Jesus is all we need!
Last week we said Jesus is enough!
And this week we find out Jesus just isn’t enough, He is all we need!
· He is referred to as the bread of life
· The living water!!
· The alpha and the omega
· The great high priest
· The prince of peace
· The king of kings and the ruler of all
And Jesus is all we need to live a happy and joy-filled life!
Jesus the living water!
John 4:10–14 (NLT)
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?
12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.
14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
John 7:37–38 (NLT)
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ”
Revelation 7:17 (NLT)
17 For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
· Jesus is a well that never runs dry
· He quenches our thirst
· Jesus can dry every eye
· Walk you through every affliction
· And heal any wound
· He forgives any sin
· He is a living spring that leads to eternity
Jesus the Bread of Life!
John 6:35 (NLT)
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:47–48 (NLT)
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.
48 Yes, I am the bread of life!
John 6:51 (NLT)
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
· Jesus again says He is the bread of life
· He is the bread that we eat that will take away all hunger
· He is the source of our nourishment
· He is the source of our true health
· This body we have will die
· The life Jesus is talking about is not on this earth it awaits us in heaven!
o Where we will feed on His glory
o His majesty
o His grace
o His mercy
o Forever and ever!!
But it’s not for the faint of heart!
John 6:53–64 (ESV)
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?
62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”
· True believers understand the sacrifice
· The discipline it takes to be a follower
· There is joy in the journey, but there are sacrifices
· Things of this world are a distraction!
· The real Joy is in the journey
· The real peace is found in the storm
· Following is hard!
Follow me!
Luke 9:23 (ESV)
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
· Take up your cross
· Know the cost
· But also know the rewards!
· That Joy can be found here, and Heaven is for eternity!
Where do we find it!
So, how do we find this living water, the bread of life? What do we do to understand more how God can not only fulfill our basic needs but bring us the Joy, the peace, we all were designed to find??
· We Follow!
· I think too many Followers stop after the basic needs are met
o Ok, I’m saved, I get in the gate
o Then they struggle the rest of their lives, frustrated, bitter, confused.
o Mad at God, mad at the world
o One foot in and one foot out!
o And what a crappy way to live
· David understood something
· Paul understood something
o They understood there was more to this life
o More that we could unlock, that we are supposed to receive
· And for the rest of this week and next week we are going to look at how we find the inner joy and peace we all long for!!
First, we have to understand what’s important
Matthew 6:21 (ESV)
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
· Where is your heart?
· Is it torn between Jesus and the world?
· Have you truly set your sights on what’s important?
· Do you understand that God gave you the greatest tools in the world to lead you?
o His Son Jesus as a living example
o And His word to use as a lamp in a dark world
· That if we find these as treasures that the rest is not as hard of an uphill climb
· Or are you just content with your life right where it’s at somewhere between misery and pain
· Life has become like a bi-polar roller-coaster that you can’t get off of?
o You buy something you get a little joy
o It gets old and misery sets back in
o More meds, more TV, more stuff, more porn, and nothing seems to fill that gap
· Jesus is enough, in fact, Jesus is all you need!!
David had it figured out
· Was he perfect, NO!
· Adultery, murder, just to name a few
· But he always ran back to God and His word
Psalm 1:1–3 (NLT)
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
· Psalms one, right out of the shute
· David says “get into God's word”, “meditate on it day and night”!
· You can’t follow something you don’t know!
· It amazes me when I ask people, do you study the bible?
o No, I’m not much of a reader
o Studying, that’s not my thing
o But ask them about their favorite team
o Hobby
o Craft
o They know every stat, every detail
o Every hunting regulation
· Why, because that’s important to them
o It’s not that they can’t
o They don’t find it important enough to put the time in
· And David says
· Delight in the law, God's word, day and night
· And you will prosper!
Psalm 37:4 (NLT)
4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
· Your desires will never be filled, complete until you delight in the Lord
· When we delight in the Lord, not begrudgingly, not heavy-hearted, but delight in the Lord
· When we seek His word, His will, His glory above our messy, insignificant desires
· Our hearts get filled
· You think too small, you are focused on right now, God is looking long term
o You want instant gratification
o God says just be patient, the better to come
· You want a great marriage, delight in the Lord
o go to His playbook, go by His rules
o and you will have a great marriage
o will it take work, yea
o but it will be worth it, trust me on this one!
· You want your finances in order
o Use Jesus as an example, dig into God's word about money
o Will it be easy to get out of the mess your put yourself in, no
o Will it be worth it, yes
o I know of several people in this church that have done it
o They didn’t make more money
o They didn’t fall into a blessing
o They just dug into God's word and put it to practice
· You want meaningful friendships
o Look at what the bible has to say about trust
o Commitment
o Gossip
o Loyalty
o Agape love
o Betrayal
o Forgiveness
o Sin
· And the list goes on and on and on
o Delight in the law, the word, Jesus life
o And you will find true meaning, true joy, true peace
o Not artificial, meaningless stuff
Everything this world has to offer
Ecclesiastes 1:2–3 (NLT)
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
· Everything this world has to offer is meaningless
· It will not last the test of time
· You can’t take it with you
· The only thing that offers eternity, and peace, and joy while we exist here on this earth is Jesus!
· But it takes work, and effort
· We have to pull our life away from this world and cling to the hope that Jesus offers
· And when we do we delight in the law, the word, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus!
· We meditate on it, we thirst for it, we hunger for it
· And that’s when the desires of our heart get fulfilled
Next week we look at more ways delighting in God makes life on earth so much better!!
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