All right, John chapter 6, let's
see what the Lord will enable us to learn from these verses
tonight. John chapter 6, let me read verse
28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might
work the works of God? Now my message begins with a
question asked by some people who were temporarily impressed
with the words of Christ. Temporarily impressed and temporarily
aroused to inquire about communion with God. and eternal life. What shall we do? That we might work the works
of God. But you notice this is the age
old question of natural men. What shall we do? That we might work the works
of God. That's their question. Most people
believe that eternal life comes to those who earn they're ever
occupied with their doings and with their deeds and works. Most
people believe that they have to do certain works in order
to earn God's favor and God's blessings. Most people want to make God
the debtor instead of them. And they want to reckon the reward
to be not of grace, but of work. The rich young ruler came to
Christ in that way, turned to Matthew 19, let me show you.
He's not the only one, there were others. That's what these
people asked him, what shall we do that we might work the
works of God? The rich young ruler in Matthew
19, verse 16, behold, one came and said to him, good Good master, what good thing
shall I do that I may inherit eternal life, that I may have
eternal life? And he said to him, why callest
thou me good? There's none good but God, that
is God, he's the only one good. But now if you'll enter into
life, keep the commandment. If you want something to do to
enter into life, keep the commandment. He said, which? The Lord Jesus
said, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery,
thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor
thy father and thy mother, love thy neighbors as thyself, and
the young man said, well all these have I kept from my youth
up, I've done that. What else must I do? That's what these people are
asking here. In John 6, 28, what shall we do? that we might work
the works of God. And our Lord, in verse 29, called
them to a work they never heard of. He called them to a work they
never even thought of. And that is faith. Listen to
what he said. Jesus answered unto them, this
is the work of God. You want to do the will of God
and the work of God? That you believe on him whom
God hath sent. That's the work of God. Believe Christ. Believe on him.
Believe him. See, this is what separated these
people from the disciples in this chapter. Stay in the same
chapter, John 6, and turn to verse 66. Here's the difference. When all of these people, there
were over 5,000 of them, when they walked away, said, this
is a hard saying, you can hear it, departed from Christ, the
disciples stayed. They left, the disciples stayed.
What was the difference? Here's the difference. John 6,
verse 66, from that time, many of his disciples, his followers,
these aren't, this is not the 12, this is learners, followers,
people came to hear him. They walked no more with him.
Then said Jesus to the twelve, will you also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of eternal life, and we believe. That's These people wanted to know what
to do to do the works of God. Christ said, believe on him whom
God had sent. And they laughed. But the disciples
stayed because they were doing the work of God. They were believing
on him. Listen as I go on. Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We believe and we're sure that you are the Christ, the
Son of the living God. That's the difference. You see,
Jesus Christ is God. Brother Charles Pennington told
me that he was sitting in his office, in his home, in his study,
last week, and the doorbell rang, and he went down, opened the
door, and there was a lady standing there. Middle-aged lady. Had a Bible in her hands and
tracts. She said, I'd like a few moments of your time. And he
said, he said, I started to say no, because I just get weary
of the conflict. But he said, come in. So she came in and sat down and
he sat down and he said, now, what is it that you want to talk
to me about? Well, she said, I want to talk
to you about the Bible, about Jesus. He said, who's he? Well, she said, he's a man, but
he's the son of God. He said, how did he get to be
the son of God? Well, she said, God created him. In fact, she said, he's the first
thing God created. Charter said, well, get that
Bible and show that to me, where God created Jesus. He said, I
can't do it. He said, well now, he's a man.
How'd he get to be the son of God? I'm a man. I was born of
a father, and I'm just like my father. I've got my father's
nature. I've got my father's physical being and everything.
Now, if he's the son of God, he had to come from God. And he said, open your Bible
there to John chapter 1. You open yours to Sochi. She
opened her Bible to John chapter 1. He said, read that 14th verse,
John chapter 1. She read, and the Word was made
flesh. Oh, the Word, up in the top,
he said, read that top, in the beginning was the Word, the Word
was with God, the Word was God. And down here, and the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." He said her Bible was a little different, but it
was enough that it wasn't any doubt about what that was saying.
