Herbie Newell: 00:00

Welcome to the defender Bible study, a weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is a ministry

Miguel Zayas: 00:26

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Defender Bible Study Podcast. Today is Monday, January 20, 2025. My name is Miguel Zayas. I serve as a senior director of our global orphan care team, working alongside our partners around the world, giving care to more than 10,000 children globally. Today, we're continuing in our study through the gospel of John.

Miguel Zayas: 00:53

So let's get right to it. Miguel, I just don't believe anymore. I hadn't seen my cousin in years. She had come to visit my family and I while we were living in Estonia as missionaries on a trip around the world, in her words, to discover herself. My cousin was pretty successful in her career.

Miguel Zayas: 01:20

She worked for one of the most popular reality TV shows at the time, Extreme Home Makeover. And yet after years, she was simply dissatisfied with her life and wanted to find more. All of my cousins and I had grown up in solidly Christian yet not perfect homes and families. We all attended churches, all were involved with youth programs, and some, including my cousin, attended a Christian school. We live safely in a Christian bubble.

Miguel Zayas: 01:55

Yet all these years later, many of my family have turned away from an active faith to little or no faith. You can call them part of the non's generation. My cousin decided to see the world and hopefully find herself and the purpose for her existence, and we were one of the stops on her long journey. After her trip, months later, I called her to find out how it all went. She shared all the places visited, the interesting people she met, and generally had a good time.

Miguel Zayas: 02:33

But did she discover her purpose? No. Not really. She then told me about her time in Egypt, where while couch surfing she felt very unsafe and decided to hop on a bus toward her next location. Unfortunately, she did not realize that the bus was gonna drop her off late at night in the middle of the Egyptian desert and had to wait till morning at some point to be picked up by the next bus.

Miguel Zayas: 03:06

No place, no plan, and no security. In the middle of the Egyptian desert at night. Not a great place to be. She decided to find a place nearby to lay down and try to get some rest when a car in the distance started to move toward her. As many of you might feel at the moment, it was a tense few minutes as the headlights got bigger and closer.

Miguel Zayas: 03:38

Until finally, a car pulled up right where she was staying, and an American woman popped out of the car and said, you shouldn't be out here alone. It is very dangerous. Can I help? Come to find out, this woman was a pastor's wife traveling with her children. Her husband, who was the pastor of an international church in Cairo, had recently tragically died from an accidental fall.

Miguel Zayas: 04:09

She was taking her children away for a time to grieve and find a way to help her family heal. This woman who was just widowed rescued my cousin, and for the rest of the night into the morning, she shared her faith in Jesus and why he was the reason for their comfort. After this story, I couldn't help but ask, so what do you think about that? My cousin replied, Miguel, I still do not believe. My answer and response was simply, it seems like God believes in you.

Miguel Zayas: 04:54

If you had to give this talk a title, it would be, what does God really want? Today, we're in John's gospel chapter 6 verses 22 to 51. And although I could never give the due diligence needed to fully exegete these verses, I hope to ask us a few questions today and walk through some of the main ideas from the text. My first question is this, what are we looking for, really? John chapter 6 verses 22 to 24.

Miguel Zayas: 05:34

The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there. And Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. Now up to this point in John's gospel, Jesus had turned water into wine.

Miguel Zayas: 06:16

He healed an official son. Jesus healed a person at the pool of Bethesda. He fed 5,000 and even walked on water. John is giving us insight into who Jesus really is, the Son of God begotten from the father before all ages. God from God and light from light, true God from true God, begotten and not made of the same essence as the father.

Miguel Zayas: 06:47

Through him, all things were made for us and for our salvation. The crowds came to see Jesus and they asked him, when did you get here? Without flinching, without answering their question, Jesus says in verse 26, very truly I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. In other words, you're still hungry, and all you want is the next happy meal. You see, a sign is a moment when God comes close.

