WEBVTT 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:15.580 Chapter 8, verse 11. We'll eventually end up 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:24.120 on verse 21, Lord willing. So let's pray, and 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:29.780 then we will dig in. God, we come to you today, 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:32.979 and I thank you, dear Lord. that we have the 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:35.619 freedom and the privilege to come in this house 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:39.359 and worship you freely. I pray that you would 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.140 be with us this morning, God, that you would 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:45.359 just help us to be free of the worries and the 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.399 distractions and the stresses and the pains and 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:51.899 just all the stuff of this world, dear Lord, 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.039 that just weighs heavy on our mind and on our 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.799 heart. And I pray that we would not be distracted. 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:01.500 from you by those things, but that in these few 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:03.439 minutes, God, that you would just protect us 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.719 from any attacks of the enemy, any temptations 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.719 to wander off. But I pray that you give us a 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:13.340 heart to hear this morning, that you give us 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:15.920 ears to hear, God, that we would listen to you, 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:18.819 that your Holy Spirit would just meet us where 00:01:18.819 --> 00:01:22.019 we are today, and that you'd do a good work in 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:24.980 us, God. We come here today to hear from you. 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:27.950 So I pray, dear Lord, that you'd be glorified 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:31.709 in these words. And I ask these things in Jesus' 00:01:31.849 --> 00:01:37.189 name. Amen. In Mark chapter 8, verse 11, we are 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:40.609 going to kind of jump right in here to where 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:44.670 some Pharisees are approaching Jesus, wanting 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:47.709 to see a sign. And the Pharisees were really, 00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:51.120 they were always kind of... following Jesus around, 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:54.920 and they didn't like Jesus' teaching. They always 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.319 were testing him and trying him, seeing how he 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:01.519 was going to respond, and that's what we see 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:04.579 here in this passage this morning in verse 11. 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.599 The Pharisees came out and began to argue with 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:13.000 him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:17.520 him. But sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.719 Why does just this generation demand a sign? 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:26.620 I assure you no sign will be given to this generation. 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.259 Then he left them, got on board the boat again, 00:02:30.419 --> 00:02:34.560 and went to the other side. So here are these 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:38.099 Pharisees. Now, by this point, Jesus had done 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:41.259 A lot of stuff. A lot of really cool stuff. He 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:44.120 had healed people. We see by this point in the 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.379 book of Mark, Mark really talks a lot about Jesus 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:50.909 driving out demons. And no doubt. that some of 00:02:50.909 --> 00:02:53.389 the people who had seen these things would have 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:55.789 been Pharisees. At the very least, they had heard, 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:58.590 but I suspect that some of the Pharisees had 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:01.509 seen these things. And all throughout Jesus' 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:05.870 ministry, we see that there's this group of people 00:03:05.870 --> 00:03:10.030 that are constantly demanding a sign, demanding 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:13.919 that Jesus do something. even up until his death 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:16.039 on the cross. There's this group that's just 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:19.599 constantly demanding, do this thing, do that 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:23.879 thing. But the problem is, is that Jesus had 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.039 done many things throughout his ministry. He 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:31.180 had healed so many people, and he had taught 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:34.919 the word of God so beautifully. He had even raised 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:37.699 people from the dead. It's not that they had 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:41.060 not already seen signs and wonders and miracles. 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:45.840 But they wanted more. It's almost as though they 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:49.259 wanted Jesus to perform on their terms. Jesus, 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:53.360 do this thing for us. Now, what's so bad about 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.039 that? If you look at other people in Scripture... 