Alright, let's open our Bibles
back to John chapter 6. The title of the message this
morning is a question I'd like for each of us to consider. Why'd you come to church this
morning? Why are you here? Many people have many different
reasons why they come to the worship service. Sometimes they
come looking to get something from God. You know, they think
if I come Get up early and make the sacrifice to come and sit
here. God will give me stuff that I want. Perhaps you've come
with a family member. You've come with your husband
or your wife, your boyfriend or your girlfriend. Henry one
time very famously said, our girls are the best missionaries
we've got. Maybe you've come with your girlfriend. I don't
know. I hope and pray that we've come here this morning to seek
Christ and to worship Him. I hope we've come this morning
to find salvation in Christ. I hope we've come to be fed Christ,
the bread of life. That's why we should be here,
and that's why we should be seeking the Lord, to find salvation in
him, to be fed of the bread of life. And in our text, we see
several different reasons why people sought the Lord. There's
some people here seeking the Lord, beginning in verse 22.
The day following, when the people which stood on the other side
of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save the
one whereunto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went
not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples
were gone away alone, albeit there came other boats from Tiberias,
nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the
Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw
that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took
shipping, and came to Capernaum. seeking for Jesus. Now they're
seeking for the Lord, the Lord Jesus. And when they found him
on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when
camest thou hither? Now these people who the day
before, they'd been filled with the loaves and the fishes, the
miracle our Lord worked. They knew the Lord sent his disciples
across the sea. They knew that our Lord had gone
up into the mountain alone to pray. They were watching him
closely because, remember, they wanted to take him by force and
make him king. So they were watching him so
he wouldn't get away from them. So they were surprised the next
morning. They couldn't find the Lord. They went looking for him. And when they couldn't find him,
they decided to go where they knew the Lord's disciples were,
because they knew the Lord would eventually show up where his
disciples were gathered. And when they found the Lord,
they asked him, When came it's not hither? What they're really
asking is, how did you get here? We know we didn't see you take
a boat. How did you get here? Now, I know they're asking this
question with the wrong motive, with the wrong heart, but there's
a very good lesson in seeking Christ here. Is anyone here this
morning seeking Christ? Would you like to find him? Well,
here's a good lesson on how to seek him. First, these folks
sought the Lord Diligently. They went to a lot of trouble
to find the Lord. They even crossed the sea. That's
how we seek the Lord. Diligently. Don't quit till you
find Him. These folks didn't. If we're
really seeking the forgiveness of our sins, don't quit seeking
the Lord till you find Him. You'll find Him. He's found of
those that seek Him. That's what He said. Second,
they're seeking the Lord. So they went where they knew
His disciples were gathered. That's pretty smart. If you're
seeking Christ, I tell you where you'll find Him. You'll find
Him where His people are meeting. You find out where His Gospels
preach, where His people are meeting, you'll find Him. He
promised where two or three are gathered together in my name.
They're mine in the midst of Him. You find His people. He'll
be there eventually. He'll be there pretty soon, I
bet. They sought the Lord where His disciples were gathered.
And third, we'll see this at the end of our message this morning.
Those who genuinely seek the Lord, they'll find him and he'll
accept them. Now, they ask the Lord this question,
when did you get here? How did you get here? And our
Lord just ignores their question. He cuts right to the heart of
the issue. This is another example. We see
this all throughout John's gospel, the deity of Christ. He knew
the hearts. He knew their hearts, but he
knows the hearts of all men. And our Lord knew these men were
religious hypocrites. But he teaches them anyway. He
talks to them anyway. And here's my first point on
seeking Christ. Don't seek Christ so you can
try to gain material fleshly blessings. Look at verse 26. Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, you seek me not because you saw
the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were
filled. Now, on the face of it, there's nothing wrong with our
question, Lord, when did you come here? Even how did you come here?
And our Lord could have told them, I walked. I walked across
the sea. That's how I got here. But knowing
the Lord walked across the sea, that wouldn't have been good
for these fellows. All that would have done is feed their fleshly
desires to see signs and wonders and make him king. It was good
for the disciples to see him walk on the water, wasn't it?
Must have been. They saw him come to them walking on the water.
But it would have been profitable for someone seeking signs and
wonders to know the Lord walked across the sea the night before.
