John 6:22-51 - Caleb Richardson

Let's pray and ask God to speak to us. And I

hope, as we've been going through John, that

John is starting to come alive to you. We're

going slow enough through it that, and I hope

just that as you're reading it and discovering

it, that God's word is doing a new work inside

of you. It's been really good for me, so I'm

hoping it's that way for you as well. But let's

pray and ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in

a very, there's a lot in this text. And you're

welcome. We didn't do all seven up to verse 71.

We'll tackle that next week. But there's so much

in here, but we'll try to simplify it and work

through it together. Let's pray together, okay?

Lord, we come before you. If we're really honest,

we're all kind of a big mess. And we are desperate

need of you. So help us fix our eyes on you right

now, on your word, to know you more, to be saturated

and soaking in what you have for us. Lord, you

use a really basic and simple metaphor in this

text, and I pray that it'll come alive to us

in a new way as we unpack it together. Lord,

I pray that for just our hearts, that they will

not be, a heart that they will be soft and shapeable

before you that we'll be honest with where we

currently stand and in the very private and quiet

places of our own heart but that we will just

be real with you i pray that for myself even

as i've spent hours studying through this god

that you'll continue even as i speak that you'll

speak to my heart lord we give it all to you

this morning amen Okay, if you don't have your

Bibles, go get one in the back. Otherwise, open

it up to John chapter 6. We're going to look

John 6 · chapter mention

at unpack 22 to 51. Blaise Pascal, the 17th century

French mathematician, physicist, theologian,

has been the one that was credited with this

concept or this phrase that in us is a God -shaped

whole. It is this idea that all of us have this

longing or real, deep, authentic desire for happiness,

for fulfillment, that we've been created for

something more than this world that we're living

in right now. Inside of us is this hole. The

hole that needs to be filled. And so we strive

and we deliver lives. I'm part of this. I've

experienced this in my own life, that we strive

to fill that hole with the things of this world.

But it doesn't work. And so, C .S. Lewis, in

Mere Christianity, argues along this line. He

argues that if we find desires within ourselves

that nothing in this world can satisfy, then

it's most probably that we were designed and

made for another world. So the hole inside of

us, every one of us has it. We call it a God

-shaped hole because it can only be filled by

Jesus. Truth is that you and I are all spiritually

hungry. Even if we don't want to believe it right

out of the chute. There is a growling of our

souls that indicate there's this emptiness inside

of us. You guys know what I'm talking about?

Been there, you lay in your beds at night. What

is this all about? I've got to find something

to fill it. So in our passage today, Jesus tells

us, talks to us, tells us about the bread of

life. And it's an illustration, it's a metaphor

that is incredibly powerful. And so just for

a reference, think back to what we talked about

last week in the bread where Jesus feeds the

5 ,000s. I want you just to kind of have this

visual in your mind. So in our passage, Jesus

is going to unpack this bread of life. The only

thing that satisfies enough, the only thing that

really... fills the craving of our soul. That's

what he's going to unpack, okay? So real basic,

there's a lot of verses there, but that's the

big idea. That this bread of life that is offered

is the only thing that will truly satisfy you.

And before we look at what Jesus had to say in

these verses, though, we need to do a quick review.

Remember, I said last week as we started chapter

6, that chapter 6, all of chapter 6 happens about

a 24 -hour period. And there's a lot packed in.

And it's a real critical chunk of the Bible.

In fact, all four Gospels cover this chunk of

section. It's the only thing other than the resurrection

that all the Gospels touch on. Okay? Because

it's real important. And so last week we looked

at the first day, the first day of this kind

of two -day or 24 -hour period. And there's this

huge crowd. So if you remember, there's this

huge crowd that had followed Jesus. And now they

end up on the hillside. And I won't go into everything.

I encourage you, if you missed last week, go

back and listen to it because it does give context

to everything we're talking about today. But

they're up on a hillside, and Jesus is teaching

them all day. And we don't know what he was teaching

them, but most likely, according to the, it's

something to do with the kingdom of God, like

how Jesus was breaking into our world, God's

kingdom breaking into our world. A problem has

been presented, though. They get to the end of

the day, and there's an estimated, blow your

mind, I don't know how he taught all this, but

there was an estimated 15 ,000 to 20 ,000 people,

because when they say there was 5 ,000 men, they

only counted the men, but you wouldn't just have

men there. There'd be children. Because we know

there's a boy. Shows up with loads of bread and

fish. So they estimate, if that's true, there's

5 ,000 men, there's probably women and children.

