22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.48 I am the bread of life.49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.48 I am the bread of life.49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Joel Brooks:
If you would open your Bibles to John chapter 6. John 6. And before we read these words, let me just say something pretty obvious to you, but it meant a lot to me, is just that the words we're gonna read matter they matter had to remind myself of that this week I needed to I needed to hear these words this week. Not just to learn more about Jesus, but to actually hear from Jesus and have him change my heart. You guys just get to listen to me preach to myself today, if that's alright.
Joel Brooks:
You could just kind of eavesdrop on a sermon to myself. John chapter 6. We'll begin reading in verse 22. On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
Joel Brooks:
So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him, God the Father has set His seal.
Joel Brooks:
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 they said to him, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written.
Joel Brooks:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, and truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they said to him, sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.
Joel Brooks:
Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Joel Brooks:
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven? Jesus answered them, do not grumble among yourselves.
Joel Brooks:
No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes from me. Not that anyone has seen the father except he who is from God he has seen the father truly truly I say to you whoever believes has eternal life.
Joel Brooks:
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.
Joel Brooks:
And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Pray with me. Our father, right now, we ask that through your spirit, you would do your work. You would create in us belief. You would open up our minds and our hearts to receive what you would have for us.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus, we need to hear from you in this place. Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. But Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
Joel Brooks:
Last week we looked at how Jesus fed 5,000 men, probably about 15 to 20000 people. And he fed them all from a little boy's lunch. A few loaves and a couple of sardines. And And after he did this, the people tried to by force make him king. And what Jesus did as they were trying to force him to be king, he snuck away, he went up on top of the mountain to get away from them.
Joel Brooks:
And when nightfall came, he snuck back down the mountain. And then he went to the other side of the Sea of Capernaum. However, Jesus didn't go by boat, he actually walked across the water. You can read about this right, right before the story we just read in verses 18 through 21, we see Jesus walking across the water. And there's a whole lot that you can glean from the story of Jesus walking on the water.
Joel Brooks:
One takeaway right off is it's just awesome. I mean, when you look at that, it's just an awesome story and it's just a display of God's power that Jesus could do this. Takeaway. But that's not why John recorded this. His main point is is he's trying to give us a lens or a filter in which we are to read all of this story about Jesus being the bread of life and about what comes after that.
Joel Brooks:
If you remember, all of this happened during the, all of this happened during the passover feast. And it liberated them. At this moment, they were free from slavery, from Egypt, and they got to head out to the promised land. And right after this very first Passover meal, the people then cross the Red Sea. After they cross the Red Sea, the first thing that happened to them was God rained down manna on them.
Joel Brooks:
After the manna, one of the next things is they needed water, so Moses struck the rock and then water flowed from it. And these are the exact events you see in the gospel of John. Over it. And then when he got to the other side, he gives people the true manna himself as the bread of life. Right after he gives a manna, we'll see in John chapter 7, he says, I give you living water.
Joel Brooks:
Come to me all who thirst. I'm the rock that was hit and split so that you might receive this water. And so we're supposed to see all of these events in light of the passover, in light of the exodus, that Jesus is the greater Moses. He is providing the greater exodus. Moses just delivered, delivered the people from slavery.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus delivers us from sin and death. Moses failed to bring people into the promised land. Jesus here is offering eternal life. Eternal rest. After Jesus crosses the sea, the people wake up and they realize that Jesus is gone and he's gone to the other side of the sea.
Joel Brooks:
And so they run over to be with Jesus once again. And when Jesus sees them coming, he says this to them in verse 26. He says, truly, truly, I say to you, you were seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of loaves. Do you know what Black Friday is? You you know the holiday after Thanksgiving.
Joel Brooks:
I've done the same thing every Black Friday. It's not shopping. I'm not a masochist. I'm I'm not crazy. It's that's not what I do.
Joel Brooks:
But I have eaten every Friday after Thanksgiving. That is something I did not think was possible on Thanksgiving Day. I don't know about you, but I'm the ones who like, I ask sin. I commit gluttony. I call it feasting, but it's probably gluttony.
Joel Brooks:
And, I will loosen my belt. I will eat so much. In the afternoon if you offer me a breath mint, I've got to turn you down because there is no room. And I think I don't even wanna see food. I can't eat again.
Joel Brooks:
Morning comes around. I'm like, I'm hungry. I wanna eat. Last week, we saw how Jesus fed 15 to 20000 people. Verse 12 says that they ate until they were full.
Joel Brooks:
So full that they kept passing baskets of leftovers and they all kept eating, but finally there was 12 baskets leftover that nobody wanted to touch. There simply was no more room. They went to sleep, they woke up. Jesus was missing. Immediately, you know, they go to the fridge or they're looking for the baskets.
Joel Brooks:
Maybe they were left behind, the baskets are gone too. So they think we've got to find Jesus. We've got to find Jesus. Let's go to Capernaum. They're not after more teaching.
Joel Brooks:
They don't wanna find Him in order to worship Him. They're not spiritually motivated. Their stomachs are hungry. They're growling again. And so they go to find Jesus.
Joel Brooks:
And Jesus tells them, do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. Says, I know why you're here. It's just because you want your bellies filled again, but I tell you don't labor for food that perishes. Well, when they hear Jesus say this, that they have to buy food that endures eternal life that the son of man will give you. They think that sounds pretty good.
Joel Brooks:
So they asked Jesus, well tell us what do we need to do? You said to labor for this food, tell us the work we do so we could get this. And we read this in verse 28. Then they said to him, what what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus answered them, this is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
Joel Brooks:
Now we're gonna look at a lot more at this statement next week. Because there is a lot there. We're only going to kind of put our toe in the waters tonight and we'll unpack it more next week. But Jesus says, he says that you need to work for food that's gonna endure to eternal life, and you wanna know what to do? You gotta simply believe.
Joel Brooks:
Believe. Believe that the one standing in front of you can satisfy you. That's all I ask. You wanna have food that endures to eternal life? Believe that I am the most valuable treasure you could possess.
Joel Brooks:
Believe that I can meet your needs. Taste and see that I am good. Well, the people respond to Jesus by saying this, well, we'll believe if you give us a sign. Okay if you want us to believe then you're gonna have to give us a sign look at verses 30 and 31 so they said to him then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Joel Brooks:
Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Now tell me the truth. How many of you when you read this and you hear the reaction, you just kind of want to pull your hair out. You want to pull your hair out when they say, well, if you give us a sign, I'm thinking he just fed 15 to 20000 people from a little boy's lunch. And now you are asking for a sign.
Joel Brooks:
And I think they probably know as the words are coming under their mouth, they they might sound a little silly at this. So they wanna qualify. Alright. Alright. I know.
Joel Brooks:
I know. Granted you fed 15, 20000 people, but you know what Moses did? Moses? Well, he fed 100 of thousands of people for 40 years. And he didn't give us some poor man's bread.
Joel Brooks:
He rained manna down from heaven. It tasted like honey. So if you wanna sign, you wanna give us a sign, that's a pretty good one. Feed us for the next 40 years with something that it just tastes like honey. To which Jesus responds, verse 32, 33.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus said to them, truly truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I love Jesus. Jesus's response to them. He essentially says, you know everything you just said in that last sentence was true except for the subject, the verb, the direct object, and the indirect object.
Joel Brooks:
Okay? Other than that, you you nailed it on the head. You missed the entire point of the Exodus. Moses didn't rain bread down from heaven. It was my father who did this.
Joel Brooks:
And he didn't do it to fill your bellies. He did it to point you to me, the bread of life who can give you real life that endures forever. Now, these people here, Jesus, talking to them. They have no idea what he is saying, but once again, he keeps talking about food and so they wanna keep digging in. They're like, alright, alright, okay.
Joel Brooks:
This sounds pretty good. Give us some of this bread. Much like the woman at the well heard Jesus on my water. She's like, well give me some of this water. And Jesus replies to them.
Joel Brooks:
He says, I am the bread. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me shall not thirst. Now this is the first of the I am statements by Jesus in the gospel of John.
Joel Brooks:
He does 7 I am statements. This is the first one here, that He is the bread of life. Now there are 2 different Greek words that you can use for the word life. The words bios and the words zoe. Bios and zoe.
Joel Brooks:
Bios means your heart is pumping. Blood is moving through your veins. You're breathing in air. Oxygen is coming into your lungs. You exist.
Joel Brooks:
You're alive. You're physically alive. This is where we get the word biology from. Zoe is about the quality of life. Zoe is when you go to the beach and, you sit down and in one of the chairs there, You you take off your flip flops.
