"Feeding On the Bread of Life"

Hi there, this is long Solomon and I like to welcome you to our program today.

You know it's a tremendous honor the God's given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God. One of the methods of the feeding of the 5000 that's meant to change my life, even in the 20th century change my life and make me different because of what Jesus did here that's the question that we need to answer together that I hope to answer for you this morning and I hope you can take out of here as you leave together at the passage were in chapter 9 verse 10, when the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done and he took them with him and they withdrew themselves to a town called Beth Faida not remember if you look back in verse one, you'll see that the apostles the disciples had been out on a preaching tour and now when they get back there. Exhausted, I mean they're related that there is often Jesus says to the why don't you come on and let's go get some R&R. In fact, Matthew chapter 14 says that they went to a desolate place.

As you saw on the slide. Go get some R&R know what happened. Well, verse 11 it says, but the crowd learned about it and followed him. Jesus was a celebrity. Everywhere he went.

People knew where he was.

So when he started to slip off a little R&R people would letting go. They knew how to find them and they went after him.

Now let's stop for a minute thing.

How would you feel if you had gone away for a little bit of well-deserved rest. Well-deserved privacy and all of these people followed you and would leave you alone. Every time I think about this. I think about the movie what about Bob, the story of a psychiatrist to leave the big city with his big practice in all of the stress to go find a little mountain hideaway with his family and get a little break and then is not a patient of his name. Bob comes to see him and he can get rid of it.

Whenever I think about this passage I think about how the crowds followed him. I think about that movie about how that psychiatrist reacted.

He reacted with anger and bitterness and resentment. He was cranky. He wanted to be left alone but that's not what Jesus did. Look what he did. Verse 11 it says that he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and heal those who needed healing Mark chapter 6 is the reason he did this as he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd and Jesus Christ cared about these people.

He didn't see them as a bother was a nuisance.

These people matter to him. He cared about before I was a Christian. One of the worst things about not being a Christian is loneliness, the feeling that nobody really really cares. One of the greatest things about coming to know Jesus Christ in a personal way for me was that I live for the first time in my life felt like I have somebody who was really interested that I couldn't bother though I wasn't a nuisance to when I went to talk to them about how many times I brought my problems to improve my struggles to them or my needs doing. She never looked at me like I was in knowledge, but he was always interested in always available and I felt like I could never be so much of the noise that he never said get lost. Solomon I'm sick and you he would never do that. He didn't do it to these people, and he never did it to me. And if you're here and you've never had that real personal experience with Jesus Christ. One of the greatest things you miss is a sense that somebody really cares. And you can't bother them enough to stop them from caring they love you. Your valuable that's the greatest part. I think one of about knowing Christ because he's going to treat you and me just the way he treated the speech they matter to him. Well it's going. He says in verse 12 late in the afternoon to 12, the disciples came to him and said, Lord, send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and get food and lodging were out in the middle of nowhere here, Lord.

And so the Lord said to them, you give them something to eat and they answered and said we only have five loaves of bread into little fish. Which by the way they took from little kids you know I'm his locator was willing to donate them unless we go buy food for this crowd.

When we got anything to give them, for there were about 5000 men that were there and I thought women or children. That's just men. So Jesus said, well, if you're worried about these people not having some to eat, you give them something to eat. The disciples told her hands up and go Lord.

Where do you think were going to get enough food to feed all these people I mean we got to fish and we got five bagels and that's all we got God where we want to get the food to feed all these people. Verse 14 he says all right have him sit down in groups of about 50, and the disciples did so and everybody sat down and taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and he broke them water that look like, well, he lifted them up and I'm sure he said borrower got taught in our LaHaye novella Coloma mode selector men are Hebrew. Blessed are you oh Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth food out of the ground and then the Bible says he began giving the branch of the disciples to set before the people and they all ate and they were all satisfied and the disciples picked up 12 baskets full of broken pieces that were left over Jesus after he prayed, began taking the bread and breaking it and giving it out and filling up basket after basket after basket. The bread just kept coming about how many pieces he broke off and putting the baskets of the disciples.

