This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Finding Jesus" 5/6/2012

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FINDING JESUS

  

John 6:22-35

 

HOW TO MISS THE MIRACLE

V.22. "The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone."

A. The day before, Jesus feed 5000 men not including women and children.

     1. Jesus fed them two meals.

        a. He fed them the Word; food for their mind

        b. He fed them fish and bread; food for their bodies

     2. When someone has done something for you, you ought to look for them.

        a. You ought to want to be around them.

        b. You ought to want to express your gratitude to them.

        c. God is good and His good flows to them that keep their focus on Him.

B. People watch how you travel .

    1. People watch who you travel with you.

       a. He came with His disciples.

       b. They traveled by boat.

    2. People watch how you leave.

        a. They noticed that Jesus did not leave with them.

    3. We need to be careful that we hang with the right people.

V.23. "(Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)"

 A. People come and go.

      1. Not all of them are the right people to follow.

      2. If the crowd is not following Jesus, it is the wrong crowd.

      3. Don't get in the boat with the wrong people.

V:24. "When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus."

A. To follow Jesus, you got to be willing to travel.

     1. The mission of Jesus is always on the move.

 B. You should not let any distance get between you and Jesus.

     1. You should always keep your focus on Jesus.

     2. To follow Jesus, take an effort on your part.

C. It is always a good thing to seek Jesus.

    1. Those that seek Jesus will find Him.

Wrong Question

V:25. "And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?"

 A. They were worried about His transportation rather than what He had to say.

      1. They let the external distract them from spiritual.

      2. They let the temporary  distract them from the eternal.

 B. They let their circumstances distract them from true joy.

     1. You don't need to know how Jesus does things, you just need to believe that He can.

     2. The called Him Rabbi, which means Master, a title of honor.

     3. Jesus is our master.

         a. We ought to give Jesus the highest honor.

         b. When Jesus is your master, He is in complete control.

 C. We are all trying to get to the other side.

    1. We were born in the world, the temporary side. The side of a few years.

    2. The other side is heaven. The permanent side.

        a. Only Jesus can get us to the other side.

        b. We need to get in the boat with Jesus to get to the other side.

        c. Jesus can calm the rough waters of life.

        d. There is but one way to get to heaven and that is through Christ Jesus.

Wrong Focus

V:26. "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."

 A. Why do you come looking for Jesus?

      1. Do you come because you have a physical need?

          a. Or, do you come to see the glory of God?

      2. Do you come to be entertained?

          a. Or, do you come to be enlighten?

      3. Do you come to fulfill your worldly desires?

         a. Or, do you come because of you heavenly desires?

 B. When we come to worship, we should come because of the Glory of God

      that is manifested in our lives.

    1. It is because of His love that he blesses us with His good.

    2. We should come to worship because we love the Lord.

        a. We should come because He is our loving Father.

ENJOYING THE MIRACLE

V:27. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."

 A. Man should not work for the sake of working.

    1. We should glorify God in all that we do.  Col 3:23

    2. God blesses us with the ability to do so we can be a blessing to others.

    3. When we serve God, we store treasures in heaven.

 B. The Lord offers eternal life.

    1. The work is the work God does in us.

    2. We must work to love the Lord as ourselves.

    3. We must work to love our brothers as ourselves.

    4. We must work to serve the Lord in spirit and truth.

 C. God gives us eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ.

   1. The enduring meat of life is Christ Himself.

   2.  Christ is meat because He is substance for our souls. Mat 4:4

 D. Christ was sealed by the Father to give eternal life.

    1. Christ was given  approval by the Father to be the unblemished sacrifice

        for the atonement of the sins of man.

    2. The seal of Christ is sure.

    3. The seal of Christ is effective.

    4. The seal of Christ is permanent.

 E. He is the Son of man

    1. He became man through the virgin birth. His Human Nature.   Isa 7:14

    2. He is the Son of God. His Divine Nature. Mat 3:17

    3. Being the Son of God , He has the power and authority  to give eternal life to man.

WRONG UNDERSTANDING

V:28. "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"

A. Any discourse with the Lord is profitable.

   1.Jesus will clear up any misunderstanding.

   2. He will lead us into a deeper understanding of His Word.

B. The followers wanted to know what work they could do to please God.

   1. They thought that heaven could be obtained by good works.

   2. They understood physical work.

   3. They did not understand the spiritual work that they had  to do on the inside.

       a. It is work to believe in Christ as your personal Savior.

       b. It is work to trust Him for everything.

       c. It is work to be committed to His way.

       d. It is work to follow His commands.

       e.  It is work to love your enemies.

       f. It is work to forgive.

       g. It is work to live in His Joy.

       h. It is work to live in His peace. John 6:29

RIGHT UNDERSTANDING

V:29. "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."