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:00.039 They come to Jesus and they're constantly asking, 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.860 Jesus, would you heal me? Jesus, would you drive 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:05.580 this demon out from my family member? Jesus, 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:07.840 would you do this or would you do that? What's 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:10.939 the difference between the Pharisees when they 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:14.639 ask Jesus to do something and all those others 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:18.980 who ask Jesus and often of which Jesus does what 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:23.259 they ask? The difference is the heart in which 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:27.000 they're asking it. You see, the Pharisees, they're 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:30.019 coming to Jesus, and they want Jesus to perform 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:34.139 on their terms. Jesus, you do what we ask you 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:37.660 to do, and then we will believe you. But they 00:04:37.660 --> 00:04:41.259 would have never believed Jesus. Jesus could 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:44.180 have come off of that cross. He could have showed 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:48.300 all of his power, should he have wanted to. But 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:50.399 I suspect that that group of people still would 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.800 not have believed Jesus. Because their heart. 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:57.459 was not right because they had been exposed to 00:04:57.459 --> 00:05:00.300 Jesus. They had seen Jesus. They had seen Jesus' 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:04.420 miracles. They had heard from Jesus many times 00:05:04.420 --> 00:05:08.839 before, and they continued to reject Jesus because 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:12.779 their heart was not right. This was the group 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:15.500 of people that would have been really considered 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:18.819 to be the most religious people. I mean, these 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:20.220 would have been the group of people that would 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:22.699 have been trying to teach others the Word of 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:24.939 God, the Old Testament, and the laws of God, 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:27.079 and the instruction of God. These would have 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:29.560 been the holier -than -thou's, if we can call 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:31.620 them that. I mean, this is this group that keeps 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:35.819 demanding of Jesus a sign, but they never were 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:39.459 going to trust Jesus because the work that Jesus 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:42.579 did was good enough. And they were either going 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:46.389 to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, That 00:05:46.389 --> 00:05:50.170 Jesus had the power to forgive sins. That Jesus 00:05:50.170 --> 00:05:52.709 had the power to heal and do anything else that 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:56.149 he wanted to do. Or they were not going to believe 00:05:56.149 --> 00:05:59.149 it. And so they often came to Jesus demanding 00:05:59.149 --> 00:06:02.430 signs and wanting Jesus to do something for them. 00:06:03.490 --> 00:06:07.689 But their heart was not right. But then we see 00:06:07.689 --> 00:06:11.050 so many instances in scripture where others have 00:06:11.050 --> 00:06:14.500 heard of Jesus. where others have seen the miracles 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:17.699 of Jesus. And they said, wow, there's something 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:20.939 about this man. There's something about the way 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:24.500 he teaches. I want to go hear him teach. There's 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:27.920 something about the way that he heals people. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:33.000 There's something about this man that is unique, 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:36.720 it is different. And people who had that heart, 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.459 they would seek Jesus out and they would come 00:06:39.459 --> 00:06:41.779 to him. Some probably were questioning. Some 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:43.519 probably were wondering, I don't know about this 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.160 guy. I hear these things. I want to investigate 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.879 a little further. But some in that crowd were 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:53.319 people who had heard of Jesus, who had believed 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:56.180 Jesus' teachings and what he said and what he 00:06:56.180 --> 00:07:00.779 was doing, and they came to seek Jesus out. And 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:02.720 they came and they humbled themselves before 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:06.360 Jesus, and they would beg him just to... just 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.160 to heal them, or they would seek just to touch 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.259 him, just to experience his power. And those 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:15.399 people are the people who were saved. Not the 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:18.459 people who expected Jesus to respond and act 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:22.740 on their terms, their commands, but those who 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.139 come to Jesus to seek him and to follow his commands. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.800 And so these Pharisees had come to Jesus, and 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:33.160 he says here, look, you want a sign, you're not 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:36.339 going to get a sign. Now he says in another scripture 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:38.600 we see that he says the only sign that they will 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:42.319 be given is the sign of Jonah. That is to say 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.660 that as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish 00:07:44.660 --> 00:07:47.100 for three days and then he got out, so it will 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:50.259 be for the Son of Man. So it would be for Jesus 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:53.360 Christ. Here is the sign. He says if you want 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.139 a sign, there's coming a sign. Here's what the 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.480 sign is going to be. And listen, this is