Come, all you
who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, and eat!
2 Why spend
money on what is not bread,
and your labor
on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen
to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul
will delight in the richest of fare.
NIV
There
is a Universal Hunger in the heart of Man Man is Hungry
A)Bruce Springsteen was
right when he sang yrs ago Everybody has a Hungry
heart! True.
B) There is a Hungering in
the heart Man is longing to be filled / to be satisfied
C) PROBLEM
There are plenty of Choices { What to eat or get into
1)Problem
is nothing truly Satisfies.
Maybe you have had this
conversation with your Kids.
A)Dad can we go to Little
Caesars and some Pizza for Dinner there is nothing in the house to eat!
B) Nothing
really: Go to the Pantry: Soup / Top Roman / Pasta / Tuna !
Nothing! Cereal
1)
Go to the Frig: Milk Smoothie mix / Meat for Sandwiches / Nothing?
C)
The Problem: Nothing that sounds good nothing that I want / nothing that is
going to Satisfy me right now.
D) What about this one: I have nothing to wear:
Closet full of clothes Nothing to wear
E)
Point: It doesnt matter what we have We always want something else !
1)Always a craving for more / for better
Well
Jesus finds Himself seeking to minister to a crowd of People who were Just like
us. Always wanting more.
A)Taught
them { healed them Miraculously fed them taking 5 loaves and 2 fish
Multiplying it to feed over 10,000 15,000 pp
B) They show up the next
day: Wondering what else can you do?
30 Therefore they said to Him,"What
sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will
You do?
C)They bring up Moses He
gave us Manna from heaven for 40 yrs.
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He
gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
See
there was a strong Rabbinic belief that when the Messiah comes he would again give
the manna!
A)We kind of thought the Messiah when He comes could do a little better
than the manna thing.
B)I mean he did feed them
for 40 years thats (6 days a week x 52 weeks x 40 years = 12,480 meals.
1)
Now, you did ONE LUNCH yesterday? And Oh, it
was good but
but what else do you got
C)
See it doesnt match 4 decades of free
food does it?
Their
Problem was they were looking for the Wrong Bread.
A)They ate the manna but
by the end of the day they were still hungry.
B) They even grew dissatisfied
with the manna Give us some meat!
C) Jesus wants them to see
beyond the Manna see past the bread he fed them w/ the day before.
He would
Challenge them in V.27
27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because
God the Father has set His seal on Him."
Material
Food - sustains phys. life, but human beings are
not merely animals.
A)But there is
food that is different It sustains the inner life that
exists when biological life ends.
B) Jesus is that source of
food! V.35 He introduces himself to them as the Bread
of life.
35 And Jesus
said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never
hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
C) This is the First of
seven I AM statements that Jesus is going to make!
1)
In Each one Jesus is revealing Himself as the answer to one of mans Greatest
needs.
D) In this one He is answering
the need for man to be Satisfied
1) To find Sustenance in something. To find fulfillment.
E) See Man has a need that
goes beyond the Physical needs.
When
a persons only focus is on the material They Cheapen their lives
A)We were made to Know God {
Something eternal
B)When believers are
consumed by the material they Cheat themselves
1)
Made for so much more. Know God { Fellowship
C) We
were brought into this relationship to be satisfied by God
1) To experience the blessing
of allowing Him to infiltrate into every area of our lives to Bring
fulfillment
D)Jesus wants us to
Understand: He is the Bread of life! He is the one who Satisfies the longing
heart.
1)
Among the most famous sayings of the early church fathers is this one by
Thou
hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find their
rest in Thee.
How
is He like Bread
A)1st Bread is
Common: Used for everything- Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner / Snacks
B) Rich / Poor and in
between Bread is available.
C) I am glad he didnt say: I am the Filet-mignon;
lobster; maple donut; steamed clams; choc chocolate chip ice cream.
D) What is wrong with these?
{They are only enjoyed once in a while (for most
people)}.
1) No,
He picks that which is readily available
2nd bread is a daily food. There are some
articles of food which we eat but occasionally; others only when they are in
season.
A)Bread a daily staple! (we must know Him as such)
B) Not once a week / month /
not every 3rd day
1)
Learning daily to partake of Him
C) Best way to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day!
1)
Like a slow IV Drip -
A)Go to dinner bring the
loaf doesnt do any good to sit on the table Spaghetti Factory / Mac Grill
B) Not table decorations It is intended to
be eaten!
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from
heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh,
which I shall give for the life of the world."
It
implies 2 things: an appetite to Christ
& an application of Christ.
