If you have your Bibles, turn over to John chapter 6.
I'm not sure how far we'll go today because if we could make
it through the whole passage that I want to look at today, or
we may stop early. We'll just see how the Holy
Ghost wants to move and flow with it.
I do want you to know that this Friday, December the 13th, so
say Friday the 13th, it's not a scary day, people.
All right, on Friday the 13th at 6:00 PM here at Mall 2121,
Washington will be having their choir singing in the mall.
And so I'd encourage #1 if you're already shopping for
Christmas, you should shop in your own mall.
I mean, there's, there's stores available for you to purchase
some at least one gift you should get out of your own mall.
Amen. And so I encourage you to come
by, but you could also be a support to our Washington
students as they are are singing some Christmas carols during
that time. And so we encourage you to come
and be a part of that. Turn over to John chapter 6.
John chapter 6, we're going to talk about the bread today.
Amen. Let's look at this passive
scripture. We're going to break some things
up. And I want us to first look at
verse 25 and we'll go to verse 31.
And it says this. And when they found him on the
other side, say the other side of the sea, they said to him,
Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered them saying
truly, truly. I say to you.
You seek me not because of Saul signs, but because you ate of
the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which
the Son of Man will give to. You for on him the.
Father God has set his seal. Therefore they said to him, What
shall we do so that we may know that we may work the works of
God? Jesus answered and said to them,
This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has
sent. So they said to him, What then
do you do for a sign so that we may see and believe you?
What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness, as it is written. He gave them bread out of.
Heaven to eat, OK, And let's pray again.
Father, we just thank you so much for the opportunity to
receive Your Word. And Father, by receiving this
word, it can change our lives. And so, Father, we have ears to
hear today. We want ears of understanding.
As Paul prayed for the churches that he planted, he said, our
Lord, I pray that the eyes of their understanding would be
enlightened, that they may know what is the hope of your
calling. He prayed for spiritual wisdom
and insight, revelation, knowledge, conturning Scripture
so that when the light comes on, is revealed in the heart and
transforms the mind, then we can walk in light of the truth.
We can be extremely powerful people on the planet.
We can be all that you've destined us to be, even in this
life so that we can accomplish the work that you've called us
to do. So Holy Spirit, we thank you
that you're here in our presence.
We thank you for the gifts of the Spirit that have been in
operation already today. We thank you that those gifts
have been outlined in your Word and we've functioned in them.
But we also think that you're going to do the assignment.
Jesus first introduced you to his disciples, and that is you
would cause things to come to our remembrance that you've
said. You're going to teach us all
things. You're going to guide us into
all truth, and you're going to disclose things to come.
And we received the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the
gifts, the gift of ministry, the ministry gift of the apostle and
pastor in Jesus name, Amen. So they conclude this he said he
gave them bread out of heaven to eat.
Now notice this passive scripture.
The people who have come to hang out with Jesus are to have come
across the sea to Capernaum to see him is a group in the same
chapter. If you go to the beginning of
it, that was spending time hearing Jesus and.
I've been listening for listening to him for three days
and were not eating because they were listening to the words he
was preaching and that's at the time that he turns to his.
Disciples and says now listen, that what God has asked me to
give them, I'm done. But I do not want to send them
away because they've been here for three days listening to the
Word and they've not eaten anything.
So we need to feed. Them because I don't want them
to go on their journey home and faint.
And so the disciples like, wow, I mean, there's like 5000 men
here, not counting the women and children.
I'm obviously paraphrasing, but they says, you know, do you want
us to get food for them? One gospel says it would be like
200 Denarian for us to go purchase loaves of bread, bring
them back and feed everybody here.
Now, they obviously suggested that because they had finance,
Judas was in charge of the treasury and there was so much
money that they had that he would be able to pull off or
embezzle out-of-the-box, you know, without things being
noticed. OK.
And so with that being said, because again, you're not
embezzling if there's hardly anything there.
A lot of money must have been there that he was obviously
coveting it and he began to pull from it.
So the the money was there to do so, but the Lord said, that's
not where I'm going. And So what he did is he took a
boy's lunch, 5 loaves and two fish, right?
And he began to then take those loaves and, and bless them and
broke them and fed everyone that was in attendance.
Now they ate and were satisfied. Well, after they were satisfied,
you know, Jesus then goes across the sea and they.
Come after the Lord again. Now notice here the Lord says
that you didn't come seeking after me because of a son.
Because you understand that's a pretty big sign that a child's
lunch of five loaves and two fish that he can multiply and
feed 5000 men. Plus wives.
So if every man had a wife, that's another 5000.
Then if they had children, you know, now that could be anywhere
from 1:00 to 4:00 to 6:00. Whatever the case, we really
don't know. A lot of times scholars try to
equate it maybe to around 10,000.
People at least double the amount were there besides the
men. And as a result of that, that's
a pretty powerful sign. But he says you didn't come
because of the sign. He says you came because you ate
and were satisfied. In essence, they showed up
because they were thinking, if we just follow this guy, he'll
meet our daily need. And they were coming for the
natural need. But Jesus is saying to them,
there's a bread that's better than the bread you ate on that
day. You're coming just seeking me to
take care of you naturally. That was not the reason by which
I fed you. That is not the reason that I
fed you, which tells us as believers there are things the
Lord is showing us, maybe not for the reason that we are
thinking. In fact, God is not showing us
His word only so that our natural means are met.
OK, So he they end up saying, now listen, you show us a sign
because our fathers had this son that he gave them bread out of
heaven to eat. Now this comes from Deuteronomy
chapter 8 verse one and three, the real intent of why the
Father God through Moses gave bread to their fathers out of
heaven. He said all the commandments
that I'm commanding you today, you shall be careful to do that
you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which
the Father swore to give to your father's.
You shall remember, say, remember all the way which the
Lord your God has LED you in the wilderness these 40 years, that
you may hump, that He may humble you, testing you to know what
was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandment or
not. Now how did He do this test?
Verse three He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you
with manna, which you did not know, nor did your Father's know
that he might make you understand what that man does
not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that
proceeds out of the mouth of God Jesus.
In the New Testament, He has a crowd of people that he just
supernaturally fed with five loaves and two fish.
OK, they've come to him again because they're seeking just for
the natural. They miss the sign.
They just want the natural and they work for the natural.
And the, the, the test or the theme that he's trying to teach
them is that you're not supposed to be living just so your
natural means are met. I'm gonna say that again.
You're not supposed to be living because your natural means are
met. Yet how many are going through
life living just to meet their natural means?
Only, he says that was not the intent of the bread.
The intent of the bread was not to sustain you naturally,
although it did because if we went on to Deuteronomy, it says,
listen, your clothes didn't wear out, your shoes didn't wear out,
your feet didn't swell, swell. You were healthy and whole
except for the rebellious ones that died, you know, of
different issues. But the reality is, is that he
provided for them. He took care of them, but it
wasn't about sustaining them naturally.
It was about life is in the word and that your pursuit while on
the earth is not to determine how successful you can be
naturally, how far you can get ahead naturally.
That is not the point. The point is, are you living
everyday life to obey what He is saying to you, that your actual
existence, as Paul said, we live and move and have our being, is
that we are wanting to just obey the voice of our king.
What's happening in the natural in our lives is secondary.
I mean, it may not even be secondary.
It could be so far down the list in our lives of not of of
unimportance because what is super important is that my whole
existence is to obey the voice of my king.
Are you hearing what I'm saying? And so the voice of the King is
the lesson of life. I'm going to say that again.
The voice of the king is the lesson of life.
This is the goal. The goal is to become very
proficient at obeying the word of our King as He speaks to us
because life is contained within His word.
If we go on and look at verse 32 of John 6, it says this.
Then Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, it is not
Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but is my
Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven
and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, Lord,
always give us this bread. And Jesus said, I am the bread
of life. I am the bread of life.
Hallelujah. He said I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will not hunger.
Now that doesn't mean you won't feel hunger, because God is
meeting our need on a totally different level.
I said on a whole nother level. In fact, we saw in Deuteronomy,
what did he say? He said, listen, He said, I let
you go hungry and then I fed you because I'm trying to teach you.
Quit living by your stomach. Quit living by your appetites.
Quit living by your eyes. Quit living by your sight.
Quit living by your own personal success.
Quit talking to me about how I can make you blessed and how
great you can be. And you miss out, that really
your success is contained within obeying me at my word.
He said I am the bread of life, right?
He said he who comes to me will not hunger.
He who believes in me will not thirst.
But I say to you that you have seen me and do not believe.
Now this is powerful because this lets us know that miracles,
signs, and wonders are not a guarantee that it will produce a
lifelong follower. Miracle signs and wonders do not
guarantee it will produce a lifelong follower of Jesus.
