What We Can’t Afford to Forget During a Mighty Move of God
When people are trying to share Yeshua (Jesus) with those who do not yet believe that He is the Messiah, many times they will ask seekers to read the Book of John for many reasons (not the least of which is that John is among the shortest of the Gospels). John’s writings also introduce the readers to Yeshua’s love in a unique and powerful way. The book of John is viewed as the most relational of the four Gospels, and it is this relationship between G-D and man that people are attempting to share when encouraging those searching to read and find.
John is filled with beautiful verses, many which are well known, such as John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
This is a verse that is familiar to those who read the Bible and those who read signs displayed at ballgames.
Or John 2:19, which speaks so powerfully of the promise of Yeshua’s resurrection: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'”
Or maybe the beautiful words which hold such a great promise of freedom from John 8:31-32: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.'”
Or even the words that Yeshua spoke in response to Thomas in John 14:6 that so many of us hold on to at times when we also simply don’t know where to go or what to do: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'”
In order to list all of the verses from the book of John that speak of G-D’s love and faithfulness towards us, it would actually require posting the entire book of John in this article to cover them all. But my favorite verse from the book of John is one I have never heard preached by anyone in the 37 years I have been a believer in Yeshua as the Messiah. This single verse is found in between the narrative in chapter 5 that describes the healing of the man who had been an invalid for 38 years and had been waiting for someone to carry him to the waters of healing when they stirred, and the miracle of the fish and the loaves in chapter 6.
Because this verse is sandwiched between two well-known miracles it is often passed by without the reader taking notice. But these words were inspired to be included in Scripture and it may be one of the most important unknown verses in the book.
The verse I am talking about is John 6:3: “Then Jesus went up on a mountain, and He sat there with His disciples.”
This might not seem like a powerful verse to you, but to me it is one of the most meaningful verses in the entire Bible.
Think about this for a moment. In the middle of all of the amazing miracles taking place, we find Yeshua stopping just to sit down, relax, and fellowship with His friends. Just look at John 6:2, which reminds us that while some miracles were written down for us to read, many took place that we know nothing about. In this case, “And a great crowd followed Him, because they saw His signs which He did for the sick” (John 6:2).
Yet with all of those people and in the middle of all of those ministry opportunities, in the Scripture written under the inspiration of the Spirit of G-D, Yeshua stopped what He was doing and did nothing, or what too many of us consider as nothing. He stopped, sat down and spent relationship time with those He loved.
Too often, those of us who serve in ministry enter into a period of time in which we are seeing the fruits of our efforts being blessed by G-D’s signs and wonders. We begin to see people coming to faith, miracles taking place, lives being changed in dramatic ways, and in the middle of this great move of G-D we forget that the entire reason for our ministry efforts is to build relationships between G-D and people and between G-D’s people and G-D’s people. We get so busy working for G-D that we forget that it isn’t about the miracles and signs and wonders. It’s about the people.
So, in the middle of two miracles, the healing of a invalid and the multiplication of the fish and bread, Yeshua stopped to show us an even greater miracle: G-D took time to hang out with His friends. So when you find yourself in the middle of a powerful move of G-D, don’t forget the reason for that move was so that He could take a break and spend some time with His friend: you. {eoa}
Eric Tokajer is author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer and Jesus is to Christianity as Pasta is to Italians.
