0:00
Speaker 1Song. If this one won't get him in the door, nothing will. Victory in Jesus. We're going to sing together hymn number three fifty three. Yes.
0:06
Three fifty three. Victory in Jesus.
0:19
Speaker 2I heard an old old story how savior came from glory how he gave his life on Calvary to save our rest like me I heard about his groaning of his precious bloods atoning then I repented of my sins and won the victory oh victory in Jesus my savior forever he taught me and bought me with his redeeming he loved me and all my love is you him he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing I heard about his healing of his cleansing power revealing how he made the lame to walk again and cause the blind to see and then I cried dear Jesus come and heal my broken spirit and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory oh victory beneath the cleansing flood. On the last verse, I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory and I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea about the angels singing with his redeeming blood he loved me and all my love is to him he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing
4:09
Speaker 1flood Amen. Y'all can be seated. I'm going ask Eric, one of our elders to come up and welcome and announce.
4:19
Speaker 3Well, a very warm welcome to you on a cold morning. I sometimes I was you walk from a cold outside into a warm room and kinda you just go, that feels nice and you know, think that often God's love is just like that where we are out on our own, we're doing our own thing, and you know, we we for those of us that that know Christ, we come back into, walking closely with God and and you just feel, that's that's a lot better. So, it's I think it's such a wonderful blessing to be here together as a church on a cold morning where we are we are warmed through through God's love. Christmas is over. New Year's is over.
5:08
The church schedule is kinda getting back to normal. We have the Solid Rock Youth Group starting up again, this week at at 05:30. Awana starts again. Men's fraternity, starts again on Wednesday morning. And along with that, we're doing a snowmobile retreat.
5:28
That's gonna be February 15 through the seventeenth. Also, next, excuse me, not next Sunday but the Sunday after, January 20, We're having a congregational meeting. We're gonna be, electing the officers for the coming year that make the make the church run smoothly. So a big thank you to the the folks that have stepped up and and there'll be a little bit of turnover there. So, I encourage you guys to to be here at 10:00 in between the services in in two Sundays, January 20 for the the congregational meeting.
6:08
The other thing is preset Bible study is starting anew on Thursday mornings. So, if you're interested in that, get with Jane Cranenberg and she'll get you sorted out. That's a great way to jump into the word together. The other thing that's happening is next Sunday in between services, the folks who are involved with the frontline ministries were doing a thank you social and a kinda get reconnected into that particular ministry by welcoming people into into the church that's gonna be happening at 10:00 also. You know, as as we come together and we sing songs and praise God that way, we're gonna be hearing from the word from Ray.
6:53
Let's prepare our hearts with prayer. Father God, you are a a great God, the one true God. You are living and active, and we worship you this morning. We lift our hearts to you in song. Turn our minds to you and your words that we may may know you better.
7:12
We may live more according to your word. We pray that as we as we join our hearts together this morning, that you would be foremost on our mind that we would set our agendas aside, our our thoughts from the busy rest of the week, but instead that we would take this time to, to focus solely on you. We pray these things in your name. Amen. Why don't you stand up?
7:39
Welcome those around you. Say hi to a new face if there is. One and make each other feel warm.
9:53
Speaker 1Good morning. Y'all y'all are warmly receiving each other. Let's join together in song. Hymn number three twenty four. She's already playing it.
10:04
We're going
10:04
Speaker 2to sing When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Crown.
12:15
Speaker 1On the last verse. You can be seated. Can we have the offering team come forward? I'll call Eric back up.
13:16
Speaker 3Let's pray. Father God, you have so richly blessed us. We have warm buildings to worship in, warm homes to return to. We thank you for all that you've given to us and we return back these tithes and offerings to you as a as a small token, as a as a means of worship, as a means of lifting you up. So, as we give, lord, we pray that you would bless the the giver and the gift that you would be exalted, that your name would go out through the nations, through our town.
13:58
We pray that you'd be honored by, what we give this morning. We pray this in your name. Amen.
