Jesus is the Bread (August 15th, 2021)

Well, not for a sermon,, We're in our third week of the sermon series called following Jesus. In first week on August 1st. We just preach the gospel in the story form method. What is the gospel? What does it mean to follow Jesus? And the rest of the four Sundays were looking at some of the I am statements of Christ last week was I am the light and this week, I am the bread. We're going to the end as David red or verse this week is Jesus. It in verse 35 of John 6. 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 the sermons, going to handle the verse in two sections. This is for Section, right here. This is what we're going to take a look at first and then that'll be worth half the sermon. And then this second section here. Is number two, when we get to number 2, I will most I will note that section. Number two is actually two parallel statements and we'll see how they're parallel and just what they mean. And so forth. But in the sex first section 1, we're just going to focus on Christ's words. I am the bread of life and I just want to make three simple observations about Jesus saying that he's the bread of life. The first thing I'd like to observe is that bread is a simple staple. Jesus did not say I am the caviar of life. We're only a very certain select number of people have access to caviar. Most don't even know what it is. Jesus did not say I am the lobster bisque of life that you can get on New England and is very, very expensive. He said, I am the bread of life. He chose bread because it's a staple of most diets in almost every time and every culture. Bread is a simple staple. I would encourage you to listen carefully to the sermon this morning as we delve into what it means for Jesus, to be the bread of life because right after the sermon you're going to go back to normal life and you will see bread everywhere. Maybe you can have a hot dog for lunch or a sandwich or rolls, or maybe you go to a restaurant. I would really encourage us to take into the our hearts. Does the words of Jesus. I am the bread of life and allow the hundreds of reminders all around us to perpetually. Remind us every time. We see a hot dog bun, hamburger bun, or a piece of bread or a dinner roll or a loaf. Just remember, Jesus is the bread of life. He has installed reminders. We're going to learn some pretty radical things this morning. And then we're going to find that God has filled our life with reminders. That Jesus is the bread of life.

And then finally, I just want to observe that this metaphor divides. Humanity into two camps. When Jesus says, I am the bread of life. He divides Humanity into two camps because it's such a bold statement. When he says, I am, he's saying I am God, the Creator. God is that doesn't quite connect up to you. I would refer you back to last week's sermon where we did a fair amount of exegesis on the phrase. I am and that how that's a claim to Divinity. Jesus isn't saying. Hey, I got some really cool ideas. He says I am the Creator God and he doesn't say, I am a brat. There's lots of good things on the buffet. I'm just happy to be included. He doesn't say that. He says, I am the bread. Just like last week. He didn't say, I am, I like he said, I am not light. And then there's always some big expansive description on the end of the phrase. Last week. I'm not the light of the room. I'm not the light of Europeans. I'm not there. Why white of white people or black? People are rich. People are men or women. I'm the white out the world. And last week, we learned that the Greek word underworld is cosmas. It's not even just the planet Earth. I am the light of all creation. Hard to get around. And today, he's not the bread of you or me, or this particular time or of well-being or feeling good about ourselves. He's the very bread of life. And when Jesus makes these outrageous statements, it makes us decide whether he's telling the truth or not and not divides Humanity into two camps. As a matter of fact. John 6:35 where he said it first divided, the people that heard it damps. He always does that. Let me tell you the whole story of John 6. John 612 14, he's feeding the 5000 Jesus knows he's about to teach that I am the bread of life. So hey, let's give a physical. It was stration. I know, I will Super naturally create physical bread and fill them physically, so that I can then teach that, I'm those spiritual bread. That will fill them spiritually. Will they completely misunderstand that? No, because it's complicated. But as we see, is we go to the chapter. They didn't see the Jesus is the bread, the spiritual bread because they didn't want to see.

Crowds back, then we're just like crowds right now. They don't want the spiritual bread of life. They want the symbol of that, the physical bread. Don't talk to me about eternity, fill my belly. Now. That's my interest is Pie in the Sky stuff. Give me bread. They never did find the bread of Eternal Heaven because they weren't looking for the bread of Eternal Heaven. They were looking for their next Consumer High.

