Heaven’s Food For Your Hungry Soul

As I read the Word of God, you follow along with your eyes. Remember, this is God's very own Word.

It is inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and it is sufficient for you and for me today.

Let's read.

After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him,

Jesus said to Philip,

Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

Philip answered him,

Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon's brother, said to him,

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?

Jesus said,

Have the people sit down.

Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given things, he distributed them to those who were seated.

So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples,

Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten them.

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said,

This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.

Verse 15,

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.

It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat.

And they were frightened.

But he said to them,

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Verse 22,

On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there,

and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread and after the Lord had given thanks.

So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him,

Rabbi, when did you come here?

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.

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

For on him God the Father has set his seal.

Then they said to him,

What must we do to be doing the works of God?

Jesus answered them,

This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent.

So they said to him,

Then what sign do you do that we may see or believe you?

What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written.

He gave them bread from heaven.

Verse 32.

Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven,

but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

They said to him,

Sir, give us this bread always.

Jesus said to them,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger,

and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

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.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will,

but the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me,

that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,

but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father,

that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life.

And I will raise him up on the last day.

This is the word of God.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Well, let's pray.

As we sung a moment ago,

Speak, O Lord, as we come to you,

to receive the food of your holy word.

Take your truth,

plant it deep in us,

shape and fashion us in your likeness.

May now through the sermon,

May the light of Christ be seen by everyone here today who has an ear to hear.

Amen.

Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the message for today is the best news I can bring to you for the new year.

There is food from heaven for your hungry soul.

Look at verse 35.

Jesus says,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

And whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

So my proposition for us today is exactly that.

Your soul will hunger until you feast on Christ.

We see in this chapter,

our Lord moving mightily upon the earth.

And then he moves mightily over the waters.

He takes a little boy's Lunchable and he distributes it to feed a multitude,

20 to 25,000 people.

If there are 5,000 men,

20 to 25,000 people as they follow him and his disciples along the bank of the Sea of Galilee.

Your creator knows what your soul needs to live.

He made you.

He knows.

And he built you with a hunger in your soul that only he can satisfy.

So I want to show you today two things.

Number one,

the manner in which you must come to Christ.

There's a certain manner in which those who come to him get fed.

And then secondly,

number two,

the means by which you feast on Christ.

We see these two things in this passage.

So first,

the manner in which you come to Christ.

How do you go to Christ?

Well,

first you go to Christ with a hungry soul.

That's simple truth.

It was those that came hungry that Christ fed.

There were probably others that stayed back in the city.

They had plenty.

Their souls were not hungry and they did not get fed by the Lord Jesus.

They did not get to be a participant in the great work he was doing.

New creation work.

And I need you to get the setting in your mind.

If you can travel to Jerusalem in your imagination.

So here's this sea.

They call it a sea because they're a desert people.

They're not used to much water.

The great sea is the Mediterranean.

This sea we see in verses one,

two,

three,

and four.

This is the sea of Galilee.

And the big city on the west side of the seam is Tiberias.

Now I'm going to give you some context here that will be significant.

I believe for what Christ teaches.

Tiberias was a new city.

It wasn't founded and didn't begin being constructed until about the year 20 AD.

So Christ during his lifetime would have seen the city of Tiberias being built up.

The emperor of Rome at the time was named Tiberias.

The Roman Empire dominates this region.

And they put a puppet,

a vassal king over the region in the north of Galilee.

And it was no longer Herod the Great.

Herod the Great was truly great.

I mean,

what he did with architecture and aqueducts,

he created a mini Rome inside this Galilean region.

Herod the Great was incredible.

He was twisted and cruel and killed his own family,

but he was a pretty good dictator.

Now there are other dictators that were lesser.

And so his son was Herod Agrippa.

Herod Agrippa was a fool.

And it was Herod Agrippa who started this city of Tiberias.

Herod Agrippa is important at this time,

even though John here doesn't go into detail.

Herod Agrippa was throwing a feast for the wealthy and for the elite.

