Seven Signs

March 18th & 19th

Pastor Jackson Wilson

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Feeding of the Five Thousand

JOHN 21:25 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

This is the only miracle of Jesus, aside from the resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels.

JOHN 6:1-15 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

MARK 6:34 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

MARK 6:39 Then He commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.

PSALM 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

2 KINGS 4:42-44 42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Context grounds us into the TRUTH of who God is, not the IMAGE of God that we create in our minds.

A.W. TOZER “The man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems…"

THE AMERICAN DREAM JESUS

JOHN 6:14-15 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Leon Morris “He who is already King has come to open His kingdom to men; but in their blindness men try to force Him to be the kind of king they want; thus they fail to get the king they want, and also lose the Kingdom He offers.”

JOHN 6:24 24 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.

Zēteō: to seek in order to find

JOHN 6:24-27 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 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.

MATERIALLY DRIVEN VS. RELATIONALLY DRIVEN

1.) We will become practical atheists

Mark Sayers The stronghold of the contemporary world can turn even the religious into practical atheists. How? By furnishing the possibility of operating on a kind of secular autopilot, we can move through our lives without thought or need for God, since the modern world will deliver all of our needs.

2.) We will seek Jesus as long as it “works”

LOSS IS JUST AS MUCH A PART OF THE WALK OF FAITH AS GAIN IS.

JOHN 6:35 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

JOHN 6:53-56 “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. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

JOHN 6:66-67 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”

David Guzik This crowd was willing to support Jesus so long as He gave them what they wanted – bread. It’s easy to criticize how the crowd loved Jesus for the bread He gave them, but we often only love Jesus for what He give us. We must also love and obey Him simply for who He is – Lord and God.

JOHN 6:27-29 27 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.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

THE WORK OF PRAYER

Corey Russel Prayer is a beggarly calling.

Tyler Staton “Moody’s entire evangelistic strategy was prayer. That’s it. In an oft-told legend, many before me have recounted that Moody famously carried a list of a hundred names in his pocket every day of his adult life - one hundred friends who had no relationship with Jesus. Moody’s labor of love was secret, hidden prayer on their behalf. He pleaded with God to reveal himself to each of them in a way they could perceive and receive as eternal love. He prayed by name for their salvation. When he died, ninety-six of the names on that list had become answered prayers. A 96 percent success rate in prayer is not bad. I’d take those odds any day of the week. But it gets better. At Moody’s funeral, the four remaining names were each in attendance. Those four friends were, independently, so moved by the memorial service that they all came to faith - at his funeral!”

WORD DECLARATION

John 20:31 These signs are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we may have life in His name.