Seeking Bread and Missing the Bread of Life

I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

!

I'm going to be up here and appeal to you to have the Scriptures resonate when we're

singing.

Everybody look up.

I ought to be able to make a biblical argument for that.

Would you agree to that?

I should be able to point to a passage of Scripture and say, well, here's why I was thinking that

way.

Sidebar, just so you're following me here, and it'll come together.

You can be here and not be full of the Holy Spirit.

Would you agree with that?

And should the believer be filled with the Holy Spirit?

What's the answer from the Bible?

Absolutely!

We're commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And how many of you have on occasion been uncertain that you were filled with the Holy Spirit?

Besides me, I'm just wondering.

You know, one of the things that we know from the Scripture is that now you can sing and not

be filled with the Holy Spirit.

How many of you would agree with that?

But the Holy Spirit does prompt the believer to sing.

That's what it tells us in Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

And I want you to understand that another indication of the working of the Holy Spirit is that when we are thinking and when we're, let's try singing, the Holy Spirit, when He's at work in us, He's bringing up passages of Scripture.

Because listen, nothing magnifies Jesus more than this Bible.

And so, the Spirit of God says, hey, Tim, hey, what about that passage?

Click.

And Christ is amplified or glorified in that.

Okay.

Bible passage.

Ephesians.

John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

My Bible went to Acts by my hand, by the way.

Okay, here we go.

John chapter 16, verse 13 and 14.

John 16:13

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.

So the Holy Spirit speaks, and how do we know that He speaks?

We don't have these little whispering words in our ears, but we have the Word of God.

This is God's Word.

Verse 14.

He will glorify me, for He will take that which is mine, Bible, and declare it to you.

So, there's nothing wrong with when you come to corporate worship saying, Holy Spirit, would you help me this morning that as we are singing, you would enable me to sing joyfully, enthusiastically, with an affection for the Lord Jesus Christ and an ambition for heaven.

And would you bring to mind, and would you bring to mind, passages of Scripture that relate to what we're singing?

Okay, enough of that.

John 6.

We'll get there.

John 6.

As I preach, you have a very active responsibility.

What is that, too?

You are to pray.

And I trust you will do that.

That the Word of God might have free course and make a difference in your life.

And that God would use this very earthen vessel to remind you of the glory and the supremacy of Christ, and that you would have a desire to see Him face to face.

And that the day you live in the day to come would be a tangible evidence of your walk with Christ.

Let's pray.

Our hearts this morning are reminded of the passage in Zechariah where the prophet penned these words,

says,

to be the physical manifestation of His character and nature and affection for lost mankind.

And that those who are here that do not know Christ would be drawn by His grace to cry out for salvation and for deliverance from their sin.

And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I have to tell you that I remember at a point in my life being very, very hesitant to launch into the book of John.

Early in my ministry, I was intimidated at the prospect of John in particular

because it is a gospel different from the others in that it doesn't have so much of the narrative.

You can't kind of follow the history of Jesus as you're working your way primarily through the gospel of John.

There are only a certain number of incidents that kind of follow a narrative.

Much of the gospel of John gives to us a picture of the person of Christ and draws us to recognize that He is the Savior of mankind and the one with whom we have to do.

As I have been working my way in private study and prayer through the book of John,

I have grown to look back in retrospect and say,

why didn't I do this earlier?

Because John is such a rich picture of who Jesus is that it is helping me in my process of growing to love Him more.

And I trust that is what is happening to you.

We saw last week in particular the heart of our Savior in not only meeting the needs of a hungry and very, very shallow crowd,

and we know that He fed how many?

About 20,000 is the estimate.

He fed 20,000 people.

And on the heels of that,

you remember if you look back just a little bit in John,

you'll pick up there that what He did after the feeding of the 5,000,

the people were ready to come and take Him by force and make Him their king.

And we know that in His sympathy and sensitivity for the weakness of the disciples in particular,

in facing that fickle and selfish crowd and their own spiritual frailty,

He pushed them off into the boat and sent them into a storm.

