The Bread of Life
In part 2 of our March series, The Biography of Jesus, we’re joined by guest speaker Pastor Joe Cameneti Jr. from Believers Church in Ohio. He brings us an encouraging word as we continue to discover more about who Jesus really is and how we can come to know Him more fully.
Pastor Joe sets the stage for his message with a question: Have you ever had someone confuse you for someone else? Has someone thought you are somebody that you’re not?
In his message, The Bread of Life, at timestamp 3:17, Pastor Joe shares a hilarious story relating a time when his answer to that question was a resounding “YES!” The point of his story is to relate to us the idea that under false beliefs, we behave in ways we wouldn’t normally.
The same is true in our relationship with Jesus. How many of us miss out on the miracle of knowing Jesus in the way that we were created to because we don’t truly know who He is? Throughout the Biography of Jesus series, we’re exploring our answer to Jesus’s question, “Who do you say I am?”
In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus is with the 12 disciples looking over the wicked city of Philippi that was centered around idol worship. Jesus is telling the disciples about His plans to build the church and asks them the same question He’s asking us:
Matthew 16:13-16 (NLT) 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This is what The Biography of Jesus series is all about. It’s moving from a rumor of who Jesus is to a personal revelation of who He truly is.
3 Things to Know About Jesus
John 6:35 (NLT) 35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
We live in a world that tries to tell us that there are countless ways we can be satisfied that will sustain the hunger in our souls. Jesus tells us otherwise. There’s no person, no pill, no experience, no substance, no material possession–nothing in this world can fully satisfy the holy hunger inside of other than Jesus Christ.
Fun fact: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in a manger. Bethlehem translates to “House of Bread” and the word manger is a derivative of the root word “mangia,” which means “to eat.” Jesus, the bread of life, was born into the house of bread, and He came to satisfy our hunger. How cool is that?!
We’re discovering 3 things to know about Jesus that will help us grow in our relationship with Him as we come to truly know Him more fully.
1. Keep it Fresh
The best bread is fresh bread. Wouldn’t you agree? We know that Jesus is the bread of life, but how does that impact our day-to-day lives? Here’s the deal: We are designed to have a fresh encounter with Jesus every single day. Just like we’re taught to pray in Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” God wants us to experience Him in new, meaningful ways daily.
In The Bread of Life at timestamp 11:44, Pastor Joe details a passage from the Old Testament in which the Israelites were delivered out of captivity, but they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years. The primary way that God fed them was through quail and manna. God did this for over 3 million Israelites for 40 years. Every. Single. Day.
Psalms 78:24 (NLT) He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven.
Just like He did for the Israelites, God provides for us abundantly. He doesn’t give us the bare minimum, He’s not just keeping us alive. He is overflowing our cups with provision.
Even in the middle of an economic crisis, even with inflation and record-high gas prices, even when wars spring up around the world–God provides abundantly. He gives us more than enough!
When things all around us seem to be crumbling and falling apart, God is more than enough. Check out what Moses said about the manna God provided from heaven:
Exodus 16:19-20 (NLT)
Here’s the lesson for us: We cannot be Christians living on leftovers. We cannot cling to an encounter we had with God yesterday, or a month ago, or at summer camp, or at a conference, or at a mission trip, or any other experience that has come and gone.
God wants us to keep it fresh! He wants us to have a fresh, new daily encounter with Him.
Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
The question is not: Is God doing fresh new things?
The question is: Am I perceiving what God is doing?
In our marriages, our schools, our finances, our parenting–God wants to do a fresh thing. He wants us to pursue Him every day and depend on His ability over our own. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us!
Oftentimes, we’re looking for a move from God, but He’s looking for a move from us. We have to get in the mindset of saying “God, I need you today, right now. There are lots of needs in my life and I’m coming to you, asking for you to give me this day my daily bread.” Our hunger for God drives us to pursue Him fully, daily, and keep it fresh.
But here’s the question we need to be real with ourselves and ask in self-reflection when considering our relationship with God: Have we lost the hunger for God’s word? Have we lost the holy hunger to pursue Him and experience His presence? If so, it’s time to shift our perspective and confess to God our need and desire for Him to be our daily bread and say to Him, “God I want to have a fresh encounter with who you are each new day.”
Discussion:
What can you add into your daily routine to help you “keep it fresh” as you continue to pursue God?
If you’ve lost the holy hunger to experience His constant presence, how can you ignite that flame again?
What fresh things is God doing in your world now? In your marriage? Your family? Your career?
2. Don’t Change the Recipe
In The Bread of Life at timestamp 18:17, Pastor Joe describes a time in history when society “changed the recipe” and how it in turn transformed life as they knew it…and not for the better. If we change the recipe, we get full bellies, but dying bodies.