 A. We are born in this world and are immediately exposed to it's words and thoughts.

       1. It is the work of God to replace the ideas and thoughts of the world with the

           Word of God.

       2. It is impossible for us to seek God on our own. Rom 3:10-11

       3. It is the work of God that draws us to Himself.  John 6:35-37, 44

 B. It is our work of faith that draws us closer to the Father.

     1. The Word of the Lord convicts us of our sins and enlightens our desires to

          the need for a Savior.

     2. It is when we set our goals to serve the Lord well above our abilities

         that we see the power of the Lord working.

THE JUST LIVE BY FAITH

V:30. "They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?"

 A. Man is always looking for a sign to prove to himself that God is in control.

    1. God wakes him up in the morning and he is looking for a sign.

    2. The sun shines brightly in the morning, yet man looks for a sign.

    3. The moon and the stars decorate the sky, yet man looks for a sign.

    4. A healthy baby is born, yet man looks for a sign.

B. The work of the Lord is all about us.

    1. To see the Glory of the Lord we must believe that it is manifested  in all creation. 

    2. " But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must

       believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6

V:31. "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat."

 A. The day before, Jesus had taken a lunch of a boy and feed 5000 men.

      1. After they all ate, they pick up 12 baskets of leftovers.

      2. There are times when we take for granted what God has done and what He is

           currently doing.

B. Our prayers are full of requests that God must answer for us to believe He loves us

   1. If God does not answer our prayers according to our standards, our faith is shaken.

   2. We must be careful not to limit God's answer to our standards or our thinking.

V:32. "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven."

 A. Moses was the vessel that God used to feed His people in the desert.

    1. God still uses others to feed us.

    2. God used Moses to give temporary bread.

 B. Jesus is the true bread.

    1. The bread of Jesus is permanent.

       a. The doctrine of Jesus is the nourishment for our souls. 

       b. To enjoy the bread of Jesus requires faith in Jesus.

    2. If we keep dwelling on the physical, we will never understand the Spirit of God.

       a. If what we see is our only proof to the power of God, we will never understand

           God.

 C. They were looking for a sign, when the true sign was in front of them.

    1. Jesus is in our hearts.

      a. If we look for Him on the outside, we will never see Him.

WHO IS JESUS?

V:33. "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."

 A. Jesus Identifies who He is.

      1. He is the Bread of God.

      2. He is equal with God.  Phil 4:6

 B. Jesus has a divine nature.

     1. He came down from Heaven.

     2. He was no ordinary man because He existed in Heaven.

     3. Man originates on earth.

 C. Jesus identifies His purpose.

    1. He down from heaven to give life to the world.

    2. Without Jesus, those in the world are dead eternally.

    3. Those who believe in Jesus are alive eternally.

V:34. "Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

  A. Sometimes we are intent on receiving the full glory of God in our presence time.

      1. Our prayers are designed to receive the blessing of God in our time and in our way.

      2. We sometimes we overlook the will of God for our will.

 B. The more important blessing of God are not in the present time, but eternally.

     1. The Jews were looking for a present blessing.

     2. They were not focused on eternal life.

THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION

V:35. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

 A. Jesus gives us the "Doctrine Of Salvation".

   1. Jesus is  the source of ETERNAL LIFE; THE BREAD OF LIFE

   2. The beginning of the transformation from the world to eternity is the "Coming to

        Jesus."

       a. During His time on earth, Jesus drew man to himself using signs and miracles.

       b. Today, Jesus draws us to Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit. John 6:44

   3. ETERNAL LIFE is obtained by believing in Jesus.

   4. Eternal Life once obtained is permanent.

       1. You will never hunger or thirst again.

B. Belief in Jesus has presence effects.

    1. Peace and Joy comes from Jesus. John 15:11

    2. Our presence needs are provided by Jesus.  John 16:24

      

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Born Blind", 4/29/2012

BORN BLIND

JOHN 9:1-17

   

V:1. "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth."

 A. Jesus has compassion for us.

     1. From a distance,  He took notice of the man.

         a. From Heaven the Lord is always aware of us.

         b. We are never out of His sight.

         c. Jesus saw what others would overlook and walk pass.

     2. He has sympathy for those in trouble.

         a. Those in trouble have a need for Jesus' intercession.

         b. Those in trouble are more likely to appreciate the concern of Jesus.

         c. When you catch the eye of Jesus, you are on the verge of getting a blessing.

     3. The interest we have in Jesus awakens the interest of others.

         a. Jesus has the power to cause others to bless us.

         b. He uses others to do His will.