And at his feast,

there was drunkenness,

debauchery,

and a teenage girl practicing sensual dancing.

And because John the Baptizer accused Herod Agrippa of his sin,

of taking his brother's wife,

Herod Agrippa has John the Baptist beheaded.

It's that same Herod Agrippa who built this city of Tiberias.

Jesus is traveling in this region.

And so that's our setting.

Now notice we see in our context,

verse 3,

we're told Jesus went up a mountain.

Well,

there are no mountains in this area.

Verse 3,

we read that they were preparing for the Passover.

Well,

the Passover happens in the spring.

That's when we celebrate Easter now.

And so we know that in the springtime,

the waters of the Sea of Galilee,

which was also now changed the name to Sea of Tiberias,

the waters in the springtime recede.

And it leaves a silt plain

where fertile grass will grow on a wide area right next to the sea.

And then climbing up of that,

the bank coming out of the lake

is what you could call a mountain.

So as Jesus and his disciples are in this region,

we get from the other gospels

what else they had been doing.

In Matthew,

we're told that Jesus had just sent his disciples out

on a ministry mission.

He sent them out proclaiming the gospel.

And by his power,

they were performing miracles as well.

Well,

with every disciple that went out,

a group came back following them

and spreading the word to others.

We read in Luke that even as the crowd was following him,

Jesus was performing miracles,

healing and,

you know,

taking care of these sick,

lame and infirm people.

Now,

remember,

this is ancient Israel under the Roman Empire.

And it's about a thousand,

eight hundred years before medical diagnoses existed

or psychological issues

and all kinds of ways in which the human body is broken.

They had no way to be cured of that.

They would die early.

Children were infant mortality,

it was extremely high.

So all those different types of infirmities,

you can imagine this vast multitude

following the disciples in Christ.

It's their only hope.

And these would be the poor.

While here at Agrippa's over here,

having this luxurious feast,

lavishing his wealth on his little inner circle,

the poor,

they're just living a subsistence life.

I mean,

to have a little bit of protein

and a little bit of carbs

to get them enough energy for tomorrow

is all that they really can hope for.

Can you picture that scene on the side of the lake?

Now,

what's the manner in which you go to Christ?

You go to Christ hungry.

These people were hungry physically.

They were also desperate for someone

to reverse this broken system.

Could there be hope beyond my next meal?

And you see,

with the Passover approaching,

these are Jews.

What would they be thinking about with the Passover?

They would be preparing themselves

for a reminder

that we serve a God who will deliver us.

And it's not Egypt any longer.

It's Rome.

And we need a second Moses figure.

And you see the,

how John is painting with these broad strokes

with the scene,

the crowd needing deliverance,

thinking about the Passover.

Jesus goes up a mountain,

we can call it,

and he's teaching them.

In fact,

we read in Mark chapter six,

the same account,

right before he feeds the multitude.

Jesus said to them,

to the disciples,

come away by yourselves to a desolate place

and rest a while.

Jesus was physically tired.

The disciples were tired.

They needed a break.

And for many,

we're coming along and going

and the disciples and Jesus

had no leisure even to eat,

we read in Mark.

And they went away in the boat

to a desolate place by themselves.

Now,

many saw them going and recognized them.

And they ran there on foot

from all the towns

and got ahead of them.

And when they went ashore,

they saw a great cloud,

crowd.

The disciples and Jesus

saw this great crowd coming.

And Jesus had compassion on them.

We read from Mark six.

Because why?

Why did Jesus have compassion

over this multitude?

Because they were like sheep

without a shepherd.

So Jesus begins to feed them,

to look over their souls.

We read in Mark

that he began to teach them

many things.

You know,

when Jesus gave

what's called the sermon

on the mount,

a great multitude gathered.

He went up on a mountain

and sat down.

It's the same language.

Jesus is

the true and greater Moses.

He is the second lawgiver.

He's coming to

declare

the new kingdom of God.

That God is now

inaugurating spiritually.

And what was it

that Jesus proclaimed

in the sermon on the mount?

