What Must We Do?

 

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world.”

This discussion had from a discussion of a question they asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires? And Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe the one He has sent.’” The people then asked for a sign like the children of God ate manna in the wilderness to believe in Him.

Just starting with this statement Jesus says about work, it is huge. The work that God requires, is the work of belief. It is sin that corrupted belief. It changed people’s hearts from trusting to doubt and self-sufficiency (being like God). Leaving the garden and working the ground is this place of striving to achieve by works rather than believing and bearing fruit.

Things became corrupted with works and let sin steal the place of ease in relationship and trust. Rather than God bringing to us the animals to name and speak purpose over, we hunt them down to provide for us.

In this conversation Jesus was having, the Jews were looking to Jesus to prove Himself by giving them provision. As they saw Moses as the source of the provision of manna, Jesus responded that it is the Father who gives ‘true bread from heaven.’ He tells them, “For the bread of God [like manna] is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” As they said they desired this bread, He proclaimed, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

He wanted them to get a picture of Him like the stories of manna that was provided in the wilderness. It was supernatural provision for the people of God. The manna that they were provided in the wilderness was only available for the specific day. The people of God needed to gather it up every day fresh or it would go bad. It was only on their day of rest that the manna would miraculously last.

Eating has to do with receiving and taking in the true provision from heaven. As this is in the context of coming to Him, it is partaking in His life and provision on a daily basis. In receiving Him and partaking of what He provides us, we also grow in our belief in Him.

Jesus was saying that the people needed to partake of Him on a daily basis. They needed to continually reach out and receive what He had for them as their provision. As Jesus is the “Word of God made flesh,” it also is speaking of receiving the Word from Him, hearing His voice daily.

He goes on to say these words that could not be understood by them as they didn’t have the Spirit yet and were looking for something to eat, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.”

Some groups believe that Jesus is actually in the elements of the bread and wine of communion, and one must partake of these if they want to have a connection with Jesus. They teach that His actual presence is in the elements. However, this would put yet another limitation on Jesus and a barrier to a relationship with Him.

Jesus also said that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life. While we can partake of elements that remind us of Him and what He did for us on the cross, it is only as we partake of a relationship with Him that we experience His presence. Our belief needs to be in Him rather than the power of the elements.

As He was at the last supper, Jesus in Luke 22:19-20, “took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.’ Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.’”

Jesus was inviting them into this New Covenant that is based upon His death on the cross and rising into victory over death. We enter into this new life by belief in Him and being born again in Spirit through the Covenant.

At the same time, partaking of these elements have power. Partaking on the elements in the wrong spirit, treating it as casual, like just eating a meal, in unbelief, is sin. We are to be reminded of His powerful work on the cross in paying the penalty of our sin. Partaking of it brings this Covenant relationship to the forefront.

Paul tells the church in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32, “ So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

Here Paul tells the body that some of them are suffering because of the way they are partaking of the body and blood is sin. They are not examining themselves before eating the bread and drinking from the cup, but being casual about it. In this specific case, some were indulging their appetites and drinking too much, and others, having very little, were sitting hungry while others ate. When we partake of the Covenant, we are to remember that we first belong to the Lord, and because of this, we belong to one another. It is in a spirit of great honor that we come before Him, and have the privilege to take part in the elements as a reminder of this new Covenant.

His payment for our sin and remembrance of this Covenant is also something we need to partake of daily. We remain in Him and He remains in us through this continual partaking of Him. It is abiding in Him that brings us continual life.

We are born into the Spirit but, like a child learning to walk, we need to learn to live by this new divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

As one of my pastors spoke of in service last week, we overcome sin and the corruption of the world, not by our own strength but by leaning into Jesus. He is the answer to freedom from sin. As we become dependent upon Him and partake of His divine nature, we overcome the temptations of the world.

2 Peter 1:5-7 goes on to say, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I used to always focus on the phrase ‘make every effort’ to add. Something more to work on was faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control and on and on. Trying to work on all these elements can become exhausting. However, I needed to re-read this. It starts with faith. It is through faith that we learn to trust and depend upon the Lord. Through faith, we lean into Jesus and His strength to overcome sin. Then through stepping into virtue, we gain knowledge, gnosis, a personal experience and through this personal experience we continue to gain on and on.

Ultimately, we gain His love for others as we partake of His nature. Our journey of partaking starts with gaining freedom for ourselves, but as Nelson Mandela writes, it doesn’t end here. Living in true freedom sets others free.[1] Have you ever experienced this… His heart for others? When I had my first child, I had this overpowering love for them. It was a gift. Then when I received my two youngest boys and said yes to fostering, adopting and raising them with my husband, I had divine love for them.

