[0:00] We shall now read the Word of God as we find it in the Gospel according to John and chapter 6. John and chapter 6. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed him because he saw his miracles which he did on them that were to seize.
[0:25] And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, When shall we buy bread that these may eat?
[0:41] And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred penny-worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
[0:53] One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among so many?
[1:05] And Jesus made the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down, a number of about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
[1:24] When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
[1:39] Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, the prophet, that you come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
[1:57] And when he was now come, his disciples went down into the sea, and entered into a ship and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
[2:09] And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that had blew. So when they had rode about five or twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing nigh into the ship, and they were afraid.
[2:22] But he saith unto them at his side, Be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land where they went. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save the one whereunto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that the disciples were gone away alone.
[2:47] Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nine to the place where they did eat bread. After that the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.
[3:04] And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when comest thou thither? Jesus answered and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled.
[3:20] Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for whom hath God the Father sealed.
[3:32] Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto him, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
[3:44] They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee, what does thou work? Our Father stood to eat manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat.
[3:57] Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
[4:14] Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
[4:26] But I said unto you, that ye also hath seen me, and believe not. For that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
[4:38] For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
[4:53] And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
[5:08] And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
[5:23] No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me through him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.
[5:34] Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
[5:51] I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat therefore and not die.
[6:01] I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
[6:13] The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
[6:27] Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
[6:38] He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, he shall live by me.
[6:49] This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as the fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
[7:02] Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew himself that his disciples murmured, added, he said unto them, Did this offend you?
[7:14] What, and ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? It is the Spirit that quickneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.
[7:25] But there are some of you that believe known. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed known, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
[7:40] From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered to him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
[7:52] Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
[8:03] He spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word.
[8:16] We shall now sing from Psalm 22. Psalm 22 at verse 23. Praise ye the Lord, who do him fear, and glorify all ye.
[8:27] The seed of Jacob fear him all, that Israel's children be. For he despised, nor abhorred the afflicted's misery, nor from him hid his face, but heard when he to him did cry.
[8:40] We shall sing to the verse of Mark 28. Because the kingdom to the Lord doth appertain us is, likewise among the nations, the governor he is. Psalm 22, verse 23 to 28.
[8:53] To the Lord's praise. Praise ye the Lord, who do him fear, and glorify all ye. Praise ye the Lord, who do him fear, and glorify all ye.
[9:19] The seed of the kingdom, complete him all, that Israel's children be.
[9:35] For he despised, for he despised, not not a horn, the afflicted's misery, nor from him will his face appear, when he to him did cry.
[10:09] Within a congregation, my prayer shall be all thee, my prayer shall be all thee, my love, my love, or the blood that come there, shall be performed by me.
[10:46] The man shall be, and shall be given, they also pray, shall give.
[11:03] And to the Lord, that you have seen, your heart shall never do.
[11:22] O hands of the earth, remember shall, and turn the Lord unto you, our kingdom, our kingdom, the nations, to him shall promise you.
[11:55] because the kingdom to the Lord, The dark in our sins Likewise among the nations The governor of the years Seeking the Lord's help and blessing Let us turn back to the portion of scripture that we read together The Gospel according to John and chapter 6 And we'll read again at verse 48 I am that bread of life Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead
[12:57] This is the bread which cometh down from heaven That a man may eat thereof and not die I am the living bread which came down from heaven If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever And the bread that I will give is my flesh Which I will give for the life of the world This expression I am the bread of life Is one of seven similar expressions that are to be found Only in the Gospel of John The other six are I am the light of the world I am the door or the gate I am the good shepherd I am the resurrection and the life I am the way, the truth and the life And I am the true vine Now this expression I am That Jesus uses Is interesting We read in John and chapter 8 Where Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders
[13:58] Who claim that they were descendants of Abraham And he says to them If they were the children of Abraham That they would believe on him Then Jesus makes this remarkable statement Wherein he claims to have existed before Abraham For he said Before Abraham was I am In other words He is saying to them I existed before Abraham And I continue to exist After Abraham Jesus by identifying himself as the I am He is identifying himself with the way in which God Revealed himself to Moses At the burning bush in the wilderness When he commissioned him to the task Of taking the children of Israel Out of Egypt Moses asked What is your name?
