In Pastor Jerry Zepnick's sermon titled 'Seeking The Sealed One,' delivered on Father's Day, he explores John 6:22-29, emphasizing the need to seek Jesus and his eternal presence beyond worldly desires. Pastor Zepnick highlights that the miracles in John's Gospel are referred to as 'signs' pointing to the reality of Jesus as God, urging believers to seek the presence and work of Jesus in their lives. The sermon warns against laboring for perishable food and explains the difference between working for earthly provisions and seeking spiritual nourishment. Pastor Zepnick stresses that salvation cannot be earned through works but is a gift from God, and believers should treasure Jesus above all else. He challenges the congregation to evaluate their lives, set aside worldly distractions, and seek a personal, devoted relationship with Christ. The sermon concludes with a call to live a life of true discipleship, prioritizing eternal values over temporary gains.

[♪ Music And Music And Music And Music And Music And Music And Morning, church family. Morning, brother. So this morning we are going to be in the book of John again chapter 6 verses 22 through 29 but I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all the fathers. What a blessing that not only we have fathers everyone that's here has a father but that we have a heavenly father. And that is something we will talk about today as well.

But praise God for the beautiful day he's given us for this Father's Day and celebrate your fathers today. And don't forget your heavenly father. And so I wanna thank God, not just for my father, but for a spiritual influence that God has put in my life in Brother Rick. It has meant more to me than I could ever voice or write. And I need to thank God for that.

And it's not always blood fathers that God gives us, but it's brothers and fathers and the Lord that He gives us. And I am indebted beyond belief. And so, I want to start by recapping kind of where we've been. And this is the book of John, and you notice that he doesn't call his miracles miracles. He calls them signs, because signs point to something.

If you go traveling anywhere, you see signs, and the signs point to something. And then when you get there, you find it. If it's a quick trip or a Walmart or whatever it might be, you follow the signs and you get to where it is. That is John's purpose in calling all of these miracles signs. They are signs that point to the reality that Jesus is God.

And without that, we are not understanding the depth of what he's trying to tell us. And in chapter 20, verse 31, it tells us that why he wrote this book, that these things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that in believing, you might have life in his name. So this is all very important for us to understand because this is the same Jesus that we serve today. All right? And so we all need to seek the presence of this Jesus.

We we've seen the signs and we we need to seek the presence and the work and the word of Jesus in our lives and in our hearts because it will not return void. And so the purpose of this is not just for the people of that time, This is for us today to grab a hold up and to believe that Jesus is God and that believing this, we can have life in His name. And we can't afford to miss that out of this text. So today I wanna read this text is chapter six, verses 22 through 29. It says, other boat there except that one, which his disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone.

However, other boats came from Tiberias near that place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they also got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them and said, 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.

Then they said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He sent. Father, this morning we thank you for this word. I pray, Father God, for your spirit this morning to do a work in our hearts, in our lives, Lord God, with this amazing text that doesn't just speak to them, Lord, it speaks to us in a very, very true way, Lord God. May our hearts be attentive this morning, Lord God, to you.

I pray in Jesus' name, amen. As I worked through this text this week, it really worked me over as well. The base that I'm preaching on has convicted me deeply this week. And so know that as I give it to you this morning as well. But the focus on this one as I saw it, it comes down to verse 27.

And it says not to labor for food that perishes. Now, God's grace is not opposed to labor. It's not opposed to effort. But what it is opposed to is earning. You're not going to be able to earn your salvation.

You're not going to earn a good standing with God. Because once you earn, someone's going to earn more. Once you earn, how much earning is enough? And you earn a little more, and then is that enough? And you know when it's enough?

When you've got to do just a little bit more, then it's not quite enough yet. So you never can get there. Your human effort, Charles Burgeon said, get to heaven on my own efforts. I should sooner climb to the moon on a rope made of sand. So it's not possible.

We can't do that. So once you start to earn, there's no limit. And there's always more yet. And there's the fact that we need to realize, and it's a very popular verse, and I wish we'd all learn it because it's the basis of the salvation that we share in Christ. For by grace, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, for by grace have you been saved through faith, that not of yourselves is a work of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.