15:41
Speaker 1I'm going to call up Frenchie now, Harman. And he asked me a while back, he said I would like to play the harmonica when it's appropriate. I said, okay. That's good. That's more than most harmonica players ask.
15:57
But he's he also said that what's your favorite song? And I told him my favorite the at that day, at that time, my favorite song was called The Love of God. It's a beautiful song and so we're going to play and sing and play harmonica that together. But if you would listen to the words, they'll come back during the sermon. They're going to come back, I think.
16:17
But thank you, Arman for doing this.
16:38
Speaker 2Is greater far than tongue or pin can ever tell it goes beyond the highest star on earth a quilt and every man a scribe by trade
19:55
Speaker 1Amen. Amen. This church is filled. If y'all haven't noticed with people that are talented people. It is so good.
20:12
You know, they're this great to have superstars and they're wonderful and we're thankful that, you know, Judy plays pretty much every week but Jennifer plays pretty much every week. Jennifer can play and fill in on the piano. Bob, jumping up for the operatory. Not trying to bring attention to them in particular as people but these are open to God's movement. They're open and they're wanting to give back the talents that they have.
20:34
You're my all in all is our next hymn. Hymn number five eighty three. If y'all would stand together as we sing, We focus our attention on Jesus being our all in all.
20:54
Speaker 2You are my strength when I am weak you are the treasure that I seek you are my seeking you as a precious jewel lord to give up I be a fool you are my all worthy your name taking my sin, my cross, my shame, rising again, I bless your name, you are my all when I fall down, you pick me up, when I am dry you fill my cup you are my Amen.
22:59
Speaker 1And continue with that same theme. We're going to look over to hymn number 153 is worthy of worship.
23:12
Speaker 2Worthy worthy of bowing and worthy of all this and added to these you are worthy of worship and praise almighty father master and master, of all kings and redeemer wonderful counselor, comfort her friend, savior and source of our life without end you are worthy creator worthy Amen.
26:22
Speaker 1You may be seated As I pray. God, thank you for the stand that just fell. Thank you for this morning, lord and for the the spirit among us that it is a warm feeling to come and gather together, lord. We thank you that you left with us your comfort, that you sent your comfort of the Holy Spirit, lord. God, as we study this morning, the bread of heaven.
26:45
Thank you for everything that is pushing us and moving us toward this. Thank you for the beautiful gospel of John. Thank you for the important things that he is pointing out, lord. We cannot preach the importance of Jesus enough. All of the self help sermons in the world hold nothing up against the power of the body broken for us.
27:14
The blood spilled for us in the cross of Calvary. God, that's why we sing so much about it. That's why we talk so much about it. Thank you, lord. We do have needs among us.
27:24
I know that and I've been and I'm overwhelmed by them lord. I pray for Bill Rinker for his back. For the pain that he's going through lord that you would bring him out of that pain lord. I pray for Kai, Judy's new grand baby and I pray that you would heal Kai and that Judy would be a comfort to Eric and Shelly and the family. I thank you lord for all of the gifts that you've given and all of the all of the people among us lord.
27:56
We are thankful and grateful people. It's in Jesus name we pray that you would bless these words that John wrote so long ago to build us up in our faith lord to remind us of what is important and to give us more cause than we had when we got here for lifting Jesus up before this world. So, in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Alright, I have a stack of books up here today.
28:20
That scares y'all. When y'all see me with a big stack of books, I'm sure. I have a couple of different things. This is if you recognize that picture right there, that's Dietrich Bonhofer and the name of this book is called Bonhofer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Have any of y'all read this book?
28:38
Yeah, a lot of you. It's a good book but how many books have been written about Dietrich Bonhofer? A bunch of em. How many did he write? Seven, eight, something like that depending on what you count as a book.
28:51
Some most of his books were this thick. Life together, tiny little book, disciple the cost of discipleship, tiny little book. Simple. Not hard to understand. This is a six zero eight page volume.
