1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Thank you. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:49,000 I'm talking from the same thing in the passage. When we got open, we got open, we got open, we got open, we got open, we got open. I don't know if it's possible. It's possible. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:26,000 I don't know if it's possible. I'm going to open it right up, right up above the right center. We aren't going to go all the way to it. I'm going to open it right up above the right center. 4 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:34,000 We're not going to go all the way to the top. We're going to center it here on the top of the back of the green. 5 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Love it, so what Dan said is we'll get a green draw on the top. We're going to be like a union or individuality. 6 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:48,000 We're going to be going to be better. And I think we're going to break it in its form. 7 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 We're going to be like you. 8 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:47,980 Let's pray. 9 00:02:48,000 --> 00:03:17,980 Let's pray. 10 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:47,980 Let's pray. 11 00:09:38,100 --> 00:09:44,000 Are you telling that? Are you going to tell the Indiana Jones story, too? 12 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,000 Good. 13 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Yes, he did. 14 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 I've got lots of stories. 15 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:08,000 I'm actually reviving him just so I can take him out. 16 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Yeah, exactly. Okay, are you ready? Am I supposed to start? Okay. 17 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:32,000 I could say so much, but I won't. Okay, good morning. 18 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:47,000 Good morning. We are going to start our service today by reading together out of Psalm 8, and then we're going to be reading, or reading, singing the new song that we've been learning, which is also called Psalm 8. 19 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:57,000 And before we do that, I just wanted to read a little bit out of "How Does God Change Us?" by Dane Ortlund and the union with Christ. 20 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:04,000 It says, "Let your mind and heart go way down deep into the reality of your union with the living Lord Jesus Christ. 21 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:11,000 If you are in Him, you have everything you need to grow. By the Holy Spirit, you are in Him, and He is in you. 22 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:25,000 He is both your federal head and your intimate companionship. You're inexhaustibly rich, for you are one with Christ, and He is Himself inexhaustibly rich, 23 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:34,000 the heir of the universe. Submerge yourself in this truth. Let it wash over you. The divine Son, through whom all things were made, 24 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:41,000 who upholds the universe by the word of His power, the one whom you have been united, through no activity of your own, 25 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:48,000 but by the sheer and mighty grace of God. You have been enveloped in the triumphant and tender ruler of the cosmos. 26 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Therefore, nothing can touch you that does not touch Him. To get to you, every pain, every assault, 27 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:00,000 every disappointment has to go through Him. You are shielded by invincible love. 28 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:05,000 He Himself feels your anguish even more deeply than you do, because you are one with Him. 29 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:11,000 And He mediates everything hard in your life through His love for you, because you are one with Him. 30 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:18,000 Picture yourself standing in a circle with an invisible but impenetrable wall surrounding you. 31 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:23,000 It's not a circle you're in, but it's not a circle you're in. It's a person. The person. 32 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:28,000 The one before whom John fell down as he grappled with words to describe what he was looking at. 33 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:35,000 As one whose eyes were like a flame of fire, and his voice like the roar of many waters, which we read in Revelation. 34 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:42,000 The might of heaven, the power that flung the galaxy into existence, has swept you into Himself. 35 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000 And you're there to stay. 36 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:51,000 Amid the storms of your little existence, the sins and sufferings, the failures and faltering, the waveredness and wandering, 37 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000 is going to walk you right into heaven. 38 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:57,000 He is not just with you, he is in you, and you in Him. 39 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 His destiny now falls on you. 40 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:06,000 His union with you, at both the macro and micro levels, guarantees your eventual glory and rest and calm. 41 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:12,000 You may as well question gravity, as question the certainty of your union with Him, 42 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,000 and what it means for your final future. 43 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,000 So consider the darkness that remains in your life. 44 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:25,000 Our sins loom large. They seem insurmountable, but Christ and your union with Him loom larger still. 45 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,000 As far as sin in your life reaches, Christ and your union will reach further. 46 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,000 As deep as your failure goes, Christ and your union with Him go deeper still. 47 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:38,000 Rest in the knowledge that your sins and failures can never kick you out of Christ. 48 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Let an ever-deepening awareness of your union with Him strengthen your resistance to sin. 49 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,000 See it in the Bible. Ponder His tireless care for you. 50 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:51,000 You have been strengthened with the power to fight and overcome sin. 51 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Because the power that raised Jesus from the dead now resides in you. 52 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,000 Living and active. For Jesus Christ Himself resides in you. 53 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:06,000 And he goes on to quote, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 54 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Draw your strength from your oneness with Jesus. You are no longer alone, no longer isolated. 55 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:16,000 When you sin, don't give up. Let Him pick you up, put you on your feet again with fresh dignity. 56 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:21,000 He lifts your chin, looks you in the eye, and defines your existence. 57 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000 You in me, and I in you." 58 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:31,000 And so it's because of those things that we can read the Bible together and believe the words of the psalm 59 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,000 and the song that we're about to sing together. So let's go ahead and stand. 60 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:45,000 And we're going to be reading Psalm 8 verses 1 through 4, and then we're going to jump to verse 9. 61 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:53,000 And it says, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 62 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:59,000 You have set your glory above the heavens, out of the mouth of babies and infants. 63 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:06,000 You have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger. 64 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:14,000 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 65 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:20,000 what is man that you are mindful of him and the Son of Man that you care for him? 66 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:27,000 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Let's pray. 67 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,000 God, we thank you so much for the opportunity to gather here today 68 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:35,000 and to just be reminded of your strength and your power and your grace and your mercy 69 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:43,000 and how all of that is given to us, and through you we can have the hope 70 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:51,000 and the certainty of a life that we can have peace and calm in, even in the biggest storms that we go through, 71 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:59,000 and the certainty that even after this life we will forever have rest and peace and hope and never-ending joy with you. 72 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:05,000 We thank you for those that are gathered here today and watching online and the encouragement that we can all be to each other, 73 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:11,000 and we just ask that you be with our service today and allow it to glorify you. In Jesus' name, amen. 74 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:17,000 They're okay. They're fine. All right. We're going to be singing Psalm 8. 75 00:16:41,000 --> 00:17:09,000 We sing all glory and honor. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Oh, I want us to my own words. 76 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:37,000 How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. May we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done in the earth. In all the earth, you gave dominion to your children. 77 00:17:37,000 --> 00:18:05,000 And you crown them, O God, with glory and honor. So we sing without your name divine. For your greatness, O God, and your glory and honor. Oh, Lord. 78 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:33,000 For us on higher ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord. May we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done in all the earth. The earth is full of 79 00:18:33,000 --> 00:19:01,000 the glory of God. Come, make my shove. The name above all names. Creation cries out, and every knee bows. Jesus we crown. Oh, Lord our Lord. 80 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:29,000 The glory of God. Come, make my shove. The name above all names. Creation cries out, and every knee bows. Jesus we crown. Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, Lord our Lord. 81 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:57,000 Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, Lord our Lord. How awesome are your ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord our Lord. Will you see those kingdoms come? How the name will be done in all the earth. 82 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:25,000 Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, how awesome are your ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, Lord our Lord. May we see your kingdom come. Oh, Lord our Lord. May your will be done in all the earth. 83 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:53,000 In all the earth. Oh, Lord our Lord. Oh, how awesome are your ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord our Lord. May we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done in all the earth. 84 00:20:53,000 --> 00:21:01,000 In all the earth. In all the earth. 85 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:28,000 So we're going to move on to our next song, which is "Never Once." And we'll be having our prayer and share time after that. 86 00:21:48,000 --> 00:22:15,000 We're coming from this mountaintop, looking just how far we've come, knowing that for every step you were with us, kneeling on this battleground, seeing just how much you've done, knowing every victory, it's your power in us. 87 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:27,000 We're rising struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say, "Yes, our hearts can say." 88 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:42,000 Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did You leave us on our own. 89 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:49,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 90 00:22:49,000 --> 00:23:03,000 Kneeling on this battleground, seeing just how much You've done, knowing every victory, Your power in us. 91 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:10,000 Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say, 92 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Yes, our hearts can say. 93 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:30,000 Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did You leave us on our own. 94 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:40,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. You are faithful, God. 95 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:45,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 96 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:52,000 There's thousand struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say. 97 00:23:52,000 --> 00:24:06,000 Never once did we ever walk alone. Carried by Your constant grace, held within Your perfect peace. 98 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:14,000 Never once, knowing never walk alone. 99 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:22,000 Never once did we ever walk alone. 100 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:29,000 Never once did You leave us on our own. 101 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:36,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 102 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:42,000 Every step we are breathing in Your grace. 103 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:49,000 Never more we'll be breathing out Your praise. 104 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:56,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 105 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:03,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 106 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:10,000 You are faithful, God. You are faithful. 107 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,000 Alright, you may be seated. 108 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,000 Let's pray. 109 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:34,980 Let's pray. 110 00:26:35,000 --> 00:27:04,980 Let's pray. 111 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:20,000 All right, as we move into our time of communion, we're going to be singing "Behold Our God." 112 00:33:35,000 --> 00:34:01,000 Who has held the oceans in his hands? Who has numbered every grain of sand? Kings and nations tremble at his voice. All creation rises to rejoice. 113 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:27,000 Behold our God, seated on his throne. Come let us adore him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore him. 114 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:53,000 Lord, who has given counsel to the Lord? Who can question any of his words? Who can teach the one who knows all things? Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds? 115 00:34:53,000 --> 00:35:21,000 Behold our God, seated on his throne. Come let us adore him. Behold our King, nothing can compare. Come let us adore him. 116 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,000 Come let us adore him. 117 00:35:49,000 --> 00:36:17,000 Who has felt the nails upon his hands? Bearing all the guilt of sinful man. God eternal, humble to the grave. Jesus, Savior risen now to reign. 118 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:45,000 Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him. 119 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,000 Amen. 120 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:33,000 I just sang this song that calls us to fix our eyes upon the goodness of God. I want to just share with us briefly as we come around the table from Isaiah, the 40th chapter. 121 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:40,000 And as you probably know, a lot of the prophets are focused on God's judgment for people who have gone astray. 122 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:49,000 And in Isaiah 40, we hear this call to the prophet Isaiah to speak to God's people. "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. 123 00:37:49,000 --> 00:38:01,000 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 124 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:08,000 A voice cries in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord. Prepare the way of the Lord. 125 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:17,000 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain hill shall be made low, and uneven ground shall become level, and rough places become a plain. 126 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:24,000 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." 127 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:36,000 And then in verse 9, "Go up on the high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up and fear not. 128 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:49,000 In the cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 129 00:38:49,000 --> 00:39:03,000 He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom, and he will gently lead those who are young." 130 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:14,000 And you have this picture of God's judgment for sin, and you have this picture of beautiful and wonderful reconciliation. 131 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:25,000 A chapter of Scripture that points forward to us, to Jesus. You likely recognize those words, a voice cries in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord." 132 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:36,000 Exactly what John the Baptizer does. And we have this picture of God coming, gathering us together like a shepherd gathers his sheep, 133 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:42,000 carrying the lambs, dealing gently with those who are struggling, and those who are hurting. 134 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:51,000 And you have in this a beautiful picture of the Gospel. That though we deserve judgment for our sins, that Jesus comes, 135 00:39:51,000 --> 00:40:01,000 He stands in our place and He gathers us together like a flock of sheep, dealing gently with those who are broken and hurting and are oppressed. 