Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we gather together today, not as mere individuals, but as a collective body of believers, united in our shared faith and love for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are not here by accident, but by divine appointment. God has called us into His presence, to sit at His feet, to learn from His Word, and to be transformed by His Spirit. We are here to experience the richness of His grace, the depth of His love, and the power of His truth.

In the words of the great Christian theologian, J.I. Packer, "Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord." Indeed, our purpose as Christians is to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him. And it is through His Word that we come to know Him better, to love Him deeper, and to serve Him more faithfully.

Belief Beyond Bread

In our daily lives, we often find ourselves consumed with the pursuit of physical needs and desires. We wake up each morning, thinking about what we will eat for breakfast, what we will wear to work, what tasks we need to accomplish for the day. Our minds are filled with thoughts of bread, so to speak, the bread that sustains our physical bodies. But Jesus, in our Scripture passage, is calling us to a different kind of pursuit, a pursuit that goes beyond bread.

Verse 27: Jesus tells His followers not to labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to everlasting life. This is a radical shift in perspective. Instead of focusing on the temporal, the perishable, the fleeting, Jesus is urging us to focus on the eternal, the imperishable, the enduring. He is challenging us to seek a different kind of bread, a bread that satisfies not just our physical hunger, but our spiritual hunger as well.

This spiritual hunger is a deep longing within each one of us: It’s a longing for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. It is a hunger that cannot be satisfied by physical bread alone, no matter how much we eat. It is a hunger that can only be satisfied by Jesus, the Bread of Life. When we believe in Him, when we receive Him into our lives, He fills us with His life, His love, His peace, His joy. He satisfies our deepest hunger and quenches our deepest thirst.

Belief in Jesus is not just a passive acceptance of facts: It is not just acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sins, that He rose again on the third day. Belief in Jesus is an active trust, a personal commitment, a total surrender. It is entrusting our lives to Him, committing our ways to Him, surrendering our wills to Him. It is saying, "Jesus, I believe in You, I trust in You, I surrender to You. You are my Bread of Life, my source of satisfaction, my fountain of fulfillment."

Involves a transformation of our values, priorities, and pursuits: Instead of valuing the things of this world, we start valuing the things of God. Instead of prioritizing our own needs, we start prioritizing God's will. Instead of pursuing our own desires, we start pursuing God's kingdom. Our focus shifts from the physical to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal, from the bread that perishes to the Bread of Life.

This transformation is not easy: It requires a daily dying to self, a daily taking up of our cross, a daily following of Jesus. It requires a constant battle against the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. But as we continue to believe in Jesus, as we continue to feed on Him, He gives us the strength to overcome, the grace to endure, the hope to persevere. In the midst of our struggles, our trials, our tribulations, Jesus is there, offering us His bread, His life, His love. He is there, inviting us to come to Him, to believe in Him, to find in Him our satisfaction, our fulfillment, our joy.

Bearing the Bread of Life

The Bread of Life, a title Jesus gives Himself, is not just a metaphorical concept ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO