Collect The Left Overs - John 6:12

John 6:12

Let us read the Word of God together in Jesus' name!

How much did you pay to God for giving you the air that you breathe today? Did you think about the fact that you are only alive because the air is given to you freely? This air is extremely expensive and valuable but we have it for free. It would be better to lose my sight than lose my ability to breathe. For God, the way that we see things is not the way that He sees things. God looks at those who are alive sometimes and sees them as dead which is why He had to send someone to save us.

Jesus put on a body (this jacket = flesh) and was not born at the maternity at Waikato hospital with caring nurses and pretty atmosphere. His mother at 9 months pregnant had to go on the back of the donkey; no ambulance for her. How many women would accept that today?

Mary gave birth in a very poor condition; in a place where animals were sleeping. Who would accept their child to be born where cows sleep? Jesus grew up poor in the poorest area. Jesus never knew luxury on this earth and although he was God, he accepted to live in these conditions.

Jesus wanted to become a simple man. His father was a carpenter and He was not education at school. At the age of 30 He started His ministry. The Bible says, He came as God to John the Baptist who said, “I’m baptizing people but the one coming will use fire, I’m using water but He is bringing fire”. It’s easy to touch water but you’ll think twice about fire. Jesus coming to baptize with fire; who will accept that type of baptism? If someone says to you, I’ll use fire to baptize you, you’ll not want it because fire is dangerous. Fire brings persecution and torture and can easily be consumed by fire so we have a fear of fire. If you want the baptism of God, you have to accept to be consumed and accept your life to be changed.

After Jesus was baptized, He selected his disciplesiples and went to Canaan where there was a wedding celebration. The people celebrating needed wine so Jesus said, fill these with water and the water was turned to wine. Jesus was going one step up at a time. He was a poor person and no one wanted Him and then John talks about Him bringing the baptism of fire and now there is this miracle of water to wine so people are now talking about Him.

Then Jesus moved to another step where he met with Nicodemusodemus. It was night time and he came to Jesus in secret, “tell me” he had the knowledge and knew very well the Word of God. He wanted to know more and Jesus said, “you must be born again”. Nicodemusodemus thought he was clever asking how he can be born again and maybe it was a type of mockery, ‘what do you know you man from a poor nation, how can I go back into my mother’s womb?’ It was hard for Nicodemusodemus to understand because Jesus was talking about spiritual things.

Jesus wanted people to understand the spiritual life and turned water to wine for a spiritual teaching. The next step in the life of Jesus is the Samaritan woman who was at the well around 12pm. Usually Israelite women in that culture fetch water very early in morning so they can have a shower in the pure water from that river. But Samaritan woman couldn’t come early in the morning because she was a prostitute and people would bully her if she came early so she went after everybody had gone. How do you feel when people are aggressive towards you? How uncomfortable do you feel when people abuse you? How much peace do you feel when all your friends are against you?

Jesus said to the woman, “give me water and I’ll give you back water that is eternal life”. The woman said, “I can’t because I don’t belong to your tribe”. He said, “if you knew her you were talking to”. He answered this way because He wanted her to think about spiritual life. Jesus wants us to think deeper about the spiritual life rather than physical life.

Our business according to John 6:12, is to “gather up the leftovers so nothing will be lost”.

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, to a Samaritan woman and now it is our time for Him to talk to us. After talking to the Samaritan woman, it was evening time and Jesus left with his disciples. A crowd was following Him and He told the disciples tell them to sit on the grass. When you are following Jesus, He will ask you to sit and listen, not because you are tired but because if you are walking you might miss what He is trying to tell you. Then Jesus started to preach and His preaching was going on and on and people were like, ‘oh, this man can talk, oh it’s too long, can you be quiet’ but no one said that out loud.