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Senior Sunday (John 6:29)
55 Plays2 years ago
Senior Sunday (John 6:29)
Sunday Message recorded 21 May 2023
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Nostalgia and Community Impact
00:00:06
Speaker
Wow. This seemed like it was just yesterday. Y'all were about yay high running around the halls. That was back when I had hair. Then you see what happened, right? Anyway, well it's good to be with you guys and I'm excited about this morning because we are honoring such awesome students this morning and our seniors.
00:00:29
Speaker
I know for many of you guys who are at the senior banquet a few weeks ago, I said this there as well, but man, y'all have made such an impact in our youth group and in my own life and in the life of our church. I know for a fact that as you guys transition and you guys go away to the different areas in which you're going,
00:00:48
Speaker
They're going to leave some big shoes to fill. But it's also really exciting because we got some awesome young students who are coming up behind them. They're going to be able to fill those shoes and hopefully create bigger ones to fill, right?
Living Worthy of the Gospel
00:01:00
Speaker
But I just wanted to let you guys know how much we really do appreciate you guys, how much you guys have impacted our community, our church, and our youth group. And I'm excited about this morning as we continue to get to honor you as the graduating class of 2023.
00:01:16
Speaker
I'm gonna fight back all the tears, it's fine. But anyway, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to the book of John. John chapter six, so we're gonna be here this morning.
00:01:33
Speaker
As I was thinking about the message and how to deliver an last encourage, I say it's a last encouraging message, you guys are still gonna be stuck with me for a little bit longer. But as I was thinking about what to speak on this morning and praying through what the Lord was gonna place in my heart, it was funny, I actually received this passage via text from a church member of ours. And as I read it, I was like, oh my goodness, I don't think there's a better passage for me to look at than this.
Seniors Embracing Opportunities
00:02:05
Speaker
But I could have easily looked at passages like, or letters like the book of Philippians. I know Taddy alluded to that at the senior banquet of just looking at the entire book of Philippians for these students because it's such an enriching book, a letter from Paul to the church in Philippi for us to study. We could have looked at verses, sorry, my backpack is locking up, verses such as 121, right, where it says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
00:02:33
Speaker
or 127, it says, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that when I come and see you or am in absent, I may hear of that, or hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the gospel. Or how about Philippians 2, 14 to 15, where it says, do all things without grumbling or disputing? Yeah, get ready for that, college students, right?
00:03:02
Speaker
without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world." And I pray that's exactly what you'll be. Or even Philippians 3, 13 and 14 says, brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upper call of God in Christ Jesus.
00:03:29
Speaker
I pray that's exactly what
The Message of John 6
00:03:31
Speaker
you guys will do. That you won't necessarily forget about us as your community, but what you will do is that you'll look ahead to the promises in which God has for you and the place that you will be and the opportunities that you have to be the light into the darkness and allow God to mold you and shape you into the young men and women that you're becoming. But as we continue this, so I want you guys to hear me say this, this is not, I'm gonna be looking at the seniors a lot this morning, because this is their morning.
00:03:58
Speaker
But what we are looking at today is not just for them. I know many of us are way past our high school days. We look back and we wish we can go back. Sometimes, not me actually, but when we think about our life, we think about opportunities that are missed or things that we really missed the mark on. But the reality is that those times really haven't been misplaced. They're still before us.
00:04:25
Speaker
As long as you have breath in your lungs, you have opportunity to be the light to the darkness to those around you and to your community. So I pray that as we look at this is not just for the seniors, but for us as a whole congregation on how to pursue Christ and to make him known as we look at the foundation of what that looks like for us.
00:04:45
Speaker
But as I said though, this passage in John chapter 6 when I read it, it really stood out to me because it really does hit to the core central foundation of who we are in Christ and the essential or the essence of why we put our faith and hope in Jesus and how simple it is.
Prayer for Guidance
00:05:03
Speaker
So I'm going to pray for us real quick and then we will jump into today's passage.
00:05:09
Speaker
But mainly we're going to be looking at verses 24 through 34, but really I want to hone in on verse 29. But will you pray with me? Lord God, we come before you this morning and we are just very thankful for the opportunity to gather together once again here in this building.
