Sermons - Matt Chandler - That Which Satisfies

hi pastor Matt here thank you so much for either streaming or downloading this sermon I pray that every week you're challenged by the Word of God you're built up in his love the Word of God kind of gets in you and rearranges things and draws your affections of to the person and work of Jesus Christ I want to remind you as always that although men I'm I'm so glad that that you want to hear what what I've got to say this week or we've got to say this week that this is never meant to substitute God's good plan for you to be in a community of faith where the Word of God has preached and proclaimed and so I want to encourage you to use this like a vitamin not like a meal so that you belong to a community of faith where you're being shaped by being known by using your gifts by receiving the word but partaking in the sacraments and by walking faithfully in accordance with the scriptures and then this is something men you're listening to while you run or you're watching when you have a few minutes and so just want to make sure we we frame what this is and what it should not be now but with that said one of the things that the village church wants to do is the things that are created here by the grace of God man we want to give those away that's podcasts and podcast that's family discipleship curriculum that's Bible study curriculum like what we've tried to do for over a decade is just whatever we create here we want to give away and so to do that though we rely on the donations and generosity of those who believe in what we're doing and who have benefited from the things that have been created here and so here before you dive into what I'm sure is gonna be a 4550 minute sermon I just wanted to encourage you if you have grown if you have benefited from our resources would you consider being a part of the team that helps this engine continue to produce and create biblical creative and practical discipleship curriculum for men and women of all ages and all stations and so man if you'd pray about that and consider that that would that would be amazing thank you so much enjoy the Word of God proclaimed [Music] [Music] well good afternoon if you have your Bibles John chapter six we're gonna cover quite a bit of ground today we're gonna start in verse 22 we're gonna go all the way through verse 71 several weeks ago we introduced Jesus's authority as as the Gospel of John lays it before us basically the Jesus has an authority that's other than because He is God that he is the Alpha the Omega that he has always been and therefore his authority comes not as one teacher among many other this was a school of thought I could follow or not follow but he comes as God in the flesh as creator so his thou shouts and thou shalt nots are more an invitation into actual life than they are any hey try this on for size and we said that when it comes to Jesus's authority that a lot of people will be game for Jesus's authority as long as Jesus does for them with that authority what they want him to do so people are cool with Jesus if what Jesus is doing is healing the sick and giving them good things and making everything go the way they want it to go and they buck up against that authority when Jesus's Authority confronts strongly held private beliefs all right and so this is one of the things I told you back that we're gonna see this moment coming where people who seem to be all about Jesus get confronted with his authority and then show their true cards now I was trying to use Jesus as an errand boy I don't really see him as God I don't want to follow him and I don't worship him right I said that what's coming well today is the fun day that we get to see that so glad that you are here several years ago Lauren and I were gonna go out and we had two small children Audrey and Reed Reed was about two at the time and so my sister before she went over with her husband to live in Taiwan you know offered to watch them and I was like hey free babysitting is the best kind of babysitting and so I took both our small children over to Heather's house Lauren and I went out to eat and what Heather did Heather was a teacher and crafty and and just good at kind of filling time with fun and so what she thought she would do is she would gonna she was gonna play the movie Willy Wonka not the weird one with Johnny Depp the wee with Gene Wilder right there's not like an on weird Willy Wonka the whole premise is strange and maybe illegal and and so she sits it down and here's her idea we are going to as Willy Wonka goes whatever candy they're having we're gonna give to the children and so here's how the night went here are my kids and we're pretty tight on sugar because if you're picking up from me that that might be a problem you're right and so the way it worked is they're sitting down beanbag chairs or whatever and you know the kids walk into that first space there's gummy bears on trees and there's a river of chocolate so Heather's like here's hot chocolate here's gummy bears here's and they're just my kids are and they move on here's a whole candy bar for yourself like am i lucky you get to like lick the candy bar you'll get to actually eat it right mind to go to bed for four days and so my kids go on like a candy bender for hours so that when we get there to pick him up me never humming you know and so we get home I mean it takes like two hours to get him to bed and that's what about eight spankings between when we got home and when we finally got to bed I know you don't spank your kid you just want them to go to the corner and think about stuff it's not how its raised not how we're doing it and and so then they finally go to bed and then Lauren and I'm this will just show you how petty