How many Christians do the very same thing with the bread of life? How often do we think maybe if we just modify the recipe, maybe if we make it a little more palatable, a little more consumable, then we could get it out to more people?
When this happens, we may look healthy on the outside, but internally we’re dying of spiritual malnutrition. Are we avoiding difficult things in the Bible to make the gospel more accessible? We talk boldly about love and grace, but are we eliminating the challenging subjects like purity, holiness, and character?
Proverbs 30:5-6 (NLT) 5Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. 6Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
Every word of God proves true…even the ones that are uncomfortable, even the ones that are awkward and politically uncorrect. All of it. Every word from the Bible is God breathed.
In today’s culture, we see God’s word adapted and modified to make us more comfortable because the truth is “offensive.” If we add to, change, or alter the Word of God, He will reubke us and call us liars. We can’t change the recipe!
Pastor Joe shares a story about “poop brownies” in The Bread of Life at timestamp 23:03 to illustrate to us the importance of sticking to the original recipe. (It sounds gross, but seriously…this clip is a must watch! The ultimate metaphor.)
We need to be the Christians who say God’s word diluted is God’s word polluted and we’re not touching it unless it’s the real recipe.
1 Corinthians 5:6 (NIV) …Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?
As Christians, we need to avoid even the appearance of evil. We need to stay away from even the smallest hint of immorality. We need to be asking God to create a clean heart in us! This is the generation God is looking for.
Keep in mind, we have to remember to love people in our commitment to loving the truth. In current times, it’s never been easier to be frustrated with the world around us. In our love and passion for the truth, it has to become Jesus + performance.
Galatians 1:6 (NLT) I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News.
Truth without grace is mean. But grace without truth is meaningless. – Chris Hodges
We need truth and works. We need to love Jesus and we need to love people. As a church who loves God, we need to be encouraged and motivated and challenged to reach people that are far from God. We need to stop trying to fix people before they’re found people. After all, like John Maxwell says, you can’t clean a fish until you catch it.
We can’t expect the people who haven’t yet met Jesus to act like and look like Jesus. Listen to timestamp 28:44 of Pastor Joe’s message; he clearly highlights our need to point to the path, not the person.
We need to be a spotlight on Jesus; not an interrogation light. Jesus wants us to point to the Savior, not to behaviors. When we point to the Savior, His kindness will lead others to repentance and ignite in them the desire to do it! If Jesus isn’t enough for someone, they just haven’t experienced Jesus enough. Our job is to stick to the recipe!
Discussion:
In what ways have you noticed a change in the recipe in our current culture?
How can we combat alterations of the Truth while still loving others?
Has there been a time when you’ve allowed “poop in the brownies”? What changes can you make to avoid even the smallest hint of immorality?
3. Bread is Best When it’s Shared with Others
If you take a look at the early church, so many of their gatherings were centered around breaking bread–sometimes in communion, sometimes with each other.
Acts 2:46 (NIV) Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.
Jesus, the bread of life himself, asks us to take it one step further. Checkout timestamp 31:08 in The Bread of Life. Pastor Joe shares a story that perfectly portrays the way we should live once we’ve experienced the truth of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV) But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
If we have experienced the Bread of Life for ourselves, we are called to bring the bread to a broken world. Bring the bread and spread it everywhere. Bread is best when it’s shared with others.
“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread.”
– Dr. T. Niles
Even if we’ve been spoon-fed the bread of life since a very young age, there still comes a time in our lives where we have to encounter Him for ourselves. Our relationship with God and our understanding of Him cannot be something we inherit from someone else, it cannot be something that we get complacent and familiar with.
May we have a living encounter with the Living God who loves us and when we do, may we tell the world about the Bread of Life that we found. If you’ve been in the presence of Jesus, you don’t even have to tell people, because they can see the difference in you and it makes a difference in them.
We can bring samples of the Savior to everyone we meet. We are called to be evangelists who share the Good News. All we have to do is “bring the bread” and God will do the rest. Amen!
Discussion:
Who can you share the Bread of Life with and how can you do it?
When you know someone has encountered God, what things do you notice about their attitudes, behaviors, words, choices, thoughts, and actions?
How can we be evangelists who share the Good News in our everyday, natural lives?
As we continue to discover more and more about who Jesus truly is, let’s strive to do more than just acknowledge that He is God and call Him Lord; let’s give Him full control and put Him in the driver’s seat of our lives. Let’s remember to love God and love people. He is the Bread of Life!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus and for what He’s done for us. Thank you that His body–the Bread of Life–was broken so that our lives could be made whole. Lord, we commit to taking a step toward you and with you every day. We want to encounter and experience you in new, fresh ways. We commit to honoring Your Word and remaining in the truth as we pursue you and love people like You did. Help us find the courage and seize the daily opportunities to share the Good News. We love you God, and we thank you for being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!
