Jesus Is the Way to Eternal Life

Scripture: John 6: 26-27

Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw^[f] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.²⁷Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”

Scripture Commentary:

Eat and fill yourself with food and be hungry again. Fill yourself with the food that lasts for eternal life that the Son of Man gives you and never hunger or thirst again.

Jesus criticized the people who followed Him only for physical and temporal benefits, not for satisfying their spiritual hunger. The Word of God has a filling effect on the spirit that food can’t satisfy.

What do you hunger for?

Is it for worldly goods or is it for eternal life with Our Savior Jesus Christ? True believers follow Jesus simply because they know He has the truth. His way is the way to salvation.

Jesus is the bread of life but bread must be eaten to sustain life. You must invite Christ into your life. He must be part of your daily walk to sustain spiritual life with Him.

God can do the miraculous.

God, through the Holy Spirit, urges you to accept, but it’s up to you to believe in Christ. God can do the miraculous. Trust Him to provide the way.

Don’t miss your opportunity to believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ!

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 6

Read Other Commentary From the Book of John

Christ is the True Vine

God Didn’t Send Jesus to Condemn the World

Learn the Truth of Jesus

Scripture: John 8: 42-47

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to^[f] my word. ⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,^[g] because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

Scripture Commentary: Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.*

Because God loves us, He sent His Son. But we, like the people in Jesus’s time, do not believe. Satan uses our stubbornness, pride and prejudice to keep us from the truth. We may not be conscious of this but our hatred of truth, our lies and murderous intentions indicates how much control the devil has over us.

Satan, both then and now, uses people to obstruct God’s work. Satan has many tools to carry out his plans, and his followers speak the same language of lies.

No one can accuse Jesus of a single sin.

Jesus intentionally challenged His listeners to test Him. Ask yourself, do I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior?

If you answered yes, remember to keep Jesus’s word in your heart. This means to not only hear His words but to obey them and lean on Jesus for His love.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 8

* John 1: 17

Read Other Commentary From the Book of John

J esus, the Light of the World

Do You Recognize God’s Voice?

The Food of Spiritual Nourishment

Scripture: John 4: 34-38

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,”Jesus told them. ³⁵“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open^[h] your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready^[i] for harvest. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from^[j]their labor.”

Scripture Commentary:

The “food” Jesus speaks about was His spiritual nourishment. It includes more than Bible study, prayer, and attending church. Spiritual nourishment also comes from doing God’s will and helping to bring His work of salvation to completion.

Don’t let Jesus find you making excuses.

We are nourished not only by what we take in but also by what we give out for God. Sometimes Christians excuse themselves from witnessing by saying that their family or friends aren’t ready to believe. Jesus, however, makes it clear that a continual harvest waits to be reaped. Look around, you will find people ready to hear God’s Word.

The wages Jesus offers are the joy of working for Him and seeing the harvest of believers. These wages come to the sower and reaper alike because both find joy in seeing new believers come into Christ’s kingdom.

There is joy in working for our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, He loves you. He gave His life for you.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 4

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John

Do You Know the Gift of God?

You Can Depend on Jesus to Make You Whole

I Once Was Blind But Now I See

Scripture: John 9: 1-3

While He was passing by, He noticed a man [who had been] blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed and illustrated in him.

Scripture Commentary: Jesus healed the blind.

I went blind when I was in my early thirties. My wife woke me to take our children to school. I asked her what time it was and if the curtains were closed. She replied that they were not so I asked her to take the the kids to school and then come back. When she got back, I told her I could not see.

I was taken to the doctor and then to the hospital. After a week, the doctors told my family I was blind and regaining my sight wasn’t likely. My family prayed and I saw again. I thanked the doctors and went about my life for thirty years before realizing it was God who gave me my sight back.

God is good all the time!

I tell you this to say how good Our Lord Jesus Christ is. He took a fool like me, healed me, protected me, loved me and gave me this ministry!

What can He do for you? Everything! Our God is truly a loving God who heals the sick, and protects you from harm and you don’t even know it.