Jesus could see this. He does the feeding of the 5000 and then it says perceiving that they were about to come along, come and take him by force to make him King. Jesus withdrew, again to the mountain by himself. They were going to buy Force, make Jesus king of the Jews, so that they could get their sugar daddy who would provide all their physical needs. Is it that you couldn't have missed the point more? So he would draws the, here's the problem. Major problem. He had sent the disciples out in a boat before he would Rue. So now he's stranded. It can't be with the crowd and he's not with the disciples. So he walks on water. By the way, I don't often rebuked fellow-creatures, but I just want to review our own doctor Carter years ago. He was preaching and in the middle of the sermon. He showed pictures of his grandkids and I stopped for a cheap tawdry trick. We expect more from you Doctor Carter. Anyways, Jesus walking on water and is my granddaughter Tori. She tried this in her for 4th birthday party. Just last month, and she had I would have to say limited success. So, Jesus walks on water. And then he has it in so they figure out. Hey, they wake up. Jesus isn't here anymore. The disciples already left in the boat. Where is he? Maybe he somehow got to his disciples. So they sail their boats to find Jesus and they do and the conversation back and forth is really, it was drained of So Jesus has walked on the water. He has fed the 5000. They say, he could really solve our grocery problem will make him King, Jesus completely misunderstood. I couldn't understand, but because they wouldn't understand, they didn't find the Bread of Heaven, because he was too hard to find, but because they didn't want the find the Bread of Heaven. So he leaves. And he walks on water. On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that they were, there were only there had been only one boat there, and the Jesus is not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Are there boats from tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given tanks. So when the crowd saw, the Jesus was not there, nor his disciples. They themselves got into boat and they went to capernum. Seeking Jesus.

It's not great. You are people, seeking Jesus. Isn't that what we want? Well, what Jesus are they seeking? And what problem are they hoping he can solve? We're going to find out as the story goes along.

So that when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him Rabbi. When did you come here? Or she just walked on the water? And Jesus answered them. Truly, truly. I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your still of the loaves.

You're not looking for Jesus, The Bread of Heaven. You're looking for Jesus, the sugar daddy. That will feed your carnal desires and I have to tell you, you got me confused with somebody else.

We're going to find out that Jesus is the soul. Satisfying, Bread of Heaven. But they weren't interested in that they were interested in their next meal. Friends, may, I just suggest that our problem in life is not that we seek pleasure to little.

It's that we settle for so little. We settled for a new car. A promotion. Someone saying something nice about us. Also your lovely things, if you can get a new car and go knock yourself out, get a new car, but these are not so satisfying things. And yet we saddle. We settle. Our problem is not that we seek for pleasure to little. Our problem is that we settle for some tawdry bits of metal and plastic.

So Jesus says, do not work for the food, you've misunderstood. Let me do a little bit of a Divine redirect here. Do not work for the food that perishes but the food that endeared to internal life. You see how you've misunderstood this which is the son of man, which the son of man will give to you for on him. God. The father has set his seal.

Then they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God. They totally not getting it. I'm offering you this free gift to earn the free Griff gift. These are people who are not finding the Bread of Heaven. Even though he's standing right in front of them. And they're not finding because they're not looking and they're not looking because they don't want to find.

Jesus Reader X again. Jesus answered them. This is the work of God. You won't work. Here's to work. Believe in him. Whom he has sent that should work, believe in me. So you have to do to earn it, just believe in me.

So they said to him and will you do that? We may see and believe in you. What work? Do you perform their back to the Miracles? He just did a miracle. 5000, they didn't see it, but they can surmise that he has walked. Rose water. Just believe in me Miracle, by the way, breads. Nice. These are people who are not finding the Bread of Heaven because they're not looking for the bread of heaven, and they're not looking for the bread of heaven cuz they don't want the fine. The Bread of Heaven, they want their bellies filled.

