John: Life Through the Spirit

So we we pick right back up with this conversation Jesus is having with his disciples.

And at this point in John chapter 6, it's not just his 12, it's a larger group of disciples.

John 6 · chapter mention

And so it's a large group.

And last week we talked about how God is all about God, that God is for his own glory.

He is not out to glorify you and all of your strengths, but he's actually out to glorify himself.

He is all about himself, and that this is actually the best possible thing for us.

Because what it shows us is that life does not have to be about us.

And this is great relief.

We talked about it last week.

We kind of went into like, you know, how our tendency is to make life about ourselves and control everything around us and just get life as safe as possible and get life to be about us and people to serve us and timetables to serve us.

And we just said, how's that working out?

Is that working out pretty well?

Of course it's not working out.

It doesn't work that way.

And trying to be the center of the world and trying to be the center of your own world actually is a crushing burden that you can't handle.

And that God being the center actually relieves us, and it's a freedom few people know.

But as we begin to understand our belonging to God, we recognize this freedom.

We talked about that last week.

So moving into this week, uh same conversation, Jesus is still talking, actually.

We jump in at John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

We're going to jump in at verse 48, which is not in your bulletin.

Forgive us for that.

Sort of added this later into the week after we went to print.

So just kind of listen as I read 48 through 51.

Jesus saying to this larger group of disciples, I'm the bread of life.

Your ancestors, so he's talking to some Jewish people, your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

And so he's kind of referring to like this way of life that these people were living, a way of what would be called the law, a way of living up to a standard of righteousness as to be approved by God.

That's not working out.

It doesn't work.

And he's saying it doesn't work.

It's broken.

They died.

They ate that manna, that way of life, they died.

But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats this bread will live forever.

This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

So if you're looking for life, he's saying, I'm I'm it.

Right standing with God, I'm the right standing with God.

So security of your identity, I'm security of your identity.

Security of your soul and eternity.

I am that.

He's saying, I am the source of nourishment for your inner life, and I satisfy.

And then he jumps into verse 52.

Then the Jews begin to argue sharply among themselves.

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

And I love this because it's almost like an artist talking to a mathematician.

They're just not lining up.

I mean, Jesus is talking sort of like metaphorical, and the disciples are being super, super literal, and they can't, they don't get it.

You know, you're saying he's bread of life, and we've got to eat them, and they're going, how could this, it doesn't even make any sense.

How could we eat his flesh?

Doesn't make any sense.

And they're saying this is barbaric, and they're kind of, they're they're grumbling with this, they're struggling with allegorical language.

They just can't get there.

And so then Jesus in verses 53 through 58, he gets the language even more uh just really strange.

And he goes in in verse 53 through 58, you read it later, and he starts talking about that his his body is the flesh, and you need to eat his body, and you need to drink his blood, and and you can just tell these this group would just be almost put off by this and not understanding.

And Jesus is pushing into that metaphor, he's pushing into that kind of language, and their literal minds, they just they're not getting it.

And for Jesus, what he's doing is a very graphic, intense way of making his point.

And his point is you have to take me into the innermost part of your body, the innermost part of your soul and your being.

So eight years ago, we moved to Grant Park and we bought a 1930s two-bedroom, one-bath dump.

At the time we didn't know it was a dump.

I don't think we thought it was a dump.

It was an absolute wreck.

But it was ours, right?

And we were young and we had no kids, and we were gonna renovate this house.

And so we move into this dump and it's it's a broke, it was a broken down house.

I mean, we had foundation problems.

I I mean the first shower I took in that claw foot tub, I mean, water is just it we didn't we didn't have shower curtains around the claw foot tub, water's good straight down into the basement.

I mean, the porch is kind of leaning off to the side.

Just a rough, rough house.

But we are so excited to move into this place and to very slowly, day by day, month by month, project by project, bring this house back to life.

So one day I'm outside and there were just like holes in the house.

There'd just be random holes in the house, and so I am on a ladder on the right underneath the front eave, and there's a hole, which I think is probably for ventilation for the attic, but there's no screen or anything, it's just a hole.

So, squirrels, you know, birds, whatever, free access.

So I'm up there, this is like week one with this house.

I'm I'm getting mesh screen up there.

Let's let's seal this this house off.

And I and I have this thought of like what if I just just unloaded a can of roach spray into this hole before I put the screen up.

And so I go back inside and I get the roach spray and I climb back up the ladder and I just I unload.

I just pouring it in there.

It was probably 30 seconds, and the the first little fella came out.

And then, and then, and then all his cousins, the neighbors, and and second cousins, third cousins, and I eventually I end up back down on the on the sidewalk right in front of our house, and and it is an overflow.

It looked like a black waterfall coming out, and they are pouring out.

And I I think I at first, you know, I want to kill them.

Um I don't want to take my shoes off because now they're on the sidewalk, and so I I run and I run inside, and you know, Christy, Christian, we get we need flip-flops, hurry, you know, and Christy and I, we stand outside of our new house that we paid money for, and and we are flip-flops in hand, and we are just killing roaches on the side of the house.

And it it is a solid, I'm not exactly it's a solid 10 minutes of just just roach after roach after roach, and and and then slowly, slowly it stops, and you you get to the end of that, and where do you go?

I mean, like I mean, can you go take a nap on the couch inside the house?

Do you and and so you just kind of like linger for a little bit.

Um that that that house was a was a work in progress, and slowly that foundation problem was fixed, and slowly that roach issue was solved, and slowly that rat issue was solved, and slowly all the water issues were solved, and that front porch was solved, and slowly became a really nice little house.

But along the way, the whole way, it was ours.

It was ours the entire time.

My point is this: when we take Christ into the inner self, we are his the whole time.

The entire time.

And perhaps, perhaps, if you're like me, you would say, okay, I've eaten the bread, I've you know, I've eaten of his flesh, I've drank of the blood, I'm in the family, I understand, I understand Russ, I belong to him, I get it, but to be honest, there are a lot of days where I'm just kind of like, where's the power?

Right?

Because I mean, I I look over at, you know, like you know, super Christian over there, and he's waking up at 5 a.m.

because he mentioned it to me.

He's waking up at 5 a.m.

to pray for an hour and a half.

He slid that in in the conversation proudly.

And so he's waking up at 5 a.m.

to pray for an hour and a half for all his friends and family.

I I prayed one time for all my friends and family, like about four and a half minutes of time to, but he's lasting an hour and a half.

I don't even I don't even understand that.

I can't even get there, and or maybe you look over at you know, super Christian lady, and she's teaching her, you know, her BSF, and she's teaching her Zumba class also, and her Crown Financial class.

She's teaching all of them, and she's homeschooling her kids, and she irons all her husband's clothes, and everything is under control.

And you look at that and you're like, I why am I not even better?

Right?

I mean, like, like I'm not even close to that.

Like, why can't I, why can't I be more disciplined?

Why or or why why am I so disciplined that it hurts people?

Why am I still wrapped up in people's approval?

Why do I freak out?

Why do I freak out when I can't control everything?

Why do I buy things to make myself feel better?

Why do I still escape into television or food or like use one too many drinks or work?

Why do I still withdraw from people and put up a wall?

Why can't I let people all the way in?

Why am I why am I guarded?

Right?

I mean, it's all is asking the same question.

Where is the power to deal with this?

I'm glad you asked.

Verse 61.

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, but all that allegorical language, this truth about taking him in, they're grumbling about it.

Jesus says to them, Does this offend you?

Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

Verse 63, this is where we're gonna the spirit gives life.

The flesh counts for nothing.

The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the spirit and life.

Yet there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.

So verse 61 says this issue going on with these disciples, and some of them are gonna leave.

They're grumbling.

They're kind of like the way of the law, more than this new kind of radical way that Jesus is talking about, that he is the bread of life.

They're gonna go back to that other way.

Their eyes are on the law and on their performance, not ready to receive, receive Jesus.

And then that verse 63, the Spirit gives life.

And so if the Spirit gives life, how does the Spirit work?

Okay, what what is it what does this mean?

So let's think about it this way.

Let's go back to that old house and let's just say we are the old house, and and we're comfortable in our old house.

We're comfortable with our issues, we're comfortable with our past, we're comfortable with maybe some stuff way in the past, we've sort of worked some things out, we've sort of kind of segmented some stuff off and closed some doors, and it is work, it was working.

Life's working, we're comfortable, okay, there's a foundation issue, and maybe that's gonna ruin some stuff in the future, but you know what?

It's probably gonna work out.

There's a moisture issue in the basement, and I, you know, I'm not just not paying attention to all the repercussions of that because I don't want to deal with it.

And God comes into our lives when we place faith in Christ, and He says, I'm moving in, and I'm gonna be in your kitchen, and I'm gonna be in your living room, I'm gonna be in your bedroom, your mud room, laundry room for you, I'm gonna be in your bathrooms, I'm gonna be in your bedroom, I'm gonna be in the basement.

I'm gonna get down to that basement, I'm gonna spend a lot of time in that basement.

You're not gonna like that.

I am moving in, and once I move in, I don't move out.

Your laziness, your apathy, your lust, your greed, I'm not selling you off.

I'm not leaving.

I'm moving in and I'm in.

And I'm coming in.

And here's what he does when he moves in.

And here's the most powerful thing I will say that will create the most power in your life is that the Spirit is declaring over you what you are not.

If you're wondering, where's the power?

Where's the power?

Am I not changing?

That's the power.

The power is even though you're not changing, he's declaring over you something you are not.

So even though you are unrighteous, he's declaring over you are righteous because what Jesus did.

You're valued, you are loved.

Even though you don't feel loved, I'm declaring over you, you are loved.

That's where the that's that's the power.

A declaration over you of something you are not.

We need to stop the sermon there, but I'm gonna keep going.

Verse 63, it talks about revealing opposing forces.

Right?

He talks about the spirit, and he talks about the flesh.

So he says, life is in the spirit.

And spirit's not a thing, it's not a wave, it's not a ray, it's not an emotion.

The spirit is a personal pronoun.

It's not an it, it's a person.

It's the person of God.

When Christ resurrects and he ascends to heaven, the spirit is the presence of God in our life.

Now the flesh is us, our human nature.

I want to be clear on this, give it a clear definition.

The flesh is the earthly nature of man, apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.

It's the old man.

It's the old part of us telling us, uh, that new guy who moved in.

Can't really trust him.

That whole, like, he's declaring over you something you're not, uh, you really just you need to be you need to do that on your own.

Okay?

Like, that's a little too good to be true.

And but and I don't even know if he really really loves you where you're at.

I think you really need to get a little bit better before that's coming your way.

And you know how you feel that inner conflict.

I think we should handle that some of our own ways.

And the flesh is the flesh is making the same promise.

The spirit is, they're both promising they're saying, freedom's over here.

The flesh is saying, freedom's over here.

You want freedom from that conflict, that inadequacy, you know, that feeling inside of yourself.

You need some relief.

I've got the relief for you.

Freedom is over this way, and he's saying, you know what?

Just get some more stuff, get some more money or more power or more control, or get a little more beautiful, and then you will be relieved.

Enjoy this.

Just take a break, take a break.

Satisfy that lust.

That's what you need.

That's where your freedom is.

This is what the flesh is telling us.

Or if you're not bent that way, if you're not bent sort of like a rebellious way, he'll just bend you a religious way and say, you know what?

Um you just need to work, you need to get more involved.

Let's just put you to work.

Like, forget this, like resting what Christ did for you.

Let's just put you to work.

And what he's doing, he's just setting you to painting your house over and over and over again.

There's a moisture problem in the basement coming up through the floorboards.

Your floorboards are cupping, and you don't want to deal with that.

And he has you painting your walls over and over again, and that moisture problem down in the cellar is coming up, and your paint peels, and he has you paint your walls again and paint your walls.

Just all behavior without ever dealing with the heart.

The flesh will never lead you into the heart.

And the spirit always leads you into the heart because the spirit is saying freedom's over here, and the spirit is calling you past behaviors.

Okay, we got some behavioral sin, but the I what why?

Why is that happening?

Let's we will you come down here?

Will you come down to the basement with me?

Can we can we look at some of this?

And at times these are minor battles.

You know, seeing some lie we picked up and we believed about something, I don't know.

And you read the word of God and the Spirit illuminates it and it begins to speak to you, and you're like, man, I I've been believing this.

That's not just not true.

I've been resting in something, it's not true, and then minor battles, and then there are times when it feels like just a wave, wave after wave of exhausting battles.

And the spirit's leading you into that.

Because the spirit wants to lead you to what would be called the sin under the sin, so that so that we can have some freedom.

So back in the summer when we were we were ramping up for services, starting this, and and I I left a secure job, uh a nice job, but a good place, and good great office, great windows.

I talk about my windows a lot, missing my windows and my office.

Good place, and I left that and a lot of uncertainty, and we're about to start, and I was stressed out.

Now, if you asked me how it was, I just told you I was fine because I'm guarded and I have my own issues.

So I'm fine, but really I'm stressed out.

And uh I I like a straight house, like a like a kind of tidy house, not working out for me with a five-year-old and a three-year-old and a baby, because basically what that means is they're unstraitening while Christy's trying to straighten, and that's not, and it's three against one, she's not gonna win.

And then I come in, I come in at five o'clock to the house, and with me and my issues, uh a chaotic, unstraight house creates more stress in me.

And so what do I do?

I don't I don't say, Chris, how are you?

I love you, thank you for taking care of our children.

They're alive, that's amazing, they're alive at the end of the day, and nothing's horrible's happened.

That's unbelievable.

Thank you for sacrificing your day.

I know you had a lot you wanted to do and you didn't get to do any of it.

I don't do any of that.

What I do is I come in and see this, and I just start straightening.

Just straight at it.

No concern for my children, no concern for my wife.

I'm not a monster, but I am a jerk, and that's what's playing out.

And and one of my mentors just said, Why do you do that?

He didn't say you should stop doing that.

Why do you do that?

I think I would have preferred him just to say, stop doing that.

Here's Russ, here's what you should do.

You should stop doing that, right?

When you walk in, just set yourself a boundary, you're gonna speak to your wife for three minutes, and then go hug all your children, it'll take seven and a half minutes, and then you can return to all of your neurotic, self-obsessed straightening.

And then now he just said, Why what's in you that does that?

And so the spirit starts to say, Hey, uh, can we go here?

Will you go somewhere with me?

And and it's places I don't want to go, you know, and visit some wounds I don't want to visit.

And and and very long history short, um a summary is is is growing up.

Our family had some things happen that created life out of control, and out of that uh created this idol of comfort that I just want things to be easy.

And when things aren't easy, I remember when times really weren't easy.

And see, out of that idol creates a lot of can create behaviors of sin.

But see, the spirit goes, okay, we got a lot of behavioral sin here.

You're a jerk, you're selfish.

Um can can we go, can we get into the heart?

Can we go there?

Because that that's how the spirit brings life.

And I'm I'm I'm not better.

I mean, I I think the spirit's breathing some life into that and a little bit of freedom, a beginning there.

I mean Christy was Christy would test it.

He's he's not he's not better.

Um but some new life there.

Maybe maybe you're here and you would say Russ.

None of that childhood crap.

And you know what I would say?

None of that freedom stuff.

Like not willing to go into like wound lies.

Okay, well then probably none of that freedom stuff.

Like not willing to go into a heart issue, just want to stay the behaviors, well then probably closing off the spirit to breathe in some new life into some places.

When we begin to let go of a way of performance, so we don't have to perform anymore.

The spirit's declaring over us every moment.

Every day.

We are loved, we are righteous, so we don't have to pretend, we don't have to perform, so we can go into some places.

We can be imperfect.

And we're hearing this declaration.

We're loved, we're worthy, we're valued, we're righteous, not by what we do, but what He has done for us.

And so we can ask these questions.

Why am I so driven that it hurts my family?

Why am I closed off?

Why can't I really believe I'm loved apart from what I do?

Why am I impatient?

Why do I not care about anything?

Why is that there?

And the Spirit will take us into places, into our hearts, into dead places, into lies.

And it's scary.

Because we don't want to go there.

But there's life waiting there.

The Spirit will breathe life.

In verse 63, Jesus ties together the Spirit and the Word.

These go together.

We don't have to pick.

The church doesn't have to pick.

Should we be spirit-driven?

Should we be all about the Spirit?

And we raise our hands and Holy Spirit to come.

Should we be about, oh no, we're going to be about the Word.

We're going to exegete passage.

We don't have to pick.

I mean, these go together.

The Spirit illuminates the Word of God, and the Word of God teaches us about the Spirit.

These come together.

And Jesus puts them together.

In Matthew 4, this is when Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

That'll blow your mind right there.

So the Spirit would lead you into the wilderness.

And Jesus is led in the wilderness and he has his fast 40 days.

In the four days, he's hungry, right?

40 days of he's hungry.

I mean, we we go like four hours.

We're hungry.

40 days, he's hungry.

And the devil comes, the liar, that's what the devil means liar.

I just like to call him liar.

So the liar comes and liar's working on him.

The liar's trying to get a behavior, but to get the behavior, what's he doing?

He's trying to get at some heart issues.

Like, do you really trust your father?

Do you really trust God?

Do you trust what he said?

And how does Jesus reply?

Three different times.

We won't go into the three, but three different times, he says the same thing.

It is written.

Jesus relying back on the word, on what is true.

If we want life, want life, we dive into what is true.

We want to take it in.

So our our posture.

Our posture should constantly, continuously be this sort of like, okay, God, I need you.

It's wide open.

I need Holy Spirit, I need you.

And at the same time, just like, and and I'm digging in.

I am I am in it.

I want to know it.

I want to know the story.

I want to know the covenants.

I want to know what you are like.

And I need you.

I need you.

I, Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, work in me.

I need you.

I need you.

I need you.

And I'm digging in.

I need the word.

But these come together.

They come together.

They work together for our freedom.

So I started out.

I started out by asking, where's the power?

Where's the power?

And so I want to be very clear, closing down.

The power is in trusting the Spirit to be for you what you cannot be on your own.

That's where the power is.

Meaning he's declaring over you who you are in Christ wherever you're at.

You are strong when you're weak.

You are whole even though you are broken.

He's declaring you positionally something you are not practically.

That is the power resting in that.

He's in the kitchen, he's in the living room, he's in the bedroom, he's in the bathroom, he's in the mud room, laundry room, all your rooms, whether you got five of them or you got 15 of them, he's in all the rooms, and he's in the basement.

And he's declaring over you, you are strong.

You are whole.

You are valued.

You are righteous.

You are loved.

Let's pray together.

God, we thank you that though we are not, you were for us.

Would you give us the faith to believe more?

That it is not what we have done or what we do, and we are free from performing, pretending in front of you or in front of somebody else, and we are free from comparing to some super Christian who looks like some super Christian, which they're not, and that it's it's you.

It's you alone, it's eating of your flesh, that you are the living bread of life.

Would you increase our faith in that, that we might be able to hear you when you say, Hey, can we go?

Can we go here?

Will you come, will you come down here and and and look at this?

God, would we trust and would we know that you are calling us to those places not to condemn us, but to heal us and to breathe life.

For you are a spirit of life.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.