Participants: Floyd Bresee
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000369
|
00:31 Hi, I'm Pastor Floyd Bresee and I've been
00:35 thinking it seems to me there'd be a lot more 00:39 Christians if Christians were a 00:41 lot more Christ like. Let's pray about it. 00:46 Father, please teach us something today 00:52 that'll help us become more Christ like 00:56 Christians. This is our prayer in Jesus name, 01:01 amen. Our title today is change me, change me. 01:10 Let's leave our Bibles open to John chapter 6 01:15 and I'll be using the new 01:16 international version. I stood one day in the 01:20 rain at the great divide in the Colorado Rockies, 01:24 it's a dramatic experience to at least 01:28 by imagination as you hold out your arms 01:33 the water that drips off this hand 01:37 will go to the Gulf and the water that drops 01:43 from this hand will go to the Pacific. 01:46 This is the point in North American 01:50 Continent where there is the great divide. 01:53 John 6 tells the story of the great divide, 02:00 separation in the ministry of Jesus. 02:03 It's one of the saddest and yet most insightful 02:08 chapters in all of scripture. 02:11 John the 6th chapter and the 2nd verse, 02:16 And a great crowd of people followed him 02:19 because they saw the miraculous signs 02:23 he had performed on the sick. 02:26 And the Greeks suggests that these folk 02:31 followed him continuously, 02:32 a great crowd followed him continuously 02:34 everywhere he went. 02:36 He was a tremendous attraction. 02:38 But now come with me to the near 02:42 the close of the chapter in verse 66. 02:46 From this time many of his disciples 02:49 turned back and no longer followed him. 02:54 What went wrong, what did Jesus do, 02:58 in John the 6th chapter that people who had 03:03 followed continuously herds of people they 03:07 began to turn back from following Christ. 03:10 You know sometimes we're tempted to 03:15 turn back from following or we follow only at a 03:19 greater distance. Why? 03:22 Well for the same reasons that the masses 03:26 for came then if we find out what caused them 03:31 to leave, we'll understand better 03:33 what might tempt us to leave our 03:36 following Jesus. And Jesus thought in 03:41 John the 6th chapter, an emphasis that they 03:44 and I'm afraid sometimes we do not want to hear. 03:48 Jesus thought that the primary purpose of 03:51 Christianity is to change us and not our 03:55 circumstances. They wanted our circumstances 03:58 changed, he wanted to change them. 04:00 The primary purpose of Christianity 04:03 is to change us and not our circumstances. 04:08 Think of your last prayer, 04:10 how much of it was asking God 04:12 to change you, how much of it was asking God 04:15 to change your circumstance. 04:17 The primary purpose of Christianity is to 04:19 change us and not our circumstances. 04:23 Now it's possible to follow Christ 04:27 and be lost because we followed for the 04:31 wrong reasons. The crowd followed 04:34 Christ for what they could get from him, 04:36 he had just fed the 5000 over at Bethsaida 04:40 in the eastern shore of Galilee and they 04:43 caught up with Jesus then when he was 04:45 over to the northwest part of the sea 04:48 and he was at Capernaum when they 04:51 approached him in John the 6th chapter 04:53 and verses 25 and 26, When they found Him 04:57 on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, 04:59 "Rabbi, when did You get here?" 05:01 Jesus answered I tell you the truth, 05:04 you are looking for me, 05:06 not because you saw miraculous signs, 05:09 but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 05:13 Because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 05:19 I used to teach at Union College 05:24 in Lincoln, Nebraska, 05:25 and they had a wonderful large pioneer park 05:29 and we would take the kids out on a Sabbath 05:32 afternoon and their mother would take along 05:35 the stale old bread and we would feed the ducks 05:39 and have much the kids had even the time 05:42 they were tiny, feeding the ducks 05:44 and soon as they started to feed the ducks, 05:47 the ducks were