Consider His Priority

We're going to be hitting the last lesson here in the series, lesson number 13.

The title of this one is Consider His Priority.

!

God's priority is not just to give us everything we want.

His priority is to seek and to save those who are lost so that they can have life and have

it more abundantly.

Our text today is going to be John chapter 6, verses 1 through 15.

John 6:1–15

Oh, nice voice crack there.

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 deceased.

And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples, and the Passover

feast of the Jews was nigh.

When Jesus then lifted up His eyes and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto

Philip, When 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, Two hundred 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 have five barley loaves and two small fishes.

But what are these among so many?

And Jesus said, Make the men sit down.

Now there was much grass in the place, and the men sat down in number about five thousand.

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples,

and the disciples to them that were sat down, and likewise 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 twelve baskets with 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 unto a mountain Himself alone.

So over the past couple lessons, we've focused our attention on Christ, who He is, what He's

done for us.

And in this final lesson, we're going to look at one of the most well-known stories from

His life, and learn about God's priorities.

Our goal as we complete this series is to embrace Christ's priority as our own.

From the very first recorded miracle Jesus performed, He manifested His glory.

Back in John chapter 2, verse 11,

John 2:11

He didn't just perform miracles to impress a crowd.

His goal was that people would see His miracles and believe that He was the Son of God, the

Savior of the world.

So in this lesson, we're going to visit a miracle from His very early ministry.

This is the only one that is recorded in all four of the Gospels.

There is much that we can learn from it, and we'll look primarily in John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

In our text, we see that Jesus took just five loaves of bread and a couple fish to feed as

many as 15,000 to 20,000 people.

The Bible only records that the men were sat down, but we can assume that there were women

and children among them as well.

Yet, the tragedy of these early days of Jesus' ministry was that many people never saw past

the miracles to believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior.

They were attracted to the miracles, the crowd, and the excitement, but they never accepted

Christ's offer of salvation.

The miracle of the feeding of the thousands occurred just before the Passover.

So it was in the spring, and the grass would have been green on the mountain where the people

gathered in the city of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee, a freshwater sea, nine miles wide and 14 miles long, would have been a beautiful

place to gather.

This site was a place where Jesus would go to rest quite often.

As Jesus gathered there this particular day, he was looking for some time to rest with his

disciples, but then they see this giant crowd that had followed them.

See that in verse 5.

Then when Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, undoubtedly it

would have been easy for the disciples just to shoo them away and say, come back another

time, we're trying to take a nap.

But one of the great things about Jesus is that he truly loved and cared about people.

Rather than just turning them away, he met their needs.

So first we see the passion of Christ.

You know, we tend to see people for what they can do for us and in terms of how they might

inconvenience us.

But Jesus saw people through the eyes of compassion and made meaning for their needs his passion.

So we first see to care for the people.

Jesus had a great desire to care for those who had come unto him.

Although he was tired and weary from many days of ministry, he still took out the time and

effort to care for those that were near him.

See in Matthew chapter 14, verse 14, it says,

Matthew 14:14

And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion and he healed

their sick.

Mark chapter 6, verse 34,

Mark 6:34

It's easy for us to struggle with selfishness.

We all have our own schedules and agendas and it can be challenging for many of us to be flexible

when others ask us to inconvenience ourselves.

But Jesus always had compassion for the multitudes that came unto him.

It was part of his character to care for people.

Psalm 55, verse 12,

Psalms 55:12

The Lord hath been mindful of us.

He will bless us.

He will bless the house of Israel.

He will bless the house of Aaron.

We can always count on Christ's love for us.

He's passionate to see us experience his love and goodness.

Christ's passion for people needs to be a characteristic that we have.

In addition, his passion for the multitude, Jesus had another passion, and that is to train his disciples.

Jesus knew that his earthly ministry would only last about three and a half years.

He recognized that it was vital for him to equip his disciples so that he could further the gospel message

after he left earth to go back to heaven.

Throughout his ministry to the masses, he was training a group of 12 men to carry his work forward

in the centuries to come.

