JESUS WINS | MILES FIDELL

Oh wow. It is good to be in Orlando,

Florida. And I mean that y'all. Do you

know like people will come to our church

from other cities and be like you guys

you you should be so grateful for what

you have and you don't know how good you

have it. Well, that is true times like a

thousand today. You guys have no idea

how good you have it.

We are worshiping Jesus right now. 10

minutes from Disney World. And I know

y'all don't care. You're over it. You're

numb to it. I care. You know, 10 minutes

away from that, the PGA tour is here at

Bay Hill. Wild.

I'm just driving around. The most

beautiful scenery ever. There's lakes

everywhere. I was on my run this morning

and I was I was like, I don't know how

things work here. So, I'm I'm freaked

out that an alligator just could jump

out at any time. And some of y'all are

like, "That that happens. That's real."

And and I was fearful of that. But I'm

just like showing up here and hoping and

praying that you recognize and are

grateful for what God has given you to

steward. And not just this building, not

just this this church, but for your

pastor and his wife. Uh you know. Yeah.

Wow. Hey,

that's saying something because when I

bring guys in and they say stuff about

me, people don't clap. So, uh, that's

that's great. It means they love you.

Um, Luke, Lindsay, and and two boys that

you're raising, 33 years old, called to

lead this. I'm 37 and leading something

um at a similar pace and a similar size,

and it is not easy. And I would just say

on y'all's behalf, uh, we honor you and

we are so grateful for the way you lead

out in your relationship with Jesus

first and foremost. But, uh, for you

guys, I would just encourage you at this

age to be leading something like this.

They need encouragement. They need

prayers. They need so much more

encouragement than they need criticism.

And and and there's a place for critical

feedback. Just make sure the

encouragement is multiplied 10 times

over so that they are filled with faith.

Because I promise you, his harshest

critic is him and the voice in his head

is telling him all of these negative

things all the time. What would it look

like for a church to rise up that goes,

"We will overwhelm the voice of the

enemy by being the voice of the good

shepherd on Jesus's behalf as the people

of God telling you, keep going, keep

serving, keep loving your family well,

and thank you for for inviting me into

this moment." We're so grateful to get

to be here. You know, Lindsay gets to be

here at the same one. Courtney, my wife,

and two oldest daughters are actually on

the front row for this one. But I

brought a picture of our all four

daughters together just so you can get a

context for what we're dealing with. So,

Aniston, Elliot, Mercy, Jane, and

Josephine. And we're actually going to

go ahead and put my Venmo in the lower

right corner for the wedding fun. We'll

just add that to bringing time. That

would be great. Uh, but our lives are

are completely full on on every level.

And we moved from Atlanta, Georgia to

Auburn, Alabama about 12 years ago and

started a church called Auburn Community

Church or more known as ACC. And

recently, like you guys, our church went

through a name change. And so we changed

it to All Church, just more describing

the identity of who we want to be as a

church family. And we have locations

that have spread throughout the

southeast and Birmingham, Nashville,

Atlanta, Huntsville. Um, I I I make the

joke that I I don't even know where all

of our our church locations are, but I

at the same time it's because like what

you're experiencing, the spirit of God

is at work in our day. And this is not a

time for churches and movements to pound

their chest about what God's doing, but

a time to hold it humbly. Like what we

just saw through stories of baptism,

that woman that got baptized, I don't

know her name, but the joy of the Lord

is on that woman's face, and I was just

filled up watching that. So, I'm

grateful to be here. You guys just

finished a long series on Song of Songs,

which I was supposed to finish. And I

told Luke, man, as a guest speaker, I

really don't want to preach the last

chapter of Song of Songs. If you know,

you know. Um, and so, man, he he just

graciously said, "Bring us like the

depths of your heart for the church."

And and just a message that comes from

what I've seen God do in my life and

what I've seen God do in our church. So,

I hope it encourages you. I hope we have

an encounter with the living God. Uh in

fact, let me just pray before we open

God's word. Heavenly Father, would you

send the spirit to illuminate Christ

during this time? God, would you allow

what happens in this room to magnify

Jesus? Would you allow people to know

that they are not hearing your word from

a human agent, but your Holy Spirit is

speaking through an imperfect vessel

right now? God, would you collide with

people's stories in the most unlikely

ways in details that they cannot ascribe

to anything other than the fact that the

God of the universe is meeting with them

right now. So, we love you. We trust

you. We thank you for the ways you are

moving this morning. And we ask you to

come and speak in Jesus name. Amen.