attracted to them, 05:48 the ducks wanted to be friends with them 05:50 and they appreciated it so much, 05:52 they loved it so much that the ducks wanted 05:55 to befriend them even the sophisticated 05:57 swan came. Then they ran out 06:01 of bread and the ducks immediately left because 06:07 they weren't interested in befriending 06:10 our boys, they were interested only 06:15 in the food. And the kids were hurt. 06:19 Now in the story of Jesus that was 06:23 Passover time and these pilgrims on the way 06:25 to pass over these great herds of people 06:27 were not really interested in Christ but 06:31 what they could get out of Christ. 06:33 And like my boys were hurt 06:36 Christ must have been hurt. 06:37 But you know we too are interested in 06:42 what we can get from him. 06:44 We ask for peace and protection 06:47 for ourselves and for our families. 06:50 We ask for health, we ask for heaven, 06:53 we ask for eternal life. You eventually be 06:59 disappointed in Christ if you follow him 07:03 for selfish reasons, please understand, 07:06 Christ mustn't work miracles 07:09 to feed our selfishness. 07:11 Notice verse 34, "Sir," they said, 07:16 the crowd speaking now, 07:17 "Sir," they said, 07:18 "from now on give us this bread." 07:23 From now on give us this bread 07:26 and Jesus turned them down, 07:31 he refused to give them what they wanted. 07:35 They wanted to follow Jesus but they're 07:37 following for the wrong reasons and when he 07:40 turned them down I'm sure you learned in life 07:43 its hard to love someone who turned you down. 07:45 I fell head over heels when I was in the 07:49 second grade with the cutest little 07:52 first grader I ever met. 07:54 Of course I hadn't met many, 07:56 I wrote her what I thought was a 07:59 very sweet little note and told her how 08:03 wonderful I thought she was and kind of asking 08:07 if she felt the same way about me, 08:09 truth of the matter is she didn't. 08:14 Instead of writing back a sweet little 08:17 fresh grade note, she took my note 08:19 and gave it to my brother, 08:20 who took it home and gave it to my mother 08:22 who really gave it to me, 08:23 and you know something 08:26 I never liked that girl much after that. 08:29 Its hard to love somebody that 08:32 turns you down and Jesus turned the people down 08:35 when they asked him for the wrong things. 08:39 If you see God as a heavenly Santa Claus, 08:45 you ask Santa for something long enough 08:48 and you don't get it and you start believing 08:50 in him and you think God is a sacred Santa Claus 08:54 you ask and ask you don't get it, 08:56 you'll be tempted to lose faith in God. 09:00 God turns you down when you lose a child 09:04 or you lose your job, you lose your health, 09:07 or you lose your spouse to rejection 09:10 or maybe to cancer and you figure something 09:13 is wrong with you either I'm no good 09:16 or something is wrong with God, 09:18 either he doesn't exist or he doesn't care. 09:20 Hard to love someone that turns you down. 09:26 Well all of us attempted to worship a God 09:31 of our own invention, an extension of our 09:36 selfish desires, we want an Omnipotent God 09:39 who will let us be omniscient, 09:41 that is he has the power but 09:44 we make the decisions. We determine 09:46 what we need and he gives us 09:48 what we ask for. So many times 09:51 this is the focus of our prayers, 09:53 we fill out the sheet and we ask God 09:56 to sign it. That's not faith folks, 09:59 that's not even good prayer. 10:01 Faith is signing a blank sheet 10:05 and trusting God to fill it out. 10:08 We want a God who we can manipulate 10:12 to get our own way, I'll serve you and you'll 10:15 make me feel good and keep me safe 10:17 on the highway, you keep my kids 10:19 from going over fools hill and then 10:24 tragedy strikes, we become disillusion, 10:27 even angry. I'll get even, 10:31 I'll quit believing or at least I'll never 10:34 fully trust Him again. Now there's good news, 10:41 although God allows trial, 10:45 he never allows more hurt than can be used 10:50 to help us. My first wife lived 12 years 10:58 with cancer before her death. 