May 9
1 Sam 5:1-7:17 | PS 106:13-31 | Prov 14:32-33 | John 6:1-21
A number of years ago, my wife and I saw a movie titled, "I Still Believe", featuring the true story behind Christian worship artist, Jeremy Camp. The movie centered on his relationship with his first wife, and through this his relationship with God. What he did made no earthly sense. He married a woman that he loved who was dying of cancer. In fact, she died only four and one-half months after they married, but he walked her home to be with the Lord. Not many would choose to do what Jeremy Camp did. It goes against the grain of our earthly desires. We plan our lives together, plan our neighborhood, our house, the number of children, when we retire, and how we will grow old together. There is certainly nothing wrong with these earthly desires. But what happens when things get altered? What happens when our earthly plans go up in smoke? Isn’t that what happened as our world shutdown a few years ago? As our world around us had changed so drastically, what was it that upset us most? Was it our sense of justice, wanting to see what we perceive as wrongs being perpetrated against us corrected? Was it for a return to those earthly necessities or comforts which had been lost? What is it that is driving us day to day? For if our hunger and thirst are for the things of this world, they will never be satisfied. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." God is just as present and available during our recent chaotic circumstances as He was before it, but is He the desire of our hearts and is that Who we seek to satisfy us?
We read in John 6:2, "Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased." After the miracle of feeding the five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two small fish, we read in 6:15, "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." Earlier concerning the multitudes, we read in John 2:23-24, "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,". Jesus knew that many followed Him for earthly reasons. He knew that the desires of their hearts were that Jesus would make everything right from an earthly standpoint. Jesus then challenged the crowd and their hearts, saying in John 6:26-27, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." He further emphasized this point in 6:35, when He said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst."
We all crave a good and easy and hassle-free life. There is nothing wrong with that. But what happens when those plans go awry, which they inevitably do? That is when our heart's true desires come to the forefront. In no way am I minimizing the losses that so many have suffered. There has been the loss of life, the loss of health, the loss of jobs and income, the loss of our way of life. As beautiful as these things are, they have never been promised or guaranteed by God. We read in a familiar verse, in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God gave us His Son. God gave us the promise of eternity with Him if we believe in His Son. No crisis can change this. Jesus said in John 6:40, "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up that last day." Believing in God is more than giving mental assent to Him, it changes our heart. When we enter into a relationship with Him, He is not simply added into all of our other pursuits and desires of the heart. He becomes our desire. He becomes the One who alone satisfies the longing of our hearts. As Christians, this is the promise that cannot and will not be taken away. During these unique times, this is the hope and the message which must be shared with the world. We, His children, know this truth, and this is the truth which sets us free (John 8:31-32).
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: