Vanishing Disciples

Good morning. John 6, 66. It's good to be with you once again. Vanishing disciples. Title of the message this morning. It's a thing. I think we've all experienced it at some level or another. We see those who seemingly walk with the Lord. Maybe perhaps somebody who even inspired you to walk with the Lord.

And yet, after time, we see a defection. Great masses, many those who would at one time or another profess Christ, then turning away. Vanishing disciples. It's a thing. It was a thing in Jesus' day. John 6, 66. As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore.

What happened to all those great multitudes that at one time followed Jesus during his ministry? I mean, at one time they teamed up. The shores of Galilee, multitudes, crowds, and then all of a sudden they just vanished. For some reason or another, they left following Jesus to go back to their former way of life.

John 6:66, as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew. That is, they turned back. They turned back and were not walking with him anymore. They turned back to their former way of life and no longer went forward with Christ. They are those who had put their hand to the plow for a season, but then looked back.

And they vanished among the realm of the disciples. Let me tell you a story about a vanished creature. You ever heard of a winged lion? A winged lion, spectacular creature. It shows up in artwork and stories throughout history. They are depicted in ancient times in Egypt, the Sphinx.

Really, a winged lion. See him in Assyria? Again, winged lion. You see him in Babylon. You see them in Persia. Who are these creatures? They also show up throughout history and on coats of arms. They show up on flags. And even in modern times, they show up all over the place in statues and artwork.

China has a version of a winged lion. Spain, you'll see winged lions decorating buildings and gardens and parks. England, likewise. Czech Republic, they're all over, these winged lions. These creatures have captured the imaginations of people throughout civilization. And they are a symbol of dominance. They depict in a country the strength and the commanding presence of a lion, as well as the speed, agility, and keen eyesight of an eagle.

Spectacular creatures, and yet they are nowhere to be found. Man imagined them. Well, since man imagined the winged lion's existence, I think it's okay for me to imagine a story that explains their extinction. So, take a moment and come with me in your mind to an age of the golden-winged lion.

It was a time when they dominated the skies and the earth in abundance. Welcome to the world of the lion Tauri, for such they were called. Okay, that's what I call them. But they were some of the most unique and splendid creatures in all the earth. They had no rival, as you can imagine, they had no equal.

They were more powerful than the king of the jungle, the lion. They were able to soar higher than the Lord of the skies, the eagle. But the world in which the lion Tauri lived had a problem. Humanity was corrupt. And we read about this corruption in Genesis 6.

Genesis 6:5. God says this: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was Great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.

The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals, to creeping things, and to birds of the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them. You see, humanity's sin impacted all creatures of the earth.

All were going to be destroyed along with mankind, except there was one hope. His name was Noah. God says these things about Noah in verse 6 and 9 of Genesis: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time, and Noah walked with God. Righteous, blameless. And he walked with God.

And through Noah, God was going to spare not only humanity, but the birds and the animals and the creatures. And the means of such salvation was the ark, an ark that could withstand the judgment of water. It's what God told Noah, Genesis 6:17, Behold, I, even I, am bringing the floodwater upon the earth.

To destroy the flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark. You and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark to keep them alive with you.

They shall be male and female, of the birds after their kind, after the animals after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind. Two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. Well, it's here. Now we have to depart from the words of inerrant truth.

We've just read the account, the Genesis record, that which is true, that which is infallible, that which is reliable, and that which is inerrant. But we must leave this realm and move into the realm of the apocryphal, from the infallible to the fallible, from reality to sometimes fiction, from the historical to the sometimes, and in this case, fable.

From the God-inspired. To the man-inspired who wants to make a point. And that's what I intend to do. I'm going to take you into a moment. Think with me about this golden-winged lion. They were mysterious creatures. The lion Tauri were something like the Nephleim. They were not their own kind, and yet they were very distinct from all of their creaturely kin.

They were also curious creatures. Large numbers of them often hovered near the site where Noah was constructing the ark. Many would even perch upon the beams which Noah had set up. They would sit up there to watch and to listen. They were intrigued by Noah's preaching, for indeed Noah was a great preacher.

They liked his messages on the patience of God, but they were troubled by those about the judgment of God. They were also a proud creature. And eventually they dismissed Noah as a lunatic. They were too proud to humble themselves before God and to listen to his servant. And so they.