I am in particular and how petty I lead my wife and too often well like maybe you've had these covered we got our kids bed and I'm just like what's wrong with her like what is wrong with my sister like that's a that's a total grandparent move I mean you don't expect that nonsense from your sister you expect that from your parents right parent you like if you've got if you've got kids your grandparents they make things very hard on your children like yes yes yes yes and then when you get them back you got to dial them back in like I had to add that talk with my in-laws you're just getting them whipped so you're doing I know they love you but all you're doing is getting them whipped so you can work with me or you can work against me because what I'm saying us BAM that's from you me me well POW that's from your poppy all right that ain't on me that's on your that's on me me and poppies and so we're talking about and then here's this is what I mean by petty I start brainstorming what are we gonna do to her kids when we have them next so I'm thinking not just candy but I'm thinking about what kind of obnoxious soul stealing toy can we buy them to take home that will drive their parents insane I'm not thinking about it right now and then we hear this noise upstairs and and and as we head upstairs we learned that that river of chocolate and the gummi bears and the chocolate bars are now flowing out of my son's crib and on to the floor and towards the stairs and everything that he had put in him delightfully is now coming out of him with far less delights and there were like full-on like undigested gummy bears there which means heat brother didn't even chew right I mean brother's just sucking it in like a Ballack he'd never took a bite he'd just swallowed stuff and then like it was so bad that Lorna we weren't quite sure how to clean it up like the thought of do we just burn the house down kind of came and tore my like this is gonna take hours we don't have the tools for this and if you're like what in the world does that have to do with Jesus's authority and our text and I'm glad you asked let's dive in John chapter six we're gonna pick it up in verse 22 if you haven't been here the last thing we looked at in the Gospel of John was Jesus feeding the 5,000 which was probably more like 12,000 and then Jesus walking on the water those were two signs and this is the Sermon attached to those signs so let's dive into this together 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 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 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 and when they found him on the other side of the sea they said to him rabbi when did you come here and jesus answered them truly true I say to you you are seeking me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves so now we've got some motivation on why they're following Jesus there don't we do not work for the food that perishes before 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 and then they said to him 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 and 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 the manna in the wilderness as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eat and Jesus then said to them truly truly I say to you it was not Moses who gave you the bread of 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 and 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 but I said to you that you have seen me and yet you 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 for this is the will of the father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life and that 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 and 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 but jesus answered them do not grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on that 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 to me not that anyone has seen the Father except he was from God he has seen the father truly truly I say to you whoever believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your father's ate the 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 and the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh then the Jews disputed among themselves saying how can this man give us flesh to eat so jesus said to them truly truly I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you now if you're not a Christian here that just got weird didn't it let's keep reading whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him as the living father sent me and I live because of the father so whoever feeds on me he also will live because of me this is the bread that came down from heaven not like the bread that the fathers ate and died whoever feeds on this bread will live forever and jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum when many of his disciples heard it they said this is a hard saying who can listen but Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this said to them do you not or do you take offense at this then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before it is the spirit who gives life the flesh is no help at all the words that I have spoken to you our spirit and life but there are some of you who do not believe for jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was they would betray him and he said this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it has granted him by the father and after this many of the disciples turn back and no longer walked with him so jesus said to the twelve do you want to go away as well and Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go where would we go you have the words of eternal life and we have believed and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God and jesus answered them did I not choose you the twelve and yet one of you is a devil and he spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot for he was one of the twelve that was going to betray him now if we had time this is actually probably four sermons I'm just gonna highlight a couple of things everybody braids we're gonna be fine I know you came to the 12:30 so I could though if I wanted to but but I just want to kind of highlight a couple of things here that I think are really significant for our understanding in regards to whether or not we're trying to fill our souls with what cannot fill our souls or whether or not we're actually trending to feast on the thing that can nourish our souls right then so but I want to start with this in verse 27 through 29 there's this really significant moment here especially if you're type-a and tend to stress and worry this is for you if you're type-a like you need structure you need gimme the nine steps to glory this is gonna be really helpful maybe let's look at it then they said him so there's in this conversation about ultimate reality about life about meaning and they asked him what must we do to be doing the works of God tell me this isn't a human impulse yeah yeah just tell me what to do okay great Jesus is God great what do I do alright so he's Lord and Savior great what are the nine things I need to do give me the six things to stop doing give me the nine things to start doing we feel safest in that space great you're transcendent all-knowing I'll tell me what to do to live a blessed life tell me what not to do just give me the scales and I can tilt them right and yet look at Jesus's answer verse 29 and jesus answered them this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent tada that's it not radically believe they're not marvelously believed you want to do the work of God here it is believe in the one he sent it's the gospel you want to do the work of it what about feeding the poor what about evangelism what about a holy life what do you think all of that Springs from your effort or the abiding presence of Jesus it's not your effort that that Springs out of guilt and shame failure Springs from that see behavioral modification is outside in its death he already said it and I'm giving you life and spirit the flesh is worthless you you want to know what the works of God are believe in the one he sent so it's saying he's teaching her that are their faith is an abstract right it's not an existential trust in the unknown what what did Jesus is teaching here is that our faith it has a coherent object at its center we're not just a people of faith we are a people who put faith in Jesus our faith has an object it's not abstract it's Jesus so that what it means to do the work of God is to cultivate belief cultivate love cultivate zeal for Jesus that's what it means the works of God are a growing love for Jesus and a growing understanding of who he is in all of his magnificence if you define the works of God in terms of all the vows outs and thou shalt not without the power of the Spirit you will huh ooooh be shamed and disappointed or you'll succeed and be an arrogant self-sufficient fool that everyone despises you'll be self-righteous and and there are two things that just reek and are death to those who are far from God one is the angry judgmental Christian who knows nothing of the love and mercy of Jesus only knows do this don't do that and the other one is like oh man let's just affirm everything nobody's wrong for doing anything both of these things are hatred towards the lost world but compassion truth love spirit that's compassion to the world that's compassion to those outside of Christ so that I just wanted to lay that as a foundation of where we're going what are the works of God to cultivate trust and faith in Jesus it looks like surrender that's all it looks like our autonomous will colliding with the reign of Jesus and is saying your way is better than mine even though I really would like to do what I would like to do in this situation right now that's part of what it looks like and then in verses 35 through 50 I'm not gonna read it again but he says that he is the bread of life I am the bread of life now there are seven of these I am statements in the Gospel of John and every time Jesus uses one of them it enrages his listeners that doesn't make a lot of sense to us but they're hearing something that it's important that we understand every time Jesus says I am the fill-in-the-blank he's using the same two words that are used in Exodus chapter 3 when God gives his personal name when God introduces himself to his people he says I am Who I am that's translated Jehovah Yahweh the Lord it's his personal name my personal name is Matt Chandler but I cannot terminate on myself right because I'm not God so if I said Matt Chandler is Matt Chandler then I just sound like a but God says I am Who I am or better translated I be who i be more it's it's more fun to say that but secondly what he's saying is I am consistent I have always been what I will always be in the present he said I am NOT defined by any outside force I defined myself it's not true about me I'm certainly not consistent and I am Matt Chandler is Lauren's husband Audrey Reed and Norah's daddy pastor of the village whatever else I need these other but but God is just God and what you think about him or how you want to define him has no bearing on him much like whatever you feel about the son doesn't ultimately matter to the son well I give you I don't think the Sun burns that hot doesn't matter it does I don't think the Sun it just doesn't matter the Sun is the Sun like what'd you think about the Sun doesn't actually affect the Sun gods I am Who I am I be who I be a saying I'm consistent but you don't define me I define me son I am God who does it is I am God I am God and in the future he'll be the only thing that matters I am Who I am it's the personal name of God to the people of God and and it was so holy on their lips that they wouldn't spell it they would leave out vows and they wouldn't hardly say it and Jesus is like yeah I'm him and now he's adding on these little pieces and so he says that I am the bread of life but but he's saying that in an argument about manna from heaven so again like we covered two weeks ago um Jewish identity is wrapped up in the Exodus right that that's where they were called out formed that that's where God led them into land that he had promised them that's all that the Jewish identity is so rooted in the Exodus and the Passover in the wilderness journey and into the Promised Land they had no idea how to define themselves outside of that which is why when they were a conquered people things got so dark cuz they had no idea how to define themselves outside of this and so Jesus just fed them and then he's just claiming to be God again and they're like well what sign will you do what miracle will you perform for us you know Moses Big Mo he he he gave us bread to eat in the wilderness and you see what Jesus he is very quick to remind it was like actually Moses didn't do anything appreciate that but Moses was a stuttering who failed in his attempt to get you out of oppression God gave you bread to eat in fact he's giving you bread even now in fact I am the bread of life so what's funny to me is that if you look at if you look at philosophy as far back as human humanity goes we are dedicated we are dedicated to numbing ignoring or trying to fill this kind of angst inside of us for something like if you go you go read Plato you go read Aristotle your doesn't matter Christian or non-christian everybody's trying to do something with this excess to sheíll angst inside of us we know it's there it bothers us and so we're gonna numb it or we're gonna ignore it we're gonna try to fill it and and this kind of invitation to partake in something that will actually satisfy you is all over the Bible it's Oh like let me let me show you this this is in Isaiah 55 one two three it's going to sound very slimmer similar to what we just read it's a prophet Isaiah come everyone who thirsts come to the waters and he who has no money come Buy and eat come buy wine and milk without money and without price listen to this question why do you spend your money for that which is not satisfying listen why do you labor it which does not satisfy listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food incline your ear and come to me hear that your soul may live now that does not sound like a cosmic killjoy who sexually repressed and wants you / grudgingly submitting to it come eat drink your fill why do you put so much work into what's not working why do you spend so much money on what cannot satisfy you see that internal angst as we covered in recovering Redemption is you go to like four wells that are never going to work a better version of yourself somebody else to satisfy you stuff that might satisfy you or god help you religion that might satisfy you all are bankrupt all are a belly full of candy tasting sweet but betraying you when all said and done see all of those pursuits a better version of yourself they're not bad things they just can't be ultimate things so so each of those pursuits it's trying to answer a deeper question and let it lacks the ability to answer it see a a better version of myself there's nothing wrong with that like if I if I want to be a better husband like nobody's going how evil is that if I wanted to be a better father if I wanted to be more disciplined if I wanted to be right those are good things they're just not gonna solve what's wrong with me because wherever I am well there I am and by the way there's no grate on that okay I don't want to be more disciplined okay you got up earlier okay now what I want to be more disciplined right it's it's eats itself it never it's like sin right it over promises and then destroys and in a better version of ourselves which is by the way the eight by the way the air were breathing right a self-help generation is trying to answer this question do i matter do i matter so I could just make myself what I think I'm supposed to be I can show that I matter then maybe that's coming from some wound as a kid maybe that's just in you do i matter I just want to matter I want to be a better man I want to be a better woman I want to be better than I am tell me that an echo in all of us but the path we choose to follow it is not the bread of life it's candy tastes sweet and betrays us so all it leaves us with is disappointment frustrated and shame and a belief that Jesus doesn't work but actually what you're trying to just be a better version of yourself right and the second thing is is others and and others when you're trying to get others to complete you you're trying to answer this question am i loved am i loved does anybody love me not just do i matter but am i lovable is there anything lovable in me and and a surefire way to destroy relationships with people actually do love you is to demand that they do love you in order for you to be complete and full there's nothing more toxic to a marriage relationship like one spouse going I need you to complete me I need you to make all my frustrations go away that that's not happening the sinful soul is so broken that if you've got everything you thought you want it would get on your nerves it's just the truth so I'm gonna make these up I hope I'm not being too too much of a generalist ladies of your sight I just want him to be thoughtful I just want him to be maybe a little bit more romantic ease and like if all of a sudden he was all that and you were just like ah The Sun has Rosen again on our household beauty is in our myths what would you like the day to look like the house is already clean where are we going you'd like oh my gosh will you stop it right because that's not what you actually need and brothers whatever fantasy is in your head if she was all of that you'd be like ah we're broken these things aren't meant to satisfy us their gifts that point beyond themselves if you make it all about the gift itself you miss the giver and the givers what satisfies not the gift and then the world when the world is trying to like stuff is trying to answer this question and it's in all of us do I measure up do I measure up not just not just do I matter am I loved but now it's do I measure up like in a culture that does not have rites of passage like when are we men whoever looks at us and goes you're a man now whoever looks this I go you're a woman now so we're left just going am i do I measure up and here's what's terrifying for this little experiment we're playing on our children with all these devices you know what that little thing in your hand tells you nope you don't no matter how pretty you are you're not as pretty matter wealthier you're not as wealthy I'm a muscular you not as much no matter how successful you are you're not and if you want a scary little sociological study you look at the rods of anxiety and depression with the rise of screen time screen time sews into our world discontent says to you no you don't measure up no you're not beautiful no you're not successful no your marriage isn't great no your kids aren't awesome no no no be disappointed in you every time you just lay in bed at night spouse is over there probably doing the same thing like man I've never been to Bora Bora for dinner I don't matter man oh I wish I looked good in a hat like that I remember when I was in shape like that gosh I wish we had a second playroom so that each kid could have their own playroom oh man my car is a 2017 we are worthless people and right it's just sowing discontent sowing and and we're lapping it up do i matter well our culture is very quick to go no not really am I good enough yeah probably not maybe right there are no answers here in the last little place we go is to religion and what I mean by religion is can I can i participate in frantic religious exercise that will make other people see that I'm a good person this is this is like a huge sport in the Bible Belt South may be these sport people like oh southern football I'm telling you southern church-going is a far larger sport than southern football right let me let me go to church I've memorized parts of the Bible my kids aren't all these programs I've got all these things that I'm doing if that stuff terminates on itself and doesn't lead to a love for Jesus and a passion for who Christ is all it does is create arrogance all it does is create judgemental really terrible people who Jesus has a lot of harsh things to say about because the answer of is am I good the answer isn't yeah because I did this checklist you're trying to check a grade card that God doesn't grade by it's not how God grades and so what ends up happening is we can create our own little grade card we can start to feel better about ourselves well I got I made all A's and guys like in on what test I'm trying to give you wine and milk and food and I'm trying to bless you with real life and and you're trying to score a still no I'm you're a I'm you're a you're summa laude because of me not because of you I've provided for you and all of us that barely graduated said amen amen so 2.7 in my undergrad summa laude in Christ now then from here then from here things get really strange from here the the conversation shifts from kind of what satisfies us to flesh and blood now you and I are in this privileged position in human history that we're looking back through the resurrection and the institution of the Lord's Supper and and communion all of that and on to the cross of Christ on to this sermon but that's not where they are they're hearing about bread and being tied to manna and then all something's like you eat my flesh and drink my blood now if you're in the crowd you don't have the framework of the table this don't have it so it's no wonder it wigs them out a little bit and in fact they even asked the question he doesn't have enough flesh to feed olives this man going to give us his flesh in fact one of the big propaganda in the first three centuries against Christiana always propaganda against the people of God always these days it's there were closed-minded bigoted that hate everybody simply because we might disagree right that's the propaganda of today you and me hate people that's just not true right back then it was these people are cannibals serious that this was a campaign by the Roman Empire to discredit Christian movement in the ancient Near East they're cannibals and so they would so these kind of fear campaigns that Christians eat in their secret gatherings they eat flesh and they drink blood look it's even in their own text right but but we can see things that they could not see which is why I want to kind of be gracious to him now what Jesus is pointing to in this moment it's not just the Lord's table but the great theological truth underneath the table and and that is the idea of union with Christ so when the Bible wants to talk about a personal and dynamic relationship between the believer and Jesus it uses this phrase union with Christ in fact the New Testament is jammed full of that little to sentient or two-word idea in Christ so let me define in or union with Christ or in Christ with you this is Wright Meyer how he defines it in Christ is an expression of intimate interrelatedness analogous to the air that is breathed it is in the person yet at the same time the person is in it the Bible is serious about what it means to be in Christ it's found eight times in the book of Galatians 34 times in the book of Ephesians 18 times in the book of Colossians it is used as an instrumental device like how does God save how does God forgive how does God give life how does God resurrect how does God move how does God heal he does so in Christ it's also used in a descriptive sense where are the sons and daughters of God they are in Christ it's also used in a locust sense or what is the apex of Christian life it is a life in Christ like the air we breathe we are in it and in us so the Christian is in Christ so that the apex the locus of our identity is that I am in Christ and he is in me it cannot be taken from me you cannot persecute it out of me Lauren could go and I would be in Christ something terrible could happen to my three children I would be in Christ and they would be in me this church could fire me and I'd be in Christ and he'd be in me you couldn't get if they can fire Jonathan Edwards and fire anybody and if you know who that is but google it later not now in preaching like the defining reality of my life is that I am in him and he is in me that my life is just not about listening to the teachings of Jesus and trying to imitate them but rather the resurrection power of Jesus dwells in me via the Holy Spirit and I am in him and he is in me and I am in him and he is in me and I am in him and he isn't me and this is the rhythm of my life so that I'm able to live with courage I'm able to live with joy regardless of the highs and lows of my life I am steadfast because I am in him and he is in me and one of the privileges of pastoral ministry is sitting in rooms where this becomes evident sitting in a room with hospice sitting in a room with the family as they pick out what coffin sitting in a room with families right after the police have left but after the ambulance pulls away and seen that they are broken but not without hope when the transient things of this world fall away there will be only Jesus and if your hope is in those things what an awful day is that going to be for you if your hope is in your home your car how you're perceived by people listen people think about you a lot less than you think they do people don't notice what you're wearing as much as you think they do they'll notice your car as much as you think that people don't notice your neighborhood as much as you think they do all of this is an illusion it's hyper reality it's not real it's a lot what you're seeing on line it's a lot to help my kids with this all the time lie lie lie lie lie that person story lie lie lie lie lie right no sorrow mingled in with joy no confusion no loss no doubt no mingled in to all the high points is not reality it's not life type of reality it's a make-believe it's a lie and Jesus here same union with me is what matters me in you you in me that's the bread of life that's what satisfies and although this is very much pointing to the table very much leading us into an understanding of communion that is not just about forgiveness but about Union when we take the bread and we take the cup and we ingest it we take it into ourselves well something is happening where the Holy Spirit is present in that moment we're celebrating not just all of our sins past present and future being fully freely and forever forgiven we're celebrating I'm taking Christ into myself and I'm living out of that power when I walk outside this room every week we do the Lord's table to remind you that you are in him and he is in you and that the weight of all this does not fall on your willpower but in your willingness to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ now I told you that what was gonna happen was that there was going to be some real frustration when the authority and lordship of Jesus slammed into people's personal desires and personally strongly held beliefs and that's what you see happening in verses 60 through 71 that they say this is too hard right it's not that they didn't understand it's that they weren't doing it it's not they're like I don't understand what he's saying they were angry because they knew what he was saying and wasn't gonna do it they weren't gonna have it they could tolerate Jesus as the one who fed them they could tolerate Jesus as the one that healed their diseases they could tolerate Jesus in some of his sermons he had some good jokes they would not tolerate him as the king of kings and Lord of lords and as the pastor of this church for 16 years sixteen there's a 28 year old when you guys hired me some just crazy crazy like that that whole been a cemetery no okay if you ever let adults I mean college okay you want this job sure let's go right yeah in sixteen years here's what here's like I just tell you but there been a lot of men and women sit in the chairs in front of me take notes while I'm preaching but lift their hands while we're singing and all of a sudden the authority of Jesus collides with a strongly held belief and they go I will not give that to you and they choose their own deity which is no DNA at all to the offer of life they choose if I may the sweetness of sin that over promises and leads to destruction over the promise of the bread of life that fills us and leads us unto eternal life they do this around see like here's what our culture saying either you your identity is in your sexual orientation your identity into what you own your identity is in how much you make your identity is it how people perceive you your