11:02 During that time she had 60 months, 11:06 60 months of chemotherapy 11:11 and when she started those chemotherapy 11:15 treatments the doctor was very open 11:18 and frank with us, he said this chemical 11:22 is a poison and I give it to you not in order 11:27 to hurt you but in order to control your cancer. 11:31 And I studied very carefully to be sure 11:34 I give you the right amount, 11:37 if I don't give you enough the cancer 11:38 will go up I give you too much 11:40 you'll be too sick. 11:41 Now God does the same with us, 11:44 God sometimes allows Satan's hurts but he 11:48 carefully controls the amount. 11:50 Too much life becomes too hard, 11:54 too little and the cancer grows. 11:57 We are all plagued with cancer you know. 12:02 It's the cancer of selfishness, 12:05 all selfishness is sin 12:10 and all sin is selfishness. 12:13 Those two words sin and selfishness 12:17 they are synonymous. It not be a whole new 12:23 understanding of sin that kind of nebulous 12:27 thing we call sin. 12:29 When I realized that sin is simply 12:31 Self-Centeredness, it is simply selfishness, 12:35 and I don't want to be a sinner because 12:38 I don't want to be a selfish person. 12:40 The great physician carefully controls 12:45 our trials, too much and we'll get discouraged, 12:50 too little and the cancer of selfishness 12:54 will begin to grow again. 12:57 God never allows more hurt 13:00 then can be used to help us. 13:02 We're all plagued with the cancer of 13:08 selfishness. All selfishness is sin 13:12 and all sin is selfishness, 13:14 so mark it down, you'll eventually 13:17 be disappointed with Christ 13:19 if you're following him only for selfish reasons. 13:23 When Christ doesn't give you what you want 13:27 it's because he wants to give you what you need. 13:31 The real God cannot be controlled, 13:34 he cannot be manipulated. 13:36 I'm sure that you've learned by now 13:38 that God does not take orders well. 13:41 We must take him as he is and what he is, 13:46 is the answer to what we really need, 13:49 not just what we think we need. 13:51 Our problem is that we don't know what 13:54 we really need. Life can only be understood 13:58 backward but it's got to be lived forward. 14:01 Later on in life it's easy to understand 14:04 how God was leading me in the correct direction 14:07 but its impossible it seems some times 14:11 to see it ahead of time. 14:13 God's everlasting dilemma 14:16 is how to get people to accept the help 14:18 that they don't know they need especially 14:21 when we're young. Our assumed need is too 14:28 seldom to our real need. 14:30 Now these verses 14 and 15, 14:35 After the people saw the miraculous sign 14:39 that Jesus did, they began to say 14:42 "Surely this is the Prophet 14:45 who is to come into the world." 14:46 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come 14:50 and make him King by force, 14:52 withdrew again to a mountain by himself. 14:58 Jesus withdrew to a mountain when they tried 15:03 to make Him King. 15:05 They wanted to take Him by force, 15:08 they assumed that what they needed 15:11 was a warrior King, an army commander. 15:14 Just think Jesus could feed the hungry, 15:19 the supply problem would be lit. 15:22 He could heal the wounded perhaps 15:25 even raised the dead, 15:27 they would be absolutely invincible 15:29 they would rid themselves of 15:30 the hated Romans. They would be delivered 15:33 from their oppressor. 15:34 We think we know what we need, 15:41 we assume that we need deliverance 15:45 from our oppressors. What we really need 15:49 is deliverance from our self centeredness. 15:54 Notice verse 27, Mark or John chapter 6 16:02 and verse 27, Do not work for food that spoils, 16:08 but for food that endures to eternal life, 16:13 which the Son of Man will give you. 16:17 On him God the Father has placed his 16:22 seal of approval. They assumed that they 16:29 needed free food, they assumed that they needed 16:33 an easier life and Jesus pointed out that 16:37 what they really needed was much more 16:39 and much better than that what they really 16:41 needed was eternal life. We assume also, 16:46 we assume that we need an easier life, 16:49 no aches in the morning, easier work, more money, 16:54 when what we really need is eternal life 17:01 through Christ. Don't you see our goal 17:06 tends to be comfort, his goal is character, 17:11 no wonder we defer sometimes. 