When Jesus’s disciples get frustrated with the request of some parents, Jesus himself uses the situation to turn around and humble them, teaching them a very important spiritual lesson about how we too need to, “Come to God Like Children.” 1st) Jesus passionately wants us to know that all are welcome to come to him, especially those we consider unworthy. 2nd) Jesus passionately wants us to know that if we would receive God’s blessings, we must come with the dependency of a child.

And as we look at Jesus’s teaching in the temple, we focus on three key ideas. First, we will see, that You Can Be Close to Jesus Without Really Knowing Him. Second, We will see Jesus Give Us a Test for Finding God, by asking the question, “What Do You Really Want?” And, third, we will try to apply all these things to our own hearts.

In Jesus’s surprising response to his brothers we see is Jesus gives us two keys to understanding why God’s work isn’t often more obvious in their lives and in our own. First, Jesus Says God’s Work Faces Opposition from Us, No Matter How Obvious to Us. And, second, Jesus Came to Make God’s Work Obvious to Us, No Matter the Opposition from Us.

Jesus shows us three struggles and marks of what it means to truly follow God. 1) Be Prepared: Because truly following God is always hard. 2) Be Humble: Because truly following God is impossible without the help of God's Spirit. 3) Be Faithful: Because Jesus is the reason we endure it all.

Jesus shows us that the food we don't want is the food we most need in three ways, first by remembering what we crave most will not give us lasting life, second, that the life-giving food God wants to give is, at first, offensive to us, and third to receive God's life-giving food by feeding on the work of Jesus for you.

Jesus gives us two impossibly hard and impossibly beautiful truths about how anyone finds God. First, you will never find God unless he first draws you by his love, and, second, we will see that you will never remain with God unless he keeps you by his love.

In his discussion after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus tells us that finding heavenly satisfaction comes from letting God's provision point us to the provider and finding lasting satisfaction in a faith-relationship with Jesus.

In the story of Jesus walking on water, we see how God finds us in a special way in the storms of life by showing us our true foundation, showing us who he really is, and making us willing to let him into our lives and hearts.

In the story of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus shows us how God feeds us through our needs by drawing us to himself, testing and growing our faith, and pointing us from the provision to the provider.

In his dialogue with the religious leaders, Jesus shows us how he alone makes sense of the promises of scripture and of our biggest problem with scripture.