2004-07-25 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

As we pick up the teaching of Jesus in verse 45, His audience is a large group of folks in Capernaum, His home base on Galilee's north shore. Many of these people live in the same town as Jesus and know His family, but as He Himself had already testified, "...a prophet hath no honour in his own country (John 4:44)." Imagine explaining that you're the "Bread of Life" to people who've known you since you were a child. Familiarity blinded them to the fact that He was more than just a miracle worker, and as we will see in the next few weeks, familiarity breeds comtempt.

John 6:45-48
45. It is written in the prophets (Isaiah 54:13, Jeremiah 31:34), And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48. I am that bread of life.

God doesn't force Himself on you. He woos you with His Word, and this is what Jesus is explaining. Whenever someone is drawn to Jesus by the Father, it's through the teaching in these pages. If you visit a Christian bookstore, you might be surprised at how many rows and aisles of contemporary books you have to walk past just to get to the Bibles. Many church fellowships gather on Wednesday night for what they call Bible study meetings, but if you go to one of these meetings, you'll find that they're studying a contemporary book on "Christian living," or something like that. When you ask them why they don't study the Bible, the universal response goes something like, "The book is full of scripture references."

Jesus is telling His countrymen to accept no substitute. "I have seen the Father. The words that I speak to you are the Father's words. This teaching is the food that will sustain you in this life and the next."

In verse 45, He says that, "Every man therefore that hath heard, AND hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." If we're truly coming to Jesus, listening and learning go hand-in-hand. I can be listening to the teaching in the Bible, but not store it away as truth to live by, as having learned the teaching. On the other hand, I can learn from the teaching in God's Word, but then I put my own spin on it, which means I haven't heard what I learned. Jesus is the bread that sustains more than just our physical bodies, and He's the only voice that will lead us home.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I do encourage each of you to partake and share of that Bread of Life. Turn off the TV, read and discuss a few chapters with your family. Skip that ballgame and attend a Bible study meeting. Smile and be a blessing to someone who could use one. Be an obedient disciple who distributes the loaves that Jesus brake and blessed.

Hearing and learning of the Father are ingredients of that Bread of Life, and that's where you come in. Whether you realize it or not, whether it be for the good or not, you're a teaching vessel. All day long, people learn about God from your example (through your behavior, your words and your actions), and for a certain someone in particular, you may be the only example of God's teaching that they've ever had. When they're near you, do they experience the enticing smell of freshly baked bread, or has that Bread of Life gone stale in you?