Lechem Panim #18 "Bread from Heaven" (John 6:27-35) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings. It is good to be with you today. Our passage today comes from John chapter 6:27-35. Just to give you a little context, Jesus has just miraculously fed the 5,000 and has now begun to talk about Himself as being an even greater source of provision. And so He says in verse 27 and following…

John 6:27-35 (ESV)-- 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for 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.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 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.

Hearkening to Exodus 16-- Today’s message is all about bread. And who better to talk about bread than the One who called Himself and who was the Bread of Life. And here He talks about coming to God for daily bread. And it’s amazing how much depth there can be behind such a simple small phrase of scripture. And such is the case here. Jesus, speaking to a group of people who know the Old Testament well, is pointing back to a principle revealed in a very fascinating passage from the book of Exodus (chapter 16). Go ahead and turn with me there. That’s Exodus chapter 16. The Israelites have just set out from Egypt and are journeying to the promised land. They have left Egypt and have crossed the Red Sea (where God delivered them from pharaohs army by parting the Red Sea, allowing them to cross and then closing it over their pursuers). Then they sing the song of Moses in joyful celebration, after which they go into the wilderness and go three days without water. And having gone three days without finding any water, the scripture says they came to the oasis of Marah. But the water there was bitter. So they complained. But Moses cried out to God and then God told him to take a particular tree and throw it into the water, which did. And this made the water good to drink. Then afterwards Israel goes on from there and they come to a place called Elim, where they found twelve springs (so an abundance of water) and seventy palm trees (which even gave them shade). And the scripture says they camped there by the water. Now from there they depart and subsequently come to the wilderness of Sin. And it’s there where they must again learn to remember to trust in God for provision and to be a people of faith rather than a people who grumble and a doubt.

Easily Offended-- Now unfortunately, complaining has become a very common thing nowadays. I want to read to you some complaints given by travelers to their travel agents which are purported to be real: 

1. “On my holiday to India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”
2. Following a trip to a national theme park, one angry woman complained that the sun was so hot it melted her ice cream.
3. An air traveler voiced her disapproval of all the clouds in the sky, saying they ruined her children’s game of Eye Spy.
4. ”We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”
5. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow but it was white.”
6. "We bought 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses for five Euros from a street trader, only to find out they were fake.”
7. "No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”
8. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller.”
9. "There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners now live abroad.”
10. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully-equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers.”
11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

Complaining in The Church-- It is amazing what some people can complain about. And sometimes this attitude can even permeate the Church. People can complain when they do not get their way; they can complain when they do not like something the preacher says or does; or when they don’t feel like their own particular needs are met. And this kind of behavior can be dangerous because when we allow ourselves to get into that state of grumbling, we are letting our own fleshly desires inhibit the life of the Church and sometimes thwart the Church’s focus on the Kingdom of God and the mission of the Church in helping to bring about that Kingdom. We have made it all about us and not about God.
Spurgeon on Complaining-- Charles Spurgeon shared the story of [A heavy wagon {that} was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen. The axles groaned and creaked terribly, when the oxen turning around thus addressed the wheels, "Hey there, why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we -- not you -- ought to cry out!" Those complain first in our churches who have the least to do. The gift of grumbling is largely dispensed among those who have no other talents, or who keep what they have wrapped up in a napkin.] And in this illustration Spurgeon really drives home the point that those who are most generous with their gifts are also those who grumble the least. Those who have their eyes on the Kingdom and on glorifying Christ do not let themselves get caught up in grumbling.

You’d Think They Would Have Learned-- Now you would think that the Israelites. would have learned by now to trust in God enough not to complain; to know that God is going to provide for them. But look what happens. After this it says…

Exodus 16:1 (ESV)-- 1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 

30 Days After Egypt-- So our story today takes place [Thirty days after their departure from Rameses.] And it takes place in the wilderness of Sin. Now it may sound like the word “sin”, which may be appropriate when we consider how the Israelites behave, but the wilderness of Sin is an actual place. [The wilderness of Sin was a vast and hostile environment of sand and stone. {It was a place of difficulty. And God often uses barren or bitter experiences to test us. And so} Its barren surroundings provided the perfect place for God to test and shape the character of his people.] Now the previous passage said that Israel grumbled when they came to Marah. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron. And here we see that same word again. Verse 2 and following says…

Exodus 16:2-3 (ESV)— 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

A Lack of Perspective-- Now this is serious. The Israelites have become hungry in the wilderness and have begun to grumble against God. And not only that, but they have deluded themselves into thinking that they had actually been better off in Egypt and even accuse Moses and God of having intentions to kill them. Now it is not wrong to recognize a physical need, but when we grumble, it shows a lack of perspective on the blessings God has given us in life.

“Rest in Peace”-- Once [A new business was opening and one of the owner's friends wanted to send him flowers for the occasion. They arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card,.... "Rest in Peace."
The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist replied, "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry, you should imagine this: somewhere, there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying,... 'Congratulations on your new location!’”] Sometimes it helps to have a little perspective. 

You know [Our forefathers did without sugar until the 13th century; without coal fires until the 14th; without buttered bread until the 16th; without tea or soap until the 17th; without gas, matches or electricity until the 19th; and without cars, canned or frozen foods until the 20th century. Now, what was it you were complaining about?]

When we complain, we often times just need to get some perspective. This could have helped the Israelites. But their perspective has become so twisted that they began thinking about their slavery and abuse and affliction in Egypt as being better because they could eat whatever they wanted to.

Moses a Saint-- Now complaining is never a pleasant experience to listen to. If there is a man to be pitied the most in scripture, in the top five (at least) would have to be Moses. Can you imagine being with a group of people who complained constantly? 

All They See-- This is exactly what is going on in our passage today. Israel has just been delivered from Egypt. They have just witnessed God’s miraculous deliverance, His provision of good water, comfort and shade amongst an abundance of water. Yet again they get to a point where all they see is the negative. 

And I have to stop and think, in our own walks with Christ, do we fail to recognize the good that God has done for us? Or are we too focused on our perceived lacks? Are we too quick to see the dryness and ask, “God, where are you?” When really all we have to do is look back and see how greatly He has moved and say, “God, how great are you!” God wants us to acknowledge our hardship; and He doesn’t mind hearing about them. But in our hardship we must also show that we are not failing to trust in the goodness of God and in His perfect will for our lives. Are you trusting in Him today? If not, do so. No joy is found in a complaining heart; but in a heart of submission and trust. Trust in Him today. Amen.