And although Christ could have immediately met the need at hand,

he used the opportunity to train those that he was mentoring.

It's always almost easier just to do a job yourself than to ask someone else to do it.

You know, in teaching, you'll find quite often that a lot of teachers would just rather come in sick

than have to make a whole lesson plan.

Because when you're making a lesson plan,

you're having to think of every single possible scenario that could go wrong

and then make a plan for that.

Which, quite often, I just like, ah, forget it, I'm just going to go into work.

Because it's usually more work to just go in sick, or to make a lesson than it is to just go in sick.

When I was in college out at West Coast, I got a job out in the kitchen out there.

And because we were short-handed, they moved me up the ladder pretty quick.

So the second semester of my freshman year, I was already one of the shift managers,

training some of the new people.

And I had to learn pretty quick, I can't just try to sit there and do the job myself,

because I needed to be off doing other things.

So I actually had to take the time to sit down and train people how to properly use a dishwasher,

which is a lot less common that people know for some reason than you might think.

So I could go and make sure that people aren't trying to take more food so that everyone can get some.

Jesus trained his disciples in two ways.

First, by example.

It was by his example that these 12 exhausted disciples came across the Sea of Galilee to a mountain place

and learned the importance of prayer,

and how much all of us need to spend time alone with God, resting in him.

See this in Mark chapter 6, verses 31 and 32.

Mark 6:31

And he said unto them,

Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.

For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

And they departed into a desert place by ship, privately.

Jesus was a perfect example for the disciples, and he's the perfect example for us today.

In everything we say, think, and do, we should be thinking about the example Christ set for us

and determine whether our actions are pleasing to him.

So Jesus didn't train his disciples only by example, but also by examination.

He took time to ask them questions, very specific questions,

and not so that Jesus could figure out the answer, because he already knew,

but it's so they can see how far their own faith had come.

Back in our text, John chapter 6, verses 5 and 6.

John 6:5

When Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto 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.

You can almost see it now.

The disciples are freaking out.

What are we going to do?

How are we going to feed all these people?

And Jesus just turns right to Philip.

Where's the money, Philip?

And Philip says, well, I don't know.

We don't have enough to even get him a little bit of bread.

John chapter 2, verses 24 and 25.

John 2:24

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men.

And needed not that any should testify a man, for he knew what was in man.

Jesus knew exactly what was on Philip's mind.

The purpose for his question was to examine Philip's faith.

The word prove, in verse 6, literally means to test.

So, maybe you start a new job or something new,

and you're in a proving time, a probationary period.

It's time to see if something works out well,

or it's time to see if someone is doing well.

Jesus was showing Philip how his faith was doing.

The Lord will, at some point, allow you to go through a time of testing or proving.

Not to show him where your faith is, because he already knows,

but to show you where it is.

And so often, in our pride, we think that our faith is perfectly fine.

But when the test comes, we realize how much we need the Lord's help.

Philip did not do well on this test, of course.

When Jesus asked Philip the question, he immediately started digging in his pockets

to try and figure out how much money they had.

So, instead of looking to God, he looked to himself.

John chapter 6, verse 7, Philip answered him,

John 6:7

200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them,

that every one of them may take even a little.

Philip noted that amongst the disciples,

they had the equivalent of about eight months' pay for one person.

This would have been plenty for the disciples to eat,

but it wouldn't even have come close to feed the 5,000.

Philip looked at his own resources and was discouraged.

Although he had seen Christ do all these miracles before,

the first time there was a great need,

he looked to what human resources could do.

Jesus' question showed Philip just how weak his faith was.

Sometimes we're tempted to look at our own problems

and try to use our own resources to fix them.

But we know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So, when difficult times arise,

our test is not whether we're going to actually get it done,

but are we going to look to Christ to help us get it done.

Real quick, turn to Exodus chapter 4.

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

This one isn't in your outline.

Exodus chapter 4.