He said, now turn to Hebrews 1, verse 8. So she turned over
to Hebrews 1, verse 8. He said, but unto the Son, he
saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever. Oh, he said, he is
God. He's not just the Son of God,
he is God. A scepter of righteousness is
a scepter of thy kingdom. He said she actually began to
tremble. And he said, now according to
what you're reading there, this Jesus is not just a man. He became a man, but he is God. Now she says, I'll have to go
home and study that. He said, would you promise to
do that? She said, well, take my track. He said, no, I don't
want your track. Now that's written by man. I want you to go home
and study what's written by God. Would you promise? She said,
I'll get back to you. This is the work of God that
we believe on him whom God sent, God in human flesh. Turn to Acts chapter 20. Listen
to Paul here in Acts chapter 20. Jesus Christ is God. Acts 20 verse 28. Take heed therefore
unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers to feed the church of God. which he hath
purchased with his own blood." Who purchased it? God did. How? With his own blood. He became
a man and shed his blood. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ
is the gospel. He is the gospel. The gospel
is concerning his son, his person and work. Jesus Christ is life
eternal. That's what I read over here
in 1 John 5. It says here in verse 11, 1 John
5, this is the record. God has given us eternal life.
This life is in his Son. And he that hath the Son of God
hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. And all of these things, verse
13, are written that you who believe That's the work of God,
believe, believe on Christ. And you who believe on the name
of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life, and
keep on believing. He is God, he is the gospel,
he is life eternal, and he has become our salvation. I want
you to turn to Psalm 118. We had this in the Sunday School
class a few Sundays ago. And I took the time to dwell
on this word just a little bit. In Psalm 118, verse 14. You know, I know the word Trinity
is not in the scripture. I hear that all the time. I hear
people who do not believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
say Trinity is not in the Bible. The word itself may not be, but
the truth is. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. When God said, let us make man,
to whom was he speaking? Let us make man, to whom was
he speaking? And here in verse 18 of Psalm
118, verse 14, Psalm 118, verse 14, the Lord is my strength and
my song. He is, isn't he? He's my strength,
he's my song, and he is become, become my salvation. He became
flesh, he became a man, and in doing so he became my salvation. Verse 18. Or rather, verse 21, I will praise
thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. So this is what our Master answered
these people. They said, what shall we do to
do the works of God? He said, this is the works of
God, to believe on him whom God has sent. Let me read another
scripture, John 3. It's so plain, so clear. In verse 34 of John 3, for he
whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God, and that's
what we're required to believe on him whom God hath sent, for
God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him, The Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He
that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him." What shall we do? We might work the works of God.
The Master said, this is the work of God. You believe on him
whom God has sent. I believe you." Well, they didn't
believe him. With that clear declaration,
so they came back in verse 30, listen to this, they didn't believe
him. They said therefore unto him, well, what sign showest
thou? What sign showest thou then that
we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work? This is
strange. considering these are the same
people he just fed with five loaves and two fishes. Look back
the day before, back here in John 6, verse 10. He didn't have
anything to eat, and verse 9 says there's a lad here which has
five barley loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among
so many? And Jesus said, well, make the
men sit down. Now, there was much grass in
the place, so the men sat down and numbered by 5,000. And Jesus
took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed
to the disciples, and the disciples to them that sat down, and likewise
of the fishers as much as they would. And when they were all
filled, he said to his disciples, gather up the fragments that
remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them
together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five
Bartolos, 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. Yet they didn't believe it. I tell you the problem, look
at verse 30 and 31, John 6. They said therefore unto him,
What signs showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee?
What dost thou work?" Now listen to them. Note verse 31 carefully. This is what they are saying.