136 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:11,000 And so as we gather this morning to celebrate the good news of the Gospel, the purpose of this meal for us is to help us see the goodness and the grace and the love of God, 137 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:18,000 to behold the sacrifice of the Son in our place for our sins. And so let's do that this morning. 138 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:25,000 We're going to pray and then we'll partake together. Father in Heaven, thank You for Jesus and for grace and for hope. 139 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:35,000 We thank You for the peace that You bring into us. We thank You that You gather us gently like a flock, that You watch over us, that You go before us. 140 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:42,000 And we thank You most of all for Jesus and His sacrifice for us. We just ask that You would be with us as we break this bread, 141 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:48,000 this bread that we would see and feel and be nourished by the sacrifice of Jesus. 142 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:55,000 That as we drink this cup, we would see this new covenant, this new way of dealing with those who are broken. 143 00:40:55,000 --> 00:41:02,000 That we would see the hope of the future that is before us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 144 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:10,000 If you would take the bread with me as Jesus did with the disciples, and He said, "Do this in remembrance of me." 145 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:22,000 And if you would take the cup with me, as Paul says in the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, 146 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:28,000 "This covenant is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 147 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:40,000 And then Paul will say this, "For as often as you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." 148 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:46,000 So we're going to do something just a little bit different. To begin our sermon this morning, we're going to be in John chapter 6, 149 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:55,000 kind of there in the middle of this very long, very rich chapter. And so we're going to start by just getting a little bit of background to this chapter. 150 00:41:55,000 --> 00:42:02,000 Filled full. 151 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:13,000 There were once 5,000 tired and hungry, and probably very grumpy, people sitting on a hillside wanting their dinner. 152 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:21,000 They'd come to hear Jesus that day. They came before breakfast, stayed all morning, all afternoon, and way past dinner. 153 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:27,000 No one had meant to be out there that long, but that's how it was, listening to Jesus, as if time didn't exist. 154 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:33,000 They would listen to Jesus for hours, and on this particular day, that's just what they did. 155 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:39,000 But they hadn't brought enough food, and they couldn't just go and buy themselves a burger and fries to go, 156 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:43,000 because, of course, they were in the middle of nowhere with no shops or restaurants. 157 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:48,000 Besides, that kind of food wasn't invented yet. What would they do? 158 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:52,000 Jesus' friends had an idea. "Let's send everyone home for dinner." 159 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:59,000 "They don't need to go," Jesus said. "You can give them something to eat." 160 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:04,000 Did Jesus want them to travel all the way to town and buy food for everyone? 161 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,000 Jesus' friends panicked. "But we don't have enough money." 162 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:13,000 "What food do you have?" Jesus asked. "Go and see." 163 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:19,000 Now, there was a little boy in the crowd. He had brought a lunch that his mother had made for him that morning. 164 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:27,000 He looked at his five loaves and two fish. It wasn't much. Well, not nearly enough for 5,000, but it was all he had. 165 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:33,000 "I have some," he said. Jesus' friends laughed when they saw his little lunch. 166 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:38,000 "That's not nearly enough," they said. But they were wrong. 167 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:45,000 Jesus knew it didn't matter how much the little boy had. God would make it enough, more than enough. 168 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:52,000 Jesus said, "Bring me what you have." And so the little boy gave Jesus his lunch. 169 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:57,000 Jesus winked at the little boy and whispered in his ear, "Botch." 170 00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:03,000 "How in the world will Jesus feed everyone with just that?" Jesus' friends said, because they thought it was impossible. 171 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:13,000 But Jesus knew the one who made all the fish in the oceans, and Jesus knew the one who in the very beginning had made everything out of nothing at all. 172 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:20,000 How hard would something like this be for someone like that? 173 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:27,000 Jesus took the little boy's lunch, looked up to heaven, and thanked his father. 174 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:31,000 Then Jesus gave the little lunch back to his friends. 175 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,000 As Jesus' friends started to hand out the food, do you know what? 176 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:41,000 It was the strangest thing. No matter how much they broke off, there was always more. 177 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:48,000 More and more and more. Enough for five thousand. 178 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,000 Everyone ate as much as they wanted. 179 00:44:52,000 --> 00:45:01,000 Second helpings, third helpings, even fourths, until they were full, and still there were leftovers. 180 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:05,000 Well, Jesus did many miracles like this. 181 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:09,000 Things people thought couldn't happen, that weren't natural. 182 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000 But it was the most natural thing in all the world. 183 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,000 It's what God had been doing from the beginning, of course. 184 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:20,000 Taking the nothing and making it everything. 185 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:23,000 Taking the emptiness and filling it up. 186 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:27,000 Taking the darkness and making it light. 187 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,000 Let's pray. 188 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:56,000 Father in heaven, we thank you that you take our emptiness and you fill it, not just with food, but with peace, in the midst of the storms of life, with the joys that come from the goodness of your grace. 189 00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,000 You give us courage in the midst of great difficulty. 190 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:24,000 This morning, as we hear the words of your Son, may you strengthen us, encourage us, call us to yourself, that you will help us to your goodness and your provision, that you would help us to move aside from being self-centered and self-focused, and that we would see your grace and the good news of the gospel. 191 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:36,000 Help us come to you, not seeking those perishable things, but that you would help us to come to see the true bread of life that is found in your Son. It's in Jesus' name we pray. 192 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:49,000 And so this miracle, the feeding of the 5,000, is immediately preceding our text this morning. And so after that feeding of the 5,000, the disciples are going to go down, they're going to get in a boat, 193 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:56,000 they're going to travel across the Sea of Galilee, and their eventual destination is the city of Capernaum. 194 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:04,000 Jesus, having ministered, I think both spiritually, physically, through healing and feeding to these group of people, 195 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:13,000 he's going to go up on a mountain, likely, for some rest and some prayer. And then in the middle of the night, as the disciples are partway into the Sea of Galilee, 196 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:21,000 he's going to kind of walk out across the water, surprise them, get into the boat with them, and the next day, which is where our text takes place, 197 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:29,000 after all of these events with the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus will be in the city of Capernaum, but not just in the city of Capernaum. 198 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:40,000 What we find from the end of this chapter, where this scene begins, at the end of this scene, it will say, "Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum." 199 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:47,000 And so, in a minute, we'll sort of dive into our text this morning, but we need to understand the setting, right? 200 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:55,000 There's a massive group of people who are very excited about Jesus. In fact, they seek to try to make him a king, and what better king could you have? 201 00:47:55,000 --> 00:48:00,000 He just spent the day healing the sick, helping the hurting, and then he feeds everybody. 202 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:06,000 What king could you have than a guy who can heal your injuries, heal your sicknesses, and feed you? 203 00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:14,000 And so, there's a very excited crowd. Jesus, understanding their excitement and understanding the wrong direction of their excitement, 204 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:18,000 will leave into the quiet of the mountain and then go with his disciples. 205 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:22,000 And the next day, you'll find him teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 206 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:27,000 So, these things happen in essentially the first century Jewish version of church. 207 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:32,000 The conversation that we are going to look at this morning is happening in church. 208 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:40,000 Now, I don't know if you've ever fed ducks or geese or been outside eating french fries when there's seagulls around. 209 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:42,000 You all know what happens, right? 210 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:49,000 The geese, if they see you have bread, if ducks see that you have bread, if seagulls see that you have food, what immediately happens? 211 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:57,000 They begin to sort of congregate, and as long as you have that or there is a promise of food, they just begin to follow you. 212 00:48:57,000 --> 00:49:06,000 And what we're going to see in this text is that's exactly what's happening, is that this group of people, like a flock of ducks, are just following Jesus, 213 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:12,000 going bread, bread, bread, bread, all sort of through the entire area. 214 00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:19,000 And so Jesus is headed out with the disciples, ends up in Capernaum, and this is going to be sort of the outline of our text. 215 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:28,000 They're going to show up at church, right, so imagine we are worshiping here, and just the door opens, and a bunch of ducks walk in, going bread, bread, bread, bread. 216 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:35,000 That would seem to be disruptful, sort of disrupting moment to our moment of study and worship. 217 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:41,000 And so they're going to come in, and they're immediately going to sort of confront Jesus, not in an angry way, but in kind of a way of going, 218 00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:47,000 "Where's the bread?" And then Jesus will explain. And then they're going to ask him another question, "Where's the bread?" And Jesus will explain. 219 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:54,000 They're going to ask him a third question. Jesus will explain. And their third question also about bread. And then, spoiler alert, 220 00:49:54,000 --> 00:50:03,000 they're going to make this statement at the end that says, "Hey, give us some bread." Right? And so this is essentially a flock of hungry ducks coming to Jesus. 221 00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:14,000 They're so hyper-focused on physical food, they miss the wonderful announcement and promises that Jesus is sharing in this text. 222 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:21,000 And what they do is something that I've done so often, like, right, just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper and deeper. 223 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:27,000 And maybe one of your friends will say, "Hey, buddy, stop digging." And you're like, "No, I can fix this by just making one more big mistake." Right? 224 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:36,000 That's essentially what's going to happen in this text. So we're going to begin this morning with just sort of giving you this scene. 225 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:43,000 It says this on the next day, verse 22, "The crowd that remained on the other side of the sea," these are the people that have been fed, 226 00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:51,000 "Saw that there had only been one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 227 00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:57,000 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread, after the Lord had given thanks. 228 00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:06,000 And so when the crowd saw Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got on the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus." 229 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:12,000 And in verse 25, they're going to find him, they're going to find him in the synagogue, and they're going to ask three questions. 230 00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:19,000 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, why did you come here?" 231 00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:27,000 And Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 232 00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:37,000 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him God the Father has set his seal." 233 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:41,000 And then they said to him, "What must we do to do the works of God?" 234 00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:46,000 And Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent." 235 00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:52,000 And so they said to him, "Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 236 00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:58,000 Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat." 237 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:08,000 And Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses that gave you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 238 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:13,000 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 239 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:16,000 And they said to him, "Give us this bread always." 240 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:23,000 And so you have these sort of three questions and one sort of statement or request or demand in the text. 241 00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:27,000 And the first question is simply this, "When did you come here?" 242 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:32,000 Now, is the crowd truly concerned about the arrival time of Jesus? 243 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:37,000 Are they asking him, "How did you get here? What time did you get here? What route did you get here?" 244 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:40,000 I don't think that's what they're truly asking. 245 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:47,000 That may be what their words are saying, but the question that is underneath those words points to bread. 246 00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:50,000 And we know this because of what Jesus says in verse 26. 247 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:58,000 "You are seeking me, you're looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves." 248 00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:06,000 In other words, Jesus is saying to them, "Your question about when I got here is not a question about the logistics of my journey." 249 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:11,000 But you're here because you want to find bread. 250 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:16,000 Your real question is, you woke up this morning and said, "Where did the bread go?" 251 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:20,000 We had bread yesterday. I woke up this morning. There's no bread. Where did it go? 252 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:24,000 Why did we wake up to not having any bread? 253 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:29,000 And at the heart of this, you begin to get a glimpse of what is at the center of the crowd's desire. 254 00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:35,000 It's not to know Jesus. It's not to follow Jesus. It's not to worship Jesus. 255 00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:40,000 What's at the center of their desire? They simply want bread. 256 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:45,000 And so their first question, although sort of worded in a way about the logistics of Jesus' travel, 257 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:47,000 is simply just, "Where did the bread go?" 258 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:53,000 Their second question, in verse 28, sounds maybe a little bit more spiritual. 259 00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:58,000 They ask Jesus, "What must we do to do the works of God?" 260 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:04,000 It sounds like they're obedient to God. Their question at first sort of gives that impression. 