Who Wants Some Bread 2: Believe Series

WHO WANTS SOME BREAD: Believe John 6: 25-40

Part two in a series on “Four Images of Relationship” Text: vv. 28-34

Last Sunday we began this series on the “Four Images of Relationship”

• The first image Jesus used is the image of work.

• Jesus tells us not to work for food that perishes, but to work for food that endures for eternal life…food that He has to give to them.

I). They respond with the question: “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

A). In other words, “What kind of work can we do that will be pleasing to God?”

• And I think that’s a great question.

B). It’s a question that each one of us needs to ask ourselves…and more importantly, ask God.

• “What can I do today Lord, that will please You?”

II). Jesus’ answer: “This is the work of God that You believe in Him who He has sent.”

A). Jesus says, “You’re thinking of work as a physical act, but the work that I’m talking about is Spiritual act: It’s the work of believing that God has sent Me into the world as the Messiah.”

• Remember that the Jews had a salvation that was based on works.

• Their salvation was based on keeping the Law of Moses…specifically, all 613 regulations of that Law.

• Look at v. 28, they used the word “works” (plural), but Jesus, in v. 29 says, “This is the work…” (Singular).

B). There is only one essential work of God: to believe in the One sent by Him.

• Wesley wrote that it is “the work most pleasing to God, and the foundation of all others.”

• Jesus uses the verb phrase, “believe in” ~ according to dictionary.com that means that we are to have faith in the reliability, honesty & benevolence of Christ.

III). To believe in Christ means that we believe that He is reliable.

A). That gets back to the very definition of faith in Christ itself: To have the conviction that Christ is who He says He is and that He will do what His Word says he will do!

• All those promises He’s made to us: Promises of protection, healing, fellowship, joy, peace, answered prayer…

• The promise that He’s gone to prepare a place for us, and that He’s coming again to take us home.

• And most importantly, the promise that there’s one of only two places we’re going to be heading after we leave this life: Heaven or Hell…but those who believe in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

B). And those promises are reliable!

• We can count on it ~ we can risk our eternal lives on it!

• If we will do the work of believing!

IV). SO what is that work?

A). First, it’s accepting Him as Savior!

• It is believing in your heart and acknowledging Him with your voice!

• And it has to be both:

• Paul got it right in Romans 10: 9 & 10, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

• And that has to be done before anything else!

B). Second, you have to serve Him as Lord.

• Whether we like it or not: belief requires obedience!

• Hebrews 5:9 says that Jesus, “having been made perfect, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”

• Paul tells us, in Romans 16:26 that the Word of God is being made known to the Gentiles in order to “…bring about the obedience of faith.”

• And it is work: 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “…and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

C). What’s the results of that obedience?

• Greater righteousness: Romans 5:19, “For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

• A greater presence of the Holy Spirit: Acts 5:32, Peter, testifying of the truth of Jesus says, “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

V). Too many times we want to confess Him as Savior, without serving Him as Lord!

A). It’s nothing new:

• Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah in Matthew 15:8 when he tells the Scribes & Pharisees, “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

• In Luke 6:46 Jesus asks us a very serious question: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?”