Daily Bread

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast,

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. How are we going

church? Having a good week. Tex is having a good

week. If we haven't met yet, my name is Angus

August. It's great to be here. I'm part of the

team here at Encounter Henley. I'm really privileged

to be part of the preaching team. It's a real

pleasure and a joy. I love doing it. But it fills

me with a lot of anxiety. And so I'm going to

pray. I'm going to pray and then we'll jump into

it. Loving God, we thank you for your word. We

thank you for the miracle it is that it's been

preserved through thousands of years. It's survived

censorship, it's survived people trying to wipe

it off of the earth, but God, your word has endured.

And so Father, we're so grateful that we're able

to access your word and we're able to access

your spirit through your word. Father, we can

learn more about You and we can grow deeper in

relationship with You through Your Word. So Father,

I pray that as I speak this afternoon, God, that

Your Spirit is here in this place moving in the

hearts and the minds of everyone listening. Father,

I pray that as I speak, it would not be my truth

or my power or my strength, but God, it would

just be all You. Father, I pray for Your truth

to be spoken tonight. pray for your spirit to

move in power. Father, may we all walk away richer

in love and deeper in understanding of who you

are, what you've done, and how you're moving

in our lives. So Father, I thank you. I give

you all the praise, all the honour, all the glory,

in your mighty, wonderful, powerful name. Amen.

Amen. All right, church, think about the best

meal you've ever had in your life. Jordan's deep

in thought. Nothing but bad food this week. A

rough week for food. Think about the best meal

you've ever had. I know for me, I think of a

meal I had in Italy a couple months ago when

I was there with Deanna and her family. There's

a picture of it up on the screen hopefully. We

were in Florence and we went to a restaurant

and ordered a beautiful steak. that you can see

there. Oh. It was really good. We had a few pasta

dishes on the side and then we had some profiteroles

and a creme brulee to finish. Oh, yeah. It was

really, really good. So, for me, it's quite an

easy decision. That's the best meal I've ever

had. But then there's also food that I can just

kind of eat whenever. For me, I'm not a huge

steak guy, typically. I would much rather order

a chicken schnitzel, because I'm a baby boy and

nothing tickles my taste buds more than a giant

chicken nugget. I love chicken schnitzels. If

we go out to eat, I'll just scour the menu and

if there's a chicken schnitzel there, 98 % of

the time. That's what I'm going for. Yes. Amen.

Some places do really good chicken schnitzels,

but others really don't. So just bear with me

for a second. The Palais at Semaphore. Bad chicken

schnitzel. Yeah. They put parmesan in with the

crumbing and it doesn't do it. It doesn't do

it for me. I'm not a huge fan. But the Anglevale

Tavern. Good schnitzels. The Williston Tavern,

which is also in the north. Good schnitzels.

Schnit House, it's a bit divisive. You can go

there, you can get like a solid five or six out

of ten, depending on the day. But then you can

also go and get like a really good schnitzel

on Sundays. Like, if you get the mac and cheese

topping on your chicken schnitzel, you're in

for a good time. Or that A -B topping. I'm very

passionate about chicken schnitzels. At school,

when I started working there, my... I got up

in front of the school because the head of senior

school said, this is Angus. He's now going to

speak and introduce himself. And I was just talking

about myself and I spent five minutes just talking

about chicken schnitzels. And so for a while

I was just known as, oh, you're Angus, the chicken

schnitzel guy. But anyway, I digress. We're here

for God, not schnitzels. Here. I love chicken

stencils and I still think about that steak that

I had in Florence. But the thing is, and you

guys would find this too, no matter how much

of it I eat, I'm still gonna end up hungry in

the end. I feel satisfied for a while, but then

eventually I get hungry again. My stomach is

filled, but then it's empty again. And this doesn't

just happen with our stomachs, does it? Where

we eat a little bit, then we have to eat again

later? It happens all the time in almost every

single part of our lives. We have a need. We

have a longing and a desire, a need to keep going

back and being refilled, not just physically.

But all of us at some point of our lives have

felt a deeper, more spiritual hunger, a longing

for something deeper to fulfill us. We're talking

about things like meaning, purpose, love and

acceptance. And so my question to you church

is how do you try and satisfy this hunger? How

do you try and satisfy this hunger? Do you try

and satisfy it with productivity? Do you try

and fill it with church activity? Do you serve

more here at church? Do you scroll more? Do you

consume more? These are some of our tendencies.

But despite all of our efforts to satiate this

hunger and create life for ourselves, when we

chase these things, we're often left feeling

emptier than ever. Right now we're making our

way through a series called Life to the Full,

which is all about asking ourselves the question,

where is our source of life actually coming from?

We're in our second year of a church plant, which

is a massive joy. But it also comes at a cost.

Many people here have served long hours. Lots

of people here have gone above and beyond to

serve the church and to help see our shared vision

come to life. It's hard work. A church plant

is hard work. And on top of everything else that

we're already committed to, like our full -time

jobs, our families, our sport commitments, other

things that we have going on, we are tired. But

even if you're new, maybe you haven't been coming

to church very long, maybe not even sure if you're

a Christian, that's okay. You still get tired.

We still have these feelings of burnout and we

still get distracted from time to time. Our lives

are filled with so many things that keep us busy

and occupied. We have work, school, study, smartphones

with a 24 -hour news cycle, Netflix binge sessions,

social lives, and then we have to sleep as well.

We make all these jokes and comments about being

overstimulated all the time, and this is why.

Because we're filling our lives with all of these

things. The world that we live in is very good

at keeping us busy. It's very good at telling

us what we need to do in order to be fulfilled.

But ultimately these things are all empty promises.

This series, Life to the Full, is about equipping

us as followers of Jesus to form and be part

of a community that is shaped by sustainable

faith rather than exhaustion or working for things

based on our own strength. It's about learning

to recognize spiritual hunger without shame and

encouraging all of us to recognize the empty

wells that we often look to for fulfillment.

It's a re -centering on Jesus as our true source

of life. Are you with me? So with that said,

We are sitting in John chapter 6 today from verse

John 6 · chapter mention

25 to 36 as Carly read for us. Now this passage

is fresh off of Jesus performing one of his most

famous miracles when he fed the 5 ,000 people.

With a child's lunch, a few loaves of bread,

a few fish, he feeds an entire crowd of 5 ,000

people. And then he ends up in Capernaum overnight.

And the people, the crowd has followed Jesus

there. They find him there and they act kind

of coy and they're like, Rabbi, Jesus, you're

here? What? That is, ah, that's so crazy. What

a coincidence. Do you have any more of the bread?

But Jesus sees right through, right through this,

as he tends to do. That's such a Jesus movie.

He just sees right through it. He doesn't mess

around. He doesn't beat around the bush. He says,

You want to be with me because I fed you. Not

because you understood the miraculous science.

You know, I would think back to when I was a

kid and I loved playing video games and I still

do. But I'd always try and bargain with my parents

to give me more time on the PlayStation. And

my mum was very affectionate. Like she loved

just like... being in close vicinity with me.

And so when I wanted more PlayStation time, I'd

go up and I'd give her a nice hug. I'd sit with

her on the couch and watch a show together for

a little while. And eventually, she probably

knew for a long time, but eventually she caught

on. She was like, are you spending time with

me because you actually want to be with me or

because you just want PlayStation time? Yeah.

And that cut me deep, even as like 11, 12 year

old me, because of course I love my mum. Of course

I want to spend time with her. But it it cut

me and that that's the same situation that's

happening here these this crowd the people have

followed Jesus And they're asking for more bread

and he's like you don't you don't want me You

just want the bread The crowd wants more bread,

but they don't want Jesus And we're all guilty

of this How many times have you prayed for God

to move or to give you a change in your life?

How many times have you prayed to get something

instead of just simply being with God? It's fine

to ask God for things. We're encouraged to and

we should. But how often do we come to Jesus

and look for what he provides rather than who

he is? We pray for relief, freedom, provision,

rest, stability, blessing, success, all good

things. All good things that God provides for

us and gives to us. But when these things become

our ultimate thing, our end goal, we miss so

much of who Jesus is. We look for provision instead

of presence. God stops being relational and starts

becoming more like a genie. In the passage, Jesus

says, don't be so concerned with perishable things

like food. Instead, spend your energy seeking

the eternal life the Son of Man can give you.

We can pray great prayers and we can do amazing

things for our church and our communities. We

can read the Bible and we can say and do all

the right things on the surface, but we can still

miss Jesus. The crowds in the passage, they're

not wrong for going after Jesus. They're not

doing the wrong thing by pursuing Him, but they're

missing the point. They saw this miracle happen

where He fed all the people. They saw it, but

they missed what it was revealing. They missed

that it was revealing. Jesus is actually saying,

this is who I am. Jesus didn't come to offer

them temporary satisfaction or temporary joy.

It's not what He offers us today. Like the crowd

we can look to Jesus to provide and give us what

we think we need Stuff like rest blessing success

freedom And again, we should ask for these things

we should pray for these things They are good

things that God wants to give to us But ultimately

more than pursuing after these things and asking

God for these things. We should be pursuing him

We should be pursuing Jesus and that is the way

to a full and satisfied life. Amen Don't be concerned

with perishable things. Look to Jesus who offers

us something greater. Because we can think that

we're hungry for bread, right? We can think that

we need to pray more, serve more, rest more,

sleep more, do whatever it is for you more. That's

what we think we need. We can be like the crowd

in the passage. We can be like the Israelites

chasing after the bread because we always want

more. We can feel full, but then eventually we're

empty again We can be satisfied, but then eventually

we become restless again. We become itchy again

the ADHD kicks in You can get promoted at work

or we can find a better job then after a few

months or a year or two years we can start to

think Actually, I'm ready for something else

now We can finally find rest. We can have a few

days off but then eventually we still get busy

and tired and anxious again. We can serve at

church, we can work hard and we can be successful

in our ministries and we can still feel dry and

empty and like we're missing something. You know

some of you are sitting in your chairs right

now and you're feeling tired. And not just a

physical tired. We're talking like a deep tide

in your soul. Your tiredness runs deep through

your body, in your mind, in your heart. I feel

it. Even right now. I feel that tiredness. It's

beyond just a, I could go to sleep now. But it's

like a, man, I'm just wiped spiritually, emotionally,

mentally. It's because we feed on the things

that the world promised to sustain and fulfill

us And we can think to ourselves I just need

a win, you know, I just need a break I just need

to find the motivation. I need I need to find

a better rhythm We can make adjustments and small

changes to our lives, but this is all just physical

bread It's not bad But it's not ultimate You

know, we can think that we're hungry for these

things and we can look to them to fix us and

sustain us, fulfill us and satisfy us, but the

Prophet Jeremiah calls these things empty cisterns.

They're wells and pools of water that don't actually

hold water. And yet, we still return to them

time and time again. We think we're hungry for

bread, but bread isn't the issue. What we're

really hungry for is Jesus. So the crowd asks

Jesus, what should we do? What should we do,

Jesus? And this mentality is just as strong for

us today. What do we have to do? What's the system?

What's the process? What are the steps that we

have to take? You know, growing up for me, it

was drilled into me that I need to work and earn

for everything that I have. And it's easy for

us to look at faith and spiritual life through

the same lens, thinking that we need to perform

in order for God to provide. You know, we chase

the things like achievement or busyness, productivity,

comfort, significance. We want to make something

of ourselves. But Jesus tells us that these are

all perishable. It's like dust in the wind. They

don't sustain or fulfill us. Performance -based

bread always spoils. Anything we rely on to give

us life and fulfillment other than Jesus just

leaves us exhausted. It just leaves us empty.

We can be filled for a little while, but eventually...

We're empty again. We're exhausted again. Then

we need more to fill us again. And this is when

Jesus changes the narrative. He says, truly I

tell you, when Jesus says truly I tell you, that's

when we got to pay attention. Truly I tell you,

Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My father

did. He references this story from the Exodus

when the Israelite people were slaves in Egypt

and God sends Moses to liberate them, to save

them from Pharaoh and slavery. And he leads them

out of Egypt into the desert, into the wilderness

for 40 years. They didn't have enough food for

40 years. And so God provides manna for them

to turn into bread. And Jesus says, Moses didn't

give you the bread. My father did, God did. And

now he offers you the true bread from heaven.

The true bread of God is the one who comes down

from heaven and gives life to the world Sir they

said give us this bread every day and Jesus replied

I am the bread of life and again he echoes that

story from the Exodus when God is in the burning

bush and He introduces to himself and to Moses

as I am who I am Jesus saying I am the bread

of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry

again. Jesus is the bread. We're talking a lot

about bread here at the moment. And that's because

in the first century, the Israelites, the Jewish

people listening to Jesus talk right now, for

them, bread was symbolic of fulfillment, nourishment.

It was symbolic of richness, fullness, God's

provision for them in their lives. And Jesus

is saying that, I am that bread. I am essential

for your flourishing. Now this is Jesus making

a claim about his identity. He's saying, this

is who I am. You didn't get it when I performed

that miracle for you yesterday when I fed you.

I am the one that you've been waiting for. I

am the bread of life. Jesus declaring himself

as God's provision for his people God says you're

looking everywhere for provision, but it's here.

I am the provision The crowd wanted bread like

Moses gave to the Israelites in the desert But

Jesus says that actually I'm greater than Moses.

I Don't just give the bread from heaven. I am

the bread from heaven He is essential for us

today to live our lives to the full. He isn't

just something available for us to tap into when

we want to from time to time, although he is,

but there's more on offer. He's vital for our

daily sustenance. That steak I had in Florence

was incredible, but it was temporary. Jesus isn't

a steak dinner. He is life itself. Jesus tells

us that whoever comes to Him will not hunger,

whoever believes will not thirst. He doesn't

remove that desire that we have and He doesn't

rebuke us for the longing that we have, He just

reorders it. In Him we are able to satisfy our

deepest longings, our desires for meaning, rest,

belonging, love, forgiveness, acceptance, relationship

with God. All of these longings find their home

in Jesus. Not to say that we won't ever have

periods of spiritual dryness after we say yes

to Jesus, because we will, and we do. We will

certainly have moments when we feel distant,

when we feel hungry, but Jesus gives himself

as an eternal source of fulfillment and satisfaction.

So when we say yes to Jesus, we know where to

go. So what must we do? In verse 29, Jesus says

something completely radical. He takes the idea

of religion and he blows it up in the Israelites

face. He says, this is the only work that God

wants from you. Believe in the one he has sent.

This is the only work God wants from you. Believe

in the one. He is sent. He doesn't give advice.

He doesn't give a system. He extends an invitation.

Religion says that we have to do, we have to

act, we have to perform in a certain way in order

to earn our salvation, but Jesus says no. Believe.

Believe. The apostle Paul talks about this in

Ephesians. Charlie, you can make your way back

up if you like. Paul talks about it in Ephesians,

chapter two, verses eight to nine. God saved

you by his grace when you believed. You can't

take credit for this. It is a gift of God. Salvation

is not a reward for the good things we've done,

so none of us can boast about it. We can't earn

our way into heaven, church. It's not gonna happen.

No amount of productivity or success or significance,

none of it will win us spots in heaven. The only

thing we need to do is believe. And when we choose

to believe, and when we choose to accept the

gift of grace, that is given to us, we are given

access to this bread of life. A source of fulfillment

that the best meal of your life could never give

you. No amount of worldly success could ever

give you this. It's only through Jesus that we're

saved. Jesus is the bread of life. So church,

are you tired? Are you looking for fulfillment?

Have you been chasing after the wrong bread?

We are all sinners. We have all fallen short

of the glory of God. The reason that we feel

empty isn't necessarily because we're chasing

the wrong bread. That's the reason we're not

feeling filled. But it isn't the reason we're

feeling empty. We feel empty because our sin

has separated us from the one true source of

life What we need more than anything is restoration

What we need more than anything is reconciliation

Jesus is inviting us inviting you into something

more something deeper He gave Himself for you.

It's not something we earn. It's not something

we can work for or ever deserve. Honestly, church,

I struggle with this. I really struggle with

this. Maybe this will resonate with you. Maybe

it won't. But I never really feel like I'm good

enough. I feel like I'm not a good enough preacher.

I'm not a good enough worship leader. At my work,

I think to myself, am I actually really that

good at what I do? I like to think that I am,

but am I really? I don't always feel like I'm

a good enough husband. I don't always feel like

I'm a good enough friend. Jesus takes all of

that. And he says, Angus, my grace is sufficient

for you. So church, whatever it is for you, Jesus

says, my grace is sufficient. My grace is enough.

I know I'm not good enough. I know I never will

be. But Jesus takes my place and he tells me

that I'm worthy. And if that's where you're at

church, if you don't feel like you're good enough

or whatever it is, God tells you that you don't

have to be enough because Jesus is. Jesus is

enough. Jesus says, I'm the bread of life. And

he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

We can keep chasing after physical bread. We

can keep chasing after the things of the world.

But church, we will always be kept wanting. There

will always be a part of us that needs something

more, something deeper. We will never be satisfied.

That's why we need Jesus. Jesus came, He died

on a cross, and then He rose again. so that we

could experience life to the full, so that we

can have access and relationship with God the

Father through Him. Thanks to Jesus we now have

unending grace. He took our burdens, He took

our sin, and He declared that has no claim on

us anymore. He took our striving, He took our

performance, He took our guilt of feeling like

we're not good enough, He took our exhaustion

from trying to be our own saviors, and in exchange

He gave us Himself. we need to let go of our

own striving and this is scary it can be really

scary because we can feel like if you know if

we stop striving if we stop trying if we keep

if we stop working then it will fall apart this

life that we've built for ourselves will fall

apart that fear is real but As long as we're

working like this, as long as we're striving

like this, we are limiting what Jesus can do

in our lives. We keep trying to pay the price,

but Jesus has already paid it. So church, are

you tired? Are you looking for fulfillment and

satisfaction in a world that will never give

it to you? Jesus is calling. The crowd in the

passage wanted more bread, but many of them walked

away when Jesus became difficult. The question

for us isn't just, are you hungry? The question

is, will you stay when Jesus stops giving you

what you want and starts giving you himself?

Because that's what Jesus offers us. It's greater

than what we want. It's greater. He gives us

himself. Jesus doesn't want us living off temporary

bread, small hits, getting us through life, one

coffee at a time. He wants to give us something

deeper, something that will actually fulfill

us for real. He gives us the bread of life and

life to the full. Would you close your eyes for

a second church? Some of us here have been striving.

We've been trying to fulfill ourselves. We've

been trying to satisfy ourselves with the things

of the world. We've been trying to do it ourselves.

And we're at a point now where it's like, I don't

know what to do. We've been trying and trying

and trying and you keep falling short. Right

now there's an invitation from Jesus. to step

into this life. There's an invitation from Jesus

that says, I am enough for you. My grace is sufficient

for you. If you're longing, church, if you're

tired, if you need something more, can you just

raise your hand? Just quietly, with all eyes

shut. There's something deeper. I know I need

it. So right now, we're just gonna pray. We're

gonna invite Jesus in. We're gonna ask for him

not not just to provide for us, but we're going

to ask Him to reveal Himself to us. Not just

so that we can have a temporary satisfaction,

but something that sustains. Now we're not just

going to chase provision, but we're going to

chase after presence. Thanks so much for tuning

into this week's message. If you felt challenged

or need prayer, would love to hear from you on

Instagram at encounterhenley or if you're interested

in how you can support this ministry please go

to our website encounteradelaide .com .au Thanks

again for listening. God bless you.