Bread from Heaven

Don't think we have anybody to send out to children's church this morning. So, let's just turn our Bibles to Exodus chapter 16. Exodus chapter 16, we'll begin by reading the first 12 verses. Exodus chapter 16 and my mic is not on evidently. Nope.

Now, it's on. Alright. The Lord has raised up Moses to deliver his people out of Egypt, out of bondage, brought the 10 plagues, delivered them after the tenth plague which included the Passover and how he passed over his people in judgement and then delivered them across the Red Sea, parting the waters, and destroying the army of the enemy so that they would see Pharaoh's army what? No more. And God brought them into the desert or the wilderness of Sin and was headed them towards a place called Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb and they started to get thirsty and so they they saw up a pond like a spring where there was a pool of water and they thought, oh, there's water and they ran to the water and they took a big drink and then what happened?

They spewed it all back out because it wasn't drinkable. Sort of like we are in sin, bitter totally depraved in sin, corrupted by it but God can do something about that, can't he? Amen. He can change your heart and my heart. He can change our eternity.

He can change our standing before him through Jesus Christ, his son. And God pointed Moses to a a log, stick that was laying nearby. He said, throw that into the water and when he threw it in, the bitter water was made what? It was made sweet and so are we when we come to Jesus Christ, our savior, who died on a what? Who died on a cross, who died on a tree, to redeem us.

From sin. Well, it wasn't but just a little bit further over the hill and they came to a place called Elim. Meaning, a place of many trees and there was many trees because there was much what? There was much water there. Often times in life, we struggle and Lord, what's happening?

Why isn't this and you you said you give that and I don't understand why this is such a struggle. Just wait to get over the next what? Hill. God hasn't forgotten you. He hasn't and he'll never leave nor forsake his children and so they got to this place called Elim and they were there for several days.

They refreshed themselves in the water of Elim but then it was time to head back out again and that brings us to Exodus chapter 16. So, if you look in verse one and they took their journey from Elim and all the congregation, the children of Israel came into the wilderness of sin which is between Elim and Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the children of Israel said unto them, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt. When we sat by the flesh pots and when we did eat bread to the full, for ye have brought us forth into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses, behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day that I may prove them whether they will walk in my way or no and it shall come to pass that on the sixth day, they shall prepare that which they bring in and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily and Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel even then you shall know the Lord hath brought you out of the land of Egypt and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of the Lord for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord and what are you what are we that you murmur against us and Moses said, this shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat and in the morning bread to the full.

For the Lord heareth your murmurings which he murmur against him and what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord and Moses spake unto Aaron saying to all the congregation of the children of Israel, come near before the Lord for he hath heard your murmurings and it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel that they look toward the wilderness and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, speak unto them saying, at evening you shall eat flesh and in the morning you shall be filled with bread and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you again for your word today and Lord, I do pray that there might be something and I know there is for us to feast upon today. I pray that you would open up our hearts that the spirit would give us understanding, would move in our hearts to receive what you have had and to be willing to trust you more, to change as you lead, to confess sin as we need.

Lord, we pray that you would do a mighty work today and if there be one here that is yet to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior. We pray today would be that day. In Jesus name, amen. First of all, we have Israel's plight and their response to it. What is Israel's plight here and what is their response to that plight?

So, after Israel had refreshed themselves at the Oasis, they head back into the desert headed toward Mount Sinai but now having thoroughly quenched their thirst and renewed their water supplies, they began to get what? Hungry. If it's not one thing, then it's what? Another. You ever felt like that?

If it's not one thing, it's another. The you get past one trial and boom, you walk right into another. And so, this is what we see in Israel. They go from trial to trial, from test to test. Sad to say, in some cases, they pass.

In most cases, they fail at least to start with in the test that God brings before them. Sometimes, we have some of the some same struggles ourselves. Their supplies of food were no doubt running thin and so once again, they did not ask God for help but complained to Moses and to Aaron. In Exodus sixteen three, they say, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the flesh pots where they cooked meat and when we did eat bread to the full. For he had brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Now, they had, did they have a genuine need? Yes, food is a genuine need and they were no doubt hungry and there wasn't a great crop laying right there at their feet at least not at this time. And so, they were starting to get a little bit grumbly and as you can imagine, as they were getting a little bit hungry. But what does God say in his word to do when we need something? Ask.

He tells us to ask. God says, ask and it shall be what? Given unto you. Seek and you shall find, knock, and it shall be open. For he that asketh what?

