Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons,
a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg.
It's our hope that these sermons will draw you
more into the life of following God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and
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sermon. God Bless. Lord God, we're so grateful
for your word that you give us. God, that is
said to be like the true bread that we're to
feast upon, manna from heaven. God, I pray that
in feasting upon your word, we would find our
satisfaction in you. We find you to be sufficient
and able The great compassionate shepherd that
cares for the sheep. Bless us now Lord. May the
words of my mouth and the meditations of our
hearts be pleasing in your sight. The Lord our
rock and our redeemer. Amen. All right. So yesterday
evening, we returned from a trip and it was a
lovely time to get away as a family. We were
really grateful to get time to play together
and to have time together. As you know, and I
hesitate to say this because it really feels
like rubbing it in. It's been freezing. It's
been utterly freezing around here. So I brought
this sweater on my on this trip that I love.
And when we arrived, we were back in the Delta
Airport yesterday and I went to get this sweater
out of my bag because I was about to venture
out into the cold, which praise the Lord was
not too cold. I thought it was going to be shockingly
cold, but it was actually not too bad. But anyway,
I ventured into my bag to retrieve this sweater
and it was gone. Knew I had it at the airport
that we left from and I knew that I'd looked
for it and I have no clue what happened to it
I was sort of baffled but more than baffled.
I was I was feeling really foolish I Felt just
inadequate to just keep track of like an article
of clothing Like what am I doing? I can't even
keep track of a sweater that I really like Seems
like such a simple task and I felt pretty insufficient
for a simple task. So the two hour ride home,
this was kind of swimming through my mind, all
these thoughts of inadequacy. We get home, we
unload some bags. I drive out to a friend's house
to get our dog Teddy. I come here to church and
work a little while and all the while, this is
just the thoughts going through my head. All
these thoughts of insufficiency and inability.
my inability to control sort of simple things,
let alone like bigger things. And you know, like
mine just swims with all of this. And I truly
think that part of what was going on was that
the enemy was just sort of rubbing it in a little
bit because it didn't just vent, you know, it's,
it wasn't just the sweater. It ventured into
like my ability as a husband and as a father
and as a friend and as a pastor and you know,
all this. And then I went to bed. And unfortunately
it just continued. I laid there for at least
two hours awake, sort of stirring, and the reality
of the insufficiency just kept swirling. I spoke
to our Father in heaven a lot about it. But it
seemed like in between my prayers, it just kept
attacking. It's kept feeling like, I don't even
know what, like, what am I doing? What am I doing?
It really sort of felt like a battle with the
devil in a way, because of course I wasn't just
talking, I wasn't just thinking about this negligence
with regards to an article of clothing. I was
thinking about the work of the church, the good
things that God calls us to do, and our just
insufficiency to do it well, or the good of the
world and all that we are called to do in the
world, healing of the world, blessing of the
world. Our call to to call others to repentance
to faith in Jesus All this is just going on in
my mind I was thinking also of my friend who's
a pastor over in Pittsburgh who I went to seminary
with He has a parishioner who was taken by ice
two months ago He had dropped off his wife at
her work and was on the way to his own work And
he his wife didn't know what happened to him
So a few days later they searched and they found
that he was in the database and he's a he's a
legal immigrant He's been detained for two months.
There's a few lawyers in their church They really
don't know why this has happened Why it's taken
so long to have him released and all this stuff
is just swirling in my mind all this stuff of
like What is we feel so insufficient? To do in
the world Even to do the good of the world I
know I was having That word fly through my mind
so much, insufficiency, because I had been working
on the sermon too. That happened sometimes to
me. The theme of the sermon is just going on
inside of me. I'm like living it. Our insufficiency
is a real thing. And sometimes that seems mundane,
right? I don't even know what happened to this
thing that I was just wanting to wear. How do
I lose stuff like that? But sometimes it hurts
a lot more deeply Because we actually don't know
what to do In our marriages where we feel distant
from our spouses and we don't know how how to
How to retrieve that intimacy and that closeness
And we don't know how to discipline our children
Feel so unable Are we saying the right things?
We're offering something into the world and we're
hoping that it's shaping them in a way that they
love the Lord with all their heart and mind and
soul and strength. Then we go, I don't know what
we are doing. Maybe more positively, we're really
trying to train them in the ways of the Lord,
the admonition of the Lord as we promise in their
baptisms. The holy things of God, right? We're
giving them the holy things of God and we wonder
what is going on. So insufficient for the tasks
set before us. Think of Jesus sent out the twelve
two by two Doing his in a way they were And they
were and Jesus doing then last week we well you
all sat in with Jed And this awful story of John
the Baptist who had done that very work and had
such great success in it, calling people to repentance
and his head there on a platter because of an
angry wife. Where is it going? And now we come
to this story of Jesus' disciples needing rest.
They've been doing the good work and they need
rest. And this other story that is connected
so closely here in the Gospel of Mark of Jesus
feeding this great crowd. And I want you to first
see how this passage talks about our insufficiency,
okay? I think it talks about it in a couple of
ways. The first way I think that it talks about
is insufficiency with regards to time. Um, this
I think will feel a little fuzzier than the next
one, but I think this will make sense. So, um,
look with me down at verses 30 and 31. Okay.
Mark 30, Mark six, 30 and 31. The apostles returned
to Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.
And he said to them, come away by yourselves
to a desolate place and rest awhile. for many
were coming and going, and they had no leisure
even to eat." Now again, part of what you see
here is they're doing good stuff. And we know
actually from other passages that they had some
real success in this good work that they were
doing. But at the end of verse 31, it says, they
had no leisure even to eat. And given at the
beginning of that verse, verse 31 says, He said
to them and then and then he said to them come
away by yourselves It seems as though the day
at the end is probably referenced specifically
to the disciples They had no leisure even to
eat Which just spoke to me there's an there's
an insufficiency with regards to their time We
don't know how to make time do the things that
we want that we need even just simply to live
like eating They don't know how to manage all
the people that are coming to them right if there
are a lot of people coming to them They don't
how do we manage these people in such a way that
we can still live? We have to eat Of all these
people so they can't maybe maybe they won't survive
And think about think about the things that race
through your mind when you think of it in insufficiency
My guess is a lot of them are related to time
a time management or just a lack of it? How do
we have the time to acquire the knowledge that
we need to get the new job? Because the current
job we have is sucking the life out of us. How
do we have the time to keep up with our aging
parents and still parent our young children?
How do we have the time? Seek justice in the
world. How do we have time to build friendships
that we need to live well in the world? How do
we have the time to be a part of a church community,
which done well means being served and being
fed and also serving? How do we have the time
to do the work that God is calling us to do and
still rest, right? Still rest, which is something
we are commanded to do. Just yesterday, My son
James asked me this great question, Dad, if I'm
not supposed to work on Sundays, should I not
do my homework on Sunday? Remember that conversation,
buddy? Yeah. And I said, well, um, yeah, cause,
cause for you, your, your homework is your work.
And that's a really good thing to strive to do
to, to have that done before this day that God
gives us to worship and to rest, to bide and
his finished work on our behalf. But what stood
out to me is that even at his age he knows that
it's an issue. How do you do that? Right, how
do you how do you manage your time in such a
way that you have leisure to eat? Time to rest
It's not just an issue for James not even close
is it No is the answer right no no, okay It's
an issue for Jesus' own disciples too that had
done so much good. They had no leisure even to
eat. And why? Well, in this passage, because
they were doing good things, it said, many were
coming and going. And that word many actually
can be translated multitude. Multitudes were
coming and going. Lots of folk were coming to
them and they were busy and they were busy doing
good things. And busyness can often actually
show, reveal our insufficiency. But I think actually,
even a little bit more clearly, insufficiency
is highlighted in this passage when it talks
about their resources, the resources that they
have. So here's what happens, right? They get
on this boat because Jesus says, let's go to
a desolate place because you need to rest. They
get in the boat and they're making their way
to this other part of the Sea of Galilee. And
all these people, it actually says that they
come from all the different towns and they run
and they get there ahead of them. They get there
ahead of Jesus and his disciples. How annoying.
They must have thought. And actually I think
we know that they thought because verse 35 says
this, right? This is the first thing that they
say, you know, Jesus has all these people coming
and he's teaching them and they say, this is
a desolate place and the hour is late. Right.
Jesus, you said you bring us to a desolate place
that we can rest. It's late. We need to rest.
This is the desolate place. Send them away. Make
them go into the surrounding countryside and
villages and buy themselves something to eat.
And then the next thing they say, actually after
Jesus' response to them, we'll get to that. Shall
we go and buy 200 denarii? Worth of bread and
give it to them to eat Actually one commentator
cb. Cranfield One of the great commentators on
mark says this would actually have been a really
disrespectful response to the rabbi They're just
fed up Exhausted One denarii would have been
a day's wages. So this would have been close
to maybe a year's worth of work You want to spend
all this we don't even have all this hanging
around Think of this again, how often is our
insufficiency related to our resources? It's
not just that we don't have time But we don't
have the money or the mind or the strength To
do the things that we feel we are called to do
How am I supposed to serve on a ministry team
here that you keep talking about Peter? You might
be thinking when I don't have the ability to
play music or the knowledge to help manage resources
for the benevolence team or blah, blah, blah,
blah. You know, I mean, it's true. We don't,
what are our resources? How am I supposed to
work for the healing of the world when my own
body needs healing? How am I supposed to call
people to repentance when I am so inarticulate?
I don't even sometimes know how to repent myself,
let alone call other people to it. How am I supposed
to give to the work of the church when my bank
account carries such a low balance so often?
Our insufficiency is so often connected to our
resources. And Jesus, it seems to me almost as
though Jesus is pressing them on this. He's almost
highlighting it. for them so verse verse 38 and
he said to them how many loads do you have hasn't
he just been whipped up in the boat just go and
see he these are his close buddies he's been
spending time with them he knows he knows their
resources he knows their state Doesn't when they
had found out they said five we got five loaves
Jesus. We have two fish This is a great crowd
Now interestingly in John's gospel We know from
John's gospel. We know that these aren't their
loaves and their fish John's gospel tells us
it was a boys loaves and fish Which is to say
that it seems like they don't have anything at
all They don't have any time. They don't have
any resources for this Now as an aside I think
it's wild that all this great crowd Left their
towns from the area and they ran to follow Jesus
and they they listened to him. They were eager
They were attentive to him. But you know what?
None of them brought any food All these people
they're like, let's go find Jesus listen and
forget to bring our dinner Which is actually
something very lovely it's wonderful they're
so eager for Jesus But what I want you to hear
in all this is that the disciples Really are
not they are actually they are not sufficient
to what Jesus calls them to do they aren't They
don't have it And it seems this It seems to even
say to us that Jesus wanted them to get to that
place. He invited them into the process. So they
have to say, Jesus, all we have is the five loaves
and two fish, and there's 5 ,000 folk right here.
Think of his response to their request for him
to send the crowd away into the town so that
they can buy something for themselves. Jesus
says, You give them something to eat We are tired
we thought you were bringing us to a desolate
place so that we could rest And he knew they
couldn't give him something to eat they were
not able And the fact is is that much of what
we were called to in this life we are not able
to do We aren't we we can't control our time.
Well, I know some of you are thinking I'm not
too bad at it and certainly some of you are better
than others You read the books you make the plans
you keep your schedules You listen to the happiness
lab the Huberman lab Mel Robbins all the rest
and you follow it You budget you listen you learn
from Dave Ramsey Right Maybe listen to optimum
fine finance daily. I Just googled. What are
the top finance podcasts? That's one of them
You consider well your resources, right? But
you come to the end of yourself I know this I
know you do We come to the end of ourselves And
part of what I'm telling you is that you need
to do that. You actually need to do that. We
need to come to the end of ourselves, our own
sufficiency. And why is this? Because in this
passage and in your life, when you come to the
end of your sufficiency, What you find is the
sufficiency of Jesus and is so often only until
you come to that I Really do hate that. I lost
my sweater yesterday I mean, it's a little it's
sort of embarrassing and it really did it still
kind of just fills with all this sense of like
what am I doing? Okay, I just like hold on to
something like that And I sort of hate that it
brings up for me all kinds of feelings of failures
I so desire that this church that each one of
you would grow in your love for Jesus Intimacy
with him and I know that there's ways I fail
you as a pastor And and I'm really tired because
I didn't sleep well I saw like every hour of
the night I just tossed and turning once I finally
fell asleep There's something wonderful and actually
having to say God, please help God, I don't have.
God, I can't. God, it costs this much. We only
have five loaves and two fish. God, I need. Because
what happens in this passage is that Jesus actually
is sufficient for the very place of their need.
He is. I'm gonna highlight two ways. The first
is kind of simple Remember he said in verse 31
he said to them come away by yourselves to a
desolate place and rest a while Look down at
verse 39. He said Then he commanded them all
to sit down in groups on the green grass Why
didn't Mark just say he commanded them to sit
down they're about to eat sit down and eat Because
the image of green grass and scripture is a place
that God leads us to Through the valleys of the
shadow of death into his green pastures He's
leading them there. He doesn't do so until they
come to the end of themselves though Another
way is Is the connections that are made in this
passage with eating? You know, we learned from
the get -go is that He calls them to come to
this desolate place, for many were coming and
going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And
then when they get to the other side, part of
the problem that they find is not just their
own desire to be sustained, but the need for
this whole crowd to be sustained. You know, they
say, Jesus send them away so they can buy themselves
something to eat. Verse 36. Their response So
Jesus response to them was hey you go buy them
something to eat Their response again with Jesus
it's gonna cost us too much to buy all that stuff
the bread specifically say for them to eat But
of course what happens in the story There's something
amazing The only miracle that you can find in
all four Gospels other than the resurrection
itself is this story This story it's the only
one What happens Jesus takes what is sort of
a paltry offering for such a large crowd He takes
it he takes what they have found and what they
offer to him Five loaves, two fish. Jesus takes
what little the disciples can sort of muster
up and scrounge around and get. He takes it and
he multiplies it beyond what anyone could have
imagined. Anyone could have imagined. This is
the only miracle that's in all the Gospels other
than the resurrection. Because Jesus takes our
little Insufficient in a lot of ways offerings
and he says your insufficiency with my all sufficiency
is going to be more than enough Five loaves two
fishes for 5 ,000 men and by the way Matthew
highlights that there were also women and children
there 12 ,000 people John tells us that they
ate as much as they wanted They just got to eat
as much as you wanted And here and elsewhere,
in the other passages, we read that they had
12 baskets left over, which is this number of
fullness, one of the numbers of fullness in the
Bible. Which is to say, so often the place where
Jesus does His most miraculous work in our lives
is at the very place and in the very time when
we come to the end of ourselves. And we have
to rely on Him. When our insufficiency shines,
his sufficiency shines all the brighter. And
think with me, I think Mark actually points to
the ultimate place where Jesus does this, and
I think he does this really clearly. And I think
that might be the reason why the two miracles
that we find in all the gospels are this and
the resurrection. When Jesus' body was broken
and his blood was shed, and yet in him doing
that, we have life through his resurrection.
So look with me down at verse 41. Verse 41 says
this, and taking the five loaves and two fish,
he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and
broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples
to set before the people. Jesus takes, he blesses,
he breaks, he gives. They're the very words that
we have at the institution of Lord's Supper.
They're the words that are constantly used when
Jesus takes the bread, which is his body, the
cup, which is his blood. He takes, he blesses,
he breaks, he gives. Same thing he does in the
upper room when he is about to go to his death
for us, when his blood is being shed for us,
when his Body is being broken for us Which is
to say I think that this is passage is not just
calling us to think about our Insufficiency of
time and resources and ability and all the things
that we feel so deeply But I think this passage
has to call us to the insufficiency for us to
deal with our sin our ultimate need That we try
to fix things around us we try to keep everything
in order We try to put on a good face, try to
schedule well all the rest, but Jesus alone is
sufficient. The wrongs of the world to right,
to put our wrongs to right, to put our sin to
death. Our insufficiency to deal with our sins
is met with his sufficiency of his taken blessed,
broken, given body. Jesus leads his disciples
in their state of weariness and in their need
for rest into a deeper rest, into a deeper sense
of, God can do it. He's able. I come to the end
of myself. He is able. To think of how the whole
eating story ends verse 42, please look at that
with me And they all ate and were satisfied I
love that that word isn't full You can be full
and not satisfied Satisfied has this connotation
of rest Complete Okay, cared for, satisfied.
Jesus led his disciples in their place of weariness
to a place of their total insufficiency that
he might teach them that he alone can care for
them. Brothers and sisters, I pray in a way,
and this is a strange prayer, that each one of
you would come to that place. God, I cannot do.
You must do. God, I do not have. I must rely
on you. God, I cannot deal with my sin. Take
it upon yourself. God, I cannot live. Let me
live in you. And I believe But just as this crowd
long ago just as these weary disciples long ago
ate and were satisfied But it's in that place
and it is only in that place Where you will find
rest? Amen For God We're thankful for the beauty
of this passage for Jesus compassion the compassionate
shepherd looking upon the sheep that are wandering
and need to be fed and are unable. God, would
you extend your compassion towards us? And God,
I pray that we would know our deep need of you.
And then we would run to you empty handed Lord,
because nothing in our hands we bring simply
to the cross we cling. And God, we would find
in you the rest and the satisfaction for which
all of our souls are deeply, deeply longing.
Please do this Lord, draw us to the end of ourself
that you, we might be filled. Amen. Thank you
for listening to Second City Sermons podcast.
We hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship
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