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written,
he gave them bread from heaven to eat. They still had in mind
that earthly Jewish kingdom. They still had in mind setting up an earthly kingdom
and continually, continually taking care of them, like Moses
did in the wilderness. That's what they're saying. They're saying Moses fed our
fathers 40 years in the wilderness. Moses fed our fathers 40 years. They were exalting Moses. You
just fed us once. That was yesterday. You fed us
one time yesterday. Our fathers ate bread for 40
years in the wilderness supplied by Moses. We're interested in
continual prosperity. We're interested in a real Jewish
kingdom. And then listen to what our Lord
said in verse 32. You're mistaken, he said. Jesus said to them, you're mistaken.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses did not give you that bread
from heaven. Moses gave not that bread from
heaven, didn't give your fathers that bread from heaven. My father
giveth you the true bread from heaven. You're mistaken. That
bread from heaven was not given by any power or virtue on the
part of Moses. It was my father, not Moses,
that gave that bread. And Moses said that. Turn to
Exodus 16. Moses said that in Exodus 16,
verse 15. In Exodus 16, verse 15. And when the children of Israel
saw it, they said one to another, it's manna. It's manna. And they wished not what it was.
And Moses said, this is the bread which the Lord has given you
to eat. The Lord gave it. The Lord gave it. And this is
a type of the true bread from heaven. That's what Christ is
saying here. Back to our text. Verse 32, where
they said, he gave them bread from heaven to eat, and Jesus
said, Moses gave you not the bread from heaven, my father
giveth you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God
is he that cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world.
That's the bread of God. That's the bread of God. Look
at verse 49 and 50, what he said to them here, your fathers did
eat that manna in the wilderness, and they're dead. This is the
bread which cometh down from heaven, which a man may eat thereof,
and not die. They still didn't believe. They
still didn't understand. Even after this. They said, what shall we do?
We might work the works of God. This is the work of God. You
believe only in what God said. But what sign shall we stand?
He fed us once, Moses fed Our father is 40 years. He said Moses didn't give your
father that bread. My father gave him that bread.
This is the true bread that cometh down from heaven. It gives life. Your father ate that bread and
died. Man eats this bread and lives forever. They still don't
understand. Now watch the next statement. Then say they and him, well give
us this bread. Lord, evermore give us this bucket."
What does that sound like? What does that remind you of?
Well, turn to John 4, John chapter 4. This is what it reminds me
of. They didn't know that our Lord was speaking of spiritual
bread, that that Old Testament manner was a type of Christ,
and he was speaking of spiritual bread. And over here, the woman
at the well in John 4, verse John 4.13, Jesus answered and
said to her, whosoever drinketh of this water will thirst again,
and again and again. This well, Jacob's well. Jacob
gave him that well, he dug that well, they drank many years from
that well, but he drinks of this water thirst again. And he answered
and said to her, whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give him
will never thirst. The water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life." And the woman said, give me this water that I come not
here to draw anymore. And that's exactly
what these people here are thinking. Give me this, give us this bread
that we won't hunger again. And our Lord answers. Verse 35,
John 6, the Lord answered. He said, I'm the bread of life. I'm the bread of life. He that
cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. Did you ever study that manna?
Let's go over there for a moment in Exodus 16 and look at this
manna from heaven. Out there in the wilderness,
And see how it's a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Over here
in Exodus 16, verse 13. Well, let's go back and read
what the Lord said to Moses, verse 11. And the Lord spake
to Moses, saying, I have heard the murmuring of the children
of Israel. Speak unto them, saying, At evening you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you
shall know that I am the Lord your God. And it came to pass
that evening that the quails came up and covered the camp.
And in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when
the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the
wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the
hoarfrost on the ground. And when the children of Israel
saw it, they said one to another, What is it? That's what that
question is. It is matter. Look in your margin.
What is it? Oh, it is a portion. What is
it? A strange, mysterious thing. Well, you know, when the angel
came to Mary, we're talking about the bread from heaven now. I
am that bread. When the angel came to Mary,
he said, you'll have a son. Mary said, I know not a man.
I can't have a son. I don't have a husband, I'm not
a man. And the angel said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon you,
and the power of the highest shall overshadow you, and that
holy thing, that holy thing, nothing like it before, nothing
like it since, that holy thing which is born of you shall be
the Son of God. And this is a strange happening
here. Everybody knows what a quail
is, it flies in, they kill the quail and ate them, plenty of
them, just copies of quail. But this is, they went out and
there it was. So strange, nobody ever seen
anything like this before. Matter. And the second thing,
it was prepared in heaven and sent down to earth. They didn't
plow, they didn't plant, they didn't do anything. They went
out, there it was. prepared in heaven, sent to earth.
Our Lord talking about his body when he came into the world,
he said a body hast thou prepared me. Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldest not, neither hast thou any pleasure therein, but a body
prepared me. He came down, Son of God. And
then this bread was the gift of God. God gave it. They didn't pay for it. They
didn't earn it. God gave it to them. And Christ is an unspeakable
gift of God. And then this bread was for everybody
that was hungry. And it was an ample supply. If
you read through here, everybody had plenty. Nobody had too much.
Nobody had too little. Everybody had plenty. Our Lord
meets the need of his people. And then look at verse 31. Another
thing about this matter. I believe it's verse 31. It's sweet to the taste. And the house
of Israel called the name whereof, thereof, manna. It was like coriander
seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with
honey. Sweet to the taste. That's Christ. Strange, prepared in heaven, sent to earth,
the unspeakable gift of God, meeting the full, complete need
of hungry people, and sweet to the taste. And that's what he
says in verse 35, I am the bread, the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But still
they didn't believe. Look at verse 36. But I said to you that you now
see me. You don't believe. Isn't this
the way when we preach? They came and asked him, what
shall we do? He said, to work the works of God, believe. They
said, what sign shall we sign? Then he told them. He said, I'm
the bread. They still didn't believe. Still didn't believe. What manner of man is this? That's
going through their minds. Well let me tell you about it.
One day the disciples were out on a ship with Christ and he
was lying back in the back of the ship asleep and the waves
began to dash the little ship and the rain fell and the storm
and the lightning and the water. The ship started taking on water.
And they went back and woke him up and they said, Don't you care
if we perish? Master, don't you care if we
perish? He said something about, O ye of little faith, wherein
do you doubt? But he walked up to the bow of
that little ship and said three words, peace be still. And the
waves settled down. The sea became as glass. The clouds rolled back. The thunder
stopped. The rain stopped. And one of them said, what manner
of man is this? He's the God man. What manner
of man is this that the waves and the winds obey his voice?
This is God in human flesh. This is the work of God you believe
in, receive in. You know, there's a lot of religious
reformers and messiahs, but all of them come to earth. Let me
show you the difference in these religious messiahs and our Lord.
They all come to earth to live. He came to die for his people. All religious leaders leave monuments
and memorials. They leave places where you can
visit, birthplaces in their their churches, but our Lord Jesus
Christ, you can't find his birthplace, you can't find his grave, you
can't find one possession he owned while he walked this earth. All religious leaders choose
their followers from the rich and the powerful and the influential. He chose the poor and the weak
and the needy. All religious reformers and leaders
praise human works and human righteousness. He condemned it. All religious reformers seek
those who can help them. Christ said, I didn't come to
be ministered unto, I came to minister, to give my life a ransom.
He came to find who he could help. All religious leaders and
reformers promise success and happiness to their followers.
Follow me. and you'll be happy and wealthy
and wise and healthy, live a long time. Christ promised tribulation,
suffering, and trial to his followers. All religious leaders hold their
followers with force and fear and promise of reward. He turned
to his disciples and said, will you go away? You're welcome to go away if
you wish to. All religious leaders and reformers
have great mansions and palaces and headquarters on this earth.
He had no place to lay his head. All religious leaders and reformers
reward the most talented of their people, of their followers. They
give them titles. They give them honors. They give
them recognition. He said to his disciples, if
you want to be great, you become the least. He that is least among you is
greatest in the kingdom of God." All the religious leaders and
followers say one thing to their followers, follow me, follow
me, and I'll show you the way. He said, you come to me, I am
the way. All reformers and religious leaders
claim to be the messengers of God. He said, I am God. I am God. I'm the bread of God. And all of them, when they die,
they stay dead. You can visit their graves and
find their bones. But he arose. And he said, because I live, Well they still didn't believe. Verse 36, I said to you, you've
seen me, you've seen me, you've seen these very things that I've
just read, you've seen me, you've seen me. And you and I have read
these very things that I don't believe. What are you waiting for? Why
do men not believe? Well, verse 37, he says this,
there's some who will believe, but it takes the power of God
to make them willing. Listen to this, all that my father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I'll in
no wise cast out. In him the world no beauty sees,
no form, no comeliness. Rejected and despised is he. He died in deep distress. But
there's a people, taught of God, who see his matchless worth.