[14:51] And God told him to say that I am sent you Now Jesus applies that self-same designation to himself I am the bread of life What Jesus wants the crowd to focus upon is To know who he is He is the great I am Who is from everlasting To everlasting In other words To use a Pauline phrase He is God Manifest In the flesh The expression I am The bread of life Occurs Several times In this chapter And they are to be found In one of the longest Of Jesus' reported Discussion With the Jews As you know How long this chapter Is that we read This evening Jesus describes himself
[15:52] In a very simple way Using a picture From everyday life By calling himself The bread of life He was identifying himself With what was the basic diet Of the common people In the first century Of the eastern land The immediate context Of these words Is where Jesus Had fed 5,000 people With five barley loaves And two fishes The feeding of the 5,000 men Plus women Plus children And many who Ate of the bread Had begun To follow Jesus Even when he goes To the other side Of the lake They follow him there Now John has a very Distinctive way Of writing about The miracles of Jesus For he uses The word Sign When he is talking Of the miracles For instance You will see
[16:53] That when he writes About the miracle Of Jesus Turning water Into wine At Cana of Galilee He says that it was The first Of the signs Now these signs Were given as pointers It is actually Jesus pointed to himself By the things That he was doing He was showing them Who he was A miracle Is not so much About what is done But it is meant To be To us A disclosure Of the identity Of the one Who has performed The miracle In other words They were meant To confirm Or validate Jesus As the Christ Jesus As the Messiah However As we shall see That although He performed Those signs Pointing to Who He actually was Most of the people Missed The sign Never coming To know The true identity Of Jesus So as we noted
[17:56] All the I am saints Was given Was given In a particular Context Jesus Has just fed Over Five thousand With bread And in providing This miracle Jesus in the presence Of the crowd As it were Praying out The Old Testament Which the Jews Would know So well Jesus Jesus Is playing Out An Old Testament History Which the crowd Would know Very well Just as the children Of Israel Had been provided With manna In their wilderness Journey Now Jesus Provides bread To those In the wilderness It is also Interesting that When they gathered All the fragments That remained There were twelve Baskets And there may be An indicator there To the twelve tribes Of Israel That God Fed in The wilderness But what Jesus Wants the crowd And me and you
[18:57] Tonight To focus upon Is not the fact Of the miracle Or the abundance Of the miracle But the person Who has performed The miracle He is pointing To himself It is a sign About himself Who he is The crowds As we noted Failed to understand The sign And the true identity Of who performed The miracle Yes they Did know That this was No ordinary person As we hear The response In verse 14 Then those men When they had seen The miracle That Jesus did Said this is Of our truth The prophet That should come Into the world They were convinced That he must be The prophet Of who Moses Had told them That should come Into the world Then they said Let us make him A king The truth of the matter
[19:57] Was that he was God's prophet Of whom Moses spoke And he is also God's king So why did Jesus Act in this manner In which he did To the suggestion That he was The prophet Of whom Moses spoke And the desire To make him a king Why did he depart Then into a mountain Alone What was the reasoning Behind Jesus' Departure Out into a mountain All on his own Well I think that At least part of the answer May be that Although they spoke Of him as the prophet Promised And of whom Moses spoke They failed to understand His mission Into the world And I think this is hinted at Later on in this passage As we read of the Conversations that continue To take place Between Jesus And the crowd They failed to understand That he is The bread of God
[20:57] That will give life For the world You don't Really come to understand Who he is Until you can appreciate His identity As the one who came Into this world To give his life As a ransom For many Jesus' mission Into the world Was not simply To speak God's word To exercise God's authority Both of which He did in his miracles But His mission was To give His life There are many today Who will tell you that Our main emphasis Of the gospel Should be To follow the words Of Christ To practice The sermon Of the mount To do good To show compassion And so on Now all that
