The Way that Kings Desire (John 4:31-38)
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jeremy_1_04-29-2025_115443: [00:00:00] When it comes to the food that we eat, we all have very strong opinions. I learned this when I was a food server at a restaurant. Now you may not think this is true, but I can illustrate it when you see this chart of how different people eat chicken wings. You probably have an opinion of what is the right way to eat a chicken wing, and if you don't think you do, imagine putting a one and a five person together, having them both enjoy a meal of chicken wings.
Do you think that there would be tension? I. The story we're gonna look at today comes right after the story we saw last week. And so if you missed last week, I would encourage you to watch that video or listen to that one as well. Where a Samaritan woman meets Jesus, she runs off back into her town to tell everybody about it, and then people start flooding out.
They are streaming out of the town to come see Jesus at this. Well now keep this in mind. That's the setting. Of the story we're gonna look at [00:01:00] today, and Jesus is gonna have a conversation about food. Here's what we find in John chapter four, verse 31. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, rabbi, eat something.
Like they literally have to remind him, Hey, you're doing all this cool stuff, but like you haven't eaten in a while. But Jesus replied, I have a kind of food, you know nothing about. Did someone bring him food while we were gone? The disciples ask each other, who's sneaking them? These hot dogs or what's going on?
Then Jesus explained, my nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing his work. Now, if doing God's will is how we find our ultimate nourishment according to Jesus, here, the question for you and I then is how well fed are we? How nourished? Are we see one of , the statements that you hear all the time when you work at a church, if you're in ministry is you'll hear people [00:02:00] say, well, I left that place 'cause I wasn't getting fed.
This is like a Christianese line that we love to say and I have watched for years. People jump from one church community to the next church community because they're not being fed. So they go somewhere that is feeding them until that's not what they're looking for, and then they bounce around again.
And again and again, you could say this is the difference between a number one or a number five on the chicken wing scale. But if you're at a number one, I would encourage you learn how to eat more of the chicken wing. Like figure out what's right in front of you and how maybe you need to do more to get more out of that experience.
See, we often get a little bit weird when it comes to the will of God. It reminds me of a story in Spain. There's a proverb that says this, all laws go the way that Kings desire. Now this comes from a story that [00:03:00] happened in Spain around the 12th century. There was a debate about whether the churches should use gothic or Roman prayer books in their services, and they couldn't resolve this debate.
So they brought it before the King, he decided to leave the matter to chance, so he put both of the prayer books, the Gothic one and the Roman one. He threw 'em into the fire and he said, whichever one makes it, that's the one we'll go with. However, when the Gothic book was the one that survived the blaze. King Alfonso threw it back into the fire and grabbed the Roman one out, which then led to the expression, all laws go the way that Kings desire. That's how many of us figure out the will of God as well. We just figure out what we want to do and then somehow spiritually justify it as God's will.
Now, a lot of us, we tend to invite God into our thing rather than the other way around. God, here's what I'm working on. Bless this God. Here's what I want to [00:04:00] do. Bless this God. What ideas do you have for me? We expect that God is always coming to us, meeting us, giving us. What we need rather than looking around and saying, God, what are you already doing?
God, what do I sense you doing around me? How do I see you already at work and how could I partner with you in that? See, I don't think the will of God is a riddle. It just takes us looking around differently than we often do it. And then in verse 35 we read, this says, you know the saying, Jesus says, four months between planting and harvest, but I say, wake up and look around.
That's great. The fields are already ripe for harvest. Now, imagine Samaritans, who the Jews did not think belonged coming in, streaming in as Jesus is [00:05:00] saying these words, the fields. Are ripe for the harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages and the fruit they harvest. As people brought to eternal life, what joy awaits, both the planter and the harvester alike, you know the saying one plants and another harvest.
And it's true. I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest. Now Jesus is saying these words as some of the most unlikely people are coming to find salvation in him, and he's urging his disciples to see what is happening, that something is breaking through.
God is doing a new thing that has not been done like this before. The harvest time had come. Even Samaritans are part of this. The invitation is for all of us to be part of it. Jesus is giving a life hack Here. [00:06:00] It's like teaching someone how to go from a number one on the chicken wing scale to a number five.
So as you can see, I've just broken off that first end. Bit of gristle there. You remove, sorry. One bone. Yep. Hold the end.
Just delicious. So just again, all you need to do, hold the wing, break in the center. Remove one bone out, whole wing mouth. Remove
short time every time. That's the way to do it.
jeremy_1_04-29-2025_115443: We all need to learn how to trust the role that God has given us, the way that God is inviting us into what God is [00:07:00] already doing. One of the coolest things I was given, years ago in ministry, and I still keep this in my Bible today, was a picture of some ducks. This is what the picture looks like, and I was given this picture and I, at first wasn't quite sure what the person meant, but then there was a note that came along with it, and the note said this, thank you for being willing to be the duck that goes through the door and looks deeper for God's truth and inviting us in to experiencing it.
For ourselves. I love that. All I am is just the little duck that walks a little bit in front and says, Hey, come check out what I've seen. That was such a cool way for me, not only to have a little bit of humility of I'm not great even in moments. I think I am, but also God has invited me into his story and I get a part to play in it.
What if heaven is filled with a chance to hear all of the ways that you have partnered with God, the [00:08:00] ways that they have impacted other people, and you get to meet those people and you get to hear the stories of the things that you said yes to, the ways that you joined Jesus and what Jesus is already doing.
And then God shows you, Hey, this is the impact you had. What an incredible thing that we get invited to be a part of. I'll see you next week on Rebuilding Faith.
And hey everybody, before you go, a quick note. I want to invite you to our online community. We're actually starting a new book study this week, going through Brian Z's book, A Farewell to Mars. We're going to discuss it together, read it together, explore these ideas about non-violence and what does it mean to follow Jesus in a nonviolent way.
And if that is interesting to you, check out the link in the show notes. We'd love to have you be a part of it with us. [00:09:00]