Rejected Noah's message. And they were also afraid of the ark. It was way too confining for such a high-soaring creature as they. They saw no need to enter the ark. They thought, even if such a great deluge should come, that they have the capacity to soar above it all and ride out any kind of storm that would come.

One by one, large numbers left, except for two: a young male and a female. They continued to listen, to watch, to listen. But then that fateful day came when, two by two, the animals came. First, Noah entered into the ark, and then the birds, and then the animals, and the creatures came to Noah in the ark.

The two remaining lion Tari took their place in line as if to enter into the ark. But just as they were nearing the door, they turned back. They turned back. Don't exactly know why. Perhaps they too were too proud, they were afraid. They saw no need for the ark.

They couldn't withstand the ridicule of their fellow lion Tari who were mocking them for wanting to be so gullible. They didn't want to leave their world behind, so they turned back. But the bottom line is, they were not drawn into the ark, and so they perished in the flood.

And so the lion Tari vanished because they didn't enter the ark. They rejected the salvation that Noah offered. And because they rejected the salvation that Noah offered, they missed out on the life that was on the other side of judgment. Such was the story about how the golden-winged lions became extinct.

But my message isn't about them, it's about us and the banishing disciples among us. It's a thing. What happened to the great multitude that once teamed the shores of Galilee and listened to the Words of Christ, witnessed his miracles. And the answer is they turned back from the salvation that he offered.

You see, a disciple is a learner, a follower. And during the first part of Jesus' ministry, many people flocked to him. They flocked to him for many different reasons. Some for the food, some for the miracles, some just curious, some because just everyone else was doing it. And some attached themselves to Jesus wholeheartedly.

There were some who attached themselves superficially and some wholeheartedly. How can you tell the difference? It's a phenomenon that remains with us today. Why am I afraid to say that there are even some among here today that 10 years from now may be vanished from even professing Christ?

I pray that's not the case. Or it may not even be 10 years, it may even be one year, it may even be a matter of months. How can you tell who the whole-hearted Christians really are? It's how they handle the times of testing. Times of testing. Times of testing come for all the followers of Christ and the so-called followers of Christ.

Times of testing come for the genuine and for the false. And in John 6, sometimes that testing or that instrument of testing is Jesus' teaching. He just got through with the bread of life discourse. And when the real implications of Jesus' words were understood, and when the true demands of the gospel were made plain, the false disciples separated from the true.

It's a thing. And sometimes it is Jesus' very teaching that separates the true from the false. Sometimes when people who have been with us for a long time, when they understand the real implications of what Jesus' teaching implies, And when they understand the true demands of the gospel, they say, I no longer am going to follow this Christ that is revealed to us in Scripture.

I will either come up with my own Christ, a different version, or go to another school of thought that imagines a whole different Christ. But whatever it is, it's a defection from the Christ revealed in Scripture. It's a thing. John 6 is a chapter about separating the false disciples from the true disciples.

Vanishing disciples. And there are two kinds of disciples that we meet in John chapter 6, and I want to look at them today. There are those who vanish and those who remain. And I want to look at these. So you will not be among those who vanish, but you will be among those disciples who remain.

Today, tomorrow, years ahead. And even as your body goes back to dust through all your sequence of days, that you will glorify, magnify him, and keep following him regardless of what comes. Perseverance. That's the mark of a true disciple. One who perseveres with Christ. So, first, one Look at the vanishing disciples.

I want to look at those who vanish. Those who vanish. Look back at verse 666. As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. And so by looking at the verses immediately preceding this verse, we notice a cause and effect.

The cause, notice the effect of their disappearance, the effect of their vanishing, and then we see the cause of that disappearance. First of all, we recognize that they rejected Jesus' words. Look back at verse 60, chapter 6, verse 60. Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement.

Who can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious of his disciples, that his disciples grumbled at this, said to them, Does this cause you to stumble? What then, if you see the man ascending to where he was before? Stumble. Does this cause you to stumble? Does this teaching cause you to turn back?

Does it set you off in a direction away from me back to the world that you left behind? His words, his teaching, triggered their defection. And what was he just teaching? Well, he's just teaching about the bread of life. What did he just say? Chapter 6, verse 55, For my flesh is true food, my blood is true drink.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died, and he who eats this bread will live forever.

