By Sam Arokoyu

(Sunday June 29th, 2008)

[For a printable version click here.]

John 1 vs 2 – 5

• The same was in the beginning with God
• All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.
• In him was life and the life was the light of men.
• And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1 vs 12 “But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”.

John 1 vs 14 “And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us … full of grace and truth”. 

THERE IS FAMINE IN THE LAND.

We are in the time of physical and spiritual hunger. The question we ask ourselves is: In this time of spiritual hunger should we as it were, eat whatever food (spiritual bread) that comes our way or should we be careful to seek for that which is truly bread? Can we afford to eat any and any type of spiritual food?

We must be very selective about what we eat, it is not all food that is good food. Any word of God that is; the true word of God spoken by God the Father is what can be made flesh in us (able to change us for the better). That is the spiritual food we must eat. John 1 vs 14 “And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth”. Those who eat of the true word of God are those through whom the glory of God shall shine forth in their lives just like it did in Jesus. Jesus is the bread from heaven who was full of grace and truth. May our souls pant after the true word of God as the deer pants after the water brooks.

The experience of Jesus in the wilderness teaches us a thing or two about bread (spiritual food).

In Matthew chapter 4 vs 3 Jesus when he was asked to turn stones (that which is not true bread) into bread (spiritual food) to satisfy His hunger. Jesus answered, vs 4 “… It is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. Jesus knew that even though He was hungry, it was better to endure the hunger, than use His power to turn stones (an improper source of food) into bread to satisfy hunger. He knew there was no point eating for eating sake.

You must eat from the right source for it to profit you. The important questions to ask are; where is the food from? What is its source? Is it from the stone source or does it proceed from God?

HOW DO YOU GET TRUE BREAD?

Ask:

If you are hungry and you want bread, what should you do? Ask God to give you bread (Luke 11 vs 3). “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” Matthew 5 vs 6. God will give you that which is true bread He will lead you to the right source.  (Luke 11 vs 11 – 12). It is a pity that much of the food Christians are eating today are stones turned into bread (food served from a source other than from God). Resist the temptation to turn stone into bread just to satisfy your hunger. What you need is true bread. Bread that proceedeth not from stone (all manner of sources) but from God through Jesus Christ. What is the point of eating from the wrong source? Such bread will not do you good. It will not produce the glory of God (i.e. the righteousness of God in you). It will not give you the spiritual power or energy you need to overcome the sins in your life; rather if you are not careful it will even encourage you to do that which is contrary to God’s will. (Even in the physical, if you eat the wrong food you will be constipated).

Let your trust be in God to provide you your daily bread. He knows you need bread. “If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him” Luke 11 vs 13.

Ask for understanding:

If you read the scriptures without understanding there is the tendency to give it your own interpretation. The apostle asked the Eunuch “understandeth what thou readeth”? The disciples made this mistake when Jesus was speaking to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees; they assumed he was talking to them about physical bread (what he was talking about was wickedness). Though he was giving them the true word (bread) they lacked understanding, What is the way out then? Ask God to give you understanding of that which you hear/read.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE IN ASKING AND RECEIVING BREAD FROM GOD:

1) We must be a people of the tent, not a people of the street (Gen. 25, 27). This point is well illustrated in the lives of Esau and Jacob. Esau was a man of the street (fields) always  jumping from one place to the other looking for game (bush meat). No wonder then Esau was always hungry, he had little strength. When hunger came, he was quickly tempted to sell His precious birthright for a bowl of pottage. How sad.

Jacob on the other hand was a man of the tent (house). This gives you a picture of a steady character, faithful, stable, seeking God, listening to God and waiting patiently for the master to give him food.

May we be a people who have time for God, who are able to eat good enough food to build up strength to resist the temptations to eat any and any thing. It is better not to eat than to eat stone. May we be a people that are faithful (steady, permanent, verified, truthful) waiting at the masters table for our food.

2) We must learn to walk with God: In Genesis chapter 5 we read the account of Enoch. A man the bible expressly states walked with God. We must decide deliberately to walk with God. You have to make up your mind to be intimate with God, seriously building (cultivating) a relationship with Him. Every aspect of your life must be committed to him, your decisions must be taken only after you have submitted them in prayer to Him. You must walk as one who has a master over him. Then God will give you the direction (food) you need.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE ABOUT THE BREAD (MANNA) THAT GOD GIVES

God provided food for the children of Israel in the wilderness. And He gave specific instructions as to how they should handle the manna given them. The manna was not to be gathered or eaten amiss. (Numbers 11, Exodus 16 vs 15 – 31). There are a number of lessons we can learn from these instructions.

1) It must be gathered every morning – The bread God gives is an everyday affair and must be gathered daily.

2) The gathering must be according to His instruction.

3) It was to be gathered according to your capacity (according to your household).

4) There was to be no left over (it was not to be wasted).

5) On the Sabbath day, there was to be no gathering – The implication was that you had to gather the day before the Sabbath, twice as much, to have enough for the Sabbath day, when you were not allowed to gather. We recall also God speaking to us in the New Testament about praying that our flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath. What this tells us is that the energy required for the day of rest (Sabbath) must be gotten before that day. As we approach the end of the age; when the spirit of destruction will be released, we must be prepared before the time of midnight (final destruction). Gather double portions now that you have the opportunity. At the time of midnight the word of God will be scarce. The illustration of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins is another way of saying the same thing. The night cometh when no man can gather. Gather the word of God brethren, store it up in your vessel (soul, mind) for the night cometh when no man can work.

WHAT MANNA OF BREAD OUGHT WE TO GATHER?