[21:58] Is True We should Practice the sermon On the mount We should do good We should Show compassion We should Follow the words Of Christ All that is true However If we miss The point That his mission Into the world Was to give himself As a ransom For many To give himself As the substitute For his people To bear In his own body What they What they Deserved As sinners If we Miss that Then we have Missed his True identity As the one Who is the ransom Price To set His people Free From the slavery The bondage And what Our sins Deserve The crowd Knew he was No ordinary Persian But they Missed the sign And therefore They did not Appreciate His true Identity As the
[22:58] Saviour Of sinners The crowd Followed him To the other Side of the lake And when they Had found him On the other Side of the sea They said unto him Rabbi When comest thou Hither Jesus answered Them and said Verily Verily I say unto you You seek me Not because You saw the miracles But because You did eat Of the loaves And were Filled Jesus tells them What their True motive Was In following him Jesus had done This miracle Of multiplying The bread And satisfying Their hunger And now All they could See All they can See is Mountains of bread They haven't Understood that This was a sign For them That is Jesus Pointing a finger By the things That he was doing That he's pointing A finger To himself That he is The true Bread of life That he is The bread Of life
[23:58] That could bring Satisfaction To them Jesus has shown Before their Very eyes The very eyes Of these people This sign Of who he was And yet They have missed The sign They have missed His true identity It was An invitation For them To come And to embrace Him But all they were Interested in As they chased Him across The lake Was to get More bread You see They had missed The whole point It just goes To show us That it is Possible to To be near To Jesus And see what Jesus does And yet In a sense Not To see Jesus warns them Verse 27 He says Labour not for the Meat which perisheth But for that Meat which Endureth Into everlasting
[24:58] Life Which the Son of God Shall give Unto you For him Hath God The Father Sealed Yes it looks Good when People are Interested In Jesus But there Is more Than one Reason why You should Be interested In Jesus And Jesus Is saying To them You are Interested In me For the Wrong Reason You are Seeking Me Not because You saw The sign All you Saw was The loaves And the Fish Don't Seek for The bread That perishes But for the Bread that Endures Forever He tells The crowd Around him That they have Sort him out For food They had just Eaten of the Multiplied Bread and Fish But he Reminds them That they Should seek Everlasting Food The food That he Could provide The food That endures Into Eternal Life They responded
[26:00] By asking How can we Get that Food Where can We find This bread That you Keep telling Us That can Bring True Satisfaction The response Shows that They missed The point About the Gift Instead They thought That the Giving would Be in Response To having Earned That food In other Words They were Of the Impression That they Had to Earn This Food They were Principled Enough To see That not Just Any sort Of work Would Do What Shall We Do That we Might Work The works Of god They wanted To earn This eternal Bread This eternal Life By working The work Of god So they Asked him What is The work That they Had to Do What is The work That we Have to Do And jesus Answered The work Of god Is to Believe In him Whom God Has
[27:00] Sent To Believe In him Whom God Has Sent To Believe In jesus Christ Jesus Said in his prayer Recorded for Us in John 17 And this Is life Eternal That they Might know Thee The only True God And jesus Christ Whom Thou Has Sent And he Goes On to Say For i Have Given Unto Them The Words Which Thou Gavest Me And they Have Received Them And i Have Known Surely That i Came Out From thee And they Have Believed That Thou Did Send Me To Receive This Eternal Bread To Receive This Eternal Life To Receive The Bread That Gives Life Is To Believe In Jesus Christ Then Someone In the Crowd Asked The Side Tracking Question And Spoke Of Thou Then That We May See And Believe The What Is Thou Work Our Father Should Eat Manna In The
[28:00] Desert As It Is Written He Gave Him Bread From Heaven To Eat So In other words He's Asking Them They Are Asking Him Could He Produce A Sign Of His Authority Similar To That Of The Man In The Wilderness You See There Is No New Thing Under The Sun As It Was Then So It Is Tonight People Are Still Seeking Signs Matthew Records For Us That The Pharisees Also With Sadducees Came And Tempting Jesus That They Decired That He Would Show Them A Sign From Heaven And Jesus Answered Them And Said When It Is Evening You See It Will Be Fair Weather For The Sky Is Red And In The Morning It Will Be Foul He Hypocrites You Can Discern The Face Of The Sky But You Can But You But You Cannot Discern The Signs Of The Times A Wicked And Adulterous Generation Seeketh After A Sign And