a sign 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.009 for us too. The sign is this, that Jesus Christ, 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:05.290 the Son of God, came to this world to do the 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:08.769 will of God, to give his life on a cross, to 00:08:08.769 --> 00:08:12.850 be placed in the tomb, and three days later to 00:08:12.850 --> 00:08:15.730 be raised and seated at the right hand of God. 00:08:16.870 --> 00:08:20.449 That is the sign. That's the sign that we have 00:08:20.449 --> 00:08:22.810 to say today. That's the sign that we have to 00:08:22.810 --> 00:08:25.839 see right here today. All these things that the 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:28.040 Pharisees knew about, we know about. Well, not 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:29.439 all of them. They probably knew about more than 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.259 we do. We know about what's written in Scripture, 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.879 which is sufficient evidence. We know about what 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.080 God's Word says. We know about the miracles. 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.179 We know about the healings. We know about the 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:41.980 teachings. We know about the example of Jesus 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:45.240 Christ. And most of all, we know that He has 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:48.860 been raised from the tomb. So we have all the 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:51.559 evidence that the Pharisees had. And the question 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.059 is, what will you do with the evidence that you 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:58.279 see and that you hear from Scripture? Maybe today 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:01.980 you're like the Pharisees. You say, Jesus, I'd 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:04.440 believe in you if you'd just do this. If you'd 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:07.159 just do what I tell you to do, Jesus, I'd believe 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:11.200 in you. But maybe what Jesus is saying to you 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:13.179 today is if you'd just do what I tell you to 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:18.419 do, maybe then you'd believe in me. So today 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:22.059 we have the evidence of the Pharisees. Will we 00:09:22.059 --> 00:09:26.340 accept him or will we reject him? They demanded 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:29.240 a sign, and they received that sign when Jesus 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.059 was crucified and resurrected, and so it is for 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:34.500 us today. So after he had this little interaction 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:36.679 with them, it says he got back in the boat. They'd 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.000 been in the boat, and they went on their way 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.720 to the next place. In verse 14, they had forgotten 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.860 to take bread and had only one loaf with them 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:50.539 in the boat. Then he commanded them, Watch out, 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:53.419 beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:56.340 yeast of Herod. All right, so they get back in 00:09:56.340 --> 00:09:58.679 the boat, and they were hungry, probably like 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:00.779 all of us. We were pretty blessed, and hopefully 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:02.639 we're pretty blessed that we all have some food. 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.600 We all eat snacks between times, and they had 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.200 been doing this work of Jesus, and they were 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.620 hungry. They wanted some bread, but they realized 00:10:08.620 --> 00:10:11.570 that they didn't bring any bread with them. That 00:10:11.570 --> 00:10:13.909 was what was on the mind of the disciples, that 00:10:13.909 --> 00:10:16.210 they did not bring any bread on this trip with 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:20.250 them. And Jesus uses this opportunity to teach 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:23.909 them. Now, Jesus often used opportunities and 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:27.909 parables and things that maybe didn't make a 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:30.149 lot of sense in the time, but he would use these 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:34.710 practical things to bring forth these kind of 00:10:34.710 --> 00:10:38.409 deep teachings that were crucial. And so they're 00:10:38.409 --> 00:10:41.629 talking about bread. And in the process, Jesus 00:10:41.629 --> 00:10:45.970 says, hey, you need to be aware of the yeast 00:10:45.970 --> 00:10:51.029 of the Pharisees. Now, Jesus here is not talking 00:10:51.029 --> 00:10:54.610 about bread. And they continue on in the next 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:59.409 verse. It says in verse 16, they were discussing 00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:02.610 among themselves. They did not have any bread. 00:11:03.049 --> 00:11:06.289 So they're talking about bread. Jesus says, hey, 00:11:06.409 --> 00:11:08.809 why are you talking about bread? Beware of the 00:11:08.809 --> 00:11:11.370 yeast of the Pharisees. And they kept on talking 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:15.509 about, we ain't got no bread. Jesus is making 00:11:15.509 --> 00:11:18.909 a crucial point here. He's making a contrast 00:11:18.909 --> 00:11:22.570 between the yeast, that is the teaching of the 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:26.389 Pharisees, and his teaching. Now the teaching 00:11:26.389 --> 00:11:28.769 of the Pharisees were running rampant in those 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:31.429 days. As I said, these would have been very religious 00:11:31.429 --> 00:11:34.429 people. And so they were teaching a lot of things 00:11:34.429 --> 00:11:37.330 that were not right, that were not accurate, 00:11:37.470 --> 00:11:40.750 that were not truly representing God and the 00:11:40.750 --> 00:11:44.009 Word of God and the commands of God. And that's 00:11:44.009 --> 00:11:46.129 why when Jesus came on the Sermon on the Mount, 00:11:46.230 --> 00:11:48.669 he would say stuff like, you have heard it said, 00:11:48.970 --> 00:11:52.230 but I tell you this. Jesus says, I'm going to 00:11:52.230 --> 00:11:54.570 show you and I'm going to teach you what the 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.309 Scripture says because many of those who are 00:11:57.309 --> 00:12:00.950 teaching you now are not doing a good job. So 00:12:00.950 --> 00:12:03.049 I'm coming and I'm going to teach you these things 00:12:03.049 --> 00:12:05.330 so that you understand them in a better way. 00:12:05.470 --> 00:12:07.450 And at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, they 00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:12.330 say, hey, this man teaches as one who has authority. 