Because if they saw that and they knew that, they'd still
be looking for all the wrong things. This is not what they
need to see or the Lord would have showed it to them. Our Lord
told them, you're seeking me. Not because you saw the powers
of my miracles and you're convinced I'm the Christ. You didn't see
the power of my miracles and know this must be the Messiah. That's not why you're seeking
me. You're not seeking a Savior at all. All you're seeking is
more free food. Savannah's up there at the University
of Kentucky. When they want a big gathering
of students, you know what they do? Give out free food. Boy, you get people coming from
everywhere if you're giving out free food. That's what these
folks are looking for. That's what most man-made religion
is. Free food. Seeking creature comforts and
you know, things of this world, riches. They're seeking a way
to get out of their trials. They're looking for better marriage
or better relationships. They're looking for a business
ally so they make more money in their business. They're seeking
every kind of help in the worldly realm, and they're not seeking
a savior, not seeking a savior from their sin. And the Lord
is revealing these people as what they are. Now, listen, let's
not be Pointing the finger at them so much. The Lord's going
to save anybody. He's going to save you and me.
He's got to reveal what we are. We're cut from the same cloth
as these fellows. They're religious hypocrites. And that's what every
one of us were until the Lord found us. A religious hypocrite.
They're someone seeking material, fleshly gain, not a Savior from
their sin. They're following Christ. Now
they're seeking Him. They're following Him, aren't
they? But not out of love. Not out of love for Him. They're
seeking Him out of love for food. Not out of love for Him. Now
here's the question. Which are you? Does this describe
me? Which am I? Which reason am I
seeking Christ? That brings me to my second point.
Don't seek Christ for material gain. Seek Christ who gives the
free gift of eternal life. Look at what our Lord says in
verse 27. 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."
Now, don't give excessive labor and excessive care for worldly
and fleshly provisions. Now, every one of us needs those
things. I'll tell you what to do. Get
you a job and go out and work for them. And when you get a
job, the Lord gives you a job. Go out and do a good job. Work
hard. Do a good job so you can provide for your family. Scripture
teaches that. But don't make those things the
most important aspect of your life. Don't chase now promotions
and more and more and more and more money. Now, don't do it.
Don't make these things. You need them, but don't make
them the most important aspect of your life. Don't chase them
so that you're only chasing those things. Don't work at those things
with so much fervor and so intently that you don't have time to seek
the Lord and to worship Him. All the time I was growing up,
I heard Brother Henry say it over and over and over again.
And as I've grown older, I've seen it. It's heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking when you see
people get promoted above the gospel. They're seeking these
other things, and they don't have time to seek the Lord and
to worship Him. It's heartbreaking. Our Lord
says here, set your heart, set your affection on seeking Christ
first. Put your first, all your energy
first into seeking Him. Then seek those things second.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And
these other things will be added to you. Seeking first. Labor. Set your heart upon. Make
it your business to obtain meat which gives everlasting life.
The word meat, our Lord here, doesn't just mean a hamburger
and steak and ham and things. It means that which satisfies
the soul. Not what satisfies your belly.
What satisfies your soul. I promise you. Young people listen
to me. I promise you. A better job and
a bigger house and a better car and more money will not satisfy
your soul. It won't now. Set your heart,
make it your business to find Christ who satisfies your soul. Now, the Lord says here, labor
not for the meat which perishes, but labor for that meat which
endures to everlasting life. Now, you know good and well,
our Lord's not teaching salvation by works. He says, set your heart
on finding eternal life. But you're not going to obtain
this salvation by your works. You're going to receive it as
a free gift, he says, which the Son of Man shall give you. He'll give you. Now, there'll
be no salvation apart from seeking Christ, if you're going to be
saved, you're going to seek Christ. There'll be no salvation apart
from begging God for mercy. But salvation will be received
as a free gift. That's something we earned. It's
going to be a free gift. Every one of you here who knows
Christ, you know this. The credit for you asking for
mercy, that belonged to you. It belongs to God. He's the one
who made you ask for mercy in the first place. You asked, you
sought him, but it was a free gift, wasn't it? It's not by
works. Don't seek Christ so you'll have someone to give you stuff.
