I Am the Bread of Life

For ever be our joy, may redemption be the theme of our song, for by grace we have been.

Saved.

And by grace we shall proclaim to the corners of the earth that Christ has come. Let the nations be glad. Let the nations be glad. Let the people rejoice, for salvation belongs to our God. Let the whole earth be filled with the praises of the Lord, for salvation belongs to our nation.

The child and the soul are His concordance to win. Let the nations be glad for salvation, for salvation.

For the nations have much to be glad about, right? The nations have much to be glad about. The people of Israel, they had the precepts, they had the law, they were the only ones enlightened to the truth of who God is and the good news that was to come at the time.

But now we have that good news. It's already been, it's already come, He's already come. I wanted to read briefly from Psalm 67. This wasn't in our liturgy this morning, but I thought of it as we were preparing to sing this song, which this is where this song was derived from.

The psalmist, he says, may God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth. Your saving power among all nations. Oh, let the peoples praise you, oh God, let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. And we do, we sing for joy this morning because this world was an excruciatingly dark place before Christ came. And when He came, He defeated, He bound the strong man.

The strong man was no longer allowed to just deceive the nations as He wills and as He pleases. Christ is the King and that light can go forth and it's gone forth in our lives, many of us this morning.

That's why we've come together in worship this morning. We just want to say welcome. Thank you for being here. I'm so excited for the Lord's day. He says, I always pump my kids up. I want them to know this is the pinnacle of the week.

This is the best day, the Lord's day. This is when we the saints get together together and we get to worship our great God. We get to proclaim the good news to each other and walk in it, encourage one another all the more as we see the day drawing near for Christ to return when He makes all things.

New.

And we look forward to that. Before we start our worship, we always pray for another local church. We have brothers and sisters all over the world that are doing the very thing we're doing and many within our own community.

And this morning there's one that's near and dear to my heart. Many of you know Journey. They are a church over near Hilltop area and they are a Baptist church. We have many friends there. Some of you have actually been there at different times in your walk as a Christian and we have some dear brothers and sisters over there.

I reached out to a couple of the pastors this week and Pastor Kevin this morning just responded. I said, hey, how can we pray for you? And this is what he wrote. He said, pray for a new sense of boldness among our people to live out the gospel and to share His name.

He says they've been in a season of healing and if you know what's been going on, you know that they have. They've been in a season of healing but it's time to encourage our neighbors and our community with truth.

And so that is a prayer request that he's asked of us, his brothers and sisters here this morning. So we just want to lift those brothers and sisters up as they gather to worship this morning, that that would resonate and be true and we just want to lift them.

So please bow with me as we pray for journey. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us together this morning. We thank you for giving us the right to come together as your sons, as heirs of this inheritance of glory.

Lord, we thank you for your kindness and your goodness in the midst of it. Even though that we are left in this present darkness for a season as sojourners, God, you bring us together in the body. And Lord, we pray for part of the body.

We pray for journey this morning. Lord, we pray for the brothers and sisters there. Lord, we love them dearly. We care for them. We pray that your name would be magnified in their midst. We pray this morning as they gather that whoever's preaching this morning, Lord, I pray that you give them boldness and clarity.

I pray that they could boldly proclaim the full counsel of God, that they would equip the saints for the good work and that your word would do that sanctifying work in the hearts of the people. Pray for their leadership, Lord.

Give them discernment and wisdom. Lord, we pray this morning that their people would gain, as they asked, a new sense of boldness for gospel proclamation in the community. We thank you for the healing that they've been undergoing from difficult times, and Lord, we pray for continued healing there, that you would refine them through suffering and that they could encourage those around them in this community with truth and that they would be a church that boldly proclaims the gospel.

Lord, for we know the nations are to be glad because of the good news that is given to all people. Lord, we pray this morning that you would work in northeast Arkansas. Father, we ask that you would strip the religiosity, the legalism, the law, the rules, that you would strip all the self-righteousness and pride from us, the moral deism that we think do better, be better, and we'll be right with God.