When I first got my littlest, I would call him ‘my little steam pot.’ He was angry about life. His mom and dad both left him, he was separated from his brothers and then had come to me as his fifth or so mom. And he couldn’t do the things other kids his age could do like ride a bike so this frustrated him as well. He let me know it. He called me by my first name for over a year and let me know that “real mom’s lived in waterparks.” Yet, none of his anger or shenanigans mattered to me. The love that I had and have for this little boy is overpowering and relentless. He carts my heart around.

I also have this divine love when I pray for certain things. There are times that I have an overwhelming love for certain people groups and in certain circumstances. I can connect with them one day and have normal affections but then while praying, I can be overwhelmed with love for them and have to choke back tears.

After a certain event that I had been praying for and seemed to have a great burden, I took a nap and woke up to hearing someone speaking the words over me, “She is like a river connected to the ocean that has overflowed its banks.” I don’t know who was speaking it but it was audible and powerful. Since then, I keep asking God to make me overflow like a river on everyone around me.

All that to say, as much as I seem to fall into works, none of these could be worked up. We cannot add these things by our own efforts. We can only add to our faith by stepping into those things that the Lord speaks to us about. As we step into them by faith, He aligns us and gives us all that we need to fulfill His purposes. In 2 Timothy 3:16:17 it says that as we partake of Scripture, we will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This gets into the question of how do we “partake” of the Lord. I know for me, one way I partake of the Lord is meditating on the Word. Another way is in worship. Stepping out in faith, believing good for someone and sometimes fasting.

With fasting, there are times that I feel so connected to God that I tell God I never want to stop. I just want to fast my whole life until the day I go home. I have incredible dreams and feel the Lord with me continually. It is this incredible feast and I feel like I am walking in two realms. I so desire to live in this place and pray for more strength, stamina and grace to be in this place for long fasting periods. I am so happy, satisfied, and content there.

Then there are other times, that fasting is just hard. I fast and I feel tired, hungry, and even angry. I feel dry rather than full. I worship and the heavens feel bronze. When I grit my teeth and continue fasting, my jaw aches and I am freezing cold all the time. I avoid people so I don’t blow up on them or I just stress out, projecting bad as I am going to be meeting with someone.

Other times, I feel connected to God while I fast but then I seem to get distracted. I seem to move into works or I am tempted by warm sweet decaf coffee with creamer. Other times, it seems to be just a little compromise, then another and I am not fasting anymore and soon indulging in cravings. Or, I start to worry about something and start eating whatever is around me.

So why even fast? There are scriptures about fasting where the Jews ask Jesus why His disciples are not fasting while John’s disciples learned a discipline of fasting. Jesus responded that the children of the bridechamber cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them (Mark 2:19). Rather, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Matthew 9:18).

Here, Jesus is referring to fasting as a form of waiting and longing for His return. While with Him, the disciples did not have this longing, but after He left, it is a way that we express our longing for His return and His Kingdom to come. And as we come closer to the time of His return, we will be filled with more longing and lovesickness. Here is a poem that I wrote about the longing of the Bride for the return of Christ from the: Song of Songs Return Poem.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves [fast] and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

In Joel, it speaks of these locusts that invade the land. As I have mentioned in prior writings, these are not normal locusts but demonic forces that invade the land like a military force, devouring people’s hope and leaving them feeling barren and in lack, despair and anguish. Joel cries out for the ministers of God [intercessors] to come before Him, repent for the people and fast. He also calls for the people of God to come together in a solemn assembly and cry out to God for help. (Joel 1-2)

Later in Acts, we hear Peter declare that we are in these times that Joel speaks of that are the “last days.” While the tribulation has been growing, just as birth pangs get stronger before birth, so will the longing for His return.

We have been seeing the growing pain in tribulation of mental health issues, depression, despair, anguish, desire for escape, and anxiety. We need to know the answer to people suffering these demonic locusts that are trying to devour them is to fast and pray for God’s help and His Kingdom to come. As it afflicts even those who follow Christ in some cases, we are to fast and pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.” (Joel 2:17)

We also know that fasting is not just for waiting and longing for the return of Jesus. There are also scriptures about deliverance happening only through fasting and prayer (Mark 9:29). Jesus was fasting when He came upon the woman at the well and she became so free that, not only stopped hiding from others in shame, but ran to them all to let them know who Jesus was.

And in Isaiah 58 we see that fasting is a way of seeking out the Lord and calling upon Him to act on your behalf, speak to you, or move in your life situations. Fasting was used by the disciples to minister before Him and seek His purposes. It was after fasting and praying that Paul and Barnabas were sent out.

All that to say that it is a powerful spiritual tool for end times. Less and less, we have the strength or capability in ourselves. Our only answer is Jesus. And as we fast and pray for His Kingdom to come and His will be done, we will see a flood of mercy pour out to all those in need.

Lord Jesus, give us grace to fast and pray in this hour. We need You more than ever. Help us to walk in Your purposes and love for others. Encourage us and fill our hearts with lovesickness as we wait for You in this hour.

1. Mandela, Nelson. Inspiriationboost.com. July 30, 2015.