For he that asketh receiveth. In James, he said, you have not because you what? You ask not. You have not because you ask not. And so is the case with us today sometimes.

We have not because we ask not. We struggle and we we fight and we stuff to try to make it happen ourselves when all we have to do is go to who? Let's go to God. And God says, if you'll come to me, come to me all you that are labor and heavy laden. I will give you what?

I'll give you rest. I will take care of you if you come to me. This demands an upward look in faith to God, to the God of heaven. In this case, God was leading them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They even had a physical representation something to look at, a god who was leading them as this cloud by day and at night, it was lit up like fire led them.

It wasn't just Moses and Aaron. They were following God. All they had to do was look up to the Lord If we lack anything, we just need to ask him. Who is leading? And who is able to provide?

And it shall be provided. Now, is it always provided in exactly the time that we desire? No. Is it always provided in exactly the manner that we desire? No, but who knows best?

God does and you know, sometimes if we got what we wanted, when we when we wanted it, we'd be a whole lot worse off rather than better. There's sometimes we ask for things and Lord, I I need this. I need this and and he doesn't give it right away and later, you know, something comes up and something changes and you realize, oh, that is what he was doing. That's what he was doing. He was hearing my prayers.

He was answering my prayers. Just not in the way that I imagine because I can't see what's around the next one. Bend. And he can. He says, ask.

John fifteen seven. He says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. God says, I will I will provide what you need but ask me. Instead, they ignored the cloud that was leading them. Sometimes, as we ignore the spirit that's in us or the word that lays before us, they ignored the cloud.

They looked instead to their frail human leaders to provide what only God could. Can Moses and Aaron feed 2,000,000 people? I don't think so. They didn't have that that ability and and they weren't even leading so to speak because they were just following who? They were following God.

But the people look to their frail human leaders. God uses in spectacular ways and sometimes in very quiet ways, ways, frail human leaders to do his bidding and lead his people but the power is not in them. It's in who? It's in God. Do not put a human leader on a pedestal where God belongs because human leaders fail.

They are frail. They are human. Praise God. Many of them are sinners saved by grace just like you but none of them are perfect and none of them have the power to deliver you from hell or sin or anything, many other things. Only one who can do that is who?

Is Jesus. The only one who can do that is Jesus. If you look for human leaders to provide for you what they cannot, you will be frustrated. As these people were. Look to God.

In chapter 16, and verse seven, at the end of verse seven, Moses says, and what are we that you murmur against us? Who are we that that that you think this is our fault as though we were the ones that had the power to do this? You look down in verse eight. At the bottom of verse eight, he says, and your murmurings, wait, wait, and this says, and what are we, your murmurings are not against us but against who? But against the Lord.

So, you're complaining to us but your issue is not with us. Your issue is with who? Your issue is with God. Don't get mad at the messenger. Sometimes, the messenger where the messenger is a preacher or a teacher or a parent or a counselor or a friend that's giving you the word of God, don't get upset at them if it's not what you want to hear.

Because your issue is not with them, your issues with who? With God and should we have issues with God? No. We should have faith in God and his word. He knows what he's doing.

Secondly, rather than looking rather than looking forward and upward, they were also looking back and for some strange and sinful reason, had forgot the unpleasantness of bondage. They said, oh that we could go back to Egypt and live out our days there by the flesh pots and with all the all the bread and plenty to eat. Really? Is that what they remembered about Egypt? They had forgotten the vile and inhumane ways they were treated by their task masters.

They forgot the unending labor, the rationing of food, the children they had lost, and the hopelessness they felt. They wanted to go back to that? How insane is that? How insane of us? How foolish of us to look at the lost world around us and think, wow, they've got it really good and here I am and I'm in such a terrible condition.

We have it so much better so much better and we don't realize what we have in Jesus Christ He says, if we will bring our our needs before him in prayer with Thanksgiving, he will give us peace that passes what? All understanding. He came not to just give us life but to give us life what? More abundantly. Joy over flowing.

When we put our head on our pillow at night, we know if we never lift that head back up again, that we'll be in a better place and not in a worse one. We know that when we face the trials of life, we do not face them alone. For God is with us. And he has done for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves. They remembered only the taste of the foods they had eaten imagining that they had been free to eat their fill.