Matthew 5, 6.

You're blessed,

he said.

Blessed are those

who hunger

and thirst

for righteousness,

for they

shall be

satisfied.

That's what Jesus

is teaching.

Will he be good

to his word?

Will he satisfy them

if they come to him

hungry?

Jesus said

in verse 26

of our text,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

you are seeking me

not because you saw signs,

but because you ate

your fill of the loaves.

So even as they

continued to follow him

along the coast

of the lake,

they were seeking Christ

with hungry eyes.

They wanted to see signs.

And with hungry stomachs,

they needed food again

the next day.

Just keep following him

around.

He'll provide.

And Jesus

calls true believers

to hunger for him

with your soul.

That's the first way

in which you

come to Christ

is with a hungry

soul.

The second way

you go to Christ

is confessing

your need

of his provision.

We learn this lesson

from a dialogue

between Jesus

and one of his disciples

named Philip.

Look at verse 7.

Picture Jesus

and the disciples.

They're tired.

They're fatigued.

And they had not

had anything

to eat themselves.

We just read.

So he sits there

in the bank

and he looks

at the disciples.

And now we know

his heart is to have

compassion

for the multitude.

And he's fed them

and taught them.

But now he turns

to the disciples

and he asks them,

how are we going

to feed these people?

And Philip says,

we couldn't even do that

with 200 denarii.

How much is that?

If we convert

that currency,

it's one year's wages

for a skilled worker.

And he says,

even then,

they'll just barely

have enough to eat.

We cannot do that,

he says.

Well,

Jesus brought Philip

to confess

his need

for Christ to provide.

See,

he wanted him

to put in his words

what would be very obvious

to everyone else.

Because when Christ

did provide

and multiply the food

and nourish this crowd,

he didn't want Philip

or anyone else

to forget

that they could not

do it on their own.

On their own,

they had a deficit.

They had more than nothing.

They had starving themselves.

They were hungry.

They didn't have enough

for themselves,

much less anything

to give to others.

One ancient commentator,

Chrysostom,

said the reason

he has this dialogue

with Philip

is to drive away

the memory

that he had confessed

so that Philip

could never say,

I forgot that I actually

confessed that to you.

And he would learn

by contrast

the greatness

of the miracle.

Think about it like this.

Jesus has compassion.

He knows these sheep

need food.

They need a shepherd.

And if these are like

the spiritual children

that many will believe in him,

they will be adopted.

He knows the love

of the father.

And he knows the father

wants to nourish his children,

these babies in the faith.

But he will not pour

his father's milk

into cups

unless those cups

are empty.

If those cups

are full of everything else,

then they can't take

the milk that he's going

to provide

from the loving father.

So Philip confesses,

we can't provide.

God must do it.

My encouragement to you

is the same.

Maybe you're feeling

your soul is empty.

your soul is depleted

and it's in need.

That is a blessing.

Blessed are those

who hunger.

You will be satisfied.

If Christ has caused

your soul to hunger,

it's because he is

preparing you

to receive

his provision.

But first,

you must come

to the end

of yourself.

And you must do

like Philip.

You must confess

your deficit

that you need

the provision

of God.

That's really

the simplest

way to explain

what is saving faith.

John Calvin

described faith

like this.

Faith

is a poor beggar's

empty hand

outstretched to God.

That's what faith is.

You don't bring

anything to God

except for your

empty beggar's hand

hungry for him

to provide.

So you must come

to Christ

with a hungry soul.

You must come

to Christ

confessing your need

of his provision.

And number three,

you go to Christ

with faith

in his power

to provide.

Why would you

go to him

if you don't trust

that he will

meet your every need?

Look at verse nine.

They say,

there is a boy here

who has five

barley loaves.

Now the word

loaves,

in Greek

it's arpos.

It's really

a barley wafer.

So you can picture

like a little

barley cracker

that's not going

to perish.

You could carry

it with you

for several days

and it would

still be a good

way to get

some carbs.

And the two fish

most likely

are sardines.