Seek Christ to have a Savior from your sin. That's our chief
need. We need a Savior from sin. Now, are you seeking the Savior?
Would you like to know how to find him? Would you like to know
where he is? Well, the Lord tells us plainly where to find everlasting
life. It's the gift of God. which the
Son of Man shall give unto you." Now that statement is so comforting
to me. Eternal life is what the Son
of Man gives. God's Son, the Son of God, became
the Son of Man. Duane, you became a man, just
like you are, a man, yet without sin. What compassion must he
have for men that the Son of God became a man? What love must
he have for his people that he would humble himself to become
the Son of Man? That just thrills my soul. That's
such a comfort. And the Son of Man is going to
freely give the gift of eternal life. He knows you can't earn
it. He knows your frame. He became
just like you. He became a Son of Man. He knows
you can't earn it. So Daly's going to freely give
it. Now I'm telling you, that's thrilling to me. Salvation is
a free gift from God to sinners through His Son, the Son of Man. And this salvation, would you
like to have salvation? Salvation from your sins. Would
you like to have eternal life? It's so simple to find it. It's
just in one place. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For Him hath the Father sealed. Salvation is all sealed up. in
one place, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation
is only found in Christ. The father has given his son
the royal seal. Now, at this time, an ambassador,
you know, there wasn't forms of communication like we had.
Can't pick up the telephone or, you know, email or something.
So an ambassador would go to another country and the way he
would prove he came with the king's authority is he bore the
king's seal. The king gave him his seal. That's
what the father did with the son. He gave Jesus of Nazareth,
we looked at this a few weeks ago, he gave Jesus of Nazareth
his royal seal. So there could be no mistake.
This is my son. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. The father has put all salvation
in his son. And his son gives it to sinners
as a free gift. Now that's so plain, but men
are so dead. We don't hear that salvation
is a free gift unless God gives us ears to hear. These people
didn't hear anything that the Lord said about salvation being
a free gift, because look what they say in verse 28. Then said
they unto him, what shall we do that we might work the works
of God? They're asking the wrong question. This is the wrong question. And they asked the wrong question,
because after our Lord said, labor for meat, which endures
to everlasting life, they didn't hear a thing. That's all they
heard. That's why they asked the wrong question. The question
they should have asked is, Lord, would you give everlasting life
to us? You said you'd give it as a free gift. Would you give
it to me? I need it. I can't earn it. I
can't get it. Would you give it to me as a
free gift? That's the right question. But they didn't ask that question.
All they heard was work. They heard labor. Well, they
heard that. And they immediately began to
want to go to work, earning their salvation. Tell us what will
please God and we'll do it. This is interesting. They were
willing to work to try to do the impossible. They were trying.
They were willing to work to earn salvation, which is utterly
impossible. And they weren't willing to go
out and get a job and work at it so they could get meat and
potatoes. Give me free food. I'm going to work for that. But
now let me work for salvation. That's dead human nature. We've got everything backwards.
People want to work to earn salvation. You know why? They're ignorant
of their own total depravity. Remember this. We can't work. We can't earn salvation. We can't work in the spiritual
realm. We can't do anything good because we're dead. in trespasses
and sins, and we are totally dependent upon God to save us. We're in His hands. If He is
to save us or damn us, it's up to Him. So seek Christ to do
for you everything that God requires. That's why we seek Him, to do
for us everything God requires and give it to us as a free gift.
Now, at this time, These people, they will eventually leave the
Lord. Before the end of this chapter, they're all going to
leave Him. They're seeking the Lord for all the wrong reasons,
I know. But I love this. I love the patience of our Lord. He doesn't run them off. He teaches
them anyway, even though He knows they're going to leave Him. He
keeps preaching the gospel to them. He keeps pointing them
away from themselves and pointing them to Him. Look what He says
in verse 29. Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
has sent." These folks were interested in works, plural. You know, tell
us what we might do, and we might work the works of God. Our Lord
told them the singular work, the necessary work. The one thing
that's needful is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not the deeds
of the law. Faith. in Christ. The old Jews
say there are 613 precepts of the law. How would you like to
thin that guy, counting up 613? All 613 points of the law boil
down to one point. The just shall live by faith. It's faith in Christ. Our Lord
called them to the work. Oh, they won't do anything. Tell
me what works. I'll do anything. He called them to the one work
They never thought of and left to themselves. They never heard
of it, never would have thought of it. It's faith. And that's
my third point. Seek Christ. He's the giver of
faith and he's the object of faith. Look over in Ephesians
chapter 2. I'm going to give you a couple
of points here about faith. Saving faith. First, saving faith
is the gift of God. Not something that you work up,
something you do. Saving faith is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2, verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. A saving
faith is a gift. Is it too simple to say, ask
God to give it to you? You can't earn it, it's a gift.
