R247 When Jesus Comes Into The Picture

We all could use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton on this edition of The Encouraging Word. We're headed to the book of John in just a moment, but know that we're also headed to connect with you on our website. www.tewonline.org is the place to discover wonderful resources like the new book from Dr. Wilton's son, Greg Wilton.

Again, www.tewonline.org. But now, today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Would you turn with me in your Bibles this morning to John's Gospel in Chapter 6. John's Gospel in Chapter 6, it's rather a long passage, but unavoidable because of the content and the context in which our message finds its root this morning. I have entitled our message simply this, When Jesus Comes Into the Picture. When Jesus Comes Into the Picture. If I might say to you this morning by way of introduction and before we read this great passage, it seems to me if we understand God's Word and if we seriously examine the life of Christ Jesus and God our Heavenly Father, we're going to be left with no doubt from Genesis to Revelation that God acts in two specific ways to demonstrate himself to his people.

First of all, he demonstrates himself by virtue of his power. Now you can go all the way back to the Garden of Eden to discover the demonstration of the power of God. You'll remember what happened to the children of Israel. The Bible tells us that they were held in bondage. They were whipped and scourged.

They were badly treated. And yet God through his servant Moses began to demonstrate what? Began to demonstrate his power. And God began to do unbelievable things before all of mankind as a demonstration of his majesty and a demonstration of exactly who he is. There were many times throughout the Old Testament that you and I could quite correctly say God had walked into the picture.

God presents himself in the lives of men and women and boys and girls. The Israelites began to leave Egypt and they began to be confronted by all kinds of things, didn't they? One of those was the Red Sea. The Red Sea, they came up to the Red Sea and they looked and behold there was an insurmountable obstacle in front of them. Pharaoh's armies were bearing down upon them. Fear gripped the people and once again what happened? God demonstrated his presence by virtue of demonstrable power.

I would have loved to have been there. I would have loved to have seen the expressions on those faces as God parted the water and the children of Israel crossed across dry land and were delivered from the hand of the Egyptians. Then they got into the desert and once again the children of Israel were disobedient to God and there were so many demonstrations of his power. God poured out his power upon the people in the desert. He sent manna for them to eat.

He gushed water out from a rock. He delivered them from the hands of the enemies, time without number. God demonstrated his power and so it is right here in the New Testament. The Bible says that the greatest demonstration of the power of God is that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself. One of the greatest demonstrations of the power of God is the fact that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

The only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not die but should have eternal life. Then we come up to John chapter 6 and it seems to me that Jesus here demonstrated his power both publicly and then privately. There was a public demonstration of power upon the mountainside where Jesus took a mere poultry love offering from a mere poultry little boy who gave from the depths of his heart and he manifested his power publicly so that all could see the manifestation of the grace of God.

Then he demonstrated his power privately. He gathered his disciples together and he sent them off by themselves into that boat by themselves leaderless and Jesus came walking upon the water in an unbelievable private demonstration of the public power of Almighty God. You would say to me today, Dr. Wilton, when Jesus comes into the picture, how does he demonstrate himself? He demonstrates himself through his power, through miracles, through wonders, through changed lives. But there's another way Jesus demonstrates his power and it's through his preaching, through what he said. Right throughout scripture we find these words recorded, verily, verily I say unto you. If you look at me at John's gospel chapter 6 and beginning particularly at verse 26 in our study, we're going to find once again that Jesus begins to demonstrate the manifestation of his presence through his preaching, through what Jesus said.

He put it like this. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man can come unto the father but by me.

And something extraordinary happened here. You see my friends, it wasn't so much the demonstration of the power and of the preaching of Jesus Christ that was the issue. It was what people did as a consequence of the demonstration of the grace of God.

And I want us to ask this question today. What happens when Jesus comes into the picture? Because if we understand the context in which Jesus began to talk about the fact that he was and is the bread of life, I'm convinced today my beloved friends that what Jesus was saying to these people as he is saying to you and to me today is what are you going to do when I come into the picture? Well, let's read these verses together and I'm going to begin in John's gospel chapter 6 and beginning at verse 25. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, there it is, you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but rather because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

Do not work for food that spoils but rather work for food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give to you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Isn't that an incredible statement? Isn't that of monumental eternal significance that Jesus Christ would have affirmed his power through his preaching both publicly and privately by stating that he did what he did with the seal of the approval of God upon his life? We're going to discover in the next few verses that Jesus does something almost unbelievable.

Jesus says not only has God placed his seal of approval upon me as the Son of Man but because of me I am the bread of life and when you eat of the bread of life you too can have God's seal of approval placed upon you for all time and for all eternity. Well let's see what happens, verse 28, Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works of God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. So they asked him, What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?

