Soul Food

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

If you’re new around here, let me introduce myself to you. I’m Virgil Grant and the senior pastor here at Eastside, also one of the leaders. We have about 150 leaders that leads all the different ministries of our church. I’m just one, but I’m also the senior one. But we’re glad that you’re here. If you have your Bible or your Bible app, let me invite you to turn with me or click with me to John, chapter six. And as you’re turning or clicking to John, Chapter six, let me give you the title of today’s message. And the title is Soul Food. Would you say that with me? Soul food. Now, when we think about food, we think about food that goes into the stomach. We think about physical food. That’s the most common thought that we have when it comes to food. But there are other types of food that exist. For example, you might be talking to someone, and they said something really thought-provoking, right Brian? And you go, Well, that was food for thought. Yeah, right. And then sometimes you’re reading a book, and I know that you’re reading a book. And as you’re reading the book, I go, How is the book? And you will go, Man, I tell you what? I couldn’t put it down. I was devouring it, which is a reference to eating the content. And folks here’s the thing. I want you to see that there are different options when it comes to food. It’s not just food for your stomach. It’s just not food for your mind. But there’s a more important type of food, and it is called soul food. And the reason why it’s important is that we’re talking about spiritual food. And here’s a kind of summary of the message. Here’s why it’s important.

Because a full stomach is temporary, but a full soul is forever.

We’re talking about spiritual food, and we’re going to be in John chapter six. And John, Chapter six Is a chapter that goes on forever and ever. If you ever read the chapter, it’s like a bunch of verses. So I’m going to give you the lowdown and give you the skinny on what’s going on in John Chapter six. Now, Jesus and his disciples have been busting it. They’ve been running wide open. Is anybody else around here been busting it and running wide open, huh? Yeah, I mean, like, you could testify and, like, they’ve been doing ministry in one town after another town meeting needs after needs. And Jesus says to his disciples, Hey, you know what? We need to get away. We need a little downtime. And there’s an old proverb that goes If you keep the bow bend the entire time. Eventually, what happens to the bow? What happens to the strings is they will eventually break. You have to release the tension. And Jesus is telling us that you and I need to build into our lives a rhythm or rest. And Jesus says, Let’s get away, let’s get apart, let’s get some rest. And so the funny thing was, is that as they were trying to get some rest, is that someone reported to TMZ the location of where Jesus and his disciples were. And so there the report came, and the Scripture says that there were thousands of people that showed up. Now, why would thousands of people show up? It’s estimated that there were 20,000 people that showed up because the Bible says there were 5000 men, not counting their wives or their children. About 20,000. Can I just tell you something? When you start healing people, they’re going to start telling their friends, and everybody will start showing up. And this is what happens with Jesus and his disciples and the disciples. They’re ticked. They’re aggravated. They’re frustrated because, you know, they were looking at some downtime. And as they were looking at some downtime, here comes all of these needy people and kind of interrupt their downtime, that downtime. And Jesus, you know, he’s not irritated, but he looks at it as an opportunity. So he begins to teach them. He begins to love on them. And then the day quickly passes by. It gets to the end of the day. And the disciples, you know, they’ve got the spiritual gift of discernment. Hey, guys, you need to leave. It’s the end of the day. And you just need to go home and eat dinner on your own. And Jesus goes, I don’t send them away hungry. They’re hungry. They need something to eat. And the disciples are like, Man, Costco is close. It’s not even close, anyway. And how can we set up, you know, a buffet out here in the middle of the desert? I mean, what do you want us to do, Jesus? And the Scripture says that Jesus asked the question. What do you have?

Folks, Jesus always begins the conversation by asking the question, What do you have? We start the conversation with what we don’t have. We say, Well, Jesus, we don’t have Costco close. Jesus, we don’t have gifts. We don’t have abilities. We don’t have experience. We don’t have wealth. We don’t have the knowledge. We don’t have the ability. We don’t have. And we just begin to fill in the blank of why things are not taking place. But friends, listen to me very carefully. Listen to me that God already knows what you have, and God already knows what you don’t have. And the miracle is always within your reach. The miracle is always within your grasp. All you have to do is just look. And Jesus says, What do you have? And what did the disciples do? The disciples go, Well, Jesus, here’s what we have is that some mom gave the little boy her son a Lunchable. We have a Capri Sun, we have some crackers, and we have some of that processed meat. And Jesus goes, Perfect. Give it to me. And Jesus took that little bitty Lunchable that was presented to him. And what did he do? He took it, and he multiplied it. And let me just give you the spoiler alert right now. Is Jesus fed all 20,000 men, women, boys, and girls? There was gathered there at that place with the little Lunchable because a little in the hands of Jesus can be multiplied into something great. And here’s the problem with many of you that are here this morning. Many of you you look at yourself. You look at your life. You look at your bank account. You look at your gifting.

And you go, Jesus. All I have is just a little bitty Lunchable. And what you don’t understand, that is exactly what God wants you to present to him. That’s exactly what God wants you to offer up to Him. God’s not asking you to offer up something that you don’t have. He’s just asking you to offer up what you have. And here’s the reality. When you give the little that you have to God, you know what God’s going to do. He’s going to take it and multiply it. We’ve all heard and read the reports about the revival at Asbury folks remember the revival that broke out at Asbury didn’t break out with 15,000 people. It broke out with 15 students staying behind, saying we want more of God. And whenever you give your little to God, God will take it and multiply. And folks, some of you, you’ve never stepped into generosity. You won’t give anything at the end of the service because you believe that your little is not valuable enough, but your little means everything to God. Because when you offer it to God, God can take it, and He can multiply it again. So Jesus feeds the crowd. Everyone is in a food coma. There are 12 fragments of baskets with leftover food. There are 12 doggie bags. Jesus looks at the disciples, and he goes, Hey, man, they’re in a food coma. This is our chance to break. This is our chance to go across. And I’m going to send you over to the other side of the sea. I want you to go to the other side and see the disciples take their leftover basket. They get into the boat. Jesus sends them out across the sea.

Jesus, What does he do? He goes up into the mountain, and he begins to pray. Now, wish I had time to talk about this, Drew. But don’t try to encourage me, because I will. But I really don’t have time because this is a wonderful miracle. These disciples get into the boat. They get into the boat. Jesus goes up to pray. Remember, Jesus says, I’ll see you on the other side of the sea. But the disciples get into the boat, and as they’re going across the sea, there’s a storm that emerges. There’s a storm that comes up, and all of a sudden, the disciples are afraid. They are scared. They are just overwhelmed with fear. And here’s the amazing thing, my friends, is all the disciples had to do was to look at their feet and see the fragments of the baskets were the previous miracle that was at their feet. And it was a reminder to them that the faithfulness of God exists in every single storm. The faithfulness of God the night before is going to be the faithfulness of God that’s going to carry you over to the other side of the sea. And let me tell you something. When God says, I’ll see you on the other side, you never have to worry about the storms that you encounter because God’s already guarantee your safety for the other side. But that’s another sermon for another day. Don’t encourage me at all.

But listen, some of you are here right now, and some of you are in the middle of your storm, and you have forgotten to look down at your feet and look at the fragments of the previous miracles that God has done in your life. And if God was faithful three days ago, three weeks ago, three months ago, three years ago, you can make darn good sure that God’s going to be faithful today in the circumstances that you’re facing. But I don’t have time to talk about that. Okay. I’m going to move on. So Jesus and his disciples get to the other side. They are trying to get some rest. They’re trying to relax. The people wake up from a food coma. They’re going. We’re hungry because, you know, your stomach is only temporary. Food is only temporary. They’re hungry. They’re going. They took all the leftovers. Doggone them. We’re going to go find them. And they get in the boat. They go across to the other side, and they see Jesus. They remember how Jesus shows up. Jesus shows up to the disciples by walking on water. That’s what you do when you’re the son of God. You walk on water. That’s how you travel. And so they’re just wondering, how did Jesus get there? How did Jesus get there? And so we pick up the story in John chapter six, verse 26. And if you’re there, just say amen. Okay. John, Chapter six.

“Jesus answered them and said, ‘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 his seal on him.’ Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them,”This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he sent. Therefore, they said to him, ‘What sign will you perform then, that we may see it and believe you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven,And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”

John 6:26.35 (nkjv)

Seven is a magnificent number. Seven is found everywhere. After the first sermon, someone came up to me and said, You forgot about the seven rings. And I said, What are you talking about? They said Tom Brady and his seven rings. And I go, Well, that’s a stretch. You know, there are seven books in the Harry Potter series, too, But I didn’t mention that this morning. But that’s another story. But seven Is everywhere. There are seven continents on the planet. There are seven common spots on every ladybug. There are seven wonders of the ancient world. There are seven. Bones in the back of most mammals. Seven even exist in you and me. They say to us, Todd, you know, you know, I’m a germophobe, and I carry hand sanitizer all the time, but this room is full of dust. You know where the dust comes from, from your skin and my skin. Because every seven days, our skin sheds, and we get another layer of skin. And where does all that skin go to? It goes into the room where we exist. So next time you see dust, you know, it’s human skin that’s been shed by somebody else. Isn’t that encouraging?

Seven is everywhere. Your memory has a connection to seven. When BellSouth, in the olden days, was trying to come up with telephone numbers, they did research, and they found that the upper level of capacity of your memory is seven. And they understood if somebody read it off like a seven-digit number is that some people could stop at five, and they would remember five. Some would remember nine. Some would remember eight. But the most common sequence of numbers that could be remembered was seven. And BellSouth thus came to a conclusion that every telephone number needed to be seven digits. And they found that if they went to the eighth digit, the number of missed called numbers would be exasperated because adding the eight number seven is a magnificent number that is found all throughout Scripture in the very beginning of Genesis. We find that there are seven days to the week. We go all the way to the Book of Revelation, and we understand that there are seven churches in Asia Minor, there are seven angels, there are seven bowls, there are seven trumpets, there are seven seals, and seven is everywhere. Someone was so audacious that they started counting the number of seven in Scripture. And guess how many sevens are mentioned in the Bible? 700 times. Now God is just showing off, right? And but seven is everywhere, and everywhere you look, there’s the number seven. But in John’s Book of the Gospel, we find seven again, and it’s. The seven I am statements of Jesus. And these seven I am statements are statements that come directly from the lips of Jesus.

Now listen to me, friends. If you want to know who Jesus Is. I just encourage you to come back over these next several magical weeks as we gather together because each week, we’re going to pull out from John one of these seven I am statements that Jesus gives to us, and we’re going to discover who Jesus. It is in his own words. It’s not what the man is saying. It’s not what culture is saying. It’s not what theologians are saying. This is what Jesus is saying from his own lips. And we’re going to look at today, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. Next week we’re going to look at Jesus saying, I am the light of the world. Then he’s going to say that I’m the door. Then it will say, I’m the good shepherd, I’m the true vine and the way, the truth, and the life. And then, on Easter Sunday, we’re going to look at the greatest I am statement where Jesus says, I am the everlasting life, I am the resurrection. And folks, we’re going to look at the resurrected king who conquered the grave, the sin and Satan, and everything else that you and I are afraid of. And we’re just going to praise and worship the glorious king on Easter weekend. But we want to start. Jesus is saying I am the bread of life. And we want to start there because most people, Number One if you’re taking notes, is they focus on.

WHAT WE EAT

Most people just focus on what we eat and the circumstances. Or the context of John Chapter six is that Jesus has just fed the crowd. And the crowd is coming and seeking after Jesus not because of who he is but because they want another meal. I mean, Jesus understands their motives. Jesus says you’re a bunch of moochers. You don’t really care anything about me. You don’t really care about anything that I have to offer to you. You only want more food. And folks, what we need to understand is that Jesus wants us to understand that we don’t need more food. We need more of him. Do you hear what I’m saying, folks? We don’t need more stuff. Let me just say this. This is what God is. Want me to say this to you this morning? God wants me to say, is it folks, we don’t need more stuff. We just need more of God. You hear? What I’m saying is that we just need more of God. See, some of you. You think that you need more followers on Instagram or whatever social media platform that your own. Some of you think that you need more vacations, you need more nice dining experiences. Some of you are saying, I just need more money in the bank account. Some of you are just saying I need more of this or more of that. And the reality is that you don’t need more of that stuff. You need more of Jesus.