Then ask God to give it to you. The only way you'll ever have
it It's if He gives it to you. It's a gift. Then ask Him for
it. Look at Romans chapter 10. Saving faith is born from the
Word of God. Romans chapter 10, verse 17.
You may wonder why we read so much of God's Word. Why we go
verse by verse all the time through God's Word. Here's why. Romans
10, 17. So then, faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Would you like saving faith?
Then be here to hear the word of God. Or find a place in Lexington. Find someplace where God's given
a man the message from God's word. Because faith cometh by
hearing the word of God preached. Third, saving faith looks to
Christ to justify. Make us without sin. Look back
a few pages at Romans chapter 3. Romans 3 verse 28. Therefore we conclude that man
is justified by faith. Without the deeds of the law,
without our deeds of the law, without our doings, we are justified,
made without sin, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at
Romans 4, verse 25, speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saving faith looks to Christ to justify from all of our sin.
Look at 2 Timothy, chapter 1. Fourth, saving faith. looks to
Christ. Looks to Christ to keep me. Looks
to Christ to preserve me and keep me. True saving faith has
committed everything to Christ. There is no backup plan. All
of our eggs are in one basket in the Lord Jesus Christ if we
have faith. Saving faith. 2 Timothy 1 verse
12. For the witch cause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day." Saving faith puts all of
our eggs in one basket. These folks look in Acts chapter
16. They ask our Lord, well, what works can we do that we
might work the works of God? What can we do? Our Lord's answer
to them is the same answer that Paul gave the Philippian jailer. In Acts 16, verse 30, this is
after that great earthquake, and Paul and Silas told the Jews,
we haven't left, don't do any harm to yourself. In verse 30,
he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Believe. And then they spake unto him.
The Word of the Lord. Why did they do that? Because
faith is born from God's Word. They spoke unto him the Word
of the Lord and all that were in his house. And he believed
and was baptized. He had faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is the answer. This is the
great work that must be done. Faith believes that the Father
sent the Son into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Faith is the one great work. Now, faith is God's work. See what our Lord says? This
is the work of God. Faith is God's work. It's not
man's work. Faith is God's work. And faith
is the gift of God. Faith is the work that God puts
in the heart of every one of His elect. It's God's work in
the heart. God's work. Yet, it's a work
that we must have in order to be saved. There's no salvation
apart from faith in Christ. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Now, you must believe. You must
believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody else is
going to do it for you. You must believe. Believe God,
and if you believe God, If you've put all of your hope in the Lord
Jesus Christ, you haven't done anything. You haven't done a
thing. All you've done is received the free gift of God's grace.
He told them this is the work of God. And they still didn't
hear. And we won't either. Why? We've
preached the same gospel over and over and over and over again. Because faith cometh by hearing.
And we won't hear. Unless God gives us his, we've
got to keep preaching the same word. And this is exactly what
our Lord did. Look, he says in verse 30, or
he said unto them, you know, you've got to believe on him
whom he has sent. Well, they didn't hear. They said, therefore,
unto him, what sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe
thee? What does thou work? Our fathers
did eat man in the desert. As it's written, he gave them
bread from heaven to eat. They tell our Lord, well, you
told us to believe. Give us a sign. So we can know you're the real
McCoy. You told us to believe, alright, we'll believe, give
us a sign. Moses, he gave our fathers bread in the desert every
day. You just gave it to us once. Now give us more of those free
meals. Give us another sign, we'll believe you. Are you kidding
me? Just yesterday, they saw the
Lord feed that multitude with a boy's lunch. A few fishes and
a few crackers. Just yesterday they saw that.