Father, I pray that the true gospel, the gospel of grace, that Christ did it all and we, our unworthy recipients, would permeate and revival would break out in our midst. Let that be so with us, Father.

We ask that all of this, in Christ's glorious name, we pray in Christ's name.

Amen. Amen. All right.

Let's start off our service. Y 'all ready? Y 'all ready for worship? We'll start with a call to worship. Our call to worship is a portion of Psalm 119, verses 97 through 104, where the psalmist says, Oh, how I love your law.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies. I have more understanding than all my teachers. I understand more than the aged. I hold back my feet from every evil way. I do not turn aside from your rules.

How sweet are the words to my taste. Through your precepts I get understanding. And all God's people said, Amen. For we do. We have greater understanding. You can go to school. You can go over here to ASU, and your professors can teach before you, and they seem to know a lot of things.

You can have older family members who seem to have wisdom, and they seem to say wise things according to the world's standards. Oh, but you that glean from the word of God, oh, we have the true wisdom, and we know more than they do.

They do not see reality. We get to see reality, because reality is only seen through his truth, through his word. And we gather together for that this morning. Let's pray a prayer of adoration to our great God as we get ready to continue to sing to.

Him.

Oh, Lord, we bow before you once more. God, we come before you humbly. We acknowledge our frailty. We know that you are God, and we are not. You are good, and we are not. You are righteous, and the only righteousness that we have is the imputed righteousness of Christ this morning.

You are a good and gracious king. You are a good and gracious creator, God, almighty above all things. You are so far above us, we can't even comprehend your truth at times, and we desperately need the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds to your magnificent truth.

For you, you, God, are the one worthy of worship this morning. We long to humble ourselves and bow before you, sing exciting, glorious truths that you've saved our soul. To declare songs like this, we know that the victory belongs to you, and we can stand firm in that.

To come and behold the wondrous mystery that you have, you've saved a people unto yourself. And then to declare, behold our God, for you are holy, you are altogether separate, and we worship you this morning.

Be honored in our worship. We pray that you would move in our hearts and minds, mold us more and more into the image of your son, our great savior, and it is in his name that we pray all of this. Jesus, amen.

Sing this with me.

You, my God, have saved my soul. I am yours forevermore. I won't be moved of this, I'm sure. You, my God, have saved my soul.

When you came for me, I was lost.

When you came for me, held in chains by the enemy. But you broke them in victory. Now I'm free, I am free. You're my joy, and you are my hope. I am saved by your grace alone. I will sing of your love for me.

I am free, I am free. You, my God, have saved my soul. Yes, I'm sure. You, my God, have saved my soul. Now I stand with the king of kings, and I speak for my every sin. And from now through eternity, I am free, I am free.

You, my God, have saved my soul. I won't be moved of this, I'm sure. You, my God, have saved my soul.

What once was dead.

What once was dead. You gave to me the breath of life. You brought me up out from the grave. I'm bursting out with songs of praise. What once was dead is now alive. You gave to me the breath of life. You brought me up out from the grave.

I'm bursting out with songs of praise. I'm bursting out with songs of praise. You, my God, have saved my soul. I am yours forevermore. I won't be moved of this, I'm sure. You, my God, have saved my soul.

Sing this with me, this we know.

This we know. We will see the enemy run. This we know. We will see the victory come. To every promise you ever made, Jesus, you.

This we know. It's the truth we proclaim.

This we will see the enemy run. This we know. We will see the victory come. To every promise you ever made, Jesus, you.

The truth this morning. Sing our God.

Our God. You are our hope. There is no way.

He truly is unfailing. Our scripture reading this morning comes from Hebrews chapter 11. If you know much about Hebrews 11, this is the hall of faith. We see a list of Old Testament saints that were saved by Jesus.

They were saved through faith in Christ, the coming Messiah. They were looking forward to him. And so our scripture reading this morning starts in verse 6 there of chapter 11. He says, and without faith it is impossible to please him.

For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Noah wasn't saved by building the ark. Noah was saved by the faith that led him to build the ark. It was a faith in God.

