You leave the table sure you will not eat again for a week, and four hours later you are starving. In John 6 a crowd already fed comes back to Jesus for bread, and he tells them not to labor for food that perishes. He claims to be bread from heaven; they still want a sign they can see.
The following study questions and transcript are AI generated and may contain errors.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may contain errors.
Chapter 6 is a long chapter, but we’re only going to do three-fourths of it, so don’t panic, all right? I just want to conclude the idea of what we’re speaking on this month. I’ll get myself switched over here in a minute as far as the heart of the harvest. Really, my intent was for the entire month. All right, I think we’re good, Mr. James, appreciate you. Thank you.
Well, look at verse 51 and then work our way back starting at verse 24. I’ll give you a little rundown here of the first part of the chapter. I just really want to, as we always kind of catch the theme. If you’re part of a church that does missions and has a missions month, we had one in August, and I’m always appreciative of the messages. They usually center around three things: you can either pray, give, or go. Missionaries talk about that all the time. When we bring people in, or what we call deputation, what they’re doing is going church to church, not just asking for financial support—but that’s absolutely what they need—because they’re going to live in a different country, and they’re going to support their family by what comes in. That’s why we have faith promise mission support that we obviously have been encouraging week to week here, but then also our prayer support.
They get it from Paul writing letters back to churches; they write us positive reports of what’s going on or prayer requests while they’re ministering in the country that they’re in, to the people they’re ministering to. All those things are about us helping send someone to reach the part of the world they’re going to that we personally or physically can’t go and reach because we’re right here in this area. Our worlds are not that big, unless you’re traveling for business or something where you find yourself in different parts of the country or maybe go outside the country.
We get that concept and always think, yeah, we got to go into all the world and preach the gospel, absolutely. Amen. That’s what we’re commanded to do. When I think about that, yes, that is, of course, true, but what is our real mission? We’ll get to that.
In John chapter 6, Jesus, like I said, in verse 51, says these words that really cause a disruption among the people listening around him because he says this phrase, “I am the living bread,” in verse 51, which came down from heaven. Who or what in the world is he talking about, right? And if any man — that just gets kind of crazier — because he says, “If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” I will give for the life of the world.
Verse 33, if you’re following there, it says, “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.” We understand this world, though it gets debated all the time, with our biblical understanding of this young earth as our point of view out of Genesis — that’s 6,000 years old — but if you go anywhere and click on anything, you may hear millions or billions or whatever the beginning timeline is and however your theories line up on how everything began.
We understand that this world, the structure, the actual planet we walk on is one thing. But when Jesus is talking about the world — of course, we’ve covered this in previous weeks — he’s really talking about a generation, a people, a culture, or a system. This people, generation, culture, system, we know is dying.
And we know why it’s dying. They say, yeah, well, pollution in the air? Not exactly, but sure. Old age and just the natural process of life, of course. Yes, physically speaking, yes, you’re right. Tragedy, yes, and we’re witnessing that every day.
But the real reason the world is dying and that we die as well, the Bible is so clear, is because of our sin. It’s because of the sin in us that leads to death.
We could describe all the outward elements that affect your body — truly, health-wise, can cause harm — toxins and everything else that get in the body. But the greatest disease that causes the body to deteriorate is sin. In a world of sin, it gets darker and darker, and as we read a couple of weeks ago, it gets worse and worse. The times get more and more difficult to live in — perilous times or difficult times have come.
However you view the world, and I bring that up all the time now that social media can tell you what world you live in, and through algorithms can tell you what’s actually going on in the world, your neighbor could say, that’s not at all what’s going on in the world, and you go, how is this possible? Because there are multiple worlds out there. I’m not talking about the metaverse or all that stuff or the matrix or anything like that. I’m just saying people have such a divided worldview on how this world is actually functioning and who’s at fault. Who’s the problem, right?