Yesterday, before the Lord fed them, they saw the Lord heal
all that needed healing. In the past few weeks, they've
seen the Lord do many other miracles and they wanted more. Before
they could believe, they wanted more. They're not looking for
evidence that Jesus is the Christ. They're trying to manipulate
God into giving them free stuff, trinkets and party favors. And
that's all modern day religion is. What they're promising is
a way. You do this. You do this. You
do it this way. You do it this way. You say this
this way. Showing you a way to manipulate God into giving you
the stuff that you want. That's not seeking the Christ
of the Bible. That's seeking another Jesus. They said here,
give us an evidence and we'll believe. Well, here's the difference
between a hypocrite and a believer. Faith doesn't need signs. Faith
just believes. I see it in God's Word. I believe
that. I may not understand it. I believe it. For this reason,
faith believes. Believers believe. It's just
simple. Faith is based on what God says
in His Word. Now, they're saying here, Moses
fed our fathers every day. So give us a sign you're greater
than him. Well, first of all, Moses never
gave anybody any bread. Never. You don't even read of
Moses praying for the bread, asking God for the bread. Moses
didn't prepare the bread. Moses didn't do anything to get
the bread from God. God just gave it to him. God
put it on the ground right outside their tent. Every day they open
their tent door, all they do is stoop down and pick it up.
God put it right in front of them. Moses didn't do that. God
did. Just have as much as you needed. That's what our Lord
says in verse 32. Then Jesus answered and 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. Moses,
you say gave you bread, Moses didn't give you, God gave it
to you. But if you want to give Moses credit for the manna, alright.
Well, that manna just lasted a day, didn't it? If you try
to keep it overnight, it's spoiled. You can eat it, but you're going
to be hungry again later that day. Just like the bread these
folks ate yesterday. They ate it and were filled as
much as they wanted. They're hungry again. Why are
you so interested in more of that bread I gave you yesterday?
The effect of it's already worn off. It was valuable yesterday. There's no value left in it today.
It's gone. Why don't you ask for valuable
bread? Bread that will give life, eternal
spiritual life. God's given a gift from heaven
that's far greater than the manna he gave. That manna is just a
figure. Christ is the true bread. Manna
had spoiled. Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And everything He gives will
never rot or spoil. Manna fed Israel for 40 years. God, Christ feeds His people
eternally. Manna was bread that these folks,
they never ate it. They just heard about it from
their fathers. Christ dwells in the heart of His people. You
don't believe Him because of what somebody else said. He's
in your heart, feeding you, giving you life. Manna was just for
the nation Israel. Christ is for the whole world.
Sinners of every nation, Jew and Gentile alike. Sinners from
all over the world. Manna only preserved life that
was already there. Manna didn't keep anybody from
dying. Everybody left Egypt, 20 years and older, except for
two men, died in the wilderness. They ate manna every day. Manna
didn't keep anybody from dying. Manna wouldn't do any good for
those who had already died. They could put manna in the life
of a dead corpse and it didn't do any good. Manna only preserved
life that was already there. Christ gives life to the dead. Eternal life that can never be
lost. Christ gives life to the soul. Eternal life. Just like
bread gives physical life to the body. But now listen, just
like the gate of the tabernacle we looked at this morning. It
must be eaten. Buy you a loaf of iron bread
and sit it on the counter. It's not going to do you any
good unless you eat it. Christ must be believed and received
in the soul to give life. Well, people hear about this
bread that gives life. They say in verse 34, give me
some of that. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give
us this bread. See, they're still talking about physical bread.
Just like the woman at the well. Before the Lord revealed himself
to her, she heard about water that make her never thirst. She
said, well, give me that water. I don't have to come here and
draw. The Lord revealed himself to her, didn't he? Not to these
folks. But he did to her. Oh, I pray that the Lord make
me like that woman at the well. that He'd reveal Himself to me. That's our prayer. We're in His
hands to do with as He will. And I know they're saying this
in the wrong way. They're looking for the wrong
things. But this is the cry of a needy sinner. A sinner who
has no hope other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, evermore,
give us this bread of life. Evermore, give us Christ. This
is the easiest place in the world to preach. I mean, y'all see
easy? Because all you've got to do is preach Christ. I don't have to come up with
words that sound impressive. I don't have to do impressive
things. Preach Christ. This is the easiest
place in the world to preach. Luke's come here to preach next
week. I told him, Luke, it's the easiest place in the world
to preach. You'll just love it. Just preach Christ. That's all
God's people want. And they don't want anything
else. They won't have anything else because nothing else satisfies.
