SCRIPTURE
John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Christ, the bread of life
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ...
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
SERMON
Today we continue listening in as Jesus talks to his followers just one day after he fed thousands of people with just two fish and five loaves of bread.
Jesus is attempting to explain to the crowds that they should not seek Him because they ate physical bread, but because they desire the spiritual bread that produces eternal life.
At the crux of his argument Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
This statement got me to thinking, “What are people hungry and thirsty for today?”
As I survey the people of the Earth, I notice much spiritual hunger. You probably do too.
It seems to me that some of the things that people are hungry for are power, prestige, wealth, and fame. People are also hungry for relationship, companionship, and fellowship. Additionally, people are starving for respect, honor, favor, and personal security.
I could go on and on, but it is not hard to see hunger in the eyes and hearts of our neighbors everywhere. People are hungry for wealth and fame so they lie, cheat and steal to get to the top. People are hungry for power so they abuse the weak and the powerless around them. People are hungry for relationship, so they enter into illicit and inappropriate liaisons with friends, and strangers alike, looking for love in all the wrong places. People are hungry for respect and personal security so they work long, arduous hours on the job trying to secure enough money, to buy enough stuff, so that their neighbors will respect them.
This is a sad, sad, situation my friends! People are literally starving all around us and as Christians we have access to the “spiritual food” that they need in order to survive. His name is JESUS!
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Let’s keep it real, dear friends. When we go to our starving friends and offer them Jesus, they may be skeptical at first. After all, even Jesus’ followers said in response to his declaration, “"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
Our non-Christian friends may express similar disbelief. They may say things like, “It can’t really be that simple. I knew you before you were a Christian and I think that you’re faking it now. Are you running a scam; Jesus can’t really be all that I need, can he? Jesus was just a nice guy, a good prophet, but not actually the son of God, right? How can I have faith in Jesus, if I don’t have faith at all? What exactly do I have to do to be saved by this Jesus of yours?”
Due to our limited time together, I can’t float every single argument that I have heard from my non-Christian friends regarding why they—cannot, or will not—eat the bread and drink the blood that leads to eternal life.
Isn’t it amazing that so many starving people are so picky about what they will eat?! After all, many people know that they are starving. They feel the deep hole in their heart that nothing will fill. They attempt to fill it with food, alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, video games, cutting of their flesh, and/or other things, but the hunger refuses to be satisfied.
They lay awake at night with stomachs that are cramped with hunger and tongues which are swollen with thirst. They cry into their pillows at night wishing that there were someone—anyone—out there who was truly willing to love them unconditionally and without cost.
These people are literally starving for the Bread of Life—also known as the King of Love. They are so hungry and so thirsty for love that they look for it in all the wrong places, willing to accept a fake and phony and temporary version offered by the world, rather than taking the real thing that comes only from God.
In response to the skepticism of the people of Jesus’ day, Jesus said, “"Do not complain among yourselves…Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life...I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever…”
In the final analysis isn’t eternal life what all human beings are truly hungry for? Everyone is chasing the illusive love, joy, and peace that will only be eternally available in the Heavens and in the presence of our God.
The Bible teaches us that God loves the world so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!
In short, the good news can be summed up in five short words, “God loves, gave, and saves!”
This short mantra is all that is needed to satisfy the hungry souls of our neighbors and friends! God loves, gave, saves.
It is my firm assertion that all people need to know that God loves them unconditionally and that there is nothing that they can do to out sin, out fox, or out run the love of God that has been revealed in Christ Jesus! People need to know—and believe--that Jesus is a free gift and that there is nothing that they can do to earn it or purchase it. Finally, people need to know that Jesus saves, and He saves to the utmost!
I have heard it said that inside of every human being is a God-sized hole (Pascal). Nothing but God can fill this hole. People attempt to fill it with other means of salvation, but there are none. God, and God alone, is able to save us from our hunger and thirst! God, and God alone, is the only one able to love us enough, give us enough, and save us enough to preserve our lives for eternity!
JESUS is the answer to the hunger and thirst that threatens to consume our very souls! When we put all of our hope in Jesus, we can trust Him to be everything that we need.
When we choose to “eat” the bread of life and “drink” from the cup of salvation, we are literally bathing in the Holy Spirit of God which meets all of our need according to God’s riches in glory.
When we have JESUS we have…everything!
No longer do we have to chase power, prestige, wealth, and fame because our soul’s focus becomes making the very Name of Jesus famous everywhere that we go! No longer do we hunger for relationship, companionship, and fellowship because we are aware that God will never leave us nor forsake us; and additionally, we have the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ! Finally, no longer will we starve for respect, honor, favor, or personal security, because we will know—and believe—that we are the beloved children of the Most High God, brothers and sisters to the King of Kings, and inheritors of the greatest Kingdom that ever existed this side of eternity and beyond!
Hallelujah! Come on somebody! Isn’t this wonderful good news!
Watch the news on your television, or computer, any day of the week and you will see human beings who are starving for Jesus! Better yet, look around your home, open up the door to your house, and you will see the same thing. People need JESUS!
As Christians, we are commissioned to bring them the bread of life which will satisfy their hungry souls! We are called to go to the highways and the by-ways of life and invite people to the Banquet Feast!
As we go, we ought not to be respecters of persons. We ought not to extend our invitation to the rich and not the poor, the white and not the brown, the powerful and not the powerless.
For our JESUS died that ALL may have eternal life! This simple statement means that as we take our good news message into all the world, we should share it with absolutely everyone that we meet!
There is no one who is beyond the pale of God. No matter whom they are or what they have done—or are doing—Jesus is able to save them from themselves!
No matter how much skepticism they may show for your message—our message--we must continue to show—and tell—that God loves, gave, and saves and that Jesus is the Bread of Life come down from Heaven!
Dear friends, here is what I do know. All human beings want to live forever. When we are healthy in our bodies, minds, and spirits, we are hard wired by God with a natural desire to preserve our own lives.
As we offer people JESUS, we are giving them the means by which they can experience eternal life! As we help people to put all of their hope in Him, we are meeting their very real soul’s need for spiritual food.
Jesus is the Bread of Life. Let us eat this bread and share it with others for eternity!
In the Name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
INVITATION
There may be someone who is listening today, who is hungry and thirsty in their soul. If that is you, won’t you pray with me today?
God, I am so hungry. Please give me Jesus, who is the Bread of Life. I believe that You gave Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. I believe that Jesus did not stay dead, but got up on the third day just as He promised! Won’t you please forgive me of my sin, my Lord, and fill me with the Holy Spirit? I no longer want to be hungry or thirsty. Please give me Jesus…
SPECIAL NOTE
If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!
Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!
Peace be with you and thanks for listening to GOOD NEWS LIVING with Pastor Yolanda.
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