00:12:12.690 --> 00:12:15.149 There's something that's different about his 00:12:15.149 --> 00:12:19.590 teaching. Why? Because he was preaching and teaching 00:12:19.590 --> 00:12:23.879 godly things. The religious group, the Pharisees 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:26.019 and all these other people, they were preaching 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:28.700 and teaching religion and following a set of 00:12:28.700 --> 00:12:32.080 rules, many of which they made up that did not 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.080 draw people closer to God, but only put a greater 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:39.299 burden on them. And Jesus says, I am coming to 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:42.159 free you of that burden. I don't want you to 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.340 be religious. I want you to be made righteous. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:47.159 I want you to understand that when God gives 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.200 some of these crazy instructions in the law, 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.240 here's what God really means. And that's why 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:55.179 Jesus sums it up so beautifully when he says, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.399 I'm paraphrasing even what Jesus said, love God 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.990 and love your neighbor. Jesus says, this is what 00:13:01.990 --> 00:13:05.169 the law boils down to. This is what you need 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:07.169 to get. This is what you need to understand. 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:10.429 This is how you need to live your life. You need 00:13:10.429 --> 00:13:13.809 to live your life serving God and loving your 00:13:13.809 --> 00:13:17.409 neighbor. And if you get that, even 2 ,000 years 00:13:17.409 --> 00:13:21.409 later today, if we get that, we've got it. If 00:13:21.409 --> 00:13:25.490 we get that, we're on the right track. If we 00:13:25.490 --> 00:13:28.220 don't get that, If we just come to church and 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:30.559 we still read the Bible and we don't get that, 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:34.379 then we're probably not any better than the Pharisees. 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:38.419 We're just religious people looking for signs 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:42.519 when Jesus says, look at what I did. Look at 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:44.460 my preaching. Look at my teaching. Look at the 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:48.659 things that I've done. The Pharisees' teaching 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:52.279 was... Bad yeast, so to speak. Now, when you 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.340 make bread, bread is probably the most simple 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:58.659 thing in the world to make. It requires two ingredients, 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:04.039 flour and water. That's it. If you've got flour 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:07.519 and water, you can make bread. Now, if you don't 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.240 put anything but flour and water, it's going 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.480 to be flatbread. It's just going to be pretty 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:13.220 flat. It's not going to rise. It's not going 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.830 to do anything. But even with just flour and 00:14:15.830 --> 00:14:18.009 water, you can take that and put it in a jar, 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:20.470 let it sit for a few days, take a little out, 00:14:20.549 --> 00:14:22.149 add a little more to it along the way, and pretty 00:14:22.149 --> 00:14:24.269 soon it's going to begin to ferment. It's going 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:26.830 to build up some bacteria, and you can use that 00:14:26.830 --> 00:14:29.710 to put in your bread, and then you can have sourdough 00:14:29.710 --> 00:14:32.269 bread. Or you can go out, and you can go all 00:14:32.269 --> 00:14:35.429 into the wilderness, and you can scrape bark 00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:38.389 off of trees, and you can find fungus all over 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:41.809 the place in everything, and it's a little fungus 00:14:41.809 --> 00:14:44.650 that you can put in your bread, and it's... And 00:14:44.650 --> 00:14:47.470 what does that do? You put it in there, and all 00:14:47.470 --> 00:14:49.950 of a sudden that bread begins to bake up nice 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:53.509 and pretty and rye so nice and neat. Y 'all didn't 00:14:53.509 --> 00:14:56.110 know I knew all this stuff about bread. I should 00:14:56.110 --> 00:14:57.590 have baked y 'all some bread and brought it to 00:14:57.590 --> 00:15:00.509 you today. But yeast is important. There's nothing 00:15:00.509 --> 00:15:03.029 wrong with a flat bread. Maybe you've had flat 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:06.169 bread before. Maybe you've had sourdough bread. 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:09.480 But boy, a good old yeast rising fluffy piece 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.000 of bread with some nice butter slathered on that, 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:15.279 that's good stuff. So yeast in and of itself 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:19.039 isn't a bad thing. But you've got to use good 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.399 yeast if you want good bread. And Jesus says 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:28.100 be very careful. Because the Pharisees, the things 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:30.700 that they're teaching you, it's not going to 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:32.899 amount to nothing. It's going to stay flat. If 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:34.539 you live by their teachings, you're going to 00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:36.679 stay flat. But Jesus said, I want you to rise. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:41.240 And so he says, you need to be aware of the teaching 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:45.259 of the Pharisees. And the disciples didn't get 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:49.759 a bit of it. It went right over their head. Went 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.440 right over their head. They said, we didn't bring 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.259 any bread. Maybe they were thinking, well, we 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:56.039 don't have any Pharisee bread. We don't have 00:15:56.039 --> 00:16:00.250 any bread. Don't worry about bread. Jesus is 00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:03.649 trying to teach them the deeper and more important 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:07.529 things of life, and they are worried about bread. 00:16:08.529 --> 00:16:11.470 No, we don't ever do that, do we? We're probably 00:16:11.470 --> 00:16:13.250 guilty of that sometimes when we have our big 00:16:13.250 --> 00:16:15.629 eatings at church. We get in here and we got 00:16:15.629 --> 00:16:17.409 all that food back there, boy, it starts smelling 00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.509 good. And then I get wound up and I preach until 00:16:20.509 --> 00:16:22.549 like 12, 15, and y 'all are like, this is the 00:16:22.549 --> 00:16:25.639 worst sermon ever. And you don't even really 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:27.419 know what the sermon's about. You just know that 00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:29.360 it's past 12 o 'clock and therefore it's the 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.700 worst sermon ever because we're too worried about 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:33.960 our food or when we don't have food, we're too 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.620 worried about what's outside of those doors and 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.419 we're too worried about everything except for 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:43.629 what God wants to teach us. And here they are 00:16:43.629 --> 00:16:47.049 with Jesus. And boy, you would think that these 00:16:47.049 --> 00:16:49.830 disciples would just be soaking up every word 00:16:49.830 --> 00:16:52.009 he said and be saying, Jesus, tell us what that 00:16:52.009 --> 00:16:53.990 means. Jesus, tell us what that's about. But 00:16:53.990 --> 00:16:55.769 that's not how they're portrayed. You read the 00:16:55.769 --> 00:16:58.090 book of Mark. They're not really portrayed, these 00:16:58.090 --> 00:17:01.830 disciples, as being too bright. And we say, boy, 00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:03.809 if I'd have been there with Jesus, I'd be seeking 00:17:03.809 --> 00:17:07.329 every word he said. No, you wouldn't. Because 00:17:07.329 --> 00:17:10.369 you don't do it today. You don't read the word 00:17:10.369 --> 00:17:13.470 today. You don't spend time seeking to do God's 00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:15.950 word today. You say, but if I'd have been with 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:18.829 him, I would have. No, you wouldn't. So we're 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:21.910 no better than the disciples. We're just as rotten. 00:17:21.930 --> 00:17:24.710 We're just as slow. It's not that we don't love 00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:27.369 Jesus. It's not that we don't believe Jesus' 00:17:27.609 --> 00:17:31.329 words. We're just kind of slow sometimes. And 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:33.630 Jesus may want to teach us in such a deep and 00:17:33.630 --> 00:17:35.789 beautiful way, and we're worried about bread. 00:17:37.109 --> 00:17:40.049 And Jesus goes on to tell them in the next verse. 00:17:43.109 --> 00:17:48.130 Verse 17, aware of this, he said to them, why 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:50.809 are you discussing that you do not have any bread? 00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:56.349 Don't you understand or comprehend? Is your heart 00:17:56.349 --> 00:18:02.109 hardened? That's interesting language. Now, when 00:18:02.109 --> 00:18:04.609 we think about people in scripture who have a 00:18:04.609 --> 00:18:07.109 hardened heart, probably the first person most 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:09.289 of us think about is Pharaoh in the Old Testament. 00:18:09.710 --> 00:18:11.769 That Pharaoh was supposed to let God's people 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:13.250 go and he said, I'm going to let them go and 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:14.609 he wouldn't let them go and he's going to let 00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:16.569 them go and he wouldn't let them go. And it says 00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:20.529 God hardened his heart because he continually 00:18:20.529 --> 00:18:22.750 rejected the things that God was trying to show 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:25.549 him. And God hardened his heart. And we think 00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:27.269 about people who have a hardened heart. We think 00:18:27.269 --> 00:18:29.990 about really bad, evil people who reject God. 00:18:30.150 --> 00:18:34.049 But listen to what Jesus said here. Why are you 00:18:34.049 --> 00:18:37.750 talking about bread? Has your heart been hardened? 00:18:38.890 --> 00:18:41.630 And this is not the first time Jesus has said 00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:44.450 this to them because he said the same thing to 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:50.170 them back in Mark 6, verse 52. They're in the 00:18:50.170 --> 00:18:53.369 boat. The storm comes. No, they're in the boat. 00:18:53.410 --> 00:18:56.109 Jesus comes walking across the water. They're 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:58.109 afraid. They think it's a ghost coming across 00:18:58.109 --> 00:19:01.670 the water. They're terrified, and Jesus says 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:04.829 the same thing to them. Let's flip back to Mark 00:19:04.829 --> 00:19:07.049 chapter 6. That's a good story. We're going to 00:19:07.049 --> 00:19:08.650 flip back there. It's just a couple of pages. 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:11.990 It's easy for you to get to. Mark chapter 6. 00:19:12.690 --> 00:19:16.730 Go down to about... Let's see if we can find 00:19:16.730 --> 00:19:23.789 our verse here. About verse 50. Mark chapter 00:19:23.789 --> 00:19:32.430 6, verse 50. For they all saw him and were terrified. 