00:05:26
Speaker
Lord, this is a beautiful place. You've blessed us with a great meeting place, but Lord, it's not the building that blessed matters. It's this right here. It's the community. It's the gathering and the fellowship of believers that makes this time special. And I pray that as we reflect on this time, as we go through this time, that our seniors will soak up every moment of this and that when they leave, that they will desire to find a community like this.
00:05:53
Speaker
But Lord, at the end of the day, the most important fellowship that they have is fellowship with you. And I pray, Father, they will pursue that wholeheartedly. Because this is a safe place. We have a strong community. But Lord, as they go out, they're going to be facing all kinds of temptations, trials of various kinds. And I pray, Father, that they will stand firm in their faith in you and that they'll allow you to lead them and guide them throughout their days.
Jesus, the Bread of Life
00:06:21
Speaker
But Lord, just be with us this morning, go before this message, and I pray that I'll be honoring and glorifying to you, it's in Jesus' name, amen. So as I said, we're gonna be looking at verses 24 through 34. So if you guys like to stay with me in honor of God's word, we'll read these verses together. Picking up in verse 24, it says this, so when the Lord had given, or sorry, so when the Lord
00:06:49
Speaker
Sorry, so when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here?
00:07:06
Speaker
Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him, God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God?
00:07:32
Speaker
Jesus answered them, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he sent. So they said to him, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written. He gave them bread from the heaven to eat.
00:07:53
Speaker
Jesus then said to them, truly, truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, sir, give us this bread always.
Miracle of Feeding 5,000
00:08:15
Speaker
Thank you, you guys may be seated.
00:08:21
Speaker
I know this is a pretty unique passage, and you guys are probably wondering why I chose this one as the message for the seniors. But I feel like there's one verse in this passage that really should strike us all in this moment, especially in the world that is contingent based upon works. It's based upon what you can do to advance yourself or to propel yourself in the right direction or to make yourself known or profitable.
00:08:52
Speaker
or just to live an enjoyable life for yourself. This is what the world is throwing at us. Do what's best in your own eyes, in your own heart, and do whatever you wanna do to make it happen. But I feel like this passage really hits to the heart of the issue here of what Jesus and what God the Father desires of us as His people, as His creation, and that is to believe in Him.
00:09:18
Speaker
Believe in him. We'll hit on that here in just a little bit more in just a second. But just to kind of fill you in on what's happening and what this passage is in context wise is talking about here. This is right after Jesus feeds the 5,000. You guys can remember they're out in this field and this large crowd started following Jesus and they wanted him to teach him. So he turns around and tells him to all sit down and he starts teaching them. And then throughout, this is such a long period of time where they start getting hungry.
00:09:48
Speaker
And so Jesus tells the disciples, he says, hey, they're hungry, let's feed them. Well, they're like, well, we only have so much money. We don't have enough money to go buy the bread that we need for these people. And he's like, okay, well, let's see what you have. And they're like, well, we have five barley loaves and two fish. That's all we got. And Jesus says, okay, that's enough, right? And you guys remember what happens after that? Jesus feeds the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish.
00:10:17
Speaker
He breaks the laws of physics of this world and he takes a basket that had five barley loaves and just two fish and he feeds over 5,000
Belief Over Works
00:10:28
Speaker
with that. Talk about an incredible miracle that the crowd just witnessed.
00:10:37
Speaker
But what we're seeing here is that while they're eating of this miraculous food, which God provided for them, they were so focused on their physical need that they forgot to focus on the miracle. Isn't it funny how that works in our lives? We have a tendency of focusing on our own physical struggles, physical needs, physical joys, whatever the case may be, to where we forget to pause and to recognize where these gifts truly come from.
00:11:08
Speaker
and why we were given them. And I pray that's exactly what we will unpack as we look at these verses. So let's start here in verses 25 through 27, right? So when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered them, listened to his response. Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate, you're filled of the loaves.
00:11:37
Speaker
I mean, he doesn't circle around the issue. He goes straight to the heart here. He says, hey, listen, I get why you're following me. It's not because I'm doing miraculous signs. It's not because of the words I'm teaching you, but rather it's because you have a physical desire that you want to be fulfilled and you want me to do it for you. That is selfish.
00:11:57
Speaker
He goes on and says, do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. Seniors, as y'all transition and go into this culture that we now live in, you're gonna be faced with all kinds of situations where you're gonna be tested to follow your own desires, to follow your own physical need.
