Scripture: John 6:24 - 35
Title: "I'd Rather Have Jesus"
Theme: Why do we want Jesus?
This sermon deals with the question - Why do we want Jesus? What is it we are looking for when we seek Him? What is it that we want Jesus to give us?
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD who came to take away our sins!
Sometimes a meal is just is just so great that you can't wait to go back to that same restaurant or cafe. It was such a great experience that you want to try it at least another time or two. At least that what it seems to be happening after the 5,000 had some fish and chips at Cafe Jesus.
The next morning after Jesus had feed the 5,000 people started looking for Him. They knew that the disciples had left after the meal to go back across the Sea of Galilee. They also knew that Jesus had gone up to the mountain to spend some time in prayer. But as they looked for him that morning no one could find him. They knew that Jesus hadn't taken the one boat that was left behind and yet, he was nowhere to be seen.
Wondering what to do they decided to go back towards Capernaum. Perhaps Jesus had found some other way to get back home. While they were wondering about all of this some boats from Tiberias came by and welcomed to take them back across the Sea of Galilee.
Now, of course these boats would not have carried the whole 5,000. We can surmise that many of them went back to their homes in Chorazin and the other small towns along the way the night before after Jesus had dismissed the crowd after supper. Most likely it was the group that had set out from Capernaum from the beginning that had gotten on the boats.
Verse 25 tells us that when they got back home, sure enough there was Jesus walking around the streets. They couldn't figure out how Jesus had gotten back so quickly when they knew that the disciples had left him on the mountain to pray and he had not used the boat that had been left. What they didn't know at the time was that Jesus merely walked across the water and joined his disciples in their boat.
John tells us that these men warmly greeted Jesus as a great teacher. "Rabbi" was the honored word they used. It was the title that they had also given to John the Baptist. After eating Jesus' miracle meal they realized that Jesus was more than a mere carpenter turned preacher. They were approaching Jesus to ask a favor of Him. They wanted him to redo his miracle of feeding the 5,000 in Capernaum.
Why? Why did they want Jesus to redo this miracle?
Perhaps they were just hungry. It was morning and they hadn't had time to get home or to get breakfast. Perhaps it was nothing more than their stomach's growling and them knowing that Jesus could feed them. He had done it once so he could do it again.
Perhaps they just wanted to experience the miracle again. They wanted to once again feel the joy and relive the excitement that happened as the disciples passed out those baskets and people began to grab biscuit after biscuit and fish after fish. After all, it had to be electrifying. I can't imagine the joy and the celebration that went on but I can understand why they wanted it to happen again. Anytime we feel God's Holy Spirit move in a service we hunger for that experience to happen again repeatedly.
Perhaps they just wanted their families to experience what they had experienced. They knew that their wives, children and friends would doubt their story so if Jesus could just do it again it would be wonderful. Then all of Capernaum would know that they were telling the truth.
Perhaps they were thinking that if Jesus just did this miracle once again then all together - their family and friends could convince Jesus that he needed to raise an army, proclaim himself King and begin the process of freeing Israel first from King Herod Antipas and finally from Rome itself. I mean if a man can do the things that Jesus had already done what more could he do? Perhaps He was the One they had been looking for all these years.
Jesus knows all of this and makes a series of statements that cut to the heart -
"You are looking for 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 for eternal life."
Jesus has this pesky way of making us take notice of ourselves and our desires and motivations. Jesus has this pesky way of causing us to get real with ourselves. Jesus has this pesky way of making us look behind the curtain of our lives and seeing the real us.
Basically, when all is said and done Jesus asks them and of course we are to join them as Jesus asks us - WHY DO WE SEEK JESUS? WHAT DO WE WANT WITH HIM? WHAT DO WE WANT HIM TO DO? WHY DO WE WANT TO FOLLOW HIM?
None of those are bad questions.
There are many reasons why people seek Jesus. There is a whole host of things that people want from Jesus both back then and today.
Jesus' miracles set people free from tangible burdens, illnesses, persecutions, social isolation, demonic oppression, embarrassment, physical limitations and hunger to name a few. Jesus met people who needed water turned to wine, who needed to be rescued from those who wanted to kill them and who needed some dreaded illness taken away.
There are a host of reasons why people today seek Jesus:
+Some seek Jesus for A Get Out of Hell Card
That's not a bad thing either. I mean think of the alternative. Once you realize that without Jesus there is no everlasting life in Heaven and there is only Hell, who wouldn't want Jesus? And we all know that Hell is not a great choice. I mean who really wants to spend eternity with the Devil and his hosts of demons. Who wants to suffer all that pain, loneliness and darkness? Who wants to live in a place where God is not - no love, no grace and no mercy?
+Some seek Jesus to Obtain a Healing.
There is nothing wonderful about needless pain. No one wakes up in the morning and prays for more pain. There is nothing wonderful about having chronic pain, some incurable disease or having to deal with an terminal illness. If you know that Jesus can heal you who in their right mind would not ask the Great Physician for a healing?
Remember the story of the four men who brought their friend to Jesus ( see Mark 2)? Remember how they tore up the roof just so they could get the man to Jesus? One of the most loving things you and I can do for someone is to intercede for them helping them pray for a healing.
+Some seek Jesus to be Free from Sin/Addictions
There is nothing fun about being addicted to a drug, a particular habit or lifestyle. There is nothing fun about being in bondage to meth, heroin, crack, or alcohol. There is nothing fun about being a slave to gambling, food, nicotine or immorality. Oh, it may seem like fun at the very beginning but once the demonic forces that surround those addictions begin to constantly torment a person there is nothing fun but only pain and suffering. No one enjoys what an addiction can do to their bodies, to their lives and especially to their families. No one wants to end up on skid roll or dying from some STD or overdose.
If ever there is someone who needs Jesus is it is someone having to deal with an addiction. Jesus tells us that he came to free the broken hearted and to minister to those in bondage (Luke 4).
+Some seek Jesus when they are Overwhelmed with Problems/Trouble
When we find ourselves in the pit of life we want help. It doesn't matter much if we dug the pit or if we merely fell into the pit. The truth is when we find ourselves in deep trouble we need and want help. We know that we can't help ourselves and we look for help. Thankfully, there is Jesus.
+Some seek Jesus when they are Overwhelmed with Grief.
There are few things that can hurt our souls as bad as grief. Losing a child, a spouse or a loved one can tear us apart. We feel like our whole world has come apart and died. We can fall into a pit of depression that is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon.
Jesus tells us that we can come to him and give him all of our burdens. He tells us that He will walk with us through the shadow of the valley of death.
The truth is there are a lot of reasons why people seek Jesus. The group that we read about this morning sought him out for material reasons. They wanted to get another good meal. They wanted the stomachs filled. They wanted Jesus to be their every day chef. They wanted Jesus to show up and take care of their needs.
However, before we get all high and mighty and look down at these folks haven't their been times that we wanted the same? We wanted Jesus to take care of our basic needs? We wanted Jesus to do something that would enable us to pay our bills, feed our families and put a roof over our heads? We wanted Jesus to do something special for us so that we could live a little easier and enjoy life a little more? We wanted a healing so we wouldn't have to go to the doctor. We wanted Jesus to take the pain away. We wanted Jesus to help us pay our bills so that we could enjoy a little R and R for a while. We wanted Jesus to come down and do something special for us.
It is easy for us to want Jesus to do something for us. After all, He is the Son of God. He does walk on water, heal the blind and set the captive free. I mean, it is not a bad thing for us to want all those things is it?
No, it isn't.
Many of those things have opened the door for people to find Jesus. Many of those things we read about in both the Old and New Testament. Many of those things the LORD GOD does give us when we ask for them.
But it is wrong when that is all we want from Jesus. It is wrong when we want to use Jesus like some genie in a bottle or like some coin slot machine. It is wrong when we want to use Jesus for our own personal prosperity and gain.
Jesus, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit all want us to desire the deeper things in life more than just the things in life.
They want us to experience Abundant lives not just full stomachs.
They want us to enjoy a life full of food that lasts instead of just "fast food".
Sometimes we just get confused about all this stuff. When Jesus spoke about a temple of God the people around him that day thought he was talking about a mere building. They couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that Jesus was talking about an eternal temple that can reside in each and every one of us.
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born from above all Nicodemus could think about was a mother's physical womb. He had no clue that humans could be reborn through the power and presence of God's Holy Spirit. He had no clue that a man could be changed from the inside out.
When the woman at the well heard Jesus speak about water she focused on the fact that Jesus did not have a physical water bucket. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of "Living Water". She could not see that Jesus can bring a joy and a happiness that surpasses anything that she could ever imagine. She could not see that Jesus can bring forgiveness and healing to one's soul, mind and spirit.
Jesus wants us to understand that He came to bring us more than a better physical life. He came to do more than take away our problems and cares for a few minutes. Jesus came to teach us that the things of our world have a definite shelf life. Jesus tells us over and over again that everything in our world is condemned to rust and dust.
Isn't that true? How many of us have seen cars from our youth now rusting in some field? How many of us seen building after building torn down and turned to dust. Everything around us is temporary. Everything that is except for us. We have the ability to live forever and ever. We have the opportunity to die, be resurrected and live on the New Heaven and New Earth.
All that we have around us has a "shelf life" but the fruits of God's Holy Spirit can give us fruit that has eternal life. God's fruit never spoils and it never ruins.
This whole passage brings us to having to ask ourselves some very deep and soul searching questions:
+Is Jesus Enough?
+Is following Jesus enough?
Now, before we just scoot those questions off to the side let's allow the Holy Spirit some time to let them permeate through our hearts, minds and soul.
These are some of the questions that the people had to deal with back in Capernaum. They are the questions that ultimately tripped up The Rich Young Ruler, Judas, Simon Peter and Demas. Of the four we only know that Simon Peter made it back. The other three to the best of our knowledge believed that Jesus was not enough. They wanted more than Jesus. They wanted Jesus but they also wanted riches and power. They wanted Jesus to grant their every whim and desire. They wanted to be in control of Jesus and not allow Jesus to be the Savior, King and LORD of our lives.