261 00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:09,000 What is it that we need to do out of the things that God has called us to do? 262 00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:15,000 Now the works of God is sort of a general term depicting the law of Moses or the Torah, 263 00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:22,000 those first five books of the Bible, 613 commands given by God through Moses to the people. 264 00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:27,000 And so when they're asking about the works of God, they're saying, 265 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:33,000 "What of Moses' commands are you calling us specifically to do?" 266 00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:39,000 And the reality of their question is that they're not really asking about being obedient, right? 267 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:43,000 This is once again a question about bread, right? 268 00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:50,000 The verse 27, immediately preceding this, Jesus will say, "Do not work for the food that perishes, 269 00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:56,000 but for the food that endures to eternal..." The crowd hears what Jesus says, 270 00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:59,000 where he says, "Don't work for the temporary bread, but work for the eternal bread." 271 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:05,000 And they go, "All right, tell us how to get this bread. What do we need to do?" 272 00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:12,000 This is not about obedience to God. It's looking for a way to figure out how to get some more free bread. 273 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:17,000 Essentially what they're saying is, "Give us the biblical combination to the bread safe, 274 00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:21,000 so that we can get all of the bread that we want." 275 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:25,000 And so when they're asking Jesus this question about, "What should we do?" 276 00:55:25,000 --> 00:55:32,000 Their motive is not to follow God, it's how can we manipulate God into giving us more bread. 277 00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:39,000 Essentially they're doing what we so often do as well, which is treat God essentially like a vending machine, right? 278 00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:43,000 You walk up to the vending machine, you want a drink, and you put your dollar in, or your quarters in, 279 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:49,000 and you press a button, and your drink comes out. And many of us approach the worship of God in the same way. 280 00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:54,000 We come with what we want, and we say, "Well, I'll put some worship in here, I'll put some service in there, 281 00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:58,000 I'll put some Bible reading in here, now press the button and give me what I want." 282 00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:04,000 It's an extremely manipulative, it's an extremely self-centered way of dealing with God. 283 00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:11,000 That's what they're asking. Tell us what to put in so we can get out the bread that we desire. 284 00:56:11,000 --> 00:56:17,000 It's not about obedience, it's about trying to get what they want. 285 00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:23,000 And then in verse 30 and 31 they ask another question. They'll say, "What sign do you do?" 286 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:30,000 Once again, this seems like a spiritual question. Jesus has talked about eternal bread. 287 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:35,000 He's been talked about in the very beginning of his words to them about being sent and sealed. 288 00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:41,000 That's confirmed from God. And now they're asking what seems like a reasonable question. 289 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:47,000 How do we know that you are really sent from God? How do we know that you are who you say that you are? 290 00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:52,000 How can we be sure about these claims? And it seems on the surface, 291 00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:57,000 they're seeking truth. But do you know what they're really seeking? 292 00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:01,000 I bet you can't guess, right? It's bread, right? That's what they want. 293 00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:07,000 And we know this because their immediate thing is, "Well, how can we be sure who you are?" 294 00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:10,000 We were sure of Moses, you know why? Because he can't. Right? 295 00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:15,000 Can you do what Moses did and give us bread? You see, there's sort of like a broken record. 296 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:21,000 When did you get here is not about the travels of Jesus, it's about where is the bread? 297 00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:25,000 What can we do is not about obedience to God. 298 00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:27,000 It's about how can we get some more bread? 299 00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:32,000 Prove that you are who you say you are isn't about validating the claims of Jesus. 300 00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:36,000 It's about saying, "How can I get some more bread?" 301 00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:43,000 And so Jesus will respond for their request to a sign, a sign of bread. 302 00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:50,000 And he'll say this, "For the bread of God is he, not a thing but a person, who comes down from heaven 303 00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:52,000 and gives life to the world." 304 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:56,000 Now, it's pretty clear to most of us that Jesus is talking not about a loaf of bread 305 00:57:56,000 --> 00:58:03,000 but about a physical person who satisfies the longings and the struggles and the hurts of our heart. 306 00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:07,000 And what's their response? Give us bread. Give us this bread. 307 00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:10,000 And give it to us all the time. 308 00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:14,000 And you have to wonder, after hearing their questions all focused on bread, 309 00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:19,000 their demand or request all focused on bread, if this is just really a crowd of people 310 00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:24,000 or is it like three ducks in a trench coat coming back into the back of the church going, 311 00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:29,000 "Hey, talk to us about that bread. Give us today our daily bread." 312 00:58:29,000 --> 00:58:37,000 They're so focused on the physical filling of their stomachs that they're missing the Son of God. 313 00:58:37,000 --> 00:58:40,000 And I think there's two reasons for this, right? 314 00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:42,000 First of all, they don't see their true need. 315 00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:46,000 And this is something that you and I relate to all the time, right? 316 00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:51,000 When faced with two choices where there's something we want and something that we need, 317 00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:56,000 and that thing we need may take some work or be difficult, and the thing that we want is easy, 318 00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:01,000 most of us tend toward the thing that we want, right? 319 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:07,000 Eat something healthy or eat something that's wonderfully delicious and terrible. 320 00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:12,000 Get up and work hard or sleep in a little longer, right? 321 00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,000 I was thinking about this last night. I was like, "Man, I'm really tired and I need to go to bed." 322 00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:17,000 You know what? I really want another cup of coffee. 323 00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:25,000 We tend to choose, all of us, in different ways the things that are worse for us. 324 00:59:25,000 --> 00:59:33,000 And this crowd, as they're focused on themselves, right, they're choosing what they want rather than what they need, 325 00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:36,000 and probably not consciously. 326 00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:42,000 And the reason for that is because they are incredibly or hyper-focused on themselves, right? 327 00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:48,000 Every question they ask, every statement that they make is focused on trying to get what they want, right? 328 00:59:48,000 --> 00:59:53,000 It's not about trying to understand or to see Jesus or to hear Jesus. 329 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:56,000 It's all about how do I get what I want, right? 330 00:59:56,000 --> 01:00:01,000 Not to keep going back to the birds, but if you've seen Finding Nemo and the pelicans sitting there going, 331 01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:04,000 "Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine," through the whole movement, right? 332 01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:09,000 That's what they're doing. They are so hyper-focused on themselves. 