For those not familiar with and Anglican Service; there are four Scripture readings prior to the Message. The assigned readings for today are Joshua 24:14-25, Psalm 16, Ephesians 5:21-33 and John 6:53-69.
A man named Charlie Moore ... moved with his family ... into a new community.
He wanted to make some new friends, ... so he decided ... to join the local softball league.
For the opening game of the season ... Charlie brought along the whole family, ... so they all could meet some of the other players and their families.
When Charlie got up to bat, ... He set his feet, squared his shoulders... and as the ball came across the plate, ... well ... he missed it by a mile.
The crowd groaned.
But one voice could be heard over the den of people: ...... "You can do it, Mr. Moore!"
The second pitch came ... and again he swung wildly and missed, ... the crowd groaned even louder ... yet again the voice could be heard. "You can do it Mr. Moore!"
The third pitch ... he swung again, and the voice cried: "That's OK Mr. Moore you will do better next time!"
Well that day ... Charlie struck out ... every time he went to bat.
When the game was over, ... the family got into their car, ... and as they made their way down the road, ... the dad turned to his son and said:
"Was that you that yelled out ... 'You can do it Mr. Moore'?"
When his son admitted that it was indeed his voice ...the dad said he appreciated his son's encouragement, ... but he wondered ", Why did you call me Mr. Moore?"
"Well," the boy said, ... "I didn't want anyone to know ... I was related to you. " (Long Pause)
[ Illustration from a Sermon by Jeff Strite titled "Are you a follower or a fan"]
Beloved are you part of the family ... are you a "Follower of Christ" ... Or are you ... a mere ... "Fan."
Fans will regularly attend the weekly worship service ... the weekly event ... good fans do that ... you know.
Yet if they are honest ... they really do not do much for Jesus ... or for the Kingdom ... outside of attending ... that weekly event.
Why? Because ... they have other ... more important ... priorities.
Fans are happy to show up ... and shout out encouragement ... at the weekly service.
Yet ... the rest of the week ... they really do not act ... as if they are related ... to the one ... they proclaim as their Lord and their Savior.
A good Fan ... just shows up ... for the weekly event.
And they will stay a Fan ... as long as ... it benefits them.
Fans often ... get easily offended ... when they do not get their own way ... when things are not meeting ... their expectations.
Have you ever been disappointed?
Of course, ... you have.
We all have ... at times.
But have you thought about ... have you pondered why ... you were disappointed?
Maybe someone did not do ... what you thought they ... would do.
Or maybe, ... things did not turn out ... the way you expected ... (Point to head) Or ... imagined ... in your mind.
In either case, ... you were disappointed ... because you had a different expectation ... than that ...which actually happened or occurred.
Now we all have expectations, ... we all have expectations of other people, ... especially those ...we are in relationship with.
And that is normal.
Yet at times ... we each need to examine ... our expectations.
If not, ... we may find ourselves ... disappointed ... more often ... than not.
For often times ... we may have ... unrealistic expectations.
For example, ... if I have an expectation ... that my wife Lee will cook a 4-course meal every night.
And she expects ... that I will take her out to eat every night.
Well ...we are both going to be ... very disappointed.
Not because ... either expectation ...is right or wrong, ...but because we each have a different vision ... of each other.
A different image ... of what we expect ... in our relationship ...with each other.
Now these expectations ... can inadvertently ...create false images ... of the person ... we are in a relationship with.
When that person ... does not act in accordance with our image.
If that person does not act ... in accordance ... with the expectations ... that we have established ... in our minds, ... it can have ... bad consequences.
We see friendships ruined, ... divorces take place, ... all because ... the person we have created ... in our mind ... was not that same person ... in real life.
Now this is true, .... not only in our daily lives, ... but in our Spiritual lives ... as well.
Many people have expectations ... of what Jesus will do ... when they are ... in relationship ... with Him.
And that will affect ... their level ... of commitment.
In our Gospel text today ... we are going to see people ... who were quote ... "following", ... at least they thought ... they were following ... Jesus.
Yet when brought to a point of crisis of belief ...about whom they were really following, ... they would turn out to be ... not ... a part of ... the family.
They were following him ... but were not followers of ... Jesus.
They were only ... his fans.
The crowd was not there to Follow him ... as in following his teachings.
In fact, ... they were not really there For Him ... at all!
Beloved ...They were there ... because they expected Jesus ...to be there (Slow) ... For them.
Let us consider ... what has just ... transpired.
Jesus fed 5,000 men ... probably between 15,000 to 20,000 people ... with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
These people continue to follow ... after him ... and find him ... on the other side ... of the lake.