29:05
This is what the inside cover says. To the right reverend Ray. Yeah. There's a buddy of mine from seminary being a smart aleck. Just what every seminary graduate wants.
29:17
A six zero eight page book. There will be a quiz. Congratulations. Jim and Kim. On the back of it, it says, the the guy who wrote it is Eric Metaxas.
29:28
On the back of it, it says, Metaxas has created a biography of uncommon power, intelligent, moving, well researched, vividly written, rich in implication for our lives, or to put it another way. Buy this book, read it, then buy another copy and give it to a person you love. It's that good. How many books have been written about this? The last one says, a definitive Bonhofer biography for the twenty first century.
29:54
All of that, I'll come back to that in just a minute. We have been through the past month and a half or so. We've been going through the gospel of John. When I graduated from seminary, I was looking forward to a time when I could preach through the gospels like the the gospels as a whole. All of em because I love this approach.
30:12
This is a harmony of the gospels and it takes all of the different gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and it puts them kind of parallel when only John is discussing something or only Luke discusses its one column but it tries to do it in chronological order. Y'all heard me refer to this before. When three of em cover something, it's three columns. So, you can see what Matthew brings out, what Mark brings out, what Luke brings out, and what John brings out.
30:39
If four, then four. Well, today, I was thinking about this concept. Y'all better put on your running shoes. We got a lot of listening to do in a hurry. So, reviewing.
30:51
We talked about the prologue. We've broken it down basically into three parts that we've been studying so far. The prologue opening credits of the drama. It gives us the major themes and then all throughout the book, these things are going to come back up. I equated it to being like a score in a in a musical.
31:06
You see it during the opening credits and then you hear it coming back over and over. So, he presents Jesus as the divine logos light and life in the prologue. The next was the period of consideration. That was a chunk of scripture. 119 up through 454.
31:20
He's presenting the evidence. He's given our witness testimony and if you look at his purpose statement in John twenty thirty one, he says, I have written these things so that you may believe and believing have life in his name. That's what he's writing them for. So, he chose actual stories about actual people but he did it with a purpose in mind. So, that's what the period of consideration.
31:42
He's presenting evidence. The next and that's the period of consideration right there. That's it laid out. That's what we covered from the pulpit in a hurry. But the period of controversy is the next one.
31:56
Now, in the period of controversy, y'all remember we talked about healing of the man at the pool, the claims of Jesus, and then Doug Wakup did a good job a few weeks ago. I wasn't out here. I was stuck in Rawlins but he did a good job with the witnesses. So, we're following this track on through. Well, you know that two weeks ago, when I was preaching, I took three verses and spent the whole time and went along.
32:19
With just three verses talking about the grammar. Well, today, we're going to do, I'm the bread that has come down from heaven. John six verses one through 71. They're thinking, oh my goodness, a grammarian with 71 verses. When are we going to get out of here?
32:33
Really? No. We are going to cover all of those today though. The feeding of the 5,000, the walking on water, and the discourse on the bread of life. So, that's where we're going.
32:43
Why would I bring up Bonhofer? I thought of it because as I was looking in my harmony of the gospels and I'm studying up on this, I saw that there were four columns here over this section about the feeding of the 5,000 men. It's the only miracle that's recorded in all four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke were all written earlier. Matthew and Mark earlier.
33:07
Mark, probably the earliest. Traditionally, we have come to understand that Mark was Peter's story as told to Mark. So, he writes down the things that Peter saw as being important standing out and so, Mark has written that down. Matthew has, you know, he's that Matthew Levi tax collector. He's got a different slant on some things.
33:24
So, he includes almost everything in Mark but he adds a little bit here and there and Luke, the physician, wants to give an orderly account for Theophilus, his friend. So, he presents more information, a lot more information. Actually, Luke's a lot longer but John, why in the world would John want to tell this story that had been told? Now, the first few were written in the 40s, probably, maybe the fifties. John's was not written up until about the nineties.