Their hunger pains affected their memory and their sinful hearts affected their attitude. So, they struck out at Moses and Aaron as though it was their fault. We're affected by many things we encounter in life as well, aren't we? Hunger pains are liable to affect our memory and more importantly, our attitude. When you minister to children, you catch on to some things pretty quickly.

Hungry children don't listen so well. They need to be fed. Because they're distracted by their their hunger. Tired children, act different than non tired children. These things affect them greatly and they never affect adults, right?

No, they affect us too, don't they? You have to be a little bit of sorts if you hadn't eaten all day long. You might be a little out of sorts if you're really really tired, wasted after a hard day If things in your day didn't it all go as what? As planned. And sometimes, we get short, not physically.

Some of us are already short. But we get short with our loved ones. And we forget about the blessings that they are in our life and the blessings that God has brought into our life. We might look at somebody else around us that doesn't know the Lord. That well, they have plenty of money.

And everything seems to be going well for them. But it's not. It's not. And in the end, things are going to go much worse for them. And so much better for us.

Difficult circumstances often calls us to forget the goodness and power of God that he already displayed to us. They cause us to forget the unpleasantness of the old life without Christ. Imagine that sinners around us have it better than we do. The fact is, they don't. We have Jesus.

They don't. Those trials don't just teach us, they also reveal what's inside. Just how strong our faith really is and how close our walk with God is. They reveal chinks in the armor which we would rather choose to ignore. It's when times get tough, it's when we're facing a challenge, it's when we're dealing with loss or a trial in our life that the person we really are kind of bubbles up to the what?

Up to the surface and you see what's really where inside. Same thing with Israel. Oh, when when times are great, when they when they got to the other side of the Red Sea and they escaped the army of Pharaoh, they had a big celebration and they sang a song and they praised the Lord and they looked like the greatest, most mature faithful children there. But then, just a short time later at Mara, they're all upset and seem to have forgotten what God just did and now, they're hungry and what's happened? They've forgotten.

And the chinks in the armor start to what? And the the weakness of their faith begins to reveal itself. Those strong in faith recognize that God has not abandoned them when times get tough. Those who are mature in the faith don't lose faith. When times get tough.

Those strong in the faith do not cry out in fear or turn on others who are not to blame for their problems. Those who are weak in faith do. Well, I wouldn't be in this problem but you know, so and so did this to me and so and so said that to me and you know, it's all what? It's all their fault. And again, having worked with children and particularly teenagers.

Whenever I call a teenager down, in class, and I say, stop that. They always say, okay, I'm sorry, right? No. It's always what? It's always somebody else's fault.

It's always, well, it was his fault because he talked to me. You know, and I just had to talk back. It was it was his fault because he hit me so I had to I had to elbow him back. There's always an excuse. It's always somebody else's fault.

Always we have homeless people that live around here. I praise the Lord a couple weeks ago. I had the opportunity to lead one to Jesus Christ and I think he was genuine. But he didn't have a phone. He didn't have a place to stay.

He moved on but you know something? If he was genuine, I'm I'll see him again one day. I'll see him again one day. But but so many times, they're they're they're they're hooked on alcohol and and drugs and they they're making one bad life choice after another and you try to talk to em and help them and the response you get, well, I would but see this happen to me and this happen to me and and often times, it's, well, this person did this to me and that person did this to me and this this is not my doing and and that doesn't mean that bad things didn't happen to them. In many cases, terrible things happen to them.

But but if you come to the Lord, come to me all you labor and heavy laden, will God. I will do what? I will give you rest. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean on to your own understanding, all that ways acknowledge him, and he shall what? Direct your path.

There's a there's a there's a solution to the need. Come to Jesus Trust in the Lord Those strong in the faith do not forget the ravages of sin or imagine that the lost around them are better off than they. Those strong in the faith trust in the Lord and rather than lashing out at others or envying sinners. Psalm thirty seven one and two, fret not thyself because of evildoers. Neither be thou what?

Envious against the workers of iniquity. Why does God say that? Well, because sometimes God's children are what? Are envious. We look at others.

We think, well, look how easy they got it. Why am I struggling? Why am I struggling? And we get envious. Don't be envious, God says.

Why? Well, he continues on. For they shall soon be what? They shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the greener. Things look pretty for a moment but listen, it's it's not going to last.

It's not going to last but what you have in Jesus, that's going to what? That's going to last. Amen. That's eternal. Lay up treasures where?

