Halloween is over and it is time for Christmas. If you do not believe me, go into your local Wal-Mart. The day after Halloween all the remaining candy and costumes were thrown into a buggy to be reduced and sold. Over night, the shelves were filled with Christmas decorations. In fact, in mid-October you could find lit artificial Christmas trees for sale already. I think it takes away from the excitement of the holiday by starting so early. In addition, Thanksgiving does not seem to be a big deal anymore.
Of course, Christmas is the celebration of our Lord Jesus. We celebrate his birth at Christmas. Nevertheless, since the holiday atmosphere has begun already I thought we should join in and begin our Christmas celebration.
Jesus came into this world for a variety of reasons. He came to die on the cross and deliver us from our sins. He gave his life that we might have eternal life. We all know that. However, He also came for many other reasons. The Bible is filled with the reasons that He came. Another reason He came was to reveal himself to the people of this world; both the ones that existed when He walked the earth and those to come. With Christmas actually seven weeks away we will discover the seven “I ams” declared by Jesus.
The first “I am” is found in John 6:35. 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.
To understand this declaration of “I am” we must travel back into time to a place in the desert at the base on Mount Sinai. A shepherd named Moses is watching over his father-in-laws sheep. He spots a bush that is on fire but is not being consumed. Out of curiosity, he approaches it and a voice from the bush calls his name. Moses answers and begins to get instructions that he is to go deliver God’s people from the oppression they are suffering in Egypt. Moses asks, “Who did I say sent me?”
God replies “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” The Hebrew word is “haya”. (hay-yaw) It meant existing, being. God says tell them the one, who exists, who has always existed, and will forever more exist has sent you. The only one who can fulfill this role has sent you. Now back to the Book of John, Chapter 6.
Jesus and his disciples were sitting on the mountain near the Sea of Galilee when He noticed a large crowd coming toward them. The Passover festival was near so many of these folks were travelers and had limited provisions. Jesus knew they would need to be fed. The disciple Andrew found a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus had the crowd, about five thousand in all, to sit down. Then He gave thanks for the food and distributed it to the crowd. They ate until they were about to burst. No one went away hungry.
However, the next morning they discovered they were hungry again. Only Jesus was nowhere to be found. They deduced that He had crossed over the lake and went to Capernaum. Therefore, they got into boats and went seeking him. And they found him.
When they found him, they said, “Rabbi, when did you come here.” It was almost like “Wow, Jesus. Imagine bumping into you again.” Jesus was not buying it. He told them you are not here because you are seeking signs. You are here because you want your bellies filled again.
I am not critical of these folks. In fact, I think we can relate to them. Those who attended the retreat last week had a blast. There were times for teaching, sharing, and fellowship. And there was a time for eating the buffet. Breakfast at eight; sausage gravy biscuits, eggs, and sausage. Four hours later lunch; ham, macaroni-n-cheese, fried okra and salad. Soon six o’clock rolled around and it was time to eat again; hamburgers, hotdogs, fried chicken, French fries, and salad.
Eight o’clock Sunday morning and time for waffles, eggs, bacon, and oatmeal. Sunday afternoon and its pizza, breadsticks, and chicken wings while watching the game. Enough food to last for a while you would think. But by Monday morning, the stomach begins to grumble because it has not been fed. It is looking for another buffet.
Let us read John 6:26. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. This was the mentality of those who sought and found Jesus. “Look yesterday was great but I need something today.” We must guard against that mentality. “Jesus when things were good in my life I followed you and it was wonderful. But things have a gotten a bit rocky now and if you want me too continue to serve you I need you to fix things. For me to be here for you, you need to be here for me.”
Jesus informed those who were seeking to have their needs met not to look for the temporal things in life but the eternal. Not to look for the food that perishes but the food that endures for eternal life. We are to look to him for our satisfaction. You will not find fulfillment in this materialistic world. You cannot find it in any person or possession. You cannot find it in any job. There is nothing that you possess or hold that cannot be taken from you in an instant. Jesus is your one possession that is guaranteed.
So they tried a different approach. John 6:28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
“Give us a set of rules and regulations that we must keep. We are good at keeping rules and regulations. Then after we have done these things, we can have our buffet.”
We also love our “thou shalt nots.” We search God’s word for what is right and what is wrong. When we discover what is right we have a tendency to use it to judge others. When we discover what is wrong we have tendency to make excuses if we are guilty. However, if we get the balance right and do the right and not the wrong, we are tempted to make demands upon God. “God, I lived up to my part. I have done everything right. Now you owe me. You made these promises and now I expect you to keep your side of the bargain.” God did not give us rules to earn his favor. He gave us rules to protect us.