Miguel Zayas: 07:32

When in my tradition, we say there's an inbreaking of the kingdom of God. They had seen the signs, but what did they want? What were they looking for? And, really, for each of us, what are you looking for, really? Are we looking for him, Jesus, and Jesus alone, or are we just moving from one meal to the next, always eating, but never satisfied?

Miguel Zayas: 08:09

The people asked the question, what must we do to do the work God requires? And Jesus once again answers quite simply, the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent. Let me interject something here as a side note. What does Jesus say to do? Believe?

Miguel Zayas: 08:40

Yes. But believe what? In my more than 30 years of active ministry, I've noticed people's tendency to move to extremes. So let me say this. Jesus is not theology.

Miguel Zayas: 09:02

Jesus is a person. A person to be experienced. I would ask you to even remember back to the time when you gave your life to Jesus and the experience you had at that moment when you realized your sins were forgiven. How freeing that must have felt for you at that moment. I remember when I was about 10 years old when I gave my life to Jesus.

Miguel Zayas: 09:41

And to be honest with you, as a 10 year old, there wasn't a whole lot that I had done. Not really. But even then and in the years to follow, I have had the chance to continually experience Jesus for who he is in my life. Jesus is a person, a person to be experienced. Then the opposite of that or the vice versa of that is also true that Jesus is not an experience.

Miguel Zayas: 10:21

He is a person to be known. As human beings, we need to be careful of both extremes. There is a radical middle where we are both knowing him and experiencing him, ultimately believing in all of him. Each of us, for different reasons and at different times in our lives, will face this question, will I simply believe Jesus? Remember, Jesus did loads of miracles already in this gospel account.

Miguel Zayas: 11:02

He healed, he fed 5,000, he walked on water, he even turned water into wine. God cares for all of our natural needs. Our bodies to be working well, our relationships to be healthy, our needs to be met, and even room in life to enjoy it. The issue is with all that God has done for us already, can we be satisfied with just him? The work of God is this, to believe in the one God sent, Jesus.

Miguel Zayas: 11:40

This leads us to my next question. What are we hungry for? John chapter 6 verses 30 to 35 say this. So they asked him, what sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

Miguel Zayas: 12:02

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. And Jesus said to them, very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, always give us this bread.

Miguel Zayas: 12:35

Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. This powerful I am statement is one of 7 found in John's gospel, which hearken back to the Exodus story when Moses asks God, suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, what is his name? Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I am who I am.

Miguel Zayas: 13:18

This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am has sent you. You see, Jesus is the great I am. He says, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the gate for the sheep.

Miguel Zayas: 13:37

I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and he is the true vine. The question for us today is this, what are you hungry for? The thing that will make us hungry again in just a few hours, Or will you allow Jesus to be the source of our satisfaction?

Miguel Zayas: 14:08

Will we let him be our all in all? This brings us to our third question, why does it matter? Years ago, an old missionary gave me this profound revelation, one that I think I can share with you today. You see, as a missionary, the small Eastern European country called Estonia, one of the most secular countries in all of Europe and all of the former Soviet satellite countries, I had become frustrated by what appeared to be people's seemingly lack of a desire to know God and to know Jesus, to experience the Holy Spirit. This old missionary said these words to me.

Miguel Zayas: 14:59

He says, Miguel, sinners sin. This is what they do. As strange as this sounds, the light bulb just went off in my head. People who are far from God do things that show that they are far from God. And then after all of these years of ministry, of being around, and being in all kinds of churches, I also realized that in Jesus' church, people often do the same thing too.

Miguel Zayas: 15:35

So I ask again, why does it matter? Why does it matter what I believe and who I believe in? And who really is the one I hunger for daily, moment to moment? When we get up in the morning, can we say Jesus satisfies my every desire? I remember one day as I was traveling into the capital city of Tallinn, I was stopped at a light, and I still know exactly where I was.

Miguel Zayas: 16:15

This is so many years ago. I sat and was watching the people walking back and forth, and it was like I heard the Lord speak to me. He asked me the question, what do you see? And I looked around, and I just said, people. People coming and going, busy, moving from place to place.