Jesus was talking about the spiritual life that comes from feeding on the reality of a crucified Messiah. There is a life that is awakened when you come to grips to understand that the God who created you sent his Son into the world, the highest in heaven, to descend to the very depths of sin and depravity to the very lowest degree and lay himself out there out of love for his people.

When you get that grip that the highest in heaven loves you to the highest degree, a new spiritual life occurs. But for some, a crucified Messiah is just. Ananthema. Is there anything that Jesus has said that offends you? You see, many shelves have, or many religions have no shelf for a crucified Messiah.

And for many of you, it's just a simple commands of obedience. Commands to repent, turn away. What has Christ said that has offended you or that has sets you off might turn you away? Look at verse 62. What then, if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

What is Jesus talking about there? He's talking about his ascension back to the Father. And the way of Jesus' ascension was through the crucifixion. And so, what he is saying, he must die. His ascension involves his death, his resurrection, his ascension to the throne. And only in this way could Jesus be the king, ascend as humanity's king and shepherd.

Think about this. His ascension first involved going, his descension, from the lowest point a man could descend to the highest point a man could descend. He first had to descend to the point of crucifixion on the cross and in the grave and be put in a grave. And then his ascension, there's the distance.

There's the ascension from the lowest point to the highest point. That's what he's talking about. His ascension. I mean, if you're a skier, you get this. Got some snow skiers here. What is the thing that the mountains boast of? They're vertical drop, right? If you can go to the mountains, I mean, some mountains in North America and up in British Columbia have a drop over 5,000 feet.

So you get to climb. You have to first start at the low point, then you go up to the high point, and then you, okay, we get that. Vertical drop. It's a good thing if you're a skier. Well, for the Son of Man, that's what his ascension is about.

He first had to descend to the very lowest point, and then he had to be elevated back to the highest point. And that lowest point, that ascension, is the cross, the grave, the resurrection, the ascension. That's what Jesus is saying. If the mere teaching that Jesus, as God's Son and Messiah, would be crucified for the sins of the world would cause people to turn away, if the mere teaching would cause people to turn away, then how much more than actually seeing Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the professed Messiah, the confessed Messiah on a cross?

How much more would the reality of his crucifixion turn people away? And that's what he's saying. But those who vanish reject Jesus' words. They rejected Jesus' words and notion that the Messiah had to be crucified for the sins of his people. Second, those who vanish reject the Holy Spirit who breathed them.

Makes sense. Jesus was sent. Those who reject Jesus' words do more than just reject the man from Galilee. They reject the God who sent him and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit who inspired his words. Look at verse 63. And Jesus goes on to say, it is the Spirit who gives life.

The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. What is he saying here?

The flesh profits nothing. In other words, he's saying there is no bodily act between the soul and salvation. It's a spiritual exchange. There is no ritual or ordinance that saves a person. There is nothing in the body that stands between the soul and God. No ritual that saves a person.

The only things that are necessary for salvation are the spiritual acts of repentance and faith. The turning away from something and the turning to. That's what matters. I'll tell you what profits you and me are the spiritual impressions that are left upon our consciences that are made by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.

That's what benefits us. And by rejecting Jesus' words, they rejected the Spirit who imparts life through those words. You see, we must come to God in the Spirit, through the words of the Spirit. And to reject the words of Scripture are to reject the Spirit who inspired them and the life that he gives through them.

So to reject Jesus' teaching amounts to rejecting life. So the disciples who vanished, they rejected Jesus' words, and consequently, they rejected the Holy Spirit who inspired them. And then we come to the root cause. Those who vanish vanish because they have earth-born desires. Look back at verse 65.

And he was saying, For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him from the Father. You see, there is a kind of faith that originates from earth. There's all kinds of reasons why people would want to flock together with The people of God, or to go along with the crowd and following Christ, at least for a season.

And there's another kind of faith that originates in the mind and heart of God. You see, the Son always believed the Father. God believes God. God the Son believes God the Father. God the Father believes God the Son. God the Spirit believes God the Father. So on. Christ always believed His Father.

And so do those who are born of God. You see, the masses rejected Jesus' words because their faith was born of earth, not of heaven. And that's how you can tell the difference kinds of faith. There is a faith that perseveres through the hardest and harshest of tests and trials.

