WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:21.839 Good morning, Awakening. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:22.559 How are we? 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:23.920 Doing well? 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:30.160 I just have to say I'm very proud of you guys for coming out on this California wintry blustery day. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:34.960 The amount of like rain boots I saw brought my Pacific Northwest heart lots of joy. 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:36.399 I was like, oh, that's so cute. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:37.679 That's so cute. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:41.119 And I've lived here, you know, 19 years, so I'm the same way. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:42.719 But I'm so glad you're at church this morning. 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:46.799 Hey, if it's your first time, my name is Christina, and I'm one of our pastors here. 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.920 And we're just really grateful that you were with us this morning. 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:56.079 You guys, about quarterly here, we do a Sunday where we just focus on communion and worship. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.520 And we just have a bit of a longer worship set and then just lean into like a devotional that leads us to communion. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.799 And I'm so excited, I get to be the one leading us in that today. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:07.120 So I'm so happy that you're with us this morning. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.519 And I wanna kind of dive in this morning. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.319 We're gonna be in the in the book of John. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:18.799 So if you have a Bible, if you've got your phone, whatever you like to use to read it, we're in John chapter six this morning. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:21.599 So I invite you to open that up and join me in there. 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:25.599 So where we're at in John, we're gonna meet up with Jesus and the disciples. 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.719 And Jesus is full on in his ministry right now, okay? 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:36.480 In the chapters right prior to this, um, Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, and she offered, he offered her everlasting water, right? 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:37.920 That would quench her thirst. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:43.200 And then he he heals the layman that's next to the spring, and he says, Get up your mat and walk. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:46.159 He's doing miracle after miracle after miracle. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:48.480 And we meet up with him in John 6. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.560 Go ahead and join me here in verse 1. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:02:03.920 It says, Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, that is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:08.879 And then Jesus went on a mountainside and sat with his disciples. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.840 The Jewish Passover festival was near. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:12.319 Okay? 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:13.759 So you got the picture here. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.400 Jesus is busy, busy healing people. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:18.960 People are starting to follow him because they're like, what's going on? 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:20.319 What's going on with this movement? 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.520 So he retreats up onto the hillside, brings his disciples with him. 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:28.319 And then it's really important that we recognize that the Jewish Passover festival is coming. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:29.840 We're gonna come back to that in our story. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:40.639 So verse five When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip, one of his disciples, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:41.840 These people are hungry. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.199 How are we gonna feed them? 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:48.240 And I love this because, you know, he asked this to kind of test Philip. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.080 It says, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:54.080 Jesus already had something in mind here. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:55.520 Philip answered him. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:02.240 It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each and everyone to have one bite. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:04.639 Does anyone have any Phillips in their life? 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:05.439 Yeah. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.879 He goes straight to like, well, okay, let's calculate what we're gonna do to solve this problem. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:10.639 That's Philip, he goes straight to it. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.560 But then another disciple, Andrew, he has another idea. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:24.560 Another of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up and he said, Here, here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fishes. 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:26.879 But how far will that go with so many? 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:28.800 Philip's like, I have a solution. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:31.520 Just kidding, it's like one little kid here, right? 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.360 But he has a solution. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:38.240 Now, I love this story because it appears in all four of the Gospels, okay? 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.639 This account of John just says that Jesus looked up and saw this great crowd coming from him. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:52.639 But in the other three Gospels, when Jesus looks up and sees the crowd, it says he has great compassion on them because they're like sheep without a shepherd. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.039 And so he starts to teach them. 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.000 So here's Jesus with great compassion. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.479 Here's all these people that are hungry, okay? 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.000 We've got um Philip saying we can't feed him, we can't afford it. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:08.400 We have Andrew saying, Hey, I have a little kid here, with a few loaves and fishes. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:16.160 And it's interesting, John specifically says that they're barley loaves, and for us that's important to know because barley was actually the bread of the poor. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:19.680 So John's letting us know who these people are that Jesus is working with. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:20.879 This is a poor crowd. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:28.800 This is a crowd of people that maybe they don't have food, not just because they didn't pack it, because we're the moms and the dads packing the lunches for these people, right? 