In heaven and not on earth and don't be envious of those who may have a huge bank account full of money and a nice car and and all this stuff. That stuff's not making them happy. It's making them stressed. They gotta hold on to it all and it's going to slip through their what? It's going to slip through their fingers.

And sadly, even more so, eternity. If they don't turn to the Lord. Those strong in the faith when they do have a need, turn in humility and faith to the Lord and make request of him in prayer and wait upon the Lord to answer. Isaiah forty thirty one, one of my favorite passages, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.

They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk on and not faint. Those who do what? Those who wait on the Lord. When do you wait?

When is talking about you need to wait on the Lord when things aren't going all that well? Trust in him. Talk to him. Ask and it shall be what? Given.

They didn't do that. They didn't ask. They got upset. They lashed out at Moses. They forgot what God had done.

Their memories were very what? Short. The Israelites were not strong in their faith as we can see despite what God had done for them, they responded in all the wrong ways but number two, I want us to see how God responded. So, if we respond badly to a test, then God's just going to do what? He's just going to let us what?

You know, let us have it. He's going to lower the boom, right? Is that how is that how our God is? If you fail the task, boy, you're in for it now. That's not our God.

If that was our God, well, we all be in. We can be in big trouble. That's not our God. Our God is a lot, a god of grace and mercy and love. God knowing them as he knows us did not punish them.

Instead, what did God say he was going to do? Verse four, then said the Lord unto Moses, behold, I will reign what? I will reign bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day that I may prove them, test them, whether they will walk in my law or no. And indeed that is what God did. He gave them quail that evening and the next morning when they got up, they had what?

They had bread to eat and every day thereafter, in the wilderness. Every morning, they got up. There it was. Now, it's a little bit different kind of bread than our bread but it was the bread God provided. That they needed to sustain them.

God didn't punish them. Instead, he did what? He fed them. Little children sometimes need to be punished. But they also need encouragement.

They also need an example to follow. They need to be taught because they're just what? They're just little children. We shouldn't expect them to act like they're a 40 year old adult because they're children. The Israelites were children in their faith and God knew that.

They were not all out rebels though that is how it sort of sounds sometimes. They were complaining out of fear and doubt and growing discomfort. As we sometimes do too. If you're a child of God, you know Christ as your savior, you're not an all out rebel, you're a child of the what? King.

But do you ever get out of sorts? What's the problem? Fear, doubt, discomfort, that was them God sees the heart and God always knows what is needed at the time in the lives of his children. Sometimes, we struggle to know. In the ministry, sometimes we struggle to know.

As parents, sometimes, we struggle to know. As teachers sometimes, you may struggle to know because man looks on the what? The outward appearance and it's hard for us to figure out what's on the heart but it isn't hard for God. The answer is no. It's not hard for God at all.

He knows what he's doing. Rather than bringing down the hammer on his band of weak in the faith children, he chose to show mercy and compassion. He chose to strengthen their faith rather than punish them for their lack. He chose to give them another chance to learn, to trust him. He chose to give them fruit from heaven in such a clear fashion so they could not deny the miracles that lay on the ground before them every morning when they got up and give God the what?

And give God the glory. Verse seven of chapter 16 and in the morning, when they shall see the what? It says, when they shall see the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord in his wondrous gift every morning provided for his children. They didn't deserve it.

But that's the kind of God he is. They couldn't produce it but he could and he took care of them. To the glory of God. Yes, they should have known better and they should have had longer memories and greater faith in the Lord after all he had done but their stomachs got the better of them. Not only do hard times reveal things about us but they also reveal things about our God.

In this case, it revealed him to be the loving, gracious, merciful, and all wise God that he is. He was and he is and he will what? And he will always be. Whose mercies are new what? Every morning as God's mercy was to them.

God's mercy in a physical form that they could see and touch and grind and cook and eat every day. In the desert. His compassions they want. They fail not. And so we are not consumed.

For we would certainly be consumed without them. How often has God chosen to be merciful to us rather than bringing down the boom on us for our continual struggles and failures. For our lack of trust, and our doubts. Two years in college, I argued with God. Two years, he was calling me into the ministry.

Two years, I said, no, I can't do that. No, I won't do that. No, God, that is not possible. You, I, I, I must be reading this wrong. Two years, God was teaching me and he's still teaching me today.

Until I've surrendered my after my sophomore year in college to go into the ministry. God knew what he was doing and I have never a day in my life regretted the day I surrendered to ministry because it was God's will for me. And God will never lead you astray. He will take care of his children and he knows what's best. Learn to trust him.