Joel Brooks:
You've you've got some kind of thriller novel, you know, in one hand, a cold beverage in the other. You're you're putting your toes in the sand. You're hearing the waves crash down, and and as you're kicking back, you're like, this is living. This this is what it means to be alive. And what you're talking about is the quality of life that is zoe you're not saying when you say this is living wow Oxygen is really going into my lungs at this moment.
Joel Brooks:
That's that's not what you're talking about. Meaning, they're like, no. This is life. Jesus says that he is the bread of Zoe, not the bread of bios. He is the bread of life.
Joel Brooks:
He is not the bread of existence. He is not the bread of existence. Jesus isn't offering eternal existence to us, Just that we would go on and on and on and not physically die. That's actually more descriptive of the biblical view of hell than it is of heaven. Just simply existing forever.
Joel Brooks:
I don't know if any of you like to read sci fi. I do. Occasionally there's a really good sci fi book that kind of picks up on this theme. You know somebody finds the fountain of youth or somebody drinks some potion and they they live forever. And at first it's such an awesome thing, they're living forever, but by the end of the book they just want to die.
Joel Brooks:
Because existing forever is hell. Jesus is not the bread of existence. He is the bread of life. He's offering eternal rest, eternal joy. Now, every one of you here is trying to find life.
Joel Brooks:
You are trying to find Zoe. I see a few students out here. If you're a student right now, fall break is your zoe. You're thinking if I could just make it a few more weeks, then I can rest. Teachers who are here, you're thinking fall break.
Joel Brooks:
If I could just make it fall break there's my Zoe if you're a CPA you're thinking April 16th if I could just make it to April 16th and man, then I can live. And finally, I can rest. Some of you are working for the weekend. You just can't wait to get to the weekend, or some of you are just working so hard for your next vacation. Some of you are just dreaming of the time, maybe a Saturday afternoon.
Joel Brooks:
If I can make it a Saturday afternoon, sit in my comfy chair, lift up my feet, you know, cold beverage, game on. Zoe, life. Some of you are thinking if you just make it back to the beach or if you could just make it back to the mountains, if you could just make it to the next date night with your wife, if you could just finally finish this big project that's been looming over at work, or finish this big house renovation project. Once you get to that, Zoe, what you believe is Zoe. But let me ask, what happens when you reach it?
Joel Brooks:
What happens when fall break comes? What happens when you finish that project or you make it to the weekend? You you know what happens? It's it's the day after thanksgiving. You find yourselves hungry again.
Joel Brooks:
It was good for a little bit, but but it didn't last forever. And so you find yourselves hungry again. CS Lewis said that there is not a cup of tea large enough, and there is not a book long enough to satisfy him. They will always run dry. Let me ask you, is there anybody here who gets really stressed out before you go on vacation?
Joel Brooks:
You know, you grew up in a family where don't get near mom. Like, you know, it's like we're about to go on vacation. You just stay clear of mom at this time because they're just just so stressed and maybe some of you are this way. And now I know if you're a parent, it's it's a challenge getting kids ready to go on the trip or getting them ready to ship off so you could go on a trip. I realize it's a challenge, but what about if you are just going crazy and you're so anxious, you're always losing your patience before you take on a trip?
Joel Brooks:
Why is that? The reason is the expectations you have on that trip is Zoe. And that is a weight that that trip cannot cannot hold. You're putting, you're putting too much weight, too much pressure on that. But no matter how great that vacation is, it will not carry the weight.
Joel Brooks:
The moment you get home from that vacation, you know what you're gonna do? I mean, on the plane home or on the drive home, you're already thinking of what? When's the next vacation? When's the next trip? Jesus says, do not work for bread that perishes.
Joel Brooks:
Says, come eat from bread that endures to eternal life. Says, I'm the only person. I'm the only thing that can really satisfy you. And when we go to Him believing this, believing in Him, we will find our souls nourished in such a way that more so than any weekend, any date night, any any house project that's finished, Those things can't fill us like Jesus. And I wanna I want you to hear me say, I'm not saying you cannot enjoy those things.
Joel Brooks:
You can enjoy going to the beach. If somebody gives you know a free condo at the beach, you should take it, or give it to the pastor for him him to take. I will gladly take that from you. I'm not saying you cannot enjoy those things. Actually, I am saying you can enjoy those things so much more, because you're not making them bear a weight that they should not.
Joel Brooks:
You're not looking to them to meet a need in which they cannot meet. It's the difference between going grocery shopping when you're full or grocery shopping when you are hungry. I mean, how many of you make the mistake sometimes of going grocery shopping when you're hungry. It's a horrible mistake. You have this huge bill.