And then He delivered them from the storm.

What we are looking at this morning as we pick up in John 6, verse 22,

John 6:22

is the next day.

And I want you to recognize as you look at this extended passage

that it is a lesson for us of the heart of our Lord Jesus

for people that can be profoundly frustrating.

And I preach to you, primarily, who are part of our fellowship,

and know the Lord Jesus Christ,

because you are here by assignment and appointment

to minister to other people.

Do you recognize that?

I mean, it'd be better to be in heaven.

Would you agree with that?

Truthfully, it'd be better to be in heaven.

Nothing wrong with that place.

The reason I draw breath and the reason you draw breath

is He left me here to be His ambassador, His representative,

and doing that means that He wants me to be in direct contact

with broken, wounded individuals whose hearts are an absolute mess.

And I need to be reminded of how Jesus dealt with those people

because every now and then, in my flesh,

I would like them just to get entirely sanctified

the moment I give them a Bible verse or two

and leave it go at that.

I want you to look at what we find here in this passage,

beginning there in verse 22 as we work our way through

and kind of see the heart of Christ towards unbelievers in particular.

Let me begin reading.

John 6, verse 22, it says,

John 6:22

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 His disciples had gone away.

Other boats came from Tiberias,

came near the place where they had eaten the bread

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.

I want us to look this morning at a picture of the Lord Jesus

ministering to some very short-sighted individuals.

Our lesson starts there in verse 22,

and we recognize that as we kind of pick up the narrative,

we find that Jesus, after having ministered to these 20,000 or so people,

you'll remember that they had followed Him into the wilderness

because they'd been impressed with His miracles.

I mean, He'd done some things that were stunning,

and they were intrigued, they were interested.

I'm certain there were ones in the crowd that wanted healing and things done for them.

And Jesus, after He had taken them out there in the wilderness,

at least they'd followed Him,

He saw their need, their very physical need,

and He was willing to feed them.

When they decided that they would force Him to be king,

Jesus sent His disciples out of harm's way into a storm,

and then He went off to pray.

So what we find in verse 24,

and I want you to kind of put your finger on 24,

it tells us that after the crowd found that Jesus wasn't where they had anticipated Him,

they went looking for Him,

and they went to the reasonable place,

at least in their thinking,

back to the city of Capernaum,

and they were going there with the expectation of finding Jesus.

That's their goal.

When they found Jesus,

I want you to mark His conversation with them,

because instead of complimenting them on their pursuit of Jesus,

He exposed the shallowness of their ambition and their interest.

It serves us well to remember that Jesus loved these people,

and that He would weep for them later on,

as we read that on the day of His crucifixion,

as He looked upon the crowd,

His heart was deeply touched by them.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Earlier than that, when He'd come into Jerusalem for the last time,

it says that when He looked upon the city, He wept.

Jesus had a heart for these unsaved, lost, blinded individuals,

and we see that even here.

Listen to what He says.

He says,

I want you to stop and think just for a moment that Jesus,

as He was speaking of this,

He started out by reminding them of what had taken place,

and there wasn't a heart on the part of Christ that says,

I should have never fed you.

He was willing to do that for them.

And so I want to recognize that genuine love willingly does meet physical needs,

but it doesn't stop there.

And what Jesus said was very convicting,

because what it did was expose the most ancient trap

that Satan has used in all of our lives,

including Adam and Eve,

to draw us away from our Creator and our Savior.

And what do I mean by that?

Satan relies upon the things that we're interested in

that are of superficial and temporal worth

to draw our affections and our attentions away from Christ.

He seduces people today

to choose jobs that enslave them

for no other reason than accumulating material goods

that will not satisfy

and ultimately will end up in a dumpster.

You know, one of the things that I hear families say,

I've got to be careful here when I say this,

but I've got to tell you the truth.

I've heard more than one family say,

when my mom and dad die,

I'm going to rent a roll-off

and we're going to clean the house out.

