John 6:27

John 6:27 says, Labour 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.  Jesus told the multitude not to work for meat that perishes, but for the meat endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man would give them.  He had been sealed by the Father.  As stated earlier, the people were following Jesus for material reasons.  We sometimes hear that same idea preached today.  If we follow Jesus and do His will, we will become rich in the things of the world.  Here, Jesus said we need to be looking for those things that will last forever.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  The people asked what could they do that they might do the works of God.  People today continue to wonder what they have to do to become a part of God's family.  For some religions, the more you do for your god, the greater your blessing in heaven will be, based totally on your works.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.  Jesus said that believing in Him was the only acceptable work for salvation.  In other words, we are saved by faith and not works.  What works must we do to be saved?  Believe in Jesus as the Son of God and our personal Savior.  Yes, He died for all mankind, but until we accept that gift individually, it does not apply to us.  I see a lot of movies where, because of faith in God, all earthly problems are suddenly solved.  I hear people proclaim that if we will tithe, all money worries will be over.  This can lead to following God for earthly reasons.  When we truly believe in Jesus as our Savior, earthly things become secondary to doing the will of God.  Until we follow Him no matter the circumstances of life, we are not living totally by faith.  We must always ask in faith and accept the answer that comes.  Even if we are left with the struggles of life, we can rest assured that God is with us if we are following His will. 

John 6:22

John 6:22 says, The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;  We see that the multitude the next day wondered where Jesus had gone. There was no other boat than the one the disciples had sailed in, and Jesus was not with them when they left.  He was alone on the mountain.  Verse twenty-three adds, (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)  After they had been fed, the people had lost sight of Jesus.  When people today need something, they may call on God for the answer.  If the need is met, they may enjoy the answer to their need, but still not be mindful of God until the next time they need something.  Then, they may look around and ask where God went.  When we truly are His, we never have to ask where He is.  He is with us always.  Verse twenty-four continues, When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.  The people decided to go to Capernaum to look for Jesus.  There were several boats around by then.  Verse twenty-five states, And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? They were seeking Him for the wrong reasons, but a way to get to Him was made available.  Today, even those who seek Jesus for the wrong reasons will be provided a way to Him.  Then, God will lead them to the truth, whether they accept it or not.  They asked Jesus how He got there.  We don't need to understand how God works His will in the world.  We need only to accept that He can and will do what He says He will do.  Verse twenty-six adds, 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.  In answer to their question, Jesus said they were not there because of a spiritual desire to find Jesus, but for a materialistic reason.  When we look to Jesus, or more accurately the Holy Spirit, for answers, we need to make sure we are asking for spiritual needs, not material wants. 

John 6:16

John 6:16 says, And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,  While Jesus was on the mountain, as evening came, His disciples got in a boat to cross over to Capernaum.  At this point, they were not following Jesus or even waiting on Him.  When we feel that we are away from God, we don’t have to go seeking Him because He never really leaves us, nor should we just do what we normally do without being sure we are following Him.  We just need to be still and know that He will direct us.     Verse seventeen adds, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.  Then it got dark.  We can make the analogy that when they left the presence of Jesus they were in spiritual darkness as well. When we begin to move through life without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we are in spiritual darkness.  We are still His by the salvation of Christ, but we are not following as we should.   Verse eighteen adds, And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.  After darkness came the storm.  When we leave Jesus out of our life, first will be a time of spiritual darkness, and then the storms will come.  Verse nineteen continues, So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.  The disciples managed to row twenty-five or thirty furlongs.  They were making some progress against the storm, and we may be able to accomplish some things on our own against the storms of life, but it won’t be easy. Then, in the midst of the storm, they saw Jesus walking on the sea.  The storm was still there, but where they had been rowing to get anywhere, Jesus walked across the stormy sea to get to them.  In the midst of our spiritual storms, there can be nothing more comforting than the presence of the Holy Spirit coming to us through the storm.  Verse twenty declares, But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.  Jesus told them not to be afraid, because he was coming to them.  We can rest just as certainly in the presence of the Holy Spirit, if we accept His assurance and leadership.  No matter what the storm might be, we need not be afraid.  Verse twenty-one adds, Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.  The disciples willingly accepted Jesus into the boat and immediately got to where they were going. That is what we must do.  We must immediately accept the Holy Spirit back into the role of leadership in our life, and then the storm will cease, and we will be on our way to fulfilling our purpose once again.

John 6:14

John 6:14 says, 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. We see the people’s reaction to the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand.  They declared Jesus to truly be that prophet which was to come from God.  Even as they were looking for the coming of the Messiah, and acknowledged that Jesus could be Him, they still did not understand what the Messiah was coming to do.  If we come to Christ based simply earthly miracles, then we really do not understand Who He is.  Verse fifteen adds, 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.  Jesus saw that the people were going to try to make Him a physical ruler, He left to go up on the mountain alone.   We should never attempt tp force Jesus to fit into our idea of what He should be. Also, like Jesus at this time, we may need to get alone with God to make sure we are following His will for our life.  When Jesus recognized that they were about to take Him by force and make Him king, He left them and went up on the mountain.  Their response to Jesus was all wrong.  We cannot dictate how He works in the world, no matter how zealous we may be. We cannot follow Him simply for material blessings.  The people had just had their physical hunger met, and were going to keep Jesus with them so this could continue.  We cannot serve God just to have our personal needs provided for.  Our needs are met when we follow His will, and we should not His will simply because our physical needs are met.  The Jews had been persecuted, and they were going to force Jesus to be their way to retribution.  When we follow Christ, we cannot do it simply for the purpose of seeing those who have hurt us punished.  We, like Christ, should be broken hearted when someone has hurt us fails to accept redemption.  Jesus knew that the people wanted a Messiah Who would be an earthly king, not a heavenly Savior.  When we follow Christ, it must be with our eyes on the everlasting kingdom of God, and not the temporary kingdom of the world. 

John 6:8

John 6:8 says, One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,  Verse nine continues, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, told Jesus that there was a lad with five barley loaves and two fishes.  Andrew saw what was there, but still failed to recognize what Jesus could do with it.  He asked what this was among so many.  We today may look at what we need and what we have and say the task cannot be done, but we need to look to God instead.  Then, we need to act in faith and do what He needs us to do.  Verse ten adds, And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  Jesus told them to have the men sit down, and there were about five thousand of them.  I am sure most preachers today would like to have that large a crowd following them, but I doubt they would want to feed them.  Verse eleven continues, 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.  Then, Jesus took the bread and blessed it and had the disciples distribute it to the people.  Then, He did the same with the fish.  When it says Jesus took the bread, that does not mean He physically took the bread from the lad.  Though it doesn’t say, we must understand that the lad willingly gave his lunch to Jesus, holding nothing back.  We must do the same and give everything to Jesus holding nothing back.  Verse twelve says, When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.  Verse thirteen adds, Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.  Then, after everyone ate all that they wanted, the disciples were told to gather what was left, and there were twelve baskets full of fragments of the five barley loaves.  When we follow God’s instructions, not only will our needs be met, but there will be blessing beyond the need.  We might ask what could we do with twelve baskets of scrap food, but remember the need was to feed hungry people, and that is what was done with much to spare.  God expects us to never waste what He blesses us with but to always be willing to share with others, even if it looks like it will cost us everything we have.  Did Jesús have to have the loaves and fish to feed the people?  No, but he allowed the disciples and the lad to share in the miracle.  God does not need what we can offer Him, but He still wants us to offer so we can participate in the miracle or simply the accomplishment of the task He called us to do.