And folks, listen to me. The early crowd there was gathered there. They were not focused on Jesus. They were focusing on the temporary, what Jesus could give to them. And just think about this, folks. Here’s a crowd of 20,000 people. They gathered together, and here is the almighty God in their presence. Think about this, my friends. Listen to what I’m about to tell you. Here Is God in their presence. God who could forgive them of their sins, the God who created them and knew their name before they were ever created in their mother’s womb. And when they were formed in their mother’s womb, it was he who knitted them together. It was he who spoke the world into existence. It was he who spoke through creative energy and put every star in the galaxy up. And he knows every star by name. He knows every hair that is on your head. He knows the exact number of days that you will live on this earth. He says, There’s a time to be born, and there’s a time to die. God knows everything about you. And here’s God in the middle of 20,000 people, and these 20,000 people ignored all of that about God, and they didn’t want to pursue a relationship with him. They just wanted some temporary food. Now, before we go casting a stone at them. We have to examine their own lives. Now think about this. Jesus invites us into a relationship with Him, just like he was trying to invite the early disciples into a relationship. The early followers. He goes you know what? Just take some time. Pursue me above everything else. Just take some time and read your Bible. Take some time and pursue soul food. Take some time and just pray about the Kingdom of God and the spiritual things. Pray for the people that are lost. Pray for your country. Pray for you, even for your leaders. He invites us to do this. But here’s what I discover about myself. I’m not saying this is true of you, but this is what I find. I find myself just rushing through my devotion time, rushing through my prayer time. And I get down to the fact of asking God for more temporary stuff. Anybody else?

I mean, I would just pray. I don’t know about you, but the things that I thought I couldn’t live without, the things I thought I couldn’t do without. They lasted for two or three days, maybe for two or three months. Maybe it was for two or three years. And then, you know, what I find happens, Linda? Here’s what I find that happens is that I find those items I couldn’t do without that. I prayed to God, for rather than pursuing God rather than knowing him, I was asking him for temporary things. I found them in the back of my truck going to the trash, or they’re going to Goodwill to give away. And God. Wants us to know. That we don’t need stuff. But your second point is, is that.

WE JUST NEED GOD

We just need God and folks. When we are seeking God, and we have him, we have everything else, and God wants us to worship him. God wants us to have fellowship with him. God wants us to pursue him. God wants us to know Him. God wants us to love him. And the seven-item statement that we find in the Book of John is Jesus saying to you and me that you need God. And I am God. That’s what Jesus said. You need God, and I’m the answer. Now, some of you would go, Well, when I read the. Scripture, I don’t pick that up in the seven I am statements. And if you read them and read them today, you won’t you won’t pick them up because it’s in Greek. In the Greek. The phrase I am. Has two different translations. The first. I am translation is.

EGO

And we understand egos. Egocentric. It means that Hey. Do you know what that is? I am the center of my world. That’s egocentric. And when Jesus says I am the bread of life, he was not just saying ego. It’s much more interesting than that. He was using both words. He was saying ego. And then the second one is.

EIMI

Ego and Eimi. So when Jesus says that and the Bread of Life, he wasn’t just saying ego, the bread of life. He wasn’t saying e me the bread of life. Jesus was saying he go eat me the bread of life. And everybody at that moment. Would have stepped back and said, What are you talking about? You’re who I am. I am the bread of life. See if you know this or not. But in Scripture, the original name of God is I am. And all you have to do is go back to the Old. Testament and you have to remember that there was the very first name of God was the reference. And you go back, and you find it with Moses. You remember that Moses has been on the backside of the desert, tending His father lost sheep. For 40 years, he’s witnessed. A lot of things. But on this particular occasion, Moses is on the backside of the desert, and he’s watching a bush being. Consumed, but it’s not really being consumed. It’s on fire, but it just stays in there. And Moses kind of walks up to it, and the bush goes, Hey, Moses and Moses doesn’t miss a beat. Here is, Hey, God, what’s up? And they begin to have a conversation, and God from the burning bush says to Moses, Moses, I want you to go, and I want you to lead my people out of captivity into the promised land. And Moses is called enough to know that if he goes and tells the people. That God had sent him. That he had better know God’s name. Because you understand at that particular time, the limitation of who God was was very limited. He was just known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so look what Moses asked in verse 13, Moses said to God.

“Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'”

Exodus 3:14 (nkjv)

Folks, listen to me when you know. Who God is. When you know the great I am now, then it helps you to understand your identity. See, folks, I believe a lot of the. Problems with identity issues today are that people don’t understand themselves because they don’t have an understanding of who God is. See, when I understand who God is in his identity. It helps me with my identity. Come on, now. That’s really good. When I understand God’s identity. Then it changes who I am. When you know who I am, it changes who you are. Moses was a different version of himself. From that day forward, because he knew I am. And what we need, we just don’t need things from God. We need God. Are we hungry and thirsty after God? See folks. I am a perfect name for God because when I look at my life, I focus on what little I have. I focus on my deficiencies. I focus on my limitations. I focus on what I can’t do. And God says, Virgil, I know that you can’t, but I can. Virgil, I know that you’re limited. But I’m not. Hey, Virgil, I know that you’re deficient. But I’m not. Hey, Virgil, I know that you’re inconsistent. But God says I’m not. Because you know why I’m the great I am. See, we focus on what we eat. God wants us to focus on the that we need Him. But here’s the third point. The third point, very quickly, is.

