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¤[reflective music]¤
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>>John Bradshaw:
People have been eating bread
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for thousands of years.
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Flour, water, and after
that, well, the sky's the limit.
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Bread shows up in the
Bible again and again.
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In fact, it's mentioned
hundreds of times in Scripture.
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Jesus is represented by bread.
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Jesus Himself
made that comparison.
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And bread teaches us some
excellent spiritual lessons.
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Bread can look like this--
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or this.
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Or it can look like this,
this, this, this, or this.
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The croutons in your
soup started as bread,
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and even breadcrumbs are
used in all kinds of things.
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Broil or grill
bread and you have toast.
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And on your toast, you
might put honey or peanut butter
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or avocado,
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or if you're very
wise, avocado and Marmite.
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There's almost nothing better.
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Bread is used
to make sandwiches,
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one of the most versatile food
items there is, and sandwiches
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can contain almost
anything known to humanity.
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When I was growing up,
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we'd eat potato chip
and Marmite sandwiches.
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Ooh, don't knock it
till you've tried it.
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And then there's
French toast and paninis
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and club
sandwiches and garlic bread.
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Croissants and
donuts are basically bread,
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but with more fat and sugar.
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There's focaccia bread
and pretzels and tortillas.
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And in Indian
food, chapattis or roti
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or naan or kulcha
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or paratha.
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Ooh, now we're talking.
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Bread has found its way
into the collective vocabulary
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in numerous ways.
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A person might be
said to "earn a crust."
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The principle wage-earner in a
home might be the "breadwinner."
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Money has been referred
to as "dough" or "bread."
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The main thing you do
to earn a living might be
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your "bread and butter."
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July 7, 1928, the world of
bread was irrevocably altered
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when the first loaf
of sliced bread was sold
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in Chillicothe, Missouri.
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And then in 1951, when
comedian Red Skelton referred
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to television as "the [best]
thing since sliced bread,"
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a new phrase
entered the lexicon.
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When Abraham entertained
angels, he served them bread.
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Jacob gave Esau
bread and lentils.
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God says in Isaiah, chapter 33
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that your bread and
"water will be sure."
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In John 21,
after the Resurrection,
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the disciples
come back from fishing;
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Jesus has provided them
a meal, including bread.
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You've got to wonder
what that tasted like.
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And one of
Jesus' greatest miracles
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included loaves of bread.
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Bread is a metaphor
for the divine Son of God.
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There's a passage in the Bible
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where Jesus
really dwells on this.
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It's found in John, chapter 6.
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Verse 48
contains just six words.
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Jesus says, "I am
the bread of life."
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Which isn't surprising.
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In the Middle East bread
is a big deal. It's a staple.
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So Jesus saying that
He is the Bread of Life,
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that's Jesus
saying that He ought to be
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the staple of your life,
a vital part of your life,
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necessary for
your survival, even.
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Now, we're
going to look at that.
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We're going to look at how
Jesus can be the Bread of Life
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in your life.
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But before we do, we're
going to visit a friend of mine,
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a man who makes
bread-- exquisitely good bread.
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One of my earliest childhood
memories is of fresh bread,
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still warm from the bakery.
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So, I was excited
to head to a bakery
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south of Phoenix, Arizona,
where Jim Torres and his team
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make thousands of
loaves of bread a day,
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which is distributed all across
the United States and abroad.
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The bread they bake is unique.
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The recipe is one of
the oldest bread recipes
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known to humankind.
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And even though it's
more than 2,500 years old,
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you probably have the
recipe in your own home.
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So, tell me the recipe.
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>>Jim Torres: The recipe
consists of wheat, barley,
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millet, lentils,
spelt, and soybeans.
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Those are the major ingredients,
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and of course,
there's water, you know.
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We also add some malt.
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We have to use yeast, of course,
and, uh, a small amount of salt.
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And we use some, some
vital wheat gluten as well.
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But, uh, that is the
substance of it right there.
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>>John: So where did
you get this recipe from?
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>>Jim: From the Bible.
>>John: From the Bible?
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>>Jim: I would have never
thought to put spelt, lentils,
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and beans in bread.
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>>John: How did you
come to be making this bread
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whose recipe is in the Bible?
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>>Jim: I heard that
somebody was making this bread,
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so we started toying with it,
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and the flavor, I
could not believe the flavor.
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Oh my word! We were excited.