Has anybody ever said,

don't raise your hand,

but just kind of nod very, very carefully

so nobody else knows that you and me understand each other.

When mom and dad die,

we're going to rent a roll-off.

You know what that's an indication of?

What they put their energy into

really didn't last.

Agreed?

We can all do that.

And Jesus, as he looked at this crowd

that had come to them,

he says, hey, you're here

just because I fed you bread.

He misleads people also into thinking

that the time they invest in consumptive pleasures,

activities, and entertainments,

sometimes in the name of their children.

Did you realize that doing something

in the name of your children

is Trump in our contemporary culture?

How many of you realize that?

It's amazing.

You can do all kinds of things for your children,

and everybody just kind of nods.

Yeah, I mean, I understand.

I'm with you there.

I remember parents

several years ago

who commented to me

that they were really

in a financial bind.

And I, you know, curiosity.

I'm a pastor.

I'm a shepherd.

I care about people's hearts.

And I said, what's the problem?

Well, it's going to cost me $1,800

to send my daughter

to the travel team for volleyball.

I hope nobody plays volleyball here,

you know, that level.

I mean, I wasn't thinking of you.

Not thinking of you.

Okay?

Being an older man

and moderately mature pastor sometimes,

I just kept my mouth shut

and I just let the person go on.

You know, hey, listen,

we have come a long way

from where Eric Liddell was

who was unwilling to run on Sunday.

Do you follow that?

Oh, we like watching

Chariots of Fire.

I mean, hey, the music is outstanding.

But really, if it comes down to us

deciding if we're going to choose

between corporate worship

and some physical activity

for our children,

children trumps.

We've fallen into the trap

of Satan, of thinking

that things that are

of no eternal value

are significant and supreme

in comparison to the glory

of Christ

and the body that he loves.

I remember another parent.

I'm on volleyball today,

so you can kind of pass

if you're not.

Another parent that came to me,

their home was just

an absolute disaster.

It was, the wheels had come off.

I'm not talking about one,

you know, and a little bit

of the retread popped or something.

All four wheels were off

and the marriage

was an absolute disaster.

And I said, listen,

I want to minister to you guys.

And so let's set up a time

for counseling.

I mean, you know,

let's work at this marriage.

And the guy grabbed his calendar

and you know what?

He couldn't pull it off

because his daughter

was in a travel league.

Cincinnati this weekend,

Cleveland the next,

somewhere in West Virginia.

And he says, you know,

I don't think I can work this out

for the next three or four weeks

because every single night

I got to get my daughter

to volleyball

or I have to get her

to a game some other city.

And I thought to myself,

well, I guess your marriage

isn't very important, right?

That's Satan.

And here were people

coming to Jesus and saying,

hey, listen,

what we'd really like you

to do for us

is kind of help us

with the things

we think are important.

He snares people

into thinking

that the answers

to life's problems

really can be found

in things

or causes

that are not

of eternal worth.

I choked this week

in anger

and I was kind of worked up

over the fact

that so many people

were just absolutely traumatized

by the slaughter,

and I think a senseless slaughter

of Cecil the lion,

you know, whatever,

hang it on your den.

But you know what?

Not a peep of concern

for what Planned Parenthood

has been doing

of harvesting unborn babies

and selling their parts

for profit.

So what's our Savior

want us to focus on?

You look at the passage here

and He says,

you ate your fill

and that's what

you're interested in.

So listen to what Jesus said

as He follows.

See there in verse 7

He says,

Do not labor

for the food

that perishes.

Now stop,

just for a moment.

You might underline

that in your Bible

because that is Jesus

speaking to you

about your agenda,

your checkbook,

your life.

And He says,

Do not labor

for things

that will perish.

if God's people

put as much time

into things

that are of eternal worth

as they do

into all the other activities

that they engage in,

I tell you what,

it'd be a different world

that we live in.

And here's Jesus.

He says,

work for the food

that endures

to eternal life

and that's the food

that the Son of Man

will give you.

So ask yourself

the question,

did these people

believe in Jesus?

And in one sense,

I want you to follow this,

they did.

They did.

They believed

that the guy

who had fed them

yesterday

could pull it off

again today.

and they were insisting

what we want you for

is for our own

personal benefit

and we're pretty interested

in you taking care

of some of the

superficial things

that we're interested in

but don't mess

with the others.

I've got to tell you

that the health

and wealth,

the prosperity gospel

that is pervasive

in our culture

is a gospel

that proposes

fundamentally

the value of Christ

is in relationship

to what He can do

for you.

Jesus says

to the people

that had come

gathering around Him

for the sake of a meal

or for the sake of whatever

was of their own

personal interest,

they do not labor

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.

I know,

I know,

that most of you

who are here this morning

are believers

and you're not here

to hear about better food

or better government

or better health

but let me ask you this.

Does your

belief in Christ

lead you

in a different path

than the world's?

Truthfully.

Does it?

How substantially different

are your affections

and the use

of your energy

in comparison

to the unbelieving world

that we're all exposed

to all the time?

If you're caught up

by the world's

magnetic pull

and belief

that what the world

has to offer

is so worthy

then you have to recognize

that what you're doing

is you're devaluing

the significance

of the cross.

Well let's go further

in the text

because we need to understand

the point that Jesus

is making here

and you look there

in verse 33 and 34

it says

for the bread of God

is He who comes down

from heaven

and gives life

to the world.

Here's Jesus

ministering

to the unbelieving.

I love the way

things move here.

Instead of having

humbling hearts

or humbled hearts

when the people

heard what Jesus

had to say

they kind of respond

back to Him

and they say something

pretty crass.

Listen to this.

Look at the passage.

He says

Sir give us this bread

actually going back

a little bit

verse 30

it says

Then what sign

do you do

that we may see

and believe in you?

What work do you perform?

By the way

what had He done yesterday?

Huh?

He'd fed them.

Now agreed

that it wasn't manna

and I don't really know

what the relative

food value

between manna

and fish and bread

I'm not into that.

I really don't know

whether manna

was a more palatable

and a more enjoyable thing

than fish and bread

but I got to tell you

the scripture tells me

that people got

pretty sick and tired

of manna.

And here they are

having had fish and bread

they turn around

and say

hey

what can you do

for us?

And then they go on

and they make

their argument

verse 30 says

what sign

what work

are you going to do

so we can believe?

And then they

step into it

in a really bad way

in verse 31

our fathers

ate manna

in the wilderness

as it is written

but don't you love it

when people recite

scripture for their own benefit?

that little phrase

it is written

was Jesus'

favorite zinger

to the Pharisees

do you follow?

Whenever Jesus said

it is written

you could hear him

bringing down

the eight pound sledge

on whoever else

he was dealing with

you know what

an eight pound sledge is?

I'm talking about

a big piece of iron

on the end

of a long stick

and he put the

whop

he said

it is written

here they're playing

that game with Jesus

of all people

it is written

you know

listen to what

Jesus says

in verse 32

truly truly

I say to you

it was not

Moses

you see

the Jews

had the idea

that Moses

was the

one who brought

it to them

oh

Moses

by the way

how did the people

that Moses

actually ministered

to in flesh and blood

really like him?

Does anybody know?

What was their

attitude towards Moses?

somebody would get up

in the morning

and say

oh Lord

we are so thankful

for that servant

you brought us

that Moses

he is

by the way

he was the most

humble man

do you understand that?

that's what the Bible says

and how did the people

handle Moses?

the incessant

grumbling

and complaining

and whining

they were just

always livid

at Moses

because Moses

wasn't cooperative

do it my way

well here's Jesus

dealing with these

people's attitudes

and he makes a point here

ultimately

Moses wasn't

the key

to the whole thing

look at the passage

again

there in verse 32

Jesus said to them

truly truly

I say to you

it was not

Moses

who gave you

the bread

from heaven

where'd it come from?

God

not Moses

and so I want you

to remind yourself

of this

no human being

can bring

eternal

blessing

to this world

no one

there is no

human being

that is the remedy

to the brokenness

and the messiness

of the world

we live in

I

I really am not

looking forward

to the next

political

cycle

but what I do

know

is that

as we get

closer and closer

to

16

there are going

to be people

even professing

believers

who become

kind of

apoplectic

in their

ambitions

that certain

people

come into

government

because

if they are

elected

guess what

the millennium

is coming

surprise

not true

not true

don't post

anything on your

Facebook

at least that I

will read

that says

anything like

that because

that just

kind of

it kind of

wigs me out

it's like

stop

salvation

does not

come

in the form

of mere

human

individuals

listen again

to what

Jesus said

there in

verse 33

for the

bread of

God

is he

who comes

down from

heaven

and gives

life

to the

world

what was

Jesus

saying

he was

saying

that

salvation

and blessing

comes from

God

through

Jesus

Christ

alone

I got to

tell you

as I think

about this

passage

I am

struck

by how

patient

and how

tender

Jesus

was

in dealing

with

very

very

carnal

short

sighted

narrow

minded

self

focused

unhappy

can I

keep

going

people

listen

up

as I

was

praying

and

thinking

about

what

this

passage

really

says

to

Tim

Knoyer

I

suppose

to

some

of

you

here

I

was

reminded

that

this

is

an

example

for

Tim

Knoyer

of

the

heart

he

wants

me

to

have

for

the

people

that

I

minister

to

every

day

and

the

people

you

minister

to

every

day

don't

put

your

head

down

listen

up

because

I

want

you

to hear

this

if

you

are

employed

by

Jesus

he

kind

of

expects

you

to

have

the

attitude

he

had

towards

other

people

agreed

!

Everybody

smile

and say

yeah I

hear you

and

he

doesn't

want

you

to

get

discouraged

or

overwhelmed

or a

little

embittered

just

because

they're

not

cooperating

and

just

falling

all

over

you

in

appreciation

for

the

significance

of

your

ministry

stay

with

it

why

because

Jesus

did

I

gotta

tell you

something

he

never

turned

away

in

disgust

or

irritation

never

stopped

reaching

out

to

these

shallow

narrow

minded

self

focused

people

now

he

did

tell

them

the

truth

but

how

many

of

you

know

the

difference

between

having

an

edge

when

you're

dealing

with

people

and

having

an

affection

even

when

you

tell

them

the

truth

how

many

of

you

know

the

difference

he

loved

them

and

when

he

dealt

with

their

shallowness

it

was

not

with

this

bitter

negative

hardened

heart

like

Jonah

you ever

stopped

and

thought

about

why

Jonah

actually

ended up

being

instructed

by

God

to

write

a

book

about

what

a

jerk

he

was

no

I'm

think

with

me

I

do

you

understand

that

there's

not

one

verse

that

gives

us

any

ambition

of

thinking

Jonah

really

ever

got

it

now

he

has

it

now

but

do

you

follow

me

I

think

the

reason

that

book

was

written

is

to

remind

us

you

know

what

if

God

can

use

Jonah

there's

hope

for

me

you

know

now

it's

not

an

endorsement

of

being

a

jerk

I

do

get

that

I'd

like

to

test

God

and

see

how

much

he

can

use

me

being

that

way

no

it's

God

can

use

us

but

hey

have

the

heart

of

Jesus

not

Jonah

so

I

got to

come

around

on

this

so

you

understand

the

point

that

we

find

can

I

say

that

again

we

ought

to

be

more

like

Jesus

in

dealing

with

those

who

have

been

snared

by

sin

let

our

compassion

let

our

humility

let

the

gentleness

of our

heart

reflect

the

heart

he

had

there's

no

place

for

sarcasm

everybody

say

that

out

loud

I

want

you

to

say

that

!

There's

no

place

for

sarcasm

in the

heart

of the

servant

of the

king

there

should

be

tenderness

if

Jesus

dealt

with

a

crowd

that

was

going

to

crucify

him

we

ought

to

be

a

little

more

gentle

with

the

people

that

we

sit

next

to

that

are

part

of

the

family

that

are

going

to

be

next

door

in

eternity

and

the

unbelievers

that he

puts us

face to

face with

day after

day

that don't

get it

we ought

to have

the same

affection and

compassion for

them that

Jesus

had

oh can I tell you

something

you're ultimately

not going to do

very well

outside the

family if you

can't handle it

inside the

family

write that

down

I

get a

kick

out

of

people

who

talk

to

me

about

evangelism

but they

can't

get along

with people

inside

the

fam

huh

everybody

you heard

me

didn't

you

you

understand

what I'm

saying

I want

to close

with what we

find in

verse 35

you know

they said

to him

sir

well that's

formal

sir

give us

this bread

always

isn't that

just kind of

hokey

and when

stop and

think about

this

this is the

crowd

sir

give us

this bread

always

here's what

Jesus said

promising the

bread of

life

I am the

bread of

life

whosoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger

and whosoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst

what he was

saying is

this is I'm

the only one

who can

really make

a difference

isn't that

true

when you

hear that

said

does your

heart kind

of rise up

within you

and say

yes

do you

follow that

look at me

if your

heart is

connected to

that statement

do you know

that unbelievers

can sense

it

what it

says in

first Peter

is that

when they

see it

they're going

to ask

you what's

the reason

for the

hope that

lies within

you

well it's

the new

therapy that

I've been

involved in

you know

I'm taking

these pills

and they're

just doing

I got to

tell you

something

why is

it

that

more

believers

are not

impassioned

and enthusiastic

about Jesus

are you

listening

you're thinking

with me

it's because

they have

fallen into

the ancient

trap of

Satan

remember

Adam and

Eve

could you

have had

it any

better than

Adam and

Eve did

I mean

in some

senses

you know

it's because

many

of

us

have been

seduced

by the

lie

of

Satan

that

things

that

do

not

last

forever

are

worthy

of our

ambitions

and our

affections

of our

checkbook

and our

time

our devotional

lives

are almost

close to

bankrupt

our prayer

time

is close

to zero

and then

we go out

into an

unbelieving

and a

broken world

and we

think

that just

by dropping

a couple

surly words

we can

make a

difference

in the

lives of

those who

are broken

by sin

it isn't

going to

happen

but when

our hearts

are lifted

up because

Jesus is

the way

and Jesus

is the one

who can take

away the

thirst

and satisfy

the hunger

and we

know that

we know

that

then our

testimonies

are powerful

so where's

that put

you

where's

that put

you

you see

when we

talk about

Jesus

you have

to ask

yourself

a very

very basic

question

number one

do I

know him

right

I mean

that's

important

do I

know him

and you

could be

sitting here

and you

don't know

Jesus

the fact

of the

matter

is

if you

leave

this

place

and you

don't

come to

grips

with the

bankruptcy

of your

own soul

and the

darkness

of your

heart

there is

no hope

in

eternity

and you

desperately

need

Christ

and I

would

plead

with you

this

morning

the

scriptures

make it

profoundly

simple

all you

have to

do

is

come

to

the

point

of

saying

yeah

what

Jesus

says

about

me

is

true

I

am

a

hard

hearted

unrepentant

sinner

and the

only thing

I know

now

is that

I'm

a

hopeless

mess

but I

hear what

Jesus

says

that he

can help

me

and I

come with

a broken

and a

contrite

heart

to say

Jesus

save

me

but most

of you

that are

sitting here

this morning

are people

who know

Christ

you do

and so

here's

my

question

do

you

love

him

as

much

as

you

love

the

things

of

the

world

check

your

agenda

check

your

wallet

check

your

affections

where's

Jesus

in

relationship

to

those

things

if

we

want

to

take

it

from

the

words

of

Jesus

he

says

this

do

not

labor

for

things

that

perish

labor

for

the

food

that

endures

to

eternal

life

let's

close

in

prayer