00:12:26
Speaker
And they're going to throw everything that they can at you to make you fall into that, to make you try to pursue your own self. But guys, don't give into that. As Jesus says, do not work for the food that perishes. Yes, he's speaking about food here, but I want us to think back into a broader spectrum here. This is not just for food. This is every physical need in this life.
00:12:50
Speaker
Do not go after the food that which perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which can only be found in Christ Jesus, only in Christ Jesus. And I pray that for all of us in this room today, I don't know what's going on in our own perspective lives.
00:13:10
Speaker
Things are, I mean, we could be going through a wide variety of different things, but may we never lose sight of the true blessing that we have in Christ Jesus.
Warning Against Worldly Desires
00:13:21
Speaker
That's why I love the fact that we were able to kick off the service this morning with the baptism of Isaac because it's a reflection and it's a reminder to us that the life in which we now live is not the life that we created or that we deserve.
00:13:37
Speaker
or that we have earned, but rather it's the life by which Christ came and died for. For we were dead to our trespasses and sins, but Christ came and died so that he can eliminate those sins in our lives.
00:13:52
Speaker
so that He would bear them on the cross for our sins so that way we don't have to carry the weight of them anymore. We can walk in the newness of life. So why should we do what Paul talks about in Romans 7? Why should we keep falling back into these sins like a dog returning to its vomit when we know that there's so much more precious things in this life when it comes to the gift of Christ Jesus and salvation?
00:14:20
Speaker
He then continues on here in verses 28 through 29. So he gives his response. He says, do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. And then the crowd then responds to him. Listen to how they respond. Then they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God?
00:14:43
Speaker
So you think that by Jesus is pointed and answered here, that they would finally understand, grasp the picture of what Jesus has been trying to tell him this whole time and is during his ministry, but they completely missed the mark.
00:14:56
Speaker
Instead of recognizing the fact that they are called to believe in Christ and to surrender to Him and allow Him to bring about the blessing and to bring about the gift of salvation, they're going back to what we do best as humans, is that we like to cling to our works. That's all we know how to do. We try to become our own God. We try to become our own individual, our own provider.
00:15:23
Speaker
So it says, then it said him, what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus answered them, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. That simple. Did you guys catch that? What's the only work that we need to do? Believe in him.
00:15:52
Speaker
Isn't that crazy? There's literally, to believe in something requires no effort, requires no energy, requires nothing except for you to surrender to it. Yet we always like to try to tack on the works when it comes to the gifts in which we're being given to us. So seniors, my plea to you guys and my encouragement to you guys is to cling to this truth
00:16:22
Speaker
Don't, when you go off to your perspective area, when you go off to your different colleges, you're gonna be so overwhelmed by the opportunities to serve, you're gonna be so overwhelmed by the opportunities of just creating new friends, creating, doing new sports, or intramurors, or whatever the case may be, and it's all gonna be contingent upon your effort to make that community great. But instead of focusing on that, instead of
00:16:50
Speaker
Putting your roots down in that, make sure that you leave your roots established in the one who blesses you with those gifts in God. Take root in him, believe in him. And you'll be surprised how effortlessly those things start coming together when you believe in him and reside in him and dwell in him. I'm sure I've said this before in the youth group, but when we choose to take the reins of life,
00:17:20
Speaker
How does it typically turn out? It's like riding a bucking Bronco, right? I don't know if I've ever said that in the youth group, but when we have it, when we choose to take the reins of life, we have a tendency of making it way harder than it needs to be. But when we choose to follow in what Jesus commands of us here to, this is the work of God that you believe in him who he sent, you'll be surprised at how
True Bread from Heaven
00:17:50
Speaker
easy and how truly wonderful life can be amidst such chaos. Goes on here, verse 30 says, so they said to him, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe in you? What work do you perform? Let's stop right there for a second. Again, they missed the mark here in the crowd.
00:18:16
Speaker
So Jesus says, this is all you have to do, believe. That's it, believe in me, believe in the one whom God has sent. And so they're like, okay, well then do a sign so we can believe. Let us see what you can do so that way we can believe in you. Remember, this is right after Jesus feeds them this out of five loaves of bread and two fish, 5,000 people.
00:18:44
Speaker
One of the greatest miracles this world has ever seen and probably will ever see. But yet here they are demanding another sign because they were so focused on their physical need and their own physical desire that they missed what Jesus was trying to do for them. And he was trying to proclaim to them that it is not anything that you deserve for me to be here to do these miracles, but I'm doing it out of my love for you so that way you can come to know me as your king. Does that make sense?
00:19:18
Speaker
But then they go back and they refer back to the Exodus, right? They go back to when Israel was in the wilderness. It says, our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it was written. He gave them the bread from heaven to eat. So you're like, hey, give us this sign. Just like our fathers, those who were before us in the wilderness had a sign from God. They were hungry. God wanted them to follow him. And so he gave them bread through Moses.
00:19:49
Speaker
And Jesus says, no, you're missing the point of that whole encounter. You're missing the point of that whole miracle. He goes on and says, truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. You see, we have a tendency of, like, when we go back and read that account in Exodus 16, that is a foreshadowing of the true bread from heaven that came in Jesus, what Jesus ultimately fulfilled for us.
00:20:18
Speaker
God heard the groanings of the people of Israel during the wilderness and He provided for them. God provided for them, not Moses. If you also remember, Moses was later on also when they were complaining about not having water and God says, hey, touch this rock and the water will come out of it. What does Moses do? Strikes the rock.
00:20:39
Speaker
And what was the result of that? Moses didn't enter into the promised land because he didn't actually comply to what God said. He didn't do what God was actually commanding him, right? So again, Moses was flawed. It was out of God's great love and compassion for his people that he provided. And that's exactly what Jesus is trying to reveal to this crowd right here.
Invitation to Believe
00:21:00
Speaker
He says, hey, yes, what God did for the people in Israel is a miracle.
00:21:06
Speaker
And God did provide for them through Moses. But it wasn't Moses, it was God who provided it. And now the true bread from heaven is standing here before you and you are choosing to not see it. You're choosing to follow your own stomach. You know, Paul will later talk about in Philippians where he talks about how
00:21:32
Speaker
Many people walk as an enemy of the cross of Christ. And why is that? It's because they follow their own belly. They follow their own pride. They would rather glory in their own shame than to surrender and to follow the holiness of God. And that's exactly what we're seeing here in this passage. They're missing.
00:21:58
Speaker
They're missing the one who is standing before them, the true bread of heaven, who is able to sustain their every need, no matter what they go through. So he says, truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. So again, seniors,
00:22:29
Speaker
as enticing as the world may be, as enticing as our culture may be, may you guys not give in to what they're throwing at you. May you cling to what is true, and that is Jesus, his word, his bread, his life, his water. Cling to him. Follow him. Run the race that is set before you in Christ Jesus.
00:23:00
Speaker
and just watch and see how He will do miraculous things in your life and through you. I know the Lord has a plan for each and every single one of you. Just as He has a plan for every single one of us in this room, I don't care how old you are, I don't care if you're five years old, 10 years old, 20 years old, or 77 years old, or 92 years old, God still has a plan for you. And He still desires to use you in this season.
00:23:29
Speaker
It's just a matter of how you choose to set aside your own desires to pick up His cross and follow Him. To follow Him, to believe in Him. So going back to verse 29 though where it says, this is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.
00:23:53
Speaker
It is out of the decision of believing in him that you're capable of even living for him. If you're in this room today and you say that you believe that you have a relationship with Jesus, but yet you're choosing to walk in your own willpower, have you truly surrendered to Jesus?
00:24:16
Speaker
Because the only way that you can truly experience the fullness of God's love, grace, mercy, compassion, and power is by truly surrendering to Him, believing in Him, and then allowing Him to do the work through you.
Hope and Promise of Eternal Life
00:24:38
Speaker
So are you guys gonna allow Him to do that? Are we gonna continue to get in our own ways?
00:24:46
Speaker
I'm just as guilty. I know there's times where I stiff on. But I pray that we will always come back to a place of humility and submission and allow Him to work in us and through us for His glory and for His purposes. I'm going to read to you guys the next, I'm going to read from 35 down through verse 40 here.
00:25:12
Speaker
So Jesus after he tells him, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they said to him, sir, give us this bread always. Seems like a sincere response, right? Give us this bread always. And I pray that it's our response. I pray that we will always wake up every single morning asking God to give us this bread always. This bread that sustains. But Jesus then goes on and says in verse 35, says, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.
00:25:43
Speaker
Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out." Do you want to reread that for you guys? Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. This is Jesus speaking.
00:26:13
Speaker
For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." That's what we get to cling to.
Encouragement and Prayer for Seniors
00:26:43
Speaker
That's the hope that we have in Jesus. The temporary things of this world at which parishes are empty. There's nothing in them, there's no hope in them. But when you confess and believe in Jesus and you put your hope in him, you gain everything. You gain eternal life.
00:27:13
Speaker
And I pray that we will never neglect that. That we'll take full advantage of every opportunity that's before us to surrender to His will and to be the light into the darkness, be the salt into the earth, as Jesus talked about in Matthew five. But as I conclude our time here together though, seniors, I hope you guys know how much we love you as a church. How much I love you as your youth pastor.
00:27:43
Speaker
It's been such a privilege to be able to walk alongside you guys so you guys grow mature. But this is just the beginning of your guys' gauntlet. As you guys transition, I was reflecting back on my time when I even I transitioned into college. I went to a private Christian university, but that didn't mean that Satan wasn't there.
00:28:15
Speaker
Satan will use every opportunity to steal and destroy, to trip you up. And I pray that you will cling to this word, that you'll cling to the one who is sent on our behalf, Jesus, believe in him and allow him and his power to dwell in you, to give you the wisdom and the truth that you need to stand firm when being tested under fire.
00:28:48
Speaker
But for anybody else who's in this room and you're in a place where you never submit, that you never submitted yourself to the Lordship of Jesus, that you never serve your life to Christ and you desire this hope and you desire this gift of eternal life. I pray that today will be that day. That you'll find security and comfort and hope in the name of Jesus because it is Him at the end of the day that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.
00:29:17
Speaker
You can try to manipulate yourself and deceive yourself thinking that you know us best. But scripture tells us that the heart is the most deceitful thing above all things in this life. So if you're listening to your heart, stop. But rather surrender your heart to Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to fill it and listen to the Holy Spirit.
00:29:44
Speaker
So if that's you today, I pray that as we go into this time of invitation that you can come down and you can talk to me. I'd love to talk to you about what it means to receive salvation, to begin that relationship with Jesus. But if you're in this room and you just been on a, you just started walking down the wrong path. You have a relationship with Jesus, but you just been following your own flesh for too long. I pray that you will fix that this morning. That you'll allow Jesus to come in and to get you back on the right path.
00:30:16
Speaker
and to follow after him. As each passing day goes by, you're missing an opportunity. We're not promised tomorrow. I'm not gonna stand up here and be that guy. We're like, Jesus, come back tomorrow. He can come back in five seconds, I don't know. This is his timing, not my timing. But we do have a responsibility as God's creation and believers to be ready.
00:30:46
Speaker
to be ready. So I pray that's exactly what we'll do, that we'll be ready when that time comes. But I'm gonna turn it over to Marsha and to Ms. Sherry. And if you need to come talk to me, if you need to come talk to anybody, please do that. If you just need to come down to the altar and pray and lift it up, come down and pray. If you need to pray in your seat, do it there. That's great. But I pray that you will not miss an opportunity to fix it.
00:31:15
Speaker
So will you pray with me? Father, we just thank you for your word and how it reminds us daily of our need for you. We have a tendency of just following our own fleshly desires. We think we know what's best. This is everybody. This is not just the non-believers, this is the believers. This is the church.
00:31:44
Speaker
That's why we have so many broken churches out there. And I pray God that we will just ultimately come back to you and that we will believe in you, trust in you, for you are the one who provides the greatest gifts that we ever need in this life. And it's not for, you don't come and provide the needs just because we work for them, but God, it's a gift that's bestowed upon us out of your great love, out of your great mercy.
00:32:16
Speaker
And Lord, I pray that there's anyone here who's never received this free gift of salvation, that they will come to know in a very real way that they will receive it and that they will allow you to come and take the veil out of their hearts so that they can finally see you for who you are in the freedom that we can have in Christ. Lord, lastly, I do pray over our seniors that as they begin this transition that they will not turn away from the truth, that they will stay on the narrow path, the one that leads to life,
00:32:47
Speaker
that they will cling to their identity in you and not in anything of this world. That as we hear stories from them, that we can say, well done. But Lord, again, it's not about their works. It's just all about you. And I pray that's exactly what they will remember. But Lord, we love you. We praise you for this time. And I just pray that you'll just work in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:33:20
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.