But what truly divides the world is those that believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior and have a promise—which is a real promise, not some hope or wish but true blessed assurance—that there is a hope of another world to come, that they will enter into to be at complete peace after living in a world of no peace, to be at complete rest when there’s this world where you may get a temporary rest at best, maybe a break.
As the song we sang about “That Mansion over the Hilltop,” which comes from the chapter — I won’t get into it, but in John chapter 14, Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place.” But really, what Jesus is saying is he is not going up there to start hammering away and put your mansion together and lay the foundation. That’s a great way to view that: we definitely will have an eternal home in heaven.
But when he says, “I go to prepare a place,” he’s going to the cross. He’s going to the cross to sacrifice himself as the foundation of preparing your place in heaven. Because he, as he said in John 14:6, he is the only way, the truth, and the life. And no man cometh unto the Father but by him.
When we enter into chapter 6, we see something that some, maybe most, are familiar with: the story of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes that feed the 5,000. Maybe you grasped that in Sunday school, or maybe you’ve heard it along the way, or maybe you’ve heard the reference of it—how they said, “Hey, we got a lad here, and all these people want to be fed.” Philip counts the money and says, “We ain’t got enough for this many people.” I mean, oh, that’s for your life, right? Like, well, I know how that works.
Jesus says, “Have him sit down.” I don’t know if Philip thinks, “Oh, he’s having him sit down. Great. Let me count again. Let me count again. Maybe I missed a few pennies here and there. I’ll check the couch cushions.” They probably didn’t have any, but under the mats that they kneeled on or whatever. Right? Yet they’re like, “No, this isn’t even possible. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but we don’t have enough.”
Then what does Jesus do? He blesses and breaks the bread, the food that he has, and it’s enough—then some. We say, what a miracle.
Then we see another miracle in verses 16 through 21 where Jesus walks on water. His disciples are in the boat and afraid, of course, as they usually were, and Jesus walks on the scene literally, and they welcome him in after recognizing who he is. We see that miracle. Just as a reader, I’m impressed, but could you imagine being there? Could you imagine being one of the disciples or being one of the people who was hungry and didn’t have any food, or being Philip who was counting the money trying to figure out how to buy enough bread for everybody, and Jesus says, “Nope, just have them sit down”? Wouldn’t you want to be there and enjoy the miracle? You’d walk away going, “Whoa! I didn’t expect that today. You won’t believe what I saw today. What an experience,” right?
In verse 22, after the phrase “be not afraid,” they receive Jesus into the ship, and they actually go to the other side, basically where the miracle of the loaves and fishes happened. They depart to the other side, and you have to kind of picture that in your mind: somebody going across the lake to the other side. Now you’re over here, and they’re over there, right?
It says in verse 22, “The day following,” and that’s where we’ll pick it up:
“The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereunto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone. Howbeit, there came other boats from Tiberius nigh unto the place where they did eat bread after the Lord had given thanks.”
When the people saw that Jesus was not there, meaning where they were, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, or also got in boats to go across and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.
We have to start here—with the motives of these people, or as we expand on that to get the point that I’m trying to make—the motives of our world. The motives of our world.
Because they look up and say, “Hey, the guy who did all those miracles, he’s not here. Where’d he go? I don’t know. Let’s go find him.” Because I kind of like miracles, I don’t know about you, right? That was kind of fun. We were hungry, we ate bread, and it came from out of nowhere. I like miracles. Let’s go find the guy who did it.
So they do, they go across and they head to Capernaum to seek for Jesus. Verse 25:
“And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?”
“When did you get here? When did you come here, rabbi?” as they referenced him.
Then Jesus starts to break out the microscope onto their heart. He says,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you, for him hath God, the Father, sealed.”
They focused on the results of the miracle, not the one who did the miracle. They focused on being filled, not knowing the one who created all that food from one little lunch. And he already knew. He never answers the question, “When did you get here?” He immediately says, “Here’s why you were here.”
