Names of God: " the bread of life". WBC 4 Dec 2005 pm. John 6:25-51
A man was a regular diner at a restaurant. The owner always did his best to please him. One day he complained that he only received one piece of bread with his meal, so the waiter promptly brought him four slices.
The man said, "That’s good, but not good enough. I love bread!" So, the next night he was given six slices with supper. He said, "Good! But aren’t you still being a bit frugal?" Even a basketful the next day didn’t stop the complaints. Finally, the owner decided to end this for good. The next night he had a colossal loaf of bread baked. It was six feet long, three feet wide. It took the manager and two waiters to carry it to the complainer’s table. When they laid it on the table the huge loaf took up five place settings. They stood there and smiled, waiting for the man’s reaction. The man looked at the gigantic loaf of bread and said, "So, we’re back to ONE piece again?"
From Rusted Wealth James 5:1-6 a sermon by Michael Deutsch www.sermoncentral.com
Here we are still looking at the names of God- and we’ve moved into the season when we look at the Names of God the Son, Jesus- building up to "Immanuel" and "Saviour" as we get near Christmas
- Jesus described Himself as ’the bread of life’
Now, no doubt you’ve heard sermons on this. Even recently. So I want to make this incredibly practical tonight. Straight to the point. Let me ask you
- how is your soul? How goes it with your soul? Your inner life?
o APPRAISE YOURSELF. Take a moment to think about
" Your spiritual health PPT
" Your inner peace
" Connection with God
" Your love/devotion to Jesus
Rate yourself. Marks out of 10 in each area. Ask yourself- why is this? What’s helping/impeding? Then ASK GOD the same Questions!
4 mins silence. Then pray
"Lord, show us tonight how we can find health and food for our souls. Feed us with the bread of life"
- How did that go? Anyone want to share anything?
HUNGER
Well- what were the symptoms these folks exhibited?
Concerned about
- "what must we DO" v28
- signs! Show us a sign. V30 Seeking after the dramatic. Sensational. The Buzz
- They were restless. "they seek him here, they seek him there"
o V12 had bread. V15 wanted to make Jesus king. V23 went across the lake. Came back. Went to Capernaum. V34- want the latest bread Jesus is talking about
o Seeking the latest, newest
- Then they are grumbling v43
- V53 onwards- getting uptight about theology. Then leaving!
- And through it all… they are constantly hungry. For something
Their souls were not healthy. Maybe these are some the symptoms we exhibit
- I do
- Understandable. When your soul is hungry- you start looking in all the places where you believe you can find satisfaction/food
Are you hungry? What are you hungry for?
Well- lets look at what they were hungry for. Maybe we can learn something
- basically they got their bellies filled in ch 6:15
- tried to make Him king
Jesus sees… and exposes… what they are really searching for, instantly (v26)
- He’s not being unkind in doing this
- They… we… can only have a TRUE understanding of what DOES satisfy our souls… if we let go of false ideas, and those things that DON’T
He says- "You are looking for physical bread". That’s really where you are hungry. You’re trying to feed yourself in the physical, political (king)… through what you DO
- and your souls are dying… withering… in the process
- your spiritual life is drying up
I have seen all kinds of things kill people’s souls… beings… relationship with God… spirits
- their jobs. Work. Distractions. Doing up the house. Money. Partners. Latest love.
- Seriously: every 2 weeks someone says to me of the ’new thing’ that has entered their life… and they are going to be devoting themselves to for the ’next little while’….
- … and I leave them praying ’Oh Lord- don’t let this good thing distract them and destroy their soul"
Many times in the NT it says "Watch out!". For this, That
- Peter summarises it all in 1 Pet 2:11 "watch out for things that war against your soul!"
o What does it profit someone if they gain the whole world and yet lose their soul
What are you hungry for?
- EXTERNALS ….. OR
- The bread of life. What can feed your internal life?
Biblical commentator Ravi Zacharis writes:
Jesus’ words were intended to lift the listeners from their barren, food-dominated existence to the recognition and acknowledgment of the supreme hunger of life that can only be filled with a different bread. Food and power blind the mind to the need for nourishment and strength of soul. Unfortunately, many fail to pause here long enough to really hear what Jesus is teaching and understand the life-transforming power contained in this truth."
From "I am the bread of life" by Quintin Morrow, on www.sermoncentral.com
If you seek bread in the wrong area… go off down some bypass in your spiritual journey… the Saviour will lovingly point it out to you by
- disquiet
- hunger of the soul
- "withdrawing". Not totally. But enough.
These are symptoms of eating the wrong food. Symptoms sent by the Saviour
Author Jeanne Zornes describes how her hunger led her forward in maturity:
As a new Christian, I presumed Jesus’ main job was taking care of me. He led to me a job, roommates to share apartment costs, and a car that ran. But after a while my tastes got fussier. Like the Israelites waking up to manna every morning, I was tired of the same-old, same-old. I wanted a home with more privacy, a more interesting yet less stressful job, and a shinier new car. My list continued to grow. I wanted Jesus to perk me up when I was down, remove my difficulties, and make living a whole lot easier.
When those things didn’t come, I felt as if Jesus had walked away from me. What I didn’t realize was that He had put loving distance between us, just as He did with the crowd that night, knowing that they wanted to force Him to be king. For me, and for them, it took a stormy night to point out why those expectations were off base.
SOURCE: Quinton Morrow in "I am the Bread of Life" on www.sermoncentral.com
Ah! The storm again, the bread and the walking on water! The theme of my last few sermons!
BREAD
Jesus says "I am the bread"
The essential for life. Totally essential, then
The essential for everyone. Not just some (no wheat intolerances)
- it’s not: the Bible and intellect for some… the Spirit and internals for others.. the father and discipline for the rest
o He is the bread: for everyone
Note how it is worded: Jesus does not GIVE the bread. He IS the bread
- the Father gives the bread. He gives Jesus
What does this mean?
- Jesus doesn’t give you what you need. He IS what you need. Who you need
o Jesus is the answer!
o To the huger in your soul. To the restlessness, grumpiness, seeking, chasing
" To that hole within. As Augustine said "Thou hast made us for thyself and are hearts are restless till they find thee"
What’s the answer? (what’s the question?!)- Jesus!
- it is His name… nature: He is the bread of life. The bread your soul is seeking
- it’s in His birthplace name, actually: Bethlehem= "House of Bread"
GIVE US THIS DAY….
Okay! So how do we get this? Well- some of the answers are within here
1) V27. Seek. It’s a question of what you seek. God will give what you seek. So it’s as much a question of what you don’t seek as DO
- "do not work for food which spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life"
Stop seeking these other things FIRST. If God has shown them up tonight- dispose of them! Put them further down the list! Throw them out and trash them if they are destroying you!
2) v35 "Come to me" I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry
- but they did… because they didn’t COME
The barriers are not on God’s side. He is always willing. He has made every effort to come to us. He is not reluctant
- one chapter earlier "Jn 5: 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
- Some times we NEED to sing words like "Lord, I come to you…" just to precipitate ourselves into a conscious act of actually COMING to Jesus
3) Believe. V 29 "the work of God is to believe in the One He has sent". V35 "He who believes in me will never be thirsty"
Truth is- many of us believe- but we believe half-heartedly. Many of us are half starving because we are half committed and only half believe that Jesus is who He says He is and is able to save and satisfy to the utmost
- tonight is the night to cast in your lot fully with Him. Entrust yourself to Him fully
4) Eat. Jesus said we must eat of this bread.
- now, you don’t eat just once. If you eat just once- you die
- this is not about conversion. A one off thing. This is about feeding regularly… maintaining your soul… discipleship… growth…. ’give us this day our daily bread’
o the Lord’s prayer is kind of tight on words, you know. So why mention DAILY twice?! Because we must feed regularly. FIND a way to do so.
- ’my spirit has become dry because it forgets to feed on you’. St John of the Cross
Let’s feed on Him now. We’ll sing: "Lord I come to you"
- then we’ll do communion in an open way:
" bring a word
" ministry
Lord I come to you
Communion
Prayer review/Examen
Lord, you know me better than I know myself.
Your Spirit pervades every moment of my life. *
Thank you for the grace and love you shower on me *
Thank you for your constant, gentle invitation to let you into my life. *
Forgive me for the times I have refused that invitation,
and closed myself off from you. *
Help me this night, to recognise your presence in my life,
to open myself to you, to let you work in me,
to your greater glory. Amen
This is the air I breathe
Hallelujah sing to Jesus