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.360 But this was a poor crowd. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:36.000 And so Jesus says, have the people sit down. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:43.439 There was plenty of grass in this place, and so they sat down, about 5,000 men, plus women and children. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:54.959 And Jesus took the loaves and he gave thanks, and he distributed to those who were seated with as much as they wanted, and he did the same with a fish. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:11.040 Verse 12 says, And when they had all had enough to eat, when they all, 5,000 men, plus women, plus kids, when they had all had enough to eat, or the other three Gospels say, when they had eaten until they were satisfied. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:16.399 He said to his disciples, gather the pieces that are left over, let nothing be wasted. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:25.040 So they gathered them and they filled 12 baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over for those who had eaten. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.160 Can you even imagine what it would be like to be a disciple right there? 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:36.800 All of a sudden, you're like, okay, great, we just fed all these people, and then each disciple, 12 baskets, 12 disciples are just like standing there with these leftovers looking at each other, like, what just happened? 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.040 Philip's like, and we didn't even have to spend a dime. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:40.560 Woo! Right? 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:42.399 They just did this. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.399 They're just shocked and amazed. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:50.720 But before we continue with the story, let's pause and just reflect on the abundance of Jesus for a second, right? 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:53.279 The excess of Jesus. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:06:00.240 He didn't just give everyone a bite, not just a taste for everyone, not just like, oh, just a little bit to hold you over till you get home for dinner. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:01.120 No, no, no. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:04.639 He made sure there was enough for everyone to eat as much as they wanted. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:10.399 Extra, satisfied, until everyone had enough, and then there was excess. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:16.959 It's like a beautiful buffet, but not of the low quality stuff, like a really good buffet, and you can kind of just like keep going back until you're full. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:21.199 That's the picture we have here of Jesus' generosity towards these people. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:22.879 Just hold on to that thought for now. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:24.639 Back to verse 14. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:33.839 And after the people saw the sign that Jesus performed, they began to say, Surely this is the prophet who has come to the world. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:35.439 These people are celebrating. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:39.120 They're like, Yes! Finally, our Messiah is here, right? 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:40.800 The new Moses has come. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:42.480 He's come to free us. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:44.480 He is finally here. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:54.079 And verse 15 says, Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, he withdrew again to a mountain by himself. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:55.920 Jesus sees the people's response. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.680 He knows that it's Passover time. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:05.120 They're remembering how Moses led the people out of slavery, led them to the promised land, and the people are thinking, look, there's new food for us here. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:06.560 This is the new Messiah. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:07.519 This is him. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:15.360 And Jesus realizes that this crowd could quickly become a crazy crowd that would by force take him and force him to be king. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:16.879 So Jesus retreats. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:26.319 And verse 16 says, When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and they set a cross for the lake of Capernaum. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.720 So Jesus feeds all of these people. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.160 The people get very excited about who they think he is. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:33.839 Jesus retreats. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.040 The disciples get on a boat and they disappear. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.720 Later that night we read that Jesus actually walks on the water. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.120 You guys remember the story to get to the disciples. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:44.879 It terrifies them. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:46.240 He says, That's me. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:47.040 He gets in the boat. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.720 They go over to the other side of the water. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.759 And now the next morning, the people are searching for Jesus again. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.759 All of these people are saying, Where did he go? 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.439 We didn't see him get on the boat. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:56.720 And then they find him. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:57.920 And where did they find him? 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.639 They find him in the synagogue in Capernaum. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:05.120 Now, this would be a very normal place for Jesus to be, especially during the Passover festival, right? 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:09.920 So the Jewish people, they're gathering in the synagogue to remember this festival. 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:14.639 To remember that Jesus that God brought them out of slavery, right? 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:23.279 To remember how Moses convinced Pharaoh by the plagues, by the hand of God, crossed the Red Sea, and out they went into the wilderness. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:24.240 This is them remembering. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.160 So Jesus is here in the synagogue. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.399 And in verse 25, we pick it up again. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:36.240 And it says, And when they found him, when the people found him on the other side of the lake, they came to him and they said, Rabbi, when did you get here? 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:46.720 And Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, you were looking for me, not because of the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and you had your fill. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.519 He's saying, You were hungry and you came back for more. 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.919 I fed you and now you're hungry again. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.080 And then he says this in verse 27. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.679 Church, pay attention here. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:09:05.039 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:10.720 For on him, God the Father has placed his seal of approval. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:17.039 He's saying, I know you came back because you're hungry, but don't continue to work for food that's gonna spoil. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:26.159 Search after and work for the eternal food that the Son of Man will give you, that I will give you, because God's seal of approval is on me. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:28.159 And they responded to him in verse 28. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:32.480 They said, Well, what must we do to get the works of God? 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:34.240 What are the works required? 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:40.480 And Jesus said, The work of God is this, to believe in the one that he has sent. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:42.080 What is the work required? 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:43.519 To believe in me. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:49.759 And so they asked him, What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe in you? 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:50.960 What will you do? 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.080 They're wanting more. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:53.039 They're wanting a sign. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.159 Yes, thank you for enjoying the irony of this, right? 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:04.240 And they're saying to him, Well, our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:05.360 So what is your sign? 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.200 You say you're the son of man. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:09.120 What is your sign to us? 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:09.840 Okay. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:12.320 Let's do a quick refresher on manna. 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:14.240 Throw up your hand if you know what manna is. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:15.919 Okay, yeah, most of you know this. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:16.799 Fantastic. 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:17.919 So, wonderful. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.879 What these people were referring to was their ancestors. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.120 They're in slavery in Egypt. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:25.039 Moses says, Let my people go. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:26.480 You've seen this in the movie, right? 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.080 Pharaoh finally frees them. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.879 They're out in the wilderness past the Red Sea. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:33.440 The people of Israel are free from slavery. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:34.320 And what do they do? 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:38.480 They mumble and they complain and they whine and they say, We're hungry. 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:39.519 They're hungry. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.679 At least in Egypt, yeah, we were slaves, but at least we had food to eat. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:46.879 And so God tells Moses, okay, here's what I'm gonna do. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:48.799 I'm gonna provide manna for you. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.039 And six days a week, when you wake up, there's gonna be this substance on the ground. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.039 It's gonna look like white flakes. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:11:00.159 And then on the seventh day, you won't get any because you're supposed to take enough the day before, because that's the day of rest. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:05.600 And every single morning when you see this white stuff on the ground called manna, which means what is it? 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:10.399 Because they didn't know what it was, you're gonna remember the faithfulness of God. 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:15.039 It is a visual display every single day of God's faithfulness. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:17.519 He's saying that I am the God that brought you out. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:21.360 It tells us in Exodus that this manna, it tasted like wafers with honey. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:22.879 Ooh, anyone else want to try? 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:23.919 Sounds delicious. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.200 And for 40 years it was on the ground. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:33.120 Now, the Judaism belief at that point in time was that there was like the storehouse in heaven, okay? 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.600 Or a heavenly treasury of manna. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:37.279 That's what these Jewish people believed. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:39.440 And that um that's what would that fed the people. 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:42.720 And they believed that this bread from heaven would be reopened. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:45.679 This treasury would be reopened by the coming Messiah. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:46.799 That's what they're saying to him. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:48.559 Well, show us the sign, right? 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:54.720 They're like, because we believe that when the new Messiah comes, the heavens are going to open and the bread is gonna fall again. 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.919 But this is what Jesus says to them in verse 32. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:10.720 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. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:16.639 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:20.960 Sir, they said, always give us this bread. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:27.440 And then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:35.360 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:48.240 Church, in this beautiful conversation between Jesus and these people, Jesus is giving them the meaning of the miracle he did the day before, right? 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.360 He's explaining why he did that. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.919 Yes, there were thousands of hungry people. 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.799 Yes, God's heart was, Jesus' heart was filled with compassion as he looked at them. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:05.759 These sheep without a shepherd, these poor people, these people with physical needs who just needed a nice big, full dinner. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:18.559 He wanted to care for their physical needs, but the purpose of that miracle was not just to feed them for one time, it was a beautiful example of a greater reality. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:24.559 And the timing of Jesus to do this during the Passover festival, very intentional. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:30.240 Because for a second time, God had provided bread from heaven. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:40.720 But this time, it was the bread of life, not a bread that's gonna disappear the next day, not something that they have to go out and collect for 40 years. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:49.919 Jesus is saying, I am the bread of life, I am the sole sustenance, I am everything that you need. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:57.200 And for us today in 2022, it's the same. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:01.039 Church, we are the 5,000. 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:20.799 Humankind is the 5,000 that Jesus looks out at with great compassion, with an overwhelming heart of love and compassion, as he sees us as a sheep who need a shepherd, as he sees our spiritual hunger and our spiritual poverty. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:27.200 And just like the miracle that he had done the day before, we get to receive this bread. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:37.840 Not because of something we did, not because of our striving, not because of our earning, not because of how strong our faith is, not because of our good works, not because of our obedience. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:39.600 No, it's just like the manna. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.440 All the people had to do was wake up in the morning, and there it was. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:54.320 And Jesus is offering that exact same thing for us, lavished upon us with abundance, with extra, with excess, with leftovers. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:00.639 And church, when we receive Jesus, we can be satisfied. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:09.440 Sorry, Glenn, I probably messed up the slides. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:10.320 That's my bad. 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:22.879 But verse 27 says this do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.639 Food that spoils. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.440 I want us to sit on that for a couple minutes. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:39.039 To think about the food that spoils, to think about the different breads in our lives, the different breads that we're eating, the different breads that we're craving, the different breads that we're striving after. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:43.600 Because I think our world promises all sorts of breads that are gonna satisfy. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:44.159 Yeah? 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:44.960 Amen. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:52.639 I want to unpack a few of them, and I just invite you to listen and see, okay, which of those breads do I maybe seek after? 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.000 First, I want to talk about the bread of money. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.120 Anyone? 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.559 The bread of money. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:15:59.840 We all need it. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:00.960 I mean, we do. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.039 We need some money for survival. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:04.240 We all want it. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:11.200 It seems like we all want more of it, and it feels like no matter how much we get, it's never quite enough. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.879 But the bread of money, it's a food that spoils. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:24.000 Recession hits, the market drops, jobs are lost, divorces happen, homes foreclose. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.639 The bread of money is a bread that spoils. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.159 Or how about the bread of success? 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:34.639 The bread of prestige. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:46.080 The bread of getting somewhere in your career and getting the new title or the new office or getting on that really important team or getting the grades or getting, getting, getting. 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.639 It's a bread that also can spoil. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:54.559 Or the bread of degrees, which leads us back to the bread of money. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:55.120 Amen? 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.559 Any students in the house? 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.279 Yeah? 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.399 That bread of wanting to finish that degree or get that higher degree. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:06.559 Nothing wrong with it, but that can become the sole bread, the focus, the bread of fame or popularity. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.799 Y'all got teenagers in the house, and I'd like to say it's just a teenager thing. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:12.079 It sure is not. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.079 We see this all throughout life. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:21.039 Or maybe that bread, it's not necessarily fame or popularity, but it's just like needing community and friends, and we put that up and we strive and we earn. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:22.559 How can I find my people? 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:29.039 Or the bread of personal development, personal fulfillment, personal awareness. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.079 Always striving to know ourselves more. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.680 Or the bread of beauty and strength. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:43.119 That we spend a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of energy thinking about and striving for. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:47.359 But our bodies grow old and our bodies will pass away. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:49.599 That's a bread that spoils. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:57.920 Or maybe our bread is just really attaining for a different home, something to own, something bigger, something in a different neighborhood. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:04.240 Or maybe it's the desire for a spouse and family or a different spouse, or more family, or maybe less family. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.200 I don't know. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:10.559 Or maybe it's just the bread of pleasure and enjoyment. 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.359 Y'all, I find my here, myself here more than anything. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:18.799 I want to try more food, more drinks, more experiences, more travel, more concerts, more sports. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.160 I just want to do all of life. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.960 I want to experience all of it and jam it all in. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.680 But all of that also spoils. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.000 See, church, these breads, they're not bad, right? 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:30.960 Let's be honest. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.319 These are the things, these are the things of our lives. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:44.000 And when these breads are consumed in the right order, it's part of the abundant life, this beautiful life that Jesus gives us. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:52.880 But when it's misordered, when those are the breads that are what we're solely seeking after, it's not life-giving. 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:54.960 It's not the bread of life. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:00.319 And they will spoil and we'll need more and we'll never be satisfied. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:02.400 We're hungry. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.359 Humankind, we're hungry. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:06.799 Church, we're hungry. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:20.799 So we eat and we eat and we eat and we eat and we try different breads and we consume and we get full and we get fuller and we get fuller, but we're still hungry and we keep searching and we keep eating. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.960 And I think today some of us were just eating the wrong bread. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.200 And that's why we're so hungry. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:35.279 Our lives are aching from the overindulgence and the binging and the consuming of the wrong bread. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:41.839 So we find ourselves spiritually malnourished, and yet we're so hungry. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:47.039 And then some of us, unfortunately, we've actually gone to the other extreme. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.640 We've become satisfied with the food that spoils. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:56.079 We've been eating it for so long that we actually think that's what we need. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.079 We actually think it's life-giving, and it's not. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:04.559 And so we've tricked ourselves into thinking like this is what's filling me. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:11.200 And yet our souls are starving, and we don't even realize our hunger anymore. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.079 It's a scary place to be. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.759 It's very different than the people that Jesus was talking to in the synagogue, right? 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:25.039 In Capernaum, when they said, when Jesus said, For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:26.240 Remember their response? 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:28.880 They said, Oh, sir, always give us this bread. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.240 They were hungry for it. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.079 They knew they needed it. 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:36.160 And Jesus said, I am the bread of life. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:42.000 And whoever comes to me will never go hungry and will never be thirsty. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:44.480 They will find their all in me. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:50.400 Church, Jesus' invitation to them now is exactly the same as invitation to us today. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:21:02.400 It's to lay down the breads that spoil and to come to him to acknowledge that he is the bread of life. 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:05.680 Okay, I want to tie this in with communion. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:09.759 So, what I want to do is we're gonna fast forward one year, okay? 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.039 This was Passover. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:13.599 Jesus is up in the Sea of Galilee, he's in Capernaum. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:18.000 We're gonna fast forward one year, and we find Jesus in Jerusalem. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:22.160 It's the next Passover, and we find Jesus with the disciples. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:23.759 All 12 of them are still there. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:25.519 I don't think they have their baskets anymore. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.519 I'm guessing the leftovers are gone. 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:42.319 But we find them again with bread, we find them again gathering, and we see Jesus again taking the bread, breaking the bread, giving thanks over the bread and sharing it. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.559 This is at the Last Supper. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:47.759 This is the night before Jesus was to die. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:55.039 So I want to read this passage to you from Luke 22, keeping in mind everything we've talked about is Jesus being the bread of life. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.200 Take that symbolism now into this. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:12.559 In verse 14, it says, And when the Hour came, Jesus and his disciples reclined at the table, and he said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:18.559 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:27.039 Jesus says, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:31.039 Do you think of Jesus often as having desires? 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:35.279 As saying to people, this is what I really, really want. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:39.039 It's not a way that I think of Jesus very often, to be quite honest. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:43.759 I think of him as being fully God, fully human, needing and getting everything he wants. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:50.799 And to me, this is a beautiful moment of vulnerability for Jesus, where we get to see the inside of his heart. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:23:03.680 When he's sitting with his 12, he's sitting with his closest buddies, those who he's partnered in ministry with, cast out demons with, slept on the ground with, and he knows the next day he's going to the cross. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.000 He knows what's in store, the suffering and the sacrifice. 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:10.799 He knows what his father has asked him to do. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:16.640 And he says to them, I have eagerly desired to share this meal with you. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:22.319 It's almost like he needs his community, he needs his people. 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:28.400 And there's something for him about taking this bread and breaking it and sharing it with them. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.839 That's so important. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.319 I have eagerly desired to have this meal with you. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:40.880 And after taking the cup, he gave thanks and he said, Take this and divide it among you. 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:48.000 For I tell you, I will not eat and drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:52.240 And then he took the bread and he gave thanks and he broke it. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.799 And he gave it to them, saying, This is my body for you. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:00.480 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:12.480 This bread, this manna, me as the bread of life, I'm offering you this beautiful symbolism for what I am giving you. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:22.319 And in the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which I poured out for you. 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:34.000 As Jesus, the bread of life, getting ready to go to the cross to sacrifice his life for the forgiveness of our sins, he gives a new bread. 