You know, I could read Dr. Gill, and I could quote some
big words and some big ideas, and y'all wouldn't be able to
understand a thing of it. Now, it'd sound impressive, but you
don't want to be impressed. You want to be fed. Then preach
Christ. Oh, that's all the believer wants.
That's all we need. Christ is the only thing that
tastes good. He's the only thing that satisfies. We don't want
or need any other message other than the message of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Give me Christ. He's the object
of our faith and he is the giver of saving faith. Four. Seek Christ. Seek the person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't seek things. Don't just
seek a fire escape from hell. Seek union with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 35. 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. Christ is the bread of life. He's all you need to have eternal
life. Christ gives it. He gives that
life. Christ sustains that life because
Christ is that life. Eternal life is not a thing.
It's a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. And he
calls himself the bread of life. Now bread is a good picture. of Christ, the bread, because
bread is necessary food. The whole grains are good for
you. It's necessary food. You know,
a lot of times today we try to cut down our carbs and stuff,
not eat bread. But now whole grains are good
for you. Well, there's no spiritual life,
none, apart from eating the Lord Jesus Christ, who's the bread
of life. He's not just good for you. He is our life. Second, bread's good for everyone.
I mean, it's just, you know when you're sick and you can't eat,
you have a stomach virus or something, you need toast and Sprite. I mean, it's just, you know,
bread's good for everybody. If you're sick, if you're little,
if you're old, bread's good for everybody. Christ is good for
everyone. We got people from different
backgrounds, different ages. I got one message, the message
of Christ. He'll fit your every need. Whether
you're rich or poor, you're old or young, you're educated or
illiterate, male or female, it doesn't matter. Christ fits the
need of every human being. Fourth, or third, I mean, excuse
me, bread is daily food. I eat bread every day. Janice's
dad just can't hardly eat a meal. He's got to have to eat bread
with every meal. I mean, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's got to
have bread with every meal. That's the believer. I've got to have
Christ daily, every day. I need Him. I need Him to keep
me, preserve me, keep me washed, keep me clean. I need Him to
feed me every day. Christ is what we need. Fourth,
bread is satisfying food. Bread will fill you up and satisfy
your hunger. Christ fills the soul so that
we're satisfied. Chip, I'm satisfied. I mean,
I am completely and utterly satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ. You
know how you can tell? Are you satisfied with Christ?
You want to know if you are? Do you need anything else? If
you're satisfied with Christ, you've heard everything you ever
need to hear. I don't want anything else because I'm satisfied with
Him. Then how bread is made. That's
also a picture of Christ. He's the bread of life. That
blade of wheat springs up through the ground. The Lord Jesus Christ,
He sprung up from the ground. A root out of a dry ground. Then
that blade grows to maturity. That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was a man. He grew from a baby to a full-grown,
mature man in the prime of life. Then in the prime of life, that
blade is cut down. And it's beaten, ground into
flour. That's our Lord. In the prime
of physical life, He was taken down, cut down. He was bruised
for our iniquities. He was beaten. It's like that
wheat is beaten and ground into powder. Christ was beaten for
the sin of His people. He suffered everything that sin
deserves. And in that powder, they grind
into that wheat, they bake it in an oven. And that's Christ,
our substitute. He suffered in the heat, the
fiery heat of God's wrath for the sin that was laid on him.
