John 6:51-58

There's nothing like a good meal. When you are really hungry it is especially good. On our vacation we took a cruise. The food was exceptional. It was prepared well and presented well. But what made it even better was that we were hungry by the time we sat down. I don't know if it was the salt air or the fact that we were doing so much but the food just tasted wonderful.

The other thing about a good meal is that it settles you down. I don't know about you but when I get hungry I get nervous. I just tend to get jittery and jumpy. But a good meal settles me down. I am more at peace and relaxed after a good meal.

And of course a good meal gives me strength. Hunger can make you weak. But a good meal, not one full of empty calories, but a meal that is good for you can give you strength. That is why they say that breakfast is so important. It gives you energy to get the day started right.

Speaking of good meals, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." Now some of the people who heard Jesus say this thought he was crazy! And can you blame them? If someone came in here talking like that we would think them crazy. "I am the bread from heaven," "You must eat my body and drink my blood to be fed." It sounds like the ranting of someone having a psychotic episode.

Of course when we hear Jesus talking like this we immediately think of the Last Supper. We think of Holy Communion and the bread and wine that represent Jesus giving his life for us. And that is right, but Jesus had not had the last supper yet when he said these things. We can't simply write this off as an allusion to Communion. Jesus is saying something here that has meaning apart from that reference.

Jesus is saying, "I am the main course." You know the main course of the meal is that part that fills us up and nourishes us the most. The main course is the steak and potatoes or the chicken and rice. The soup and salad of the appetizers are great and the desert after is wonderful. But the main course makes or breaks the meal.

Jesus is saying he is the meat and potatoes for our souls. Forgive me but Jesus is Soul Food. What came before was good. The law and the prophets provided some nourishment. That bread Moses served as appetizer was fine. It was prepared by God after all. But Jesus is what really feeds us and gives us life.

Jesus is the main course. We sometimes lose sight of that fact. There is so much to feed on in the church. There are Bible Studies and fellowship and activities and committee meetings. And all these things are good. But they are just the soup and salad. They are the appetizers and the deserts.

Jesus is the main course. It is he who gives us eternal life. By feeding on him and taking him into our hearts and lives we receive life. You can feed on the appetizers and not die, but you will always be malnourished. So we need to remember that Jesus is the main course.

I don't know if it is true but according to legend there was once a king who loved his wife. But she died in child birth. Since he was a king he ordered a great memorial and mausoleum be built for his wife. Thousands of workers toiled for 17 years. The king dedicated himself to making sure the task was done well. One day near the end of construction a box was found among the construction rubble. They were about to discard it when it was discovered that it was the coffin of his wife. He had become so obsessed with the building of the memorial that he forgot it was meant to be a memorial for his wife and a final resting place for her body. According to legend that memorial is the Taj Mahal.

We too need to be careful that in the business of our church life we don't forget that is the reason for it all, that he is the main course. Jesus said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven." You know bread was the main staple of people's diets back then. People received most of their nourishment from bread. But to be nourished by bread you have to eat it. You have to take it into yourself.

That is the way it is with Jesus. We have to take him in. We have to accept him and ask him into out hearts. You have to let him become part of you.

Too often people try to keep him at arms length. For them Jesus is someone or something outside of them. But you have to let him in then he can nourish you. Then he can give life to your heart and soul.

Jesus is the main course and this main course involves a sacrifice. Jesus said, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" Now if Jesus had just wanted to talk about accepting him as spiritual nourishment he could have just talked about bread. But he also talks about blood. He is obviously talking about his death on the cross. Through his death Jesus feed us. His death defeated sin. And because sin is defeated we have forgiveness and eternal life. For that to happen, a sacrifice has to be made.

You know we modern people are out of touch with what goes into preparing our food. We forget that the fried chicken on our tables was once a live animal and it had to be killed to make our dinner possible. I remember reading an old church cookbook. It had a recipe for fried chicken. I thought "Wow! Here is a secret family recipe for southern fried chicken!" I started reading the recipe. The first line said, "Day before - pick out chicken." I can see in my mind a woman in an apron looking out the back door on a bunch of live chickens and picking one out to kill and cook. There was also a recipe for venison stew. The first step in the directions was "kill a deer."

This main course required a sacrifice too. Jesus' blood had to be shed. He had to die so that we could be fed. Eternal life is a free gift for us but it cost Jesus his life!

Jesus us the main course. Are you hungry? Do you find that you grow weak spiritually? Do feel jittery and nervous because your soul's blood sugar is low? Maybe you need a good meal.

Jesus is the only soul food that can gives eternal life. Other things may fill the emptiness for a little while, but they are just empty spiritual calories. If you want to be truly filled and never hunger again, you have to feed on Jesus. You have to dine on him. Allow his presence to fill your emptiness. Keep him at the center of your life.

Jesus is the bread of life. He died to feed us and give us eternal life. If you have never asked Jesus into your heart, then do it today before you starve. And if you have already asked him into your heart, then feed on him in prayer and in Bible study and in service. "This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

1 Kings 3:3-14

It happened in church. Not a church like this one with crosses and a pulpit, but one of the mountain shrines where people worshipped God before the Temple was built in Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that Solomon, the young king, loved the Lord and would regularly go to these hill shrines to worship God. It happened on one of these religious retreats that the Lord visited Solomon. In a dream God came to Solomon and said, "Ask what I should give you."

