Are We Ready To Believe Enough To Perform The Works Of God And Give The Credit To God?

Good Morning Friends,

Our Old Testament reading today hints at problem addressed in our New Testament readings. You see we like the Israelites tend to be satisfied then a few moments later, we find ourselves complaining again. Even Moses’ faith was weak for he was still trying to get away from doing what God wanted him to do. And this brings us to today’s question about a new way in Christ. So, Are We Ready To Believe Enough To Perform The Works Of God And Give The Credit To God?

Scripture: The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning, you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”  In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 (NRSV)

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 (NRSV)

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ‘ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:24-35 (NRSV)

Message: St. Augustine noted that every person has a God shaped hole in his or her soul. People attempt to fill that cavity with lots of things, but nothing satisfies our desire for significance and assurance of redemption…. except Jesus the true bread from heaven. Deep in every human soul is a search for “Harmony” with our Creator, that was lost in the Garden of Eden. People ask thinking that there are many works of God and yet when Jesus responds he does so, using the singular form of the word.
The work of God in us, is that we believe on and in Jesus. Now we think that too simple, but here is the deal…we overvalue the weight of economic and political affairs more than Christ’s offer to conquer selfishness and ill temper in our own lives. So, we have trouble with this simple belief because our nature is to labor for the food that perishes instead of the food that endures to eternal life. It does not appeal to our human nature that a belief would be more important than an action. In fact, it is so simple, and we believe so strongly that there must be something else to it, that we tend to dismiss it. Jesus says that the work of the Father, God’s work in us is to believe on and in Jesus. You can make it more difficult than that if you wish, but you are missing the life that God intended for you to live if you do and here is why… When we believe we automatically ask another question…God, what would you have me to do? Now figuring out the will of God is not such an easy task, but it starts with believing. You see, God is much more concerned with our being, than our doing. But if we truly believe we will do. But it all starts with believing in Jesus, but it does not stop there. We are to grow in love. This is the main and principal thing we can do to glorify God and the singular thing that is well pleasing in his sight. Without a belief in Jesus, it is impossible to please God. Being a theist is great, but it cannot end there. Doing great works are wonderful but without God no work is worthy of being called good. This is the way God works. It is not the works of people in and of themselves, it is the pure gift of God. Friends, the chief end of people is to glorify God and enjoy God, but to fulfill the main purpose we must believe. For this one thing shapes our personality and actions to God’s will and helps us to begin to look more and more like children of God. Friends, we will always be hungry if we do not believe.

And So, bread in the Bible is the symbol of spiritual life. People all over the world are the same; they have an inborn hunger for something, and that something is Jesus, the true bread of life. People cannot be satisfied with anything less than Christ. When Jesus states: “I am the Bread of life.” He is inviting us to “absorb his teaching, His values, His very being…. He is speaking total assimilation, His passion, cross and resurrection and his commands… Jesus says that “If you love me you will obey my commands.” Jesus said… “Take eat this is my body” … This is profound teaching. It is the Holy Spirit that is the invisible presence of Jesus Christ in each believer. The Holy Spirit fills the hole in the human heart, for the Holy Spirit is truly the very presence of Jesus. The soul comes alive when Jesus moves in and lives in our being. When “harmony” with God exists, “harmony” with all creatures and our fellow human beings becomes reality. That is the miracle.

Pray we are not filled with excuses but with the joy of knowing Jesus. Pray we realize that the greatest miracle of all is Jesus and that we might believe in Him and
the things for which He stands. Pray for the way of life Jesus teaches. Pray for the fullness of God that Jesus reveals to us. Pray for the grace and help Jesus came to offer us. Pray for the victory which makes it possible for us to believe. Pray we realize that it all starts with believing in Jesus whom the Father has sent, and that this fundamental and foundational thing is the one thing we must first do with God’s help. Pray we realize that there are lots of works to be done, but if we hope to glorify God the singular one of primary importance is that we believe. Pray we realize that this is a gift we can never earn but hopefully a gift that prompts us to love.

Blessings,

John Lawson