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Then we did a nutritional--we
were excited about that as well
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because the protein content,
it was a complete protein,
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and that was really exciting.
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>>John: And this is
from a, a recipe, basically,
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given to you by
God? >>Jim: Absolutely.
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>>John: In fact,
given to the world.
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>>Jim: I would have
never thought of it.
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>>John: Yeah.
>>Jim: And the person
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that thought of it got
it from the Bible, for sure.
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>>John: And
where are we looking?
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Tell me where we're
going to find that recipe?
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>>Jim: Ezekiel, chapter
4, verse 9, and that says,
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"Also take for yourself wheat,
barley, beans, lentils, millet,
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"and spelt; put
them into one vessel,
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"and make bread
of them for yourself.
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"During the number of
days that you lie on your side,
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three hundred and
ninety days, you shall eat it."
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>>John: Okay, so tell me
what some of these things are?
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What's spelt? No
one knows what that is.
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>>Jim: Spelt is
something that looks like wheat,
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but it's not wheat.
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>>John: Okay.
Now, the other things--
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barley, we know what that
is. Millet, we've got that.
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Lentils, soybeans,
red wheat--flax seeds?
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>>Jim: Well, we put flaxseed
in some of the Ezekiel bread.
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>>John: And, and what
are, what is flaxseed?
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>>Jim: Flaxseed is a,
um, a little seed that grows.
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It's very
nutritious, has a lot of fiber.
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>>John: Okay, so one,
two, three, four, five--
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>>Jim: Six.
>>John: ...six ingredients
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in the bread and an
additional ingredient,
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the flaxseed in
the flaxseed bread.
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>>Jim: Only in the
Ezekiel flax bread.
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>>John: Okay, that's
not many ingredients.
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I want to read something to you.
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I looked at the
list of ingredients
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for a popular loaf of bread,
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which I don't need
to mention what it is.
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And here's the ingredients:
whole wheat flour, water,
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wheat gluten, high
fructose corn syrup,
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then two percent or
less of soybean oil,
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salt, molasses, yeast,
mono- and diglycerides,
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ethoxylated
mono- and diglycerides,
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dough conditioners,
sodium stearoyl lactylate,
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calcium iodate, calcium dioxide,
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then DATEM--or maybe
that's "dah-tem," I don't know--
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calcium sulfate,
vinegar, yeast nutrient,
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which is ammonium sulfate,
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extracts of
malted barley and corn,
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dicalcium phosphate,
diammonium phosphate--
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I'm not finished yet--
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calcium propionate, which is
evidently to retain freshness--
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and now I think I am finished.
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Do you know what
those things are?
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I guess you know what water is.
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>>Jim: Some of
them, some of them.
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>>John: What about
diammonium phosphate?
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Do you know what that
is? >>Jim: I have no idea.
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>>John: It's used as
fertilizer and in fire retardant
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and as a nicotine enhancer.
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Now, we can't
hold that against it.
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You use water, and
water is used in beer;
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that doesn't make water bad.
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But that's some interesting uses
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for something that
you're going to eat.
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DATEM, "dah-tem"--someone's
going to think I'm a Philistine
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for not knowing how to say
that. Do you know what that is?
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>>Jim: I have no idea.
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>>John: But you're a
baker; you ought to know.
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>>Jim: I've never seen it.
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>>John: Uh, it says here it
makes dough springy or chewy.
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So, what we've
discovered is that there are
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about 7,000 ingredients
in many loaves of bread,
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except for the bread you make,
the bread recipe from the Bible.
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There's just a
handful of ingredients.
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Now, some bread makers
will use enriched flour.
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What's enriched flour?
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>>Jim: You take a
whole kernel of wheat.
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>>John: Sounds good.
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>>Jim: Remove the, uh, bran
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and the germ. >>John: Oh.
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>>Jim: You're left
with white flour, basically.
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>>John: Right. >>Jim: However,
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it doesn't have some of
the vitamins that it needs
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to help people grow. So
they have to enrich it back.
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>>John: So that sounds
like you have 100 dollars.
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I take it off you, and
I give you a few quarters
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and maybe a couple of dollar
bills, and I've enriched you.
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Is that the same sort of idea?
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>>Jim: [laughs] I've
never heard it put that way,
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but possibly.
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>>John: That's what
it sounds like to me.
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>>Jim: Yes.
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>>John: There's
Someone who will enrich
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your life without
taking anything away.
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Jesus came to this world to
give you life more abundantly.