That faith has been born from above. And there is a kind of faith that withers, dies, and turns back. That faith is born from earth. You see, many people were interested in following Jesus for the wrong reasons, still are. Back then, they wanted a Jesus to lead a great movement.

They wanted to be caught up in a great movement, a political movement that would overthrow Rome. But when they realized what he really stood for, they turned back. Same is true today. A lot of us like to sing and talk about Christ, but then when it comes down to really obeying his words and going where he leads, many turn back.

For some of us, we want a good insurance policy. Many reasons to follow Christ. Just, I want to put my mind at ease. I have a good insurance policy from death and damnation that comes. I want insurance for that, and so I will. And the flesh can, we will buy insurance for such big events, catastrophic events.

Yeah, there's very much a way that people will come to Christ out of an insurance from a bad eternity. There are those who come to Christ as if he were some kind of spiritual Santa Claus, there to dispense that which is most helpful or needful in your own estimation.

But here's the truth: Jesus cannot be anything else than what he is, he is Savior. He is Lord. He is King, and He is Master. You see, many want something that Jesus does not give, and Jesus offers something that many do not want. But then, there are those who remain.

There are those who remain. Look back at our text this morning, John 6, 66. As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. Many. That implies lots. Numerous. But not all. It implies that some remained. And so, by looking at the verses that immediately follow this verse, we can see the heart of those who remain with Jesus.

Notice in verse 67, Jesus asks a question. So Jesus said to the twelve, you do not want to go away also, do you? So now the focus is on the twelve. What are the twelve going to do? There's been mass defection. Jesus asks his disciples if they too will go back, turn back.

Will you too go back? To your former way of life, or will you continue in my way of life? And their response would tell whether or not they had been drawn by the Father. You see, we need to ask ourselves the same question. As you travel through life, you're going to encounter many situations that are going to test your faith as a follower of Christ.

There will be different doctrines, even doctrines that come from Christ's own mouth. Some will be more comfortable than others, and some will be more challenging and more difficult to embrace. Like Jesus says, I am the only way. Jesus said, you be repenting of your, and be aggressive in repenting of your sin, cutting off hands and eyes if necessary.

Be believing in the good news. Be constantly turning your attention, coming to Him over and over, believing the good news. Sometimes there's going to be change in popular culture, and you're going to find yourself moving from one culture to another culture. You may find yourself in a place where it's great and grand to follow Christ, and then very quickly, some of you getting back into school may quickly find yourself in a very humble.

Hostile environment to Christ. And popular culture is going to go a different direction. And sometimes that is a cause for defection from the faith. Sometimes it's refusing the gospel demands of obedience. Whatever the case, we need to ask ourselves: will we go back the following, going back to the life we had before we heard the news of Christ?

Have you really been drawn by the Father? How can you tell? Do you persevere in the faith? Those who remain. You can see in Peter's response the heart of those who remain. Look back at verse 68. Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

We have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Peter's response is noble and it's very instructive. In just two sentences, he shows us the heart of those who will remain, who remain and who will remain with Christ. Those who remain have no desire to go to anyone else.

Look back at verse 68. Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Buddha? Mohammed? Who else out there? Mom? Dad? My employer? My boss? Who else out there has the words of life? Peter is asking a question in his time. To whom shall we go? Go back to the Pharisees?

Sadducees? To whom should we go? You see, Peter had no desire to follow any other ideal than that which was articulated by the mouth of Jesus and embodied in the way he lived, the things he did. I cannot imagine wanting to ever go back to my life before I met Jesus.

What a spectacular moment and change. Why would I ever want to go back? Who remain treasure Jesus's words. Point number two. Look back at verse 68. Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Interesting. It was Jesus's words that gripped the disciples.

It was not his power. It was not the miracles. It was not the food that held Peter's heart captive, but the teaching of Jesus. And herein is the major difference between the believer and the nominal follower. Those who really believe in Christ for who he is treasure his words.

Their flesh may not always like it, but deep down they treasure that word, and you can't pry them away from it permanently. Peter truly believed Jesus to be God's Son and earth's Messiah. Therefore, he believed Jesus' words. Love it one commentator said, the words of Christ had sunk deep into his soul.

He had felt their power, and he was conscious of the Blessing they had imparted to him. It was Jesus's teaching that repelled others, but it was Jesus's teaching that held the true disciples. And that's the difference. Who's guiding your life? Whose teaching surpasses that of Jesus in your life?

