Words that give life

Today we’re finishing up our “Soul food” series. As many of you know, earlier this year, I was having all kinds of stomach problems. It went on for about a month, and it was not fun. One of the worst things about it was for the longest time, I was forced to watch my wife and daughter eat all this delicious food, while I was left eating udon, ochazuke, and other equally bland foods. Let me tell you: I was not happy. All I could think was, “I want something more!”

Well last week, we talked about about how all of us have a hunger in our hearts for something more. Many people try to satisfy that hunger with things like money, marriage, kids, career, any number of things. But in the end, none of these things can truly fill the hole in our hearts. Only an abiding relationship with Jesus can truly satisfy that hunger.

And we said that an abiding relationship is one where we come to Jesus moment to moment, day to day, in a fully trusting, dependent relationship with him.

Jesus talks about that kind of relationship in John 15. In verse 4-5, he tells us this:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

Did you notice that Jesus says abide “in me” not “with me”? Now of course, we are also to abide with Jesus. But our relationship is much deeper than just being with him. That’s why I love the picture Jesus gives here of the vine and branches. The branch is not just with the vine. It’s not just lying next to it. It’s not just taped or glued to the vine. Rather, the branch is actually in the vine. There is a living relationship between them. Life flows from the vine to the branch. The branch gets its nourishment, its very life from the vine. And it’s through that relationship, that the branch is able to thrive and bear fruit.

It’s the same with us and Jesus. If we are to thrive and bear fruit, not just as Christians, but as people, we need his life flowing through us.

Does that describe your relationship with Jesus? As you go through your day, through your week, where are you drawing your strength and energy from to serve him? And not only to serve him, but to simply live life every day? Where do you get your emotional, mental, and spiritual nourishment from? When you’re stressed out, tired, or lonely, when you wake up in the morning and you’re anxious about what you have to face that day, when you’re facing that big decision in your life, where do you turn?

Is it Jesus? Or is it something or someone else? For too many people, even Christians, the answer is something or someone else.

The question many Christians have, though, is, “How do I gain access to that nourishment and life that I need from Jesus? How do I have that abiding relationship with him? It’s great to say that I should come to him and believe in him moment to moment, day to day, but how exactly do we do that?” That’s what we want to talk about today. Take a look at John 6 starting at verse 60.

We’re continuing our story from last week. We saw that Jesus had just performed a great miracle in which he fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. And because of that the crowd who had been with him went flocking after him, mostly because they wanted more free food. But Jesus told them, “Don’t put all your effort into seeking me just to get free food. I can give you something else that will feed your soul and satisfy it forever.

Then Jesus said some difficult words. He said things like, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. But whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”

Now for those of you who weren’t here for last week’s message, relax, we’re not talking about cannibalism. Jesus is speaking figuratively here. We saw last week that he called himself the bread of life. And obviously, he wasn’t literally a loaf of bread. But he said that the person coming to him and believing in him will never be hungry or thirsty in their souls again. So “eating his flesh” and “drinking his blood,” was a metaphor for coming to and believing in him. And only by doing that will we ever find true satisfaction in our souls.

I will admit, though, it still makes me cringe to read those words, “eat my flesh” and “drink my blood.” It sounds pretty creepy. And it was apparently hard for the Jews too. Look at their reaction in verse 60.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

It’s clearer in the Japanese translation, but what they were saying was, “This teaching is offensive. It’s hard to accept.” And these weren’t just casual followers of Jesus who said this. These were people who had considered themselves to be Jesus’ disciples. And so Jesus said to them in verses 61-64,

“Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

In other words, “Earlier, you guys asked me for a sign from heaven so you would believe. But even if I were to go back to heaven right before your eyes, would that really change your minds? I gave you enough bread to feed thousands, and you still don’t believe. The problem with you guys is that your minds are still too focused on things that can satisfy your physical needs but can’t satisfy your souls. Only God’s Spirit can do that. The words I speak to you come from him and his words will give you life if you’ll just believe them. But the problem is, some of you don’t believe.”

And they didn’t. Because in verse 66, you see many of Jesus’ so-called disciples deserting him. I wonder how he felt as he saw them go? I think his immediate response is very understandable. He turned to his twelve disciples who he had chosen at the beginning of his ministry, and he asked them, “You don’t want to leave too, do you?" Look at Peter’s answer in verses 68-69.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

So what can we get from all this? And what in the world does this have to do with abiding in Christ? It has everything to do with it.