What would he ask for? Solomon could ask for riches or power. But of all the things he could've asked for, he asked for wisdom to rule God's people. When he could have thought of himself, he was thinking of the people of Israel. So God granted him not only the wisdom he asked for but the riches and power he didn't ask for.

There are three things we can learn from the example of Solomon. That's right! I know you all thought I would never do it. But this is a three-point sermon. From Solomon we learn: 1. The beginning of wisdom, 2. The proper use of wisdom, 3. The ends of wisdom.

So what is the beginning of wisdom? The Bible says in Psalm 111, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."(vs. 10) Too many misunderstand the meaning of this word "fear." If God is a Heavenly Father, then it is not "fear' in the sense of being afraid of criminals or of disasters. The Hebrew word used here is "yirah" it means "awe" or "reverence." It cannot mean terror or fright because Hebrew has other words for those meanings. "Fear of the Lord" is a fundamental recognition that God is the Almighty and that we are nothing but a part of the Almighty's creation.

The natural result to this "fear of the Lord" is worship. If we realize deep in our hearts that God is the Almighty and we are but creatures then we know our place. Our place is to worship, reverence and praise God. We are the servants of God and our job in life is to give God glory.

I can see this in my own life. Many of you know that I am interested in Astronomy. My interest goes way back to childhood. When I was little I read books and studied about the planets and stars and galaxies. It amazes me that this universe is so immense and that it contains such marvelous things as quasars and pulsars and black holes. If you had asked me at a young age what I wanted to be when I grew up I would have said, "Either an astronomer or a preacher." Later in life I realized that my interest in the stars was really an outgrowth of my amazement at their creator. And so my amazement at the God that created the stars led me to leading God's people in worship.

It is obvious that Solomon had learned this same lesson. He, the great king of Israel, loved the Lord and regularly worshipped the Lord. He "feared" the Lord and as a result worshipped God. He had already obtained the beginning of wisdom and through his relationship with God he received the rest of wisdom.

The first thing we learn from Solomon is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The second thing we learn is that the proper use of wisdom is to serve others. This is in direct contradiction to the world's way of doing things. In the world knowledge is used to gain power over people. They say "knowledge is power" and then they use that power to get what they want. In contrast to this I would say that wisdom is power but that this power should be used to serve God and humanity.

Solomon is an example of the proper use of wisdom. Solomon had the power to get anything he wanted. God had given him a blank check that he could have used for wealth and power. But Solomon used that power to serve the children of Israel. Instead of asking for things for himself he sought the ability to lead the people properly.

Jesus is also an example of the proper use of wisdom and the power that comes with it. Jesus had command of all the angels of heaven. He could have called them down and imposed his will on the human race. He had the power to spare himself of the pain and agony of the cross. But instead he offered himself up to die so that we might have eternal life. He sacrificed his own life for the children of God.

From Solomon we learn the beginning of wisdom and its use, but we also learn the ends of wisdom. We see the wisdom of Solomon already beginning with his fear of the Lord and his care for the people. But when he asked for wisdom, God gave him the power and wealth he didn't ask for. To me this demonstrated the natural outcome of wisdom. If we seek first to serve others and not ourselves then God will bless us.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that if you do God's will you will become rich and powerful in this life. You may. Some people credit John Wesley with creating the middle class in England. The principle of Christian stewardship that the early Methodists taught along with the Christian ethics is said to have led some people out of poverty. Add to that the fact that the Methodists also taught people to read. It may have been so that they could read their Bibles but the end result was that they were more employable and more easily educated. Leading a Christian life may bring you riches, but you may also be persecuted and receive poverty and death for your love of neighbor and God. Either way, though, you will be blessed by God. You will receive spiritual blessings that will give you strength and hope in this life and heavenly riches in the next.

Once again Jesus is the ultimate example of this truth. As I pointed out he used wisdom to serve others. And what was his reward: he was stripped and beaten and nailed to a cross! But the Bible says that because he was obedient unto death he received a name that is above every name and all things are placed under his feet.(Phil. 2:8-11) Jesus was given power and riches beyond any that this world could offer. And the Bible says that we who are faithful to the end will be joint heirs with him in the Kingdom of God.(Rom. 8:16)

It happened in church that Solomon asked for and received wisdom. It still happens in church every Sunday. People gather at the high holy places of our age. And God visits them. That's what we say we believe: that wherever two or more gather in Jesus' name he is there. And the people lift up prayers for the things they want.

But what do they ask for? Often times it is riches and power. Sometimes the church, in an attempt to reach people, presents the Gospel as merely a way to get what you want. Jesus is turned into a genie that if you rub his lamp will grant you three wishes. Some even proclaim a worldly gospel, which says you should name and claim the things you want.

Solomon and Christ both show us that of all the things we could ask for wisdom should be at the top of our list. Solomon shows us that "fear" or reverence for the Lord is the beginning of that wisdom. And once we get that wisdom we should use it to serve God and our neighbor. And the end result is that God will bless us. So fear God and seek wisdom so that we may dwell in God's blessings.

It happened in church that God asked Solomon what he wanted. And it is happening now. God the Almighty is here to hear your prayers. Will they be the self-serving materialistic prayers of the unwise? Or will you wisely and in "fear" of the Lord, ask for the needs of others. God says to you, "What do you want?" What is your response?