John 6:37 says, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. After just telling those following Him that they didn't believe Him even though they had seen Him, He said that all the Father gave Him, He should no wise cast out. Some would use this verse to say that some are preordained to be saved, those given by the Father. We have to understand it in the context of the next verses. There would certainly be no security in salvation if we could not even know for sure that we were one of those given by the Father. Verse thirty-eight adds, For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Jesus said He came down out of heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of the Father. It wasn't the Father's will that Jesus be an earthly King, nor simply a miracle worker. He was to be and is the Savior. When we become His followers, we are called to do the will of the Father, and not our own. Verse thirty-nine continues, And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day Jesus said that the will of the Father was that He would lose nothing given to Him but raise it up again the last day. If we have given our life to Him by faith in His salvation given to us, we will be secured to everlasting life. Verse forty concludes, 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 at the last day. This is the Good News for everyone. Jesus said that anyone who saw the Son, and believed on Him, should have everlasting life, and Jesus would raise Him up the last day. Though we cannot look to Jesus physically, we can and must look to Him spiritually as the Son of God and our Savior. We see in this verse that salvation is secured to any who believes on Jesus. Salvation is available to all but is only secured for those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Savior. Security in the world, based on worldly things, is often not very secure. Security based on God is everlastingly secured by Jesus. We have no reason to worry.
Monday, August 29, 2016
John 6:34
John 6:34 says, Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Matthew Henry says some see this as being said in derision, but he feels they were sincere but mistaken about what this bread really was. I agree with him. They had had their physical hunger met, they remembered learning about the manna in Moses' day, and looked for Jesus to daily fill their physical hunger. Many today look to God for material reasons, but they refuse to acknowledge Him as their Savior, Lord, and Master. Verse thirty-five adds, And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. When Jesus said this, He was not speaking of a physical hunger and thirst, but a spiritual one. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we no longer need to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We know where the answer to life's problems lies. Verse thirty-six continues, But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. Jesus told them that He knew they had not believed in Him. They had seen Him, but they did not accept Him as the Son of God, the Messiah. They were willing to follow Him for earthly blessings, but not for spiritual redemption. So many people today would be willing to follow Jesus, if it were for material gain, but are not willing to allow Him to be the Lord of their life. They don't want to give up control of everyday decisions, so they reject the salvation He offers. Sometimes, even we as His followers can be the same way about everyday decisions we make. We need to make sure that whatever we do it is God's will. We look for security in a lot of ways today, but often find that they fail.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
John 6:30
John 6:30 says, They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Those Jews following Jesus asked Him what sign would He give them that they might believe. They had seen the miracles He performed and had been miraculously fed, but they were looking for a sign. We as Christians have the miracle of the cross as the only sign we should ever need. Yet, we often look for some material sign that Jesus is really able to meet our needs. Verse thirty-one adds, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. The Jews that day spoke of Moses giving their fathers bread from Heaven. They were wrong about the source of the bread. Verse thirty-two continues, 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. Moses did not give them the bread but was simply an instrument that God used to meet the need of the people in the desert. We need to be careful that we give God credit for the good things that happen in our life. Yet, we are more likely to attribute the bad to His lack of caring for us. Even as the people following Jesus spoke of the bread from heaven, they didn't mention their fathers complaining about it. When God provides for us, we need to praise Him, not grumble about whether the provision is all that we wanted, because too often our wants do exceed our needs. Jesus said that He, not the Manna, was the true bread from Heaven. Verse thirty-three concludes, “For the bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world." The bread Moses gave them was a temporary provision to sustain physical life, but Jesus was the bread from heaven to bring everlasting life. We need to never look for any other way to life than through belief in Christ as our Savior. Jesus said He could give them the everlasting bread of life.
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.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
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.