Miracle signs and wonders are not what we are to pursue so
that we stay following Jesus. Miracle signs and wonders are
the testament or testimony that He always does what He says.
Hallelujah that he always does what he says.
He is the bread of life, I said. He is the bread of life.
I remember one time at when I was in the Florida National
Guard, I had a friend of mine. That I, I believe his parents
went to church, if I'm not mistaken.
He had some brothers and he himself was not following God.
Obviously, I was in church when I was in in the National Guard.
In fact, I was actually volunteered as a youth pastor in
a local body church within the community we lived in.
I worked full time in the Florida National Guard and then
when I wasn't working there, I was working full time, not for
pay, but for purpose. I was working full time for pay,
but for purpose as a youth pastor.
OK Of which Pastor Vanessa would you stand up?
Was in our first youth ministry that we had, OK.
She was not the first youth. Annie Stafford gets that credit,
but Vanessa came pretty soon after and she saw it come, which
I think we were in the little building in the back when you
came, which means then we had probably about 7:00 to 12:00
youth when she showed up. But then we ended up running
about 75 teenagers before we left to go to Rhema.
You can be seated. And so, you know, we were just
following God. I would work.
At Camp Blanding and I would do that full time and then I would
do activities with the youth. I would have to prepare for
sermons. I would serve the church, I
would help the pastor. And I'm doing all this and it
was a joy because God had called me.
I knew that my purpose would eventually get to it on a full
time level. But until then, I was just
privileged to be a part of the local body doing my fit.
Amen. And so I remember this
particular person that, you know, he knew that I was in
ministry. He knew because I would read my
Bible there. Obviously, we all got along
really well anyway, but at the end of the day, I let my light
shine before men. And so I remember we had gotten
into a discussion one time concerning the Scripture and,
you know, and he would be a little, you know, resistant,
right? Because again, it's by faith.
Well, we happened to be in a revival during the summer of 97.
And during this particular revival, a person came in that
we did not know. At all.
They were not a part of our church, but they came in and as
we were praying for them. As I I was.
Ministering that particular night, I laid hands on this
individual. And as I was, I had laid hands
on this individual. You know, they were in the
church and all of a sudden, you know, they were doing this here.
And then the next thing you know, they're doing this here.
And the next thing you know, they're doing this here and
they're waving their hand. And then they're jumping and
shouting, you know, and we're like Hallelujah, you know, I
don't know nothing. Nobody knows nothing because
this person just came in off the street, so to speak.
OK, We eventually get the testimony.
Now we happen to be recording this, not like what we have here
today, OK. Yeah.
I mean, this is like really, you know, this is Avhs time period.
Somebody only know what that is. This is when America's Funniest
videos first came out. Do you understand?
I mean this is like. Raw, unedited stuff.
And so we were having to film this and that person shot well,
we end up getting the testimony that we were in service
worshipping God and this person was driving this individual and
and on the inside. They said the Lord said you need
to go into that building and so they stopped.
He said you need to go to the service tonight because it was
during the middle of the week and so they end up coming into
the service. We'll come to find out the
gentleman. Had had a stroke and could not
move the right side of his body. We did not know that.
So they had helped them in. And so when we laid hands on God
healed them so that they could have full movement again.
Glory to God. So I said to my friend, because
he was talking about, you know, faith, and I said, let me tell
you something last night. And I told him this testimony.
I said no, I have it on video. I said, if I show you this
video, will you finally be convinced that God is real?
You know what he said to me? He said, yeah, probably not.
I said that's right, because it's not.
You're you're you're demanding evidence, but the reality is you
don't want evidence. You don't want to believe.
Are you hearing me? So never let someone bully you
into miracle signs and wonders to try to say, well, if this
happens because Jesus understood this principle, when they come
to him and say, work us a sign, show us why we would believe
what you're saying. I mean, Jesus could have said,
really, you want another sign? Did you not see the sign of the
five loaves and two fish? I mean, did you not see that?
But you know, I'm not going to sit here and entertain you.
You know, I'm not here to entertain you, so I'm telling
you what the sign is. You believe in me.
Because here's the thing, God has placed evidence of Him in
the earth today and he, what he said on this day is still being
said today. He said, He said, you have seen
and you do not believe. Do you understand?
You can see Jesus in the earth today.