A faith in the fact that God will provide. God will provide a means to keep you safe just like Noah and his family inside the ark. As we are safe as we are in the righteousness of Christ. And the wrath of God that comes out, poured out on unwicked, righteous, unrighteous man does not touch us.

We are safe in Christ. And that is good news this morning. At times when we know that we are safe there, we are in the ark, we are in Christ. We still fall prey to the flesh at times, don't we? We still fall prey to sin.

We still fall prey to this wretched warring flesh that is within us. And we do the things that we ought not to do. We do unrighteous deeds at times. And so we as a people like to be reminded of that as we gather.

That we are not just going to overlook that. We are not just going to hide that. We are going to confess it. We are going to confess it before the Lord. We are going to go to Him in a prayer of confession.

But not only confession, we get to go to Him in an acknowledgement of our sin. But an assurance that that sin is no longer accounted to us. That we stand in His righteousness. And that we rest in that.

So please bow your heads with me for a prayer of confession and assurance this morning. Heavenly Father, we come to You once again. Lord, You know our frailty. You know our weakness. You know that at times the old flesh desires to walk in unrighteous deeds and actions.

Father, You know that we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed at times. And we don't do the things that we ought to do. We neglect the common means of grace in our lives that keep us looking to Christ and walking in Your precepts.

And we are tripped up. And we fail. We falter. We sin. But God, You said there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And we hold to that promise. That even in our weakness and in our sin and in our actions that are not honoring to You.

Our great glorious Savior has paid for even those that He did not walk in unrighteousness. He walked in perfect righteousness. His holiness is now seen in and through our lives. His righteousness is now placed upon us.

We are clothed in His blood that has purchased us. Father, we ask this morning that You not allow the enemy to beat us down with condemnation. Making us feel as though we are unworthy. Making us feel as though we are unloved and that we can't possibly be in Christ.

God, we ask that You allow us to see the truth that we who are in Christ in and of ourselves are not worthy. But You are worthy. And You have now made us worthy. Help us to rest in it. As a people, corporately, as a church, and as individuals.

And guard us, Father. Help us. Help us to desire to walk in righteousness. Help us to look to You and continue to walk down this narrow path. We thank You for Your grace and kindness. We thank You for Your forgiveness.

We thank You for the boldness that we get to stand in now because of our Savior. And it is His name we pray once again. Christ Jesus, Amen.

As we sing this next song, I want you to pay attention to the lyrics of this as it goes through the picture of Christ.

Lord, be with this remainder of this service this morning.

I know that it's going to be good, Lord. I just pray that You would just, the words to say, Lord, help them to preach boldly. And I pray, Lord, as we take up this offering this morning, Jesus, Lord, I just pray that You would bless and honor God's people's sin.

How fitting of a last song. Come, let us adore Him. And that's really what this is all about, this seven-part series. It's how about we get to know Him so we can adore Him more. This is a seven-part series, as I said.

We're going to be talking about the great I Am statements of Jesus Christ. And we titled this sermon, this series of sermons, is Who Do You Say That I Am? That's a question Jesus asked of His disciples.

And I want to explain why this question is as important as it is today as it was when Jesus asked of His disciples. I think most of you are, I've got a little bit of a ring. Y 'all are aware of R .C. Sproul.

This is a brand-new mic. I'm sorry. It might take just a little while to get the bugs worked out of it. Y 'all are aware of R .C. Sproul. Most of you are his ministry, Ligonier Ministries. Every couple of years, they conduct a theological survey where they go and they question people who consider themselves evangelical Christians.

So these aren't just, you know, people on the street. These are evangelical Christians. And what they do is they give them a statement. And they ask, do you agree with the statement? Or do you disagree with that statement?

And I want to give you just a portion, just a few of the statements that they made, just to kind of give you an indication of why this series is so important. The first statement I chose was, God accepts the worship of all religions.

These are evangelical Christians answered. Fifty-six percent of them agree. God learns and adapts to different circumstances. So I want you to understand, this means God is not all-knowing. Things happen that he learns from, and then he changes his plan, basically is what this is saying.