And after it's taken out of the oven, bread is eaten. And when it's eaten, that bread
is digested. It goes to every part of it,
goes to every cell, feeds and gives life to every cell. That's
what faith does. Faith takes Christ and eats him. So He becomes part of us. He
gives life to every cell. Life is us in Him and Him in
us. That's that vital union with
Christ we talked about in the lesson this morning. So that
we are made everything He is through faith, through union
with Him. And Christ, the bread of life,
is all a sinner will ever need. If you have Christ, you'll never
hunger and never thirst. That's a whole lot better than
natural bread. Natural bread makes you thirsty. Christ doesn't
make you thirsty. He fills and satisfies completely
so that you'll never hunger or thirst. That's good news. That's Savior. Everybody doesn't
see. And there's none so blind as
those who refuse to see. Look at verse 36. But I said
unto you, you've also seen me. And believe not. Everyone doesn't
have Christ. And if we don't have Christ,
whose fault is it? It's our fault. It's our own
fault because we won't believe, even though we see true things
about Christ. We don't believe because our
nature is dead in sin. It's our own fault. We will not
believe. But here's the good news. Man's depravity and man's
refusal to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will
never make God a failure. God will accomplish all of his
purpose in redemption. And knowing that, that's what
makes us worship. Look at 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. Now, who are these people our
Lord is talking about that have been given to Him by the Father?
Well, they're God's elect. God chose them and He gave them
to His Son to be their surety. Well, when were they given to
Christ? In election, before the world was ever created, before
man was ever created, before God said, let there be light,
before He created anything. God chose a people and singled
them out to be recipients of His mercy. God did that. And brethren, they're
going to have it. They're going to have the mercy
that God has ordained to give them. They will have the salvation
that God purposed and the Son purchased. Our Lord talks about
salvation in certain terms, and it is certain. It's sure and
it's certain because salvation is entirely, from beginning to
end, the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ that He freely
gives to His people. There's no doubt. The work's
finished and God's not going to change His mind. The result
of the sacrifice of Christ is everyone that Christ died for
will come to Christ. They'll be drawn to Him because
of His sacrifice for their sin. They won't be able to help it.
They just won't be able to help it. But listen, they're not going
to come being dragged, kicked and screamed. They're going to
be drawn by the Holy Spirit. And they'll come willingly and
lovingly to Christ. Earl, why wouldn't they? Why
wouldn't you come receive the greatest gift that's ever been
given? The gift of forgiveness of sins
and the sacrifice of God's Son. God electing a people. That's
God's grace in action. Look in Acts chapter 13. God's
election is His grace in action. Nobody ever would come to Christ
unless God elected them and given them faith. Acts 13, verse 48, And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and they glorified the word of the Lord. And as
many as were ordained to eternal life, what did they do? They
believe because God chose them from the foundation of the world.
And I'm telling you this, why did you come here this morning?
Opie came to worship. No one will ever worship, ever,
until they worship at the feet of the Sovereign. We're in His
hands to do with as He pleases. We worship when we say, Lord,
would You have mercy on me? Would You save my wretched, sinful
soul? by His grace and by His mercy.
And everyone who comes to Christ will be received by Him. He'll
never cast any out. They'll be received warmly and
lovingly by the Savior. And He'll keep them and never
cast them out. So they'll never perish. Peter
came to our Lord one day, didn't he? Peter believed Christ. He
believed Him. Later on, Peter denied Him, didn't
he? The Lord didn't cast old Peter
out. Peter, do you love me? Feed my lambs. Aren't you thankful
God's not like you? I'd have cast him out. You would
have too. Our Lord didn't. Because He'll never cast them
out. Salvation, sure. Christ died
to put away the sin of His people. The sin of God's elect has been
paid in full by this blood, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those sins have been blotted out. then our sin won't cause
God to cast us out. God says what sin? It's gone,
blotted out under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
who we should seek. There are lots of things that
you can look for, but nothing greater than the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek Him. Seek Him. Alright,
let's bow and pray. Our Father, how we thank You
for the forgiveness of sins and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus
Christ. How we thank You for His blood.
How we thank You for Your calling power through the preaching of
the Gospel. How we do thank Thee that You've
given us eyes to see. You didn't leave us to ourselves.
Father, this is our greatest prayer. Do not leave us to ourselves. Don't give us what we want by
nature. Cross our will. In Your sovereignty, in Your
sovereign mercy and grace, cross our will. Cause us to bow at
the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how we thank Thee that You've
given us this great Gospel to preach, the Gospel of Christ. Father, cause us by Thy power,
by the power of Thy Spirit, to preach Christ faithfully, truthfully,
in clear and simple terms, and give us faith to believe, to
feed upon our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be all power and glory
and majesty and honor, now and ever. Amen.