33:51
So, it was a while later and John had the benefit of having seen what happens when you pay attention to the trees and not the forest. He started to see a couple of heresies that were getting going and so John continually brings us back to the point of the matter. These things have been written so that you may believe and believing have life in his name. So, the only miracle that's recorded and highlighted in all four gospels, the story is very similar in all of them though there are certainly some nuances. So why would they retell a story that has been told?
34:23
Bonhoeffer is probably the most famous German resistor of the Nazis. If do y'all y'all know, this is second service. Y'all know who Bonhoeffer is. I don't have to explain this to y'all. Some of y'all lived and knew what was going on when it was going on.
34:41
Pastor Martyr Prophet Spy says a lot. He was resisting because he believed that the only way, the only chance that we have and this is theologically Orthodox Christian thought. The only chance that we have is Christ, Jesus, coming, perfect life, perfect death, sacrificial death for us. That's the only way that we can have any kind of righteousness before God but he said, you have to act. You have to act out.
35:10
You have to be a disciple and act on that which you believe. So, why would somebody retell a story that's been told? They may feel that the Torah story was not told well. Now, we can't say that about Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They're great stories, greatest story ever told.
35:26
Or it was not received well and I think that that's John's point. Is it was not received in the manner it was intended or possibly he may feel that he has uncovered something of significance. In this book, I've done a lot of reading about the book since I started reading it. It's fantastic. I'm in in about the second or third chapter right now.
35:46
I haven't even gotten to his him, you know, out of his childhood but as I was reading it, I was thinking, why would they tell this again? And that last little line I read a minute ago, a definitive Bonhofer biography for the twenty first century. They may feel that they have uncovered something of significance for the time. Now, John's is a universal scope. He has given it not just for his time in the nineties AD but he's given it for all times and he feels like the significance might be missed if you don't pay really close attention in others.
36:18
So Bonhoeffer's stamp now, of course, he was executed for his resistance against the German government. This is a German stamp. So how does the chunk break down? Listen in a hurry. Twenty minutes and we've got communion to do too.
36:32
So, I am going to cover a lot but don't think that this is exhaustive. I'm just going to bump it. The feeding of the 5,000 men. It just mentions men. That is in their tradition, heads of household.
36:46
So, that could be just as many women probably because it would be married men and probably at least as many kids maybe double. So, it's fifteen, twenty, zero people. How many of you have been in a service with 5,000 people? Fifteen thousand? Twenty, zero?
37:02
Hungry people? Yes. Twenty, zero hungry people. There are a lot of things that we could bring out. I'm not going to.
37:09
You've heard those sermons before. I'd love to discuss it with you but he met physical needs for a large group of people. He used his disciples to disseminate the the what he had blessed and multiplied. I want to get to this. He's recognized as being the prophet in verse 14.
37:27
So, John six verse 14, I want to read John six fourteen says, then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, this is truly the prophet that has come into the world. If you look, it's the prophet with a capital P. It's a reference to the prophet that Moses mentions in Deuteronomy eighteen fifteen through 19. By this time in Jewish history, the prophet, Moses had spoken of had become very very linked to the Messiah. When you hear of Jesus being prophet, priest, and king, that's not a new concept.
38:05
There were kings in the Old Testament. David was a king and he was a prophet but he was not a priest. He was a man of war. He's not a priest. There were others who were priest and prophets but they were not kings.
38:17
Does that make sense? Jesus fulfilled all three roles. Prophet, priest, and king. If you look back or rethink back to chapter four, when the woman at the well was trying to change the subject, she said, sir, I believe that you are a prophet, a prophet, she said there but then she moves into saying that could this be the Messiah and the way she said it was, I think this is the Messiah. The Messiah being the anointed one, the prophet, priest, and king.
38:43
Even in Samaritan history, they had the first five books of Moses and so the prophet that she was speaking of, the Tacheb was from there. He was recognized as being the prophet. It's so closely tied to king that the next verse says, therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to a mountain by himself alone. So, the second, the third thing about this, this is not an eight point sermon. I'm just giving them to you in order.
