I am #6
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\Northside Church
I am - Bread
Aug 25, 2024
Jamey Mills
Good morning,
My name is Jamey and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Northside. It’s always good to be with you guys.
Last week I mentioned this…
That humanity has eternity woven into their very existence… I think we see that taught in the Bible in different places and in different ways…
The fact we are created in the very image of God might be the most powerful to me.
But both the OT and NT say that God has written His law on our hearts….
The issue with that is the bible also teaches that the human heart is deceitful above all things…
And at the very same time… we have this longing for God and rebellion toward Him in us…
One of the other things that I think naturally pushes us to consider the reality of God is the state of the world around us…
Over-sexualization of our kids
Rising #’s of addiction
State of homlessness
Brokeness is everywhere…
It’s hard as a pastor at times not to be discouraged… and even at times… downright scared.
To me, it screams for something more than a superficial solution…
And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why that isn’t driving people to at least consider God by the millions.
We are in our 6th and Final week of our series Called “I AM”…
I AM is a game-changing statement that God made all the way back in Exodus 3…
It gets far more interesting in Jn 8 when Jesus makes the same claim…
In the Gospel of John Jesus goes on to give 7 of these I am statements… each of them is intended to teach us something incredibly important about…
Who He is
How we are to relate to Him
And why it matters
If we look at what the Bible teaches… holistically… from start to finish… It’s Jesus.
God tell us He’s coming…
The OT… Law and prophets clearly tell us and point to Him coming
And provides powerful real-life examples (Hebrews calls them shadows of what is to come)
The crazy # of lives that have been radically changed in scripture and to this day speak to it
Jesus fulfilled over 320 OT prophecies… (all of then)
What Jesus taught about Himself
And so we realize that \
Jesus is the central figure and theme in all of scripture.
And that begins to point us to understand a few critical things…
How important is Jesus
Everything in our lives and eternity rises and falls based on what we do with Him
You can’t afford to coast… or brush it off… or take it lightly…
God told us, the Bible tells us, Jesus told us… but we also get to consider the life that Jesus lived…
Today we are looking at the very first I AM statement… and I want to look at the first few chapters of Jn… what did they know about Jesus as He starts using these I am statements…
They knew He didn't choose the stereotypical people to walk closely with Him… The disciples.
Lives were radically changed….
Wedding at Cana… at a huge wedding… They knew the rumor was… He’d turned about 180 gallons of water into wine.
Disciples believed 2:11
They knew that Jesus cleared the temple… reminding them that it was place of worship and not a market.
2:17 Disciples saw Jesus fulfilling prophecy
They’d heard about His meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well… who he loves, cares for, sits with and confronts…
He knew things no one could know… called her to repentance and real-life… and she ran and told everyone.
4:49 many Samaritans believed.
Jesus healed a government official's son…
He healed the boy from where he was…
Jesus was for everyone… and his power is greater than his physical presence
4:53 He and his entire house believed
Jesus healed a lame man… and did it on the Sabbath
Doesn’t say it directly, but the feel is… this man became a believer
Jesus walked on the water…
That had been their experience… they’d either heard of or many of them had seen with their own eyes Jesus do several of these things…. And it had the impact you’d expect it to have. By the time we get to John 6… there were more than 5K men, not counting their families, that were following Jesus…
It sounds like they’d been looking for Him all day… and finally found Him.
Jesus looked at Philip and said where can we buy enough bread to feed them…
Jesus was calling His shot and revealing his identity… He was about to provide for them what they could not provide for themselves…
It was Andrew who took the kids lunch… I found this kid who had 2 fish and 5 loaves…
Where Jesus prayed over it and somehow… that small lunch ended up feeding over 20k. It says they ate until they couldn’t eat anymore… and had a lot left over.
And that reminds me of something I’ve come to know both through reading the Bible but also experientially… Jesus is always more than we think.
His grace is more. His forgiveness is more, the life He calls you to is abundant, His Love is more, His kindness is more, His truth is deeper…
And the invitation is… taste it and see for yourself. Jesus is more.
People were talking, even wondering if Jesus was the “prophet” they’d been waiting for… they wanted to force Jesus to be their King…
They were right… Jesus was different… He is a King… but HE is a different kind of King.
The next morning… the crowd woke and Jesus and the disciples were gone… so they got into some boats and went to Capernaum to find Him…
When the passage starts… there are 10’s of thousands of people following… and by the end… there are dozens. What happened?
It’s almost eerie… to me how much this seems to mirror the last week of Jesus' life on earth… He came into Jerusalem to the praises of the people who had lined the road with their own garments and palm branches…
It's eerie to me how it mirrors what we see in the last week of Jesus life… He came into Jerusalem to the praises of people… streets made of Palm branches… but in the end, the same crowd called for His death.
Feels intentional but at the very beginning and then at the very end,,, it's like God is reminding us that it all Rises and falls on what we do with Jesus.
John 6:25–27 (NLT)
They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 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.”
25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, (teacher with authority over them) 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.”
Right out of the gate, Jesus trys to redirec their focus… doesn’t even address their question…
They were more concerned with the physical logistics than with the deeper significance of His very presence…
And it shows a fundamental flaw in their understanding of who Jesus is… and Jesus deals with it.