It's a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. Once you've been miraculously drawn, once God has worked that miracle, made a dead man alive, the believer should work for the rest of their lives to treasure Jesus above everything else. And that's the business of the believer. That you treasure, that you covet Jesus above everything else in your life. This isn't only what He commands, it's what He's earned.

This is the God of the Bible that we're talking about. This is the Son of Man who came down and died on the cross for us because He was sinless and We're not. He made a way for us to heaven. And so this laboring that we'll call it, this life of sanctification and laboring to treasure Jesus, it takes hard work. And while we've said it's not of works that you're saved, we're going to walk through that today, okay?

Because this is not something that comes natural and it's not something that you gravitate toward. But this hard work that you do is really the only work that will endure forever. It's the only work that is going to last an eternity. And so my prayer this morning is that this text today, it shook me this week. And my prayer this morning is that it will shake you that this morning your sensitivity is up.

And I thought of the best way I can, in my fisherman's mind, explain this, I have a fish finder, okay, it's got a transducer on the back of the boat, it shows how many fish are down there. So sometimes you have it, the adjustment's set wrong, and you've got sensitivity, or otherwise known as gain, and you can have that too low and you'll see absolutely nothing on the screen. And so you can turn that up and you get it just right to where you're not seeing all the particles in the water, but you're seeing as much as you can. My prayer this morning is that your sensitivity is cranked up that you're hearing and that you have ears to hear that this will hit you like it hit me this week. And so, this is something that we can't afford to miss.

So, we need to take a solid look at life in Jesus Christ. Our life as we see it and know it in Jesus Christ in light of eternity, in light of forever. Seeing what the cost of that life is to the true believer today. Seeing where is that cost? Because our salvation cost God, His Son, Jesus Christ.

What is the cost of our salvation? What are we willing to sacrifice for having Jesus in our lives? And the point one that I have this morning is to look at what were these selfish seekers and when they came to Jesus in the first 22, 23, 24. So what we have is these people, these people, they thought Jesus was there, they didn't see him leave, and all of a sudden he's gone. But these people come to Jesus on the other side and They can't fool Jesus.

And so the feeding the day before was this amazing feast. So maybe you all have had an amazing feast in your life. And I can think back to many of them that I've had. And you think, boy, just to get that once more, you know, you go to just the right restaurant or just get invited to a friend's house and maybe a guy comes and he cooks some amazing stuff for men to study and you can't forget about it. Well, this is what's going on.

These people were fed the night before and they were fed fish sandwiches, I guess. It was fish and bread. And they were given as much as they could possibly eat. And so, they were fired up. And so Jesus turned very little, if anything at all, into something much.

He took what was five little loaves and they were probably these little one person type things. And two little fishes, two small fishes like the kind that Lorenzo catches. They're about this big. Okay? And so they're just these tiny things and this little boy has got them.

And so, he gives them to Jesus, and Jesus feeds probably close to 20, 000 people with them. And so, he takes nothing and turns it into everything. And how much is that what he does with us, right? He takes what is nothing, this two puny little fishes and these five little barley loaves, and he turns it into something. We've got to see that part of it as well.

So this meal had an impact on the lives of these people to a point where they wanted more. They just wanted more of this, more bread, more fish. They got up that morning and they couldn't find Jesus. They looked up and down the hillside. They know that the disciples got in the boat and left.

They looked for Jesus, and Jesus wasn't there, not knowing that He had already crossed the sea. They saw no way that He could have crossed the sea. There was no way. And so when you look at verse 14 and then here at verse 24, There are three things that they thought about Jesus. There are three things.

There's things that have been happening to this point. And many of them have been following Him maybe since water got turned to wine. But they have seen all these things come along. And what they see is, number one, that He is a prophet come from God. That he is from God.

Sent from God. They know this. And number two, that he was what would be their king. They wanted to make him king. The earthly king.

And another thing is here in 24, that they came, then the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. They came seeking Jesus. And so what we have, it looks like there was this thing that Christians do, right? They proclaim Him, they profess Him, they seek Him. And so then what took place the night before was a revival, right?

It was this amazing revival that happened. No, it wasn't. It was not. He was able to show them miracles. He was able to speak to them, but it was not quite what would be a revival.

See, notice that this discourse starts in 24 and 25 asking, when did you come? And Jesus' answer is a sharp rebuke. It's almost like he did with Nicodemus. It's like, well, I can see that you're a man come from God. No one can do what you do unless God be with him or God had sent him.

And he said to Nicodemus, well, thank you, That's a nice compliment that you give me today. Let's go and have some coffee and crumpets, right? No. He said, surely, surely, unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. He cut right to the chase.

No small talk. And here he says truly, truly, it's not good, but because of the loaves and the fish basically telling them that they're selfish and fleshly. And now you look at this text and you can say, well, you know what, Jerry, you're assuming that they were having the wrong motives here. I'm not. Jesus says this.

Jesus is the one that said it. And so, Jesus answered in verse 26, 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. Jesus saw it. I'm not making any assumptions today. So basically telling them that they're selfish, they're looking for their own fill for another free meal, they care more about their bellies than their souls.

That's what he's telling them. You don't see the glory of God in me, he's telling them. You saw the miracle, you saw other miracles, you've heard things, you know things, But you're not seeing the glory of God in the Son of Man right here. You only want food. And so He cut him right off.

Now, that's not very seeker sensitive, is it, for Jesus to do something like that? It's not very warming of Him to tell these people that. Couldn't He just say, okay, let's sit down. Yesterday I fed you food. Today I'm going to feed you spiritual food." He didn't say that.

No, he said, you just want food. I know why you're here. And that's it. He's not seeker sensitive. Don't confuse the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God with something that is seeker sensitive.

It is not. It's bold and it's out there. This is a very important and pivotal text in God's Word. And we cannot really miss this. And yes, Jesus is love.

There's no doubt. He is merciful. He's compassionate. He's patient. And in 2 Peter 3, 9, It says, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness, but his long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

That all should come to repentance. Charles Spurgeon, I'm going to quote again, he said, God gives repentance. God gives repentance. But man must choose to repent. So you see, man must repent.

Only those that meet what is labeled out here, is written out in 2 Peter 3, 9. Meet biblical repentance. We see that Jesus' kindness to feed the crowd the night before, It wasn't about filling their bellies. It was meant to lead them to repentance and belief. It was to show them that He is the God of the Word, of the Bible.

And to show His deity and goodness, not to show prosperity. Not to show, you follow me, and you're never going to be hungry again. That was not the message. It was not to show selfish gain. You follow me and you're going to get a lot of free meals, and that's just the way I am.

See, it was done to lead people to repentance as an act of Him being God, the God of the Bible. And today, not many want to go to church when the course of this world is so easily flowing. We've got our culture, the course of this world. It's hard for younger people, I can get that. I sympathize.

When you get old and crotchety, like, well, nevermind. Like me, your perspective changes. And the world doesn't have quite the same allure that it used to when you're young. But there is a flow and a torrent of this world, no matter who you are, that you will, as a Christian, constantly be laboring against. And it's not easy.

It's better if you have great parents and great godly grandparents. It makes it much easier to buck the culture in that way. But there is just this definite flowing downstream that inundates everybody. And only those that receive Jesus into their lifeboat, into the sea got calm. Well, that's not necessarily true in your life that you will have no more pain and no more turmoil, no more drama and whatnot, but it is that you will have a peace in Christ that you cannot get from this world.

And in this life, and all will be able to stand in the day that's coming for real. For real. Matthew 7, 21-23. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?

And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." And so this morning, as we gather here as the Voice of Faith Bible Church, there are multiple churches out there that are giving out what is a compromised gospel. That is giving out something that is going with the flow of the culture more than it is going with the truth of the Word. And in the bottom line of that is, don't go with that flow of culture. But also, please don't put yourself too much at what they're doing.

Don't think too much about others first about yourself and your own spiritual walk with Christ is the first thing that you need to be concerned with. Don't be concerned with what's happening in other places as much as what's happening in your own personal heart first. That is what's most important. And so This is about knowing Jesus above all else. Personally.

Not making sure that that person does and that person does and that they do. Personally, knowing Jesus above all else. Knowing and prioritizing and loving Jesus. More than food, more than money, more than family, more than fame, more than freedom, more than leisure, entertainment, success. Christ exalted overall.