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:44.240 He gives a new manna in remembrance of God's faithfulness, in remembrance of God's love that is going to be poured out. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:49.920 In the same way that the manna for 40 years on the ground was a memory, a remembrance. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.160 Our God is faithful, our God is with us. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:25:00.880 This bread now, He's saying, eat this bread in remembrance of what I'm doing for you, of my sacrifice for you. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:19.599 Friends, as we come to the communion table today, I want to offer you an invitation to pause and to reflect on your cravings for bread, on your strivings, on your earnings, on what you're building your life around, on what bread you're desiring. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.960 Because here's what I know about communion: Communion is all about receiving. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.440 It is all about receiving. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:32.160 In that moment, Jesus was requiring nothing from his disciples, right? 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:35.039 He was saying, I desire to share this with you. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:45.599 He took the bread, he broke the bread, he blessed the bread, he shared the bread as a beautiful example of what he was doing on the cross the next day. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:49.920 Giving his body for the forgiveness of sins. 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:57.440 So, friends, as we come to take communion today, I want to be so clear that our hearts are not to come as woes me. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.559 I have failed. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:00.480 I need to beat up on myself about this. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:02.960 Oh my goodness, the breads, I'm off on this. 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:04.319 I need to fix it. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:06.160 It's not the heart. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:12.960 No, we take it back to that heart of Jesus, who saw the crowds coming for him, who was filled with great compassion. 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:16.480 That's how he sees us as we come to the communion table. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.480 He says, I see you. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:20.960 I see your weaknesses. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:26.160 I see that sometimes you're a sheep that wanders around and you just need some leadership. 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:27.920 I see your poverty. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:30.799 I see your spiritual malnourishment. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:32.880 And he says, Come. 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:36.960 Because we know that grace is not something that's earned, right? 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:40.000 Grace is a gift from God. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:54.000 So as we take communion today, my invitation is that you pause, that you reflect on your bread, that you spend some time with the Lord, asking for the bread of life that does not spoil. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:59.279 And then you just open up to receive what God has for you today. 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:11.200 The compassion that He wants to lavish over you, the kindness of a heavenly father that desires to be close. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:26.720 The way we're gonna do communion today is instead of it being up here where you just help yourselves, which we do sometimes is fine, but today we want to serve it to you as an example of how communion is something that we receive, just like God's grace. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:31.200 So I want to invite now our communion servers to come on forward. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:35.039 We're gonna have two stations right up at the beginning of each of these aisles. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:37.119 And friends, we're not in a rush for this. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.240 We have space for this. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:39.279 I'm checking my watch. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:41.279 Yes, we have space for this. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:42.400 We have time. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:53.200 And when you come forward, they will offer you bread and you'll tear it off yourself, and they'll say to you, this is the bread of Jesus broken for you. 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.000 And then there will be a goblet with juice in it. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.119 Careful, it is grape juice, it will stain your white pants. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:05.279 And you're gonna just dunk it and they're gonna say, This is the blood of Jesus shed for you. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.680 Do it slowly. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.359 Take a moment to pause. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:13.440 You can either eat here at the tables or you can take it back to your chair. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:17.519 If you're a gluten-free person, we also have a gluten-free option on these tables. 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:19.920 Just let them know and they'll give that to you. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:26.640 And church, at awakening, at awakening church, we practice what we call an open communion table. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:36.079 That means if you today want to participate in communion, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are welcome to partake with us in communion. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:38.000 Will you pray with me? 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:46.799 Oh, Lord Jesus, I thank you for a story that I've heard countless times in my life. 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:53.680 But that today feels like a beautiful example of your compassion and your love. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:29:03.519 And God, the desire you have in you to be everything that I need to fill me to fold. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:11.119 Holy Spirit, will you move in this place as we take your communion? 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:18.480 And God, we pray that the words of the psalmist in Psalm 63, 4 through 6 will be true. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:23.519 That will say these words, I will praise you as long as I live. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.200 And in your name I will lift up my hands. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:36.079 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods, and with singing lips, my mouth will praise you. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.640 Church, we're gonna put that psalm up on the screen so you can reflect on it. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:44.319 And I want to invite you to come for communion when you're ready. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:47.680 We hope you were blessed by this message. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.240 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:54.480 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:29:54.720 --> 00:30:00.640 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.