Jesus tells them clearly ... that they are looking for him ... they are following him ... because he had provided them ... a meal.
Jesus is clear ... to them, ... believe in me ... as the one that God the Father has sent, ... the Messiah ...who has been prophesied ... to come.
And they say OK, ... we will believe in you ... if you show us ... a miracle.
What just happened 12 hours earlier?
Jesus preformed a miracle before their very eyes ...in the feeding the crowd abundantly ... with plenty leftover.
Jesus had the disciples pick up ... 12 baskets of fragments.
Which I am convinced ... speaks to the importance ... Jesus places in the fragments ... of our lives ... but that is for another Message.
Jesus Responds ... to those that have gathered BIBLE "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed ... but because ... you ate the loaves ... and had your fill." END (John 6:26)
The Reality is ... they do not want him to perform a miracle ... so they will believe ... in Him.
They want Jesus to keep satisfying ... their physical wants.
That is their ... expectation ... that is what they expect of him ... that is what they ... are following.
Jesus shows them ... the reality ... of what they are really following ... and who ... they really ... are.
They are not followers ... they are fans.
Fans ... that are following Jesus, ... their expected Meal Ticket ... and miracle ... worker.
They had expectations ... that if I follow Jesus, ...he is going to feed me ... and he is going to provide for ... all my physical wants ... as his ... Main ... priority.
Now while it is true ... that Jesus tells us ... not to worry about ... what we will eat or wear ... because our Heavenly Father ... knows we need them.
He promises to provide for our needs ... as we what?
As we ... as followers ... seek His Kingdom ... And ...His righteousness. (Pause)
So, ... What are your expectations ... of Jesus?
Do you just want ... what you want ... and expect Jesus to provide it ... for you?
What happens ... when all of your expectations ... are not met?
Are you just following Jesus, ... as your Meal Ticket ... as your personal ... miracle worker?
Or are you part of the family?
These are tough questions ... for truth be told ... all of us ...probably have ... some expectations ...of what Jesus should do ... if ... we follow Him.
And when those expectations ... are not met, ... we to may face a crisis ... of belief.
Let us read on ... and see what Jesus has to say ... and how ... the fans ... and ... the followers responded.
Hear God's Word From the 6th Chapter of John: BIBLE Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, " Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:51-53)
"When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." END (John 6:60-64)
Jesus gives this teaching ... declaring that he came down from heaven ... and that he ... is the bread of life.
They were looking for a physical meal ticket ... a personal miracle worker.
Jesus was offering himself ... the bread of life.
Yet many grumbled ... and many did not believe.
And we are told how they reacted: BIBLE "after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer ...walked with him." END (John 6:66)
Yes, the teaching was hard ... and the truth is they walked away ... not because they did not fully understand ...which is true ... of all who follow.
They walked away because ... they did not trust.
To them Jesus ... was not Lord.
We see that even today ... Many will call him Savior ... but will not ... accept him as Lord.
They walk away from his Lordship ...and in the end they walk away.
Jesus exposed the reality of their faith, ... that they followed after him ... but did not ... follow him.
They were not followers.
Yet look at how the true disciples, ... the true followers responded.
BIBLE "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We ... believe ... and know ... that you are ... the Holy One of God." END (John 6:67-69)
Followers Follow ... Followers Follow ... the one they call Savior ... the one ... they call Lord.
They follow ... wherever ... he may lead.
And followers gather with other followers to worship ... and experience Jesus.
Did Jesus say some things ... they did not fully understand? Absolutely!
Did they completely grasp ... what Jesus was speaking about ... when he said He came down from heaven ... and that He ... is the bread of life?
At this point, .... probably not.
But that is the makeup of those who have recognized the reality of who Jesus is.
That He is the Holy One of God, ... the Messiah, ... God in the flesh ... and they ... become more than mere fans ... they become ... His followers.
Followers will follow ... even when things are Confusing ... Even when life ... is confusing.
Today, ... there are things .... that may seem confusing
But just because we may not fully understand ... that does not mean ... we should not follow.
On this side of eternity, ... we see through a mirror dimly. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Yet ... Yet ... we are stilled called ... to look ... into the mirror ... too seek ... and to follow.
When I picture a follower of Christ ... When I Picture a Mature man and women of God.
It brings to mind ... the words of an Old Gospel Hymn:
Where he leads me, I will follow,
Where he leads me, I will follow,
Where he leads me, I will follow,
I'll go with him, with him, all ... the way.
Amen and Amen!
Much of this Message is based of a Sermon by Scott Kircher titled "Fan or follower, which Jesus am I following" and I commend it to you.
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal gift: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings in Christ Jeff