They own him as the Lord of Lords. They sing his praises forth.
I believe. Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
You see a reference there in your margin of your Bible, John
17, 2. Turn to John 17.2, and let's see what that is. All that
my Father giveth me shall come to me. They shall come. Thy people
shall be willing on the day of thy power. And him that cometh
I'll in no wise cast out. John 17.2, this is our Lord's
priestly prayer. He says in John 17.2, as thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life. to as many as thou hast given
him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the
only true God, Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Some people will believe. All
that my Father giveth me, they'll come to me. Let's read on a little
bit before we quit. And him that cometh to me, I'll
know I was cast out. I came down from heaven, the
bread from heaven. not to do my 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 has given me, I lose
nothing. All will come. All which he has
given me, I lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last
day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that he that
seeth the sun, What is it to see the Son? It is to see Him,
not with these eyes, because back there in verse 36, He said
to these people, you've seen me, you've seen me, you've seen
my works, but you don't believe. But this is to see Christ as
the bread from heaven, as the life of God, as the Redeemer
of sinners. It's to see Christ, and when
you see Him, you see He's God. The disciples said, show us the
Father. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. To see Christ is to see God.
To see Christ is to see His glory. To see Christ is to see our sins.
That's what Isaiah saw. He said, when I saw the Lord
high and lifted up, I saw myself. I said, woe is me. I'm a man
of unclean lips. I'm undone. We see Christ. Let's read on,
and this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone that seeth
the Son, spiritual life, the water of life, the door, the
way, the truth, the life, our resurrection and life, our hope,
and believes on Him, and believes who He is, what He did, why He
did it, where He is now, may have everlasting life. And
I'll raise Him up at the last day. They still didn't believe. Isn't this amazing? Sometimes
we, and you, I preach or you talk to a friend or a relative
and you show them these things. That's why our Lord is showing
these people who He is. Those types and pictures and
Christ the fulfillment of all the scriptures. There's no way
that There's no way to interpret this book except in the light
of Christ, Jesus alone. And we get all upset, well why
can't you see this? These people here are listening
to the Son of God. These people here are listening
to the Son of God. God himself in human flesh. And
they said, what sign you shall? Then they began to murmur, because
he said, I'm the bread that came down from heaven. And they said,
isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Well, we know his mother and
father. We know his brothers and sisters. How is he to say,
I came down from heaven? That's exactly what he asked
those Pharisees. He said, how can the Messiah
be David's Lord and David's son? That's exactly what he asked. Because he came down from heaven,
God sent him, born of a virgin, made flesh. That they still didn't
believe. So he's got another word to say. And he answered them and said,
do you know good to murmur among yourselves? Your murmuring and
opposition is not going to shake the kingdom of God, Frustrate
the purpose of God, not going to change the will of God, and
no use murmuring among yourself. No man, no man, whatever his
intellect, background, heritage, wisdom, no man can, has the ability,
nor even the desire, Or the will. No man can. Impossible. They say, who can
be saved? You say, with men it's impossible. No man can. Come
to me. Coming to Christ is believing
on him. Coming to Christ is receiving him. Coming to Christ is to admit
who he is. No man can come to me except,
now here's a, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him. That drawing in a net, or drawing
in a fish you've caught, or wooing, or drawing a person to you. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. Now here is that drawing. Listen to the next line. It is
written in the prophets. It's written in the scripture
in Isaiah 54, 13. And they shall all, they shall
be all taught of God. What does God teach? He teaches
His words. This is the record God has given
us, eternal life, this life in His Son. God teaches them by
His Spirit. Every man therefore that hath
heard and learned of my Father cometh unto me. Not that any
man hath seen the Father, save he that which is of God, that's
Christ. He's seen the Father. And here
I'll remind you again, here's the work of God. Verily, verily,
truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believeth on me. have
everlasting life. Why? I'm the bread of life. I'm the bread of life. May God make it clear and plain
to us. Teach Christ to us. Alright,
let's sing number 337. Teach me thy way O Lord, teach
me that way, number 337.