Well, since I started following Jesus at

13 years old and since we planted a

church 12 years ago, two words have

emerged as the headline of my life and

story. And they're the headline of our

church family back in Auburn and some of

the other cities. And the words are

Jesus wins. And we put these two words

as many places as we can because we want

to remind people this is the headline of

the human story. In fact, I would argue

if you wanted to summarize what this

book is about from start to finish,

those two words do a pretty good job. It

is about exalting the name of Jesus,

which we were just doing. Jesus be the

name. There's something about your name.

You know why there's something about his

name? Because Colossians says everything

that has been created was created by him

and for him to honor him. So, if you

want to know why are we floating on a

sphere through outer space? Why do I

exist? Why do I have breath in my lungs?

Why am I here? The simple answer is you

are here to make Jesus look awesome.

Which sounds self-seeking on his behalf,

but actually what you discover as a

human being is you actually find the

fullness of who you are in the light of

who he is. And that the more you glorify

him, the more you honor him with your

life, the more you discover the fullness

of what it means to be a human being.

Everything was created to glorify Jesus.

But it's not just the headline of a

story on a page. It can be the headline

of your life if you discover it in your

life. Jesus wins is what happens to a

life when they discover that Jesus is

better than any other option they have

to live for. And that's really what I

want, what we want to happen at this

church. We are not out to sell you some

kind of a religion or doctrine of

beliefs that you check a box on. Yes, I

believe he actually was the promised son

of David. Yes, I believe he rose from

the dead. Yes, I believe the scriptures.

Those things are important in your mind.

But if not connected to a heart

surrendered, all you will ever be is

what we like to call a consumer

Christian. If you don't know this, in

the south, there's two different types

of followers of Jesus that make up most

of our churches. There are consumer

Christians and there are biblical

Christians. And the difference is really

subtle. A consumer Christian is someone

who wants Jesus more for what Jesus has

to offer than they actually want Jesus.

Like they want to consume his merit.

They love what he did on the cross. They

love talking about eternal life and

going, "Man, I I love that I receive

this free gift of salvation from Jesus."

But when it comes down to it, they're

not following Jesus on Jesus's terms.

They're pulling Jesus into the life that

they want him to fit into. and and and

it's a really subtle difference, but a

consumer Christian is someone who

actually wants the stuff more than they

actually want the person. A biblical

Christian is a radical disciple who has

said yes to Jesus more than anything

because Jesus is the treasure and Jesus

is the prize. And so I don't want to

just ask you today, do you believe that

Jesus wins is the headline of the

biblical story. I want to ask you today,

is this the headline of your life? Have

you compared what Jesus has to offer you

in this life to every other option the

world has to offer and seen and decided

for yourself he wins and he's not just

better he is better by far. Now here's

the crazy thing about it. No amount of

singing really really really emotional

songs or me making my voice loud or

saying something compelling can produce

you deciding that Jesus is better. Only

the Holy Spirit can open someone's eyes

to see that and to know that. That

happened for me at 13 years old. I was

in the seventh grade and I saw with

spiritual eyes. He's better. He's just

better than every other option. And not

just because when I die I get to go to

heaven. And not just because he died to

forgive me of my sins, but because in

him I have found the fullest meaning. I

have found the fullest satisfaction. I

have actually discovered what it means

to be alive. And I want you to know

today, if you follow Jesus, he does

offer you eternal life after you die. He

does offer you the forgiveness of sins

because of what he did on the cross. But

did you know he also offers you so much

more? You know, the story is not just

believe your sins are forgiven and I'll

see you in heaven. The story is you get

to walk with him right here and right

now. You get the fullest version of what

it means to be alive. And that is

actually why John wrote the gospel of

John. Do you know when when John wrote

John he he wrote I am writing these

things so that you would believe that

Jesus is the Christ,

by believing that you may have life in

his name. Some of you think all of

Christianity is summed up in belief.

Just believe that Jesus is who he says

he is. And there is a lot in faith. But

the goal is that by believing in him, we

can have the fullness of life that's

available in him. So, I want to take you

to the moment. Look up here, y'all.

Don't miss this. The moment in the

Gospels where consumer followers of

Jesus collided with radical true

disciples. And you got to realize this

isn't a new thing in 2026. We think it's

American like, well, there's consumer

Christians who just want what they want

out of the church. No, there were people

following Jesus who just wanted Jesus

for his miracles. They had no interest

in the fullness of what he was actually

coming to offer. And everything comes to

a head in this one story we're going to

read where Jesus finally goes, "You know

what? I'm not going to give you what you

think you want temporarily. I'm going to

invite you into the reason why I came."