So they estimate somewhere between 15 ,000 and

20 ,000 people. It's a big hillside. And they're

all there. And the problem is, is they get really

hungry. And so, Jesus takes five... small loaves

of bread, two small dried fish. And he multiplies

it and he feeds the thousands. It's a miraculous

miracle. And the crowd is so excited. And just

like we mentioned last week, if that was you

in that place and you got fed, you'd be like,

hey, I like that guy. And so they're all excited.

And so what they decide to do, because of all

the oppression that they're under with the Roman

Empire and all the things that they're dealing

with, like, that's our king. And so they kind

of start, you could hear them murmuring, like,

that's our guy. He's going to be the one to rescue

us. And so what Jesus does, knowing what they're

doing, he retreats to the woods. He goes up in

the wilderness. He disappears, and then he sends

his disciples across the sea, and it's dark at

night, and this sea is like, if you've ever driven

to Canada or going to Whitehorse, and you've

got Lake LaVarge, or you've heard of those big

lakes out there, it's massive, right? So the

sea is like five, six miles wide, and so they're

rowing across the sea, and they get close to

the middle, and a storm kicks up, and these very

experienced rowers or fishermen are like, what

is happening? And they start to fear for their

life. And in the midst of that, they look across

into the storm that's hitting them and they see

this figure walking across the water. And they're

scared. That's Jesus. And he shows up and he

tells them, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.

And he gets into the boat with the disciples

and at once they are at the shore on the other

side, instantly to the other side, safe and sound.

What a day. Two massive miracles that those close

disciples got to see. At least everybody saw

the miraculous feeding. What a day and what a

night. And now we pick up our story in verse

22. As you can kind of think of it as morning

time comes. It's gotten bright now. The sun is

coming up. Pick up verse 22. The next day, the

crowd that had stayed on the other side of the

sea saw there had been only one boat. They also

saw that Jesus had not boarded that boat with

his disciples, but that his disciples had gone

off alone. Some boats from Tiberias came near

the place where they had eaten the bread, and

after the Lord had given thanks, when the crowd

saw that... Neither Jesus nor his disciples were

there. They got into the boats and they went

to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they

found him on the other side of the sea, they

said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? So

the big question we need to ask here is, why

are the people chasing Jesus? This is the big

question that comes up in these few verses. Why

are they chasing after Jesus? Why did they leave

and make such an effort to find him? Why were

they looking for him? And when they found him,

they asked this question, where are you? Was

it because they understood that he was the one

who could quench their spiritual hunger? The

one who could fill their God -shaped hole? So

they ask the question in verse 25, when did you

get here? But Jesus already knew their hearts.

He knew what was going on. And so he, and not

just what they say, he just jumps right to their

heart level in verse 26. Now look what he says

in verse 26. He's answering the question why

they're there. They've shown up. They're pursuing

Jesus. Seems really good. Let's just pause here

for a second. As a pastor, I live in a culture,

in a world that puts great value on how many

people come to your church. Think about Jesus

for a minute. He just had 15 ,000, 20 ,000 people

following him. And they're motivated to follow

him. Seems like a pretty good deal, right? If

you read from this point on with a question in

your mind, What was Jesus really doing? He's

whittling down the crowd. He's not doing what

the normal pastor. And so it's a really good

challenge for me. I don't want our church to

be about numbers. I want them to be about a place

where we meet the real Jesus in the real way.

One more person gets a chance to meet the real

Jesus. So that's just a side note. But I want

you to think like, so Jesus knows what their

motivation of their heart is. And so look at

what he says in verse 26. Jesus answered, truly

I tell you, you are looking for me not because

you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves

and were filled. He says, you are seeking me

because you want more bread. You're seeking me

because you've seen some temporary things that

I've given you and you want more of that. You

want me to give you something. You want for me

something for you. That's what he's saying. Look

at your heart. You're not chasing me because

you see me as the Messiah, as the God who's come

from... It's come into our world. As John 1 says

in the beginning of the chapter, in the beginning

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

the Word was with God. And that God came to us,

right? That's not why they're seeking Him. They're

seeking Him for what He can offer. Look at verse

27. Don't work for the food that perishes, but

for the food that lasts for eternal life. which

the Son of Man will give you because God the

Father has set his seal of approval on him. So

Jesus has a different kind of bread, he's saying.

You're coming for the things that I can offer,

but I have something more that I have for you.

I'm offering you this kind, this different kind

of bread, one that brings eternal life, lasting

life. I think Jesus is exposing something here,

he says, that I'm guilty of. Because I wrestle

with this even just as a human. We spend so much

of our lives in pursuit or looking for the things

to satisfy us. It's kind of sobering when I started

to think about all the things that I do to satisfy

me. To fill that hole in my life. It's the next

vacation. What is it for you? Maybe it's the

next vacation. Maybe it's promotion at work.

Maybe it's the next hunting trip. Maybe it's

the friendships. A romantic relationship where

you can have that somebody to love you and to

feel cared for. Maybe it's this perfect little,

or in our case at Radiant Mat -Su, big family.

Maybe it's secure finances. Maybe it's appearance.

If you want to look good, you go to the gym.

You're working really hard and hoping that will

satisfy. Maybe it's the safety of being the smartest

one in the room in a situation. Maybe it's just

straight up comfort food. You eat because it

feels good. Kind of makes you numb. Maybe it's...

And it's just find the next thing. Maybe it's

alcohol. Or the next toy. I mean, we could just

continue. There's thousands of things. Thousands

of things we run to and chase after to bring

us a sense of satisfaction. What's yours? Be

honest with you right now. You don't have to

say it out loud, but just think in your own heart.

What are the things that I run to? to bring satisfaction

to me. And then I think one of the things we

have to ask is, how's it working? Is it filling?

Is it temporary? It may feel good in the moment,

but is it really working? What Jesus has to offer

sounds really good to the people. They're like,

yes. Yes, that sounds good. We want that kind

of bread. So they ask the question, they turn

to Jesus after Jesus says, I have something that

satisfies. And they're like, yes, what is it?

Like, what do we do to get it? That's their next

question. Look at verse 28. What can we do? Underline

that. If you're Bible writer, underline what

can we do? Because I think that's oftentimes

our first go -to, isn't it? What do we got to

do? What do we got to do to get it? What do we

do to perform the works of God? Works of God,

they asked. And Jesus replied, this is the work

of God. Notice in your Bibles there's a dash.

He's pointing us to something. That you believe

in the one who sent me. Sent. Who he has sent.

You believe. They ask, what kind of work do we

need to do to get this bread that we need, like

you're talking about, the one that brings satisfaction,

the one that fills our lives? And Jesus' response

is, no physical work, no performing for God will

work. We just need to believe in Him. In Him.

The bread that satisfies, the bread that endures

comes through faith in Jesus. It's living your

life with... Full surrender, putting your faith

in Jesus. That's what he's saying. Unfortunately,

the crowd, though, still doesn't get it. And

you can see this by their response in verse 30

and 31. Look what they do. What sign? What sign,

then, are you going to do so that we may see

and believe you? They asked, what are you going

to perform? See, our ancestors ate the manna

in the wilderness just as it was written, he

gave them bread from heaven to eat. Okay. So,

they don't quite get it yet. The crowd is skeptical.

And by the way, guys, it's okay to be skeptical

of a certain place. I don't know about that.

But this is where they're at, and they're so

skeptical. they still are not sure if they can

trust Jesus in what he's saying. Now, think about

what they have gone through. What happened yesterday?

My goodness, what did he do? He just fed 15,

20 ,000 people. You think, well, and what are

they asking for? Another sign. Like, I've heard

people say sometimes, like, I wish I could just

see a sign. I wish I could just see God, then

I'd believe. Would you? They're skeptical in

what Jesus is saying. It's like they're saying,

you know, we are really interested. You did a

great job yesterday, Jesus. That was really cool

that you fed that many people. And hey, we like

what you're doing, and we're almost on board.

But you know, Jesus, you know, Moses, remember

how we talked about last week, how all of that

was tied to, you could just see the parallels

with Moses and the children of Israel. And they

go back to that and they says, you see, Moses

did a lot more though. Do you remember? That

was really good. No, don't forget. Like that

miracle you did with the bread thing, that was

really good. But do you know Moses did a lot

more? He did a lot more. Do you remember like

all those plagues? And then he took 2 million

people out of Egypt, and they got to the sea.

Do you remember that, Jesus? And they parted

the sea. Moses just like, whew, like a staff

out there. The seas parted. You remember the

Red Sea? Oh, and do you remember the manna that

fell from the sky? It fed them every day. We

want another sign. Prove it to us. Take us to

another level, Jesus, because what we have is

Moses, and we believe in him. So Jesus shows

them another. So Jesus, just show us another

sign. Prove to us that you give us bread that

will last forever, bread that will satisfy. Here's

Jesus' response in verse 32. Jesus said to them,

Truly. Now, whenever you see truly in here, Jesus

is going and saying, listen really close. That's

what the word means. Listen up. Okay? So truly,

I tell you, Moses didn't give you the bread from

heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread

from heaven. For the bread of God is the one

who comes down from heaven and gives life to

And they said, sir, give us this bread always.

Jesus says, look, boys. Look, boys and girls.

Moses didn't give you the bread. It came from

God. This is really important because what does

Jesus say he is? Jesus says, the bread I am talking

about. also comes from God, just like the manna

did, but this bread is amazing. It gives life

to the world. And they're like, yeah. They're

like, yes. Give us that bread. That's what he's

doing. That's what they're doing right there.

Okay. Give us that bread then. And Jesus then

drops the bomb. And this is the most important

verse in this whole section today. Look at verse

35. It's a key verse. Everything's pointing at

this verse. Jesus drops the bomb and he says,

I am the bread of life. Not Moses. I am the bread

of life. Jesus told him, no one comes to me who

comes to me will ever be hungry. And no one who

believes in me will ever be thirsty again. What

an amazing statement. He just took a metaphor.

He fed the 5 ,000. He says, see, I can do it.

And they're already hungry. He's talking about

the manna. And now he says, me. I'm the bread.

Eat my body. And they're going to struggle with

this later on. We won't get to that until next

week. But he's saying, I am that. I am the bread

that gives you life. I am the fulfillment. First,

this is the first of seven I am statements by

Jesus. An I am statement is this big explanation

point that points right to him saying, this is

who I am. I am. It's massive. And he says, I

am the light of the world. He says, I am the

door you go through. I am the good shepherd.

I am the way, the truth, and the true vine, a

life. I am the true vine. And then here in verse

35, the first one he says is I'm the bread of

life. And these metaphors throughout John are

incredibly important for us to come back to because

as we look at Jesus, we're trying to see Jesus

to really grasp and understand how big and how

massive he is and then say, do I really see him

that big? And so this metaphor of bread, he says,

I want you to see me for what I am and what I

offer because I'm calling you to believe in me.

I don't care if you went to church your whole

life. I'm calling you to believe in me. I don't

care if you've never heard of Jesus before. I'm

calling you to believe in me in this way. And

I'm going to call you to believe in me in six

other ways throughout the Gospel of John. This

is the first one, and he says, I want you to

see me as bread for your life. One of the commentators

said that it's no coincidence that Jesus was

born in Bethlehem, which means what? Anybody

know what that means? House of bread. He's born

in Bethlehem. The house of bread as prophesied

by hundreds of years earlier in Micah 5 verse

Micah 5:2

2. The word became flesh and he broke it. It's

no coincidence that either that it was all planned

by the Lord for our redemption. Think back to

the children of Israel. They're in the desert

and God gave them what? Manna. Bread, for they

can eat. All the bread they can eat. Consume

it daily. Oh, by the way, it rots at night, so

don't try to collect it. Trust me, every day

for me. I'm going to model this for you. This

is how I work. This is what I provide. I provide

for you every day. Jesus says, I am better bread

for you to eat. I am the one your heart and this

whole inside of you desires. Jesus is the bread

of life. He is our sustenance. He is that for

us. In verse 35, it says that those who come

to Jesus will never, will not hunger. And those

who believe in Jesus will never thirst. What

does that remind you of? Remember the, what did

he do? The wedding? Jesus constantly is using

these metaphors of food and stuff to say, that's

me. I am in that in your life. Not just once

a week. I want to be there in all the moments,

in all the days. Apart from Jesus, nothing satisfies.

The best adventure leaves you wanting another

adventure. Not a bad thing. Enjoy the adventure.

But know that adventure will not satisfy. Because

you'll just want another adventure. The best

meal leaves you hungry at some point. But the

bread of life truly satisfies. Having made this

massive claim about himself, Jesus goes on to

explain the mysteries of his grace. Now, I'm

not going to spend a lot of time in this section

because parts of John are going to unpack this.

This is almost his own sermon all by itself.

But understand that in these next verses, the

next four verses, Jesus is pointing at the mystery

of the grace that you and I get to receive. Okay?

Verse 36. But as I told you, you've seen me.

And yet, you do not believe. Everyone the Father

gives me will come to me, and the one who comes

to me I will never cast out. For I have come

down from heaven. He's just telling us again

who he is. Not to do my own will, but the will

of him who sent me. this is the will of him who

sent me that i should lose none of those who

have he has given me but should raise them up

on the last day this is the will of my father

that everyone who sees the son that's me as jesus

is saying and believes in him will have eternal

life and i will raise him up on the last day

so here's what's going on jesus is on a mission

to gather people to himself he just tells us

this is why i've come that every one of you would

believe in me that you would come to me he claims

that he is from heaven this goes back to john

chapter one where john explains like this in

the god of the universe has come to us he says

i he claims i'm from heaven but those listening

to jesus he also declares will struggle Many

struggle to believe in Jesus, don't they? Look

at verse 41. Therefore the Jews started grumbling

about him because he said, I am the bread that

comes down from heaven. They were saying, isn't

this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and

mother we know? How can he now say, I have come

down from heaven? If I'm being real honest, I

think I'd be asking that same question. We've

seen you grow up. It's like me saying, Raul's

kid Isaiah, I've watched him grow up. Now Isaiah's

saying he's in his 30s and he's saying he's come

from heaven? It's a hard thing to believe, isn't

it? I think it's fair. He says, even after experiencing

all the signs and miracles that Jesus has been

doing, and we know this in John, that John says

like, hey, there are so many more I didn't even

write about that Jesus is doing. There's more

than we can even count. Jesus has been running

around doing like, he's showing everybody who

he is. And even after all of that, they still

struggle to believe in Jesus. So Jesus continues.

Look at verse 43. Jesus answered them, stop grumbling

among yourselves. No one can come to me unless

the Father who has sent me draws him. And I will

raise him up on the last day. It is written in

the prophets and will all be taught by God. Everyone

who has listened to and learned from the Father

comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father

except the one who is from God. He has seen the

Father. Okay, so one of the mysteries of the

gospel is that God is the one who draws you to

himself. This is where this is a massive text.

But here's a mystery. I don't know how it works,

but God is drawing you to himself. A good chance

if you're here today, he's drawn you to himself.

And so that's a mystery. That's grace. We don't

deserve that. He goes deeper in verse 47 with

this same kind of thought. Truly I tell you,

anyone who believes and believes has eternal

life. Believes what? Believes what? Anyone who

believes has eternal life. Believes what? Verse

48. I am the bread of life. Believing in Jesus

as the bread of life is putting Jesus at the

center of our lives. That's what he's saying.

It's pretty simple, pretty hard. I am the bread

of life. He does it again. Verse 49. Your ancestors

ate the manna in the wilderness and they died.

Another way of saying it is, you can eat this

all day long and you're going to die. Even manna

that God provided every day, they ate it in the

wilderness. Are any of them around? They died.

This is the bread that comes down from heaven

so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am

the living bread that came down from heaven.

If anyone eats of this bread, they will live

forever. The bread that I give, that I will give

for the life of the world is my flesh. What's

he going to do with his flesh, church? He's going

to give himself. He says, this bread, this me,

my life is going to be broken for you. I want

you to believe, to put all your hope, everything

in your life in me. As we wrap this up, I want

you to think about this piece of bread, this

loaf of bread, or whatever you want to call it,

in comparison to what Jesus is saying about himself.

When you take a bite of this bread, when you

eat it, you believe it's safe. You believe it's

safe for you to eat unless you're gluten -free,

and then you've got a gluten -free one. I know

how this works. Gluten -freers. But you eat it

knowing it's safe, right? You believe it will

give you strength to make it through the day.

You can't eat it halfway. You can't just put

it in your mouth, chew it a little bit, spit

it out, never swallow it. It just does you no

good. You have to consume it. You either eat

it or you don't. The same is true of believing

in Jesus. You either believe him or you don't.

You either trust him To give you life so you

receive him fully and completely, or you don't.

There's no middle ground. You don't just chew

it up, Jesus, spit it out a little bit when you

want to. It don't work that way. It's either

one way or the other. You either trust him or

you don't. Thinking about eating is not the same

as eating. I consider, like, I should take a

bite of this. I'll think about it. That's not

eating, is it? Thinking about it is not the same

as eating. Knowing all about this nutritional

fact of this bread is not the same as eating

the bread. You know all about it. Understanding

how this bread is processed as you chew it up

and stick it in your body is not the same as

eating it. To believe is to internalize the truth

about Jesus. It's to receive him into your soul.

Thinking about Jesus is not the same as believing.

For that matter, even reading your Bible is not

the same as believing. Knowing all the facts

about Jesus, although those are really important,

is not the same as believing. Believing is staking

your life on the fact that Jesus is the only

way, the only truth, and the only life. You receive

him as Lord and Savior. That's why we, in our

baptisms, we ask this question, who is Jesus?

Craig, you're going to be baptized. Who is Jesus?

He's my Savior and my Lord. I believe 125 % in

Jesus. I would give it all to Him. Now, how good

are we at staying there? We struggle, aren't

we? All right. And so every day, it's not that

we're getting saved again, but every day we walk

back and say, God, just like I need to eat this

every day for my food, I need you every day as

the true life that I consume. It's placing all

your hope in Jesus to sustain you. It's placing

all your confidence in him, even when it doesn't

make sense. You place all your confidence in

him as the one who can give you life and strength.

and the future. Believing in Jesus means you

realize that all other means of salvation don't

work. You say, I cannot do this on my own, Jesus.

I need you. I need you, Jesus, today. I need

you every hour. You are what sustains me. You

are what gives me life, and I cannot do it on

my own. I need you. I can't make this on my own.

I need you, Jesus. I will die apart from you,

Jesus. Jesus, save me. Jesus, forgive me. Jesus,

give me life. This is the daily prayer of...

Or this is the first prayer of somebody who says,

I want Jesus in my life. You pray that prayer.

But it's also the daily prayer of every one of

us. The gospel is you did nothing to earn that.

Sorry, guys. Only Jesus could do it all. The

gospel says that Jesus stood in your place. He

took your sins. And so a lot of us grew up in

a church thinking, well, I've accepted Jesus

into my heart, and so that's good. I've got it

covered. No, that means that Jesus stood in your

place for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every

moment. It just keeps going, and you just got

to still keep coming back to Jesus. I need to

hear this every day. I need Jesus every hour.

Only Jesus can satisfy the growling of my soul.

Only Jesus can fill that hole that's inside of

me. We enjoy the things he offers, but we cannot

place them as our salvation. We cannot place

those things to satisfy us. Jesus is the only

thing. You know, when we think about communion,

what we're really saying, I mean, in baptism,

when we think about baptism, Which we're going

to be celebrating here really soon at our camp

out. And one of the pictures I love about baptism

is this idea that when I baptize you or somebody

else baptizes somebody, they're fully letting

go. And I lower that person into the water. They're

not going, hey, I'm doing it myself. There's

this release that says, God, I give it all to

you, Jesus. All of my sin. All of my shame. All

of my past. I give it to you because you died

for it. And so put it to death. And so you go

into the water. The symbol of death. But then

Jesus, I also trust you to give me life. The

life that only sustains. So you come up out of

the water as a picture of the resurrection of

Jesus. Going in Christ I resurrect. In Christ

I have hope. In Christ I have a life. In Christ

I have a future. he's my savior and he's my lord

and so i simplify the fact that i surrender all

to jesus okay lord you take it and in communion

what we say every week band you can come up we

say this as we go and celebrate communion every

week we say this body was broken for you jesus

your body was broken for me and i know that the

only thing that makes it work in my life is you

jesus and so i remember you today and so i i

take a piece of this bread and i i break it and

we here we just dip it into a cup of juice or

symbolizing the this blood is the blood the wine

that symbolizes his blood that was shed for me

so i dip it into this is i am nothing without

that Jesus, I consume you. I eat you. I want

you to be at the center of my life. And so that's

what we're going to do today is the band plays.

We're going to respond. And seriously, if there's

massive sin in your life you haven't repented

of, don't go do communion. It's mocking God almost.

Like he paid for that. Repent of that sin. Run

to him. If you are not a believer, don't go do

communion because it's really what it says to

the Christian is this is... What I identify,

Jesus did this for me. If you are a follower

of Jesus, though, we go and we remember who is

the real bread of our life. Who is the one that

sustains us? Let's pray together. Lord, as I've

thought about the sin that's in my life, even

this last week of... looking to, thinking about

the next adventure, maybe in my life, oh God,

I wish I could go do this, it would be so much

fun. And being honest with the fact that that

is what I was looking to, to satisfy my whole.

Even though God, you created adventures for us,

you created those things, Jesus, forgive me for

not looking to you. And Lord, I come back to

you today to say, Jesus, you are what sustains,

you are what gives me life. So Jesus, we look

to you as a church. Psalm 34, verse five says,

those who look to the Lord are radiant. Their

faces shall never be ashamed. Help us, Lord,

as we sit and respond this morning to readjust

our gaze back to you. If those are in the room

who've never surrendered to you, Jesus, I pray

today that you will become their Savior and their

Lord. For those that have made that commitment,

God, remind us again and again, you are what

sustains us.