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He came as a Lamb,
as the Good Shepherd,
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and He came to
this world as bread.
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Bread as a metaphor
for Jesus is interesting.
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Bread has been
called "the staff of life,"
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the point being, without
bread--that is, without food--
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you can't live.
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You don't eat and
you'll get hungry,
00:10:15.71\00:10:17.85
and then you'll get
weak, and then you'll get sick,
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and then you become diseased.
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And then...
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you die.
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Jesus is saying He's
the most important thing.
00:10:25.45\00:10:28.82
He is essential for life.
00:10:28.86\00:10:32.43
But how is it with most people?
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According to a Pew Research
Center survey conducted in 2017,
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69 percent of
Americans say family gives them
00:10:39.57\00:10:43.30
a sense of meaning;
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34 percent say career;
00:10:44.84\00:10:47.24
23 percent say money.
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Remember, these are things that
give people a sense of meaning.
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Twenty percent say
spirituality and faith.
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In the 2021 survey, that
number fell to 15 percent.
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Around the world?
00:11:02.42\00:11:04.29
New Zealanders, five percent
say faith or religion gives them
00:11:04.33\00:11:07.96
a sense of meaning.
00:11:07.96\00:11:09.26
That's second highest
out of 17 countries surveyed.
00:11:09.30\00:11:13.30
Only one percent in France,
Sweden, Belgium, and South Korea
00:11:13.34\00:11:18.37
reference religion when
defining meaning in life.
00:11:18.41\00:11:21.71
In each country
survey, hobbies are mentioned
00:11:21.74\00:11:25.41
as giving life meaning more
frequently than faith in God.
00:11:25.45\00:11:30.39
In fact, the median percentage
of people who mention faith
00:11:30.42\00:11:33.32
or religion as
making life meaningful?
00:11:33.36\00:11:36.59
Two percent.
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If you're not
experiencing peace in your life,
00:11:38.29\00:11:40.96
if you're struggling to
find a sense of purpose,
00:11:40.96\00:11:43.83
if you're battling to figure
out your place in the world,
00:11:43.87\00:11:47.14
it might just be
because Jesus is not
00:11:47.17\00:11:49.97
the bread of life for you.
00:11:50.01\00:11:52.37
Maybe He's the artichoke
or the arugula of life--
00:11:52.41\00:11:56.88
perfectly good things,
but not something you have
00:11:56.91\00:11:59.91
incredibly often, not
something you have regularly,
00:11:59.95\00:12:03.39
maybe occasionally or,
or only at a certain season.
00:12:03.42\00:12:07.92
But Jesus said in His own words
00:12:07.96\00:12:10.13
that He is to be the
bread of life for you.
00:12:10.16\00:12:14.63
Let's look at that.
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In John, chapter 6, Jesus feeds
a crowd of thousands of people.
00:12:15.93\00:12:21.00
He starts with five loaves
and two fish, blesses them,
00:12:21.04\00:12:24.31
they multiply, and
the people eat well.
00:12:24.34\00:12:27.31
In fact, there are
baskets full of food left over.
00:12:27.34\00:12:32.15
The people were so impressed
00:12:32.18\00:12:34.15
they attempted to take Jesus
and make Him king by force.
00:12:34.18\00:12:39.12
But Jesus didn't come to
the world to be an earthly king.
00:12:39.15\00:12:42.12
He came to this world
to change the human heart
00:12:42.16\00:12:45.63
and to bring that human heart
into connection, into oneness
00:12:45.66\00:12:50.10
with the heart of God.
00:12:50.13\00:12:52.03
So Jesus left.
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That night He walked on water.
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Then the next day a large crowd
came to Jesus on the other side
00:12:55.34\00:13:00.11
of the lake, on the eastern
shore of the Sea of Galilee.
00:13:00.14\00:13:03.71
But Jesus knew that they
had materialistic motives,
00:13:03.75\00:13:06.85
and so He said, "Do not labor
for the food which perishes,
00:13:06.88\00:13:10.42
but for the food which
endures to everlasting life."
00:13:10.45\00:13:14.12
Even though Jesus had
only just miraculously fed
00:13:14.16\00:13:18.69
thousands of people in a desert,
00:13:18.73\00:13:21.70
they asked Jesus
to perform a sign.
00:13:21.73\00:13:24.93
They referenced the miracle
of the manna in the desert,
00:13:24.97\00:13:28.40
the, the bread
according to the book of Psalms.