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

This is where Moses,

so he's about 40 years old

when he ends up killing one of the Egyptians,

runs away, live in the wilderness for another 40 years.

And he's out shepherding the fields

and he comes across a burning bush.

My first thought, if a bush starts talking to me,

is probably to go walk away and sleep.

But Moses is a little bit more curious.

So, he goes up to the bush.

And, of course, we know the story.

God's talking with him

about how he's going to send Moses back to Egypt

to set his people free.

And Moses is trying to come up with

just about every excuse possible

as to why he can't do it.

So, we'll start in verse 1 in chapter 4.

And Moses answered and said,

But behold, they will not believe me,

nor hearken unto my voice,

for they will say,

The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

And God, of course,

is going to answer that question

and take away that concern.

And the Lord said unto him,

What is in thine hand?

And he said, A rod.

And he said, Cast it on the ground.

And he cast it on the ground,

and it became a serpent.

And Moses fled from before it.

And the Lord said unto Moses,

Put forth thine hand,

and take it by the tail.

And he put forth his hand,

and caught it,

and it became a rod in his hand.

That they may believe

that the Lord God of their fathers,

the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

and the God of Jacob,

hath appeared unto thee.

And the Lord said furthermore unto him,

Put now thine hand into thy bosom.

And he put his hand into his bosom.

And when he took it out,

behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

And when he said,

Put thine hand into thy bosom again,

and he put his hand into his bosom again,

he plucked it out of his bosom.

And behold,

it was turned again as his other flesh.

And it shall come to pass

that they will not believe thee,

neither hearken to the voice

of the first sign,

that they will believe

the voice of the latter sign.

And it shall come to pass

that they will not believe

also these two signs,

neither hearken unto my voice,

that thou shalt take up

the water of the river

and pour it upon the dry land.

And the water which thou takest

out of the river

shall become blood

upon the dry land.

So Moses has a question,

and God gives him

three different options

on how it's going to work out.

But Moses still continues

in verse 10.

And Moses said unto the Lord,

O my Lord,

I am not eloquent,

neither heretofore,

nor since thou hast spoken

unto thy servant,

but I am of a slow speech

and of a slow tongue.

And the Lord said unto him,

Who made man's mouth?

Or who maketh the dumb,

or the deaf,

or the seeing,

or the blind?

Have not I the Lord?

Now therefore go,

and I will be with thy mouth

and teach thee

what thou shalt say.

And I can almost imagine it now

where Moses,

he's sitting there,

he's like,

well that one didn't work.

So let me try this one.

Sorry Lord,

and historians believe

that Moses had a stutter.

So he's like,

God I can't,

I can't get the words out.

And God is probably

sitting there very patiently,

waiting and waiting,

waiting.

Who made man's mouth?

Moses.

And not I the Lord?

And I think of Job,

where God comes at him

out of a whirlwind.

Another thing,

if a tornado starts talking to you,

I don't know what I would do,

but I don't think I might

sit there and listen.

I'm probably going to run away.

So this tornado is talking to Job,

and Job is sitting there,

and God basically says,

look at the universe, Job.

Who did all this?

Who makes the wind blow?

Who put the stars there?

Did not I do that?

Am not I in control?

You know,

the words I can't

have just as much pride

as I can,

because they both start

with the wrong person,

yourself.

Instead of saying to God,

all right God,

I know I can,

you can,

Moses just kept making excuses.

So we see the plan of Christ.

Jesus had a specific plan

that involved a miracle.

It was a miraculous plan.

Jesus considered all the needs

of all the people,

and so that he could be glorified,

he chose to use human involvement

to carry out his plan.

He didn't choose just anyone.

Out of all the people

he could have used in the crowd,

he chose a young lad,

as the Bible describes,

with a small lunch,

five barley loaves of bread,

and two fishes.

So perhaps saw his pure heart

and childlike faith,

and regardless to why God

chose to use him,

this young boy honored the Lord

with his lunch.

He could have thought

of his own needs

and kept all the food to himself,

but he didn't.

He gave what he had to Jesus.

Back in our text,

verses 8 and 9,

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?

Unfortunately,

many who give to Jesus

gives if they're paying their taxes.

They do it because they think

it's their duty

instead of giving out of joy.

Most people don't think,

man, I'm so great,

I get to pay this much

in taxes this year.

And on the other hand,

some people give to the Lord

like a young man

would give to his girlfriend

an engagement ring.

I can remember when

Kira and I got engaged,

and it's a whole story,

but I was just over the moon excited.

I just, I couldn't believe it.

I'm like, I can't believe

she actually said yes.

What a score for me.

So, we need to all give out,

give to the Lord

out of a pure heart

that is excited to give.

Matthew chapter 6, verse 21,

Matthew 6:21

for where your treasure is,

there will your heart be also.

So, every man,

in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 7,

2 Corinthians 9:7

every man according

as he purposeth in his heart,

so let him give,

not grudgingly or of necessity,

for God loveth a cheerful giver.

So, after receiving

the young boy's lunch,

Jesus revealed his divine power.

He used the resources

that had been put into his hands

to feed thousands

and thousands of people.

Anytime he puts something

seemingly small

and insignificant into God's hands,

he'll produce something

all-sufficient.

He takes the small amount

that we have

and multiplies it.

John chapter 6, verse 11,

John 6:11

and Jesus took the loaves

and when he had given thanks,

he distributed to the disciples

and the disciples to them

that were sat down

and likewise the fishes

as much as they would.

All through the Bible,

we can see God

taking small human resources

and doing something

mighty with them.

Think back to Moses again.

God ultimately used Moses

and a simple rod

to free the Israelites

from Egyptian bondage.

With that rod,

the Lord miraculously parted

the waters of the Red Sea.

Moses just had to yield

what he had to God

and then allow God

to do the rest.

Consider how God worked

through the life of David.

1 Samuel chapter 17,

1 Samuel 17:40–50

verses 40 through 50.

And he took his staff

in his hands

and chose him five smooth stones

out of the brook

and put them in the shepherd's bag

which he had,

even a script,

and his sling

which is in his hands

and he drew near

to the Philistine.

And of course,

we know the story

of David and Goliath

where Goliath asked David,

are you a dog?

Did you come unto me

with sticks?

David says,

no, I come unto you

in the power of the Lord

and he's going to deliver you

into my hand.

And of course,

we know the song

and David swung his sling

round and around

and around and around.

And the giant came tumbling down.

God saw a pure heart in David

and a heart that wanted God

to be glorified.

And God wanted to use

this young heart.

So when David killed Goliath,

God did something

that David could have never done alone.

When we yield what we have

to the Lord,

laying ourselves on the altar

before God,

we present ourselves

with an attitude

that God can bless.

He uses people

who have surrendered hearts.

If you look in 1 Corinthians 1,

1 Corinthians 1:27

verses 27 and 29,

but God has chosen

the foolish things of the world

to confound the wise.

And God has chosen

the weak things of the world

to confound the things

which are mighty

and the base things of the world

which are despised.

Hath God chosen,

yea,

and things which are not

to bring not things that are,

that no flesh should glory

in his presence.

So we need to maintain

a childlike faith

and believe that God

is able to do

exceeding above

all that we could ask

or think.

And his plan

for this very small lunch

was pretty miraculous.

Then we see

a masterful plan.

Everything that Jesus did

was masterful.

Our Lord is a God

who sets things in order

exactly how they need to be.

In our text in verse 10,

Jesus said,

make the men sit down.

Now there was so much grass

in the place

that the men sat down

in a number about 5,000.

Mark chapter 6, verse 40,

Mark 6:40

and they sat down in ranks

by hundreds and by fifties.

And we see that Jesus

is doing this.

We see in 1 Corinthians

in chapter 14, verse 40,

it says,

let all things be done decently

and in order.

Scripture specifically

mentioned that there were

5,000 men,

not counting the women

and children.

So people believe

that there was around 15

to possibly 20,000 people

there that day.

And Jesus had them all

sit down in groups

of 50 to 100.

And then he began

setting out the food

according to the way

that he had set the order.

He had an organized,

masterful plan

of feeding thousands

of people.

After setting everything

in order,

Jesus instructed the disciples

to distribute the food,

verses 11 and 12.

And Jesus took the loaves

and when he had given thanks,

he distributed to the disciples

and the disciples to them

that were sat down

and likewise 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.

The distributing of the bread

gives the church

a wonderful picture

of our purpose

and mission today.

Just like the disciples

were giving out the bread

to sustain the people,

we are the recipients

of the bread of life.

Therefore,

we are to take the message

of Christ

and distribute it

to the lost world.

Just as Jesus divided

the crowds of thousands,

we can divide up

our own city,

divided into sections

so that we can do it

decently and in order.

And that we know

that God isn't just going to say

figure it out on your own.

In Acts chapter 1 verse 8

Acts 1:8

it says,

but ye shall receive power

after that the Holy Ghost

has come upon you

and ye shall be witnesses

unto me,

both in Jerusalem

and in Judea

and in Samaria

and to the uttermost

parts of the earth.

His masterful plan

also involved the disciples

conserving

the remainder of the food.

Verse 12,

when they were filled,

he said unto his disciples,

gather up the fragments

that remain

that nothing be lost.

So he not only provided

enough food

to satisfy the hungry crowd,

but also enough

to provide the next day's meal

for the disciples.

He did not forget

those who were laboring

the work of this miracle.

When you are faithful to Christ,

you can count on him

to be faithful

to provide for you.

He is completely capable

of meeting

every need you have.

Through observing

the passion of Jesus

to love people

and the plan of Jesus

to meet needs,

we discover

the priority of Jesus.

And in fact,

our text spells it out

for us

as it describes

what Jesus did

after this miracle.

So now we come to the day

after the feeding

of the thousands.

By this point,

Jesus had already

performed another miracle.

He had walked on water.

He's now gone back

to the other side of Galilee,

perhaps still trying

to find some rest.

And the multitudes again

come looking for Jesus

and notice what happens.

In verse 25,

John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

And when they had found him

on the other side

of the sea,

they said unto him,

Rabbi,

when camest thou hither?

The next few verses

show how Jesus

saw their intentions

and told them

of their priority.

We can never hide

our true motives

from Christ.

He knew the priority

of these men.

So we see man's priority.

Verses 26 through 29,

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 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 they say unto him,

What shall we do

that we might work

the works of God?

Jesus answered

and said unto them,

This is the work of God

that ye believe on him

whom he hath sent.

Jesus knew that these men

were not following him

to worship or honor God.

They were looking

for their own agendas,

for personal security

and comfort,

and they knew that Jesus

had the power to give it.

They were tired

of Roman oppression,

so they wanted to make

Jesus their king.

They were tired

of being the neglected minority,

and they wanted someone

to become a champion

for their cause.

And they wanted Jesus

to set up a kingdom

that would make them free

from all their earthly problems.

They wanted political security.

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.

Not only did they want

political help,

but they also wanted

provisional help.

They saw that Jesus

could provide them

with bread and fish,

so they wanted to follow him

so that he would keep

giving it to them.

They were only following Jesus

based on their empty stomachs

rather than what they could give him,

which is life everlasting.

Mark chapter 6, verse 52,

Mark 6:52

For they considered not

the miracle of the loaves,

for their heart was hardened.

They only looked

at what was happening,

not why it was happening.

Though they had been eyewitnesses

of Jesus' miraculous sign,

they failed to understand

the purpose for those signs.

It wasn't just to feed them,

but rather it was

to prepare their hearts

to believe on Jesus

as the Messiah.

They wanted so much

for themselves

that they missed

the most important thing.

How many of you

are a football fan?

NFL, college, any kind?

Well, you're probably familiar

with the name Tom Brady,

even if you're not

a big football fan,

quarterback of the

New England Patriots.

He had won three Super Bowls

by the time he was 28.

And then people look at him

and think, wow,

he sure has got a whole lot

figured out for being so young.

He had an interesting interview

in 2005 on 60 Minutes,

and he made the statement,

which was thought-provoking

for the people interviewing him.

He says,

sometimes I wonder,

why do I have

three Super Bowl rings

and think there's still

something greater

out there for me?

I think, God,

it's got to be more than this.

I mean, this isn't,

this can't be

what it's all cracked up to be.

Steve Croft,

the interviewer,

then asked,

so what's the answer?

And all he replies is,

I wish I knew.

If everything in life

was perfect politically

and physically,

you would still have

a hole in your heart

that only God could fill.

These people were interested

in Jesus being a provider,

but they were not interested

in him as a savior.

Man's priority

is self-centered.

So,

we need to see

through Christ's priority.

first of all,

it's that all men

should be saved.

John chapter 6,

John 6:29

verse 29,

and Jesus answered

and said unto them,

this is the work of God

that ye believe on him

whom he hath sent.

Luke 19, 10,

for the Son of Man

has come to seek

and to save

that which was lost.

Christ's priority

is not merely for us

to believe in God,

as even demons

believe in God.

Thou believest

that there is one God

that do us well.

The devils also believe

and tremble.

Christ's priority

is for sinners

to trust him alone

as their personal savior.

Titus chapter 3,

Titus 3:5

verse 5,

not by works of righteousness

which we have done,

but according to his mercy

he saved us

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewing

of the Holy Ghost.

Ephesians 2, 8, 9,

for by grace

are you saved through faith

that not of yourselves

is the gift of God,

not of works

lest any man should boast.

And then back

in John chapter 3,

John 3:17

verses 17 and 18,

for God sent not his Son

into the world

to condemn the world,

but that the world

through him

might be saved.

He that believeth on him

is not condemned,

but he that believeth not

is condemned already,

because he hath not believed

in the name

of the only begotten

Son of God.

So God's priority

is for every person

to be saved

and secondly,

to be secure.

Back in our main text,

verses 34 and 35,

then said they unto him,

Lord evermore,

give us this bread.

And Jesus said unto them,

I am the bread of life.

He that cometh unto me

shall never hunger,

and he that believeth on me

shall never thirst.

When you trust Christ

as your Savior,

you never have to wonder again

if your sins

have been forgiven.

His Spirit will

always be with you,

and there's nothing

no one can ever do

or change that.

Now that bears the question,

but what about assurance?

Well, that's on you.

God did the saving part.

It's up to you

if you're going to grow or not.

In fact,

turn to 1 Peter.

1 Peter chapter 1.

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Sorry.

I think it's 2 Peter chapter 1.

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Yes.

2 Peter chapter 1

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

in verse 5.

In Peter's writing,

it says,

and beside this,

giving all diligence,

add to your faith

virtue

or moral excellence

and to virtue knowledge

and to knowledge temperance

and to temperance patience

and to patience godliness

and to godliness brotherly kindness

and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you

and abound,

key words there,

they make you

that ye shall neither be barren

nor unfruitful

in the knowledge

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But he that lacketh these things

is blind

and cannot see afar off

and hath forgotten

that he was purged

from his old sins.

Notice it doesn't say

that they were never saved.

It says they never grew

in their faith

and that they forgot

that they were purged

from their old sins.

So if you're struggling

with assurance

of your salvation,

you might be thinking,

man,

did I say the right words?

Did I mean it at the time?

Well,

that's not the question

that you should be asking.

Is your faith growing?

According to Peter,

that's the problem

because it's very easy

to forget

that you were purged

from your old sins.

When you trust in Christ,

you are never,

ever going to have

to wonder again

if your sins are forgiven.

But growing your faith

is up to you.

John chapter 10,

John 10:27–30

verse 27 through 30,

says,

You'll notice that sentence

ends in a period.

That means the thought

is done.

It's over with.

There's nothing more

to say there.

