"I am the Bread of Life" - That we may Believe

Introduction

— Ok… I took last Sunday off.

— What happened with The Sunnyside Christian - Girls Softball team??? Congrats to them all, well done

— This is the unofficial, beginning of summer. Schools across the Valley are saying goodbye to 2023 and are already getting ready for Fall.

— As you are traveling, vacationing and relaxing away from Sunnyside, drop-in on our Sunday AM service on Facebook at 10AM

— Or our daily devotions, Monday-Thursday at 10AM once again on Facebook.

— Please also remember your church in your giving this summer.

Gospel of John, Chapter 6

— I hope that you will bare with me.

— I love the Old Testament

— In seminary it was the most difficult journey through the Old Testament.

— I barely made it through Hebrew

— But it is RICH with patterns that once laid down in the Old Testament just blossom in the New Testament.

— Here are some of those, notably from Numbers 11. and John 6.

John 6:5 (ESV)

5 ...Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

— Is the similar struggle that Moses had with God...

Numbers 11:13 ESV

13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’

— Another is in

John 6:43 ESV

43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.

— and the Numbers 11.1. passage is this

Numbers 11:1 ESV

1 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.

— and the final one for today

John 6:7 ESV

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Listen to Numbers11.22.

Numbers 11:22 ESV

22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?”

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— In fact all of us are really pretty ignorant to the patterns of the Old Testament that are found in the New Testament.

— My Old Testament Prof would say...

75% of the New Testament was found in the Old Testament.

— So… To our passage for today

— Open your Bibles or your Bible apps to The Gospel of John, Chapter 6, Verse 22

— We are picking up the story, after Jesus feed the 5,000.

— And after Jesus showed the world once again his power over the force of gravity, while walking on the water.

— Today, I’ve chosen the New Living Translation for you to follow along with. I would suggest you look at your version as I read from the New Living Translation.

So listen as I read and you can see John6.22-35.

John 6:22–35 NLT

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” 28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

— I want to focus our time together on what Jesus said, beginning in Vs. 32, Now from the English Standard Version

John 6:32–33 ESV

32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

— Jesus is saying here, quite forcefully when he says “Truly, Truly”

— Moses was NOT the giver of the TRUE bread from Heaven.

— The true bread is HE that comes down, it’s Jesus

Now wait a minute...

— During the Exodus, the people begged and pleaded with Moses

We are hungry… Moses, give us food! If we knew it would be like this we should just go back to captivity! [Pastor Jeff’s Paraphrase]

— Well apart from the complaining, apart from the lack of trust in Moses…

— They completely disregarded Yahweh, They completely disregarded their place in God’s redemptive plan for the Jews.

— It rings true to us today.

— We find ourselves in a spot… where maybe our basic needs are NOT being met.

What do we consider “basic needs”?

— Super fast internet?

— Brand new cellphone?

— New car

— If you’d ask Jill E… It’s the right hair products

How shallow have we become...

— Ill just leave it at them

— Here is our first question for today

What has God given us?

— A reason to get up every morning

— Confidence that if we don’t wake up in the morning we will be in his presence

— He has given all that we NEED and even some our WANTS [period].

Why?… Ultimately, God has given us a path to Heaven!

— He wants us to be in Heaven, so much that he sacrificed His son to get us there.

— That our sins can forever be, not remembered

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

— God sent His son, so that we would NEVER AGAIN have to uphold the LAW.

— The Law is dead… God’s Grace and Mercy was delivered on the Cross and revealed on Easter Morning.

— Jesus defeated death! Because of that beating that Jesus received he did our battles with satan.

AND, PRAISE GOD WON EACH AND EVERY ONE!

— We do have some responsibility in the equation.

— It is our responsibility to acknowledge that Jesus found and won the battle that was ours

— It is our responsibility to follow the leadership of Christ in our life.

— It is our responsibility to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. That we would NEVER, EVER have to die without the hope of an eternity with Jesus, in Heaven.

— Romans 13.7. in part says it VERY WELL

Romans 13:7 (ESV)

7 …[Give] respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

— Well, that hero, that provider and sustainer is Jesus!

Let’s get back to our passage for today John 6.34-35

John 6:34–35 ESV

34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

— That is the crux of the arguing that has gone on since Jesus came

Who do you trust to meet your basic needs as well as some of your wants?

— Put your trust in Christ

— Put your trust in what he said, what he did

— Realize with Him...

Your Life Has purpose, Has a future, Has a reward!

— As we transition to communion I want to read verse 35 again

John 6:35 ESV

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

— Servers… please come forward

— This morning before the elements are passed I want you to pause.

— Acknowledge Jesus, as “The Bread of Life.”

— Acknowledge Jesus as the giver of that Bread, that all of our needs and many of our wants are satisfied in him

Communion