thinking about myself. Help us
love one another. Care for those who have ailments,
dear Lord, that they may be comforted in the way that you see they
need comforted, dear Lord. I don't know what needs people
have, really. And I often think too much about
myself. But you know what's needed, dear
Lord, and can provide what's needed. Help me and give me the
ability to do things for others as is needed according to your
will. All these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.