There was always another piece of bread to break off. The Bible says he gave them bread until they would go up to people and they would say to people here have some more Brad and the people don't talk I can in fact the Greek word that you steer in verse 17 it says the people ate and were satisfied is a Greek word that literally means to gorge yourself accused of animals would eat so much that they would literally be loaded.

They had eaten so much and that's what it says these people today. Eight so they were bloated state they parked out on this boat.

I don't know how you are. But when the food I'm eating is free. My appetite seems to go up about six levels is not true. You guys and I'll bet you this is exactly the way these people were. I mean, Jesus offered them and all you can hold buffet and had food coming as long as they wanted to eat and these guys just guards themselves listen friends. The reason Jesus stop making bread was not because he couldn't make any more Brad the reason he stop making bread because nobody could eat anymore bread 12 baskets of leftovers.

It was Dakota fed 5000 million people if he wanted to sell a lot of one final question, how do you explain this well folks explain this. This is a miracle, a miracle means that God suspends the natural laws of the universe to do something that can't happen but it did explain a miracle of miracles, miracle just got in it. That's the only explanation areas and if you believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh when he claim and I believe that then this miracle doesn't give me one bit of heartburn. I don't have any problem accepting the fact Jesus did this and I hope you don't either of you can create the world he can certainly create a bunch of bread for folks I don't know how we did it and I don't care if I know how we did it. God never asked me to understand how we did it just to believe that he did and I believe he did that at the end of the passage, but it leads us to ask the really important question which is so what right and there's a bunch of so what we could get out of this. For example, we could talk about the little boy who brought his two fish and his five loaves of bread, which is a very small amount and put in the hands of Jesus and Jesus multiplied it and turned it into a lot and I could talk to you about the fact that you might not feel like you have much talent or you have much education, or you have much ability or you have many resources but you take them and put them in the hand of God, and watch what happened when I became a Christian at the age of 21 years old. I hair out to my shoulders was on dope.

I was a college graduate because it's hard to graduate from college in Yemen. The class in two years and I had Elise not except for marginally and I put myself in the hands of God and said God I don't know what you can do with somebody like me, but whatever you can do on yours and frankly I think God is done more with me then. Really he should've been able to do with me. I think God's done a lot of things beyond what you could've expected to happen with me and God will do more with you and you thinking do with you if you put it in his hands. Now that would be a great so what.

But that's not the one you can do or we could talk about Jesus praying you know, when he lifted up the bread and he prayed he stated Jesus have to lift up the bread and pray in order to do this miracle know then why did he do it or I believe the reason he did. It is because he wanted people to make sure that they gave the credit to the right place and that's an awful good.

So what whenever God blesses your life or gives you some victory. I believe it's really important for you and me to make sure that the credit goes to the right place.

We will have to be obnoxious about it but we need to be outspoken about it we can make a pretty good so what out of that when I do that either. So what I want us to focus on is the one that Jesus himself provides for this event. You know whenever you get a so what the Jesus gives you. That's always better than what I can think of. And so Jesus provides his own. So what for this you'll find it back in John chapter 6, and I'd like you to turn their John chapter 6 and what were going to see here is one of the greatest sermons Jesus ever gave and it comes the very next morning after the feeding of the 5000 comes right on the heels of that, it's a sermon about eternal life.

It's a sermon about truth saving faith. It's a sermon about what believing in Jesus Christ really means and the way in which God wants us to relate to him so that we really see results okay this is what it's about and remember it's an outgrowth of this miracle by the way this miracle is the only miracle that all four Gospels mention in the whole Bible other than the resurrection. Of course this is John's follow-up to this event. Now let's look at verse 24. It says that once a crowd realized that during the night Jesus had gone on someplace else.

I got them both and they went after him and when they found in verse 25. They said Rabbi did you get here. But Jesus said, I tell you the truth you're looking for me, not because you saw the miracle and you want something spiritual, but because you ate the loaves and you had your fill. You like the bread I gave you do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you for on him, God the father has placed his seal of approval. Jesus says to them, look, don't be more interested in your Starbucks and yarn your soul will they didn't really understand exactly what he was talking about verse 28 so they said to him for what we have to do to do the works that God requires hacking we get this eternal life food Jesus said is very simple. The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent Jesus to join eternal life. You need to believe in me, but folks you know when I do to that believe is one of those easy to misunderstand words you know what I'm saying. It can mean a lot of things to a lot of people.