These are the same questions that Job, the Three Hebrew Children, Habakkuk and the Apostle Paul had to answer.
+Job after 41 chapters of stating his case and trying to argue with God comes to the wonderful conclusion that God is in control and he is not. He comes to understand that God can do all things and that God is too wonderful for even Job to know and understand. He comes to realize that he doesn't need anything in this life except God. God will be more than enough. And God was more than enough for Job.
+The Three Hebrew Children facing death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar if they don't fall down and worship his idol stated that all they need is God. Listen again to their words from Daniel 3:16ff (NRSV)
" O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up."
These three men - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood that all they needed was God - nothing more. If they had God then they had everything. We all know how their story ended. God came in the midst of the fiery furnace and rescued them.
+The Prophet Habakkuk wrestles with the question of theodicy. The question - Why does the LORD permit those who are righteous to suffer while allowing the evil people to prosper? It is wonderful book to read but one that will challenge your soul. At the end of his short book the Prophet writes these words:
"Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation, God, the LORD, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights." (Habakkuk 3:17-19 NRSV) Habakkuk had learned the eternal truth that God is enough!
+Finally, listen to the words of the Apostle Paul recorded in Philippians 3:8 - 9 (NRSV)
"More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ."
Paul had life on a plate. He was a Jews Jew. He was living in the city of Jerusalem. He was regarded as one of the greatest teachers of his day. Bible scholars tell us that he had a fiancé back in Tarsus and everything was set up for him to enjoy a wonderful life.
But then he had a God encounter with Jesus Christ, God's Only Son on the road to Damascus. He realized that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. He realized that Jesus was the Savior of the World and he received Jesus as Redeemer and LORD of his life.
Suddenly, his rank as one of the great Pharisees was taken from him. He no longer was thought of as a great teacher. He was no longer welcomed to walk down the halls of the Temple. His fiancé's family rejected him as a result of Paul following Jesus. His life took an immediate change of direction.
Over the next 30 plus years, Paul found himself being put into prison for his faith in Jesus. He was made to leave town after town after preaching that Jesus was the Messiah and Lord of the Universe. He endured great persecutions, beatings and even shipwrecks. This was not the life that his mother and father had planned for their son - the Great Pharisee - Saul of Tarsus - pupil of Gamaliel - Hebrew of Hebrews.
But when Paul looked around all of that this world stuff and considered it rubbish. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus. He could have had the world's riches, fame and power. But Paul only wanted Jesus. He only wanted to follow King Jesus.
Paul answered the question that Jesus asked this people of Capernaum. Paul's answer was - What do I want from Jesus - only Jesus. Why do I want to follow Jesus - Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Years ago, a big New York NBC radio program offered a certain young man a singing contract. The only caveat was that he had to sing the songs that were the most popular at the time. The young man wanted to sing Gospel but was told that if he took the contract that he still could sing a few Gospel songs but that the majority of his singing would be whatever was popular at the time.
The young man didn't know what to do. While all of this was going on his mother was praying. She wanted him to do what God wanted him to do not necessarily what NBC wanted him to do.
She came across a poem that had been written some years earlier by Rhea F. Miller. Ms. Miller would become the wife of Dr. Howard Miller a future General Supt. in the Church of the Nazarene. It was a poem that this young man's mother believed that would help her son with his decision and could change the course of his life. So, while he was at home she left the poem on the piano where she knew her son would find it.
Sure enough he did find it and the words spoke deeply into his heart. He started putting the words to music. He now knew what he needed to do. Rather than spend his life on the radio for NBC he decided that he needed to give his life totally to Jesus. Five years later the young man was invited to sing for a young evangelist by the name of Billy Graham. They quickly became friends. In 1947 this young man began a relationship with Billy Graham that would continue for the next 60 plus years until his death at the age of 104.
The name of that young man - George Beverly Shea. The name of the poem that helped change his life - "I'd Rather Have Jesus".
Shea went on to record approximately 500 vocal solos on more than 70 different albums. He won more awards that we have time to list this morning. The last time he sang in public was on September 20, 2011 at the amazing age of 102 years.
All of this happened because George Beverly Shea answered the same questions we have looked at this morning - What do we want Jesus ? - Because there is nothing greater than Jesus, being forgiven by Jesus and living for Jesus.
Ms. Miller's little poem - "I'd Rather Have Jesus" is not an easy song to sing - not because the music Shea wrote for it is difficult. It isn't. It not easy to sing because of its words. They are words of commitment, surrender and believing that Jesus is all that a person needs or should want.
This morning, before we share the LORD's Table I would like for us to sing this song. Perhaps, you feel like you can't sing it. In our own strength we can't. We all come to Jesus with mixed emotions, motivations and plans. But as we sing it we can make this song our prayer. We can ask the LORD to help us make it our song this morning as we prepare to receive the Table:
Song/Communion/Prayer/Blessing
I'd Rather Have Jesus
(1) I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
CHORUS:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway;
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
(2) I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause,
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I'd rather be true to His holy name.
(3) He's fairer than liles of rarest bloom,
He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs,
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