This is His message to these people. That He is over all. And so Jesus rebukes them for their unbelief. And the thing is, With Nicodemus, Jesus could see His heart. And John 2, 24 and 25 says, but Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men and He had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

And this is Him knowing us. Because you can fool me. I can't read your mind. I don't know everything. You can fool your friends, you can fool your family.

Sometimes by confession prayed, or an aisle walked, or perfect church attendance, or Bible study attendance, or an allegiance to a religion, but you can never fool Jesus. And it says right here, He knows all men. And so we can see our downfall to look at people, to look at power, to look at might, the way they're dressed or success or the outward appearance. But this again, I'm going to remind you, speaking to us ourselves, not looking at other people, but look at ourselves because there's no amount of clothes you can put on that will change your heart. There's no amount of a haircut or money that you can have, or happiness in a home or health that you can have that will switch who you are in Jesus.

None of that will. This is man's nature, but God sees it different. He tells us that he sees the heart. So here is Jesus, Yahweh. Here is Christ, God in the flesh, and He exposes the hearts of the self-seekers.

He's just pulling the curtain back, and even His rebuke to them shows that He is God. And so, and as we hear this story, if you have never put your faith in Jesus, remember that today and do that. If you have never really submitted yourself to Jesus, do that today Because now is the time. Jesus sees right through everything you've ever done, who you are, your heart, your motives. Christ can see your false ways, how you try to be someone that you're not.

He sees it in me too. I'm not picking on anybody. Like I said, this worked me over this week. And it helped me to understand that this is not a game. This is not something that we can just tiptoe through.

And then, well, we'll be beyond this next week. Because I'm going to ask you, before we're done with this message today, what are the things that you have in your life that you can set aside? The food in your life that perishes. So, please take it seriously. Come to Jesus in repentance, submission to His Lordship, and this can be if you've been saved for 50 years, or if you haven't been saved yet.

This is a reality that we all need to walk in, to take off the mask of who we pretend we are and who we really are, because God sees the heart. And we need to seek forgiveness from Jesus because He died for our sins. There was a trade made. Our sins for His righteousness. He died for our sins.

We can trade our sinfulness for His righteousness. That's how salvation works. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so if I could beg each person here today, I would. And so I'll just do it corporately.

And anyone that's watching. The second point today is the worldly workers. Without seeking Jesus for salvation, you might gain earthly treasure. And I've seen this and I know it. I've experienced it firsthand.

But in the end, you'll have nothing. And this is the point. This is the point of the whole text. You're working and laboring toward here or there. Okay?

If you're laboring for Here, everything you lay up is gone. If you labor for there, it's eternal. Without seeking Jesus for salvation, you can gain earthly treasure, but it's going to mean nothing. And in verse 27, the whole crowd worked hard. They worked hard.

They followed Jesus. They went to hear the latest news on Him. They searched the hillside. They rode boats over. They slept on a field.

And beyond that, they hungered. They thirsted. And all that work, they gained nothing of eternal value. They were going after Jesus for the food. They gained nothing of eternal value.

Even with close proximity to Jesus, even though they were right there, they could see Him, they could hear Him, they could touch Him. Even with all of that, They had nothing of eternal value. And how is that with us? We think that because we read the Bible, because we come to church, that we have this close proximity to Jesus and the truth of the Gospel, it takes more than that. It takes surrender.

You need to give your life to Jesus. You can do that your whole life and still end up with nothing of eternal value. So what did Jesus mean in verse 27? Did He mean deny yourself of earthly food? Don't eat?

Or just eat? Beans? Minimal diet? To quit your job? And just study the Word and sit cross-legged in a field?

No, he didn't. Part of living in this world is working for the provision that we have. Work in and of itself is a gift from God. But to work for our provision in our existence. And we're given the blessing of work and the command to work.

Even Jesus held a job as a carpenter, right? Before entering full-time ministry. A person's work is great opportunity to worship God as well. And we're called to do that. And as I speak about work today, because I've got a handful of Bible verses that I'm going to go through, I wanna make it clear that I understand not everybody can work.

I understand that there are those who are retired, and I understand that there are those who are retired, and I understand that there are those who just can't work. And so, I'm not trying to attack anybody today. But I'm saying what God's Word says in that, as far as working toward what God calls us to be and do. 2 Thessalonians, 1 Samuel 16, 7, talking about how God sees the heart. And so, the Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at the physical stature, because I have refused him.