39:13
I am not a linear thinker. I admit it. I'm a lateral thinker. I like big picture stuff and this is a big picture sermon. Jesus slips away, walks on water, and calms the storm and he does all that in six verses.
39:25
If you look at the other accounts of it, there are different things that are brought out but John just skips right on passes. Jesus slips away, walks on water, calms a storm. This says a couple things. First of all, the timing is everything. Jesus's hour had not yet come.
39:41
I used the slides by the way to keep me in linear mode because most people listen in linear fashion. His hour had not yet come. The walking on the water is just three verses in John. He doesn't mention Peter getting out of the boat. He doesn't mention him sinking.
39:56
He doesn't mention him lifting him back up. He just mentions that Jesus was walking on the water. Like it was just matter of fact. This is established. These other three guys have written about this.
40:07
Y'all know this story. Calm in the storm is incidental. He just says it. He doesn't say it like, oh, and we were all amazed and we wondered and we bowed at his feet. The others do say that and I'm sure John remembered it just like they did but he doesn't say that right there.
40:22
He just says it. He's working towards a climax in this story in this chapter and that's what I'm doing right now too. So, we're working towards this. Jesus slips away. He walks on the water and he calms the storm.
40:37
Now, when he slipped away, why did he slip away? He slipped away because they were going to make him their king. If you had just fed twenty, zero or maybe more people, this is one year from the cross. This is two and a half years behind him of ministry. This is the height of his popularity on this Earth.
40:54
He would never be any more popular on Earth than he was right then. That make sense? The crowds after he slipped away. He's good at that too. When remember when they were going to throw him off a Nazareth Ridge, it says and he slipped out from among them.
41:10
He's pretty, he gets, he gets away when he wants to. He often withdrew into the wilderness to pray. He slipped away. The crowds seek Jesus. Imma read that too verses 22 to 24 says, that on the following day, let's get down to verse twenty three and twenty four.
41:28
However, other boats came from Tiberius, neither place where they had eaten bread after the Lord had given thanks and when the people therefore saw Jesus was not there nor his disciples, they also got into boats and came into Capernaum seeking Jesus. It says, they were seeking Jesus. Excuse me for a second while I find something. The crowds are seeking Jesus. Surely, this is a good thing.
42:04
They're not the 12. When it, he mentions disciples up to this point. These are people who are following Jesus whether they be casual or not. This is a turning point. This chapter is a turning point.
42:13
From here on, anytime he mentions disciples, it's going to be committed believers who are committed to following him. We'll see that in a minute. They're clamoring after him. When they couldn't find him, they went to his usual hangout. Capernaum is where Jesus set up camp basically and he, that's where he ought to be.
42:30
So, they knew that. They knew enough about him to know that that's where he would be. It's Capernaum and that's where they found him. So, they find him in verses 25 through 59. Now, you see this is a longer section of scripture.
42:41
This one is a lot of verses in one place and this is the one I want to concentrate the most effort because this is the one that John concentrates the most effort on in this. When they find him and question him, Jesus questions them too. If you look at verse 25 and they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered. He just went straight out of the box and he questioned their motives.
43:04
He says, most assuredly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to everlasting life which the son of man will give you because God the father has set a seal on him. Then, they said to him, what shall we do? They want to know what they can do. This point is something that you'll find over and over and over again.
43:33
The Pharisees, whenever they were confronted with Jesus, it was always, almost always about doing and not about being. If you get down to my last point right there, being does not follow doing and Jesus knows that. Doing flows out of being and being comes from what you believe. You are because of what you believe. We'll get to that further on but I think that's what John's honing in on.
43:56
These things have been written so that you may believe and believing have life in his name. So, how many times have we heard this in the gospel of John over and over and over and over specifically, it's what you believe Jesus. I do want to say one thing about that division of bread because it's a beautiful sentence that I scribbled down after an older professor said it. In their hands, there was only subtraction and division but in the hands of Jesus, there was multiplication. When they asked Jesus what it was that they could do, he didn't answer that question.