A)An appetite for Christ! Spiritual eating & drinking starts
w/hungering & thirsting . Mt.5:6 Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
B)Denise and Dinner Late
Lunch did you make dinner not hungry
1)I
will eat it because I dont want to hurt her feelings but I dont enjoy it
like I would if I was hungry.
C) Feasting on others things
Spoils your appetite !
1)
The same thing is true spiritually.
D) When you are feasting on
TV / Movies/ Activities / 1) Spoils your appetite
E) Problem is those things
only leave you hungry for more. Something else.
1)
Jesus is to be Savored { I eat to fast
We
feed on Jesus thru the Word and allowing His word to become a part of our lives
A)Sometimes we fail to see
the value of Bible Study
B) Hard to see what it is
doing. How it is working!
Story - Several years ago a reader of the British Weekly wrote a letter to
the editor as follows: "Dear Sir! I notice that
ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a
great deal of time in preparing them. I have been attending services quite
regularly for the past thirty years and during that time, if I estimate
correctly, I have listened to no less than 3000 sermons. But, to my
consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a
minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else? Sincerely -- .
The
letter kicked up quite an editorial storm of angry responses for weeks. The
pros and cons of sermons were tossed back and forth until, finally, one letter
ended the debate.
This
letter said, "My Dear Sir: I have been married
for thirty years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals--mostly of
my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu
of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I
have the distinct impression that without them I would have starved to death
long ago. Sincerely --
But
food is not just supposed to be Ingested it is to be digested as well.
A)Speaks of the
application of who Jesus is into our lives!
B) Bread of Life-
not the Soul Life
How
does Jesus satisfy: Consider some of the
different things People are Hungering for
A)Hunger to be loved!
B) Nothing satisfies us more
than Knowing we are loved by God.
C) Mans love is so fickle
and conditional Changes so often
1) Hero one day / Hated the
next!
Perhaps you heard about the guy who fell in love with
an opera singer. He hardly knew her,
since his only view of the singer was through binoculars -- from the third
balcony. But he was convinced he could live "happily ever after"
married to a voice like that.
He didnt notice she was considerably older than he
was. Nor did he care that she walked
with a limp. Her great -soprano voice would take them through whatever might come. After a whirlwind romance and a hurry-up
ceremony, they were off for their honeymoon together.
She began to prepare for their first night together. As he watched, his chin dropped to his
chest. She plucked out her glass eye and
plopped it into a container on the nightstand.
She pulled off her wig, ripped off her false eyelashes, yanked out her
dentures, unstrapped her artificial leg, and smiled
at him as she slipped off her glasses that hid her hearing aid. Stunned and horrified, he gasped, "For
goodness sake, woman, sing, sing, SING!
The Lord is not like that: He says Come as you are.
A)Come to
Christ Immediately accepted into the Beloved.
B) Loved Perfectly
1)
Unconditionally All our flaws
2) With out
measure: No limits good / bad / everywhere in between.
C) The Love of
Christ is so complete- the more we partake of Him more it impacts us
D)And the More
we allow who He is and His love to infiltrate every area of our lives More
Satisfied
1) Nothing so amazing than
His Love
There
is a Hunger to belong:
A)Eastern culture: Becoming
one with someone
B) Partaking
of Jesus becoming one with Him
1) Also with each other.
C) Part of a community
Communion table
The Key to
meaningful relationships
A)hen a couple in marriage
make it their goal to have Jesus as the CENTER
Partake of Him
B)
1) Joke: You need to spend
time with Jesus!
Key
to friendships Satisfying
A)Birthday party last night
Worship
B) It was amazing Not
everyone knew each other but suddenly unified
C) Brilliant most of us hate
being the center of attention make Jesus that!
D) Friendships / our
marriages / Parenting revolve around Him -
1) Satisfied fulfilled
Hunger for Peace in the
Heart
Peace that surpasses understanding
Worth
Craving self worth search
A)We are His workmanship
His master piece Created for good works
B) Vessels in the hand of
God!
C) So freeing / satisfying
Hunger
for Identity:
A)Find it in Christ Child
of God
B) Blood bought sinner
C) Inheritance / blessings
Hunger
for Security for the future:
A)
We
can go on and on When a person makes it their goal to partake of the bread of
life
A)That is what they discover
it is Jesus who satisfies our need.
Here is the result:
66 From that
time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus
said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
68 But Simon
Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God."
No where else to go!
David the Lord is my
shepherd I shall not want
Starts with believing
Daily partaking