[29:01] There Shall No Sign Be Given Unto Them But The Sign Of The Prophet Jonas And Then He Left Them And He Departed Paul Writes To The Church At Corinth And Says For The Jews Show Me Something That Shows Me You Are Real Lord If You Do This Thing That I Want Or That I Desire I Will Believe In You I Will Believe In You And I Will Follow You People Are Still Looking For Signs Asking For A Sign From God You Know That Only Denies All Of The Wonderful Evidence That He Has Given Us Of His Own Existence Of His Love And Of His Power His Love His Power Is Manifested
[30:01] To Us It Is All Expressed To Us And Yet We Fail To See And Understand Paul Writing To The Romans Says For The Invisible Things Of Him From The Creation Of The World Are Clearly Seen Being Understood By The Things That Are Made Even His Eternal Power And God So That They Are Without Excuse Because That When The New God That Glorified Him Not As God Rather Were Thankful But Became Vain In Their Imaginations And Their Foolish Hearts Were Darkened Professing Themselves To Be Wise They Became Fools On Another Occasion Jesus Says To The Rich Man In The Story Of Luke 16 And He Said No Father Abraham But If One Went Unto Them From The Dead They Will Repent And And Jesus And He Said To Him If They Hear Not Moses And The Prophets
[31:01] Neither Will They Be Persuaded The One Rose From The Dead You See People Are Still Seeking Signs And Now This Crowd That Was Here Want To See A Sign To Show As It Were The Authority Of Christ And People Are Still Seeking Those Signs And Seeking And Asking For Those Signs Denies All The Wonderful Evidence That We Have Of God's Existence Around Us In Creation And His Love And The Provision That He Has Made For Sinners In His Son Jesus Christ And Of His Power To Save To The Utter Most Jesus Here Corrects Any Misunderstanding That It Was Moses Who Provided The Manna Verily Verily I Say To You Moses Gave You Not That Bread From Heaven But
[32:01] My Father Giveth You The True Bread From Heaven He Is Instructing Them That It Was Not Moses Who Gave Them The Bread But God And Then He Gets Back To This Point Of Verse 33 For The Bread Of God Is Sea Which Cometh Down From Heaven And Giveth Life Into The World He Is Trying To Make Them Understand The Identity Of The One Who Fed Them With The Five Barley Loaves And Two Fishers If It Was God Who Fed Your Fathers In The Wilderness With A Manah Who Is It That Fed You In The Wilderness With The Five Barley Loaves And Two Fishers If It Was God Who Fed Your Fathers With Manah In The Wilderness Well Who Was It That Multiplied The Loaves And The Fishers Again The Jews Follow What He Is Saying And Asks Them To That They Would Be Given This Bread Lord Evermore
[33:02] Give Us This Bread Jesus Then Starts To Explain To Them What He Is Doing In The World And What His Mission Is He Says And The Bread That I Will Give Is My Flesh Which I Will Give For The Life Of The World His Teaching Is Offensive And Many Of Those Who Had Followed Jesus At This Point Walked Away And Didn't Walk With Him Any More The Jews Murmured At Him Because He Said I Am The Bread Which Came Down From Heaven I Suppose I Suppose This Here Is The Crisis Point Of The Whole Narrative The Turning Point Of The Whole Narrative This Is The Point That Is So Difficult For People To Overcome They Were Quite Happy To Follow Jesus As Long As They Grasped The Hope That There Was Something That They Could Do To Earn This Bread Of Life
[34:02] But When They Were Told That They Could Do Nothing To Earn It Well That Was Too Much For Them There Are At Least Three Things Here That They Had Failed To Grasp First Notice This Just As Naturally For Bread To Become A Source Of Nourishment For Us It Has To Go Through Certain Processes And For Christ To Become The Bread Of Life For Us He Had To Give His Life Over At The Cross He Had To Go To The Cross He Had To Die On The Cross He Had To Meet What With What Our Sins Deserved On The Cross In Order For Him To Become The Bread Of Life All Our Sins Both Old And New Can
[35:02] Only Be Dealt With At The Cross Of Jesus Christ On The Basis Of His Sportless Life And Death On The Basis Of Colgotha's Completed Transaction Jesus Jesus Can Lawfully Claim With All Authority He Can Claim That He Is The Bread Of Life But This They Failed To See Secondly There Is No Use In Bread Being Available Unless It Is Actually Eaten The Manna Will Not Do Any Good On The Wilderness Floor It Needs To Be Gathered It Needs To Be Taken In And It Needs To Be Consumed It Has To Enter Into The Body And You Know When We Look At Jesus Who Tells The Seer That He Is The Bread Of Life And He Is The Bread Of Life Because He Has Gone Through
[36:02] These Certain Processes Of Of The Cross Of Golgotha Where He Met With What Our It Is No Use For Us To Be Admiring That And Observing It You See The Manna And The Wilderness It Was No Use For The People There To Be Admiring It As They Saw It Lying On The Ground Or Observing It As It Was On The Ground Or Even Smelling It Or Even Touching It They Had To Eat It The Christ Gathered An Omer Every Day And Twice The Day And The Day Before The Sabbath And Omer Was About Three Pounds Of The Stuff That Was Lying On The Ground And To Be Satisfied You Need To Take And Eat The Bread And To Find Satisfaction To Find Satisfaction You Need To Take And Eat Of The Bread Of Life You
[37:03] Need To Eat Of The Bread Of Life No Use For You To Be Admiring The Life Or Observing The Work Of Christ At The Cross Of Golgotha And All His Sufferings And His Death And His Burial It's No Use For Us To Be Observing All That Unless We Become Partakers Of His Life Of His Death And You Ask Well How Can I Be A Partaker Of His Life And Of His Death Well The Only Way Is By Faith By Faith These People Here That Was In The Crowd Did Not Understand That The Only Way To Eat The Bread Of Life Was By Faith And And That That Is That Is Left For Me And You Tonight To Partake Of The Life Death Of Christ To Partake Of The Life That He Offers Us As A Bread Of Life It
[38:03] Can Only Be Taken By Faith By Faith So He Makes It Very Clear There In Verse 64 But There Are Some Of You That Don't Believe That Is The Problem You Are Called To Believe But It Is Not Something You Can Do By Your Own Decision Because We Are Spiritually Blind Dead Without Strength We Cannot Believe In Jesus In An Unaided Way Jesus Says You Need The Father To Draw You There Is Something That You Cannot Do And This Offended Them Because They Wanted To Work The Work Of God They Wanted To Be To Have A Power To Play As It Were In All This Action And In Order To Obtain Eternal Life They Wanted To Have Their Own Power To Play In That And Jesus Said
[39:03] You Have No Power To Play In It I Am The Bread Of Life And The Only Way That This Bread Will Become Beneficial For You Is By Faith By Trusting In Me You Need My Help You Need The Help Of The Father You Need The Help Of The Spirit In Order To Draw It It Is Interesting That It Was At This Point That The People Seem To Be Saying Enough Is Enough Because He Is Daring To Tell Them That There Is Something That They Could Not Do In Order To Have The Bread That Lasts Forever And Now That He Was Telling Them That They Needed God's Help Now That Just Was Enough He Was Pointing Out To Them That They Were Powerless That They Were Powerless Sinners That They Needed God's Aid
[40:03] In Order To Believe That It Was Something That They Couldn't Do In And Of Themselves That They Were Dependent Upon The Spirit That They Were Dependent Upon God And This Is Something That They Could Not Just Accept This Is A Hard Saying You See Who Can Hear It We Have Had Enough And That Is Really The Crisis Point Where I Am Brought To The Position That I Recognize That There Is Nothing I Can Do To Contribute To My Salvation And We Must Come To That Point Where We Must Recognize And Understand That There Is Nothing That We Can Do To Contribute To Our Salvation That We Don't Even Have The Power To Make The Decision I Need To Make That I Need To Make About Trusting In Jesus Christ Unless By God's Grace The Father Works In My Heart He Opens My Eyes And I Come And Trust In The Lord Jesus Christ That
[41:04] Then I Am Able To Eat And Drink And Be Satisfied Nothing In Our Hands Can We Bring Simply To The Cross We Must Cling How This Passage Ends With Perhaps Simon Peter's Greatest Hour In John's Gospel When Most People Have Gone Let Us Not Assume For A Moment That We Are In A Different Kind Of World Most People In Our World Have Gone And Rejected Jesus And Despised Jesus Because He Is Telling Them That They Are Powerless Sinners That They Haven't Got The Power That They Need Help That They Need The Help Of The Father The Help Of The Spirit And Here We Find At This Time That The Words Offended The People And Simon Peter Said To Jesus Where Else Can I Go You Alone Have The Words Of Eternal Life Where
[42:04] Am I Looking For Lasting Satisfaction What Do I See In Jesus I See The Bread Of Life Without Whom You Know You Cannot Live Do You Have Somewhere Else To Go To Find Eternal Life Listen If You Have Somewhere Else To Go To Find Eternal Life You Better Go As Quickly As You Can Run But There But There Is Nowhere Else There Is Nowhere Else Peter Was Right When He Said You Alone Have The Words Of Eternal Life I Cannot Look To My Own Doing I Cannot Look To My Own Works you alone have the words of eternal life you alone can give life eternal maybe we need an appetite for him maybe you need God to show you just how empty your life is without Christ so that you may come on the terms of his unconditional offer