00:19:32.589 --> 00:19:35.690 Immediately he spoke with them and said, Have 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:40.150 courage, it is I, don't be afraid. Then he got 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:43.450 into the boat with them and the wind ceased. 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:47.970 They were completely astounded because they had 00:19:47.970 --> 00:19:53.170 not understood about the loaves. Instead, their 00:19:53.170 --> 00:19:56.769 hearts were hardened. Now isn't that interesting? 00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:02.160 Both of these passages are very similar. Here 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:05.099 Jesus is walking across the water. They're terrified. 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:07.960 He says, look, don't be afraid. It's me. Don't 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.140 be afraid. And it says they did not understand 00:20:11.140 --> 00:20:13.619 because their hearts were hardened because they 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:16.700 didn't understand about what? About the loaves, 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:20.200 about bread. Isn't that interesting? Now, right 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:24.259 before this, Jesus had just fed 5 ,000 people, 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:27.279 which is pretty incredible. If you've ever been 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.660 part of a big feeding before, it's an incredible 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:32.299 thing to feed a lot of people. It takes a lot 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:35.119 of work and a lot of preparation and a lot of 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:39.720 food. But Jesus fed 5 ,000 people with five loaves 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:43.440 of bread and two fish. Jesus said, look, these 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.059 people need something to eat. The disciple says, 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:46.500 how are we going to feed them? Jesus says, what 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:48.759 you got? Well, we got five loaves and two fish, 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:50.799 and Jesus says, let's feed these people. He blessed 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:52.920 it. They started handing out the food, and they 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.920 fed all of them, 5 ,000 men plus women and children, 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.619 remember how many that was, and they still had 00:20:59.619 --> 00:21:03.750 bread left. Jesus had took a little bit of bread 00:21:03.750 --> 00:21:07.210 and he had used it to feed thousands and thousands 00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:10.789 of people and the disciples still didn't understand 00:21:10.789 --> 00:21:14.670 the power of Jesus. They should have understood, 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:20.509 whoa, this is amazing. This is amazing what Jesus 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:25.930 has just done. He has just done a miracle. But 00:21:25.930 --> 00:21:28.240 it says that their hearts were hardened. They 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.660 did not understand the loaves. They still did 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:33.720 not recognize the power of Jesus. And when Jesus 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:36.599 come walking on the water, when the winds were 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:39.559 blowing, they still were afraid because they 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:42.680 were not trusting in Jesus and they hadn't fully 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:46.559 recognized Jesus and who he was and what he could 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.779 do. Flip back to Mark chapter 8. Back to Mark 00:21:50.779 --> 00:22:02.319 chapter 8. End of verse 17. It says, Don't you 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.559 understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened? 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:08.640 Now Jesus is fixing to teach them something important 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:12.539 here, that he wants them to understand. He's 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:14.660 talking about the yeast of the Pharisees' teaching, 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:17.180 but he's also talking about his teaching and 00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:19.859 his life and his examples and his ministry, and 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:24.920 he wants the apostles to understand his power. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.420 He wants them to understand and to trust who 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:33.640 he is. And he says in verse 18, Do you have eyes 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:37.200 and not see? And do you have ears and not hear? 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:42.980 And do you not remember when I broke the five 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:46.480 loaves for the 5 ,000? How many baskets full 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:50.059 of pieces of bread did you collect? Twelve, they 00:22:50.059 --> 00:22:53.569 told him. When I broke the seven loaves for the 00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:57.450 4 ,000, how many large baskets full of pieces 00:22:57.450 --> 00:23:03.009 of bread did you collect? Seven, they said. And 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:07.750 he said to him, and he said to them, don't you 00:23:07.750 --> 00:23:12.390 understand yet? Now here these disciples are. 00:23:12.430 --> 00:23:14.690 They get in the boat. They talk about bread. 