It’s almost like you show up and someone says, “Hey, what are you doing here? No, no, no, no—what are you doing here?” That’s the question, right? Parents say, “Didn’t expect you.” But what’s going on in their hearts is obviously exposed by the one who knows their hearts. That’s who Jesus is.
He makes it very clear about their motive. They got something for nothing. That seemed like a good system. They just had to find the guy who kept doing that, who would be able to create all of this out of nothing. That’s a miracle. We like miracles because it fills us up. Let’s go find the guy who does the miracles.
But what they were enjoying was the miracle of the material. They recognized that there was gain involved. Our world has tried to create that. Unfortunately, they don’t have the supply Jesus does, and 40 trillion in debt later, you can see that, right?
I don’t know if you can run up that kind of tab, but again, where does it come from? I know we can get into that debate why that is so big as far as debt nationally is concerned, but we don’t need to talk about that, right? The key is that mankind has always tried to attempt to get something out of nothing, thinking, “Ah, we’ll just do it. I don’t know, where is it all gonna come from? Who cares?”
Unfortunately, it’s created almost a hope for people who have just about fallen into the category of hopeless. Maybe a miracle will come. And what they say is a miracle of what? Material. “Maybe I’ll hit it. I’ll hit the big one. I’ll hit the jackpot. It’ll finally all come in for me. It’ll finally all make sense for me.”
And that’s the outward spoken word: “I want this, I want this, and I wish this.” Some people are just— and we should, by the way, we should help in meeting basic human needs always. It’s not mutually exclusive. But I think what Jesus is really getting at is what they’re not really understanding is that they have an internal need. They need real fulfillment—not just full from food to have enough substance now to have enough energy to get through the day and maybe hopefully it’ll come around again the next day.
No, they’re looking for real fulfillment. If you look at our world and what the world is seeking, as they got in a boat and went to seek the man who created all the miracles, the world truly is seeking fulfillment. They’re really seeking a reason to have hope. Some are truly seeking just for some self-worth—just something to give them some value in their life so that they have a reason to wake up the next day.
I may know what I’m talking about—or is it just me and y’all go home? Maybe I see more of it than others. I don’t know, but it’s interesting as we get into the message that Jesus gives them that he actually focuses on two basic needs: food and water. But he understands that’s not what they need.
Again, this is not exclusive to saying, “Yeah, we’re not gonna help nobody.” No, James tells us differently. See a brother in need, you say, “Hey, praying for you,” you didn’t do nothing. See your brother in need, you help them. But Jesus knows they’re seeking the wrong substance.
Listen, we live in a crowded world with crowds made up of lonely individuals. Someone said, “We’re so connected in a world that feels all alone.” You may not know that, or you may not think that because you don’t feel that way, but I know there are others who do.
It’s not consumption that’ll fix the problem. It’s connection to the right person. Sadly, that causes people to try to consume connection with people that can’t do what the one person they need to connect with can do.
If we’re going to reach the world, if we’re going to go into all the world, we’re going to do what Jesus asked us to do and follow him and be fishers of men. As the man at the conference we went to said, “The closer you follow Jesus, the more you’ll fish for men.” So your level of fishing is connected to your level of following. That is absolutely true. That is something that convicts my own heart always. Am I following to the point where I want to fish the way he’s commanded me to fish for men—to reach people with the gospel, to tell people the truth, to encourage people with the hope that’s in the Word of God?
So much physical need. It’s sad. It should not be that way. And everyone’s chasing this physical meeting of needs, this social physical connection. What they’re truly longing for, and that Jesus recognizes, is that what they really need is a spiritual purpose, something beyond the material.
And so He goes into this, and He says—and I’ll read these verses quickly, I promise we’ll get through them. It’s really just a conversation that Jesus has with these people around Him. So, in verse 28 He says, “Then said they unto him, after he says, ‘Hey, labor not for meat which perisheth,’ and instead, go—you want the meat that endures, endures unto everlasting life.”