[43:09] John looks into heaven and sees God's people around the throne the lamb is feeding his people and the voice from heaven says they shall hunger no more and they shall thirst no more he is the one who has brought them to that place of full satisfaction well is your life empty disappointing and frustrating do you dabble with what the world has to offer and yet you find tonight that you are not satisfied do you go back to them even when you know the emptiness that they produce so many people go back to these things to truly know life is to know Jesus Christ so many tonight are seeking meaning to their lives they say what is the meaning of life they feel a void and emptiness in their life they are trying to fill it like the prodigal son in Luke 15 with the husks that the world can offer to them but the husks don't satisfy didn't satisfy him and it doesn't satisfy you our own confession asks what is the chief end of man and it gives the answer the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever how can I glorify God and enjoy him forever the answer is
[44:36] Jesus Christ Jesus in this context teaches the crowd by reminding of the way in which God had fed his people in the wilderness bread had come to them literally from heaven and for 40 years God provided manna for his people during the wilderness journey however glorious that provision was and it was glorious it was nothing in comparison with the provision that there is now for us in Jesus Christ as the bread of life well have we discovered that without Jesus without this bread we perish this bread is absolutely necessary because Jesus is the difference between living and dying between being condemned in our sins and having eternal life and this bread is suitable for all Jesus said I am the bread of life whosoever eats will live it is able to meet needs that nothing else can meet it can give strength where nothing else can give strength and sustain where nothing else can sustain
[45:46] Paul could say that it could do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me this bread is suitable it is available for us it is within reach of us all it is not simply for other people it is available for all the manna covered the wilderness floor and God said there was enough for all the bread that has come down from heaven is suitable and available to all heaven came down to where we are in the person of the son Jesus Christ this bread is free the prophet Isaiah said wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfies not hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness incline your ear and come unto me hear and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the shew and mercies of David how many are laboring for the food that perishes but here is the food that endures here is the food that can give through life he is here for the taking having paid all that was necessary here is something that will give you real lasting satisfaction well have you come to see your need for the spread of life have you been made aware of your emptiness without
[47:30] Christ yes we are by nature blind we are deaf to spiritual things it needs the spirit of God to open our eyes that we may see to unstop our ears that we can hear to take the veil from our heart that we can understand our great need of the spread of life in other words our great need of Jesus Christ how can I have this bread you can have it and take it by faith that is entrusting and committing yourself to Jesus Christ well may you be a partaker of the bread of life and may you know the satisfaction that this bread brings into your life may the Lord bless our thoughts let us pray eternal and ever blessed Lord we give thee thanks for the revelation that thou hast made of thyself as the bread that came down from heaven the bread that is available available to us all the bread that gives life and we pray oh Lord that by thy grace that we may be all partakers of that bread by faith that we may know that we have life life eternal in Jesus Christ we ask oh Lord that thou would go before us now for the coming days and we pray that thy blessing may rest upon each and every one of us and all that we ask is in Jesus name for his sake
[49:14] Amen we shall conclude by singing in Psalm 34 at verse 17 Psalm 34 verse 17 the righteous cry unto the Lord he unto them gives ear and they are to the troubled soul by him delivered dad the Lord is ever nine to them that be of broken spirit to them he safely death afford that are and heart contrived we shall sing the whole psalm down to verse 22 that's 17 to 22 to the Lord's praise the righteous cry unto the Lord he unto them gives ear the righteous cry unto the Lord he unto them gives ear and they have all their crumpled soul by him by him he ever die the Lord the Lord is ever nine to them that be of broken spirit could here through them he sift he above the Lord the Lord that God in heart from Paul the people
[51:01] The purpose that have laid the just in number many beings, forget and let thou call them all, the Lord has set them free.
[51:31] He gave fully his poor's lucky, whatever can be full, that not so much just one of them can broken be at all.
[52:04] The purpose that have laid the just, the Lord redeemed his servant's son, and perish that in Christ.
[52:38] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and for evermore. Amen.