00:13:28.44\00:13:31.81
So Jesus tells them
about the true bread:
00:13:31.84\00:13:35.44
"The bread of God is He
who comes down from heaven
00:13:35.48\00:13:39.41
and gives life to the world."
00:13:39.45\00:13:41.32
He was speaking of Himself,
00:13:41.35\00:13:42.58
except the people, obviously,
didn't understand that.
00:13:42.62\00:13:45.92
And so "they said to Him, 'Lord,
give us this bread always.'
00:13:45.95\00:13:50.86
"And Jesus said to
them, 'I am the bread of life.
00:13:50.89\00:13:54.83
"'He who comes to
me shall never hunger,
00:13:54.86\00:13:57.50
and he who believes in
me shall never thirst.'"
00:13:57.53\00:14:01.14
Now, that's a huge claim.
00:14:01.17\00:14:04.01
And it's a huge
solution for whatever challenges
00:14:04.04\00:14:07.61
you might be facing right now.
00:14:07.64\00:14:09.61
Jesus says, "I am the
solution for all your problems."
00:14:09.64\00:14:14.05
Grief? He's the
"God of all comfort."
00:14:14.08\00:14:16.52
Uncertainty?
00:14:16.55\00:14:17.85
He says He will
"direct your paths."
00:14:17.89\00:14:20.02
Marriage failing?
00:14:20.06\00:14:21.76
Jesus is the "Prince of Peace."
00:14:21.79\00:14:24.69
Desperate?
00:14:24.73\00:14:25.76
And Jesus says, "Come
to me, all [ye that] labor
00:14:25.79\00:14:28.63
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest."
00:14:28.66\00:14:32.03
There isn't a
situation you face,
00:14:32.07\00:14:34.84
there isn't a single
problem pressing down on you
00:14:34.87\00:14:38.14
that Jesus isn't
the solution for.
00:14:38.17\00:14:41.34
He walked this earth,
00:14:41.38\00:14:42.68
He understands what
you're going through,
00:14:42.71\00:14:45.28
and He looks from
heaven to you with love.
00:14:45.31\00:14:49.68
But far too often,
people come to Jesus
00:14:49.72\00:14:52.39
just for the
loaves and the fishes.
00:14:52.42\00:14:55.66
They come to Jesus for the
blessing and the prosperity.
00:14:55.69\00:14:58.93
And that's simply
not a great motivation.
00:14:58.96\00:15:02.76
We come to Jesus
primarily because Jesus is life.
00:15:02.80\00:15:09.07
John 17, verse 3:
00:15:09.10\00:15:11.07
"This is [life eternal],
that they might know You,
00:15:11.11\00:15:14.34
the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent."
00:15:14.38\00:15:18.88
John 1, verse 4:
"In Him was life."
00:15:18.91\00:15:23.18
Jesus died for your sins.
00:15:23.22\00:15:25.75
He is the Creator
and the Re-Creator.
00:15:25.79\00:15:29.62
And He's the only
viable alternative
00:15:29.66\00:15:32.93
to the problems caused by sin.
00:15:32.96\00:15:35.93
Jesus is the way,
the truth, and the life.
00:15:35.96\00:15:39.77
And He's the Bread of Life.
00:15:39.80\00:15:42.40
Now, notice, "The Jews then
complained about Him, because
00:15:42.44\00:15:46.31
"He said, 'I am the bread
which came down from heaven.'
00:15:46.34\00:15:49.84
"And they said, 'Is [this
not] Jesus, the son of Joseph,
00:15:49.88\00:15:53.85
"'whose father
and mother we know?
00:15:53.88\00:15:56.22
How is it then that He says, "I
have come down from heaven"?'"
00:15:56.25\00:16:00.19
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life.
00:16:00.22\00:16:03.99
"Your fathers ate the manna
in the wilderness, and are dead.
00:16:04.03\00:16:07.93
"This is the bread
which comes down from heaven,
00:16:07.96\00:16:10.47
"that one may eat
of it and not die.
00:16:10.50\00:16:13.50
"I am the living bread
which came down from heaven.
00:16:13.54\00:16:17.31
"If anyone eats...this
bread, he will live forever;
00:16:17.34\00:16:21.24
"and the bread that I
shall give is my flesh,
00:16:21.28\00:16:24.65
which I shall give for
the life of the world."
00:16:24.68\00:16:27.75
Now, look at what Jesus says.
