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Sabbath, October 15, 2005 Newark Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Communion Sabbath (Homily) Pastor Tom Hughes

“THE LIVING BREAD”

John 6:35
“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst.’”

Jesus also said when he was tempted of the devil, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

He equated his word with bread. As speech is to thought, so is Jesus to the Father. The Father is the thought and Jesus is the speech.
Christ has revealed the thoughts of God to us in his Word and as we eat of God’s Word, we are eating the bread of life. As we partake daily in our Bible study of the Word of God we are taking the body and blood of Jesus and eating us and it is becoming part of our flesh and part of our blood.

And later on, Jesus does say, “I am the bread of life,” and that you have to eat of that bread. You have to take the Word of God into you in order to be saved.

I used to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church. And when we went into the church (well I guess I still am, they won’t let me go). But anyway when I came into the church they had a monstrance1 up front with a wafer in it, which had been dipped in wine. And their church teaches that it is literally the body and blood of Jesus and that the priest creates God when he makes that bread and wine. And that when they go in and kneel down - some of you might think they’re just very reverent – but when they go in and kneel down and do the sign of the cross, they’re not just being reverent in the sanctuary, they are actually worshipping a piece of bread that they call “God.” They do that because they take symbolism too far. They don’t acknowledge that there are things in the Bible that Jesus used as symbols of himself and they take it literally instead of realizing Christ was saying, “I am the Word of God the bread of heaven. You need to eat my words. You need to make what I say part of your life. I died on the cross for your salvation. You need to accept me as your Savior or you’re going to be lost – and not just in your brain, but in your heart.”

Jesus is saying, “I am the Word of God. You take me into your body.”

Now Jesus said, “I am the door.” Do you think he was literally walking around like this with a knob for people to (walk into him)? No!

He said, “I am the good shepherd.” Do you think he was actually a shepherd with sheep walking around with a little hook to hook ‘em?

He was a carpenter. Wasn’t he? He wasn’t the shepherd, but he said, “I am the good shepherd.” He said, “I am the door.” He said, “I am the bread of heaven.”

Now bread means life in the Bible. People oftentimes were poor and what we call “bread” is wheat. They used to make barley bread and they would mash it into a meal that they could mix with water or milk and then put on a hot griddle and make kind of like what we call pancakes. And oftentimes the poor would just have a clay jar with meal in it and they’d have a little jar of oil and they wouldn’t have much else. To people in the Middle East, bread meant life. Just like water means life in the Bible and bread to Christ was used as a symbol of his body.

We found that out later when Jesus taught them how to celebrate communion. Bread was a symbol of the flesh and blood that he laid down on the cross when he died. He gave it all, and he died on the cross, and he is using this bread as a symbol.

Now for those of you who feel like you have done something:

really stupid,
and really sinful,
and that God would not want you,
and you feel like you’re too bad for God to accept,
you are buying into one of the two great lies that the devil uses when he tries to deceive people.

You could put these things into two basic categories. Satan likes to say either:

1. You’re too good to be lost
You’re too bad to be saved

The “too good to be lost” category is how he gets all the Pharisees. He sucks them right in. They think they’re just too good to be lost. They’re not quite bad enough to be lost. As if pride is not bad enough to be lost. And pride was the greatest sin ever committed! Pride is a form of atheism: self-worship. It’s the worst sin of all! J “You’re too good to be lost.”

And then the other one is: “You’re too bad to be saved. Then he gets all the people that are sinners, and they know they’re sinners. They’re not Pharisees – they’re not thinking (that) they’re proud. He tells them, “Oh, you’re too evil to come to Christ. He won’t accept you. Forget it. You’re just too bad.”

Well if you are in that category, let’s read verse 37 of John chapter 6.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means…” accept.

Did I read it wrong? I’d better read it again.

“…the one who comes to Me I will by no means…” let such a lowlife into my family.

“…I will by no means…” lower myself to accept such a one!