If it had ended

in something like

a semicolon or a colon,

there'd be more to add.

But we can see

a divine order here

where Jesus is saying,

when you're saved,

you're saved forever.

And there's nothing

that you can do

to lose that.

But just like he asked

Philip the question

to test where his faith was,

test will come of your faith.

So despite our Lord's teachings,

many couldn't get over

the miracles enough

to get to his message.

Look at our main text,

verses 60 and then

66.

Many therefore of his disciples,

when they had heard this,

said,

This is in hard saying.

Who can hear it?

From that time,

many of his disciples

went back

and walked no more

with him.

So when rubber meets the road,

and Jesus is like,

You don't need physical bread.

You need the bread of life.

And that might mean

giving up some things.

You know,

you're probably thinking

of the story

where a man came to Jesus

and said,

Oh, but I need to go

bury my father.

Well, if you dig a little bit

more into that story,

his father wasn't actually dead.

He was just waiting

for him to die.

And Jesus said,

Well, you've got to give it up.

You're going to follow me.

Because he was loving

his inheritance

more than he was loving Jesus.

So,

how is it that Jesus could,

how Jesus,

the perfect teacher,

had people who left him

and turned their backs?

If we just come for a religious gathering,

but never allow the word

to convict our hearts,

we won't truly be saved.

Christ offers salvation to all,

but we have to receive his words

in order to be saved.

You know,

I was listening to a preacher

not too long ago.

He had an interesting thought.

You know,

you've never known a world

without God in it.

Hmm.

Even unsaved people

have never known a world

without God in it.

The first time

someone is truly

going to be completely

separated from God

is if they die

and they're not saved.

Now,

people come to church

all the time

that aren't saved,

but it's even worse

when someone comes to church

thinking they are

and they aren't.

And a lot of times

we can come to church

and not have fellowship

with God,

but we can have fellowship

with others about God

and get warm and fuzzy inside

and feel like we're just fine.

So we need to

seriously examine ourselves.

Are we truly saved

or do we just like

how church makes us feel?

After salvation,

we must take Christ's priority

and make it our own priority.

Rather than seeking God

merely to see

our physical needs met,

we must be willing

and available

to be used by him

to meet the spiritual needs

of others.

You know,

you see a lot of movements today

where their presentation

of the gospel is just

God can fulfill all your needs,

which is true,

but people are speaking of that

as in physical needs.

God will give you

everything you want.

As you consider

the priority of Christ

to seek and to save the lost,

ask yourself

if your priorities

line up with his own.

Are you investing

your best time and energy

in bringing the gospel

to others?

This is truly

the single greatest

and most rewarding

priority in life.

So we've considered

Christ through these lessons

and we can look back

and see a priority

on people woven

throughout each passage

that we've studied.

We've seen his care

for the disciples,

his deliverance

of those possessed

with demons,

his grief for Mary

and Martha

when their brother died,

and his compassion

to raise Lazarus

from the dead,

his forgiveness

of the sinful woman,

the healing

of the impotent

and the blind,

his willingness

to continue preaching

the truth to those

who hated him,

and his suffering

and resurrection

for our sin.

So as we consider

these events

in Christ's life,

can there be any doubt

that his priority

was to seek

and to save the lost?

It has been said

that there are only

one thing

that we can take

to heaven with us,

the souls of those

who have been led

to Christ.

Let us not follow Christ

only for personal gain,

but let us follow him

in bringing the gospel

to others.

As we close,

turn back to 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17.

1 Samuel chapter 17.

1 Samuel 17 · chapter mention

And we see down

in verse 29,

just some backstory here,

in chapter 16,

God spoke to Saul

and he went

to go to Jesse,

and Jesse lines up

all of his sons

except for one,

who of course

we find out later

is David,

and they're trying

to find a new king.

Saul had disobeyed God,

he did not completely

destroy the Amorites

because Saul,

he says he was afraid

of the people,

but he was just

making excuses

for his own sin.

So God says,

alright Saul,

you're not going

to be king anymore.

