"Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
"Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:28-29 (NIV)
As preacher Mike says, "it's simple, but it's hard"
There are many who say today, "I believe in Jesus" but do they?
Do we?
I heard a story once about a man went to war. He said he was an atheist. After the first battle, he was found to have a Star of David, a cross, an Indian arrowhead and a rabbit's foot!
The man was asked, "I thought you were an atheist?" to which he replied, "No, now I believe!"
He was further questioned, "What do you believe in? I can't tell by all these things you carry."
The man replied, "I don't know, but in this place I can't afford to make anybody mad!"
To believe in Jesus Christ is to believe in him alone. To accept not only who he is, but everything he said. Reading on in John 6 we find Jesus began to say some very difficult things to grasp and accept. He was pointing to himself as the very source of life and he was doing it with some rather graphic language about eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
On hearing that, some disciples simply put a wall up and stopped listening. Even when Jesus explained further, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." vv 63-64
It didn't matter to them, the choice was made, they were out of there.
"On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" vv60
This is where the rubber meets the road. Instead of trusting Jesus and asking further how to apply his words, these disciples judged his words as too difficult to accept and left him.
I have to respect these disciples for one reason. They voiced their rejection.
Many today won't do that. They will hold onto their "belief" in Jesus, but by their lives they will show they have found his teaching too difficult and rejected it, not in words, but in actions.
But the Word of God is not a buffet, we cannot pick and choose what we believe. We accept and follow all of it, or none of it.
Jesus said in Revelation 3 :15-16 (NIV) "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Notice Jesus did not say, "I know your words" but "I know your deeds"
There is an old saying, if you find someone whose words don't match there actions, look to the actions to find the truth.
Let's take a look at our actions today, do they display a belief in the one he has sent? I'm not talking about those moments when we get cut off and respond in anger. I'm talking about life choices here. How we choose to live and walk on the earth. How we choose to spend our free time. What we do with this gift of life that God has given us.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us today if our actions reflect a belief in Jesus Christ.