44:31
He didn't say, okay, 10% is what you can do. You can bring 10% of everything you make and that's what you can do financially. As far as your reasonable service and singing, you should do that once a month. As far as your, he didn't say that. He didn't give them the list.
44:46
He didn't say that. In their hands, only division and subtraction but in his hands, there was multiplication. Lots of points. Too many to preach on. I'm just going get on through it.
44:59
It's the longest section of chapter. It's the bread of life discourse and I will read sections of that in just a minute. He teaches them about himself using their chosen topic, the bread of the bread from heaven. So, we'll get to that. Therefore, they said to him, what sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you?
45:17
What work will you do? Still about doing and if you think about this, what will satisfy? If feeding twenty, zero people the day before didn't satisfy, what is he going to do today? Again, do it again. Do it again.
45:29
Do it again. And they chose the topic. They said, our fathers ate the manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat and Jesus said to him, he corrected him. Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven but my father gives you the true bread from heaven.
45:48
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And they said to him, lord, give us this bread evermore, always, and forever. Keep our bellies full forever. And Jesus said to them, lovingly and with compassion. Sometimes, we don't pick that up.
46:09
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst. Bob played for the operatory. He said, fill my cup, lord.
46:18
I lift it up, lord. Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, I'll fill it up and make me whole. And that's spiritual. That's not physical.
46:31
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe. All the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of the father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day and this is the will of him who sent me. Keeps telling God's will over and over that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life.
46:59
How many times have we heard that in John? It's the central focus of this gospel because it's the truth that matters. He's seen the gospels written over and over again but he comes back to that repeatedly and what do the Jews do in verse 41? Some versions say they grumble. This one says, the Jews then complained against him because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven and they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
47:26
Who is it then that how is it that he says, I have come down from heaven. They reason. So, they grumble and they reason. Does that sound like anybody you know? We grumble and reason a lot.
47:37
We do that. How can that be? Jesus lovingly simplifies. Don't murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and if you're here today, God is doing that.
47:50
If Jesus is lifted up, he will draw all men to himself. God is here. He is present. He has brought us here. Where was I?
48:01
Verse 45, is that right? Forty four and forty five. No one can come to me unless the father sent me draws him and I'll raise him up at the last day. It's written in the prophets and they shall be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from me from the father comes to me.
48:19
Not that anyone has seen the father except he is from God. He has seen the father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate in the man, ate the manna in the wilderness, and they are dead.
48:34
This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread. You know what's called the bread of life discourse? Because he says it over and over and over again. Lovingly and with compassion.
48:48
I am the living bread which comes down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. And then the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said, most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
49:15
And what came immediately thereafter? There are people that have misunderstood that metaphor for years. That's the last line of that is that they completely missed the metaphor. Verse 52, they quarreled among themselves. How can he say he gives us his flesh to eat?
49:31
I think of, this is kind of strange and it dates me a bit but Raiders of the Lost Ark, y'all remember that movie? It was about Hitler going after the Ark of the Covenant because he felt like, hey, Israel couldn't lose when they had that ark of the covenant. So, if we had that, we can conquer the world. He also was into all kinds of occult craziness but anything that hinted at immortality or ultimate power, he was after. Bonhoeffer actually understood the metaphor.
49:59
He actually got that whole bread of life. Hitler was looking for the Ark of the Covenant so he could have the actual bread, the actual manna that was kept there. Bonhoeffer got it where these guys missed it. Some of us get it. Some of us miss it.
50:16
The next thing that happened though was defection. I want to read something and this is a long quote from Bonhopper. It's a full page but if you would listen to me, this is why they've written so many books about him. This is this is really good. It's about cheap, grace, and costly grace.
