Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The bread of heaven Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA August 10, 2003 Main Scripture text: John 6:41-58. Jesus didn't intend these words about "eating His flesh" and "drinking His blood" to be taken literally. That's clear from a pattern evident in John's gospel. In John 3, for example, Jesus tells a Pharisee named Nicodemus that he "must be born again." Jesus was using a physical act to illustrate the spiritual truth. Likewise John 4, Jesus tells the woman at the well that she needs "living water." Later, John's gosepl makes clear that the "water" Jesus spoke of is the Holy Spirit. In our text today, Jesus talks about the "bread of heaven." Again, this is language of the Spirit. He uses a familiar physical reality -- digestion -- to illustrate the spiritual truth He is teaching. What we eat determines who we are in terms of our physical bodies. Jesus is talking here about "spiritual digestion." We are to "digest Jesus," so that He begins to determine who we are in terms of our character, morality, and social functioning. Many Christians have not come to the point of realizing this truth and putting it into practice. Continuing with the metaphor of digestion, there are basically three kinds of Christians. First: Chewing-gum Christians. People don't eat gum; they just chew it long enough to get the sweet taste out. Chewing-gum Christians love to hear the Bible say: "For God so loved the world. . ."; but when Jesus says: "If anyone wants to come after me. . . let him take up his cross. . .," the gum looses it flavor fast. They're just chewing on Jesus to get a little sweet flavor out, but they're not digesting him. Jesus doesn't determine who they are or how they live their lives. Second: Orgy Christians. In Roman times, the most significant part of the orgy was food and drink. People would gorge themselves on the delicacies of the banquet table. When they got full they would retire to the back and regurgitate so they could eat again. Obviously, that food did them little good in terms of their physical energy needs. Orgy Christians gorge themselves blessings but the call to serious discipleship makes them want to throw up! They know all the religious jargon, but when it comes to the work of Kingdom of God, they're not around. Who Jesus is is not determining how they live their lives each day. Third: Feasting Christians. These believers feast on Jesus -- the bread of heaven -- with joy and anticipation. They enjoy the feast, then sit back a digest it. They allow what they know of Christ to shape and mold them -- to determine who they are, where they go, what they do. Actually, we probably all have a little bit of each type in us. Let's press on to true spiritual nourishment, not just a little sweet taste, not just trying to gorge on blessings. I hope we come to feast on Jesus -- to take Him into our hearts and lives, longing that He would change us and mold us into the image of Himself. Supporting texts: John 3:1-9 | John 4:1-24 | John 7:37-39 | Ecclesiastes 3: 11 | John 6:23-40 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030810a: The Bread of Heaven. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us