How do I know this? Well, Matthew 1618, the Passion
translation, and they get it right here.
This translation is correct. It says I give you the name
Peter, a stone. And this truth of who I am will
be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church.
Well, who's who is Jesus, He's the Christ, he's the king.
That's what the church has built on.
He said I will build my church, my legislative assembly and the
power of death will not be able to overpower it.
So Jesus is going to leave a scene evidence that he exists in
the earth. It's his church in Acts chapter
2 verse 38 through 42 Peter said to them, this is on the day of
Pentecost when the church age was ushered in.
He said, repent each of you and be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sin, and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you and your
children, for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God
will call to himself. For with many other words he
solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying.
Be safe from this perverse generation.
So then those who had received the word had what had received
the word were baptized and they and that day they they there
were added about 3000 souls. They what continually,
continually, verse 42 says devoting themselves to the
apostle teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and prayer. So the minute they were born
again, they immediately started to do the legislative assembly
where they were hearing from the apostles the teachings of God,
the ministry of God. They did this on a daily basis
they continually. So when someone is truly born
again, the 1st instinct of a new believer is to assemble with
others of like precious faith. And this is the first.
Sure, there is no 123 steps to get integrated in a church.
This is your pathway to church integration.
I mean born again. You're in and you should desire
to be in, want to be in, want to be taught, want to be renewed,
want to have your mind renewed to the word of God.
Your spirit man definitely wants to get around other believers of
like minded faith and wants to grow, grow, grow just like
newborn babes. They desire the milk of the word
and you cannot show me an infant that comes out of the womb and
and never cries and turns away milk that holds itself back and
says until you give me a steak, take me to Longhorn.
I'm not eating. It doesn't happen.
No, they cry out and say give me the milk.
And every newborn believer is saying that give me the milk of
the word. Help me to grow up.
It is a sign in the earth today. There are churches everywhere.
Well, it's got there's churches everywhere because he's building
them. And in First Corinthians 12/18
it says, but now God has placed the members, each one of them in
the body and the body is the church just as he desires.
So a scene evidence of God is the church in the earth today
and there are many people. Well, I just don't.
There's the church, there is the church, and the reality is the
seeing of the church is an evidence.
But you still don't want to believe because no matter what
we see and even can experience, it never replaces.
If you're going to eat the bread of life, you have to be a person
who obeys His word. That's what you have to be.
And that's what Jesus is saying. Listen, I'm telling you right
now, if you're going to follow me, you're going to have to.
Eat of the bread of life. Are you hearing me?
So in in John 6, let's jump down to verse 41.
Now let's look what it says here.
It says therefore the Jews were grumbling about him, because he
said I am the bread that came down out of heaven, and they
were saying is not. This Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know, how does he say I have come down
out of heaven? And Jesus answered and said to
them, Do not grumble among yourself, No one can come to me
unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him
up on the last days. It is written in the prophets.
They and they shall all be taught of God.
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to
me. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
So in essence, Jesus saying now
when you get born again, you are going to want to assemble
because in order for you to be eating of the bread of life that
will never leave you hungry or thirsty because his word always
comes to pass. I said it always come.
This is the Kingdom life. If you want to have a Kingdom
life, then you're going to have to eat bread daily.
Give us this day our what daily bread.
Which means you cannot live for God not daily eating.
God never intended for you to not eat daily.
Can we go fasting for a time? Absolutely.
But you understand if most people's spiritual diets were
applied to their physical diet, they would die pretty quick of
malnutrition. Same in anyway, right?
Because again, when I eat bread, right, when I eat bread and I
try to avoid it at this time in my life.
But when I eat bread, OK, when I am a bread eater, you
understand, If I eat bread, which if I eat this kind of
bread here, then man, it definitely makes me hungry for
more. This was this was warm this
morning, all right. Oh, and here's another one.
Hallelujah. Shall I come by?
It could be like there's a restaurant in Missouri called
Lambert's where they throw rolls all over the place.
They'll want me to throw some bread.
OK, let me use it as an illustration first before I tear
it up. But.
He's the bread of life. So George, we know that I could
eat some of this bread today, but if I never go back to this
bread, then I can die. If this was my only source, if I
eat it once, it's not enough to sustain me yet.
How many are living a life where they've asked Jesus Christ to
come into their heart and save them, but they're not daily
eating and they're wanting to know why.
Where's God? How come he's not well?
