Just For Believers – Complete Satisfaction – Part 4

In this series, we are studying those things that God says are true about Believers – that is, those who have experienced authentic regeneration of the heart (“born again”) through repentance of sin, and obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let’s review what we have learned so far:

• Possibility – Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (NKJV)
  We discovered that “all things” and the promises, declaration and truths that come from God. Whatever He says He will do, it is possible for them that truly believe. What God declares, whatever is true about God’s nature, becomes possible for the Believer. We also learned that this belief is faith which consists of two parts – undoubting belief that God is, and does, what He says He is and does; and that God is the focus of our belief. We can have true belief in the wrong thing; and, we can believe in God, but have doubt, which betrays a lack of understanding who God is. Faith is true belief focused on the right Person.
  
• Remission of sins – Acts 10:43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (NKJV)
  All your sins, and mine, have been laid aside in whole. The condemnation you deserve for all those lies, deceit and manipulation has been relaxed and removed by God. You have been released from the penalty you deserve for the lust and impurity that you have committed. God will not exact a penalty from you for all the times you’ve cheated and stolen. The Lord has cancelled the planned and deserved punishment that was awaiting you for blaspheming Him through profanity or casual use of His name. The Lord has granted you relief from the suffering and eternal condemnation that awaited you for your wickedness. God has restored you from being a lost sinner outside His family, to be a righteous adopted heir of eternal life. The Lord has removed the intense punishment and condemnation that would have been yours the moment you died and faced Him.
• No Death – John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (NKJV)
  Death has no power. We will reign forever with Christ. You will live forever. Starting today. How will that fact change your life? How will it change you today? How will it change you in the next hour? If it doesn’t change you, then I would suggest you either don’t understand it, or you don’t believe it. You will never die. That should change everything about how you deal with this temporary existence on earth.
  

Complete Satisfaction

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (NKJV)

In the first of Jesus’ great “I AM” claims, He declares Himself definitively to be God. Everyone listening to Him speak these words on that day would have no doubt whatsoever what Jesus was claiming. It’s unfortunate that even today we have “Christian” leaders teaching that “Jesus never claimed to be God; He just claimed to be like God.” But that’s another series of messages….

In John 6.35, Jesus claims to be God, and then claims to be the answer, the fulfillment, the satisfaction of all things. He claims to complete our life once and for all. He is the Bread and we need never to hunger again. He is the Water of Life, and we never have to be thirsty again. Wow, that sounds great. That sounds very poetic, very expressive and very comforting; but do you have a clue what it means? As a Christian, has any of it come true for you? If not, there are two options… you don’t understand it properly, or you haven’t appropriated these facts, these promises for your own life.

We understand what hunger is, and what it means to be thirsty. Obviously Jesus is not talking primarily or exclusively about physical hunger and thirst, although the application can still be made that in heaven we will never hunger and thirst, for God will perfectly fulfill all our needs and desires (which will be free of sin). While we are alive on this temporary earth though, we get hungry, and sometimes even Christians go severely hungry and starve. We get thirsty. We have droughts and adversity may find us suffering from lack of food and water, especially in poor or war-torn countries. So is Jesus lying? Is this just flowery language?

What is bread and water? Bread represents food, sustenance; that which provides us with nourishment and energy. It’s the gasoline that makes the engine of our spirit run. There is physical bread (food), that God provides and there is spirtual bread. In principle, God promises to provide us with physical bread and we are not to worry about where our next meal will come from (Matt 6.26). However, the curse of sin has corrupted God’s creation and sometimes even Christians suffer the consequences of man’s sinful behavior and find themselves, sadly, in great poverty and starvation physically.

Does this make Jesus’ words false? Hardly. Jesus’ words are true in the physical sense for all eternity. Though we may starve even to the point of death in this sin-cursed world, the Lord Jesus will feed us for all eternity and we will never hunger (go without) even one time when we are with Him.

Spiritually, for Believers only, we will never (or we need never) hunger spiritually, now, or in eternity. Jesus is the bread of life, and if we are hungry spiritually, it’s not for lack of food, it’s for lack of eating.

If you are spiritually hungry,
it’s not because there is no Bread,
it’s because you aren’t eating.

We need never hunger spiritually. Jesus awaits you with a feast, any time, any where. A spiritual banquet of the finest delights are at your fingertips in the Bible, and only one prayer away from your enjoyment. Unlike other religions or lifestyles, only true Christianity is satisfying and completely fulfilling. Every other religion or pursuit ALWAYS leaves you wanting, and knowing that something is still missing.

Water? Same principles but even deeper and more penetrating. Water must be present in greater amounts and saturates our entire existence. Our body is primarily made of water. Spiritually, Jesus is our water of life. He makes up our existence, and in fact holds the very existence of all things in His hand (Col. 1.17).

We cannot go without water but a very short time before thirst arrives. We cannot go without Jesus for very long before our spiritual thirst arrives. We see many (most?) Christians today “thirsty” for fads, trends, gimmicks and the latest program to fulfill us spiritually when the truth is, they need only to avail themselves of the old fashioned notion of simply getting a drink at the well – the Well of Life.

If we are thirsty spiritually,
it’s not because water isn’t available,
it’s from a lack of drinking
or drinking the wrong thing.

I love diet soda. I’m currently in the process of starting to kick my diet soda habit. I need to drink water; good old fashioned, just-perfect-for-the-body water. I rarely drink pure water because I’ve become habitually enslaved to the sugary tasting, chemical-filled, carbonated liquid over ice. Sure, I get some water from that, but it’s ruined, or at least diminished, by all the junk that comes with it.

Christians need to quit drinking spiritual soda pop,
and get back to drinking Pure Water.

Christianity today is filled with fizzy, flavored, sugary and sweetened spiritual drinks. We attempt to quench our thirst with everything accept just good old, clear, pure, refreshing Water. So we stay thirsty, looking for the next new spiritual drink flavor, the next spiritual sports drink or the next Christian diet drink. All of these give a little temporary satisfaction, but in the end, they leave us unhealthy and even more thirsty. The same could be said for spiritual JUNK FOOD when we talk about Jesus being the Bread of Life.

Jesus is the pure water of life. Drink deeply, drink regularly, and drink exclusively from the Well of Heaven, and you will never thirst again. The Lord Jesus is the bread of life. Come feast on Him and you will never hunger.

Just for Believers, you don’t ever have to hunger or thirst again. The physical promise will be entirely fulfilled when this sin-cursed world has passed away. The spiritual promise is yours NOW. If you are hungry, it’s because you aren’t eating, or you’ve traded bread for junk food. If you are thirsty, it’s because you aren’t drinking, or you’re drinking the wrong thing.

Never hunger, never thirst. Just for Believers.

Lord God, Help us to know Jesus as our food and water. Help us to learn not to substitute junk food and soda for the Bread of Life and the Living Water. When we are hungry, lead us to the Bread. When we are thirsty, remind us of the Water. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application: You can starve yourself and not expect to be hungry. If you are not reading the Bible and spending time with God, you will be hungry. If you’re chugging down Christian diet soda rather than the Water of Life, you will be thirsty and unhealthy. Jesus is the Bread of Heaven, and the Water of Life. You need never hunger or thrist again – for Believers Only!

James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (NKJV)

1. What is the most obvious Bible truth you have learned today?
2. What change in your life needs to be made concerning this truth?
3. What specific thing will you do today to begin that change?