17:14 Here is a husband and a wife, 17:17 one has a goal that is different from the other 17:21 and when the goals of spouses are different 17:24 its very difficult for them 17:26 to get close together and that's the way 17:29 with us. God's goal for us is character, 17:33 our goal unfortunately many times is comfort, 17:36 no wonder we disagree sometimes. 17:40 They said back there Jesus 17:43 changed the Romans, change the landlords, 17:46 changed the world, Jesus wanted to change them. 17:50 Well you say Jesus change the unloving, 17:54 change the hypocrite, change my boss, 17:57 change my wife, change my child, 17:58 change my church, change my circumstances 18:02 and Jesus says to you today, 18:07 let me change you, 18:09 the primary purpose of Christianity 18:12 is not to change our circumstances 18:16 its to change us. Now here comes 18:21 the odd part, almost mind bending 18:27 Jesus in verse 53, Jesus said to them, 18:31 I tell you the truth, 18:33 unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man 18:38 and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 18:46 Whatever does that mean, 18:49 Christians are supposed to be Cannibals, 18:53 we eat the flesh of Jesus 18:56 and we drink his blood? 18:58 Whatever is Jesus teaching here. 19:02 Well it's a pointed illustration. 19:04 What he's saying is you have 19:07 to take me inside, you have to eat me 19:12 I have to be internalized 19:15 and if you want strength for the day 19:20 you don't take a little of the oat meal 19:23 and rub it on your nose or put some maybe 19:26 behind your ear. You got to eat it, 19:30 its got to be internalized. 19:32 Christ must be internalized, 19:34 Christianity must be internalized. 19:36 We want Christ to start working on people 19:39 and circumstances around us. 19:42 The truth of the matter is most of our problems 19:46 are within us and only when his power is 19:51 within us are we capable of loving everyone 19:56 around us. So, you see it is possible 19:59 to follow Christ and be lost. 20:02 If we follow him for selfish reasons, 20:07 well you say Brother Bresee, 20:09 then all these nice things that 20:12 God offers of it stop and think about them 20:15 it really they're all selfish well, 20:19 God promises some wonderful things, 20:22 but these things, these material things 20:26 the circumstances leaving out the primary 20:29 purpose of the Christianity. 20:30 Let me give you two right reasons 20:33 for following Christ too, 20:35 unselfishness reason for following Christ. 20:38 We can be serving him selfishly 20:40 if we follow him only for the 20:42 sake of heaven, he promises us it's good, 20:45 eternal life that's wonderful, 20:47 peace he wants to give it, 20:50 trouble free life well maybe not but 20:52 so many things if God wants to give us 20:55 really can make us a little selfish. 21:01 We talk about these things 21:05 all the time and you stop 21:06 and translate them really we're talking 21:08 about ourselves what God can do for me 21:12 and our Christianity can be self centered. 21:15 If I want to go to heaven just so 21:19 I can walk on streets of gold, 21:21 just so that I can live in a mansion, 21:25 this is poor reason for following Christianity, 21:30 the primary purpose of Christianity 21:32 is to change us, not our circumstances. 21:37 So, two good reasons, two unselfish reasons 21:44 for following Christ, first of all I think 21:48 we should follow Christ out of gratitude. 21:51 Give yourself to Christ because he gave 21:56 himself to save you. 21:57 They offer to do a great deal for Jesus, 22:01 note this interesting verse 28, 22:03 Then they asked him, 22:04 "What must we do to do the works 22:08 that God requires?" They were willing 22:10 to do any work they were willing to do 22:12 a whole lot but notice what Christ replied 22:16 in the 29th version Jesus answered, 22:18 The work of God is this: 22:19 to believe in the one he has sent." 22:25 The price of heaven is Jesus, 22:30 they'll prepare to pay most any price 22:34 to do most anything other than a loving, 22:39 trusting relationship with Jesus. 