Joel Brooks:
I mean, the times I've gone there. I'm like hostess cupcakes, you know I'm beef jerky. You know you're just you're putting everything in there. You're putting your absolute junk in there because you're going starved. It's it's like eating dessert when you're hungry.
Joel Brooks:
You can't enjoy it. You're like cookies, you're just shoving cookies in as fast as you can in your mouth. The way to eat dessert is to go in full. When you go in full, you can stop and you can savor it. The way to grocery shop is when you are full and you can make wise decisions instead of all these impulsive buys.
Joel Brooks:
Listen, when you go to Jesus as the bread of life and you fill yourself with him, then this is gonna actually enable you to enjoy other things more, enjoy His gifts so much more. You can enjoy your fall break, whether you're a student or a teacher, because you're not looking to it for Zoe. Singles you can enjoy going on a date, or maybe going to some kind of social gathering where you might find a date, because you're not going there starving. I've just got to find somebody. I've gotta get meaning that way.
Joel Brooks:
You can enjoy good food or a great vacation because you're not asking those things to carry a weight they weren't meant to carry. You can savor those things because you're already full when you go. You can enjoy all of these things because you don't have to have them. Your stomach's not growling. Not only do you not have to have them, I would say you don't even have to fear losing them.
Joel Brooks:
Just think of how generous you would be if your heart was full. If your heart was full, can you imagine just how generous you would be? Paul says something very similar to Jesus, in Ephesians chapter 5. He says that we are not to be drunk with wine, but we are to be filled with the spirit. So just as Jesus broke down everything into 2 categories really, you have your kind of your bread of existence, your bread that perishes and then you have your bread of life.
Joel Brooks:
Paul breaks down everything into 2 categories. He says you know, being filled with wine or drunk with wine and being filled with the spirit. Now drinking wine, being drunk with wine, and being filled with the spirit actually have some similarities. Both are controlling factors in your life. You come under the influence of them, if you will.
Joel Brooks:
Both drinking wine and being filled with the spirit can give you a courage or a boldness that you might not normally possess. So so there are some commonalities, but there's some pretty huge differences. And one of the main differences is this. Wine, alcohol is a depressant. The Spirit of God is a stimulant.
Joel Brooks:
Wine is a depressant. It it it gives you a sense of freedom only by dulling your senses. It it numbs you to the harsh realities of the world. It provides you with a way of escape. If life is really hard, well, you could just go to the bottle and you can escape for a moment.
Joel Brooks:
The spirit, however, does not act as a depressant. He is a stimulant. The Spirit of God gives you life, real, refreshing, invigorating, sobering, exhilarating life to the full. Your senses are not dull, but they are sharpened. You were never more alive.
Joel Brooks:
You don't need to escape life because you have actually been given an amazing life, the life. They work by dulling our senses. We're not we're not to go through life just trying to find thing after thing that will allow us to escape our reality. I mean, why do you think we binge on Netflix? It's to escape reality.
Joel Brooks:
Why do we do shopping therapy? Why are we always thinking about our next home, renovation? Why do we obsess over Pinterest? Because we want an escape from our current reality. It's because we want an escape from our current reality.
Joel Brooks:
And Jesus says, I'm offering you here right now something so much greater than escape. I'm not out to numb your senses, but I want to heighten them. I want to give you life. Real life. And when we come to believe in Jesus, know that everything changes.
Joel Brooks:
The food that perishes no longer dominates our mind. It no longer dominates our thoughts. We might have the same job, the same house, the same singleness, but everything is different now because of Jesus. The question is this, are you coming to him and feasting on him? Are you nibbling so much on the world that you have lost your appetite, and your senses have become dull?
Joel Brooks:
Jesus says, come to me, believe, do not labor for food that will not satisfy. Do not labor for the bread of existence when I offer you the bread of life. Hear these words from Isaiah 55 that we open the service with, come Everyone who thirsts comes to the waters, and he who has no money come by and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why?
Joel Brooks:
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? And why labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligent diligently to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live.
Joel Brooks:
Pray with me. Spirit of God, I ask that you would call us, that we would hear you calling us to come to Jesus. Lord, we repent from all of our labors that have led to bread that perishes. From going to bread of existence, to bread after of existence, to bread of existence. And we always leave hungry.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus, may we come to you who satisfies. We pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.