And if you don't know, if you lack wisdom, ask of who? Ask of God. Trust him. He knows what he's doing. This also gives fuller meaning to Ephesians four eight nine, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves.

For by grace. God's grace. God's mercy are we saved. Those people would have died in the wilderness a thousand times over. 2,000,000 people in the desert.

But every morning, God provided for them. As he provides for us that which we lack. As he has robed us in the righteousness of who? Of Jesus Christ, our savior. And has saved us by his grace.

He is keeping us by his grace. Will deliver us spotless one day by his grace. Praise God for his infinite, matchless grace. God's even gracious towards those who rejecting, reject him, causing it to rain on the just and on the what? Unjust.

Long suffering towards fallen humanity not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. One day, God's judgment will fall. Do not mistake his long suffering and mercy for disinterest or permissiveness. The soul that sinneth it shall die and the wages of sin is death. Sinner, you had better deal with your sin and with the savior while there is time.

His mercy is new every morning. But one day, your mornings are going to come to an end. It is appointed on the man once to die but after this the what? The judgment. Receive his gift while there is time.

Christian, you had better learn to trust and obey or even trust and obey your loving and merciful father in heaven. You had better open your eyes to see the quail and the manna laying on the ground all around you and thank God for his provision. Rather than looking what other people have and thinking, oh, I wish I had that. Oh, I should have that. Why don't I have that?

Why am I struggling with this? Count your many what? Blessings. They're all around us. Yes, this life has struggles for everybody.

And yours may be more difficult than some. But your God is greater. Your God is greater. Finally, the manner of God's grace and provision to them. The manner of God's grace and provision back to verse 13 In chapter 16, we'll read a few verses here in conclusion.

It came to pass that at evening, the quails came up and covered the camp and in the morning, the dew lay round about the host. Around, yeah, round about the host and when the dew that lay was gone up, behold upon the face of the wilderness, they lay a small round thing as small as a hoar frost on the ground. Little, tiny pieces of bread. When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, it is manna for they wish not what it was and Moses said unto them, this is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded.

Gather of it every man according to his eating and omer about two quarts for every man according to number of your persons in your household, take you every man for them which are in his tents and the children of Israel did so and gathered some more and some less and when they did meet it out with an omer, he that gathered had much gathered much had nothing over and he that gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating and Moses laid no man leave. Moses said, let no man leave of it till the morning. Not withstanding, they hearken not unto Moses but some of them left of it until the morning and it bread worms and stank and Moses was wroth with them and they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating and when the sun was waxed hot, it melted. In other words, they had just enough for the what?

The day and they weren't to store it up because they tried to the next day, they got up and it was unedible, okay? God's grace and provision, manna. When they saw the bread the first morning covering the ground, when the dew lifted, they said, it is manna. Well, actually, the word manna means, what is it? What they said when they saw this stuff on the ground is they didn't say, oh, it's manna.

Oh, just what we were waiting for. Like, no, what they said was what the word manna means. They said to Moses, what is it? We've never seen this before. What is this stuff?

As Moses explains, let's see. Do I have that? Yeah and when they saw the dew was gone up and when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, it is manna or what is it? For they wished not what it was and Moses explained, this is the bread which the Lord is giving you to eat. Collect it up.

Eat it. You could be ground into something like meal and used to cook and they cook all manner of stuff with it. That they might eat and be full. Thus, indicating by their expression, what is it? They had never seen anything like it before and they would never see anything like it.

Again. They even put some of it in a jar to put in the ark of the testimony, the covenant. So, they could remember this bread from heaven. That God provided just for who? Just for them.

Something unique and different than what the rest of the world didn't have manna. Only who? Only the children of Israel got up every morning. And had plenty there, right? Before them.

The glory of the what? The glory of the Lord. It was more than food to eat. It was God's reminder every morning of his love for them and his kindness toward them, of their unique and special relationship with God. As his family.

You, we, who know Christ, we're also part of his what? We're part of his family. It is a reminder to us that the God of heaven who owns the cattle on a thousand hills has no problem providing for those who are his. Like he had no problem providing for 5,000 plus people and later 4,000 plus people and probably several other times that aren't recorded in scripture to provide food with them with just five loaves and two fish. No problem for Jesus.