HOW TO RECEIVE IT

How do we receive it? That was the question on the Jew’s minds on that day. You know, they’re going, what if you could get living bread? How do you get it? And I can imagine that the Jews and all the people that were gathered around, they took out their pen and they took out the paper and they’re ready to write down the answer. Right? They’re just ready to take notes. They’re eager learners. They’re ready. You know, they’re ready to write down, start tithing. They’re ready to write down. Stop watching porn. They’re ready to write down, you know, start keeping the Ten Commandments. Start being obedient to your mom and dad. If you’re a student or a high school student. Yeah. Yeah. I’m just ready to write down whatever. And Jesus goes, Hey, if you want to receive the living bread, here’s how you receive it. And he says this in John 6:29.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’*

John 6:27 (nkjv)

Jesus said you know the work that you have to do? Do you want to know how to receive living bread? You will know how to receive eternal life? Do you want to receive resurrected eternal life? Here’s the way you do it. Is that what you believe in me. That’s what Jesus did. Is asking you today if you want. Eternal life. If you want to have, your sins forgiven. It’s not working. It’s not work. It’s not keeping the commitment. It believes that Jesus Christ is the great I am. And this morning, let me just ask you to pray with me.

Father. Right now, we’re grateful for this time in your word. We’re thankful that you would tell us who you are through these I am statements. We thank you that you are the bread of life and that even now, at this moment, anyone who believes in you will be saved. And while we’re praying, and your eyes are closed, and your hearts are open, and no one is moving around, I’m wondering if you’re ready to give your heart to Jesus today. Are you ready to give your heart to Jesus? This morning we had four people who gave their hearts to Jesus. Are you ready to eat the living bread? See eating. It is a community experience. But it’s also a personal experience. Let me say what I mean by that. That you can go to a party, you can go into a restaurant, and there’s a community in the restaurant or at that party that you go to that fellowship and you see all kinds of people that are eating. But if you’re going to eat. It’s got to be a personal choice. And so there’s a social opportunity, but there’s also personal opportunity. I see you’re the only one that can eat the eternal bread. You’re the only one that can receive it. Your girlfriend cannot receive it on your behalf. She would if she could. Your mom cannot receive it. She would if she could. You have to make the personal decision that today that you’re going to receive the eternal bread. That you’re going to receive Jesus into your heart. And in a moment, if you’re ready to receive Jesus, Ready to have your sins forgiven. Ready to have your name written in the Book of Heaven. Ready to have a fresh start. I’m going to ask you to do something for me in a moment. I’m going to ask you to raise your hand. That was how we knew that four people at least received. Christ this morning is that they raised their hand.

And if you’re here this morning. And you’re ready to receive eternal life in heaven. You’re ready. You’re tired of working. You’re tired of trying to perform. You’re trying. You’re tired of trying to live the perfect life. You’re ready right now just to yield your love, to turn everything over to Jesus. What I want to do is I want to make sure that I include you in this prayer of salvation and this prayer of salvation. It’s the prayer that I prayed is the prayer that these four individuals in the 9:30 service prayed. And this will be the prayer that you pray. But I want to make sure that I count you in and include you in the prayer. If you’re here this morning, you’re ready to receive eternal bread. Were your will never hunger or thirst again. Let me just ask you if you would just raise your hand. No one is looking around, and no one is moving. Just raise your hand. One. I see you. Thank you. I see somebody in the back, too. I see you back there. I see you in the back. The Rogers. See two, see three. I see you thank you. I see you. See three hands. Right. And I just want you to look at the screen, and we’re going to just everyone be decent for voice. And even if you’re Christian, I ask you to read this because this is a reminder of what Christ has done for you. And so let’s just read it together.

Dear God. I know I’m a sinner. I need your grace. I need living bread. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I put my faith in your hands. I believe you died for me. I believe you rose from the dead. Be my Lord. Be my Savior. Be my friend. In Jesus name.