You see, we talked about coming to Jesus and believing in him. But what exactly are we coming to and believing in him for? Well of course the main thing we believe is that Jesus died on a cross to take the punishment for our sins. We believe that he rose from the dead and he now gives life to those who believe in him.

But we don’t just come to him and believe in him for life in heaven after we die. We come to him and believe in him for everything in life right now. We said last week that eternal life is not something that’s merely future. It’s something that starts right now, in a moment to moment, day to day relationship with him.

It’s walking with him each day, learning to trust Jesus for everything. To depend on him for everything. His wisdom, his strength, his leading. But again the question is how do we get all that? We get it through his words.

Remember what he told the Jews. “My words come from the Spirit of God himself, and they give you life.” Peter echoed that, “Jesus, you have the words of life.” We talked earlier about how the branches of a grapevine receive life and nourishment from the vine. Well, the life and nourishment we receive from Jesus come primarily from his words. Through his words, we know who God is. We know his heart. We know his will. We hear his words of encouragement and comfort. We hear his words of correction. And those words give us life.

Sometimes people complain, “I don’t feel like God ever speaks to me. I never sense his leading. I never hear any of his words of encouragement or comfort. I never hear anything from him.” My question to you is, “How well do you know his Word? Are you actually taking time daily to let it soak into your heart and mind?” Because again, the life and nourishment we receive from Jesus comes primarily through his word.

We saw Jesus himself talking about this in Fumi’s message several weeks ago. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, what did he tell Satan?

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

And that’s how Jesus lived throughout his life. He lived by every word his Father spoke. How about you? Do you live by every word that comes from God’s mouth? What shapes your thinking? What’s important to you? And where did you get those priorities from? From your parents? Your culture? Or God’s Word?

Where do you get your standards for right and wrong from? It’s interesting, at the junior high schools I work at, the textbooks for morals class are called “新しい道徳,” “New morality.” Now, they probably just mean, “the newest textbook on morals.” But we’ve seen moral values throughout society changing a lot over the last ten years. Things that were once unthinkable are now accepted as normal. Where do you get your morals from? From society and culture? Morals in society change. But God’s morals don’t change. Because God doesn’t change.

Which brings up a third question: where do you get your ideas on what God is like? Do you know what he is like? Do you know what his character is like? Do you know how he thinks, how he feels? And if you say you know, how do you know? Is it just your impression? “This is what I personally think a good God would be like.” Or is it coming from what Jesus has actually said?

Jesus’s words come directly from God’s Spirit and they are life. And to abide in Jesus, you need to live by his words. Jesus said this in John 8:31-32.

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

What does it mean to abide in his Word. I think there are three key things. First, you need to know his Word. It’s so easy to say, “Yes, I believe all Jesus says,” when we don’t really know all Jesus has said. Do you? Do you know what he’s said in the gospels? Do you know what he’s said through his prophets in the Old Testament? Do you know what he’s said through his apostles in the New Testament? His words give you life. But do you know them? The people we saw in today’s story called themselves Jesus’ disciples. But they didn’t know all he was teaching. And when they found out, they left. Do you know what Jesus teaches?

Second, to abide in his word is to believe it. I think that goes without saying. But we’re not simply talking about mental assent. True belief, leads to a third thing: daily obedience. Living by his words moment to moment, day to day, letting his words shape the way you think and the way you act. As we saw earlier, that’s how Jesus related to his Father. And so Jesus told his disciples and us this. John 15:9-10.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (9-10)

Earlier in chapter 14 verses 23-24, he had told them,

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (23-24)

If you want to have an abiding relationship with Jesus, you need to know his word, believe his word, and obey his word.

But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it. And often times we hit a major barrier to abiding in Jesus. What is it? We find it in today’s story. Jesus’ disciples told him, "This is hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

For the Jews, what probably made Jesus’ teaching so offensive was that they couldn’t understand it. Jesus was speaking metaphorically, and they kept taking his words literally. Failing to understand Jesus’ words is a major barrier to abiding in him. How often have you read the Bible and said, “I don’t understand this?” I know I have. That’s why it’s important to ask questions. That was the difference between Jesus’ disciples and the crowd. Often times the crowds that came to hear Jesus went home entertained by Jesus’ teaching, but without truly understanding what he meant. Why not? They never bothered to ask him. It wasn’t important enough to them to bother asking Jesus about it. Jesus’ disciples, on the other hand, always asked questions. “What do you mean? Please explain your teaching to us.” Question: Do you want to understand God’s word? Is Jesus important enough to you that you seek understanding and are humble enough to ask others for help. Pastor Fumi, myself, your plant group leaders are all there to help you understand. But you have to ask.

But often times, the problem is not that we don’t understand Jesus’ words. We understand them perfectly. They’re just hard to accept. Because if we do, it means we have to change. And sometimes, we don’t want to change. We say, “That’s just the way I am. This is my life. Why should I have to change?” And so when we see Jesus’ words pointing out our sin, we get offended.

Other times, we want to change, but it’s hard. We find it hard to forgive that person that hurt us so deeply. Or we’re finding it hard to let go of that sin that has bound us for so many years. But that’s why we need Jesus. As we read at the beginning of today’s message, “Apart from him, we can do nothing.” On the other hand, with him, all things are possible. Our ability to live lives pleasing to God comes from a living relationship with Jesus in which he fills us with his love, encouragement, wisdom, and power.

But the question is, do we really want to change? If you don’t, if instead, you just keep living your own way, your soul will never know true satisfaction. Instead you’ll keep trying to stuff that God-shaped hole in your heart with other things and always end up feeling empty. But if you abide in Jesus, and his words abide in you, you will find joy. In John 15:11, Jesus told his disciples and us,

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

So where do we start? It starts with a commitment to God’s word in our lives. Not because it’s the Christian thing to do. Not because we’re trying to earn God’s favor or prove we’re worthy of his blessings. But because our spiritual nourishment and strength from Jesus flows primarily through his Word.

Again, it’s impossible to abide in Jesus if his word does not abide in us. We can’t truly know God unless we know his Word. We can’t hear his words of leading, encouragement, comfort, and correction unless we know his word. And we cannot bear fruit that pleases him unless we know his Word and obey it. Now I’m not saying that you have to completely know God’s word before you can start having that abiding relationship with Jesus. To have that relationship starts with one choice, “Jesus, I choose to trust you.” But if you want true soul satisfaction, you need to be growing in your knowledge, belief, and obedience to his Word.

Some of you might be saying, “Yeah, but I don’t know how to start. And like you said, Bruce, sometimes the Bible is so difficult to understand.” Well, one place you can start is the Crossroad Bible Reading plan. The bonus that comes with that is Pastor Fumi and I often write things about the day’s reading, and we try to help you understand the difficult things that are sometimes there. We also let you see our thought process as we read, how we’re responding to God’s word. That can give you a model to follow for your own times with God

But whether you use Crossroad’s plan or not, here’s what I would encourage you to do. First, before you read your Bible, pray, “Father, please speak to me today. Help me to see who you are. How you think. What you want me to do.”

And then as you read, ask these questions:

1. What does this passage tell me about God’s character? What kind of God is he? How is this different from my perceptions of God?

2. What does this passage tell me about God’s values and priorities? How is it different from mine? How is God’s way of thinking different from mine?

3. What does this passage tell me about how God feels about his people (specifically, me)?

4. What does this passage tell me about how he wants me to live? Is there something in my life he wants to change? What first step can I take to obey?

Then pray about the things you’ve discovered. If you discover something new about his character or how he feels about you, praise him for it. Rejoice in it. If you’ve discovered that your values and priorities are different from his, confess that to him, and ask him to change your way of thinking. If God is pointing out something in your life that needs to change, ask for the power to do so. And the more you do these things, the more you’ll find that hole in your heart being filled.

Some of you might say, “Yeah, but I’ve tried reading the Bible every day. For some reason, I just can’t seem to do it.” Many Christians feel guilty because they’ve tried so often, but keep failing. Don’t feel guilty. I was the same way for years. But God never gave up on me. Every time I came back to his Word, he was gladly waiting for me. So if you skip a day or two or more, don’t worry about it. Just start again. His grace and mercy is new to us each morning. He’s not going to bash you for the times you’ve missed with him. He’s just glad that you’re there. And don’t worry about “making up” the days of Bible reading you missed. Just focus on your reading for that one day. Trust me, God won’t mind.

I’ve been doing this for over 40 years now. And I can tell you, “It’s worth it.” Over the years, God’s encouraged me through his word. Sometimes he rebukes me. But through his Word he also daily nourishes me with his love. He wants to do the same for you.

I love the words of Jeremiah. He said in chapter 15 verse 16:

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

God’s word is my joy. I pray it will become yours too.