John 6:37
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

Does that mean no matter how bad you are if you’re a murderer, or a liar, an adulterer, whatever! God will accept you? Is that what that verse says? That verse says if you come to Jesus today and ask forgiveness for your sin he will:

fully accept you,

fully pardon you,

he will have a big smile on his face,

he’ll put his arms around you and give you a hug, and say, “Welcome home!”

Is that what that means? Aren’t you getting excited? Does that mean you?
If we come to Christ is he going to cast us out: Absolutely not!

And then it gets even better! Go down to verse 39.
John 6:39
“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.”

So this is God the Father’s will. He is the one with the big smile on his face, too! It’s not just the lovely Jesus. Everybody likes Jesus ‘cause he had the little children on his lap. But they all think, “Ooooh! But his Father, he’s the big “meanie” from the Old Testament! He’s the scary guy with the thunder and the lightning!”

No! The Father is happy too that you’re coming (to him). He won’t cast you out either! His “dad” is just as loving as Jesus is.

And in the last verse (John 6:40) it says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Jesus is promising to personally raise you up if you accept Christ.

Do you want to be raised up?

He says, “If you come to me I will in no wise cast you out. I will accept you. I will love you.”

“My Father. It’s his will that we love you, that we accept you – we will give you everlasting life!”

We’re gonna live forever.

The first Sabbath in the New Jerusalem I’m gonna have a little praise service on the right-hand side of the Tree of Life and I want you all to meet me there. And I’m gonna get real happy. I’m gonna be real excited! Because I’m gonna life forever! Is that a long time?

Forever! And ever! I’m gonna be alive! I’m never gonna die! And even if I do die (before the Second Coming), he promises, “Don’t worry about it. Even if you do die I will know where you are and I will come and get you, and on the last day I will raise you up.”

We’re comin’ to get you, Virg!i

We’re comin’ to get you, Shannon!ii It’s only temporary! You’re goin’ home! You’re gonna live forever! Don’t let it get you down because I’m gonna come and I’m gonna raise you up. The light that I give you is an everlasting light and I will personally raise you up on the last day.

I’m happy! I’m excited! Does it get any better than that!? Well, then you oughta act like it!

Good! I see some smiles! Boy! It’s such hard work! J

Are you happy?

Do you have everlasting life?

Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?

Are you in?

Are you with me?

If you say yes to Jesus, if you want everlasting life, (if) you want him to raise you up on the last day, (if) you want Christ to be your Savior, you want to take that bread of life into you.

Remember I challenged you to read your Bible everyday and I challenged you to read your Bible all the way through?

Do you remember that?

How many of you are working on reading your Bible all the way through?

Any hands?

Wow! Look at that! Dozens of you!

That is exciting.

How many of you have done it, all the way through since I challenged you?

Look at that! Huh! I’m about to have a heart attack! I challenged people to do something and they actually did it! OH! Where’s Debbie? I’ve gotta write this down! Thank you church! Bless you!

I want to enable you to be true disciples: to read the Word of God, to love Jesus, and study the Bible every day – to read your Bible all the way through.

Anybody here made it through twice yet? All right! Very good! We have a couple here. Good job! I’m proud of you.

Is the Word of God Jesus? Amen!

Let’s celebrate our Communion Service today by washing our sins away and then remembering that Jesus is the bread of life.

And as we take that bread into us, let’s remember that he is the one who has come inside our life and through his Word changed us forever and promised to take us home where we will live forever with him.
If you say yes to that, would you raise your hand again?
Father in heaven, as we separate, we pray that you will help us to serve our brothers and sisters and to come back and remember the lovely bread of life that Jesus became for us as we partake of Communion to remember and honor him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


Special Music (during the Communion Service): Lynda Karr, “Were You There?”, Wendy Riebel, “Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley.”

All Scriptural References: New King James Version

Ellen G. White References: www.whiteestate.org

Transcription: Wendy J. Riebel


This sermon is also available on cassette tape.


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