333 01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:16,000 The Son of God, who satisfies the longing of their hearts, is standing right in front of them, 334 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:19,000 and all they can see is a loaf of bread. 335 01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:23,000 They're just trying to get what they want. 336 01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:29,000 And one of the ways this becomes so evident in this chapter is that when they get ready to lead, 337 01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:32,000 when Jesus talks about how difficult this will be, 338 01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:36,000 at the end of the chapter he'll say, "Many turned back and no longer walked with him." 339 01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:40,000 In fact, except for the twelve that have followed him, 340 01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:43,000 everybody leaves Jesus at the end of this chapter. 341 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:46,000 Because it's difficult, and because it's hard, 342 01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:52,000 and because we tend to seek what is easy and comfortable rather than what is good for us. 343 01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:57,000 Right? And these two things, they're rooted in keeping ourselves at the center. 344 01:00:57,000 --> 01:01:00,000 My desire is my focus, and they are the problem. 345 01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:04,000 And what sin does, it blinds us to the reality of this world. 346 01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:08,000 And the reality that not just this is better than that, 347 01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:11,000 it keeps us from seeing our deepest need. 348 01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:17,000 And so I want to look for a moment just at the response of Jesus. 349 01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:22,000 And I want to consider his response. Before we do, I want you to consider what your response would be 350 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:27,000 if you've just spent an entire day healing, helping, serving, and feeding people, 351 01:01:27,000 --> 01:01:30,000 and they just show up at your front door in the middle of church and go, 352 01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:35,000 "Bread. I want bread. Where's the bread? Give me the bread. How do I get the bread?" 353 01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:38,000 I don't know about you, but I think I would be pretty frustrated. 354 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:43,000 I would be a little grumpy, and I would probably be a little short-tempered. 355 01:01:43,000 --> 01:01:50,000 Jesus isn't like that when we come to him, oftentimes, with our wrong ideas. 356 01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:55,000 And so what we're going to see in the response of Jesus, first of all, 357 01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:58,000 is that he's going to patiently explain, right? 358 01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:02,000 You know, "Where is the bread?" And he explains, "Where is the bread?" 359 01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:06,000 And he explains three times throughout this text. 360 01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:11,000 Jesus is dealing with people incredibly frustrating, greatly distracted. 361 01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:15,000 And in some cases, I think they're intentionally missing words of Jesus. 362 01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:21,000 And instead of anger, he just keeps explaining. 363 01:02:21,000 --> 01:02:24,000 You see, we see the heart of Jesus in this text for hungry people. 364 01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:29,000 Not hungry in a physical sense, but for people who have spent their whole life chasing. 365 01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:32,000 And everything they find doesn't satisfy. 366 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:37,000 And they're constantly seeking the next thing that will fill them up. 367 01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:39,000 And when they get it, they end up disappointed. 368 01:02:39,000 --> 01:02:44,000 And Jesus here, as he patiently explains, is saying, "Come to me. Hear me. 369 01:02:44,000 --> 01:02:49,000 I know you're hungry. And it's not just your hunger for bread. It's the hunger of your soul. 370 01:02:49,000 --> 01:02:54,000 Come to me. And I will give you something that satisfies you deeply." 371 01:02:54,000 --> 01:03:00,000 The second thing that Jesus does, first of all, he patiently explains. Secondly, he gently corrects. 372 01:03:00,000 --> 01:03:06,000 So his first two words in the beginning, as he corrects them, are just this: "Truly, truly." 373 01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:11,000 Or if you're a King James person, he'll say, "Verily, verily, I say unto you." 374 01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:17,000 Now this word translated "truly" or "verily," it's where we get our English word "amen." 375 01:03:17,000 --> 01:03:24,000 Which is just simply a transliteration, taking Greek letters, turning them into English letters, and so we get the word "amen." 376 01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:30,000 And it just simply means "truly," or "most assuredly," or "let it be so." 377 01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:36,000 And one of the reasons why we say "amen" at the end of our prayers, is we see that in Scripture. 378 01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:43,000 We get to the end of the things that we have praised God, and we will say, things we've asked God for, we'll say, "Let it be so." 379 01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:52,000 This is something that I desire, this is my approval, this is my "yes," this is truly what I desired. 380 01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:56,000 Now Jesus, here, is going to say it at the beginning. 381 01:03:56,000 --> 01:04:05,000 And it's referred to at some as the double A, 25 times in Scripture, all of them in the Gospel of John. 382 01:04:05,000 --> 01:04:12,000 And when you see these words, "truly, truly," I say to you, Jesus, first of all, it's a signal that something important is coming. 383 01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:18,000 Secondly, it's emphasizing the truth of what is being said. And the third is it's demonstrating authority. 384 01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:23,000 The heart of these words is a personal knowledge and authority about this, right? 385 01:04:23,000 --> 01:04:30,000 Not just that I heard this from someone, or I think this from someone, or this is my opinion. 386 01:04:30,000 --> 01:04:41,000 When Jesus says, "truly, truly," he says, "this is first of all important," secondly, "this is true," and third, "this is something that I deeply know and understand." 387 01:04:41,000 --> 01:04:50,000 And when Jesus uses these words in the Gospel of John, it's almost exclusively to correct. 388 01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:59,000 But not necessarily correct in an angry way, but correct in a way that leads people more deeply into a relationship with him. 389 01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:06,000 So the first place we see these is in the Gospel of John, chapter one, at the end, Nathanael comes and says, "You're the Son of God," 390 01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:14,000 and Jesus will say, "Truly, truly, I say to you," and then he'll lead Nathanael deeper into what that means. 391 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:19,000 When Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night, you'll see it several places in John, the third chapter. 392 01:05:19,000 --> 01:05:24,000 And he'll come and he'll say something to Jesus, and Jesus will say, "Truly, truly, I say to you," 393 01:05:24,000 --> 01:05:31,000 and then he's going to correct his thinking and lead him deeper into a relationship with Jesus. 394 01:05:31,000 --> 01:05:35,000 And so when you see these words in this text, it's a picture of what Jesus is doing. 395 01:05:35,000 --> 01:05:46,000 He's correcting, but not in a way to reprove or reproach upon the people, but to lead them deeper into what God has for them. 396 01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:53,000 In this case, he's using this picture of bread, but not the bread with flour and water and bacon and oven that nourishes your body, 397 01:05:53,000 --> 01:06:04,000 but he's pointing them to the thing that nourishes their soul. And so Jesus corrects them and he draws them deeper. 398 01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:11,000 Verse 27, you're looking for the temporary. Let me show you the eternal. Verse 29, "God has sent me." 399 01:06:11,000 --> 01:06:20,000 And then in this statement at the end, between verses 30 and 40, you have manna, Moses, and Jesus sort of correcting their misconception. 400 01:06:20,000 --> 01:06:25,000 They'll say, "We want manna like Moses." Jesus said, "It didn't come from Moses. It came from God." 401 01:06:25,000 --> 01:06:33,000 And through patient and gentle correction, Jesus is going to point them to the fact that he is the manna. 402 01:06:33,000 --> 01:06:40,000 In Jesus' response to these people, first of all, we see practically for us a call to humility. 403 01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:50,000 There has to be this moment in our life when we realize that maybe we don't know everything, and that we can't do everything, and that we don't understand everything. 404 01:06:50,000 --> 01:07:01,000 And it's only when we see that we are small and that God is big that we will begin to understand the wonder of what is found in Jesus' words. 405 01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:13,000 And so Jesus, as He is patient, and as He corrects, and He seeks to lead them more deeply, and He's challenging their pride, and He's calling them to humility, that we are not at the center. 406 01:07:13,000 --> 01:07:23,000 But there is also in this text this challenge to our obedience. Think about the lengths these people will go to get the bread that they had the day before, right? 407 01:07:23,000 --> 01:07:35,000 They go searching for Jesus. They hitch a ride in some boats. Some people walk around the lake all to get this physical bread. 408 01:07:35,000 --> 01:07:46,000 And what lengths should we be willing to go to hold on to the bread of life and to hear the bread of life, but not just that, but to share this bread of life with others. 409 01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:55,000 The thing that satisfies our hurts, and our brokenness, and our sorrow, and it gives us strength in our weakness, and it saves our souls. 410 01:07:55,000 --> 01:08:00,000 Jesus is saying it's so much more important than the physical bread. 411 01:08:00,000 --> 01:08:08,000 So Jesus calls us to humility. He calls us to obedience. And then, this is what I love, in these last few verses, Jesus calls us home. 412 01:08:08,000 --> 01:08:15,000 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. Whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 413 01:08:15,000 --> 01:08:24,000 But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. 414 01:08:24,000 --> 01:08:30,000 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. 415 01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:37,000 And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of what He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 416 01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:44,000 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks up to the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life. 417 01:08:44,000 --> 01:08:51,000 And I will raise Him up on the last day. You see, Jesus here is calling us home. 418 01:08:51,000 --> 01:08:55,000 You see, there's something wonderful in Jesus' words for us, right? 419 01:08:55,000 --> 01:09:09,000 In life, we find ourselves sometimes doubting. We find ourselves discouraged. We find ourselves dissatisfied. 420 01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:14,000 We've tried so many things, and everything we've tried has ended up empty. 421 01:09:14,000 --> 01:09:25,000 We've become discouraged. Nothing will work. And we come doubting, going, I don't think, not only has nothing worked, but I don't think anything else will work. 422 01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:34,000 And we come to this, in our experience, I don't know about yours, but in mine, there are great promises in this world, and they almost universally disappoint us. 423 01:09:34,000 --> 01:09:39,000 And not only do they disappoint us, but they leave us broken and hurting, right? 424 01:09:39,000 --> 01:09:48,000 We've been deceived so many times. It would be like looking at a caramel apple and biting into it, only to realize that it's a caramel onion. 425 01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:56,000 We've been burned. We've been hurt. We've been betrayed. We've been broken. We are dissatisfied. We're discouraged, and we're doubting. 426 01:09:56,000 --> 01:10:03,000 And here Jesus calls us home. And maybe you're trying to fix it. Maybe you're at the point where you say it's not fixed. 427 01:10:03,000 --> 01:10:08,000 It's not fixable. It's what we have been seeking since the garden. 428 01:10:08,000 --> 01:10:16,000 When God says to Adam and Eve that no longer will you eat the fruit of the garden, but you're going to have to toil for this bread. 429 01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:24,000 And it's not just for our physical bread. We've been toiling to satisfy the hunger of our souls. 430 01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:32,000 We must find a place where our needs are met, our souls are cared for, and to be able to be known without having to hide. 431 01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:39,000 And we can't do that. That's what Jesus is saying when He offers the bread of life. 432 01:10:39,000 --> 01:10:49,000 He's saying, "That thing that you have tried all of your life, and you have failed all of your life, and you become broken and hurting and discouraged, I have what you need." 433 01:10:49,000 --> 01:11:01,000 In these verses, Jesus is extending an invitation. And it's not a complex unlock some kind of padlock or unlock a safe to get some bread like the crowds wanted to. 434 01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:12,000 It's simple. Jesus simply says this, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger. Whoever believes in Me shall not thirst." 435 01:11:12,000 --> 01:11:26,000 It's repeated in verse 37, and a little differently in verse 40. Jesus' invitation is to come. And in this text, and in this welcome, I love this picture because if you would picture this text as a door. 436 01:11:26,000 --> 01:11:41,000 Right? There's two parts, and put them together, it's a wonderful picture. You have this door, and you are outside of this door, and you are broken, and hurting, and discouraged, and dissatisfied, and everything seems to be going wrong, right? 437 01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:49,000 And we come to this door, and we look above this door, and written on it says, "Come, you who are hungry. Come in. Come see Jesus." 438 01:11:49,000 --> 01:11:55,000 Right? We don't make this door. We don't have to unlock the door. In fact, we don't even have to open the door, 439 01:11:55,000 --> 01:12:01,000 because Jesus is standing there going, "You're hungry. Come in." 440 01:12:01,000 --> 01:12:09,000 That's the first part of this welcome, is the open door with Jesus saying, "Come. You're hungry. You're thirsty. Come to me." 441 01:12:09,000 --> 01:12:14,000 And so as we go through this door, maybe we look backward over our shoulder. 442 01:12:14,000 --> 01:12:20,000 And outside of the door, where we just came from, there is this welcome, and this call for the hungry and thirsty traveler. 443 01:12:20,000 --> 01:12:28,000 And as we come through this door, and we step and we look back at what's written over the inside of the door, we find this. 444 01:12:28,000 --> 01:12:34,000 "All the Father gives us will come to me, and whoever comes I will never cast out. 445 01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:38,000 I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. 446 01:12:38,000 --> 01:12:45,000 And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should lose nothing of what he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 447 01:12:45,000 --> 01:12:53,000 This is the will of my Father. Everyone who looks on the Son, believes in him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." 448 01:12:53,000 --> 01:13:01,000 On the outside of this door, we see welcome, and on the inside, we see God's will, his plan, his purpose, and his power. 449 01:13:01,000 --> 01:13:10,000 And this assurance that he will never let us go. And it's powerful. And it fills our soul. 450 01:13:10,000 --> 01:13:17,000 Because in the heart of those truths about God's will, and God's plan, and God's power, 451 01:13:17,000 --> 01:13:25,000 is this picture that despite all of our brokenness, God loves us, he wants us, and he has come to save us. 452 01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:32,000 You have this wonderful earthly picture throughout this text, that brings us to a wonderfully heavenly picture. 453 01:13:32,000 --> 01:13:39,000 And we have this picture where Jesus invites us in, and as we come in, we see that this has been the purpose, 454 01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:48,000 and the plan, and the will of God for his people. And so as we consider the bread, as we consider what God has 455 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:57,000 called hungry and weary people to, we hear him call us to humility. We hear him call us to obedience, and we hear him 456 01:13:57,000 --> 01:14:08,000 call us home. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus, and for grace, and for hope, for the peace that comes 457 01:14:08,000 --> 01:14:15,000 in finding our salvation in you. I just ask that you would help us to set aside our self-centeredness, that you would 458 01:14:15,000 --> 01:14:22,000 help us to depend on your strength, that you would help us to follow you, and that you would help us to share this 459 01:14:22,000 --> 01:14:26,000 message with the world. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 460 01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:35,000 We are going to stand and sing, all who are thirsty, and then Greg's going to come with some announcements for us. 461 01:14:37,000 --> 01:14:44,000 Can you turn it up? Just go. 462 01:14:44,000 --> 01:15:06,000 Oh, who are thirsty? Oh, who are weak? Come to you, the fountain. Dip your heart in the stream of life. Let the pain and the sorrow 463 01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:35,000 be washed away in the waves of His mercy as deep cries out too deep. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come, Lord Jesus, come. 464 01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:40,000 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 465 01:15:40,000 --> 01:16:00,000 As deep cries out too deep. As deep cries out too deep. As deep cries out too deep. 466 01:16:00,000 --> 01:16:29,000 Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, come. 467 01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:36,000 Holy Spirit, come. 468 01:16:58,000 --> 01:17:18,000 It took me a while to get up here. I was holding a baby, so you can't jostle them too much. 469 01:17:18,000 --> 01:17:27,000 Wednesday night announcements. Wednesday nights we're going through James, and you think you might know a lot about some of the 470 01:17:27,000 --> 01:17:37,000 books of the Bible, but lo and behold, I learned a lot. And from discussion with Neil and Dave, just listening, you learn a lot. 471 01:17:37,000 --> 01:17:46,000 So all of that is very well. It's seven o'clock every Wednesday, and we're still going through some of the book of James. 472 01:17:46,000 --> 01:17:56,000 As also an announcement, as we know, Debbie is going in to have her knee surgery. She takes care of the building. 473 01:17:56,000 --> 01:18:06,000 So we're looking for anybody who is willing to volunteer to help clean up the building while she is recovering. 474 01:18:06,000 --> 01:18:12,000 If you're willing to have to do a little something, doesn't matter what it might be. Everything's helpful. 475 01:18:12,000 --> 01:18:24,000 Please see Rachel and/or Brandon. And a little bit of problem that we had a couple of weeks ago. We had the dinner. 476 01:18:24,000 --> 01:18:34,000 I never got there. I woke up with a 101 fever. I said, "I'm not taking that in there." So I knew there were plans to do another one. 477 01:18:34,000 --> 01:18:43,000 Let's do it quickly so I can be involved. That's a little selfish, but that's just the way that is, you know. That's what I wanted. 478 01:18:43,000 --> 01:18:49,000 All right. We are, if you've ever looked into the fellowship room, the video room, whatever you want to call it downstairs, 479 01:18:49,000 --> 01:18:58,000 the problem we had with water is quite unique, and those boards are coming up, and we're going to be ripping them out of there 480 01:18:58,000 --> 01:19:08,000 and replacing them. So volunteers for that. If you're Mr. or Mrs. Destructo, come on and get some destruction going on 481 01:19:08,000 --> 01:19:18,000 because we're going to need some help. If you can't, for one reason or the other, a donation, because it's not 482 01:19:18,000 --> 01:19:27,000 inexpensive to buy the necessary product to put it on the floor and down the hall. We're going to change everything down there. 483 01:19:27,000 --> 01:19:37,000 So that's coming up. And on the site, if you wish to, there's some giving information out there. You can go to the site, 484 01:19:37,000 --> 01:19:43,000 know the category for it. Any other announcements that I have not mentioned here this morning? 485 01:19:47,000 --> 01:19:56,000 All right. If not, then let's start to dismiss by going to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning. 486 01:19:56,000 --> 01:20:03,000 We are so thankful that you've given us life and health, that we can be here to go through a portion of your word. 487 01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:10,000 Your word is so precious, and sometimes we have in our heads that I've heard that so many times before. 488 01:20:10,000 --> 01:20:20,000 But you can always open our minds, open our hearts, and we will learn more than what we thought we ever knew. 489 01:20:20,000 --> 01:20:27,000 And Father, that is the wonderful thing about your word. The more we read it, the more we get from it. 490 01:20:27,000 --> 01:20:34,000 And Father, we thank you for writing everything down for us to use in our daily lives. 491 01:20:34,000 --> 01:20:41,000 And Father, as we dismiss this morning, and we leave this place, we leave wherever we might be, 492 01:20:41,000 --> 01:20:47,000 we know we're going into a world that, for the most part, despises you in many cases. 493 01:20:47,000 --> 01:20:56,000 And Father, that also puts them looking at us with a little bit of spite. Maybe a lot. 494 01:20:56,000 --> 01:21:05,000 But Father, give us the strength that we need to go into the world and continue to preach your word, 495 01:21:05,000 --> 01:21:12,000 tell the good news of the gospel, and that, Father, that no matter what the outcome might be, 496 01:21:12,000 --> 01:21:20,000 we have done what you've asked us to do, which is to spread your word, strengthen us, give us fearlessness, 497 01:21:20,000 --> 01:21:23,000 that we can go into the world and do just that. 498 01:21:23,000 --> 01:21:27,000 As we leave this place, we would ask a blessing on each and every one, 499 01:21:27,000 --> 01:21:33,000 that, Father, we would have safe passage to wherever our next destination might be. 500 01:21:33,000 --> 01:21:38,000 Guide us in all that we think, do, and say. These things we do ask, 501 01:21:38,000 --> 01:21:44,000 and we give thanks in Jesus' holy and precious name. Amen. 502 01:21:44,000 --> 01:21:49,000 I want to read just a verse of 2 Corinthians chapter 13. It says, 503 01:21:49,000 --> 01:22:05,000 "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." 504 01:22:05,000 --> 01:22:06,000 Yes, sir. 505 01:22:06,000 --> 01:22:15,000 After we've seen the Doctology, we're going to get some folks to gather around Debbie so we can pray for her. We'll work at surgery tomorrow. We'd like to do that. 506 01:22:15,000 --> 01:22:25,000 All right. So we will gather around Debbie and pray for her surgery to go well and healing to be quick because I don't want to clean the building. I'm sorry. 507 01:22:25,000 --> 01:22:30,000 That's just how it is. All right. So as we sing the Doctology. 508 01:22:40,000 --> 01:23:01,000 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures he loath. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 509 01:23:07,000 --> 01:23:08,000 Thank you so much. 510 01:23:08,000 --> 01:23:10,000 Thank you. 511 01:23:08,000 --> 01:23:09,000 Thank you. 512 01:23:09,000 --> 01:23:10,000 Thank you. 513 01:23:25,000 --> 01:23:26,000 All right. 514 01:23:26,000 --> 01:23:32,000 Let's just gather around real quick, and we're going to pray for Debbie. 515 01:23:32,000 --> 01:23:35,000 So, I'll go ahead and pray. 516 01:23:35,000 --> 01:23:39,000 Anybody else who would like to pray, you're welcome to do that. 517 01:23:39,000 --> 01:23:43,000 Let's do a couple minutes and then close it out or however long. 518 01:23:43,000 --> 01:23:45,000 So, let's go ahead and pray. 519 01:23:45,000 --> 01:23:48,000 Father in heaven, I just ask that you take care of Debbie. 520 01:23:48,000 --> 01:23:54,000 I know this has been something she has been wanting for a long time, and so we just ask that things would go smoothly, 521 01:23:54,000 --> 01:23:58,000 that you would give her peace, that you would give her a reason. 522 01:23:58,000 --> 01:24:05,000 We thank you for how you provided for her. We thank you for how you cared for her, and so we just ask for healing. 523 01:24:05,000 --> 01:24:11,000 We ask for peace. We ask for strength. We thank you for your people and for your church who are praying. 524 01:24:28,000 --> 01:24:34,000 We thank you for your life, and thank you for your work, our colleagues, and students. 525 01:24:34,000 --> 01:24:43,000 Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy that we're working on a lot of the coming evening. 526 01:24:43,000 --> 01:24:51,000 I hope that's very similar. We thank you for the opportunities we have to get to meet, 527 01:24:51,000 --> 01:24:58,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world, 528 01:24:58,000 --> 01:25:01,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world, 529 01:25:01,000 --> 01:25:06,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world, 530 01:25:11,000 --> 01:25:16,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 531 01:25:16,000 --> 01:25:22,000 And we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 532 01:25:22,000 --> 01:25:27,000 Thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 533 01:25:27,000 --> 01:25:30,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world, 534 01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:33,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 535 01:25:33,000 --> 01:25:36,000 And we thank you for the opportunity to be able to be able to take care of the world. 536 01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:38,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world, 537 01:25:38,000 --> 01:25:41,000 and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 538 01:25:41,000 --> 01:25:44,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 539 01:25:44,000 --> 01:25:46,000 And we thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 540 01:25:46,000 --> 01:25:47,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 541 01:25:47,000 --> 01:25:48,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 542 01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:49,000 We thank you for the opportunity to be able to take care of the world. 543 01:25:59,000 --> 01:26:08,000 I would like to thank you for talking about modern medicine and the spiritual healing of this natural medicine. 544 01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:10,620 I would like to thank you for being with you tomorrow. 545 01:26:10,620 --> 01:26:12,080 I love you, Lord. 546 01:26:12,080 --> 01:26:13,940 I would like to thank you for talking to you. 547 01:26:29,000 --> 01:26:30,000 I think it's happy. 548 01:26:30,000 --> 01:26:33,000 Did they give you a lot of fire? 549 01:26:33,000 --> 01:26:42,000 . 550 01:26:42,000 --> 01:26:44,000 Are you ready? 551 01:26:44,000 --> 01:26:49,000 . 552 01:26:49,000 --> 01:26:54,000 . 553 01:26:54,000 --> 01:26:55,000 . 554 01:26:56,000 --> 01:27:10,140 Oh, yeah, we have a team, but they forgot it at home. 555 01:27:10,140 --> 01:27:12,500 So they'll bring it in. 556 01:27:12,500 --> 01:27:13,840 You're not going to bring it in tomorrow. 557 01:27:13,840 --> 01:27:23,600 Yeah, I knew we had some, and we needed it. 558 01:27:24,800 --> 01:27:27,100 What are you buying a turkey? 559 01:27:27,100 --> 01:27:29,160 I'm going to bring it in. 560 01:27:29,160 --> 01:27:30,160 I'm going to bring it in. 561 01:27:30,160 --> 01:27:31,100 I'm going to bring it in.