For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart. So the Lord always sees your heart. And then we have these texts, we're talking about God working on us and our responsibility to live in this world while He works on us. 2 Thessalonians 3.10, for even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall they eat. Colossians 3.23, And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men.

So we do work, and our work is unto the Lord, whatever we do. So being a Christian and a hard worker is, Honestly, it's synonymous. The two go together with each other. And I don't want us to miss that reality. The Bible is not opposed to hard work.

But it is opposed to slothfulness, idleness, It's opposed to laziness. And Proverbs 13, 4 tells us, The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing, but the soul of a diligent shall be made rich. And it's not a get rich quick type of a scheme. In Proverbs 13, 11 it tells us, wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase. We're called to work for what we've got.

We're called to work for what you get and build your wealth, if it is wealth or your savings, but do it all to the glory of God, not to the glory of ourselves. So I could go on and on because the Bible has much to say about work and being diligent in it, but I don't want to hit that rabbit trail. So Jesus isn't saying, quit working, stop eating, and just sit around thinking of Me all day long. He's not saying that all. He's telling these people to stop the excessive attention to your worldly needs while you're neglecting spiritual needs, while you're neglecting your own soul.

That's what he's saying. And he is saying this to us today. This text, it doesn't just tell us a history lesson of what happened then. It's taking this and it's laid on top of your own life, not your wife, not your brother-in-law, lay it on top of your life so that you can see how this works. And He's saying this to us, so many labor for things of the earth while they're ignoring things of eternity.

And eternity is infinitely longer lasting. And it is very close. It is very close. And it's on its way and it's right before us. And so, I haven't done this one in a while, but I'm gonna do it again.

And brother Rick knows what I'm doing with this. You take a stack of paper like this, and you put it on the pulpit, and then you stack it to the ceiling. Then you cut a hole in the ceiling and a roof and you keep stacking it into the sky. You go from here all the way to the moon with a stack of paper, okay? And then you take, and this stack of paper represents time, all right?

And then you pull one piece of paper out. The hundred years that you won't live, maybe you will, it's represented by the thickness of one piece of paper right there. That is your life right there. Eternity, That's up at the moon. Where you are, you're living in this space right here.

That's where we're living right now. And so, we cannot afford to miss this. Being a Christian and a hard worker, they go hand in hand. But He is saying this to us today too. So many labor for things of the earth while ignoring this eternity.

While ignoring what is the rest of the sheets of paper. But really that stack goes on forever, it doesn't stop at the moon. And so many labor for the things of the earth and they ignore infinity, which is infinity. And it's right here. So the point is stop obsession with only physical needs and start caring about spiritual needs.

This is a very solemn caution to everyone here today no matter who you are. It doesn't matter who you are today. We labor for things that perish every day. Every one of us does. And we overlook the care of eternal things every day.

Some more than others. But we all do it. Matthew 6.21 tells us, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. Isn't it true that often your food that perishes is what stresses you out? It's what gets you angry, It's what gets you anxious, causes loss of sleep.

And incidentally, it's what you think of most. Too often. So, let's think about this text this morning. What do you strive for? What do you seek after?

What fills your mind? What fills your time? I don't just mean the big things, even the small things, the lesser things. Hobbies, spending habits, leisure. I mean even smaller, tiny small things, conversations, texting.

Jesus wants you to get rid of the little things that you've grown to love or the habits in your life that aren't just quite glorifying to Him. They're not eternal. They detract from Him. For example, look at your social media account. Now I'm talking to me first.

Social media account, your internet history, your personal time. You know your cell phone has a setting on there where you can check how much time you've been on the internet. And I would challenge you to do that this week. So you see how much. Because I'm challenging me to do it this week and be personally accountable for it.

Now you may think that's just what I'm like. And it doesn't bother anyone really, right? Besides, God's grace is going to cover that. God is love. He is mercy.

He is grace, right? So His love and mercy and grace is going to cover these little things that are just small things. Don't labor for that which perishes and be satisfied. Christ saved you for Himself for more than scrolling. Christ saved you for Himself.

We are to desire a closeness with Jesus and the saints as we do God the Father's will. Looking forward to an eternal future together with each other, with Christ. Colossians 3, 2-4. I clicked on my King James version on this translation, because I like that it says affection and not mind. It says, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Isn't that just a piece of doctrine that you just want to hang on to? With Him in glory. That's got to give us a perspective in the flesh here. Knowing that this is the promise.

When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. No cell phones. No fish in poles. No nothing. With Him in glory.

Is He everything to you here today? So what's your food that perishes? What is it? Health, career, money, success, sex, your comfort. You'll know when something impedes on it because your hackles go up on the back of your neck.

When something steps into your idol. But you see, God didn't save you for this. God didn't save you for that. He saved you for His glory. The world's motto is to gain earthly treasure.

Get richer, get more popular, dress better, be more secure, be on a higher plane than others, to do more. But in the end, you'll have nothing if you labor for these things. Have absolutely nothing. If you labor for things that perish and things that have no eternal value, you'll spend this time right here, right here, you'll spend this time and end up in a place down there. So the third point I have is the desperate disciples.

Hunger for Christ, verses 27-29. And so, hunger for Christ and work to treasure Him above all else. The Son of Man, it says, He's lived a life without sin. It's what gives Him the right to judge us in the end. And knowing what we've done, this food that does not perish comes only through Jesus.

You think about this works that don't perish, we think about what we can do. See, this food that does not perish, it comes through Jesus. It is His work in us. It is not what we do. And so what is that?

Why is that? Because God has set His seal upon Him. It's such a deep, Amazing text. Do not labor for food which perishes, but for food which endures to everlasting life which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father has set His seal on Him. That is our blessed hope.

That is our salvation. That is our forevermore, our eternity. He has set His seal on Him. He has made Jesus the only way. When you receive that, you have infinity with Jesus to look forward to.

This fight that you fight in the flesh, you fight from a platform of victory. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there is nothing else that can happen to you. He does want you laboring though, but for that which will be in your heavenly store. That which will be in your heavenly store. If having less of something on earth today meant gaining something in eternity, would you cut it out of your life?

I'm going to ask that again. If having less of something in your life on this earth, if having less of something today meant having more, having something meant gaining something. In eternity, would you cut it out of your life? In John 12, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, wanting to show devotion to Jesus, she anoints his feet with expensive perfume. Remember that she broke it and dumped it all over his feet?

With this amazingly expensive perfume. It was worth a year's wage. So worth a year's wage. What would you give up now for eternal reward? In today's money, I don't know what an average annual wage is, but in today's money, it would be a year's wages and would give it all up just to be in the presence of Jesus.

Isn't that something? Doesn't that reset your mind a little bit at least? Sensitivity, crank it up, crank it up. To love Him that deeply and to marvel at Him. How often do we think of this?

How often do we think of Jesus and kneeling at his feet, throwing ourselves at him to worship him for who he really is and for what he has done for us? Matthew 6, 19 through 21, Verse 6, 19 through 21, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where your treasure is, there's your heart. We see from today's passage, Jesus is after desperate disciples.

He wants not lukewarm, He wants radical disciples. He wants real disciples. And not miracle muters. These people that are just following them around for what They can get out of it. And this is the majority of professing Christians.

They go to church, they get their ears tickled. They feel good about themselves because they went and they committed themselves to an hour on Sunday. And so, they go away feeling, this is Mütters. Ask yourself, am I seeking the face of Jesus? Or am I seeking the hand of Jesus?

In your prayer life, is it only asking of Jesus? Or is it also praising Him for who He is? Thanking Him as God for the turmoil and the troubles and the problems in life as well as the blessings. Do I sit, do I love to sit at Christ's feet to learn from Him and worship Him? Do we do that?

Do we carve out that time? Or Do my feet swiftly run to do my own will? To do what I want to do. Psalm 42 verse 1. As the deer pant after the water brook, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.

Is that your heart? Is that where you're at? This is the life of a disciple of Jesus. This is not radical, out the window Christianity. This is life in Christ.

So David said this, and may his heart be our heart as well. We're in Psalm 27, 4. He said, One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." Do you see? It's almost radical preaching and teaching that talk about this stuff because it is so contrary to what our cultural submission to Christ is. So Jesus wants disciples who follow Him at all cost to their life and their families and everything in their power, do everything in our power to follow Him.

And I'll tell you what, you follow Him first, everything else will be fine. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." And so, He's worthy of it. We're not doing it because we're commanded, because we have to, but because we love Him, because He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy, and we need to long to be with Him in eternity. See, we're playing the short game if we look at this world.

That's an extremely short game. So how do we do this? That's what the crowd asked Jesus in verse 28. They said, and He said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God. What can we do?

That's what the crowd asks Him. And in 29, He answers them, believe in the work of the Son of Man. He is saying Place your trust in Jesus and in His Word for the rest of your life. Philippians 3, 14 I have written down. It's an amazing verse.

Brethren and I'll do 13 and 14. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to the things that are ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Place your trust in Jesus and live the rest of your life for Him. Run that race and not just saying, but literally doing it. Trust that only He can save you, that no other religion, none of your works, nothing or anything can add to anything that Jesus has done.

It's Jesus, only Jesus, like the song says. You've tasted, now You can't get enough. You've heard of the Gospel, and that glorious Gospel message is ringing in your ears. You can't get rid of it. It's the reality.

It is the blood of your life, and you need to tell people about it. That is life in Christ. You can't get enough of it. This is belief. To repent of your sins and to trust the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

There's no other way. And to trust Him as your Savior and believe the glory of God in Him as Lord. You could work your entire life and not believe. You can work your entire life and not believe. As the people in today's text, they were selfish seekers who have nothing.

They have nothing in this point in this text. This crowd had nothing. They're missing God who is standing right there. And this morning, He's right there. He's this close.

Do not miss Him. Do not miss Him. And in closing, many here have put their trust in Jesus. And that's myself, but still labor for food that perishes. We still labor for food that perishes.

Why? Yeah, treasuring Jesus above all else, it takes work and discipline. It takes work and discipline. It takes drive and purpose. It means being on your knees, being in the Bible.

You don't naturally drift towards spiritual maturity. You're not going to will yourself to spiritual maturity. Okay, here it is. Jerry said that I need to be more spiritual, so here I go. Mmm, think more spiritual.

I'm growing. I can feel myself getting closer to God already, right? No, that's not it. It's a discipline. It's a work.

It's a denial of self. It is crucifying yourself daily. It is putting yourself aside. It's keeping Jesus on the throne of your heart. It means to labor every single day against the world, against my flesh, against the devil.

It takes dedication and effort to read your Bible. I don't feel some mornings like reading my Bible. And it makes, it means making the time to do it. We get too busy. We don't have time to pray.

We think about other things. It takes dedication and effort, consistency, intentionality, and to pray fervently. Everything in this world tries to distract you from spiritual gains, from spiritual blessing. The flow of the entire culture is taking you downstream. And the only victory that you can have is in Jesus.

It is work serving others in the body for the cause of Christ. And to do it for the right reason so that we're not doing it in the flesh, right? So that we're not doing it for food that perishes. But Jesus is worth it. The crowd wanted earthly comfort, not eternal value.

They didn't want Christ as their master. Just wanted his miracles and they wanted his blessings. But what about you? Like I said before, Seek ye first, Matthew 6.33, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. This is what it takes to be a real disciple.

I can't tell you that you've got to say a prayer or that you've got to do a certain thing. You need to know the Jesus of the Bible. We're given a solemn warning today about these people that followed Him and they did a lot of work for Him, but they didn't know Him. If you want to be a child of God, a person who seeks the sealed one by seeking His face in fellowship, by seeking His face in love, Not seeking His hand for fish and bread. What sort of disciple are we?

And I want us to think this week, and I'll mention it next week, What food are we working for that perishes? What works do we have that perish that we don't have to have in our life? What can draw us closer to Jesus? Because that's what this life is about. It's God's glory through Jesus Christ, his Son.

Father, we thank you this morning for your word. We thank you for the miracle, Lord God, that you've worked in the hearts of all believers. Father God, help us to have more faith, Lord, help us to walk in you that your name might be glorified and lifted up, Lord God. Help us to identify the wastes in our life, Father God, the points in our lives that perish and have no eternal value. Father, I thank you for this day, for your love and your grace for us.

I thank you for the fathers that you have placed in our lives, Lord God. And the Father is here today. I pray for a special blessing on In Jesus name, amen.