They said, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” And so, they’re going, “Okay, okay, fine. If we’re not hitting the mark here by seeking you for the wrong things, okay, just tell us what to do.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God. This is the message.” We know their motive, but here’s the message. He says, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom He has sent.” That you believe on Him—of course, that’s Jesus saying these things. Believe on Him who He—who’s He? That God has sent.
The message isn’t you need to get more religious. You need to try harder, do better. You need to read your Bible more. That’s a good thing, but that’s not the thing. You need a better group of friends or a better environment, a better job, a better—you fill in the blank. Someone said, “You can’t change the people around you, but you can change the people around you.” How profound is that, right? You can change your environment, you can. You don’t like cold weather? Just start walking south, you know. But that’s not it. He focuses on their belief, their belief.
They said therefore unto him, “What sign showest thou then that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work?” So again, He gives them the spiritual answer, they get a physical response. “Okay, then what sign will you show us to point us in the right direction?” After He just said, “You need to believe.” They said, “Okay, we’ll believe, just give us something to see. Hey, we’ll have faith, just show us everything that we need to see and we’ll have faith in it,” right? Missed the point.
It says, “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” Okay, now they’re getting smart. All right. “Hey, show us the sign because we read that there was bread.” Since you brought up bread, Jesus, “There’s bread that came from heaven and it fed and took care of all our fathers.” So, if that’s what you’re talking about, hey, bring it on. And again, Jesus already said, “I’m the bread of heaven,” and that’s where we’re headed with this. And they’re like, “Oh, bread from heaven, we got it, just send it down and then we’ll believe.” We want the provision before the belief.
We want the answers to the test, don’t we? Before we get the test. But as someone said, at least ours is open book. The answers are in there. But He says, then Jesus said, verse 32, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” He said, “What do you think? Moses went up into the clouds and to his kitchen in the clouds there and prepared the heavenly bread and sent it down, you know, like Uber Eats from the sky. What in the world? What are you guys thinking? Think Moses did that?” No, I don’t think so.
You know, we’ve come a long way from—sorry, April—Domino’s delivery, you know, to Uber Eats. You can get anything now, but it used to only be pizza that you could get to come to your door in 30 minutes or less and all that fun stuff, right? But they, again, they go back to the physical thought process. “Oh yeah.” And He’s going, “No, no, no, no, no. It wasn’t Moses. Is that what you think? But my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.”
He said, “Just as God sent that bread from heaven administered by Moses, as you were led by Moses—whoever you think your leader is now,” because that’s always been a debate in their minds, “Hey, you’re no Moses, I’ll tell you that, Jesus, you’re no Moses.” And then Hebrews touches on that. “Oh no, there’s one greater than Moses.” But if that’s what they think, He’s saying the same God who sent that physical bread down to feed your fathers sent the true bread down to feed your souls, to feed your faith. That’s what you’re looking for.
That fulfills the ultimate need of the heart. And then it just goes back and forth. He says, verse 33, “For the bread of God is he which cometh down,” not it, “he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.” Then said they unto him, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.” They’re all in, just not thinking the right way. And Jesus said unto them, “I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not. Now we’re getting to it. He said, “I’ve given you the message. The message is me.” That’s what Jesus is saying. That’s what you’re here for. You think you’re seeking a miracle for bread so you can eat. You’re seeking something spiritual that you cannot get on this earth. And you cannot get from anywhere else. But it’s almost like He’s saying, “But good news, you’re staring at the bread you’re looking for.”
Now they’re more confused than ever. And again, He’s claiming Himself to be what they need, but they’re not hearing it because they don’t see Him as the answer they’re looking for. Is that not the world? You can say all day to somebody, “I have the answer. I have the answer.” They say, “Yeah, that’s not what I’m looking for.” “No, but no, it’s the answer. It’s the right answer.” “No, that’s not the one I’m looking for.” “It’s not about what you’re looking for. I’m telling you, that’s the right answer.”