So Jesus goes on to try to define a little bit better the condo, believing that he's looking for any uses this miracle of the bread for the 5000 oldest food they ate.

They pigged out right.

He uses this as a backdrop to help explain to these people.

What the kind of belief that he's looking for is the understand in order to do now.

Let's watch him do it. Verse 35 Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. How appropriate. I just got a bread. I am the bread of life.

Steel comes to me will never go hungry, and you believes in me will never be thirsty. Now skip down to verse 47 I tell you the truth, he will believes in me has eternal life. I am the bread of life.

So now he's been talking about believing everybody see that he thought about believing in him believing in him.

Now he's going to switch and connect it up with what they did the day before and that's watch for scoring on your forefathers ate manna in the desert number that's at bread God drop from heaven to the Israelites and their debt. But here is bread, pointing to himself, that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat other not.I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If a man eats this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world and the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves and say how can this man give us his flesh to eat the folks. Why would Jesus use that kind of strange language because he was trying to help these people understand what true believing is all about. You see, Jesus knew it's easy to misunderstand the word believe to turn it into just ahead were okay to stand there and do your catechism. I believe Jesus was the son of God. I believe Jesus died on the cross. I believe Jesus was buried. I believe Jesus rose on the third day from the dead end of catechism. You believe in Jesus because I deleted her my catechism, then you Jesus says and this is not believe Jesus if you really want to understand what believe this then the, believing I'm talking about is like eating said what is happening well when we eat food. What we do well you ingested right to take it inside of you, not just in your head gives the poor people just put food in your head. You put food in your whole being, you take it and it becomes an inseparable part of you. You assimilated it nourishes all the cells in your body and gives life to every part of you.

Your relationship with food is not an intellectual relationship. Your relationship with food and mine is an experiential relationship to understand.

Look I love food I do. I love the music, which looks of all thank you thank you I just lost 30 pounds, say �30,000 ideologue balloon to 215. CR 215-3085 right very good hundred 83 actually but you know it's a fight to keep it off every day. It's terrible you say will not. How could you let yourself get to 215,000 and how in the world could you put yourself through this because, listen, my relationship with food is not an intellectual relationship. Nobody gains weight often intellectual relationship with food is if you stand or go yes I know this is food. Yes, I know that it will nurse my body cells. Yes, it is tantalizing and will touch my tastebuds way down deep gained weight from that you gain weight because she was treated as right and need more of it and should say that's an experiential relationship. I took that foodie and it became a part of me a big part of me and folks you can purchase food you can prepare food you can smell food you can seafood you can touch food. You can sit at the table with food all around you, but it's no good unless you eat it. Unless you take it in and you understand what Jesus is saying what he saying is it's the same way with me. I'm spiritual food. He said that did me is that I am spiritual bread that came down from heaven. I'm spiritual food CVS spiritual food and eat me the way you eat physical food make it that personal make it fat experiential. I'm not a theological theory to be debated in some classroom. I am a personal savior to be ingested into your life and into your soul just the way you guys ate all that food yesterday that I made for you by faith. I'm to be taken into your life. In that same way so I can nourish your soul and so that I can nurture every cranny of your be that what you do to food physically is what you need to do to me spiritually by faith in order to believe properly.

That's what believing so that's why the book of Revelation. It says that Jesus Christ is knocking at the door of our life and we need to open the door and what inviting me see that eating spiritual food. You know what I'm talking about you chew that thing up, and you savor you swallow it, and from that point on that chocolate doughnut is party you friend.

That's what Jesus wants to be except spiritually by Satan fighting in your life, and he becomes party you look what he said. Verse 57 just as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father so the one who feeds on me.

Here is lesson one who feeds on me spiritually will live because of me. I am the bread that came down from heaven.