Jesus told those seeking food “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” This is all God wants from you. Believe in Jesus. To truly believe in Jesus leads to wanting to serve him and follow his commands.
So being hungry is not getting them fed. And being legalistic is not getting them fed. They try another approach; John 6: 30-31. 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.’ “How about this? How about if you lay hands on us and we will fall out in the spirit? Or you prophesy over us? Just do something miraculous and then you can feed us all. It is what Moses did.”
From 1995 to 2000, the Pensacola Outpouring took place. In the same time, the Toronto Blessing was taking place. Both of these movements were characterized by manifestations of the Holy Spirit. I had the privilege of attending the Pensacola Outpouring. It was life changing for me. However, there were those who attended for the sole purpose of sensationalism. They became Holy Spirit junkies. Their goal was to fight their way to the front in order to receive a Holy Spirit rush.
Today that same rush can be found in loud, thunderous praise music; the kind where the drumbeats rattle your chest and the bass guitar rattles your teeth. People raise their hands and praise God with their mouths only to leave church and sin with those same hands and curse with that same mouth.
Jesus told them “Moses did not feed you.” Jesus would tell us “We do not have to seek after sensationalism.” God is the source. We need to seek God.
Jesus reveals this truth to them in John 6: 33-34 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.” “That’s cool. We will take it. Just tell us where we need to go.” And that is when He hits them with the truth.
John 6:35 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.
Jesus uses the term “haya” (hay-yaw), the very term God used when speaking with Moses. Jesus is saying my being; my very existence makes me the bread of life.
Haya was translated into Greek by the integration of two words; ego and eimi (I-mee). Ego meant me with emphasis, just as it does today. Eimi meant to be. Jesus emphasized his right to exist and to be the very bread of life. The time had come for them to understand that He was equal to God, that He was God. “I AM! There is no other. I have the nutrition that will sustain you spiritually.”
The crowd began to complain amongst themselves. They did not come for a sermon. They came for a meal. And they certainly did not come to hear a carpenter’s lunatic son make such claims.
Jesus reminds them again, in verse 48 “I AM the bread of life.” And again, in verse 51 “I AM the living bread that came down from heaven.”
What was the crowd’s response? John 6: 66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Jesus pushed a button. This was too much. He basically claimed to be God. They just wanted another meal. Then tomorrow another meal and so forth. He did not want to provide for just their physical need but more importantly their spiritual need. He was not going to feed them anymore so they decided it was time to move on. We should take note that those who turned away and deserted him were disciples.
They were his followers. They have heard his teachings. He had allowed them to become a part of his talmidim. They were witnesses to miracles. But now they reject him.
Jesus offers us the Bread of Life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. We are to hunger for what is right. We are to be found doing what agrees to God’s standards. We are to have the ability of determining the correctness of a matter.
We are not able to achieve these goals by feasting on what the world offers. The world does not have the ability to do what is right due its selfish nature. It is impossible for the world to agree to God’s standards due to its sin nature. The world does not believe in absolute truth making it impossible for it to determine the correctness of a matter. Only the Bread of Life is able to satisfy the emptiness found in our souls. And feasting of the Bread of Life allows God to pour his favor upon us.
Where are you feasting? Isaiah 55:2 asks, “Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.”
Some folks are materialist. They try to find their satisfaction in possessions. They rush out the door on Sundays bypassing the offering box so they can plop their money down at a restaurant, which will leave them hungry tomorrow? God says this type of temporal food will do you no good. However, if we eat of the eternal Bread of Life our inner being will be satisfied.
Some are legalist. Their relationship with God is based on regulations that are found in the Bible. They take great pride in living these rules and condemning those who do not. Strict regulations will rob you of the strength that grace offers. While we are to strive to live in perfection, failure to do so will damage your relationship with God unless you partake of the grace offered by the Bread of Life.
Some may be sensationalist. Their idea of a spiritual meal is when the Holy Spirit manifests himself in some supernatural way at every service. And when He does not, then the church is not spiritual enough. God’s desire is for us to seek him above everything.
In his book entitled God’s Psychiatry, Charles Allen tells this story:
As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They were placed in camps where they were well-fed. Despite excellent care, they slept poorly. They seemed nervous and afraid. Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution. Each child was given a piece of bread to hold after he was put to bed. This particular piece of bread was just to be held—not eaten. The piece of bread produced wonderful results. The children went to bed knowing instinctively they would have food to eat the next day. That guarantee gave the children a restful and contented sleep.
What are you holding too at night when you go to sleep? Is it a slice of bread that you will consume the next day and need to search for more? Or do you sleep holding on to the Bread of Life?