And people will step over the right answer to keep looking for all the wrong answers, hoping one of those will work.
Says verse 37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” This is a guarantee. “For I am come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
Again, it’s the reference to, “Hey, you can eat all the bread that I can create all day long.” And guess what? You’re going to be hungry in the morning. You ever eat somewhere and be like, “I don’t think I’m going to eat for a week,” and then four hours later, “I’m starving. What’s going on?” Boy, I used to be like that, you know. But He’s saying, “I’ve got the bread that will satisfy you, not just on this earth, but for eternity. For eternity.”
And “I haven’t lost one yet that’s trusted in this bread.” Verse 40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
And so what do they do? Verse 41, the Jews then murmured at him because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They had a problem with that. There He goes again, talking crazy—that He came down from heaven.
Here’s what they say, “And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, ‘I came down from heaven’?” They’re like, “This doesn’t make sense. We know when He was born. We’ve been to all the plays. No, okay. That’s silly. A little manger and everything. The kids are all dressed up as angels, whatever. You know, we’ve seen it all. We know how He got here. There’s Mom and Dad right there.”
And then there’s the cows and the shepherds and whatever. “Okay, alright. Enough of that. We know how He got here. We know His Mom and Dad.”
What do they do? They reduce Jesus to just a man. If the world will meet you anywhere in your beliefs, they’ll meet you at, “Yeah, Jesus was a good man. Yeah, He was a good teacher.” Even some will say, “Oh, I like Jesus. He was a good philosopher, great teacher, but a Savior that came from heaven? Nah, can’t meet you there.” Someone who died and was buried and rose again? Nah, I can’t believe that. He’s just a man.
And then Jesus again answers them in verse 43 and says, “Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
“It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.” “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, He hath seen the Father.”
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. “I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” Remember? They did eat that bread, and they died. Because physical substance only keeps you alive so long.
He says this, “But the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.” And not die. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.”
“And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” And they’re so confused now, either willfully or otherwise.
It says in verse 52, “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” And might I say, fair question. I don’t know about you. Fair question.
One, they won’t believe who He’s saying He is. So, of course, if they don’t believe who He says He is, then this is a fair question, right?
Verse 53, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,” now it’s getting weird, “Ye have no life in you.”
“Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
“For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
“He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.”
“As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
“This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers that eat manna and are dead. He that eateth this bread shall live forever.” These things said He in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Verse 60, “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” And other translations do better saying, “This is just difficult to understand.”
It’s not like they didn’t understand the words He was using by any means. They’re like, they can’t grasp the concept that they’re getting at, that He’s getting at.
And Jesus knew in himself that His disciples murmured at it. These are just the general followers of Jesus at this point. And He said unto them, “Does this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?”
“It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing.”
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.”
He says, “You’ve got to get over your preconceived idea that you can’t acknowledge that I came from heaven; that I’m just another man that came from two parents like everyone else.”
And again, they’re wondering, “How can we take of this? How can we, almost in a cannibalistic sense, eat Him?” I mean it is kind of odd, right? But it’s no different.
Let me just say this, and we know that’s not what He’s talking about obviously. What He’s talking about is for them to receive the eternal internally, to take Him in as their Savior, believing that He is the only Savior and the only way to enter in to be in the presence of the Father that sent Him.
And if that’s true, they have to deny all physical reality. And that’s what He’s asking them to do.
And when you or I share my testimony, your testimony, and we talk about Jesus changed my life, we’re not talking about transactionally. “I didn’t have these things, but now I got these things because Jesus gave me these things.” No.
He changed me internally. He gave me a new heart, a new life to live. He created in me something I never could have created outwardly for myself on my own to become someone I could never have been. He made me a new creature. My soul was damned for hell because of my sin, but He saved me and redeemed my soul. And now I’m saved forevermore. I’m saved eternally. I don’t have to live perfectly on this earth to keep it because it’s eternally secure, because all my trust is in Him.