So Samuel now

is doing what God

told him to do

to go look for

a new king.

And we get to David.

And David,

of course,

is anointed with oil

and divinely ordained

to be the next king

of Israel.

And his first job

that he has

as the soon-to-be

king of Israel,

his dad comes up

to him and says,

take these ten pieces

of cheese

and go to your brothers.

So David takes

those ten pieces

of cheese

and he goes

and what's the first

thing his brothers

say to him?

David,

why are you being

so naughty?

That's what they say.

I know the naughtiness

of your heart.

No,

I don't think I've ever

had a grown man

look me in my eyes

and say you're being naughty,

which would be

a little weird.

David is looking around

on how the soldiers

of Israel are cowering

because they're looking

at their own strength

rather than God

to protect them

from Goliath.

And of course,

we know the story

of how David

defeated Goliath.

But look in verse 29.

So David is looking around

and he says,

verse 29,

Now David said,

What have I now done?

He was just called naughty.

What have I done?

Is there not a cause?

And he turned from him

toward another

and spake after the same manner

and the people

answered him again

after the former manner.

So he's saying,

what are you doing?

We have a job to do.

Is there not a cause?

Just like Christ's priority,

is there not a cause?

People are dying every day

and it's our job

that God gave us

to go to them

to tell them about the gospel

and how they can be saved.

And even though

I would like very much

for Jesus to come back,

that's not time yet.

So until that happens,

we've got to keep working.

Turn to Psalm

and this is Psalm 83,

or sorry, Psalm 81.

Now when you're looking

at verses in the Old Testament,

you have to be very careful

because God is speaking to Israel

for the majority of it.

So you can't take exactly

what's being said

and apply it as if God

is speaking to you

in the same way.

For instance,

God did not promise you

that you would be

a great nation

like he did to Abraham.

But we can take principles

from the Old Testament.

So we see in Psalm 81

down in verse 10.

It says,

I am the Lord thy God

which brought thee up

out of the land of Egypt.

Open thy mouth wide

and I will fill it.

But my people

would not hearken

unto my voice

and Israel would none of me.

So I gave them up

unto their own hearts lusts

and they walked

in their own counsels.

Then we see here

God grieving for his people.

Oh, that my people

had hearkened unto me

and Israel had walked

in my ways.

I should have subdued,

I should soon

have subdued their enemies

and turned my hand

against their adversaries.

The haters of the Lord

should have submitted

themselves unto him

but their time

should have endured

forever.

He should have fed them

also with the finest

of wheat

with honey out of the rock

should I have satisfied thee.

So he's saying

if Israel would have

just listened

and would have taken care

of all their problems,

now that doesn't mean

Israel would have taken,

God would have taken care

of Israel's problems

the way Israel

would have liked.

Many times God works

through difficulties

and struggles

to give you exactly

what you need

just like he does today.

But we know

that if we're following God

he will work things out

for the best.

Whether it's the way

we wanted it to happen

or not,

we know that it's

what needs to happen.

So,

are we going to go?

We know that God

will take care of us

so what do we have to fear?

You know,

it's Saul,

he specifically said

he was afraid of the people

which is why he didn't

kill all the Amorites.

What was Saul afraid of?

God was protecting him.

He had the Holy Spirit

with him.

He was selfish.

He wanted it

for his own gain.

He was seeking

only what he could get

physically

rather than spiritually

just like the people

that followed Jesus

asking for more bread.

So we need to make

Christ's priority

our own

and take the gospel

out to a dying

and lost world

so that they can

not just have bread

but have the bread of life.

And that brings us

to the end

of our lesson series.

I don't know

what's going to be

coming up next

but,

Pastor,

I appreciate that

you know you've

distributed the lessons

among different men

in the church.

I know Lance,

you said this before

but it has been

really great

just to see

different people

teaching and

stepping up

and filling in

where we need.

So,

it's just been

a blessing to see

and a blessing

to hear others.

But,

Mr. Wilson,

would you please

pray for us

as we finish this series?

Please may