God sustains if you eat of the bread of life.
If you eat of the bread of life and you know as well as I do,
you can go to some restaurants and by the time the main course
comes, you're like, can you just bring me A to go box?
Well, you're not hungry. Well, I ate so much bread
before, right? So that's how they get you.
You know, they, they, they put all that bread out there and you
devour it. Then your food comes around and
now you don't want to eat it. And then you justify yourself
for your gorging of bread. Well, this is lunch tomorrow,
but if some of you are kind of like me, you really aren't
leftover people. So it's gets in the
refrigerator. You actually do not eat it.
It gets thrown away and you basically bought a meal that you
didn't eat because you ate. All the bread first.
But is it not addicting? You know what the word of God is
addicting. Once you actually get into it
and begin to taste and see that the Lord is good.
If you would just get in the word and say this is the best
yeast roll I've ever. Had.
Now, I understand that Jesus told them that they don't have
the leaven in it when they went out.
Obviously manna was not that case.
But you understand the Kingdom of God is like a woman who put
yeast into flour. So even though yeast in some
instances of the Bible is a negative, it is also a positive
also. And the Kingdom of God is like
yeast that gets into a measure of flour that once it gets in,
it can't get out and it goes through the whole dough.
And all of you in this room, very few are like.
I don't want to have a hot, buttery yeast roll, right.
I mean, just the smell. I mean, just me pulling it out.
Had some of you. Your stomach's growling right
now because you saw it. Now who is it?
Gavin. Yeah, that's what I thought.
Gavin's like. I am hungry.
I have seen the bread and now I am hungry.
See, the word should do that for us, that it makes us hungry,
hungry for more. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
OK, I'm gonna leave this bread up here so y'all can enjoy
looking at it for a moment. All right, now here's the thing.
He said you're going to be taught.
Now, we need to get a little context here.
Look at first John chapter 2, verse 26 to 27.
Because this passage of Scripture is taken out of
context so much that I need us to go to 26 so that you
understand the context of 27. John says this in his first John
letter. He says these things I have
written to you concerning those who are trying to trying to
trying to deceive you. So verse 27, its context is
you're going to be taught by someone, but not everyone
teaching is teaching truth. So because of that, I have a
mechanism within you. Verse 27 As for you, the
anointing which you receive from Him abides in you and you have
no need for anyone to teach you. Now that doesn't mean that no
one has to teach you. What it's saying is according to
the old covenant, when you are dead and your spirit man was
dead and you had to have someone that had the anointing come upon
them to teach you, which was the prophet and a priest that was to
communicate the word of the Lord.
He's saying now you get that you have someone on the inside who
checks up to make sure what you're hearing is whether it's
truth or not. And ultimately it is only him
who's teaching you. Because the one who's anointed
to help instruct you and is hearing from God will then
confirm the Holy Ghost in you that those words are actually
true. You're not just dependent on
doing exactly what they said without questioning, because now
you have in you an anointing. So you have no need for anyone
to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you
about all things and is true and not a lie, and just as he has
taught you, you abide in him. So the anointing in you, which
is the same Holy Spirit that came upon the author of, of, of
of John who wrote this letter. And that same anointing came
upon Paul because no scripture say no scripture say no
scripture. No scripture is of anyone man's
interpretation. So John is not saying one thing
by the Holy Ghost to negate something Paul's saying no, he
is in context there. There's things you're going to
hear that is there to try to deceive you.
Good news, you have an anointing he teaches you.
And when he says that in right, you don't receive it, but when
you get under the anointing of those that God has placed in the
body, come on, y'all know where it is?
Look at Ephesians chapter 4 in Ephesians chapter 4.
And he gave some as apostles and prophets, as some as evangelists
and pastors and teachers. Why?
For the equipment of the Saints, for the work of service to the
building up of the body of Christ.
Until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God to a mature man, we're maturing to the measure of
the statute which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
What is the result of this, of this being taught and equipped
by the fivefold ministry? Which are gifts to you Now?
You don't have to open up your gifts if you don't want to on
Christmas, but they're your gifts nonetheless and you'll
never benefit from the gifts you do not open up.
But if you'll open up the gift of the apostle and open up the
gift of the prophet and open up the gift of the advances and
open up the gift of the pastor and teacher, then you can grow.
And the anointing in you will say pastor was right, the
apostle was right. The prophet discern is
communicating that right. The evangelist is right.
The teacher has line upon line, precept upon precept said that
right. Receive it, accept it, walk in
the revelation of it. OK, what's the result?
You're no longer to be children, carried here and there by waves,
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of
men, by craftiness. And what deceitful scheming did
we not just read this in first John chapter 2 for those that
are teaching you to deceive you. So the fivefold ministry.
Our teachers are ministers that communicate truths from God's
word so that you will not leave it, live a deceived life, say
Amen. But speaking the truth and love.
We are to grow up in all aspects into Him who was the head, even
Christ, from whom the whole body being fitted and held together
by what every joint supplies according to the proper working
of. Each individual part causes the
body to grow for the building up of itself in love.
And so John was saying, or Jesus is saying, listen here you are
arguing about what I say. And the religious always argues
with God. The lost who do not want him and
reject him will argue with God. Don't find yourself arguing with
the Word. Don't find yourself arguing with
the Word. Because again, if you want to
have life, you're then going to have to embrace and eat the
bread of life. I said you're going to have to
embrace and eat the bread of life.
Can I get an Amen? So he wants to teach us the word
John chapter 6. Now it will jump to verse 47
real quick. Says this truly.
I say to you, he who believes has eternal life, I am.
The bread of life. Say I'm the bread of life.
Your father ate. The manna in the wilderness.
And they died. This is the bread which comes
down out of heaven, so that you may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven.
If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.
And the bread also, which I give for the life of the world is my
flesh. Whoo, here we go.
Then the Jews began arguing with one another, saying, how can
this man give us his flesh to eat?
So Jesus said, truly, truly. I say to you, unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no
life in yourself. He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life. And I'll raise him up on the
last day. For my flesh is true food, and
my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood abides in me and I in him.
Man, you hear this. You're like this guy is in the
cannibalism and he wants you to eat him.
He says as the living father sent me, I live because of the
father. So he who eats me, he also will
live because of me. This is the bread that came out
of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died.
He who eats this bread will what?
What are you going to do? You're.
Going to live. Forever and these things he said
in the synagogue and he taught in Capernaum.
Therefore, many of the disciples, when they heard this,
said This is a difficult statement.
How can who can listen to it? And you know what?
That statement is being made by Saints still today, still today.
Because if it isn't for the death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus, if it isn't for the fact that Jesus had to sow
himself as a king in order to reap kings, that he had to lay
down his life so that you could have life and life more money.
That He had to sow Himself and take on your unrighteousness so
that He could give you His righteousness and His blood is
what is poured out on the mercy seat of heaven that takes care
of every sin you ever committed. It is the fulfillment of the
assignment and the reason you must eat of His flesh and drink
of His blood. What He is literally saying is
you must believe that I came as as God in the flesh, as the Son
of Man. I died for your sins.
I gave my life for you. I put stripes on my back for
your health and well-being. I poured out my blood for all of
your wrongdoing. And I've been raised from the
dead on the third day. And if you'll call on my name, I
will be your Lord. And when I'm your Lord, then you
can eat bread daily because the bread of life is to do the words
that I say on a daily basis. Are you hearing me?
But they're like, this is a hard saying.
You know, there's a lot of believers that are saying this
is a hard saying. They're not saying it's hard to
believe Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave.
What they are saying is that it's hard to eat the bread of
life daily. This is the problem that in
order for them to eat the bread daily, they have to be a
follower of His word. And for a lot of people, he
said, that's a hard thing to hear.
That's a hard thing to hear that I have to think about God first.
I I work. I mean, I have a job.
I have a business. I have this, I have that.
I've got bills to pay. I have.
He said wait a minute now. I need you to.
Hear my word grow in my word. Let me be.
First you seek me first. Come on.
Who wants some bread here? Gavin, you ready?
All right. Y'all want some over here, man,
It's good to be in service today, is it not?
Come on. Interception.
Oh, we got some people in the back.
Back there. All right.
Here we go. All right.
Y'all ready? Oh yes, man, I should play
quarterback or something right now.
I don't know what's happening with me.
Here you go. Big piece, big piece.
Oh, Greg's like, man, it hit me in the face.
Oh, you look at that. Eat it.
Anyways, 5 second rule, 5 second rule.
There you go. Oh, Isaac, can I get you in the
back back there? I bet I can.
Oh, come on now. Did it get on top?
Oh great. You know what we're?
Going to have a rat in there now.