We must gather quality bread. (Number 11 vs 7 – 9). The manna God gave the Israelites was described as tasting like fresh oil and honey. Even the colour was described. It was quality food. We should eat good food. May we not be tempted or enticed to go out from the camp of the Lord to go and eat or hear words whose source is not of God or learn ways which be not of God. Remember Dinah who were to spy out the land (see what the heathen were doing) there she got defiled. Jesus is the true bread that proceedeth from God. Eat of him that you may have life. There are also other principles we can draw from the instructions God gave Israel about the animals they should eat (clean animals).

In Leviticus 11 vs 3, they were instructed to eat whatsoever was cloven footed, what ever parted the hoof. Also the fish to be eaten was to have fins and scales. They were to regard all creeping things as an abomination. These are all symbolic and we infer the following:

a) Animals that part the hoof:

These animals possessed hoof’s that were divided in 2 e.g. cow, goat etc. What God is saying is that the food we eat must be nutritiously balanced. Balanced by the Spirit of God and the written word of God. If the revelation you receive is always only of the spirit. spirit, spirit without balancing such with the written word; the tendency could be you fall into error. The letter without the Spirit, or the Spirit without the word killeth. The food we eat must be balanced to do us good.

b) Animals that are cloven footed:-

Such animals have a protective covering on the foot e.g. or horse (horse shoe). Their feet are protected. God is saying that the food we eat must have a protective foundation which is Jesus Christ. Not miracles, or oratory or professionalism etc. Christ should be the foundation from where the word proceedeth. The bread that has no foundation is Christ is no bread.

1 Peter 6 “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded”.

c) Animals that chew the cord:-

These are animals that when they eat, they bring up again what they have eaten and chew on it. The process repeats itself as long as it is necessary e.g. goat, the cow etc. The word we receive should not be the word that is immediately forced down our throat into the intestine. You must be allowed to brood over the word, examine it and digest it. Remember the Berean Christians. You must test the word to confirm whether it be true or not. Beware of any one who forces you to believe the word he brings.

d) That which has fins/scales:

The scale protects, while the fins propels the animal forward helping it to find its way. It helps them to reach their destination unharmed. Therefore the word we eat must be the word that helps us to overcome sin in our lives and encourages us to walk in the part of righteousness. It must help you overcome worldliness, lust of the flesh etc. The word must be one that encourage you to overcome in your situation or environment.

Beware of the words you hear, that rather promotes or encourages, for example selfishness as opposed to “death to self” through Christ. Beware indeed of any word that encourages you not to address the besetting sins in your life.

POLLUTED OR UNWORTHY BREAD:

God instructed His people not to eat any polluted, unclean or dead animals, even if they had satisfied the five conditions outlined above.

A clean animal (the one God permitted they could eat) may become polluted under certain conditions. In such a case they were to regard the animal unclean and were no longer permitted to eat it. A clean animal becomes unclean under these conditions.

1) When the animal dies of itself, it was not to be eaten (Lev. 11 vs 39 & 17: 15).

The inference here is that you should learn how to check out the source of the word you receive. Learn to discern the source of the word you are receiving. Is it a dead or a living word.

Don’t just receive blindly. If you are to sit under the ministry of anyone, you must examine his lifestyle. The bible says by their fruits you shall know them. From their (life style) you can judge from which source they are getting their word (which master they serve). Beware when the source of the word is not known.

2) When it is devoured (torn) by wild beast (Lev. 17 vs 15 & 22 vs 8).

When the word being preached comes from the realm of the soul (man’s emotions, reasoning or intellect, mind etc.) rather than the Spirit of God, such a word is said to be dead or devoured. It may have been devoured (tainted) by the things (wild beast) in the soul (anger, jealousies, fornicators, lusts etc). The responsibility is on him whom God chooses to bring the word and those who receive it to seek God sufficiently to ensure they do not give (preach) or receive (listen to ) dead words.

3) Creeping animals or beasts were also not to be eaten (Lev. 11 vs 41).

These are messages that are focused on earthly or material things – prosperity or emotional messages, messages from motivational or professional speakers which have no foundation in Christ etc. their messages usually do not encourage you to strive to overcome the besetting sins in your life. A good example is the doctrine of rapture which gives you the impression that one day you shall be suddenly transformed or taken away from the situations that confront you. The implication is if you full of anger, instead of striving to overcome the anger, you remain in it, waiting for the time of rapture. Sorry to say, you must resist the anger and overcome it completely (it should no longer overwhelm you).

The problem with dead words is that:

It has no ability to produce life in the hearer (i.e. you do not receive ability or sufficient incentive to do righteousness) rather it produces death (encourages you to remain carnal).

Dimension (levels, types of polluted bread mentioned in the scripture)

i) Bread of wickedness – Prov. 4 vs 17

ii) Bread of affliction – 2 Chrn 18 vs 26

iii) Bread of sorrows – Psalm 127 vs 2

iv) Bread of tears – Psalms 80 vs 5

v) Bread of deceit – Prov. 20 vs 17

vi) Bread of idleness – Prov. 31 vs 27

vii) Bread of adversity – Isaiah 30 vs 20

viii) Bread of mourners – Hos. 9 vs 4

All these bread are being offered today in various forms to God’s people. However, brethren God is offering us THE BREAD OF LIFE. This is the bread that will bring overcoming to the people of God. John 6 vs 31 says Jesus is the bread of life. Let us pray to God to give us our daily bread, and He will graciously do so (amen).

IT PAYS TO REMEMBER…

GOD IS INTERESTED IN OUR MIND