00:16:27.78\00:16:29.02
Jesus says, "If you
have me, you have life."
00:16:29.05\00:16:32.82
The insurmountable problem
facing our world today is death.
00:16:32.85\00:16:37.36
You're
born--you're going to die.
00:16:37.39\00:16:40.66
And sometimes life
is cut pitifully short.
00:16:40.70\00:16:44.47
But Jesus says if you
invite Him into your life,
00:16:44.50\00:16:47.87
if you internalize Him, make
Him the foundation of your life,
00:16:47.90\00:16:52.04
you won't die, but
you'll live forever.
00:16:52.07\00:16:54.81
Now, clearly, Jesus
is not talking about
00:16:54.84\00:16:57.38
death from a heart attack.
00:16:57.41\00:16:59.41
Jesus is saying,
if you accept Him,
00:16:59.45\00:17:01.42
if He's the Bread
of Life in your life,
00:17:01.45\00:17:04.02
you won't
experience eternal death.
00:17:04.05\00:17:06.69
You won't
experience the second death
00:17:06.72\00:17:09.36
spoken of in the
book of Revelation.
00:17:09.39\00:17:12.26
Instead, if Jesus is
the Bread of Life for you,
00:17:12.29\00:17:16.30
you'll live forever.
00:17:16.33\00:17:19.03
Jesus even said that He came
into the world to give you life
00:17:19.07\00:17:23.91
and to give it to
you "more abundantly."
00:17:23.94\00:17:26.74
If bread represents Jesus, I'd
like you to think for a second
00:17:26.78\00:17:30.65
about the different
kinds of bread that there are.
00:17:30.68\00:17:34.12
Some people have
a white-bread Jesus.
00:17:34.15\00:17:36.89
You've seen this white bread.
00:17:36.92\00:17:38.65
You put it on your plate--you'd
better get some peanut butter
00:17:38.69\00:17:41.86
or something on it real quick
00:17:41.89\00:17:43.56
before it levitates
right up off your plate.
00:17:43.59\00:17:46.09
It's that light.
00:17:46.13\00:17:47.83
They've taken out all the good
stuff and given you white bread.
00:17:47.86\00:17:52.20
It's really not
very good for you.
00:17:52.23\00:17:55.84
Now, uh, one slice occasionally
isn't going to do you
00:17:55.87\00:17:59.54
a whole lot of harm.
00:17:59.57\00:18:01.28
But that's how people
like their Jesus somehow.
00:18:01.31\00:18:04.38
White bread--they take out
all the good stuff and leave
00:18:04.41\00:18:07.75
the, the light stuff that
doesn't challenge you at all,
00:18:07.78\00:18:11.09
doesn't give you any roughage.
00:18:11.12\00:18:14.12
There's some bread
that's too syrupy, too sweet,
00:18:14.16\00:18:17.93
and some people's
Jesus is like that,
00:18:17.96\00:18:20.93
all syrupy and sweet.
00:18:20.96\00:18:22.90
They're happy to hear
about the love of God.
00:18:22.93\00:18:25.07
They're happy to
hear about the blessings.
00:18:25.10\00:18:27.07
They're happy to hear about
heaven and all of its glory.
00:18:27.10\00:18:30.24
But they want to
avoid the roughage.
00:18:30.27\00:18:32.91
What you want is
a whole-wheat Jesus,
00:18:32.94\00:18:35.78
that is, a Jesus
who offers you a faith
00:18:35.81\00:18:39.21
based on all of His Word.
00:18:39.25\00:18:41.98
What do we say on It Is
Written again and again?
00:18:42.02\00:18:43.72
In fact, every week
for decades and decades:
00:18:43.75\00:18:46.92
We ought to live "by every word
00:18:46.96\00:18:49.56
that proceeds
from the mouth of God."
00:18:49.59\00:18:52.39
So you want to get
some fiber in your Jesus,
00:18:52.43\00:18:55.60
some roughage in your faith,
00:18:55.63\00:18:58.03
the whole-wheat Word of God.
00:18:58.07\00:19:00.94
The Bible ought to expand you.
00:19:00.97\00:19:02.90
Jesus came to
challenge you a little bit,
00:19:02.94\00:19:05.41
but in a way that lifts you up.
00:19:05.44\00:19:06.94
You don't want to gloss
over the parts of the Bible
00:19:06.98\00:19:09.24
that rub your fur the wrong way.