What will you do? Our forefathers ate manna in the desert as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven but it is my Father who 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. Sir, they said, from now on give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, now he really begins to preach, I am the bread of life. This is the first of the I am sayings, 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.

But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me that I shall lose none of all that he has given me but raise them up at the last day. Here is the key verse, for my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. Yeah, we have another reference back to the resurrection and the Bible says in verse 41, unbelievably, there is a staggering result of Jesus coming into the picture. At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, I came down from heaven?

Stop grumbling among yourselves, Jesus answered. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day. That is written in the prophets.

They will all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. Only he has seen the Father.

I tell you the truth. He who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert but they died. But here is bread that comes down from heaven which a man may eat and never die. 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. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts. When Jesus comes into the picture. I don't think there is anyone here today who would dispute the fact that God had manifested his presence both publicly and privately amongst the people that surrounded them. But something remarkable happened. Because there was an immediate response as there always is when Jesus enters the picture. I want us to look at four things that took place in light of the context of this passage of scripture.

Number one. I'm going to submit to you today if we understand what happened in this encounter. That when Jesus comes into the picture, some people will always be perplexed. Some people will always be perplexed. Look with me at verse 25 and verse 28. The Bible says when they found him on the other side of the lake they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Then in verse 28, probably one of the most critically asked questions of all religions in the world today. They asked him, what must we do to do the works God requires? You see my friends, if we understand this encounter between the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples, and the malls that mingled in society around about him, we have to conclude that when Jesus comes into the picture, some people are always going to be perplexed.

But they were perplexed for two reasons. Number one, because according to scripture, there were some that were perplexed because they did not understand the presence of Jesus Christ. They did not understand the presence of Jesus Christ. Now we know what happened back there in verse 14. Jesus had sent the multitudes away.

They were filled from eating of the food. Jesus sent the disciples back down to their boats and he retreated into the mountains. Everybody saw Jesus leave by himself. Can you imagine the perplexion upon their hearts and minds when all of a sudden the next day, here comes Jesus in the boat with the disciples. And the question that was upon their hearts is how in the world did Jesus get into the boat with these disciples? There were some people who were perplexed because they did not understand.

My beloved friends, I've got wonderful news for you today. According to God's Word, you do not have to understand how Jesus got into the boat in order to become part and parcel of the life that he gives to you. In fact, the Word of God teaches, my friend, that understanding the presence of Almighty God, understanding the grace of God, understanding the fact that Jesus walks upon the water is not a prerequisite to eternal life. The Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight. Forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with today's message. But all when we hear those truths from scripture, we need to walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes it's difficult.

You do not need to walk through that alone. First of all, God promises never to leave or forsake you. But we're here as well, 24 hours a day at 866-899-WORD and would be happy to pray with you and for you.

That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don. In 1517, it revolutionized the world when the great theologian, Martin Luther, discovered what the apostle Paul had written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he nailed his 95 theses upon the door at Wittenberg Castle. The just shall live by faith. I am declared just. It is just as if I had never sinned, the slate is wiped clean. I am admitted into the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, not because I understand, but because I'm willing to take God at His word. Amen?

Isn't that an incredible thought? All my beloved friends, these people, these disciples, these men and women, these boys and girls, oh, they were so perplexed. They were so perplexed because they did not understand. There are people here today, there are people who are fellowshiping with us by way of television, who would say to me today, pastor, I don't understand how that God could save me. I don't understand how God could reach down from the portals of heaven and touch me. You see, friend, when Jesus comes into the picture, you don't have to understand the eat of the bread of life. And so what happens? You'd say to me, well then, pastor, when do I understand?

Here it happens. The instantaneous moment that you and I accept Jesus Christ by faith. The instantaneous moment that we quit trying to question or to understand Him with our head knowledge.

The instantaneous moment that we repent of our sin and by faith receiving into our hearts. We are indwelt by the presence and the power of the Spirit of the living God. And when the Spirit of God comes upon us, one of the major functions of the power and presence of the Spirit of God is to guide us in our understanding of how Jesus came to be in the boat.

Jesus was in the boat. But I don't have to understand it in order to accept the fact by faith. You see, some people will be perplexed, my beloved friends, because they don't understand. There are lots of things I don't understand. Many things I don't understand. I'm actually quite a knuckle brain when it comes to most things in life. I just don't understand a lot of things. My dear friend Fred Delport is visiting with me.

My brother's father and mother-in-law. And he said to me the other day, we're standing out on my deck. And I got a mega deck. I mean, it's just the best thing you've ever seen. We could put the whole sanctuary choir on the mega deck. And he said to me, obviously you must have built a little bit of this.

I said, read my lips, brother. If I had built any of this, the whole thing would have collapsed by now. I don't understand how they put it together. There are lots of things. I don't understand how a black cow can eat green grass that makes white milk and produces yellow butter. But I want you to know that it sure tastes good. But when it comes to the deep, serious things of God, the Word of God says, when I come into an encounter with the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, I am not going to understand. And so my perplexion is understandable. But there were some who were perplexed not just because they didn't understand, but in the second place, there's some people were perplexed because they did not want to understand.

Because they did not want to understand. Look with me at verse 41. Folks, can you believe verse 41? Just think, have I misread something here in Scripture?

Am I missing something? Did Jesus not just feed the 5,000? Did Jesus not just walk on the water and then miraculously presence himself in the boat as they arrived back on the shores of the Sea of Galilee?

Had Jesus not done something that made the outpouring of manna from heaven seem minuscule compared to the demonstration of his power and grace? And yet we read in Scripture this, the Jews began to grumble. You see friends, when Jesus comes into the picture, some people will always be perplexed. Some of whom because they just don't understand.

And those people are so eligible for the bread of life. But some people will be perplexed because they just don't want to understand. Have you ever met someone who it doesn't seem to matter what you do, how you do it. It doesn't matter which way you stand up and what you say. It doesn't matter how much God pours out his grace.

It doesn't matter the testimony of changed lives. They just refuse to want to understand the manifestation of the presence of God. God forbid beloved friends that there should be any man or any woman worshipping with us today who has seen the outpouring of God's Spirit. It's not that you don't understand.

It's that you just don't want to understand. I don't have time but if you look with me at Matthew chapter 23, you'll see what Jesus had to say to people like that. He was talking about the Pharisees and the Sadducees there, hub.

Here's what he said, brother. He said in verse 2 of chapter 23, The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. Verse 5, everything they do is done for men to see. They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogue.

They love to be greeted in the market places and have men call them rabbi. Verse 13, woe unto you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter. Neither will you let those enter who are trying to enter.

May I submit to you today, my friends. In the aftermath of the outstretched, outpouring manifestation of the presence of God. That when Jesus comes into the picture, some people will always be perplexed. Some because they don't understand, but some because they just don't want to understand. But I want you to note in the second place that when Jesus comes into the picture, that some people will see themselves as they really are. Some people will see themselves as they really are. From verse 26 through 29, Jesus responds to the perplexing, soul searching, mind grappling question that these people had because of his presence. And it is at that point as Jesus comes into the picture that some people see themselves as they really are. And when you come into the presence of Jesus as they did, you'll see yourself in the light of two basic fundamental dynamics in scripture. Number one, they saw their real nature.

And number two, they saw and understood their real need. You see friends, when Jesus comes into the picture, he puts his finger on the pulse of two areas. Man's nature and man's need. My beloved father has said to me many times, Son, a man will never come to know Jesus Christ unless he encounters the presence and the holiness of God. Because it is only in the presence and the holiness of God that man will begin to understand and see himself as he really is in terms of his nature and in terms of his need. In verse 26, Jesus seemed to put his finger on the pulse right there. He said, I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and the fishes and you are filled physically.

You see, Jesus, my friend, when he came into the picture, he began to force people to see themselves as they really were. He put his finger right on the very nature of man. What is the nature of man? The nature of man is ulterior motive. The nature of man is that I worship God because of what I can get for God, not because of what I can do for God. Man comes to church to keep up with the next door neighbor, out of tradition, out of duty. Man does what he does because he knows if he prays to God, there will be no catastrophes.

Man goes to church to pray that God will cause an aversion, an avoidance of war in the country of Haiti. But the Bible says, my friend, that when we get down to the real nature of man, the Bible says we are born dead in our trespasses and sins. There is none who doeth good, no, not one. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And when we come into the presence of the one who walks upon the water and who climbs into the boat with us, we have got to come to an understanding that we see ourselves as we really are, placed against the unbelievable attribute of God, which is his holiness and his righteousness and his justice and his grace and his mercy. And when we come into his presence, we discover the real nature of who we are. We don't only discover the real nature, but we discover our real need. You see, our real need, according to Jesus in verse 27, do not work for food that spoils, but rather for food that endures to eternal life on which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.

Isn't that incredible? Jesus didn't just point to the nature of man. He pointed to man's need. And man's need is not to fill the stomach. Man's need is to complete the soul.

Man's need is not to satisfy the appetites of life. Man's need is to take a bite of the bread of life and to understand the meaning of eternal life. Powerful preaching and teaching from the pulpit with Dr. Don Wilton, but now as he steps into the studio, open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you prayed along with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Jesus Christ or rededicate your life, we have free resources Dr. Don wants you to have. Just call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. Or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. My book, Saturdays with Billy, is about an extraordinary relationship with a precious man who impacted lives across the world. You don't want to miss this opportunity to be inspired by his life too. Until next time, be sure to meet us online at www.tewonline.org.