You aren’t hear because you saw the signs that point to the reality of who I am… but because I fed you. Not because you think I’m the Messiah… that came to seek and save all that is lost… but because of what you might get out of it…
Jesus challenges their movies… why are you really here?
And as I was writing that, I realized just how easy it is to sort of scoff at that until I realized we do it too. I mean I really think we do. it is easy to find yourself in this position where we come before God seeking what it is he might provide… health, well, success, solutions for our hardships, answers for our issues, healing for our broken relationships… and those aren't necessarily bad things… but they will never be a substitute for seeking God himself.
And so the natural question is are you? Are you seeking God merely for the benefit, or for who He is? One of those leads to a transactional relationship (which many christians have), the other leads to reverence, honor, worship and eternal life.
It’s easy to caught up in seeking what God might provide, instead of God Himself.
Jesus reminds them to not work for the things that perish, but for the things that are eternal... basically what he's saying is stop wasting your time. stop wasting your time with things that will never last. Stop trying to build a legacy that is superficial and then in the end will not matter. A legacy that has a far greater chance of compiling the problem instead of pointing to the problems solution.
And that is what Jesus is confronting in them and in us…
The language of the New Testament has a couple of different words they use for life…
Bios… is the Physical/material… almost here today gone tomorrow kinds of things.
In luke 8 the woman that had been sick for so long, no doctor could help… it says she spent her BIOS… her life… on medical bills.
Zoe… transends the physical… its both quality and quanitity… A full life and an eternal life. In Romans 6:4 … it says we are buried in Christ and raised to walk in the newness of life… guess which word… ZOE…
Jesus is point is… you have a zoe need in a bios world.
It reminds me of…
Jeremiah 6:13–14 (NLT)
“From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.
They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.
14 They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
Ignoring the mortal issue… the life and death issue… while chasing the material… the persihable…
Jesus is doing the opposite… he is cutting through the superficial to deal with the real issue…
Turns out they weren’t all that interested… but I hope we are wise enough to see it…
It reminds me a little of this…
Matthew 16:24–25 (ESV)
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Jesus isn’t talking about our physical life… but our will, our way… and even some of the things we cling to. Following Jesus involves self denial…. Sacrifice (though it’s not aimless)... submission and endurance… but it leads to real life…
They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
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.”
Seems like their still thinking of the material… what can we do… to earn this eternal food.
We’re smart… we cn see it… if we are relationally, morally, physically, spiritually honest… we know things are broken… look in the news, out the window or in the mirror and you’ll see it.
The creator of it all… just told them what it is they didnt want to hear it, but do we?
It’s not about what you can do for Christ, but what He’s already done for you. And Jesus is telling them its not about some intellectual acknowledgement… but a faith that causes us to lean into this deep, personal, trust in Jesus as the Lord… its not about striving to earn His approval but resting in the finished work of Christ… It’s not passive, but an active faith that more and more should inform and shape every area of our life.
We are called to believe in Jesus, trust in His grace, and rely on His sufficiency.
And that should cause you to breath a little different…
They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
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. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
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.
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.
They tell Jesus to prove it… and to me that seems rough…
Not only did they see or hear about all of these things that lead them to seek Jesus out… they literally just saw and benefited form Him feeding the 5000 men and their families…
The show how off they are wheen they reference the bread there ancestors ate LONG ago… when God delivered them captivity… and as they were wandering in the wilderness… God met their need… by sending bread from heaven…
And it seems like that what God did there was two fold…
This is very much was intended to prepare them and us for this important truth that Jesus now teaches…
Jesus is the true bread of life that brings real life, sustains, and truly/eternally satisfies.
The bread from heaven… that brings life, sustains life, that truely and eternally satisfies.
He is comparing and contrasting it with a material… physical short term solution to a short term probem.
And its like Jesus says you guys are still looking for signs when you need a savior. Your not here for me… but what you might get from me. That’s not worship… that’s not honor… that’s not what it means to submit and surrender… to carry your cross… that is not realtionship
Jesus went on to say some hard and prophetic things…
Things they didnt want to hear… but in time… would become painfully clear… as Jesus would be arrested… beaten to near death… died a cruel and ___ death on the cross… but that rose from the grave 3 days later.
Things that no doubt would make those that left wonder … they made the wrong choice for all the wrong reasons….
It says that most of them did.
Jesus asked the 12 does this offend you too… are you going to leave too…
And thats when it happened…
It was Simon Peter…
The one who would eventually deny Him in painful and passionate ways…
The one who wacked of Malchus’ ear when they came to arrest Jesus
The one who couldn’t wait… who jumped in the water and swam a long ways to shore… just to get it right with Jesus.
The one that may have known Jesus better than anyone
And that would eventually die a horrible death becasue of what He beleived about Him.
He is the one who said…
John 6:68–69 (ESV)
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
They didnt leave… for all the right reasons.
And so that’s the question before you today?
Why are you hear…
How does that resonate with the rest of your week? With what happens when no ones around? The way you talk to or treat your family?
Is there any signs of relationship… or is primarily transactional?