00:19:09.28\00:19:10.95
Instead, you want to come
to Christ and receive Jesus
00:19:10.98\00:19:14.02
as truly the Bread of Life.
00:19:14.05\00:19:16.82
You want
everything He offers you.
00:19:16.85\00:19:19.22
You don't want to cut corners.
00:19:19.25\00:19:20.96
You don't want
to be shortchanged,
00:19:20.99\00:19:22.59
and you don't want
to shortchange God.
00:19:22.62\00:19:25.33
You want to make sure
that your faith in Jesus
00:19:25.36\00:19:28.53
is a faith in Jesus who offers
you everything the Bible has.
00:19:28.56\00:19:32.93
Remember, He's
the Bread of Life.
00:19:32.97\00:19:36.20
And He's the good Bread of Life.
00:19:36.24\00:19:39.97
Faith in Jesus is going
to result in a radical change
00:19:40.01\00:19:44.15
in your being through the power
of the whole-wheat Word of God.
00:19:44.18\00:19:49.48
This is 1 Peter 1, verse 23:
00:19:49.52\00:19:51.99
"Having been born again,
00:19:52.02\00:19:53.79
"not of corruptible
seed but incorruptible,
00:19:53.82\00:19:57.19
through the word of God
which lives and abides forever."
00:19:57.23\00:20:02.06
Faith in Jesus will impact
your life in such a powerful way
00:20:02.10\00:20:07.70
that you'll be born again.
00:20:07.74\00:20:11.04
So what do you do with Jesus?
00:20:11.07\00:20:12.41
You depend on
Him. You lean on Him.
00:20:12.44\00:20:14.81
You make Him
central to your life.
00:20:14.84\00:20:16.64
You make Him the Bread of Life.
00:20:16.68\00:20:19.15
Here's Jesus
again, John 6, verse 57:
00:20:19.18\00:20:21.98
"As the living Father sent me,
00:20:22.02\00:20:23.79
"and I live
because of the Father,
00:20:23.82\00:20:25.92
"so he who feeds on me
will live because of me.
00:20:25.95\00:20:29.76
"This is the bread
which came down from heaven--
00:20:29.79\00:20:32.36
"not as your fathers
ate the manna, and are dead.
00:20:32.39\00:20:36.13
He who eats this
bread will live forever."
00:20:36.16\00:20:39.63
Notice the response:
00:20:39.67\00:20:40.77
"Therefore many of His
disciples, when they heard this,
00:20:40.80\00:20:44.07
said, 'This is a hard
saying; who can understand it?'"
00:20:44.11\00:20:48.91
Jesus said, "It is
the Spirit who gives life;
00:20:48.94\00:20:52.25
"the flesh profits nothing.
00:20:52.28\00:20:54.58
The words that I speak to you
are spirit, and they are life."
00:20:54.62\00:20:59.32
And that was more than many
of Jesus' disciples could take.
00:20:59.35\00:21:02.06
John 6, verse 66:
00:21:02.09\00:21:04.23
"From that time many
of His disciples went back
00:21:04.26\00:21:08.36
and walked with Him no more."
00:21:08.40\00:21:11.70
As long as it
could be Jesus-plus,
00:21:11.73\00:21:14.67
as long as they could
hang around with Jesus
00:21:14.70\00:21:17.41
but not surrender
their lives to Him,
00:21:17.44\00:21:19.71
as long as they
could be seen with Jesus
00:21:19.74\00:21:22.38
but not make Jesus
central to their existence,
00:21:22.41\00:21:26.01
oh, they were
happy to be with Jesus.
00:21:26.05\00:21:28.85
But Jesus said, "I am
to be the bread of life.
00:21:28.88\00:21:33.32
"I am to be the
foundation for your life.
00:21:33.36\00:21:36.52
That means I want you to
live according to my word."
00:21:36.56\00:21:41.80
And that was too
much for many of them,
00:21:41.83\00:21:43.16
for most of them,
and they abandoned Jesus.
00:21:43.20\00:21:46.50
They'd seen Him work miracles,
00:21:46.53\00:21:48.47
not just the miracle
of the loaves and fishes.
00:21:48.50\00:21:51.61
They knew that Jesus
hadn't traveled by boat,
00:21:51.64\00:21:54.41
yet here He is on the other side
of the lake--another miracle.
00:21:54.44\00:21:59.11
And somehow, they were happy
to put that out of their mind.
