Jesus said , “I am the Bread of life” “that came down from heaven”4/3/11

Jesus said , “I am the Bread of life” “that came down from heaven”

RUMC 4^th in the series “I AM”

4/3/11

Video 1 min 40 sec

Someone dies of starvation every 7 seconds.

Someone dies of a nutrition related illness every 3.8 seconds.

Spiritual Starvation- living without Jesus Christ is even more common.  In fact somewhere in the world, someone dies without accepting Christ  as their Lord -   lacking  of the bread of life is 4 times as often as someone dies of starvation.  Someone dies without Jesus Christ twice as often as someone dies of malnutrition related causes.  Every 1.8 seconds someone somewhere dies without the bread of life.  

In Moses’ day, the Israelites thought they were going to starve in the desert.  “It would have been better to stay in Egypt under the taskmasters than to die of starvation in the desert.”  God provided manna: bread flakes that appeared as dew each morning.  The people ate and were satisfied . . .  for a little while.

Jesus’ crowd of 5000 men was probably more like 15 to 20,000 when you add in women and children.  Jesus tests Philip by asking, “Where will we buy bread for all of them?”  Philip responds with something along the lines of “Don’t ask me.”  Jesus finds a little boy and takes the salted fish and bread with which he intended to make a sandwich for lunch. The disciples pass it around.  You would think was a mile long sub because it fed everyone and they picked up more leftovers than they started with!

The next day some of the crowd chased Jesus down saying do it again, do it again!  It must have been a group of teenage boys.  They enjoyed the free meal and thought Jesus should open “The Smorgasbord by the Sea.”

The truth is, Jesus would have fed anyone who was really hungry on any given day..  I am certain that Jesus would not let anyone starve.    But he knew that that wasn’t the case here. . .  he saw how much they ate the day before and knew that (like most of us)  a growling stomach was not their biggest problem. 

Jesus says, “Forget about that food.  It only lasts for a day.  I have something better for you.  I have food that endures to eternal life.  No more dried fish for you . . . only the best from heaven’s kitchen for you from now on!

Ø  Their first response is the same as ours would have been-  “OK fine- whatever- what do we have to do so we can get more lunch.”  They are frankly much more interested in the food that only lasts a few hours. But they are willing to jump through the teacher’s hoops in order to get it.

Ø  There second response is not unfamiliar to us either. “  Yea, Right, Prove it.” Actually, they ask what sign he is going to give them.  How stubborn are they?  Just one day earlier, Jesus just fed 15,000 people with a little boy’s snack.  And still they are asking for proof?

Ø  Finally Jesus  says it as plainly as he can-  “I am the bread of life.”     It is as though Jesus is saying “Get off the bread already!”  I am not talking about sandwiches here.  I’m not talking about empty bellies here.

--- I am talking about empty hearts and empty souls. 

---I am talking about hearts so empty they are like black holes into which everything disappears, and nothing ever escapes.

--- I am talking about souls so empty that people walk around like automatons with no purpose or hope. 

---I am talking about lives so empty that they have nothing to offer anyone.

---I am talking about people whose faith is so empty all they care about is following the rules.

  Jesus continues by promising I can fill that emptiness. He could fill it for the crowd 2000 years ago.  He can fill it for us today.  There is nothing else that fills the God shaped void in our live.  There is nothing else that can satisfy the God sized emptiness in our lives.  There is no one else who is the bread of life.

Listen to those beeps-…

 one person dies without Christ every 1.8 seconds. But just like I said the hunger of the belly is not the worst hunger, compared to the hunger of the soul.  The death of the body is also not the worst death compared to the death of the heart, the death soul and the death of hope that we live each day, when we live without Christ.

There are hungers worse than physical hunger. 

§  Are you hungry for acceptance- just plain knowing that you are acceptable and lovable the way you are?  Jesus can fill that hunger.

§  Are you hungry for forgiveness- forgiveness for the evil you have done or the good you have ignored?  Jesus can fill that hunger.

§  Are you hungry for community?  Not people who pass you in Wal-Mart or honk at you as they pass your house.  Are you hungry for deep relationships, caring relationships, relationships based on unconditional love and infinite grace? Jesus can fill that hunger when you become part of the body of Christ.

§  Are you hungry for joy or hope-  hungry for some real reason to smile. Hungry to be freed from the grip of worry and doubt?  Jesus can nourish you with joy and fill you with hope.

§  Are you starving for meaning?  Do you wake up thinking “Is this all there is”  do you go to bed saying another one bites the dust?  Christian discipleship is that journey, not just toward God.  It is a journey toward seeing and living into God’s purpose for your life. 

Jesus says I am the bread from heaven that can satisfy your longing hearts.

Video  starts-  it starts with low volume and increases on its own. "You satisfy the hungry heart."

Fill your emptiness and nourish the deepest parts of you with the finest wheat. .  And all you have to do is believe a come.

Believe- accept- have faith that Jesus is all you need. 

And come.  Feast on him.  Be filled with him.  Follow him.