No problem at all. It's a reminder that his mercies are new every morning to all those who choose to follow him. Every morning, it was there. Even when they grumbled, complained, and murmured. It was there every morning.

40 in the wilderness, it was still what? It was still there every morning. It is a reminder that we need to walk with him every day. Spend time with him every morning and yes, it does take some effort on our part to reap all the blessings of salvation as it took effort on their part each morning to collect the day's food. You gotta pick up a Bible and actually find time to what?

To read it. Set aside the time, set time aside for God and for his word. To spend time in prayer and with the bread of heaven, Jesus Christ. They could not lay it up for several days or even two except on Friday when God made it last an extra day and provided them an extra allotment. And since both the word of God, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God and the son of God who said, I am the bread of life are represented by bread and scripture.

It only makes sense that we do the same. Reading God's word every day, spending time with our Lord in prayer every morning, once a week just isn't enough. What if I, what if you were told you could only have one meal in a week? Oh, how do you think about that? Not going to suffice, is it?

Not going to work but yet how many Christians try to go one, well, I'll come to church and I'll sit there and I'll listen to a sermon. And that's all the God I need for this week. Really? Is it? I don't think so.

We need to spend time with him why? Every day. Every morning. Talking with our God. Reading from his word.

Taking it a bit bit further. If you look in John six, if you look in John six with me quick, let's read verses 29 through 35. John six twenty nine. Jesus answered and said unto him, them, this is the work of God that you believe on him who hath sent, who he hath sent. Now, who did God send?

He sent who? He sent Jesus. Where was Jesus? He was in heaven and God sent him to where? To Earth to become a human, to die on a cross for sinful human beings to take our punishment so that we might be saved.

So, verse 30, they said therefore unto him, what signs show us thou then that we may see and believe thee, what does thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Are you going to give us manna? What what are you going to show us?

What do you have for us? They wanted manna. They wanted physical what? Bread. They were all concerned about the physical.

Sadly, they weren't all concerned about the what? The heart, the spiritual, the eternal. He said, show us why you, Moses gave us manna. Did Moses give them manna? No.

Who gave them manna? God gave them manna. That's right. So, verse 32, then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, Moses gave you not the bread from heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Now, who's he talking about?

He's talking about himself. Talking about himself. Then, they said unto him, Lord, evermore, give us this bread. He didn't get it and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He who that cometh to me shall never hunger.

He that believeth on me shall never thirst. Who's the bread of life? Jesus Christ. He's the bread. He is God's spiritual provision sent down from heaven just as manna was sent down from heaven but not to provide for our physical need but to provide for our what?

Our spiritual need, our eternal need, our eternal hunger. That we can only be filled by who? By Jesus Christ. And with Christ, there is no lack. He could have fed 5,000 or 10,000 or 5,000,000 or 5,000,000,000 with five loaves and two fish.

He can provide our spiritual needs but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Both spiritual and physical. It's all within his it's all within his power. But you're not going to get your spiritual need met without who? Without Jesus.

He is God's sign of love to the world who came down from heaven to die for us but God commended or showed his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He is God's bread of heaven sent down to show us his what? That he loves us too. That he loves us too. He died for us.

The bread that we partake of, the little wafers when we have the Lord's supper as Jesus instituted it, represents his what? His body. His body that was given for us. He is God's gift of eternal life by which he restores that life in us, in us which was taken away way back in the garden of what? He is the bread of what?

Of life. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whoso believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Do you believe this this morning?

If you do and you've trusted in him to be your Lord and savior, he has saved your soul. He will provide what you lack. Trust him. Trust him. Grow in him.

Rely on him. He is God's reminder of how special you are. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that he should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Which in time past were not a people but now are the people of God which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. The mercy of God.

Have you received this gift that God has given Jesus Christ, his son? If you haven't, you can today. As we give a hymn of invitation. Come, I'll meet you down here and I'll show you how you can be saved and know it today. Do you have this bread?

This life or are you struggling through life alone, empty, and confused? Christian, are you feasting daily on his on this bread of life? Are you communing daily with him? If you're not, you're missing out. Go gather some bread.

It'll be there. Tomorrow morning and the next morning and the next morning and the next morning. But you have to pick it up. And you have to get on your knees. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for all that you've done for us, for being the bread of life. For Israel and for us today. Thank you Lord for your mercy and your grace and your goodness to us. Help us to learn from life's lessons. Help us to learn to trust you more and to feast daily on your word.

In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.