Forty-eight percent of evangelical Christians agree with this statement. Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God. Seventy-three percent of evangelical Christians agreed with that statement.

Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God. Forty-three percent agree with that statement. Evangelical Christians, people who call themselves evangelical Christians. The Holy Spirit is a force, but not a personal being.

Sixty percent agree with that statement. Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God. Sixty-five percent of evangelical Christians agreed with that statement. And I think these numbers indicate what we should already know as a church.

We have a crisis that is growing in churches, that is eating away at its very core. It's eating away at its very foundation. And that is, who is Jesus Christ? The answer to this question will indicate if you truly know the one true God.

His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And we know that getting the answer to this question correct is life-altering. In fact, it's life itself. This is the reason Jesus spent so much of his time teaching his disciples who he is, and the work that he was sent to do.

Now you can't separate the two. You can't just know who Jesus is. It's more than that. You have to know what did he come to do? What did he do? Why did he do that? If we don't know the foundational truths of the triune God, then we have a high likelihood, as many have, of accepting heretical beliefs.

And in the end, it'll prove that we really don't know who Jesus is at all. It will be as John the Baptist said to the religious elite that came to question him. He said, There is one who stands among you that you do not know.

What a statement. Well, I see this problem in the church today. In the churches around us. More than any other time in my life. Many have become deceived. Many believe that they can pick and choose who God is, which parts they'll accept, and which parts they'll just throw away and reject.

They've distorted the creator-creature relationship. They've come to the conclusion that man is sovereign and God is not. They've become the sole arbitrators of truth. They live their lives based on their cherry-picking of scripture and distorting it based on what they want to believe and how they want to live their lives.

So this brings us back full circle to the question. And how important it is. Who do you say that I am? Jesus asks of you today. He asks of you every day. Who do you say that I am? When you walk out into the public, He is asking, who do you say that I am?

Are you living like you know who I am? So, this is what this series is about. So we can answer this question accurately. And I feel the best book of the Bible to find the answer to this question is in the Gospel of John.

And y 'all are aware of this. This is the fundamental purpose of John's Gospel. He is proclaiming who is the Messiah. And one of the major ways that he points to who the Messiah is, is through these great I am statements.

If you read what I put out on band, Stephen Lawson says these seven statements are the backbone of John. They're the backbone of who Jesus is. And at the time that Jesus made these statements, most everybody that heard them knew exactly what he was saying.

Don't get that out of your mind. They knew that he was claiming to be the Messiah. That he was claiming to be God come to earth. Now how profound are these claims? Several scholars feel that these claims are the most profound claims ever made throughout history.

And think about it. Jesus has come to earth claiming that I am God in the flesh come to earth. But before we get started, I want to set a groundwork. I want to set some foundational truths that I feel like we need to know before we get into this talking about these statements.

These truths are going to resonate through all seven of these claims. All seven sermons that I will be bringing to you. Now if you've been with us for a while, if you've been in the shop, if you was over in the shop building, we went through Everyone's a Theologian by R .C. Sproul.

And if you was at especially at the very first of this, this is going to kind of be a little bit of a refresher course. But I think it's very important that we have an understanding of what these are.

So we can base everything that we cover on that these are foundational truths that are in the Bible. The first is God is eternal in his being. Isaiah 57 15 says,. For thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy.

So not only is God eternal, but he dwells in eternity. He's not bound by time or space like we are. We're finite. He is not. He created in time. He created time. And he moves through past, present, and future.

And with our finite minds, it's hard for us to grasp that. It's hard for us to understand that truth. But God tells us this in his word. It is true. The second foundational truth. God is creator and sustainer of all that is and all that ever will be.

Genesis 1 .1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, there's a reason for this being the first verse in the first chapter that's in God's revelation of himself. It's because these ten words are the foundation for everything that follows.

These ten words speak of God's providence, his sovereignty. It speaks of his power. It speaks of his eternality. This verse is the first test in the Bible. You may not realize this. God is giving you a test when you read these ten words.

He's asking you, do you believe? He's asking you, do you submit? It's these two questions. If you get the answer to these two questions wrong, your train is on the wrong track before it even leaves the station.

You are already headed down in the wrong direction. The third foundational truth. God is self-existence. The name for this is a short name, aseity. That's what it's called, A-S-E-I-T-Y. Psalm 102, 25 -27.

You abode, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away.

But you are the same, for your years have no end. Now, this is a really important concept I want us to understand because it will be repeated today and in the six weeks to come. One of nature's laws is the law of causality.

This is real important. Many think that this law states that everything has to have a cause. But it doesn't state that. What it states is that every effect must have a cause. Now, let me give you an example.

Your child is unruly. He's back talking or whatever. And you grab him up and you spank him. And he cries. What's the cause of him crying? Well, you spanked him. What's the effect of that cause? Well, he was crying.

Well, there's a whole chain of cause and effects that's taking place. The original cause was he was being unruly. And your effect is you grab him up and go get the paddle. And you spank him. So, that effect actually causes something else to happen.

And that's for him to cry. So, he's crying. Now, that's another cause you hope. You hope that the effect from that crying, that discipline is that he'll now start obeying you. So, it's not just a cause and effect.

Usually, there's a whole chain of causes and effects. But the truth is, the truth I want us to get, God is not an effect.

Okay?

God is not an effect. He was not caused by any action that came before him. He is the original cause. He is called the first cause. He's self-existent. And he owes his being to nothing. Nothing outside of himself, especially man.

God has the power of being in himself. That's why we refer to him as the supreme being. The fourth foundational truth. God is immutable in his being and character. He is unchanging. And this is another very important truth that we understand.

Exodus 3 .14. God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. In stating this I am, egoimi is how it's translated in the Greek Septuagint. God is communicating many things.

He's communicating his dominion over everything. He's communicating he is the source of all power. And he's communicating his eternal nature. But to me, one of the most significant attributes that God is communicating is that he is immutable.

He never changes. He's always the same. He has to be always the same. He has to be. He cannot change. A God that's changing is not a God at all. You don't know if he's there or not. What he said is true or not or anything.

He has to remain the same. He's absolute. He's undeniable. He's indisputable. Again, coming back to the original question. Which is detailed, I'll say in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Who do you say that I am?

In this series, Jesus is going to tell us exactly who he is. With his own words. This is what he told the religious elite of the day. The false religion, the purveyors of this false religion, Judaism.

This is what he told his apostles. This is what he told his disciples. And this is what he told the common Hebrews. Who he was. Let us pray. Father, we come to adore you, Lord. We come to adore every aspect of your being.

Every attribute. Every character trait that you show us, Lord. Lord, I pray today, if there's those here who cannot answer this question. Who do you say that I am? That you will reveal to them who you are and what you've come to do.

I pray this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Well, one thing we need to understand besides what I've already explained. Is in this first statement. I am the bread of life. This is the first one that Jesus made that's recorded.

This statement is foundational. It is foundational not only to the other six great I am statements. But it's also foundational to understanding the workings of salvation. As A .W. Pink calls it, the machinery of salvation.

How salvation works. So, if you would go ahead and turn to chapter 5. Verse 15 in your Bible. We are in John.

Sorry.

What we're going to see here. I'm kind of bringing everything into context. We're going to see here the rise of conflict. Now, chapter 5, as my pages blow all over. Is actually talking. It gives an account of Jesus when he healed the paralytic.

At the pool of Bethesda.

Okay.

And there's a term that John uses. And I'm going to point out here. He uses this term talking about a group of people. And we'll see all through these seven statements.

The Jews.

Okay.

I want you to understand who the Jews are. They're not only the common Hebrews or Israelites. But most importantly what he's pointing out. Is this group of people contain the religious elite. That would include the Pharisees.

The Sadducees. The scribes. Priests.

Rabbis.

Members of the Sanhedrin might be included in this group. So what he's telling us. Is that the purveyors of the false religion of the day. Are included in this conversation.

So if you would.

We're going to be in verse 15. And what this is. This man that was healed. He's now gone to the Jews. And he's reporting who healed him. It says. The man went away and told the Jews. That it was Jesus who healed him.

This was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus. Because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered him. My father is working until now. And I am working. So here we see this rise of conflict.

They're persecuting Jesus. Because of what he's claimed. What he said. And also what he did on the Sabbath day. Now in the next verse it says. Well because he said this.

It says.

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath. But he was even calling God his own father. And making himself equal to God. So here we see that it's escalating.

This conflict is escalating with the religious elite. They've gone from persecuting Jesus. Now they want to kill Jesus. So if you'll turn over to chapter 6. The next chapter. This details the feeding of the 5 ,000.

Most everybody is real familiar with this. And actually it says that there was 5 ,000 men. So there might have been many, many more. We don't know. But it was a very public miracle of Jesus. Many people saw this.

And he took some loaves and some fish. And multiplied them. He created more from a few. Which is important. But they saw this. They all did. They all witnessed this. I mean there wasn't a food truck. Or a bunch of food truck.

Or restaurants or caterers around. I mean they were out in the country on a mountain. And now they have enough to feed all these people. So it was very public. So then Jesus and the apostles kind of go away a little bit.

The apostles come back. Get on a boat. They cross the Sea of Galilee towards Capernaum. Jesus comes back. And here's the third miracle of John. Walks on the water. We know that story. All the other people.

And I'm not going to say all of them. But a group of them come find some boats. And they go across to Capernaum also. And so that's kind of where we pick up here. But I want to point out. If you'll just look at verse 41 for just a minute.

It says, so the Jews grumbled. So what this tells us. It is not just the common people. We have religious elite there also. The Jews that John talks about. If you'll look over in verse 59. It says, Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum.

So that gives us the location. They've crossed over the Sea to Capernaum. Now they're in the synagogue. Jesus is giving them this discourse. And the religious elite is there. So in verse 25, if you'll look.

25 and 27 says, when they found him on the other side of the Sea. They said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you that you are seeking me. Not because you saw signs.

But because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes. But for the food that endures to eternal life. Which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.

So what this is telling us is they have come to seek out Jesus. But for the wrong reason. It was the miracle that they were interested in. They weren't interested in the person or the work of Jesus Christ.

It was the power of Jesus Christ that they were interested in. It is what Jesus Christ could do to give them and meet their present physical needs. So they're already on the wrong track. They already don't understand what's going on here.

So as we go through this main section of our text. We're finally arriving. I want us to see the different kind of hearts that are involved. That are in place here. The first heart that we're going to be looking at.

Is the heart of legalism. And that's in verse 28 and 29. Then they said to him. What must we do to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them. This is the work of God. That you believe in him whom he has sent.

So the key word here in this first in verse 28 is works. I want us to understand because this is tied directly to the heart of legalism. It is the works that they thought God required of them to please him.

And this is nothing more than old self-righteousness of the natural man. It's a heart of legalism. One who is always occupied with his own doings. The heart of legalism thinks that by his works man is entitled to a reward.

That he's entitled to salvation. Because it is due him. He has earned it. A heart of legalism puts God in the place of being nothing more than a debtor. God owes him. He owes him for it. With this kind of heart man thinks that salvation is not of grace.

But of debt. These Jewish questioners that were asking Jesus thought that you obtained eternal life. By finding the right formula and performing the works for God. The heart of legalism we need to understand is never satisfied.

They never are. They always will require more and more and more to qualify. Judaism and their endless set of rules and regulations is a perfect example of this. They kept on piling on more. More requirements, more requirements.

Till it didn't even come close to resembling what God had given them. But so in reply Jesus is directing them away from their works to the work of God. He's directing them to the gift of God that could only be obtained by believing in him.

Now this is a real interesting word. And this is definitely foundational when it comes to understanding salvation. This word believe when it's rendered in Greek is called pisteuo. P-I-S-T-E-U-O.