Hopefully, none. Peter was basically saying, Look, we cannot go anywhere else because we believe what you say. Third aspect of a heart that remains with Christ. Those who remain are confident in Jesus' unique relationship with God. Verse 69: We have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

We have believed, we have taken in, we have received this truth, and we have taken in and have come to know. It's settled. We have taken in, permanently taken in, and we have come to know permanently. We have entered into the closest kind of relationship with the truth of who you are.

You see, Peter had this deep secret. Certainty that Jesus was the Holy One of God. And that title describes the closest possible intimacy with God. And that's who they believe Jesus to be. Fishermen got it right. Mass crowds did not. The scribes did not. The Pharisees did not.

The Sadducees did not, but a fisherman did. Do you see how belief in God's word equips even the littlest in society to get it right? Do you believe that? Well, we should be a people who read our Bibles a little more often and believe what it says a little more deeply.

You see, the mark of true belief is perseverance in the faith. Certainly, certainty that Christ is the Holy One of God does not listen or does not come about because of skilled arguments or listening to skilled arguments or listening to great religious leaders. or even studying books on empirical evidences.

Certainty that Christ is the Holy One of God comes by believing what God has said about his Son in the scriptures. That's where such life comes from. Well, as the chapter goes on in verse 70, Jesus wants to clarify something. He clarifies Peter's we statement. Not all 12 were on the same page.

Even though Judas had accompanied Jesus the whole time, he never followed Jesus. And Jesus is going to go on to comment on that, but that's a different topic. The point is, there are two kinds of disciples that we meet in John chapter 6, those who vanish and those who remain.

What happened to those great multitudes that once teamed the shores of Galilee? Well, they vanished. Like the Liantari, they rejected the salvation that God offered. They rejected Jesus' words, and therefore they rejected the God who inspired them. And because of that, they didn't enter into the salvation that he offered.

They were too earthly-minded to leave the world which they treasured behind. And so those great multitudes never followed Christ to the cross in faith, never went through the cross to the resurrected life on the other side of God's judgment at the cross. Friends, there are a lot of segments of our humanity that are vanishing.

They're disappearing before our eyes, and they will completely disappear one day. These kinds of people you will look for one day, but you will not find them. Let me tell you about a few of them. The ungodly will vanish. Proverbs 6, 16 says, There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven, which are abomination to him.

Haughty eyes, they're disappearing. A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. They're vanishing. The earthly-minded will vanish. Revelation 21:8. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers, immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The non-Christian, I mean, yeah, the non-Christian will vanish. Jesus said in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. All the masses of humanity and religious systems that have other ways of salvation will vanish completely.

The nominal Christian will vanish. Matthew 7, 21, Jesus said, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is heaven, will enter. The one who does not forgive is a vanishing kind. Jesus said in Matthew 6, 15, But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

It could go on and on, but there's one more category: those who turn back from the faith. They are also a vanishing kind. Hebrews 10:38 says this, But my righteous one shall live by faith. And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. Shrinks back, turns back.

This is what the book of Hebrews is all about. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith, to the persevering of the soul. The whole book of Hebrews is written to those who are thinking about abandoning the faith. So I hope you will join us this fall as we continue our study.

You see, we are to be like those who remain with Christ, those who have no desire to go anywhere else, those who treasure Jesus' words, and those who are confident in Jesus' unique relationship to the Father. That's us. That's who we are. Let us remain with him and rejoice while remaining.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what a great privilege it is to be drawn by you to your Son. Father, that we might follow him to the cross, through the cross, to the resurrection. And experience life on the other side of your judgment against sin. And even now, as we live our remaining days on this earth, we sense the presence of your Spirit and rejoice in the salvation that you have given.

And we love the days that you have given us. And we look forward to eternity. So, Father, you've given us, you've put a song in our heart of rejoicing. We thank you for our Savior. We thank you for your Son. May He become all and all in us.

Father, be with all of us here who are being tested this very moment, this very hour, and who are, for numerous reasons, are contemplating turning back and being tempted to turn back. Father, I pray for that settled peace to come upon them. To whom shall we go? Strengthen them, Father, who we are all facing.

And may we reign with you through the trials for your glory. In Jesus' name.