Probably I have to do something about that.
Thank you. Wow, how crazy, Isaac.
You're tall. You should be.
Able to jump up there. Thank you.
Shall we try again? Isaac, guys, OK.
Oh, over there in front row people, huh.
Oh. It hit his.
Hands. I just want you to know it hit
his hands. All right, See, that was
beautiful. Just say Amen, wow, you know
this right here will be good with some of my wife's, then my
homemade soup, like tear out the inside and make it my bowl, you
know? Oh, Hallelujah, Amen.
It's a difficult thing, right? It's difficult now, many years.
Not difficult unless you're like trying to withhold yourself from
bread. But if you have no issue of it
showing up in your body, you know as well as I do you're
after it, right? Because some of you who don't
think US grain's good, and I understand why you go to the
other countries and you have no limitations because you're like,
Lord, I'm eating some bread. All right, The bread of life.
There's joy about it. And there's joy.
My wife came home the other day. She said, I bought you
something. I said you bought me something.
She goes, yeah, you got me some uncrustables.
I'm like, she got the good stuff now.
It wasn't the actual uncrustables.
So healthier version, but I was like, man, I'm really trying to
not go there. So I'm like, OK, I said we don't
have to give this stuff away because I'm going to be honest
with you, if it's in the house and it's not good to eat, I'm
eating it anyway. I'm like, we got to get rid of
this stuff. It's no good for our household.
Get it out of here. I mean, look, that's biblical.
If something offends you, cut it off.
So I try to give it away, but if it's not there, I just consume
it, work out a little bit harder and say don't do that again.
All right, let's finish this up. It's a hard thing.
Why does it become a hard thing? Hebrews 511 says it this way.
Concerning him. We have much to say and it's
hard to explain. Since you have become dull of
hearing. A dull ear does not want to eat
of the bread of life. When you start to develop a dull
ear, you're going to be like what we're fixing to read here
and that is you're going to turn away.
This is happening. You know, Jesus said I'm the
bread of life. Nothing's changing and how to
eat of him is the same. It's not changed in all these
thousands of years, OK? It's not changed really since
the creation because Adam the 1st.
Adam he was to eat of the bread of life.
And all he had to do was obey God at His word.
But the day he ate of the fruit he was not supposed to.
Then death entered in, and God was looking for someone who
would be able to obey him without blame so that He could
redeem humanity and give them the opportunity to come back in
through obedience. To his Word, God did all the
work. Our work is just.
Obeying him by faith. OK.
So if we get all the earring, then we get into this issue,
Second Timothy 4, three and three and four of the Amplified,
and we've read this, the other service in a different context,
he said. For the time will come when
people will not tolerate sound doctrine and acquire an accurate
instruction that challenges them with God's truth.
But wanting to have their ears tickled with something pleasing,
they will accumulate for themselves many teachers, one
after another, chosen to satisfy their own desires and to support
the errors they hold. And they will turn their ears
away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man
made fictions and will accept the unacceptable.
What dole hearing. Because again.
When we start to hear the bread of life speak to us.
And that's a hard and, and and I've said this, there's always a
message. I call it the one thing because
when Jesus confronted the rich young ruler who came to him and
said, what must I do? Inherit eternal life?
Good teachers said, why are you calling me good?
Only that which is good come from heaven.
And he said, just keep the commandments.
He said, I've done them since I was a child.
And Jesus didn't say, no, you haven't.
He knew he had, but he had done it on his own terms.
He was following the word based upon his way of doing, not based
upon the one who authored the word he was following.
So he tests him and says there's one thing you lack.
And all of us in our what with God will come to our one thing
meaning that which will determine whether you keep your
course and be a disciple or whether you hang your head and
develop dull hearing. And when you develop dull
hearing, it doesn't mean that you'll leave the church.
It just means you go to 1's. That support your belief all
right and so this is what Jesus was confronted with when he's
like I am the bread of. Life all y'all wanting signs but
I'm just telling you if you'll just follow what I say you taste
and see you'll find that I'm good and it's awesome.
And they kept pushing for natural.
So then he went a little bit further and he said, listen, you
got to eat my flesh and drink my blood.
And that was like, whoa, you have stepped over the line right
now and they're like, we are out of here.
OK. What's strange is the first
Timothy 41A dull of hearing person has said, but the spirit
explicitly says, and this has been one of the verses we've
used all year. That's why we've been talking
about the reigning spirit. But the spirit explicitly says
in the latter times, some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons because
they'll come to a point where the Lord saying, hey, I need you
in your life. That's a hard thing that's hard
to listen to. That's hard to listen to.
I mean, really, as a believer, can we get to a place that we're
like, you're asking too much of me now the answer should be no.
But can the Lord ask of something of you that you're
like, that's too far and we just have to be honest about these
things. We have to be honest about those
things because again, God's not here to help your natural
comfort. The gospel that we have is not
that includes prosperity, is not for you to focus on you building
the most prosperous life here. Prosperity is a byproduct of
your purpose. But with prosperity, if God
wanted you to give it all away like He did the rich young ruler
you would do it for as a disciple, Because again, if you
did, how are you going to lose? He's only going to give all of
that back to you. Good measure, press down, shaken
together and running over. But are you willing to let go?
I cannot guarantee you that all the blessings God gives you that
He won't have a saying at some point because all He's doing is
testing. Am I what you feed on daily?
Though the latter part of this scripture goes on and says it
this way. John 661 to 68 but Jesus
conscious. That his disciples grumbled
about this says, Does this cause you to stumble?
Now, we've already had the crowd leave, and from that day they
quit following him. In fact, the day that they quit
listening to the Bread of Life is when they harden their heart
enough that the religious could convince them to shout on
another day and say, crucify him.
Give us Barabbas, the very group that was fed the from the five
loaves and two fish are asking for his death.
He says, verse 60. What then if the Son of Man
ascends to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life.
The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to
you are Spirit and our life. But there are some of you who do
not believe. For Jesus knew from the
beginning who they were, and who did not believe, and who it was
who would betray Him. And he was saying For this
reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it
has been granted him of my. Father as a result.
Of this, many say many of his disciples withdrew and we're not
walking with him anymore. So Jesus said to us, 12 do you
want to go? Also, the terms of Pastor Hagen,
when I've gone to some of his meetings, he'll say, if you
don't like it, there's the door EXIT, right as he said that
because he's saying, listen, at the end of the day, if you
cannot do what the word is saying, then there's the door
EXIT. And here's Jesus, his whole
crowd, his ministry where everybody's like, look at the
crowd that is following this guy.
I mean, he's so anointed and successful in ministry and now
they're leaving him because he's preaching truth, that he turns
to his core and says there's the door as well.
But Peter, Peter says, Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have words. Of eternal life.
Wow. Is Jesus that in your life?
Is he words of eternal life to you?
This is why it's easy for me to read daily.
It's easy for me to commune because these words of like,
it's not religious. Although I create a structure
for me to be able to be and taste and see and stay under the
bread of life. It's not religious duty, it's
desire. I'm like Peter, where am I going
to go? This situation occurs.
This situation occurs, this happens.
Where am I going? To go, you have words of life.
So I conclude with this passage of Scripture.
John 15 verse 7 says. This if you abide in Me and My
words abide in you, Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for
you. My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.
Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you.
Abide in my love. How do you abide in His love?
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I
have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His
love. Jesus is the bread and if we
want true Kingdom life, then we have to understand the things of
the natural are not more important than coming to the
table daily when we're not assembling as called by God
because he's over his church. You're going to eat daily.
You're going to pull your own source of food.
You're going to go through the scripture yourself.
You're going to be meditating on things yourself, but when the
the dinner bells ringing for the family to come, well then you
find yourself here. You don't let the distractions
of the worlds and the cares of life and the things of life that
seem like they're more important when they're not.
Because your natural success and any success you have is
God-given anyway. Because what good is in a man to
gain the whole world and forfeit his soul.
But all of us who've called on the name of the Lord, we know
that the blessings, the things that we're in is by the grace of
God, is by the power of God and is by his word and us following
him that we're even in this position.
Why would I abandoned that when if I'm going to taste and see
and eat daily of his bread that I'm not doing it and I'm doing
that. And I want to encourage you,
especially on Wednesday mornings, again, for those who
can, I know not everyone can. There was a time that Wednesday
morning prayer was a lot larger than it is today.
And I know why because we just get out of a routine because
there's someone out there that is a bread stealer.
He's a bread stealer. All he wants to do is steal your
daily devotion, your time with him.
There's some things we can get in private, there's other things
we get corporately, but I encourage you come and do as
much corporate as possible because you're coming.
To the bread of life, Amen.