 B. Jesus is omniscience.

      1. He saw the man's condition; he was blind.

      2. He saw the man's history; blind from birth.

 C. Each of us is born with some type of infirmity; some more severe than others.

1.     Some infirmities are readily apparent and some are hidden.

2.     Jesus is aware of your problems,

3.     Jesus knows how long you have been dealing with your situation.

 B. There are two types of blindness; physical and spiritual.

     1.   The physical blindness is temporary and affects our life today.

     2.   Spiritual blindness is permanent if not corrected through Jesus Christ.

           a. Every person is born blind to the Word of God.

V.2 "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was 

       born blind?"

 A. Sometimes the world sees you as the reason for your difficulties.

1.     Some times the world will blame your parents for your problems.

2.     The infirmities we have make us unique and different from others.

3.     The infirmities we have are reasons for Jesus to take notice of us.

 B. Whatever infirmities we are born with can be a blessing and not a problem.

     1. Jesus identifies this person with a problem as a "man".

         a. He had this condition for a long time.

         b. God does not always answer prayers immediately.

         c. Sometimes God allows us time to learn to live with our condition.

V.3 "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

 A. Jesus does not blame us or our parents for our problems.

 B. Sometimes Jesus is the reason for the problems that we have.

      1. Everyone is uniquely designed by God.

2. Every person is born with a purpose.

3. Every life is important to the Father.

 C. Our infirmities are designed to give glory to God.

1.     God can provide a way to show Himself in us.

2.     God uses what He has given us to bless others.

3.     We must see our troubles as opportunities to serve God.

4.     The poor of the world have the pity of Christ.

 D. Spiritual blindness started in the Garden of Eden.

      1. Adam's sin in the Garden separated man from God

         a. All men after Adam were born into sin and in need of a Savior.

         b. Having been born in sin, man is born in the dark about God.

V:4. "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can  

    work."

   A. Jesus was sent by the Father to do work for us.

       1. Jesus did not come down from heaven to entertain us.

       2. He came down from heaven to give us sight.

   B. Jesus came to bring man out of the dark into the marvelous light.

      1. Jesus was intent on doing what He came to do; "I must do".

      2. Jesus wasted no time doing what He came to do; "while it is day"

          a. While God is not fixed in time, He knows that man is fixed in time.

          b. Jesus knows for man there is a time to act.

          c. Jesus knows that there is a time when it is to late for man to act.

          d. Time is not on man's side.

          e. The life of man is but a few days.

  C. We have to get involved with Jesus while He wants to get involved with us.

       1. We don't know when is our cut off time .

       2. We have no idea when it is too late.

V.5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

  A. He is the light of the world.

  B. His light is made available to the whole world.

  C. There is a time for Jesus to be in the world; ie "as long".

       1. He lived 33 years on earth.

       2. This age of Grace established by His death, resurrection and ascension back into

            heaven has a time frame.

  D.  As long as this world exist, the Lord Jesus is the Light.

      1. Jesus is in control of His world.

      2. Jesus makes His light available to His people.

  E. The light of Jesus is a blessing to all.

     1. The light of Jesus identifies us all.

     2. The light of Jesus is aware of all of us.

     3. The light of Jesus keeps track of us.   

V.6 "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay."

 A. Jesus gets back to the basic elements of life, water, dirt and His breath.

    1. Spit is water.

       a. Jesus is the living water.

   2. In order to Spit, you exert some force to blow the water out of your mouth.

       a. Jesus is the force, because he is all power.

       b. Jesus is the breath of life.

  B. The power of Jesus and the life of Jesus was blown to the ground in his spit.

      a. The ground, the dirt is the basic element of the flesh.

      b. Your DNA originates from dirt.

      c. When God made Adam, He formed his body out of the dirt of the earth.

      b. Jesus blew into the body and it became a living soul.

      c. What Jesus did was not strange, He was doing what He does.

  C. He spat on the ground and made some clay.

       1. In that clay was life.

       2. In that clay was divine power.

  D. He anointed the man's eyes with the clay, which He made from His spit and His ground.

       1. He gave the man power to see.

       2. He ordained sight for the man.

   E. Jesus is the anointing Power for our regeneration from darkness to light.

V:7 "And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."

  A. This pool of Siloam was located outside the temple wall down a hill. This pool was fed by a

       tunnel dug beneath the city to bring water into the city from the outside.

      1. If invaders surrounded the city, there would be a constant supply of water.

      2. The pool was used for ritual cleansing before one could go up to the temple.

 B. The word "Siloam" means "sent".

      1. Water was sent into the city from the distant Spring of the Virgin.

      2. Jesus the Virgin birth, sent the blind man to the pool to be cleansed.

      3. Jesus is the source of all spiritual cleansing.

      4. It is through Jesus that we become cleansed of all unrighteousness.

 C. Spit was used to mock or insult a person, but Jesus used it for healing.

 D. The Blind man obeyed Christ and received his sight.

      1. Faith requires us to accept Christ as our Savior.

      2. We were all born blind.

          a. We received our sight through faith in Christ.

          b. Simple faith in Christ gives us our sight.