And when you see what Jesus offered, I

hope and I pray that the Holy Spirit

will open your eyes and you'll say,

"Jesus wins. He wins my story. He wins

my life." And then we're going to take

communion and then we're going to leave

radiating the glory of Christ before I

preach to the 11:45. Does that sound

good? Did you bring your Bible? If you

have your Bible, hold it up. Hold it up.

I want to see those of you who lost an

hour of sleep but didn't lose your

Bible. Somebody say, "I love my Bible."

Turn with me to John chapter 6. Y'all

John 6 · chapter mention

are like doubting whether or not you can

confidently you can you can say you love

the scriptures. It's great. John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6 is where we're going to be living. And

if you don't have it, we'll have it on

the screen in just one second. John is

the fourth gospel account. But I got to

give you a preface to what we're going

to read because we're going to start in

verse 25. But if you open to John 6 in

your Bible and read the heading of the

section I'm going to read, you will read

Jesus, the bread of life. This is a

powerful moment where Jesus announces

that he is the bread of life. But if

you're in John 6, I want you to look up

from that. Look at the two stories that

precede the one we're going to read.

They are arguably Jesus's two most

famous miracles aside from his

resurrection. You have Jesus feeding the

5,000 at the beginning of John 6 and

then Jesus walking on water. How many of

you know that these two miracles

happened back to back. So when Jesus fed

5,000 people, he's teaching in this huge

field and it's more than 5,000 people.

It was 5,000 men. It was more like

10,000 or 15,000 people when you count

women and children that were there. This

is a crazy miracle. And when Jesus is

teaching, he gets to the end of his

teaching and his disciples come to him

and go, "Hey, like we need to send them

away for food because everybody's

stomach is starting to growl and we

don't have enough food to feed them. All

we have are a few loaves of bread and a

few fish." And Jesus says, "No, no, no.

We're going to feed them because there's

always more in God's math than you have

accounted for." You know, when Luke was

talking about supernatural stories of

provision and he go, "How many of you

have a testimony about that?" I just

want to tell somebody who's worried

about provision right now. This might be

financial. This might be medical. But

some of you have like a need. And

mathematically speaking, it will be

impossible for God to meet that need. I

just want to remind you from the

scriptures today, God's math in his

kingdom doesn't work the way your math

does. And five loaves and two fish are

enough to feed 10,000. And if that's

true, you have enough to face what you

are facing when you leave this space

today. I don't know. It could be for one

person who just came with provision

being the deepest need of their heart

and life and hope that God speaks to

you, ministers to you through that. But

Jesus, as you know, takes the loaves,

takes the fish, breaks them, gives

thanks, and they're able to feed

thousands and thousands of people. Now,

when you give away free food in any era

of history, you're probably going to

gain a following. In the ancient world,

in Israel, you got everybody because

this is an oppressed people group in the

Roman Empire. Their greatest problem

every single day is how am I going to

feed my family? Well, now we got this

itinerant preacher who's traveling

around. Don't know if we agree with some

of the crazy things he says about being

the Messiah or the son of David or all

the the rumors that are spread about

him. But here's what we know about him.

Dude can feed everybody for free. So,

they're all going, "I'm in. I I'm if if

if we're signing up to follow him, I'm

in. But here's the thing. At that night,

he leaves. Actually, he doesn't leave.

His disciples leave and they see him

stay. And he goes, "Y'all get on the

boat and go across the lake. I'll meet

you guys over there." And they're all

going, "Well, if we're taking the boat,

how are you going to make it across the

lake? They don't know. His plan is to

walk." And so that night, Jesus famously

walks on water. Has the encounter where

Peter also walks on water and then falls

and Jesus picks him up. You can read the

whole story in John chapter 6. But then

John 6 · chapter mention

when he get when they get to the other

side of the lake, the crowd that he had

fed saw the disciples leave, but they

don't know where Jesus went. And because

they can't find Jesus on their area,

they end up crossing as well, going,

"Well, maybe he found another way to get

over there." And once they get over

there, the first thing they ask him is,

"How in the world did you get here?" And

watch what Jesus says next. John chapter

John 6:25

6, verse 25, if you're there, say I'm

there. He says, "When they found him on

the other side of the lake, they asked

him, Rabbi, when did you get here?" I

love that Jesus doesn't say, "I walked."

He knows they can't handle that. Verse

26, Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell

you, you are looking for me. Not because

you saw the signs I performed, but

because you ate the loaves and had your

fill. Do not work for food that spoils,

but for food that endures to eternal

life, which the Son of Man will give

you. For on him God the Father has

placed his seal of approval. Then the

people asked him, "What must we do to do

the works God requires?" Jesus answered,

"The work of God is this. To believe in

the one he has sent." Y'all look up

here. Follow what's happening here.

They're like, "Rabbi, when did you get

here?" And immediately Jesus weeds out

the problem with their motives and

intentions. Immediately he goes,"I know

why you came and you did not come

because you saw a sign and you're

curious about my teaching. You came

because you ate and now you're hungry

again. Don't come after me for the food

that spoils. Come after me for the real

thing." Did you know that on the Son of

Man, God the Father has placed his seal

of approval? In other words, Jesus is

going, "I know you came for the bread."

Kind of put that desire aside and see

the bigger picture of what's happening

here. The God who created everything has

sent me and approved of me. So they go,

"Okay, well, if there's a bigger story,

what must we do to what does God require

us to do in response to your teaching?"

And Jesus says, "Here it is. Believe in

the one he has sent."

And you read that as a gentile, mostly

gentile crowd Christian in 2026 and

you're like, "Yeah, believe in Jesus."

That's the core tenants of what it means

to be a Christian. Guys, this is the

Jewish people after thousands of years

of laws and rules and restrictions and

countless ways. How do we walk as the

holy people of God? Jesus's gospel

announcement that now the way you

respond to God is by believing and

trusting in the one he has sent is

completely scandalous. This is

unbelievable. Unmmerited favor sent from

God. Here's the new announcement. You

just believe. You trust in me. You're

connected to me. This is the new way.

Watch how the people respond. Verse 30.

So they asked him, "What sign then will

you give that we may see it and believe

you? What will you do?" Our ancestors

ate the mana in the wilderness. As it is

written, he gave them bread from heaven

to eat. Jesus said to them, "Very truly

I tell you, it is not Moses who has

given you the bread from heaven, but it

is my father who gives you the true

bread from heaven. For the bread of God

is the bread that comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world. Sir, they

said, always give us this bread.

Y'all look up here. I I want you to

understand what you're reading on a

page. I want you to like engage your

mind enough to really go there 2,000

years ago. Jesus is telling this group,

the way you are going to respond

rightfully to God is to believe in me

and to trust in me. And the people go,

okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Believe in

you. Believe you. We want to believe in

you. So like what sign will you perform

so that it would make it easier for us

to believe? We seem to remember in our

history there was this guy Moses. I

don't know if you heard of him. He had a

sign and he would give us mana to eat.

And he wouldn't just give us mana once.

He would give it to us every day. Do

y'all see what they're doing? They're

trying to manipulate the son of God to

do what they have decided they want

beforehand. It's what a lot of you do in

your prayer life, by the way. But we're

going to save that one for another

sermon. They they're like, "Oh, yeah. I

would believe um maybe if you like fed

us, like Moses fed the people, not just

once, but like every day." You see what

they're doing? They're reaching for his

last miracle. And they're going, "Bro,

do the bread thing again." It's

basically what they're saying. Like,

"But we're not here for all this deep

talk about what you've come to offer.

We're here because we're hungry and we

want you to to to give us some bread."

And then Jesus goes, "Listen, Moses

didn't give you bread. God gave you

bread. Moses was just the conduit God

was using. The true bread that comes

down from heaven is sent from God. Don't

you guys see? That's what I'm announcing

I'm here to give you." And they think

they're being spiritual, but actually

they're being manipulative when they

say, "Sir, always give us this bread."

Some of you don't realize it, but some

of the main things you're quote unquote

pursuing God about are not about

pursuing God and finding out his will.

It's about bending God according to your

will and your story.

And consumer disciplehip is traded in

for radical disciplehip. When you go, I

don't know what the terms are. I just

want you. And so when they say, sir,

always give us this bread. He's like,

all right, I'll tell you about the

bread. Now, I'm about to read to you six

verses that have become pillars in my

life and in our church a few hours from

here personally. And I want to present

them to you as the evidence that Jesus

does win. In fact, in every Bible that I

own, it says Jesus wins. Beside this

section of scripture I'm going to read

because Jesus is about to announce to

them not only what he's come to offer as

the bread from heaven, but what he's

come to offer holistically in the story

God's about to write. So y'all tune in.

Do not miss one word of the red letters

we're about to read. Then Jesus

declared, here it is, y'all. I am the

bread of life. Whoever comes to me will

never go hungry. And whoever believes in

me will never be thirsty. But as I told

you, you have seen me, and still you do

not believe. All those the Father gives

me will come to me. And whoever comes to

me, I will never drive away. For I've

come down from heaven not to do my will,

but to do the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me

that I shall lose none of all those he

has given me, but raise them up at the

last day. For my Father's will is that

everyone who looks to the Son and

believes in him shall have eternal life,

and I will raise them up at the last

day.

Think about this.

Go there in your mind. A hungry crowd

that wants Jesus to do a repeat miracle.

And Jesus is begging them, if you can

just see past your physical appetites

for a moment, the bread of life is right

in front of you. I have come down not to

do my will, but to do the will of him

who sent me. And the one who sent me has

given me people who I will not lose if

he's given them to me. I will raise them

up at the last day. I can't tell you how

many parallels I see to this moment in

scripture to every Sunday when the

church gets together. Like there's a

group of people, a large group of people

who came into this church today who have

an agenda with God. This is what I want

from Jesus today. This is what I want

from him. And if you could see what's

truly on the table as Jesus is

presenting the life he's inviting to you

you into it's it requires you getting

beyond what you think you need

immediately in all of your immediate

appetites to see the ultimate story that

you're a part of. You go I realize your

stomach is growling but your soul is

aching for something so much deeper than

what you are settling for. And the only

way into the fullness of life Jesus died

and rose for you to live is for you to

see for yourself. Oh my goodness, he

wins.

He just established himself as the

ultimate solution to every single human

conundrum that exists in your life and

in mine. And all I want to do today, I

don't have some kind of uh super

creative presentation for y'all. I just

have the text to be like, this is what

he said line by line, and this is what

he's come to offer you. What are you

going to do with it today? What am I

going to do with it today? And so I have

like in a row everything he just said,

five things that Jesus has come to offer

you. And then we're going to ask the

question, has Jesus won your life and

your story? Number one, out of verse 35,

are you ready for this? Jesus came to

offer you real satisfaction. Did you

hear what he said? Then Jesus declared,

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes

to me will never go hungry, and whoever

believes in me will never be thirsty.

Follow what Jesus is doing right here.

He is utilizing the fact that he knows

they have physical desires in order to

expose

the spiritual desires that they're

ignoring. Like God, did you know God

created you as a factory of desire?

Every morning you wake up and you have

wants, you have longings that drive

almost all of your behavior. In fact,

because we lost an hour of sleep, you

know, the first thought 90% of this room

had as soon as you woke up, coffee. I I

went saw my wife. We're staying with

some friends who are part of your church

here. And and she I'm like, "Good

morning. What can I do to help?" And she

just one word, coffee. Like you wake up

and desires start to fire in your brain.

Not Not just for like physical

sustenance, for like food and drink, but

for relational things. We ache to know

that we're loved. We ache that we know

we're connected to people. We ache to

know our lives are living for meaning or

purpose. And did you know none of this

is accidental? God made you in a

physical body that has all kind of

longings and desires that you're

reaching for in order that you would

discover that the ultimate desire of

your soul is for him. And when Jesus

says, "I've come to offer real

satisfaction," he's like, "Here's how

I'm different than food. Here's how I'm

different than alcohol. Here's how I'm

different than work. Here's how I'm

different than sex. Here's how I'm

different than money. Here's how I'm

different from everything that can

satisfy you for a little while.

I satisfy you and it doesn't make you

more empty on the back end. I satisfy

you and it makes you more full.

See, every human effort to fill an

appetite leads to a bigger appetite. You

eat a huge meal and you feel full, what

do you feel after? More empty.

You binge on dopamine through substances

or through porn or through experiences.

And what do you get the next morning?

More loneliness, more emptiness.

And Jesus is going, "Come and get your

fulfillment from me."

And the back end is more fullness. In

fact, it's it's the fullness that you

were originally created for. Here's

bread that really satisfies And if you

want to know how to go deeper in your

faith, it's actually not when you go

deeper in all of the missionsoriented

things you're called to, it's when you

first and foremost fill yourself with

satisfaction that comes from knowing

Jesus so you have something to pour out

for a lost, dark, and broken world. See,

a lot of you know Jesus as a priest, but

not as a feast.

You You know Jesus as like, "Stand

before God on my behalf. Make sure I'm

forgiven. make sure I'm good. Be my

priest like the book of Hebrews says,

which is true. It's awesome. You know,

he's also a feast, right? You know, you

also come to Jesus to eat, to drink.

There's a reason why Jesus says, "My

body is real food and my blood is real

drink." Contrary to some uh doctrines

that many of you have heard, that's not

like a meal that's set up in church.

It's a spiritual meal that all believers

are called to eat at his table where you

are filled with his spirit and his

spirit runs like living water from

within you. LIKE YOU YOU GOT TO LEARN TO

COME TO JESUS and get your fill of what

you've BEEN CREATED FOR. BECAUSE IF YOU

GO OUT INTO A WORLD THAT IS LOADED with

brokenness and you're empty on the

inside, you're just going to reach with

every option that the world has to offer

you for your strongest desire on the

surface instead of filling your deepest

desire beforehand so you can overflow.

So your your strongest desires are the

things that you always think you

immediately need. Your desire for God

happens in the deepest level of your

soul. And Jesus says, "That's what I've

come to fill." that deep level meaning,

that love that your soul longs for, that

purpose, that everything that you want

is found in me. And it it changed my

life because I've been following Jesus

for a while going into college. And then

I discovered the theology of a man named

John Piper. And Piper was a longtime

pastor in the Minneapolis area, but he

runs a ministry called Desiring God. And

the whole treatise of the ministry is

this statement. God is most glorified in

us when we are most satisfied in him.

This is one of the most brilliant

sentences that you will read outside of

the Bible. Can we put that back on the

screen? God is most glorified in us when

we are most satisfied in him. Think

about this. If I were to ask you, when

do you glorify Jesus the most? Most of

you would think when I'm sharing my

faith, when I'm giving money away, when

I'm living on mission. Actually,

glorifying Jesus begins with being

satisfied at his table. What if your

first pursuit in following Jesus was to

let him define and fill the inner

longings of the human heart that you're

tempted to look in sinful areas for? No,

I want more of him. And he says, when

you get me, you get the bread of life.

And watch this. That's that's all the

people wanted, right? Was something to

fill their stomach. And Jesus goes, "If

you can look past that strong desire to

your deepest desire, I've come to fill

that and then there's more." All Jesus

needed to say is, "I'm the bread of life

that's come from heaven." But he goes

on, look at what he says next in verse,

what is it? 37. He says, "All those

Father gives me will come to me, and

whoever comes to me, I will never drive

away." Jesus doesn't just offer unc or

sorry, real satisfaction. He also offers

unconditional love. This is crazy. See,

because Jesus knows you're not just a

walking and talking body of desires that

long to be filled. You're a human soul

who longs for love in relationships.

And so he goes, "Here's what's different

about me. I'll satisfy the longings of

your soul, but I'll also call you into

the love relationship that you're

longing for the most and looking for

love in all the wrong spaces to fill."

Because Jesus says, "My love is not

conditional on your behavior. It's

unconditional on my choosing of you to

adopt you into my family." See, every

mature believer has this basis for their

faith that's called identity in Christ.

It's when you know what you've been

given in Jesus is not up for grabs on

your behavior today. Because God did not

choose you because of your behavior. He

chose you in Christ's blood. Now, notice

what this verse says. And we'll put this

on the screen. This verse says, "If you

come to Jesus, two things are true. the

father gave you to Jesus and Jesus will

never drive you away. Did you notice it

says all those the father gives me will

come to me.

Watch the order of the language guys. It

doesn't say all those who come to me the

father gives me. It means that when

Jesus was dying on that cross, the

father was giving the sin of your life

to Jesus before you were ever born in

2000 whatever or 19 whatever if you're

just ancient, right? That's like the new

trend on Instagram. It's like what year

were you born? 19 whatever. And suddenly

we're in the revolutionary war in in

these reels. And I'm like oh my gosh.

Those of you who are older, a real is a

short video that uh gets posted on I

know I got a lot I got a lot I got to

teach. But um what was I what in the

world was I talking about? Oh yeah,

listen. Before you were ever born in

whatever year Jesus was on that cross

for you, which means God was not

watching your life like a movie to go, I

really hope they pray the prayer at

Vacation Bible School. I really hope

that this Sunday works. I really hope

that they can get I hope they get

serious. No, no, no, no, no. Before you

ever cried after being born, Jesus was

on that cross crying out on your behalf.

God did not choose you on the basis of

you choosing him. He chose you first and

so you respond in gratitude.

You got to see this as it's not your

effort to get adopted by him. It's his

calling you son or daughter. And the

more you believe that God has already

called you that, the more you walk in

obedience. See, children who believe

that they are loved are more obedient.

You too need to listen to this sermon on

the front row. Children who believe that

they are loved are more obedient because

they're secure. Some of you have such an

insecure attachment to your family of

origin because of the homes that you

grew up in. I just want you to know

God's family doesn't work like that.

Like you're in and you are in son or

daughter. And watch this. Jesus says,

"Not only does you coming to me reveal

that the father gave to you to me, but

once you come to me, I'll never drive

you away.

A lot of you think that your behavior

after being saved has disqualified you

from the spirit of God moving in your

life today." And I want to announce to

you, Jesus knew what he was buying when

he purchased you. Even after you said

yes, he's never going to drive you away

because he's the one who chose you in

the first place. He knows. He knows

about your stuff. He knows what happened

last night. He knows what happened last

week. And he also knows that you're

sitting where you're sitting and it's

not an accident. Spirit of God is

drawing you deeper into God. You need to

believe again that you're forgiven. You

need to believe boldly that this is not

the end. You need to believe boldly that

there's so much more for the story God

is writing in and through your life.

Believe again that you are chosen in

Christ Jesus, washed by the blood,

purified and blameless in his sight. And

walk in that confidence because you have

identity in Christ. AND I'M ONLY ON

NUMBER TWO. I GOT TO SPEED THROUGH THE

LAST THREE. Number three is supernatural

purpose. He says, "For I have come down

from heaven not to do my will, but to do

the will of him who sent me." Jesus

knows human beings are not just walking

and talking factories of desire. That's

there. And they don't just need love

from relationships. They also need

purpose and meaning. And Jesus says,

"Here's the thing. I didn't come to

write my own story. I came to submit to

the story of the one who's writing it

from the beginning." And when you're in

me, that's what you do. A lot of you,

the greatest source of stress and

tension and anxiety in your life is

trying to figure out the will of God.

Some of you need to be freed today. The

will of God is not a plan that you

discover. It's a person that you follow.

There is supernatural purpose in every

person submitted to God because they're

submitted to a plan written by another.

You will never have peace from gaining

control of the story you think you need

the details of. Peace comes from the

fullness of surrender to the one who's

writing the story. So that means today

there is supernatural purpose for every

human being submitted to the plan of God

simply because of the plan that you're

now a part of. There's supernatural

purpose for the stay-at-home mom.

There's supernatural purpose for the

person who's retired. There's

supernatural purpose for you as a

college student. their supernatural

purpose in every season of life because

in a very real way you are a part of the

eternal story that the God of the

universe has been writing from the

beginning and now because Christ lives

on the inside of you. The same purpose

that is written into the pages of this

book is being written into your story.

Now compare that to a life lived not

submitted and surrendered to Jesus. This

is this might be the scariest thing

about Jesus not winning your life and

story. You are, if that's you today, you

are in a very real way on your own. And

I mean that in the most desperate sense

of the term. You are on your own. Your

career, your life, purpose, plan, like

it's it's just you. You get connected to

Jesus. The one who authored creation is

now saying, I'm going to give that

attention to detail to everything about

your story and your family from here.

And he's not done. He keeps going.

Number four is surpassing peace. Watch

what he says next. This one adds on to

the last one I just wrote or I just

read. He says, "And this is the will."

So, talk about that plan. What is that

plan that he's writing? This is the will

of him who sent me that I shall lose

none of all those he has given me but

raise them up at the last day.

Surpassing peace is available in knowing

the hand of the one who has promised to

hold your story. And so while we're

longing for purpose in that, I think a

lot of us are just longing for enough

peace to sleep through the night. And

that peace does not come from God

finally downloading to you everything

he's thinking that you are unaware of.

That peace comes from knowing I know the

hands of the one who has promised to

hold me. And there is now a peace that

surpasses all understanding available to

you and available to me today. That only

happens if you're in a right

relationship with Jesus. I just want to

tell some of you, you're not going to

get lost. You have not been forgotten.

This is not the end of the story. God's

got you. if Jesus has won your life and

story. And finally, I want to finish

with number five. The last one is

eternal security. Eternal security. So,

this is probably the best one of all.

Verse 40. That's not accidental. 40 uh

being the number of completion. I think

there's something to that at the end of

this section. For my father's will is

that everyone who looks to the son and

believes in him shall have eternal life,

and I will raise them up at the last

day.

So if you're here

and Jesus next to every other option you

could give your life to, if there's any

doubt of like, well, there's still some

satisfaction in the world and there's

still some meaning I have to and there's

still some love that I can get in some

conditional places. This is the one

where the world literally has no

alternative to Jesus's offer.

He goes, "I'm offering you the ability

to live forever in the age to come. I'm

offering you resurrection to your

physical body."

And if you've ever been in a hospital

room, if you ever been to a funeral,

especially of someone who you didn't see

it coming, you can sense in those

moments how much this is not what we

were created for.

You and I were not created to live and

breathe for a few decades and then move

on and cease to exist. You and I were

created to live forever in relationship

with one another and the God who made

us. That was broken by sin. And the

wages of that is death. It's the reason

why if Jesus does not return before you

and I pass away, we will certainly

perish at least physically speaking. But

you are an eternal soul. And Jesus is

saying, "On top of everything I've come

to give you in this life, I've also come

to offer eternal life forever and ever.

And I have just found there is something

about the brevity of life that wakes

people up who are otherwise asleep. I

was in high school begging God to reach

my school. Thousands of students not

following Jesus. And we would do we

would try to do events where a cool

speaker we would try to bring people to

worship things and be like this is so

not getting their attention. You know

what got their attention?

When one of our classmates tragically

passed away in a car accident and a guy

who was there one day was gone the next

and I watched thousands of students who

could care less pack out auditoriums

like this to go what is this

life Jesus offers me? If life is that

short and that fragile,

Jesus wins because the tomb is empty.

And the ultimate reason why you should

choose Jesus above any other option is

because where else are you going to go

for someone who has the words of eternal

life. In fact, I don't I don't have time

to go into the depths of this, but

y'all, that's how this story ends. You

guys remember the crowd that wanted the

food? They never get over the food. Like

they literally even after Jesus says

that they're like, "Huh?"

Yeah, we just wanted bread. Um, that's

not the Whoa, that was a lot more than

we were bargaining for. And Jesus goes,

"Okay, you want bread? I'll give you

bread.

My body is real food. If you want to be

my disciple, you have to eat my flesh

and drink my blood." Now, we know what

he's talking about there, the Lord's

Supper, which we're going to do in one

second, but the crowd doesn't. And

they're like, "Okay, cannibalism. I'm

out." UM AND AND AND THOUSANDS Y'ALL

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWING

HIM FOR THE bread are now walking away.

And Jesus looks at his disciples in

verse 66. It says, "From this time, many

of his disciples turned back and no

longer followed him." These are consumer

followers of Jesus who when they didn't

get what they wanted, they turned

around. "You don't want to leave too, do

you?" Jesus asked the twel. Simon Peter

answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. We

have come to believe and to know that

you are the holy one of God. This is the

moment, y'all. Peter's like, "What? I

could leave, but where else am I going

to go?" Key church, look at me. If not

Jesus, where else will you go? Someone

who says Jesus wins is someone who goes,

I've compared what you're offering to

the alternative. And I'm going,

there is no one. Only you, Jesus. No one

else is worthy. And that's why the song

of all eternity will be worthy is the

lamb who was slain. So, we're going to

do that right now. You get your elements

out for communion. Uh if you didn't get

that on the way in, you just raise your

hand. Someone from our team will walk

around and and hand it to you. Raise it

high so they can see you. This has got a

little cracker and a shot of grape

juice. These are physical signs of

spiritual realities. The body of Christ

broken for you and the blood of Jesus

shed for you. And it's fitting that we

would do this on the Sunday that we're

talking about Jesus as the bread of

life. Now, if you're not a believer in

Jesus, you just want to put that

communion set under your seat. We'll

come grab it later, but this is your

moment to decide. Like, if you want to

give your life to Jesus, please take

communion with us. Pray a simple prayer.

Jesus, I give you my life. I don't not

just to go to heaven when I die, but to

be filled with your spirit now. I want

to follow you all of my days. That

invitation is on the table. But today I

want to put this in front of you. Jesus

says, "I am the bread of life." And his

full intention was for his body to be

broken for us. So this is the body of

Christ broken for you. And when we take

just a little cracker and taste it, we

are participating in a spiritual meal,

remembering you are the bread that came

from heaven. You've come to satisfy all

of my inner longings. And because your

body was broken, my body will be

eternally healed. We take the cup, we

drink, and we remember that because of

his crimson red blood, our sins are

washed white as snow. When you taste

these things, remember the realities

that we are sinking into. So, I want to

give you an opportunity to receive the

Lord's Supper from the hands of the

living Christ. We're just going to sit

in this moment and pray individually for

one second and then the team is going to

lead us in just a couple moments. You

are blessed to receive communion from

the hands of the living Christ. And then

we'll come right back.