How many times have you said that you were lucky? It wasn’t luck; it was Jesus Christ protecting you. Don’t wait years to thank Jesus. Thank Him every day because every day He protects you.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 9

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John

There’s A Mansion for You in Heaven

Nicodemus Came to Jesus by Night

God Sent Us the Bread of Life

Scripture: John 6: 35-37

Jesus replied to them, “I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually]. But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. All that My Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, never reject anyone who follows Me].

Scripture Commentary: Jesus is the bread that supports spiritual life.

Jesus told the people as He tells us today: He is the Bread of Life (the living life). Those who accept Him will have eternal life. Jesus was not talking about the life that we have now. He is talking about a new life that we, as Jesus’s followers, will have with Him.

Jesus satisfies a spiritial hunger and thirst.

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and sustain physical life. When we accept Jesus as the ‘Bread of Life,’ we are satisfying a spiritual hunger and a spiritual life.

Satisfying God does not come from our works but from accepting Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior. Jesus said that He would not lose one person whom the Father had given Him. Thus, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God’s promise of eternal life with Him.

Death has no hold on those who follow Jesus.

Those who put their faith in Christ will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life with God. As God’s child, death has no hold on us. God has sent the Holy Spirit to us to show the way to Him. Open your heart; let God in.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 6

Read Other Commentary From the Book of John:

Jesus Offers You Living Water to Slack Your Thirst

Jesus, the Light of the World

Do You Recognize God’s Voic

Jesus Heals the Blind

Scripture: John 9: 1-4

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ²And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Scripture Commentary: Jesus opens the eyes of the blind.

When you woke up this morning, did you see the light of Our Lord or just the sunlight? Jesus will open your blind eyes if you let Him in.

Seeing with your eyes is only one part of sight. To see God is to know Him and believe in Him. Jesus not only gave the blind man his sight in John Chapter 9 but He also gave the man faith so that he could testify to the world about the miracle that Christ had done.

See clearly the miracle that is your life.

What miracle has God done for you, and have you shared it with anyone? When we follow God we not only gain physical sight but we also gain spiritual sight.

We go through life and things happen. When God works His miracle, many say that they were lucky. This doesn’t give God the glory.

What happens to you isn’t luck at all.

Think about it. Things happen for a reason. We need to open our blind eyes and see and feel the love God has for us.

As with the blind man in the story, your life has been miraculously changed. Don’t be afraid to tell others. You don’t need to know all the answers in order to share Jesus Christ with your friends or enemies.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 9

Read Additional Commentary From the Book of John:

Christ Is the True Vine

Confidently Trust the Lord Your Savior

Come to Jesus’ Banquet Table

Part Three: Jesus Prepared Your Place At the Table (Jesus Is Our Great Shepherd)

There are seventy-two psalms and almost half speak about enemies. Enemies are those who oppose not only us, but also God’s ways. David is at the table asking God to keep his enemies from overcoming him because they oppose what God stands for.

David isn’t questioning his faith. He knows that God will triumph. But David did not want his enemies’ success to be an obstacle to the faith of others. When we see a person or a group that we consider to be doing well, keep in mind that it’s only temporary, as we all are temporary. We are here for a moment, but what we do while we are here in the name of Our Lord will carry on.

Psalm 25: 2

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Perfect Shepherd, promises to guide and protect us through life to bring us into His Father’s house.

John 14: 2

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

God tells us He is our shepherd. Jesus tells us He is going to prepare a place for us, and He will come back for us. We can look forward to eternal life with Him.

Psalm 23: 6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Jesus has a place for you in His Father’s house, and the banquet table is prepared. Your seat is waiting for you. Jesus paid the ultimate price for your seat when He went to the cross, died and rose from the grave. Jesus gave you the way to eternal life.

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Read Parts 1 and 2 of the sermon,

Part one: The Great Shepherd Restores the Soul

Part two: God Is With Me; I Will Fear No Evil

Jesus, the Light of the World

Scripture: John 8: 12-18

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Scripture Commentary: Walk in the light.

Jesus said that He is the light of the world. What does it mean to follow Him? As a soldier follows his captain, so we should follow Christ, our commander.