00:23:14.890 --> 00:23:17.490 Jesus says, look, don't fall into the traps of 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:20.740 the Pharisees. They're worried about bread. They're 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:23.839 worried about bread. The apostles who had just 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.519 a few weeks or a few months earlier had seen 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:30.680 Jesus feed 5 ,000 plus people with five loaves 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:33.660 of bread and then right before this story had 00:23:33.660 --> 00:23:37.259 seen Jesus feed 4 ,000 plus people with seven 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:40.799 loaves of bread and the disciples are worried 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:45.799 about bread. Jesus says, don't you get it? Do 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:49.619 you not understand who I am? Do you not see what 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:52.839 I've done? Do you not know that I will provide 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:56.460 for you? Do you not know that I'm not going to 00:23:56.460 --> 00:23:59.119 let you go hungry? That you're sitting in the 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:02.240 boat with the Son of God? That I can make something 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:04.809 out of nothing? That I could take one loaf of 00:24:04.809 --> 00:24:08.230 bread and feed the whole world? Do you not understand 00:24:08.230 --> 00:24:11.509 yet, Jesus said? Have you been with me all this 00:24:11.509 --> 00:24:14.990 time and missed my power and missed the miracles 00:24:14.990 --> 00:24:17.630 and missed everything that I've come to teach 00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:21.150 you and to show you? Do you not understand yet? 00:24:23.789 --> 00:24:28.230 And what about you and I? Do we not understand 00:24:28.230 --> 00:24:33.430 yet? Maybe we're just as guilty. Of the apostles. 00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:37.930 And we see the works of Jesus. And we believe 00:24:37.930 --> 00:24:41.049 that he is the Messiah. Eleven of them did. Eleven 00:24:41.049 --> 00:24:44.250 of these apostles did. They believed that Jesus 00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:47.509 was the Messiah. They believed that he was the 00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:50.509 Son of God. They believed that he could do miracles. 00:24:50.750 --> 00:24:54.750 They knew who he was, but they still didn't get 00:24:54.750 --> 00:24:58.309 it. They still weren't trusting in him fully. 00:24:58.470 --> 00:25:02.339 They still weren't fully dependent on him. They 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:05.180 still were worried about the simple things of 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:08.440 the world when Jesus says, don't worry about 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:11.059 what you'll wear or what you will eat or where 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:14.500 you will live. I will take care of these things. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:19.420 Don't you get it? Don't you understand yet, Jesus 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:24.059 says? Seek me. Follow my teachings. Don't give 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:26.619 in to the things of the world. Don't seek the 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:29.099 things of the world. Don't seek the ways of the 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:34.579 world. But I will take care. care of you. And 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:36.680 perhaps we need to be reminded of that today. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:41.359 Perhaps for some in this room, you know who Jesus 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:45.640 is. You know that He is the Son of God. You know 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:48.319 that He is raised from the dead. You know that 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.660 He has done miracles. You believe it. But we're 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:57.460 not any better than the apostles. Life comes 00:25:57.460 --> 00:26:01.269 along. We wonder where our next bread is going 00:26:01.269 --> 00:26:05.750 to come from. We wonder about our health problems 00:26:05.750 --> 00:26:09.650 that we're up against. We worry about our loved 00:26:09.650 --> 00:26:14.170 ones. We worry about our job. We worry about 00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:17.089 all of these things in the world that are real 00:26:17.089 --> 00:26:20.880 and they are serious. And they are on our minds 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.339 every day. And they frighten us. And we are afraid. 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:27.460 And we wonder, how am I going to make it through? 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:31.180 Lord, will I make it? And maybe Jesus wants to 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:35.559 tell us today, do you not understand yet? Do 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:38.079 you not understand that I will take care of you? 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:41.799 Do you not understand that I will provide the 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:45.000 bread that you need? That I will be with you 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.619 as you walk through the valley of the shadow 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:50.420 of death? Do you not understand that my teachings 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:54.200 are good and they are right? Do you not understand 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:56.539 that the way of the world and those around you 00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:59.599 is not good for you? It doesn't provide for you, 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:04.440 but I will never leave you or forsake you? Do 00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:10.279 you not understand yet? Maybe today the Lord 00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:15.980 is calling us to give it all to Jesus and say, 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.059 Jesus, I don't understand, but I want to understand. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:26.380 I believe, but help my unbelief. Jesus knows 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:28.640 that we are weak. Praise the Lord, God knows 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:33.980 that we are weak. And we don't understand, but 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:37.660 what we need to understand is that Jesus loves 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:42.339 us today. That Jesus will take care of you today. 00:27:43.470 --> 00:27:46.430 You have seen the power of Jesus in Scripture. 00:27:46.730 --> 00:27:49.269 And if you haven't, then read the Scripture. 00:27:50.869 --> 00:27:53.829 You'll see the power of Jesus. You'll know what 00:27:53.829 --> 00:27:56.769 He has done and what He can do. And I can promise 00:27:56.769 --> 00:27:59.009 you today that He is with you and He will not 00:27:59.009 --> 00:28:03.029 leave you. That He will provide for you. And 00:28:03.029 --> 00:28:05.049 I cannot tell you today that your life will be 00:28:05.049 --> 00:28:07.849 easy or that your situation will be better when 00:28:07.849 --> 00:28:10.609 you leave this place. But I can tell you that 00:28:10.609 --> 00:28:15.519 Jesus Christ is with you. And he's going to take 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:20.460 care of you. Don't miss him. Boy, the disciples 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:22.960 were slow. It took them a long time to be with 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:25.279 Jesus and to see Jesus and to try to learn from 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:27.819 Jesus. And Jesus would do some of the most amazing 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:29.660 things, and they'd just be scratching their head. 