50:34
Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap jacks wears. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away. A cut prices, grace is represented as the church's inexhaustible treasury from which she, the church, showers blessings with generous hands without asking questions or fixing limits, grace without price, grace without cost. The essence of grace we suppose is that the account has been paid in advance and because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite.
51:12
What would grace be if it were not cheap? Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. Baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Absolution without personal confession.
51:31
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. Grace without cost. Grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate. But costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field. For the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has.
51:45
It's the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all of his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ. Kingly rule meaning he's the one in charge. That makes sense? It is where he is the king.
51:59
Kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble. It's the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. The gift which must be asked for. The door at which a man must knock.
52:16
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow. It is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life. It is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner.
52:36
Above all, it is costly because it cost God the son of his the life of his son. Ye were bought at a price and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his son too dear a price to pay for our life but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God. That's what Jesus is talking about when he says, my body given for you.
53:06
My body broken for you. It is costly. It cost him something and we should consider that. We're going to do communion in a few minutes and we should come and be considering the price that was paid to ransom us. But I'm going to get back to the passage.
53:22
Defection among the disciples. Versus 60 through 66, some of the saddest verses in the Bible. I think verse 66 is the saddest in John. Jesus knew when he said that about you have to, you know, this is the true bread from heaven. I've come down.
53:37
He's living a perfect life. He's going to give a sacrificial death. He says, does this offend you? What then if you should see the son of man ascend where he was before which some of these guys would see. It's the spirit who gives life.
53:49
The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life but there are some of you who don't believe because he knew who they were that didn't. Therefore, I've said to you that no one can come to me unless it's been granted to him by the father and then this is what happened. Verse 66, from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. That's the difference in cheap grace and costly grace right there.
54:14
It was too hard a saying and Jesus said to the 12, do you also want to go away? I've already covered that, I think. Yeah, despite everything Jesus said and did, probably most of them did not receive his words. They were confused by him and their traditional mindset would just not allow them to accept what he was saying is true. They stumbled on it.
54:35
So, the next thing that we have here is Peter's profession and he professed for them. It says, but Simon Peter answered him saying, lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we've come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. This is Peter's personal declaration but it was for all of the disciples.
54:55
He said it as a group. There's no one like you. You have the words of eternal life. We have believed. We come together and know that you're the holy one of God.
55:02
We as a church could say, I could say that for this church. But I think it's very important the the next thing should follow right on in with that. We hear in the other gospels we hear Peter making the confession about Jesus being the Christ, the son of God at Caesarea, Philippi and when he says that, it's a big big moment. It's the climax and all and most of those gospels. It's a climax there but this, he, John didn't mention that at that place.
55:29
He mentions it right here. I'm sure he said it both places. There's no one like you. You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and come to know that you are the holy one of God.
55:38
Peter was ready to partake of the bread and drink of this cup himself. He was ready at that point. I think he was ready. But the next thing is John's narrative and Jesus's statement about Judas And it says, Jesus answered them, did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray him being one of the 12.
56:09
John tells Peter stepped up and said that but he wants to make sure that we understand that it is a personal thing. Why would John retell the story? He's writing to clarify the central question of Jesus's identity. He wants for people to see him not only as a man but as the divine God man, the logos, the light, the life. He's writing so that you may believe.
56:30
He says it. He admits to it and he does it every single chapter. It's about belief. In this chapter, he wants for you to hear from the lips of Jesus that he's the bread of life. In this chapter, he wants for you to partake of this bread and to drink of this cup.
56:45
I'm going read one more quote from Bonhofer. It is time. Straight up time to go. To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It's to perceive the essential nature of things.
56:57
The best informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed, there's a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge, he will lose sight of what's essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depths of things and so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge which John's got access to the best possible knowledge about the events. He was an eyewitness but always without becoming dependent upon that knowledge to recognize the significant and the factual is wisdom. I said that somebody would rewrite a book, something that's been written because they feel like something is significant and speaks to their times.
57:36
What is significant in these 71 verses? God sent Jesus to meet our spiritual needs. Jesus says that over and over and over and over and over again. Jesus is the true bread of heaven. That's what he says.
57:46
He's the giver of eternal life. That's what he says. But this last point, those last four verses where Peter declares that we and Jesus with a very mild rebuke says, you. Did I not choose you and one of you is a devil? Your personal acceptance of these facts is what makes all the difference.
58:09
So, don't miss the metaphor. As we go into a time of communion, I will ask the communion team to come up the elders and we'll go ahead and if Jennifer, if you would play something pretty when we get to that point, thank you. It's a little bit less formal today. I feel like the whole sermon has been motivating us and pushing us towards this bread and this cup but we should not miss the metaphor. There were churches, there are churches that believe that it is the magical thing that once you ingest this, you take this thing that it magically becomes the body and blood of Christ.
58:39
I won't argue over that. But I think it's a metaphor. I think he says it over and over and over again. When he says that he's the true bread of heaven, don't grumble. Don't try to figure it out too much.
58:52
Just dig in. He's the only spiritual soup food that satisfies. And this is an open table. I'll say that too. If you have accepted Christ as your savior, then you're welcome to partake when we hand these out.
59:06
Missing the metaphor. I believe that this do in remembrance of me that that's exactly what Jesus said. On the night that he was betrayed, he took bread, he took wine, and after he blessed them, he said these things and he asked him to do it as often as they would in remembrance of him to remember the cost of the grace. Does that make sense? God's riches at Christ's expense.
59:31
So, Imma give you a chance. I'll pray too but I'll give you a chance to pray and think about that personal confession for absolution. First John one nine. He's just to forgive us our sins that we confess. I'll give you a chance to do that.
59:47
And also I want you to just think about what he would have you do from this point forward. It says, just by doing this that we're proclaiming his death until he comes. What can we do though to proclaim his life? While we're here. So, lord, I pray that you would cleanse me, that you would search me, that you would know me, and that you would remove any wickedness from me, lord.
1:00:13
I thank you for the good examples that you have given throughout history, lord, but none of them are perfect except for your son. He's the only one who could have a broken body for our account and give it willingly on our account. God, I ask you to bless this bread. Lord, into our systems that we would take this in and know this truth that you are the true bread that comes from heaven. You are our spiritual sustenance.
1:00:39
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. And after supper on the night that he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and after he gave thanks, he lifted up and he said, this is my body that's broken for you. God, we're thankful that you did live a perfect life, lord, and all the sermons that we can preach that would help us so much to live in according accordance with what you decree, lord, would still not make us perfect enough to stand before you. The only perfection we have is that which Christ performed and imputed to us by belief, by faith.
1:03:38
Help us, lord, share that. Help us as we proclaim your death until you come again. Lord, we ask your blessing on this cup that we're going to distribute now. As we think about the price paid for our sins. Jesus name, amen.
1:06:38
And then in the same way that he took bread, he took the cup and he lifted it up and he said, this is my blood which is filled for you. He said, do this in remembrance of me and as often as you do of it, as often as you do it, be thinking about him. Considering this, Allen Levi played something last time we did commune. I played something by him and he said that the cross is not a place for argument but a place of acceptance and surrender. We're going to sing one verse of I Surrender All and then we're going to sing a verse of victory in Jesus because I want to celebrate his life not just contemplate his death.
1:07:19
So, the place of surrender is the place that the victory happened. John, go back if you want to. Thank you very much, others. So, first verse, You can stand with me, please.
1:07:37
Speaker 2All to Jesus I surrender all to him I freely give I will ever love and trust him in his presence daily to thee my blessed savior I I surrender heard the old story how savior came from glory how he gave his life on Calvary to save our wretch like me I heard about his groaning of his precious bloods atoning then I repented of my sins and won the victory oh victory in Jesus my savior forever he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood he loved me and all my love is due him he plunged me to victory be me the cleansing flood.
1:09:33
Speaker 1Amen. May God bless you this week as you go.
