Bible Text: John 6:22–35 | Preacher: Pastor Andrew Okai

Why Are You Here?
Sermon text: John 6:22-35
Sermon prepared by the Holy Spirit and Pastor Andrew T. Okai
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 5, 2018

Grace, Mercy, and peace…

Today under we will spend a few minutes looking at this morning’s gospel story.

Jesus had just fed a crowd of about 15,000 people using 5 loaves and 2 fish. The people realized that he was not just another prophet—that he was the prophet that Israel had been waiting for, they had planned to make him king. Jesus, knowing what they had in mind, withdrew to the mountain by himself instructing his disciples to go across the lake when evening came.

They left that night, and after their encounter with a terrible storm, they finally arrived on the other side of the lake. The very next day, where our gospel text begins, when the crowd woke up and realized that Jesus was gone, they got in boats and crossed into Capernaum in search of him, and they searched until they found him.

People follow Jesus for many different reasons.

Material reasons
Emotional reasons
Signs and wonders

This bring us to the question: “Why are you here?”

If it’s anything other then the cross of Christ, your worship is meaningless. That cross for us represents everything we are and will ever be.

Jesus visits every heart in worship. Jesus knew that their love for him was deceptive.

But we have to understand what Jesus is saying here. He’s not saying that signs and wonders are bad, except when they are being used for self-aggrandizement.

Jesus over and again told us he did these signs so they might believe.

I want to say this morning that we are here because we believe! We believe in the works of that cross.

And our worship here at HNLC is true worship, for we worship the Father in spirit and in truth, because of Jesus.

For He comes to satisfy our longings for all eternity.