Our forefathers ate manna out of the wilderness, and they died but the person who feeds on to sprint me will live forever if you're here and you've never embraced Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you've never ingested him the way he ingests food then may I say to you that no amount of intellectual assent will do that is not saving faith. She's not good enough to say Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know that no know you got to reach the point where you can say Jesus Christ is my same is not good enough to say Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world know you gotta be able to personalize it to be able to say no. Jesus died on the cross for my father been the only person in the world he would've died for me. It's not enough to say Jesus belongs to the world. You gotta be able to say Jesus belongs to me is mine, because by faith. I reached out and grabbed a hold of it and invited them in my life and ingested him a spiritual food and we're inseparable now like me and that doughnut you can separate us. That's the kind of faith that brings eternal life and maybe you can go to church all your life even think catechism is all your life. They've even taken sacraments and doing things all your life, but friend, if you haven't done this, believing that you don't have eternal life because Jesus doesn't granite anything but this, believing, and I hope gotta bring you to the place that you see the difference and that you're willing to reach out and take him in your life.

Now if you're here in your Christian I think there's also a great message here for us. Jesus says he's living food keys every day living food. He didn't teach us to pray, give us our monthly bread thinning or give us weekly bread or for some of us. Some people give us our twice a year breaded Christmas and Easter. He taught us to pray, give us our what daily prayer and you know folks when you went out if you were Israelite to live out the wilderness and God was dropping down on you for 40 years was interesting God would never allow you to collect more than one day supply manna if you did and you try to cheat Starla but Casey did after about the next morning you know what happened to it.

It rotted and the reason for that is God was trying to teach these people a lesson he was trying to teach them. You can't live off yesterday's manna and God trying to teach us as Christians. Lesson, you can't live off yesterday's bread of life. There a lot of Christians who try.

But in order to be healthy as a Christian we need to ingest a fresh supply of the bread of life every single day.

I mean we need a fresh feeling by the word of God every single day. We need a fresh touch by Jesus Christ himself on our life every single day. A fresh experience with God every day you were to have the strength we need to love our husband love our wife. Love our children live biblically, act righteously hate sin love righteousness pursue holiness in our lives.

Friend, you can't run on fumes and do that you need a fresh experience of God every day I think of the Old Testament of a guy named Samson Wegner means guy with the beard at Delilah, you'll cut off his beard and lost all the strength Samson was a man who knew God.

Samson had a problem though. Samson's problem was his diet to spiritual diet heat and eat right. Samson had a few good spiritual meals here and there along the way and in between. Samson tried to run on Slim fast can't do it, and as a result, his life was inconsistent to spiritual life was unstable and it was all kinds of sin in his spiritual life. Even as a believer because of the fact that he tried to eat spiritual food on a quarterly basis. You can't do that and have the kind of Christian experience, a God want you to have that. I know this is a fast-paced world. I know are busy and I have a schedule like yours. My schedule just crazy but you know what you start running on fumes like that you begin losing the power and the vitality of the Christian experience. You can't maintain it any more than if I didn't feed you for three days. You could maintain the physical strength that you got today. You couldn't do it so I want to challenge it. Don't be a Slim fast Christian you can't make it that way, your life will show the very negative effects. As a Christian trying to do that. Well, whether Christian or not.

I hope God spoke to you about something this morning and hope it will change where you live. Let's pray heavenly father, I want to thank you for the word of God this morning. Lord I want to pray first of all, for those of us here who are not Christian, who never really had this kind of personal ingesting of Jesus Christ into our soul into our life Lord. Maybe there people are been to church all your life. Maybe they didn't, sacraments, and they've taken communion and they been baptized, and they song and acquire, but they've never reached out by faith and eat the bread of life ingested it into their soul. Lord I pray that you would help them this morning understand what the differences enlighten their heart by your spirit. Lord I pray that they would opt not just to an intellectual belief in you, but to the kind of soul belief like eating food that you want them to have the produces results. God father, I want to pray for those of us here who already Christians. We understand the concept we've reached out and we've invited Christ into our life and with Eaton and ingested him as the bread of life, but yet Lord many many times we let our schedule crowding out so were really fasting so many days spiritually running on Slim fast Lord I pray that you would challenge us today that if were too busy to spend time with the living God each day that were too busy.

We need to make some priority decisions that will allow us draw on the bread of life every day for Jesus change our habit patterns in our daily schedule based on what we've heard here today that our lives might make a difference for Christ and we pray that in Jesus name amen been listening to silently nonchalant Solomon plan is and how arrangement of lines found in ministering to listen to today's message, or for more information visit our website line. Solomon ministries.org.

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