Miguel Zayas: 16:38

And then he said these words, Miguel, 90% of the people you see here today are lost without me. And in that moment, I wept. Stunned by what I felt like the Lord was telling me at that time, and yet at the same time, a commitment rose in my innermost being that I would spend the rest of my life as long as God would give me breath and as long as I lived in this amazing adopted homeland, that I would talk about Jesus, that I would share who he is, that I would ask people to come and know him and experience him. No matter what we face in life, no matter what we're going through, we come back to this question, why does it all matter? I remember years ago when sitting across the table from a dear who had be someone who had become a dear friend of mine through the years who was a vice speaker of the house of parliament.

Miguel Zayas: 17:56

And we had come up with an idea of how do we get and how can we get leaders to pray for this country, one of the most secular in all of Europe. And sitting across the table from this man, we talked about a dream of gathering leaders together to pray. And I'll never forget that moment when he calls the president on the phone. As he was talking with the president, he said, mister president, we're putting on this event. It's a prayer breakfast and, well, you need to be there.

Miguel Zayas: 18:36

And then he hung up the phone. Little did I know back in 2,002, when we held the 1st National Estonian Prayer Breakfast, that 22 years later, 100 and 100 of leaders have had the chance to hear the gospel and to pray for this amazing nation. Why does it matter? Because the work of God is this, to believe in the one God sent, Jesus. When one of our children, if you're a parent or a grandparent, and you watch your child make choices and choose a life and a lifestyle that goes cross to everything you know to be true, My question is, does God, does Jesus still satisfy?

Miguel Zayas: 19:38

Will I choose to believe in Jesus when the person I've been praying for to come to faith still says, Miguel, I still don't believe. Can I be satisfied with these words from Jesus? From John chapter 6 verse 40. For my father's will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. Will I believe that God would draw them to Jesus?

Miguel Zayas: 20:17

My last question for us today is this. What do we do next? As we're beginning our new year, as we're trying to to figure out, lord, what are your plans? And as we're praying through, lord, what do you want to do this year? And we're leaning in to understand his purpose for our lives.

Miguel Zayas: 20:38

What do we do next? Well, here at Lifeline, we have this mission to bring gospel hope to vulnerable children. You see, only Jesus, the bread of life, can satisfy the hunger of our soul. Believe in him, stay nourished by his presence, and trust in the father's promise of eternal life. What if from now throughout the rest of this year, we dedicate time in our day intentionally for prayer and reflection, seeking God's guidance throughout our day as we encounter all kinds of challenges and all kinds of opportunities?

Miguel Zayas: 21:31

And would we take steps of courageous faith to share the love of God found in Jesus Christ as we ask the Holy Spirit to lead our conversations and our interactions. Again, here at Lifeline, I found this on our website, and I just want to encourage us encourage each of you with this. The gospel of Christ shows believers that we are not the rescuers of these children, we are the rescued. We have so lavishly been loved by Christ in our despair and rescued from our sin. As a result, we are compelled to care for the orphan, the widow, the poor, the needy, and the alien.

Miguel Zayas: 22:19

And really, this is my thought for us today. And as you go throughout the rest of your day and continue listening to the Defender podcast, through our bible study, through the book of John, is that you would come to know Jesus in a fresh way in your own walk with god. That you would realize that what God has done for you, he desires to do for everyone you meet throughout the day. He desires to be known and to be experienced. He is the great I am.

Miguel Zayas: 22:54

Thank you, and God bless.

Herbie Newell: 22:57

Thanks again for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. If you enjoy making this podcast a part of your weekly routine, we'd love for you to take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review the Defender Bible Study to make it easier for more people to find. For more resources and information on how you and your church can partner with Lifeline, please visit us at lifelinechild.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter by searching for Lifeline Child. You can email us directly at info at lifelinechild.org.

Herbie Newell: 23:26

We look forward to seeing you again next week for the defender bible study.