On the lake

of Galilee,

the Sea of Tiberias,

just north of

Tiberias,

is a town,

you can search

it now on your

map.

It's a town

called Migdala

and that's

where Mary Magdalene

is from.

And that city

imported salt

from the Mediterranean

Sea and they

would take

all the fish

that were fished

out of the

lake of Tiberias

or the lake

of Galilee

and they would

stack it

with layers

of salt

and it would

drain out

the moisture

out of the fish

and it would

preserve it

kind of like

beef jerky,

like dried fish.

And even today,

half of all the fish

that is fished

out of the

same Sea of Galilee

is sardines.

And so picture a boy,

it's exactly a lunchable.

It's five little

barley crackers

and two little

dried fish.

That's all he's got.

So the disciples,

I mean,

I'm sure it was

even humorous.

You look out

the crowd,

5,000 men,

20,000 adults.

That's if the ball arena

where the Nuggets

play is packed.

20,000 people.

We have,

you picture the disciples,

we have a lunchable.

You know,

it's a joke among them.

And John,

he doesn't upplay

this miracle.

See,

here's the thing.

No one,

no one at this time

or later discredits

the miracle.

It was obvious

that Christ performed

a miracle.

20,000 witnesses

not only saw it,

they participated in it.

They tasted it.

No one says

it was not a miracle.

What they have an issue

with is Christ

and his teaching

and his claims.

So this miracle happened.

Again,

as Christians,

we are unashamed

supernaturalists.

And you just,

you have to trust

that God,

taking this little lunchable,

he began distributing

it to them.

That's all John says.

He distributed.

And everyone's eating.

And I bet it was,

it was delicious.

You know,

he's just enjoying it.

And everyone kept eating.

And these are starving,

hungry,

poor people

following him around.

And everyone had their fill.

And there are 12 baskets

left over.

See,

not only does Christ provide,

he shows you,

I have much more

in reserves for you.

If you just come to me hungry,

I will satisfy you.

You come to Christ trusting

he has the power to provide.

See,

what Christ is doing

is fulfilling this pattern

that has been set up all along.

Adam and Eve banished

out of the garden

into the wilderness.

But yet,

even in the wilderness,

God provides.

There's food

they can shepherd.

When God calls Abraham,

he leaves the luxury

of his wealthy father's home.

And he becomes a sojourner,

a man with no land,

traveling in the wilderness.

With Moses,

the people of God

travel in the wilderness.

And God feeds them.

He provides manna.

He even brings birds

that they can eat meat.

Well,

the prophets,

Elijah,

Elisha,

they're chased away

by the wicked kings

living in the wilderness.

And God provides.

So God loves to provide

for his people

in the wilderness.

We're told

by the New Testament apostles,

this life in Christ

right now

for our flesh,

for our body,

it's the wilderness.

But Christ will provide

for you,

his people.

He will feed your soul.

He loves to provide

for you

in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 8.3 says,

here's why God does that.

He humbles you

and he lets you hunger,

but he feeds you

with manna,

which you did not know,

nor did your fathers know,

that he might make you know

that man does not live

by bread alone,

but man lives by every word

that comes from the mouth

of the Lord.

Our Jesus himself,

our Lord,

experienced this.

And that's exactly

what he recited back

to Satan

under attack

and temptation

in the wilderness.

So you must trust

in his abundance

to provide pardon

for your sins,

to clear your conscience,

to restore your soul,

to reform your life.

He can do it.

He is not a God

who is scanty

and miserly.

He is a God

who has reserves

in store

waiting for you

to come to him

that he can feed you

once again.

Milton Vincent,

a pastor,

reflected on this gospel truth

of God's provision.

He said,

God's heart pulses

only with passionate grace,

which jealously wants me

back in his embrace.

See, forgiveness

has been in God's heart

all along.

And when I approach him

to make right my wrong,

he runs up to greet me

and draws to me near,

embracing and kissing

and ready to clear.

What a generous God we serve.

Your soul will hunger

until you feast on Christ.