As we follow the advice of a trusted counselor, so we should follow Jesus’s commands to us in Scripture. Additionally, as we follow the laws of our nation, so we should follow the laws of the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus told the truth about Himself.

The Pharisees thought Jesus was either a lunatic or a liar. Jesus offered a third alternative: He was telling the truth. Because most of the Pharisees refused to consider the third alternative, they never recognized Him as Messiah and Lord.

If you seek to know who Jesus is, don’t close any door before looking through it. Only with an open mind will you know the truth that He is Messiah and Lord.

Is Jesus the light of your world? Let Christ into your life and see His light shine on you.

Read the Entire Chapter:

John Chapter 8

Do You Recognize God’s Voice?

Sermon (Part Two): What Side of the Cross Are You On? … Do you recognize God’s voice?

John 10: 4-5

” … When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

If you haven’t accepted Christ into your life, how do you know if or when He is talking to you? You know your friend’s voice, you know your enemy’s voice. You’ve learned to trust one and not the other.

God will never tell you wrong, but satan will tempt you always.

Jesus hung on the cross with two criminals. One was on His right; the other was on His left. One says to Jesus to save Himself and them also. But the other criminal was different.

Luke 23: 40-41

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

This criminal admits they were there because of their deeds.
It’s the same with us. We have done many wrong things and have finally been caught.

Luke 23: 42-43

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This criminal saw God in the flesh. He saw goodness, mercy, love and forgiveness. He repents and Christ saves him. The other was not saved.

Which criminal are you?

Are you the criminal who thinks and acts only for himself? Are you the one who receives God’s love and don’t return it? You cannot ask for forgiveness yet not give it.

The two criminals had time to ask for forgiveness and accept God. One was saved, the other wasn’t.

The time is now.

You have time today to accept Jesus and ask for forgiveness. Later is not promised. So, if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, stand and ask for His forgiveness! Ask for His love, and tell Him you love him!

Praise the Lord. Thank you, God. We love you. Thank you for your Son. Thanks be to God.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

John Chapter 10

Luke Chapter 23

Read Part One of the Sermon, What Side of the Cross Are You On?

Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns?

Sermon: Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns?

Part One: Matthew 25: 1-4

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

This is a story for today, with an emphasis on the question, “Are you prepared if Christ was to come here, now?” God tells us throughout the Bible to prepare ourselves for His coming.

I can pray for you but I cannot live for you.

The parable of the 10 virgins illustrates that each of us is responsible for his or her spiritual condition. I can pray for you but I cannot live for you. I can take you to church, and read you the Scriptures. However, if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you are the one who is lost.

This parable is about you and it’s about me. Some of us are prepared and are waiting. But some of us are waiting for the procession to start before we think about getting prepared.

Everyone is responsible for his own actions.

Now here comes the bridegroom, Jesus, with the bride. They have made many stops along the way. They have seen family, friends, and well wishers along the route. Those of us who have our oil are prepared to join the procession, and we only have enough for the procession. We have none to spare for those who didn’t do what was required. Each person is responsible for him/herself.

Did you prepare yourself?

Are you ready for the good food, music, wine, and the other fine single people who will be in attendance? Or do you need to run off to buy your oil after the procession has begun?

When Jesus comes, you can’t ask Him to wait because you didn’t take the time to get ready. Spiritual preparation can’t be bought or borrowed at the last minute. Our relationship with God must be our own.

God rewards faithfulness.

The parable describes the consequences of two attitudes toward Christ’s return. There are those who diligently prepare for it by investing their time and talent serving God.

Then there are those who take no time and have no heart to work for God. Those who bear no fruit for God cannot expect to be treated the same as those who are faithful.

John 14: 3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus told His followers, and He is telling us what we must do to enter the kingdom. First, we are to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then we are to love one another, and help each other spread God’s Word wherever we can.

Read the Full Chapters of the Scriptures Referenced:
Matthew Chapter 25
John Chapter 14

Return Friday, November 23, for the next installment in the sermon, Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns?