Go with me back to John six. I always enjoy being in John
six and I've enjoyed being here all
day today. I was already feeling led to
have the Lord's table tonight. We're about to go on this trip
and I was just feeling led to have the Lord's table. And then
when I realized that we were gonna be in John six, knowing
what these ending verses say, I thought, well, that's the perfect
portion of scripture for the Lord's table. So we will enjoy
that together here in just a moment. This chapter begins with our
Lord feeding 5,000. That's how John 6 begins. He fed 5,000 with five loaves
of bread and two fish, the combination number being seven, the number
of perfection, the number of completion. But he ended up rebuking
those people. He fed 5,000. You know the story. They took up baskets after, you
know, they had the food left over. But he ended up rebuking
those people because he said, you are not following me because
you desire me. You are following me to get your
belly full. Verse 27, if you look at John
6, verse 27, He told them, labor not for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father
sealed. He said, labor for the meat that
does not perish, but endures to everlasting life. which the
Son of Man shall give you, labor for the meat, labor for the fulfillment,
labor for the sustainment that only comes from Christ. Only
comes from Christ. And the people said, when he
said that to them, the people said, yeah, I think I know what
meat you're talking about. You're talking about manna. Verse
31, they said, our fathers did eat manna. He said, labor for
the meat that doesn't perish. And they said, yeah, verse 31,
our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written,
he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto
them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread. from
heaven. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world." He said
the bread of God, that manna is not what I'm talking about.
The bread from heaven was not manna. Moses didn't give it to
you. He said, the bread of God is he which cometh down, the
true bread of God, the only bread that can give eternal life is
the God-man himself, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Verse 34, then said
they unto him, Lord evermore, give us this bread. We want this
bread, we would like to have this bread. Verse 35, and Jesus
said unto them, I am. the bread of life. He that cometh
to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. But I said unto you that you
also have seen me, and believed not. He said, I am the bread, and
you have seen me, but you believe not. Now listen to this right
here. Everybody naturally wants eternal
life. Everybody. Yes, I'll take that. Give me that. Everybody naturally
wants eternal life, but mankind by nature does not want it solely
from Jesus Christ. Mankind does not want Christ
alone in his work alone and his death alone and him alone to
be the only source of this life. Verse 34, then said they unto
him, Lord evermore, give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them,
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
he said in verse 16, you've seen me, you've seen the living bread
and you believe not, you don't believe. You don't believe that
I alone am the only source of life. God's people do, don't
they? God's people do. He was telling
them, to you, I'm just light bread to be loathed. Like that
manna. That's what they ended up calling
it. This is just light bread. We're tired of this. That's why he said in verse 37,
this is the whole reason why he said in verse 37, all that
the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to
me, I will in no wise cast out. Verse 44, he said, no man can
come to me except the father which has sent me draw him and
I will raise him up at the last day. Verse 47, he said, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting
life. And here's the reason why. Verse
48, he said, I am that bread of life. I am that bread of life. I am. I am. That's what he told Moses
in Exodus 3. This same Jesus, this same person,
this same man, he said, Moses wrote of me. I love that. I just love that. Moses wrote
of me. Moses asked him. That's so amazing to me. This
man, Moses asked him, when the people want to know who sent
me, what should I tell them your name is? And he said, you tell them I
am sent you. I am, you are what, Lord? I'm
God. I am that I am, I'm Alpha, I'm
Omega, I'm the, he said, I am the beginning, I am the end.
I'm everything. Look at John 8 verse 58. Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. That gives me great, great comfort. It gives me such great comfort. Sometimes we don't realize how
much sorrow can enter into our minds thinking that those who
we love may not be here forever. I think about that often. I love
all of you. And I love performing weddings
and those kinds of things, but I'm not ready to start performing
funerals. Although we would rejoice for any believer that God calls
home, I don't want to lose my loved
ones. Well, our Lord is I am. I am and he's always going to be I
am, and that brings so much comfort to me that that just brings so
much assurance to me. I am. Look right here at John
8 verse 12, he said. Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. I'm the light.
You follow me, you won't stumble, you won't fall. I'm the light.
Look at John 10, verse 9. John 10, verse 9, he said, I
am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and shall go in and out and find passion. You
want to enter in to the kingdom of heaven? I'm the door. Verse 11 right here, he said,
I'm the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Look at John 14, verse
six. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Amen. Amen. John 15, verse one, he said,
I am the true vine, and my father's the husband. I'm the vine. Verse
five right there, he said, I am the vine, you are the branches,
he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Hebrews 11 verse six says, without
faith, it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is. He said, I am. And all of his
people say he is. He is what? Whatever he says
he is. If he says he is, he is. If he
says I am, he is. Go back to John 6. Verse 48, he said, I am that
bread of life, the only bread that gives true life. People eat the bread of this
world and they die. And I'm not talking about gluten,
and I'm not talking about carbs, and I'm not talking about those
things. I'm talking about the doctrine of false religion, the
bread of this world. Just hold your place and turn
over to Matthew 16. Matthew 16 verse 1, it says, the Pharisees also with the Sadducees
came and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign
from heaven. He answered and said unto them, when it is evening,
you say it'll be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the
morning, it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and
lowering. O ye hypocrites, you can discern
the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the
times? A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it
but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten
to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, take
heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. The Pharisees were, you know,
that was religion, religious leaders. And they, the disciples,
reasoned among themselves saying, it is because we've taken no
bread. He's rebuking us because we forgot to go buy some food. Mercy, which when Jesus perceived,
he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves,
because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, neither
remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets
you took up? neither the seven loaves of the
4,000 and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do
not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread,
that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees? Then understood they how he bade
them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." He's saying, you beware of that
doctrine. You eat that bread and you'll die. the bread of this world, Christ
and His body and His works and His deeds, His blood, His righteousness,
that is the only thing that can give true life. That's the only
thing. Why do we preach this one message
and this one man over and over and over and over? It's because
he's the only thing that can give life. We can only live by Him. We can only live on Him. There's only one source of life,
and it's Christ. The man or the woman who has
Christ has life, and if a man or a woman does not have Christ,
there is no life. And the wrath of God abides on
that man or that woman. Go back to John 6. Verse 48, he said, I am that
bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead. The manna in the wilderness was
only a type of Christ. It was just a type of Christ.
It only pictured Christ, just like this ordinance. of this
table. This only pictures Christ. If we put our trust in that bread
and that actual wine, we're going to die in our sins. If we can't discern the Lord's
body and blood in this, we're going to die in our sins. It's
Christ. It's Christ. This is not life
right here. It only pictures life. Christ
is the one who is our life. This points us to him. This points
us to his broken body, his glorious broken body. His precious shed
blood. That's what every other picture
in the law did. It all pointed us to the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every single thing in this book
points us to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope
is not in a picture. That's why our hope is not in
the law. It's a picture. The law is only the schoolmaster
that points us to Christ. Our hope is in Him. Our life
is in Him. Look with me at Colossians 3. Colossians 3 verse 1 says, If you then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth, for you are dead and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. Christ, who is our life, in him
we live and move and have our being. Peter said, as newborn
babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow
thereby, if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. If
so be you've tasted, spiritually tasted, Our Lord said, I'm the
bread. If so be you've tasted. Go back
to John six. Verse 48, he said, I am that
bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh
down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. He said, I came from the place
of life to give life because I am life. In John 11, the Lord
said, Martha, your brother is gonna rise again. And she said,
I know that he's gonna rise in the resurrection. He said, I
am the resurrection. I am the resurrection. and the
life, he or she that liveth and believeth in me will never die.
He that lives and believes on my broken body and my shed blood
lives and believes on and hopes in my substitute sacrifice, my
substitution sacrifice. All of their hope of life is
in what I accomplished on the cross for them. The soul who
all their hope is in me. The soul who is so united to
that sacrifice, clinging to that sacrifice as their own before
God. Clinging to my blood as their
own before God. One plea. One plea only. Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
He said that soul will never die. That soul will never die.
You're clinging to Christ. Your life is in Him. Your life
is through Him. Completely united to Him. You'll
never die. You'll live forever. Verse 48,
I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh
down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am
the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of
this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He
said, I'm the living bread. He is the living God. He's the
only living God. He ever lives to make intercession
for his people. He said, because I live, you
live also. He said, the bread that I will give is my flesh. He gave his flesh for us. He gave his flesh on the cross
of Calvary. He gave his back to the smiters.
He gave his cheeks to them that plucked off his beard. He gave
his face to those who spit in it. He gave his head to the thorns.
He gave his hands and feet to the nails. He gave his side to
the spear. He said, here, this is my body
broken for you. Broken for you. One time I'd love to enter into
that, really. Broken for you. He said, the bread that I will
give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Anytime you see the world, what that means is not the Jews only,
but thank God us Gentiles too. Because he said that, I can preach
this to us. The life of Jesus Christ was
given for us Gentiles too. Thank God. Verse 52, the Jews
therefore strove among themselves saying, how can this man give
us his flesh to eat? The Jews were trying to take
the spiritual things of God and apply them to the physical things
of man. And that's where all error comes
from. That's where all error comes
from. Our Lord told Nicodemus, we mentioned it this morning.
He said, that which is flesh is flesh, that which is spirit
is spirit. Our Lord is not speaking of fleshly
things here. He's speaking of spiritual things
here. Verse 52, the Jews therefore
strove among themselves saying, how can this man give us his
flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the son
of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. except your
eyes and mind and heart and soul be turned from man to Christ. You have no life in you. He said,
if God Almighty does not give you faith to lay hold of Christ
and the things of Christ and the salvation that's in Christ,
if God does not give you the ability to receive these things
and feast on these things and ingest these things and commit
your all to these things. When you eat something, you lay
hold of it and commit it to yourself. You commit your all to that. Once you take it in, it's in. I took an antibiotic. And I took the same one Hannah
had an allergic reaction to. One wasn't working, so they had
to switch it. And I was so worried about that, because she had an
allergic reaction to it. And I thought, now, once I take
this in, it's me. There's no, it's not coming back
out. I mean, it's going into the fibers of me. It's gonna
become one with me. Whatever the outcome is, does
that make sense? If I do that, if I do that and
go like this, it's total commitment. And that's what I literally said.
I said, okay, here it is. You know, no going back now. That's what he's talking about.
He's talking about total union with Christ. He said, if you
are not completely, vitally joined and committed, there's no life. If it's not Christ only, there's
no life. Verse 54. Whoso eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day. Again, he's not speaking physically,
he's talking about by faith, spiritually by faith. To eat
his flesh and drink his blood is to believe wholeheartedly
on him, what he's done. Verse 54, whoso eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up
at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed and
my blood is drink indeed. It is nourishment indeed. Life-giving indeed. Verse 56,
he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I
in him. Our Lord gave us two ordinances
to observe in remembrance of him. And those two ordinances are his
table and baptism. And for some reason, baptism
is very confusing to most believers. And I understand. I understand
that. It's a big deal. It's a big decision. And I guess it's because we do
it once. Generally speaking, the Lord's
table is not that way. They're the same. There's no
difference in their meaning. They are equal in reason for
why our Lord gave them. They're equal in their purpose. They are pictures of union with
Christ, both of them equally. One is not greater than the other. But in both of these important
ordinances, this is what we see. With baptism, we see us in Christ. We go inside something. It's
water. And with the Lord's table, we
see Christ in us. Something goes inside us. Us in him, him in us, complete
and total union. Verse 56, he that eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. Eateth, drinketh, dwelleth, it's
a continual thing, it's a continual union. Verse 57, as the living
Father hath sent me and I live by the Father, So he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came
down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are
dead. He that eateth of this bread
shall live forever. It's Christ. It's Christ. Our focus is Christ. When we
worship God, it's Christ. When we sing, we're singing to
Christ. When we read, we're reading of Christ. When we pray, we're
praying to Christ. When we preach, we're preaching
Christ. When we observe an ordinance, we're observing Christ. The focus
is Jesus Christ. I pray that the Lord will reveal
that to all of us. I pray that he will cause all
of us to see that. And if we do, if we are true
believers on Christ, if we see Christ to be all, if we are living
and abiding on him, Then let's observe this table together.
This is for believers on the Lord Jesus Christ. All right. Brother Cody, you come and read
for us.