Christ.

Well, the fourth observation

on the manner

in which you go to Christ

is you put your body

where Christ will feed

your soul.

Let's read that passage

in John 6,

John 6:16–21

verses 16 through 21.

When the evening came,

the disciples went down

to the sea.

They got into a boat

and started across the sea

to Capernaum.

See, Capernaum is further north

on the Sea of Galilee.

Remember, they are tired

and this crowd

keeps following them.

And we read that Jesus

had gone out away

into the wilderness

to a desolate place

by himself.

Now the disciples,

they also need to get away

from these crowds

so they get in the boats

to travel north

along the Sea of Galilee.

We read that it was dark now

and Jesus had not yet

come to them.

Verse 18.

The sea became rough

because a strong wind

was blowing.

We know about strong winds

in Colorado.

They'll push over anything.

And the Golem Heights

are just a little bit further

to the north of this region

and it forms a perfect

little tunnel

where the winds gather.

They pick up speed

and they come shooting through

onto the lake

and it creates massive waves.

Now these were Roman fishing boats

and what we know of those

is that they would have had sails

and when the winds were favorable

you could use them.

But with mighty winds

that are against you,

the winds coming

from the north like that,

it's going to send you

in the wrong direction.

They would have put their sails away

and we read them,

they had rowed

about three or four miles

against the wind.

Because you might be wondering,

what does this little story

in the middle of the feeding

of the multitude

have to do with each other?

Are they related or not?

Well, you get the scene.

The disciples too

had to come to the end

of themselves again

and trust God

to be their Savior

and their provider.

They've been rowing.

They've been in fear

and they've had the stress

of laboring in this little fishing boat

not making any progress.

And then they saw Jesus

walking on the sea

and coming near the boat.

What was their reaction?

They were even more frightened.

They used to be afraid of the sea

and they're going to drown.

Now they're afraid

of this appearance

that's walking toward them.

Now remember,

these are fishermen.

They'd seen their buddies

probably die in the waters drowning.

And you know,

fishermen have all kinds of myths

they believe.

We know that this Greco-Roman world,

they believed

and the bodies

of those who had died at sea

would come back as ghosts

and haunt those on the ships.

So for them,

this is probably like

one of their worst nightmares,

a ghost walking on the waters

toward them.

Now notice what Jesus says to them.

Verse 20,

It is I.

Do not be afraid.

In the Greek,

Jesus says to them

what they've heard him say

two other times.

I am.

And then we're told

the waters settle

and instantly the boat

is where they needed to be.

Do you get the picture?

The multitude came empty.

They've got nothing on their own.

He's their only hope.

The disciples,

empty.

Christ,

you are our only hope.

And yet in the midst of that,

I am.

in the image of Christ,

moving on top of the waters.

That should take you back

to Genesis 1 and 2.

The Spirit of God

hovered over

the surface

of the deep.

Jesus Christ,

I am.

The new creation

is coming.

Hear the words of life

from God himself.

He walks

among you.

What did the multitude do?

That's what I want to

apply for us.

Look at verse 24.

When the crowd saw

that Jesus was not

there

in this region

where they were in the south,

nor his disciples,

what did the crowd do?

Here's what we must do.

They themselves

got into the boats

and went to Capernaum

seeking Jesus.

Jesus.

See, as empty as they were,

as messed up

as their lives were,

their bodies were so broken

by the fall,

they found a way

to put their bodies

where Christ could feed them

once again.

And that's the application

for us.

You and I,

we need to put our bodies

where we know Christ

will feed our soul.

Your flesh will fight it.

You won't want to do it.

You keep putting your body

where you need to be.

He will show up

to satisfy you

again and again

faster than you can

confess your need of Him.

He will meet you

every time

when you're on your knees

through your tears.

And you will say,

just like the disciples

did in verse 25,

where did He come from?

Where did He come from?

You go to Christ empty.

So let me recap

our first point.

In what way

do you seek Christ?

If your soul is hungry

for more of God,

this is God's kindness

to you.

He only stirs up

hunger in your soul

that He will also satisfy.

Don't let your mood

or your weak body

command how your life goes,

but by faith

in Christ's strength,

take the steps you need

to get fleeing

from temptation

and running instead

to Christ.

Believe that promise

in verse 35,

I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me

shall not hunger.

Whoever believes in me

shall never thirst.

Your soul will thirst

and you will hunger

unless you are feasting

on Christ.

This was true of Eve

in the garden,

wasn't it?

Eve believed that lie.

The lie was this.

My soul won't be satisfied

unless I eat

that forbidden fruit.

It's so good

to look at.

My heart desires

to take it

and eat it

more than anything else.

You see how powerful

the deceit of sin is?

And the cost

is so high.

Think about the result

for Adam and Eve.

They were banned

by the sword of God

from reentering

the garden

where all the fruits

of the garden

that God himself

placed there

for their enjoyment

were laid out for them.

That's a high cost

of their sin.

And because of that

curse of sin,

your soul too now

hungers

unless you feast

on Christ.

But the good news

for us is this.

That sword

that stood between

sinners

and the garden

where bounty

and abundance

of food existed,

Christ took that sword

for you and for me

who believe in him.

Christ took the sword

on the cross

and he became

the gate

back into the garden

to his father's garden.

And in his garden

are the trees

the spiritual fruit

of heaven

already opened up

and ready

for you

to eat.

He is the gate

into the orchard.

The curse of sin

is still so strong

that we often feel

like eating garbage

rather than

the spiritual fruit

of heaven.

And the filth

of sin

it tempts

our fallen flesh.

Just like Eve

the secrecy

of stealing

the forbidden fruit

makes us feel

like we're free

if I could just do that.

And then we can do

whatever we want.

That's the lie.

And the slimy

slithering

Satan

smiles

because

that's exactly

how he

enslaved

God's image bearers

to sin

by deceiving them.

And then the stench

of sin

sticks to people.

And then Satan

accuses you

even worse.

And he says

God the Father

he does not

love you.

He doesn't

want you around.

You stink.

You smell like sin.

You can't be near

the holy God.

You are

like the trash

you eat.

But Jesus

came to repel

the lies

of Satan

and to unveil

to you

the true nature

of his Father.

Look at verse 32.

Jesus says

truly truly

I say to you

it was not

Moses who gave you

the bread from heaven

but my Father

my Father

gives you

the true bread

from heaven.

that's what

my Father

is really like.

So you come

to God hungry

and knowing

that your soul

needs provisions

that only he

can give.

And his Father

gives in the

present active tense

he gives you

the bread

of heaven

Jesus Christ

himself.

So that's why

you need to put

your body

where you know

he will feed

your soul.

And even

through our bodies

fallen as we are

God can stir

our hearts

and our affections.

Some of our liturgy

you know when we

stand out of

reverence for

God's word

that's our body

telling your soul

this is good

for you

you need this.

And when we

get low

even down

on your knees

it's you saying

look I am

under the

lawmaker

the lawgiver

Jesus Christ

I need to

receive from him.

And when you

receive the

benediction

we stand

with open arms

because it's

our body

telling our

soul

believe

this

spiritual

truth.

It is

food for

your soul

and your

soul will

hunger

unless you

feast

on Christ.

Well I want

to

I promise

to do this

quicker.

I'm going to

do the four

ways

the four

means by

which you

need to

come to

Christ.

Okay

I don't

want you

leaving here

feeling like

you can't

access him.

You can

and he

tells you

exactly

how.

What are

the means

by which

you feast

on Christ?

Number one

you feast

on Christ

when you

hear his

word.

Look at

verse 33

he tells

you exactly

what it

is.

The bread

of God

is he

who comes

down from

heaven

and gives

life to

the world.

How do

you feast

on God?

By the

bread of

heaven

by Jesus

Christ.

Well how

do you

know Jesus

Christ?

By the

word of

God.

Jesus

is the

bread

from

heaven.

The

work he

did in

his

flesh,

in his

body,

it is

the

substance

of the

spiritual

life for

your soul.

And they

said to

him in

verse 34,

Sir give

us this

bread

always.

This is

the same

truth that

God has

always

revealed

and always

shown to

believers who

he's given a

hunger for

him.

It's what

Jeremiah

confessed in

Jeremiah 15

16.

Your words

were found

and I ate

them and

your words

became to

me a

joy,

the delight

of my

heart,

for I

am called

by your

name,

O Lord

God of

hosts.

How do

you feast

on God

through his

word?

Well you

take a

copy of

the ESV

Bible right

there from

the book

table,

you go

home today

and you

turn to

Philippians

and you

read

Philippians

1 today

as slow

as you

like.

Don't even

need to

finish the

whole chapter,

it's not

homework.

When God

gives you

a truth

in his

word by

the help

of his

spirit,

you close

your eyes

and you

pray that

truth,

help him to

teach you

to understand

it and you

work your way

through the

book of

Philippians

and then talk

to me and I'll

tell you the

next thing I

want you to

read and you

take a book

from that book

table and you

know how much

of that you

read?

Just as little

as possible

until you have a

desire to go

read more of

God's word.

That's what

good books

do.

And you say

I'm not a

good reader,

I'm slow,

that's okay.

You can also

talk to me and

on our website

I'll send you

audio,

you can listen

to good audio,

you know how

much of a

good sermon

or audio

you listen

to?

Just as

little as it

needs to

until it

makes you

see I

need to go

spend time

with the

Lord in

his word

and in

prayer.

You're

feeding your

soul on

God's word.

Number two,

you feast not

only by his

word but you

must feast by

faith.

See it's

possible to be

very close to

Jesus and

starve your

soul.

Look at

verse 35.

Jesus said to

them I am the

bread of life

whoever comes

to me shall

not hunger

and whoever

believes in me

shall never

thirst.

But look at

verse 36.

I said you

have seen me

yet you do

not believe.

See putting

your body

near where you

know Jesus

will be feeding

is one part

but you

must receive

by faith.

You can be

that close to

him and not

believe because

you being in

church or you

spending time in

the Bible in

prayer that does

not save you

or me.

It's your faith

that unites you

to Christ.

That's the only

way you are fed

is through union

with Christ by

faith.

You know why

you come up here

in just a moment

and take the

Lord's Supper?

It's because the

Lord's Supper will

grow your faith.

It will strengthen

your faith where

you're weak.

That's what one

of our catechisms

says.

As bread nourishes

our temporal

life so too

his crucified

body truly

nourishes our

soul for eternal

life.

Through the Holy

Spirit's work we

share in his

true body.

All of his

suffering and

obedience are as

definitely ours as

if we personally

had suffered and

paid for our

sins.

You are united

to Christ by

faith and the

Lord's Supper

reinforces that

glorious truth

to you.

You feast on

his word.

You feast by

faith.

Number three,

you feast in

assurance.

Assurance.

You will taste

how the gospel is

a feast when you

have assurance of

your salvation by

grace alone.

That's when you

know that Christ

will never cast

you out.

Look at verse

37.

Jesus says,

all that the

Father gives

me will come

to me and

whoever comes

to me I will

never cast

out.

Never.

You go to

Christ again

and again and

yes again today

and you trust in

God's faithfulness.

Charles Spurgeon

said, we come to

him in weakness

and in sin with

trembling faith,

small knowledge,

and slender hope,

but still he does

not cast us out.

Look at verse

38.

I have come down

from heaven not

to do my own

will but the will

of him who sent

me.

And what is the

will?

Look at verse

39.

This is the will

of him who sent

me that I should

lose nothing of

all that he has

given me.

Spurgeon again,

we come with

prayer but those

prayers are broken.

We come with

confession but our

confession is faulty.

We come with

praise but our

praise falls short

of his merits.

Don't you feel

that even today?

We come diseased

and polluted,

worn out and

worthless.

We are no better

than that ancient

crowd.

But still he does

not cast us out.

Your soul will

hunger until you

feast on Christ.

Christ.

How do you know

that you are one

that the Father

gave to Christ?

How do you know

that?

You know it by the

evidence of

assurance.

What is the

evidence of

assurance?

It's your

sanctification.

And that's my

fourth point.

You feast on

Christ in

sanctification.

Sanctification is

not a burden for

this life.

It is preparation

for eternity.

Your soul will

dwell immediately.

The moment you

die, the moment

your body releases

your spirit, your

soul will be united

to Christ if you

are in him by

faith and you

will be with

Christ for

eternity.

That's what

sanctification is

preparing you to

dwell in such a

way with Christ.

Look at verse

27.

Jesus says,

now pay attention

carefully to his

words here.

do not work for

the food that

perishes.

But for, in

other words, you

do work to feed

your soul on

spiritual food.

What is that?

It's the food that

endures to eternal

life, which the

Son of Man will

give to you.

You work for that

that he is giving

to you.

He gives it.

And you work for

what he's giving

you.

He gets all the

glory.

But you work for

what's going to

last for

eternity.

For on him,

God the Father

has set his

seal.

The hot wax is

poured.

The king's signet

ring stamped down

on the life of

everyone given

to Christ by

the Father.

So pay attention

to this.

Union to

Christ.

This is what it

all hinges on.

It is evidenced

by communion

communion with

Christ.

Union with

Christ.

That's the hope

of your soul

from life and

in death.

It's evidenced

by, here's the

fruit of assurance,

communion with

Christ.

Feeding your soul

on Christ is

evidence of union

to him.

If you are

united to Christ,

then God's, the

Father's seal is

upon your life.

And the will

of the Father

was what fed

Jesus.

In John 4, 34,

Jesus said,

my food is to

do the will

of my Father.

And if your

will is now

bound up with

his, that will

be your desire

as well.

Your will will

be to do the

will of the

Father.

Our remaining

sin is at

enmity with

God.

It hates to

do God's

will.

If you are

not saved by

grace alone

through faith

alone,

sanctification

sounds like a

lot of work

and your

flesh will

never want

to do it

and you

will be doomed

to fail.

So is there

any hope?

The hope is

this.

If God has

given you a

hunger in your

soul and he's

united you to

his son through

faith, you now

are his project.

He owns your

sanctification.

See, Jesus was

the carpenter.

He was a

builder.

Nazareth is

only about 11

miles from

Tiberias.

He saw the

city being

built.

He would

have contracted

out in all

the areas

surrounding that.

And it

probably annoyed

him when

someone would

start a

project and

then run

out of money.

But that's

exactly what

Herod Agrippa

did.

If you were

to travel

through Tiberias,

you would

have seen

these buildings

only half

built.

What a joke

that was

compared to

Herod the

Great, his

father, who

built amazing

things in the

style of Rome.

Herod Agrippa,

he would

abandon his

projects.

And for a

carpenter, a

builder, there's

nothing more

annoying,

unprofessional.

He knew

that.

And at the

same context,

Luke 14, 8,

Jesus says,

which of you

desiring to

build a

tower, probably

looking at

Tiberias in

this exact

moment, everyone

looking and

knowing exactly

what Christ is

talking about,

who doesn't

first sit down

and count the

cost, whether

he has enough

to complete it.

But listen to

what God says

in Philippians 1, 6

through Paul.

I am sure

of this, that

he who began

a good work

in you will

bring it to

completion on

the day of

Jesus Christ.

Your

sanctification is

his project.

He is building

you up as

his holy

temple, so he

will dwell in

you for

eternity,

church.

That's your

hope.

You do not

have to

fabricate your

own spiritual

food.

You do

feed your

soul on

the spiritual

food which

the Son of

Man will

give to you.

Trust that he

will.

Verse 27, he

will give you

the food that

your soul needs

every day.

Let me recap

this point.

By what means

can you feast

on Christ?

Number one, by