identity is in what tax bracket you're an identity is in what party you're in in regards to politics your identity in this your identity is in that your Angie's going to know your identity isn't me and all of those other identities must submit your identity and me because that's the path to life and I'm trying to lead you into what's good not into what will harm you you can't see and so you'll choose the gummy bears and chocolate rivers over real sustaining life and it's not gonna seem that way to you it's not gonna taste that way to you it's gonna feel right and good and you're gonna wake up in your own vomit and I have for 16 years watch this play out and I'm telling you I am confident I am looking at men and women right now who are gonna have a collision with the lordship of Christ and they will use their own autonomy and what they want over what Christ has commanded and they will wake it'll it'll seem right and good and what they should do and what's best for them contrary to the Word of God and they're gonna wake up one day in their own vomit because that's what sin does to us over promises and then destroys over from this is what you need to do to be happy destruction this is what you need to be out of destruction this is what you need to be happy destruction this is the story of humanity and yet the invitation continues to go out to those many of whom want no part of it why do you spend your money on what does not satisfy you well why do you drink what cannot fill you listen to me and live says the Prophet come buy wine and milk without cost now your will his gift not your effort his grace come and eat and live the richest of food the choicest of foods and live what are the choices to foods his flesh his blood his death for your sins so here I am again in a long line of other heralds heralding the same message in the same story yet again doesn't matter where you're from doesn't matter your present reality doesn't matter what your struggles are here's the invitation these people were following Jesus because they wanted miracles they wanted more 2s jesus's accusation you're not here because you love me you're here because I felt I fed your belly so I don't it doesn't matter why you're here yeah I mean you might be here just to finally get your neighbor to leave you alone finally get your coworker to move on maybe to somebody else maybe here to satisfy your spouse that doesn't matter to the Lord here's the offer you want you want to be satisfied you want the angst to stop here's the bread of life it's Jesus man I've got a real bad relationship with religion so did Jesus but Jesus isn't looking at crusty angry religion going that's what I came for he's Buchan that stuff he's far harder on that stuff then you would be regardless of what you've experienced he hate called it a brood of vipers whitewashed tombs he said that there's far more judgment coming for them than there was for Sodom and Gomorrah so don't use oh man this weird stuff back in my past kind of crushing fundamentalism I just getting to know the offer for you is the bread of life for you today goes out to all but many will love just love the ease and the good taste of that chocolate of those gummy bears of the better version of themselves of the love of others of the trinkets and toys of kind of outward religion see how religion kind of makes you a big man big woman right you've got a you've got metrics by which you can judge others that's all it is does it if those things aren't about Jesus just metrics by which you're gonna judge other people and and it's a great card that Jesus doesn't accept if that's your offering on the last day some pretty terrifying things said about that in Matthew 7 but that's not the text we're in the bread of life offered to all who will come let's pray father I thank you for these men and women thank you for an opportunity to be together I thank you that you the I am Who I am you are the bread of life you are the door you are the gate that you answer that you love us you answer that you are our goodness that that I the measurement for us is you and you have provided that for us you're patient and kind with us pray that you would remind us that we are in you and you are in us and that the Christian experience is more than just imitating of your life and teaching but rather there's a present experience of you risen and indwelling our hearts via the Holy Spirit I thank you then just a moment we'll take a little piece of bread and a little cup and we'll celebrate the fact that you are in US and with us encourage our hearts many of us are unprepared to relinquish our own sovereign authority gosh even around matters of religion and yet help us take the first steps of genuine faith we would simply say yes to you but although the idea of you might seem harsh or offensive to us and this way or that around this teaching or that I pray that we would come to you in humility trusting longing for you to satisfy the deepest parts of us we many of us we're ready we're just ready to say we're bankrupt and we've done all that we know how to have we've done the opposite sex thing we've done the money thing we've done the work thing we've done the marriage thing we've had our kids we've done and yet we we still find this insatiable angst inside of us since the Spirit of the Living God do what my little words can't do do what only your word can do remind us stir us encourage us build us up it's for your beautiful name I pray amen

Channel: The Village Church Resources

Views: 52,925

Rating: 4.8781161 out of 5

Keywords: Matt Chandler, The Village Church, That Which Satisfies, Heaven on Earth, The Gospel of John

Id: 2LViMimF5ZM

Length: 45min 50sec (2750 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 04 2019