22:41 The price of heaven is Jesus. 22:45 We're willing to pay a price too, 22:50 we're willing to pay may be the price 22:53 of church membership, 22:55 the price of church attendance, 22:57 the price of giving money to charity 23:01 or to Lord or to our church. 23:04 Well willing into give the price of obedience 23:10 and that's all good. 23:12 Well please understand the price of heaven 23:15 is a loving, trusting, relationship with Jesus. 23:20 It's not just doing its loving 23:23 and so the first good unselfish reason 23:26 for following Christ is gratitude, 23:31 the second is service, 23:34 wanting to be a blessing to others, 23:37 we follow Christ so that we can help others. 23:40 Give yourself to Christ because he can make you 23:46 into something that the world needs. 23:48 You know the beautiful story of the loaves 23:52 and fishes and notice in verse 11. 23:56 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, 23:59 and distributed to those who were 24:02 seated as much as they wanted. 24:04 He did the same thing with the fish. 24:07 Five small barley loaves, 24:12 two naked little fish fed 5000 people 24:16 and 12 baskets left over. 24:20 What a miraculous story, 24:22 don't you see little becomes much 24:25 when placed in the hands of Jesus. 24:27 What that little boy's lunch offered 24:30 was so very, very little but 24:32 when it came through the hands of Jesus 24:34 it blessed the whole multitude 24:36 and I don't know how successful you feel 24:39 that you're or how things are 24:42 going in your life. You may feel 24:44 that you don't have very much to offer, 24:46 you may not be educated, 24:48 you might feel that you are not gifted. 24:51 Listen just a little bit place 24:54 in the hands of Jesus can make a 24:57 big difference whatever you have give it 25:00 to Him and He'll multiply it 25:02 and make it effective. 25:03 So, we come to that sad moment in verse 66 25:09 where people turned their backs 25:12 and no longer followed Jesus. 25:14 Then in verse 67 Jesus wishfully turned 25:20 to his disciples and he said, 25:23 you don't want to leave too do you? 25:30 Does he ask you that question today? 25:32 If you don't get whatever you ask 25:37 do you want to leave too, 25:39 is your prayer give me or is it change me. 25:45 Will you go away if you don't get 25:48 your own way, don't follow just 25:51 so God will change your circumstances. 25:53 What he really wants is to change you. 25:57 Boy grew up on the farm went of to the city 26:00 he came back to visit his parents 26:03 sometime later on and he saw up 26:05 there in the field a drilling rig 26:08 and said dad, irrigation well has it gone dry. 26:15 No, but the water table is dropping, 26:21 we got to dig deeper before the 26:25 drought comes. 26:27 If you have a shallow give me theology, 26:31 it will leave you dry 26:33 when you get your own way. 26:35 Now is the time to dig deeper, 26:37 to trust Christ to do everything possible 26:41 to save you, to trust him to 26:42 understand your needs better than you do, 26:44 to trust him to make of you something beautiful, 26:49 something the world needs, 26:51 if you only trust him. 26:53 Don't fill out the sheet and ask 26:55 God to sign it, sign the blank sheet 26:57 and trust him to fill it out. 27:00 Let's pray, Loving Father, 27:04 please forgive us when we have followed You 27:09 selfishly, for what we can get out of you 27:14 and I pray that we'll each resolve today 27:18 to follow you out of gratitude 27:20 for your saving us and do with us same as 27:23 You did with the loaves and fishes. 27:25 Make of us something I pray that the world 27:30 can use, in Jesus name, amen. 27:36 Remember, don't fill out the sheet 27:41 and ask God to sign it, 27:44 sign the blank sheet and trust God 27:49 to fill it out. Thanks for tuning into 27:53 Faith Chapel, God bless. |
Revised 2014-12-17