Now I have all that I need spiritually, bread and water. I have everything I need spiritually to then enter in perfectly into heaven. I can’t be perfect on this earth, but through Him and through who He is in me, taking Him in, consuming Him, connecting with Him personally, I now, in His perfection, His righteousness, because I’ve received Him into my life, now I can enter in to the holy presence of the Father in heaven.
And now I can live in that promise every day of my life on this earth because I know where I’ll be when I leave this earth. I can live in His presence here because I have the promise that I’ll live in His presence there.
And when that is taken care of and that is sure, then even if we are starving physically, we’re filled spiritually because His bread, His blood, or drink never fails in supply.
We all know what it is to be down to the last. “This has got to last us through the week.” Easy now, but that’s got to last us, right?
Can I tell you a guarantee? You don’t have to worry about your salvation not lasting because your salvation is not in you or what you can do. It’s in Him and everything He’s already done.
That’s the message and our mission is given as the response to these things.
He says, “Does this offend you?” He says, “I’m talking about the spirit, and the things I speak of are the spirit.”
It says in verse 64, “But there are some of you that believe not; for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believe not and who should betray Him.”
And He said, “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”
From that time, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.
Then, we’re wrapping it up here. Then, as those followers—loosely termed followers, not as disciples that are near Him that we see recognized in Scripture—but those people that were following, listening to Him, seeking Him because they wanted food at first and found Him in the Son of God teaching, they heard those sayings and they said, “No, those are hard sayings. Those are too difficult for us to grasp. We’re not going to listen to that.”
Jesus turns to His closest followers and says this, “Will you also go away?” “Will you also go away?”
And here’s what Peter says, “Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
“And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, or that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
What’s Peter proclaiming? Everything you were telling them, we have received and believed and we are sure of it.
You know what our first mission is before we go out into all the world and preach the gospel? Before we go fishing for men, our first mission is to be sure. Be sure that only Jesus Christ has the eternal words of life.
And that’s what He’s speaking, and His words are true, and that they’re so sure in our life that what He said is true and we’ve received what He said—that we won’t depart from it, we’ll depend on it.
And then our next mission is that we do go all into our world and share the hope and the promise and the truth of the word of God that we know is for sure in our life and share the truth, the eternal words with others.
We’re to offer the eternal. Now whether someone accepts it or rejects it, that’s up to them. That’s not our mission.
Our mission is to go with the words that we’ve been given, the words of life, life eternal, and to understand that we are not just following Jesus to get what we want from Him, but to give Him what He wants from us, to serve Him, to serve Him out of gratitude.
If we’re not careful, churches can become just crowds that gather together, not communities that grow together. We just gather hoping to get some feel-good something and then go away and come back again.
We’re truly seeking Jesus for what only Jesus can do for us, and what only Jesus can do, and what only Jesus can do, which is to transform our life.
Then what we’ll want to do is live that changed life to help others be changed by Him.
Let’s pray.
We thank you again that you have changed our life if we’ve received You as our Savior and that we’re not just existing, but as we’ve been studying, we truly experience God for who He is in our life.
And if we are maybe out of desperation or some other mode of seeking You for the wrong reasons, I pray, even myself right now, I just beg You to forgive me that I may only seek You for who You are and the wonderful Savior that You are in my life.
I pray that someone here is, if they’re struggling with these things, these absolutes that we believe are true, and they struggle with them being true or receiving them as true, I pray You give them that comforting wisdom, that knowledge, as we would say, saving knowledge, that the only Savior in this world to give, or that You’re the one who paid the price for their sin, and then they can receive You today as their Savior because of what You did for them.
What I pray also, we live our life to serve, not to be served.
I pray we don’t chase You for the next miracle that provides for our next need, but we chase You for who You are, because we’re dependent on You and Your words, and we want to be more like You, so we want to be closer to You.
I pray You help us in these things, and You help me in these things. Amen.
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