And so do me a soul that sounds kind of, I don't know, narcissistic. Maybe we should have had two Bible. Verse is they do our fathers, ate the Manna in the wilderness as it is written, he gave them bread from Heaven, to eat that, puts a nice spiritual green on, it. Doesn't it? Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you. Here's another redirect. It was not Moses. Who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true Bread of Heaven.

And they still don't get it. For the Bread of Heaven. Is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world? They said to him stirred. Give us this bread. Always and that's where we find our texts this morning. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me, shall never hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. So they said the Lord and Savior we worship you. So the Jews grumbled about him because he says I am the bread that came down from heaven. Here is a group that can't find Jesus because they don't want to find Jesus. Verse 34, give us this bread. Always 35. I am the bread verse 41. I'm going to grumble. I'm going to grumble. Prince. I can't prove this from scripture, but can I just offer you a little thought? You're going to find what you're looking for. People are very persistent. Goal-seeking devices, almost all people get their biggest goals at some point in their life. Which is why we have to select our goals, very carefully. You're probably going to get what you're looking for. She's very careful to select. What are you looking for? Is it the bread? Or is it the Bread of Heaven? This statement, divides Humanity into two groups. So let's take a look at what he says, whoever comes to me, shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me, shall never thirst this. These are two parallel statements that you can see the same structure. Whoever comes to me, shall not hunger, parallel statement. Whoever believes in me, shall never thirst. Furthermore. The two statements are themselves, divided into one and two and then there's this other statement, three and four and these two were parallel.

These two are parallel and these two are parallel.

What we're going to do is we're going to take a look at VS1 Parts, one and three. And then answer the question. What must I do? Jesus says, I am the bread of life. That's a statement. I am the bread of life. Okay, there's something we have to do. That's answered in these two parallel. Statements, one and three. You have to come to me and you have to believe in me. Parallel statements, 2 and 4 answer a different question. If I do that, what's going to happen?

I am the bread of life. What do I need to do? Come to me? Believe me. If I did that, what would happen if you weren't hungry and you won't thirst. So, let's take a look at each of those. What do we have to do? Jesus says, he's in, I am the bread of life. What is the response? What is the response that God desires to come to him? To believe in him. To become a Christian, you have to come to Jesus.

Here's the Bread of Heaven. But Heaven of a bread left on the table is still bread, but it has no positive effect. You can have absolutely delicious bread, super nourishing with antioxidants, and lots of great stuff and perfectly baked. And it is all those things, but if you don't need it, it's of no value. Jesus is the bread of life.

God, the father has already made that determination and it can't be changed. But when we don't eat of the bread, its of no value to us. We must come to Christ. You must come to Christ and receive him as your lord and savior.

Let me also say that there's no Preparatory work. You don't have to take a course. You don't have to clean up your license and get rid of those nasty habit. So you're nice and shiny. When you come to Jesus. No, no, no. No, no, just come. Just come. Just believe.

So I'm not from your Christian crowd. I don't really know what you mean when you say come to Jesus. Well, that's why we have the second phrase believe in him. Or is it helps? You understand more? Because this isn't just a sent, the fax, like, I'm going to give you five facts about Jesus and I need you to agree with them. Hope you believe? It's not that Satan believes those facts to There's more than just, a mental assent. Let me help you out by replacing the word Belize with trust. We need to trust in Christ.

We need to trust that Christ is who he says he is and is doing what he says he will do. And trust is a funny thing. I've used this. I've used this before.

But I want to use the illustration again in 1859 a tightrope. Walker named Charles blondin. Walked across a tight wire on Niagara Falls. It's almost a quarter mile, and he did it successfully. Not only did I walk across on a tightrope, then he did it carrying a sack of potatoes. Then he did it on a bicycle. Then he did it on stilts. Then he did it. Can you believe he walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope carrying a small portable stove? And as he was walking, he made himself an omelet. After he done all these things, he revealed to the crowd that he had. Sasha the wheel barrel special wheel that grab the wire, and he said that, how many of you think that I could actually push across the tightrope in this wheelbarrow? What is that? Electrons? That way. You can do it? And you said I need a volunteer.