00:21:59.15\00:22:01.95
You know their problem, right?
00:22:01.98\00:22:03.45
Earlier in the
chapter they refer to Jesus
00:22:03.49\00:22:05.62
as "Rabbi," teacher.
00:22:05.65\00:22:08.02
Oh, they were happy
for Him to be a teacher.
00:22:08.06\00:22:10.36
And they were happy for
Him to be their Messiah,
00:22:10.39\00:22:13.80
as long as they didn't
have to live by His word.
00:22:13.83\00:22:18.93
As long as it
didn't involve them
00:22:18.97\00:22:22.17
surrendering
their heart to Jesus.
00:22:22.20\00:22:26.01
"Then Jesus said to the twelve,
'Do you also want to go away?'
00:22:26.04\00:22:30.35
"But Simon Peter answered
Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go?
00:22:30.38\00:22:34.12
"'You have the
words of eternal life.
00:22:34.15\00:22:36.82
"'Also we have
come to believe and know
00:22:36.85\00:22:39.65
that You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.'"
00:22:39.69\00:22:43.89
So what is Jesus to you?
00:22:43.93\00:22:46.43
To the 12--well, to
11 of them, at least--
00:22:46.46\00:22:51.30
He was the Bread of Life.
And that carried them through--
00:22:51.33\00:22:55.70
through the challenges of
the final days of Jesus' life
00:22:55.74\00:22:59.21
to the challenges
of the establishment
00:22:59.24\00:23:00.91
of the early church
and, for many of them,
00:23:00.94\00:23:03.14
through to the challenges
of the end of their own life.
00:23:03.18\00:23:05.88
Many of them, their
lives ended in martyrdom.
00:23:05.91\00:23:08.92
Now, Jesus isn't asking that
for you or from you right now.
00:23:08.95\00:23:12.42
He's not asking
you to die for Him.
00:23:12.45\00:23:13.89
He's asking you to live for Him.
00:23:13.92\00:23:15.42
And if we
understand that correctly,
00:23:15.46\00:23:17.33
what that means is
that Jesus is asking you
00:23:17.36\00:23:19.53
for permission to
live His life in you.
00:23:19.56\00:23:22.50
That's all it is:
00:23:22.53\00:23:23.87
for Jesus to be
the Bread of Life,
00:23:23.90\00:23:26.60
the central part of your life,
the foundation of your life.
00:23:26.63\00:23:29.77
And you're going to say to Him,
00:23:29.80\00:23:31.31
"I want to accept
Your Word, all of it.
00:23:31.34\00:23:34.24
"I want to accept Your
promises to me, all of them.
00:23:34.28\00:23:37.38
"I want to receive Your
righteousness, all of it.
00:23:37.41\00:23:40.45
"And I want to lean my
entire life, all of my life,
00:23:40.48\00:23:44.19
on Your life."
00:23:44.22\00:23:45.95
Would you accept what Jesus
has done for you at the cross?
00:23:45.99\00:23:49.86
Would you accept His
death and accept His life?
00:23:49.89\00:23:52.86
We, all of us, sinful
people with no righteousness,
00:23:52.89\00:23:57.20
but if you'll
accept Jesus right now,
00:23:57.23\00:23:59.43
if you'll welcome the
Bread of Life into your life,
00:23:59.47\00:24:02.54
you'll receive
His righteousness.
00:24:02.57\00:24:05.37
God will accept you as His
child, and you'll look forward,
00:24:05.41\00:24:10.18
with confidence, to everlasting
life through faith in Jesus,
00:24:10.21\00:24:15.52
who is the Bread of Life.
00:24:15.55\00:24:18.55
>>male announcer: The Bible,
the Word of God--or is it?
00:24:20.06\00:24:24.66
In the Bible a man spent three
days in the belly of a fish.
00:24:24.69\00:24:28.73
God created the world
out of nothing at all.
00:24:28.76\00:24:31.83
People died and rose
again, walked on water,
00:24:31.87\00:24:35.97
interpreted dreams,
and predicted the future.
00:24:36.00\00:24:39.54
Or did they?
00:24:39.57\00:24:41.21
Get your free copy of
00:24:41.24\00:24:42.54
"The Bible: Fact or
Fiction?" right now.
00:24:42.58\00:24:45.55
Call 800-253-3000.
00:24:45.58\00:24:48.05
That's 800-253-3000.
00:24:48.08\00:24:51.32
Or text "freefact" to 71392.
00:24:51.35\00:24:55.52
Text "freefact" to 71392.
00:24:55.56\00:24:59.23
You can write to the
address on your screen
00:24:59.26\00:25:01.16
or visit iiwoffer.com.
00:25:01.20\00:25:05.23
Where did the Bible come from,
00:25:05.27\00:25:06.80
and why should
anyone believe what it says?
00:25:06.84\00:25:10.04
Find out if the
Bible is fact or fiction.
00:25:10.07\00:25:12.94
Call 800-253-3000
00:25:12.97\00:25:15.48
or text "freefact" to 71392.
00:25:15.51\00:25:19.01
>>John: Captive
in a foreign land,
00:25:20.52\00:25:22.48
faithful to the God of heaven,
00:25:22.52\00:25:25.22
four young men find
themselves facing death
00:25:25.25\00:25:28.22
through no fault of their own.
00:25:28.26\00:25:30.53
What they did in
the face of crisis
00:25:30.56\00:25:32.59
not only demonstrated bravery
but revealed the faithfulness
00:25:32.63\00:25:36.93
of the God who is
with you in times of need.
00:25:36.97\00:25:40.27
Join me as we look
at Daniel, chapter 2
00:25:40.30\00:25:43.04
in our continuing
series on the book of Daniel.
00:25:43.07\00:25:46.51
"Unfolding the
Future" reveals the master key
00:25:46.54\00:25:49.91
to Bible prophecy, the
great prophecy on which Daniel
00:25:49.94\00:25:53.95
and the book of
Revelation stand.
00:25:53.98\00:25:57.12
Understanding this powerful
chapter opens up a treasury
00:25:57.15\00:26:00.29
of prophetic wisdom and insight
as God reveals, in great detail,
00:26:00.32\00:26:05.06
major
developments on Planet Earth
00:26:05.09\00:26:07.13
over the next
2,500 years and beyond.
00:26:07.13\00:26:10.73
Don't miss
"Unfolding the Future,"
00:26:10.77\00:26:13.90
Daniel, chapter 2,
00:26:13.94\00:26:15.54
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:26:15.57\00:26:18.41
>>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:26:20.01\00:26:21.98
exists because of the kindness
of people just like you.
00:26:22.01\00:26:25.75
To support this international
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00:26:25.78\00:26:28.32
please call us
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00:26:28.35\00:26:32.72
You can send your
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00:26:32.75\00:26:34.39
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00:26:34.42\00:26:35.82
or you can visit us
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00:26:35.86\00:26:39.93
Thank you for your prayers
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00:26:39.96\00:26:42.06
Our number
again is 800-253-3000,
00:26:42.10\00:26:45.83
or you can visit us
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00:26:45.87\00:26:49.50
>>John: Let me pray for you now.
00:26:50.51\00:26:52.31
Father in heaven, we thank You
that Jesus is the Bread of Life,
00:26:52.34\00:26:57.91
that He came to this world
to give us life more abundantly.
00:26:57.95\00:27:02.02
And I pray right now
for that man, that woman,
00:27:02.05\00:27:04.32
that young person
who is claiming Jesus
00:27:04.35\00:27:06.82
as the Bread of Life right now.
00:27:06.86\00:27:09.12
We're asking that Jesus would
indeed be essential to life now,
00:27:09.16\00:27:12.89
the foundation of life now.
00:27:12.93\00:27:14.66
We trust You; we trust that You
can iron out the difficulties
00:27:14.73\00:27:18.40
in our lives and
sustain us through good times
00:27:18.43\00:27:21.67
and through challenges.
00:27:21.70\00:27:23.47
Heavenly Father, we
look to You now and pray
00:27:23.51\00:27:25.71
that we can begin again
with Jesus, the Bread of Life,
00:27:25.74\00:27:31.11
living our lives based on
the principles of Your Word.
00:27:31.15\00:27:36.32
Keep us, we
pray, and we thank You,
00:27:36.35\00:27:39.45
in Jesus' name, amen.
00:27:39.49\00:27:42.66
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:27:42.69\00:27:43.73
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:43.76\00:27:45.83
Until then, remember:
00:27:45.86\00:27:47.50
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:27:47.50\00:27:51.30
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:51.33\00:27:55.30
¤[dramatic,
triumphant theme music]¤
00:27:55.34\00:27:59.27
¤[music ends]¤¤
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