     3. We enter the temple of Christ through faith in Him.

V.8 "The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?"

 A. Those who knew us before Christ will recognize a difference in us.

     1. There ought to be something about you that indicates a change in you.

        a. You ought to have different interests.

        b. You ought to have different conversations.

        c. There ought to be some places that are off limits to you.

 B. People will talk about you because of the change they see in you.

V.9 "Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he."

  A. Only you can tell your story.

    1. If you leave it to others they will get it wrong.

    2. Only you know how your change occurred.

B. People are not always glad to see a change in you.

    1. Notice, no one congratulated him on receiving his sight.

    2. No one expressed an interest in helping him get acclimated to his new

        status.

V:10 "Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?"

   A. Curiosity by others is your opportunity to give a testimony to the goodness of God.

      1. We have a duty to give God praise and honor for His goodness.

      2. God uses us to draw others to Him.

      3. God blesses us with trouble to bless us with miracles.

V:11 " He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight."

 A. You may not understand how you got your break through, but you can tell what you know.

    1. He knew what Jesus did but he did not know who Jesus was.

       a. He called Jesus a man.

       b. We must be careful not to give man the credit for our success.

       c. Man has no power but that which Jesus gives him.

 B. Doctors prescribe medicine, but Jesus causes the healing.

V:12 "Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not."

  A. We ought to always know where Jesus is.

       1. We ought to be able to tell others how to contact Jesus.

       2. We ought to tell folk that Jesus is waiting for an invitation into our lives.

       3. If they want Jesus, just accept Him as their personal Savior.

           a. He died on the Cross for their sins.

           b. He is ready at this moment to accept them into the body of Christ.

           c. Jesus is just a faith call away.

 B. Jesus is all around us.

     1. The evidence of His presence is us.

     2. The evidence of His presence is His creation.

V.13 " They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind."

 A. Some folk get angry when you get blessed.

    1. Some folk get jealous when you get blessed.

    2. Some folk get vindictive when you get blessed.

    3. The man's peers had a problem with his blessing.

 B. We have to be careful not to get upset because folk don't appreciate our

      blessing.

V:14 "And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes."

  A. There are people who will try to find something illegal about how you obtained your

       blessing.

      1. If to them it is too good to be true, they may assume you obtained what you have illegally.

      2. The miracles of Jesus are always beyond human understanding.

  B. The Jews had a law that no work could be done on the Sabbath.

       1. The Jews wanted to curse the man for being blessed on the Sabbath.

       2. God designed the Sabbath for man to have a day of rest from his labors.

       3. They responded with the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law.

V:15 "Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see."

 A. The leaders had no sympathy for the man's blessing.

       1. He had been blessed him with sight, but they were worried that their law had been broken.

       2. If it was a miracle according to them, it happened on the wrong day.

 B. The blessing of God flows everyday.

       1. Each one of us is the recipients of His blessings.

V:16 "Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them."

 A. When your blessings are reported to others without a praise report, they may assume an illegal act

       has been committed.

    1. It is just as easy to assume the good as it is to assume the bad.

    2. It takes no more effort to speak a word of encouragement than it does to be negative.

    3. We have to work at believing the best for others.

B. What we sometimes forget is that "All things work for the good of those who love the Lord".

    1. If someone else gets, blessed we are also blessed.

    2. The ones who were leading the man who was born blind, did't have to do that work anymore.

    3. The man having received his sight, can now return the favors he received.

    4. The man having received his sight can now become a productive member of the community. 

V:17 " They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet."

 A. If someone blesses us, we ought to find out as much about that person as we can.

     1. The man born blind said  it was Jesus who caused him to receive his sight  and He was a prophet.

     2. The man born blind still didn't recognize Jesus as His Lord and Savior.

     3. The more he was questioned, the more answers he came up with.

     4. He was not considering the work of Jesus as a gift from God.

 B. The man did not confess Jesus as Christ because he knew he would be put out

      of the synagogue (verse 22).

    1. We must be careful to give God the praise and honor for all our blessings.

    2. We must be bold and confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

    3. We were born blind and we should let the world know how we received our sight.

 C. Notice it didn't cost the man anything to receive his sight.

      1. His sight was a free gift from God.

      2. God chose him to give sight.

      3. He got his sight just as he was.

      4. The man was born to receive His sight.

      5. Good News! The Lord chose us to be blessed by him with sight.