And no one volunteered. It's one thing to say something. It's another thing to put your trust in that. By the way, no one did volunteer. They had to reschedule the event for two months later and his manager. A man named Harry Colcord, would have crossed in the wheelbarrow successful.

Friends, when you come to Jesus, you trust in him.

James has done this. This is why we baptized him. Even in his testimony. James said, quote. I prayed and asked God to forgive me and save me, he came to Jesus. Didn't try to be good enough just came to Jesus. And he trusts Jesus. Did you notice the last sentence? It is testimony. I am very happy that I have accepted the Lord and my future is safe in Jesus hands. Doesn't matter whether you're 11 or a hundred and eleven. If you can say that it's time to be about tized.

What a person comes to Christ and trust him to be who he says he is and to do what he says. He will do something amazing happens. We become children of God. James also mentioned this in his testimony, John 1:12, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children. Oh God.

So we're working on these two statements. And we just have a one and three, that answers the question. What do I do? Now, we're going to look at 2 and 4 that answers the question, what happens?

But what happens is we never hunger and we never thirst.

You don't we as human beings are built to be pleasure-seeking devices. This is true in the Physical Realm. Have you ever been so hungry? That all you can think about is food? Have you ever been so thirsty that all you can think about is water?

I know we're in a polite mixed audience. But have you ever had to go to the washroom, really, really bad? All you can think about is. Where is that? Washing? Where is that washroom? Have you ever been in a place? Is way too hot. You want to be cold? Have you ever been in a place? Is way too cold? You want to be hot? What we are not only Built to seek physical Pleasures. We our souls are seeking pleasure.

And Christ is the soul. Satisfying bread that we are looking for.

And he is that bread right now, but he's only the bread with positive impact on you is when you eat it, when you come to him, when you believe in him, when you trust him, I urge you to do that. Now. The soul satisfying is found in Christ and cannot be found anyone else anywhere else.

I thought of a way to end the sermon by just I just didn't want to say prices Soul satisfying because it sounds empty. And some may say he didn't Define that because he can't Soul. Satisfying is sufficiently nebulous. What, what do you mean? So satisfying, I accept price. Then what happens?

Troy looked up a guy named Abraham Maslow. In 1943. He wrote a paper called the theory of human motivation and he supposed to been his paper that humans actually respond to a hierarchy of motivations. What motivates our behavior is the lowest unmet need we have and he built What is now known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs? There's five of them. First thing we need is physiological things. We need air and water and food, and shelter, and sleep in clothing and reproduction. And he says, you don't seek anything else until you get that settled, you're not really worried about friendship until you got food to eat. What is the Bread of Heaven have to do with this Friends? The Bread of Heaven guarantees that all of our physiological needs will be met until our mission is over. Jesus will make sure you're fed. He will make sure you have a place to live. He will make sure you have everything you need and tell your mission is over and then he will teach you to love the mission more than the food in the shelter.

I don't know if you remember but in the 2008 presidential election, the Republican candidate was John McCain. In one of those that he was a decorated Marine, very honorable past in. One of the things, he always said that human beings are looking to give them to themselves. Give themselves to something bigger than themselves. Attach yourself to a mission. That is bigger than you, what our mission for Christ is bigger than us. And he will need all of our physiological needs until he doesn't need them anymore. And that means the mission is over.

Jesus experienced this. When he needed food, God gave it to him. But at the end, when his mission was coming to a completion, his physiological needs were not met in Matthew 26. 42. My father, is this, if it cannot pass until I drink that. He's talking about his impending death, your will be done. I want the mission more than I want. These needs being met. Jesus will meet all of these needs until there's no longer, any need to meet them and we can rejoice in both of those. The Bible is full of the examples of God meeting physiological needs so that the mission can continue. Elijah was fed with Ravens a disciple. Found his taxes in the mouth of a fish. Man. I fell from heaven shoes. Didn't wear a road, when the Egyptians, when the Israelites left, Egypt Widow got oil from a jar. 5,000 people were just said in John, 6, Jesus. The bread of life meets physiological. Needs until the mission is over.

Paslode says yes, but we also have safety needs. The need for personal security. Employment resources, health and prosperity. He will meet all those two. But he needs more than our safety. Needs a value. Our purpose higher than our physical safety. God gives a complete physical safety until our mission is over. Until it doesn't suit his purposes and we can rejoice. And both remember Jesus, when they picked up stones to to kill his time, wasn't over. God protected him from all that? Remember, Elijah being surrounded by the enemy. And his servant says he can see an army of Angels Camp around them to give them safety. Why couldn't follow Saul find David? Because David was safe In the Arms of Jesus. Why was Paul let down in a basket rather than executed as his mission was over. Why didn't the poison in the pot kill? Why did the serpent raised on a bronze Rod to heal people? Because God gives safety? As long as they need safety to execute our mission.

Mass law says Maslow. When he says, we need love and belonging isn't Jesus. The one who said I call you friends. Isn't Jesus. The one that promised an intimate relationship saying I will come into him and dwell with him. Isn't Jesus, who invites us into his family, John 1:12 would become the sons of God. Isn't Jesus. The one that says we will have an eternal connection with him. That will never end. No man, will pluck him out of my hand. The bread of life connects us, not only to himself, but to each other and our own selves. The bread of life meets our needs.

Maslow says, we need to have a need for a steam. Respect, self-esteem, status recognition strength, Freedom. We don't have self-esteem. We have God esteem. He tells us the bread of life. Tell us if we were made in the image of God. He gives us everlasting life. He tells us that we are the object of the father's affection. I tells us that he will watch our service to him on Earth and honor and reward that service both on Earth and at the end of her life.

the bread of life makes us free to be who we really are to live in the strength of the, in the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the seal, the Xhilaration. As you know, the holy spirit is working through you to accomplish Eternal meaning for work. The bread of life makes us into who we really are, so that we can do what we were always designed to do forever.

And then finally Maslow says, we need self actualization.

We have a desire to become the most. That one can be. This is exactly what the bread of life gives us. He creates the reality of becoming everything. We were designed and destined to be.

Friends, all of this bread comes to us at no cost. But I want to draw you back to John 6. Is not it's no cost. It's no cost to us. Later and not chapter later. And John chapter 6. He says you need to eat the bread and drink, eat my body, and drink my blood. This is the sacrifice. That requires his death.

Do you offer this morning? Is that he will be our bread of life at Great expense to him and no expense to us. And so I ask you. What now?

This claim to be the bread of life separates people into two camps. And I would just encourage you to think carefully about what camp you belong in. You can come and believe. Now. Today. You can come and believe. And you will never hunger again, and you will never thirst again or you can leave and reject.

I ask you to consider this very carefully. And I would like to offer, you two tools to do that, considering. The first to Liz, I have placed at the back in the 48, in the wrong place cuz you see when you're coming in, not when you're going out but there's a round table and there's a bunch of brochures. They're called the story. Some of them have a folder of covers that look like this. Some look a little different. They're all called the story. They're all identical, take one, take one. And in that little pamphlet, you will read the gospel message. You'll be redirected to a website that you can get additional information. If you have questions at the end of the presentation, you can type in your question, that question will come to me. I offer you that today as you consider, the claim of Christ that says he is the Bread of Heaven.

The other offer I would make you is in the fall. We are starting an alpha group. And Alpha group is just a group of people to get together. The learns the gospel message. You don't have to accept Christ. But I promise you, if you would $10 Alpha group, you'll make some new friends that I promise you that, at the end. You will know the gospel. Well, enough to say yes or no. If that's something that you're interested in, get a digital details, if you go to our website, this is a little complicated. So just hang with me. You go to work website. There's a little section there where there's a series of videos called in between Sunday's WE Post those videos every week. The most recent one is Alicia talking about children's ministry and excellent video. Watch it. But the one I'm talking about right now is the one before that. And one of the leaders of alpha Brian Thompson will explain to you in that video how it all works. I think the question that Jesus, that the message that Jesus has for us this morning is I am the bread of life. The question Jesus has for us is, are we hungry?