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:32.019 And they'd say, Jesus, can you tell us what you 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:37.190 mean? So don't feel bad. Maybe we sit here today 00:28:37.190 --> 00:28:39.450 and we confess to ourselves, God, I don't understand. 00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:42.670 God, I don't understand yet. But God, I want 00:28:42.670 --> 00:28:45.089 you to help me to understand. I want you to help 00:28:45.089 --> 00:28:49.329 me to put my trust in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 00:28:50.829 --> 00:28:52.750 God, we come to you this morning. We thank you 00:28:52.750 --> 00:28:55.589 for this good word, this good story, dear Lord, 00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:58.849 that you share with us through your word. And 00:28:58.849 --> 00:29:00.609 I pray that you would help us to not be like 00:29:00.609 --> 00:29:03.960 the Pharisees this morning, dear Lord. That we 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:07.400 would not seek a Savior who does what we want 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:10.779 when we ask Him to, but that we would seek a 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:14.180 Savior that we need, dear Lord. Not because we 00:29:14.180 --> 00:29:17.299 are deserving, but because He loves us, God. 00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:19.420 So I pray today that we would be those who come 00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:23.079 in faith to know that we need Jesus, that we 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:27.359 have heard of who Jesus is. I pray that you would 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.259 help us, dear Lord, to continually be in your 00:29:29.259 --> 00:29:32.710 Word to see Jesus. To see His miracles, to see 00:29:32.710 --> 00:29:35.490 His love, to see His mercy, to see His compassion, 00:29:35.690 --> 00:29:39.049 dear Lord. Maybe there are some here this morning, 00:29:39.150 --> 00:29:42.049 God, that have never seen that about Jesus. They 00:29:42.049 --> 00:29:45.750 don't know that about Jesus. I pray today that 00:29:45.750 --> 00:29:47.549 they would know that Jesus Christ has given His 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:51.210 life on a cross so that their sins could be forgiven. 00:29:52.789 --> 00:29:56.119 That He is seated at your right hand, God. that 00:29:56.119 --> 00:29:58.980 he is victorious today, that he is strength for 00:29:58.980 --> 00:30:01.380 us today, that if we would just call out to you 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:03.619 and seek you, dear Lord, you'd be faithful to 00:30:03.619 --> 00:30:06.779 forgive us of our sins if we would just confess 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:10.180 and repent, dear Lord. So maybe there are some 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:14.059 here today and they don't know, they don't really 00:30:14.059 --> 00:30:16.539 know Jesus. Maybe they know about him, dear Lord, 00:30:16.740 --> 00:30:21.279 but they don't follow him. They've never confessed 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.319 their sins. I pray that today that they would, 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:26.150 dear Lord. Maybe there are some who came into 00:30:26.150 --> 00:30:28.349 this room today and they didn't understand, but 00:30:28.349 --> 00:30:30.690 maybe today for the first time they do have some 00:30:30.690 --> 00:30:33.690 better understanding. Maybe they understand for 00:30:33.690 --> 00:30:36.910 the first time that Jesus is the Savior of the 00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:39.970 world. God, maybe there are others in this room 00:30:39.970 --> 00:30:44.089 and they're yours, and we are just as boneheaded 00:30:44.089 --> 00:30:48.329 as these apostles, dear Lord. We love you and 00:30:48.329 --> 00:30:51.539 we know your word, but we just... We just fail 00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:54.420 to understand. We fail in sin. We doubt. Our 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:57.880 faith is weak, dear Lord. We see your word. We've 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:00.559 seen your power. And we should trust you in everything 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:03.160 and never question and never doubt or never worry. 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:07.740 But dear Lord, we do. We've seen your power and 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.799 we still just, we just don't get it, dear Lord. 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:13.740 So I pray that you would help us to get it just 00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:15.940 a little bit better today. Dear Lord, you ask, 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:19.619 do you understand yet? And God, maybe we understand 00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:22.660 some, but we don't understand all we want to, 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:25.920 so help us to understand better today when we 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:29.619 leave than when we came into this place. God, 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:31.319 that we would know you provide for us, that you 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:35.200 take care of us, that, God, you can do a lot 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:37.839 with a little. And maybe there are some in here 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:39.819 today in their life in many different areas. 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:43.440 There ain't much there. Maybe there's a little 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:45.500 that they're struggling with, but, dear Lord, 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:47.680 you can take that little and you can do something 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:50.630 great with it. just as you took that few loaves 00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:53.349 of bread and did a miracle, dear Lord, so you 00:31:53.349 --> 00:31:56.529 can in our lives. So I pray, dear Lord, that 00:31:56.529 --> 00:31:58.309 you would help us to seek you today, to grow 00:31:58.309 --> 00:32:01.049 in you today, and to trust you more today. In 00:32:01.049 --> 00:32:03.210 Jesus' name I pray it. Amen.