WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.540 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.359 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.080 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.160 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.500 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:21.739 Christ. Let's dive in. Good morning. Good to 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:27.440 see you all. Got some stuff to unpack in the 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:28.899 Book of Marks. If you want to go ahead and turn 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:31.859 there, that would be great. Title my sermon this 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:34.520 morning is feasting in the wilderness Christ 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:40.119 our provider and if you would Put write this 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:44.659 down no Eli if you would bring this up my big 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:49.159 idea is Jesus meets our every need Whether physical 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.320 emotional or spiritual and causes to rely on 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:56.780 his abundant provision Now let's do a little 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:00.070 Sunday school fun You guys know I like to ask 00:01:00.070 --> 00:01:01.689 questions and have you respond. So let's just 00:01:01.689 --> 00:01:06.450 start this way. If I asked you to name a miracle 00:01:06.450 --> 00:01:12.510 that Jesus performed, isn't a hard test. Water 00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:16.230 and wine. There's a good one. What else? Feeding 00:01:16.230 --> 00:01:19.109 the 5 ,000. What was the other one? Walking on 00:01:19.109 --> 00:01:26.290 water. Healed the lepers. Raising Lazarus. Good. 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:36.959 Jonah? Jesus performed Jonah? Okay, how about 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:40.640 just the resurrection represents Jonah? How about 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:45.760 that? That was a miracle. Anything else? Kind 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:50.480 of hit them, right? How about there's one that 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.019 we unpacked that wasn't said. That's a miracle. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:03.019 So we had Lazarus. saving the Roman soldier's 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:08.240 daughter that's a good one what's that fig tree 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.759 there's another one which is more yeah we're 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.319 good that's still a miracle I was thinking when 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:19.879 he healed the man with the legion of demons all 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:25.360 right so the reason why I want us to list out 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.800 and just think about We said the feeding of the 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:33.479 5 ,000, which is what we're unpacking this morning, 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:36.400 but the feeding of the 5 ,000 and the resurrection 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.400 are the only two miracles that Jesus performed 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:44.500 that are in all four gospels. Those are the only 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:50.139 two. And so, it's important, obviously, that 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:54.180 we understand why the feeding of the 5 ,000 would 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:57.860 be in there, why all of them Matthew, Mark, Luke, 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:00.300 and John, why they would all include the same 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:05.379 story. So why do you think that is? Why do you 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:08.240 think that the resurrection we know why, right? 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:10.300 So the resurrection makes sense on why all four 00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:13.259 is their eyewitness account of the greatest miracle, 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:18.639 okay? But why do you think all four would put 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:22.939 the feeding of the 5 ,000 in there? What's that? 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.319 Yeah, it is amazing. especially because we're 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:28.960 going to dive in more. And like I was telling 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:35.120 my wife, I go, I didn't realize just how small 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.900 this lunch was until I dove in with this. And 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:41.240 there's a couple of other things I learned that 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:45.259 was really cool. But yeah, so it is really amazing. 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:47.620 It's probably more amazing than you guys even 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:50.120 think. But here's the other part of it. And this 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:51.479 is what I want you to write down. I don't have 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:53.419 it up here, but I want you to write this down. 00:03:54.079 --> 00:03:56.879 because the feeding of the 5 ,000 reveals who 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:00.939 Jesus really is. What do you mean? It reveals 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:04.060 that he's God. How's that? We're gonna unpack 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.139 that in just a second. Let's read it together. 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:17.160 Mark chapter six, starting in verse 30. The apostles 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.079 returned to Jesus and told him all they had done 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.399 and taught. Where had they gone? I didn't preach 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.860 this text, my friend Jason did. Hopefully he 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.639 talked like he read the actual passage. What 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.379 did they do? They were sent out two by two, right? 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.319 Okay, doing everything. Jesus says, go and do 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:39.860 everything that I have shown you that you've 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:42.100 been seeing me do, right? So they come back, 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:44.000 they've done everything they have been taught. 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:45.839 And he said to them, come away by yourselves 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.139 to a desolate place. And what does that say? 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:53.560 Rest awhile. For many were coming and going, 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:57.319 and they had no leisure even to eat, and they 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.259 went away in the boat to a desolate place by 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:02.839 themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:07.060 them, and they ran on foot from all the towns 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:10.459 and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore, 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:14.160 he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:18.100 them, because they were like sheep without a 00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:21.759 shepherd. and he began to teach them many things. 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:24.660 And when it grew late, his disciples came to 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.220 him and said, This is a desolate place, and the 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:31.259 hour is now late. Send them away to go into the 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:33.279 surrounding countryside and villages and buy 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:36.519 themselves something to eat. But he answered 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:41.500 them, You give them something to eat. And they 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:45.620 said, Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:47.819 bread and give it to them to eat? By the way, 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:53.160 denarii is just one denarii is a whole month's 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:56.379 worth of wages, just one. So they're like, we're 00:05:56.379 --> 00:05:58.439 going to have 200 denarii just to provide for 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:02.000 these people. And he said to them, how many loaves 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.639 do you have? Go and see. And when they had, they 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:12.379 found five, five loaves and two fish. Then he 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:14.819 commanded them all to sit down in groups on the 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:17.600 green grass. I want you to highlight green grass. 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.439 So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:25.800 fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:27.819 fish, he looked up to heaven and he set a blessing 00:06:27.819 --> 00:06:30.639 and he broke the loaves and gave them to the 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:35.579 disciples to give to the people. And he divided 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:38.839 the two fish among them all and they all ate 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:41.699 and were satisfied. And they took up 12 baskets 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:45.860 full of broken pieces of fish. And those who 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:51.199 had ate the loaves were 5 ,000 men. Notice that 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:59.819 it says men, 5 ,000 men. It didn't include women 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:03.220 and children. Were women and children fed, Pastor 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:07.079 Logan? Yes. So how many did he actually feed? 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.399 More than likely, they say that the, if you do 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.850 the math and you go, Even just at a minimum, 00:07:13.910 --> 00:07:19.329 there was 20 ,000 people there. 20 ,000 people, 00:07:19.970 --> 00:07:23.889 and we have a Happy Meal from Runza. By the way, 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:27.310 if you've never gotten a kids' meal at Runza, 00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:33.329 this is... I got two chicken finger, or I got 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:36.990 a chicken finger kids' meal from Runza, and you 00:07:36.990 --> 00:07:40.009 get a cup that's about that big, you get some 00:07:40.009 --> 00:07:43.220 fries, that's about that much. And you get two 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:47.379 tiny little chicken fingers. And that's all I 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.959 could think about was that meal. And I'm like, 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:56.220 Jesus, please do something with this. All right. 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:01.240 So where does this take place? Where do we read? 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:09.199 How did it describe the place they were in? Desolate, 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.290 right? So it says that they withdrew to a desolate 00:08:13.290 --> 00:08:15.829 place and what are they going to do? Jesus is 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:17.610 saying, hey, we've got to draw, I'm gonna draw 00:08:17.610 --> 00:08:21.589 you all away so you can rest, right? But what 00:08:21.589 --> 00:08:23.670 you need to know is this isn't like, this isn't 00:08:23.670 --> 00:08:25.910 a desert. Where they're at is not a desert. How 00:08:25.910 --> 00:08:29.649 do we know that? It says it's green grass. It's 00:08:29.649 --> 00:08:33.190 springtime and there's green grass. But so what 00:08:33.190 --> 00:08:35.789 does that tell you if it says desolate, but it's 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:39.490 not a desert, what does it tell you? Yeah, there's 00:08:39.490 --> 00:08:42.299 nothing around, right? They're in a very small 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:47.879 secluded place somewhere in Galilee. So why though 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:51.960 does Mark emphasize desolate place? Because what 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:54.559 he's doing is he's wanting us to travel backwards 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.980 in our mind. He's wanting us to travel backwards 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:02.639 to a specific time because he hits on multiple 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:04.580 things that we probably have never picked up 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:08.769 on I hadn't until I got ready to preach this, 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:10.429 and it just was like, oh my Lord, it's right 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:13.789 there in front of me this entire time. So there 00:09:13.789 --> 00:09:16.309 was another time when God's people were gathered 00:09:16.309 --> 00:09:23.529 in a desolate place. When was that? In the Exodus. 00:09:26.029 --> 00:09:29.750 So now do you see it kind of looks kind of familiar, 00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:33.070 paralleled, right? You've got a bunch of people 00:09:33.070 --> 00:09:38.360 in a desolate place. And Jesus is doing what? 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.639 He's gonna feed them miraculously, right? How 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:47.659 did God feed the children of Israel? With miracle 00:09:47.659 --> 00:09:50.899 bread, right? Manna. Manna means what is it? 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:54.840 They didn't know. So it's this miracle bread 00:09:54.840 --> 00:10:00.139 that God gives them every day and provides for 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:03.529 them. And so back to Israel in the wilderness 00:10:03.529 --> 00:10:05.629 is where we're supposed to go. And so back to 00:10:05.629 --> 00:10:08.789 a people who had no food, no resources, and no 00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:11.429 way to provide for themselves. And what did God 00:10:11.429 --> 00:10:14.289 do? Every morning, as I said, He gave manna from 00:10:14.289 --> 00:10:16.330 heaven. He provided bread in the wilderness. 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:20.929 He provided meat through birds. And day after 00:10:20.929 --> 00:10:23.870 day, meal after meal, God demonstrated that He 00:10:23.870 --> 00:10:27.830 alone was their provider. So now Mark is showing 00:10:27.830 --> 00:10:30.730 us another crowd in another wilderness like setting 00:10:30.730 --> 00:10:36.289 Once again, their need is big and once again 00:10:36.289 --> 00:10:40.269 They have inadequate resources and once again, 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:45.610 there's no human solution But once again God 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:51.230 provides So except this time the bread didn't 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:55.019 fall from heaven This time, the provider is literally 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:59.580 standing there with them. I mean, just pause 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:02.779 for a moment. I want you to just be in my brain 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:04.899 for a second, which is a scary place to be, I 00:11:04.899 --> 00:11:12.460 know. But if you are a disciple, if you are one 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:16.399 of the children of Israel, it tells us, by the 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:19.960 way, that the disciples still didn't get it. 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:22.259 They still didn't, they still didn't catch what 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:24.840 they're supposed to catch. What is it? I'm going 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.639 to tell you in just a minute. But could you imagine 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.179 hearing the stories, these ancient stories about 00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:34.980 manna appearing and their shoes not wearing out, 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.759 their clothes not wearing out. You hear these 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.919 things all the time. That is, that is your people's 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:44.480 history. And then the one who did it is now standing 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:48.419 in front of you and he shows you this mirror, 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:53.220 like. Crazy, right? Like what an incredible, 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:59.580 incredible thing. And so if that connection of 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:01.820 Exodus wasn't enough, Mark tells us that they 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:06.740 sat down on green grass. Does that bring anything 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:18.799 to your minds? Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. 00:12:19.529 --> 00:12:27.490 I shall not. He makes me lie down and Jesus had 00:12:27.490 --> 00:12:31.470 them do what? Sit down and I'm gonna provide 00:12:31.470 --> 00:12:36.230 for you. So the crowd doesn't fully understand 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:38.149 what they're seeing and the disciples certainly 00:12:38.149 --> 00:12:39.990 don't fully understand what they're seeing but 00:12:39.990 --> 00:12:42.889 Mark wants us to understand that the shepherd 00:12:42.889 --> 00:12:46.830 had come and the provider has come and so. The 00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:49.409 God who fed His people in the wilderness is standing 00:12:49.409 --> 00:12:53.110 before them in the person of Jesus Christ. And 00:12:53.110 --> 00:12:55.490 that's why this miracle matters so much, because 00:12:55.490 --> 00:12:58.389 it reminds us that no matter where we find ourselves, 00:12:58.549 --> 00:13:01.830 whether weary, whether confused, whether broken, 00:13:02.250 --> 00:13:05.429 whether fearful or uncertain, Christ is never 00:13:05.429 --> 00:13:08.830 too busy, too tired, or too overwhelmed to look 00:13:08.830 --> 00:13:12.190 upon His people with compassion and provide exactly 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.139 what they need. The question is not whether Christ 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:17.279 is able to provide, the question is whether we 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.700 will look to him and trust him. And so let's 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.340 look at the three ways in which Christ provides 00:13:22.340 --> 00:13:25.399 for his people. If you're taking notes, here's 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:29.879 my first point. Christ provides rest for the 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:38.659 weary. Christ provides rest for the weary. So 00:13:38.659 --> 00:13:41.240 notice where the story begins, right? The disciples 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:43.600 have just returned from their missionary journey. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:45.200 How many of you guys have been on a mission strip? 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:46.460 I don't know if I've ever asked this before, 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:48.320 so we know you guys just got back from one, right? 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:50.200 So how many of you guys have ever been on one 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:53.600 that's like taking you really far away? How many 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.259 of you guys have ever been on one where you saw 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:58.159 some pretty incredible stuff, like God do some 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.980 pretty incredible things? How many of you guys 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:03.299 were like, you will not believe what I saw whenever 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:10.440 you got back? My man in the back. So like. There's 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:14.440 something about going and doing a missions thing 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.799 for Jesus and you want to share about it, right? 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:23.779 Now think about this. Here's the disciples have 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:25.700 been gone a minimum of two weeks, but more likely 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:28.159 they were gone for a month. What was the rules? 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:30.139 What did Jesus tell them that they could not 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:37.539 bring with them? No food? No clothing? But they 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.399 couldn't, they weren't naked, but right, no extra, 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:45.360 right? No money. So what could they have? You 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:50.000 remember? They could have staff. And they could 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.159 have only one tunic, two tunics. So most of the 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.000 time you wear two tunics because one of them 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.379 you can either give in case somebody needs it, 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:01.179 right? But also a second tunic. And I only learned 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:03.919 this because I wrote a paper on it. A second 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.269 tunic was used as like a weapon. So you have 00:15:07.269 --> 00:15:09.549 a staff and then you could use the other way, 00:15:10.070 --> 00:15:16.049 the other tunic as a way to kind of be Mr. Jujitsu 00:15:16.049 --> 00:15:19.409 and disarm someone. So that's, so essentially 00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:21.730 Jesus is like, you're able to protect yourself, 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:24.289 but you're going to depend on me for everything. 00:15:26.389 --> 00:15:32.049 So they take no money, no food, right? No extra 00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:36.009 clothing, no bag. It's just them and a brother. 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:40.779 and they go out right what does it say that they 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:50.840 did they perform miracles they cast out demons 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:56.159 right and they brought the kingdom to earth right 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.840 if you were doing those things and it was just 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:03.070 you and your spouse or you and a friend and you 00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:05.970 went out and did these things, and then you all 00:16:05.970 --> 00:16:08.169 came back together, what do you think dinner 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:14.190 that night's gonna be like? Like, if all of us 00:16:14.190 --> 00:16:17.289 all just came back here, right, we all split 00:16:17.289 --> 00:16:19.730 up and went different places, we share the gospel, 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:22.870 we see all types of crazy things, we would all 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:24.929 be fighting, like this place would be so loud 00:16:24.929 --> 00:16:27.049 right now, right, we would all be fighting to 00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:30.809 try to tell our stories, right? So they're jacked 00:16:30.809 --> 00:16:32.629 up, and you know that John is like, Peter, you 00:16:32.629 --> 00:16:33.990 will not believe what we saw. And then Peter's 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:35.730 like, shut up, John. Let me tell you about this, 00:16:35.750 --> 00:16:38.250 right? You have no idea what I saw, right? They're 00:16:38.250 --> 00:16:40.570 going back and forth, and they're really jacked 00:16:40.570 --> 00:16:49.529 up with excitement, right? So why does that matter? 00:16:50.950 --> 00:16:54.269 Because it doesn't say that the disciples were 00:16:54.269 --> 00:17:01.210 the ones that said they needed to rest. Who said 00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:10.329 it? Jesus. Jesus looks and he's like, guys, I 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:12.650 love that you're excited. And he's probably like 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:16.069 a proud dad, right? I can't wait to hear all 00:17:16.069 --> 00:17:18.490 your stories. Can't wait for you guys all share 00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:21.410 it. But here's the thing, you're tired and you 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:26.430 don't even know it. Come on, let's go away. Let's 00:17:26.430 --> 00:17:31.119 go to a desolate place. So write this down. Jesus 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.839 identifies their need before they do. The shepherd 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:36.579 sees their weariness before they recognize it 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:41.019 in themselves. Parents, grandparents, we understand 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:49.640 this, right? Christy, how do you know when Ransom 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:55.859 needs a nap? He won't stop crying, right? And 00:17:55.859 --> 00:18:00.200 does he want to take a nap? No. But in the goodness 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:02.220 of who you are as his mom knowing what's good 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:05.960 for him you say lay down Right and we have to 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:08.680 force them right sometimes You guys know I'm 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:10.779 talking about right our kids our grandkids. They 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:13.220 melt down. They don't even realize they're tired 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:18.079 and And we have to say no you need to eat something 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:22.220 and you need to you need to rest Right Jesus 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:25.079 does the same thing with us and he's doing that 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:29.480 right here No matter how much a child protests, 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:32.140 no matter how much a child argues, the child 00:18:32.140 --> 00:18:34.380 may insist that they're fine, but because we 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:39.240 are loving parents, we force them to rest. So 00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:41.319 long before the disciples hit the wall, Jesus 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.859 is already leading them towards rest. Now, could 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:48.319 I be reading into this a little bit? Yes, sure. 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:52.200 Absolutely. Perhaps. But here's what I need you 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:55.599 to know from the text and from my own experience. 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:58.390 I want you to write this down. Jesus is the only 00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:01.730 one who provides a rest that actually satisfies. 00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:07.529 When I shared that I was burnt out on ministry, 00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:12.210 my wife was the only one at the time seeing it 00:19:12.210 --> 00:19:15.470 in me and telling me I needed to slow down. I 00:19:15.470 --> 00:19:18.269 could feel the Lord telling me, but at the same 00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:21.250 time I was telling myself that can't be the Lord 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:25.940 because I'm doing the Lord's work. And so the 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:27.339 Lord was speaking through my wife going, you 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:29.039 need to slow down and you need to rest. And I'm 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:35.099 like, nah. But when he finally let me hit the 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:37.380 wall, because he's willing to let us get there, 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:39.779 when he let me hit the wall, and then I looked 00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:43.099 around and like, oh man, like my soul was dry. 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:48.700 My emotions were drained. Yeah. And then I had 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:52.940 to go back to the well that is him. So Jesus 00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:55.940 is the only one who provides a rest that actually 00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:59.160 satisfies. There isn't a vacation in this world 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:01.440 that can remove every burden from your heart. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:05.440 There isn't a massage, a hobby, a getaway, or 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.380 a day off that can quiet every fear about your 00:20:08.380 --> 00:20:11.680 future. Those things have their place and they 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:14.259 are good, but they cannot touch the deepest weariness 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:17.980 of the soul. Only Christ can do that. And notice 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:24.759 how he provides it. He intends to have physical 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:28.579 rest. But did they get that rest, by the way? 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:35.759 Nope. When the crowds arrive, Jesus doesn't simply 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.079 dismiss them. Mark says that he looked upon them 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.460 with compassion because they were like sheep 00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:42.400 without a shepherd and he began to teach them 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:49.420 many things. Jesus understands that our deepest 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:52.079 exhaustion is not just merely physical though. 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:55.700 That's why he begins to teach them, even the 00:20:55.700 --> 00:21:00.500 disciples. Sometimes what our hearts need most 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:03.680 is to hear the voice of the shepherd. Sometimes 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:08.660 what our hearts need is just to sit. And as my 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:10.400 wife would say, do you need to hear the voice 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:15.200 of the Lord? Then read this out loud. You hear 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:22.220 the voice of the Lord? Read it out loud. Jesus 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.380 doesn't merely meet physical needs, He addresses 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:26.559 the deeper longings of our heart and He provides 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.480 direction for the confused, purpose for the wandering, 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:33.380 and peace for the anxious. Church, some of us 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:36.220 spend our lives trying to remove every limitation 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:38.380 from our path, but what if those limitations 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:42.559 are actually gifts from God? What if that closed 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:44.980 door, that weakness, that setback, that season 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:47.240 of waiting isn't merely an obstacle? What if 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:50.160 it's... a shepherd slowing you down because he 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:52.000 knows you better than you do. Here's what I'm 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:53.740 trying to say in that, because I don't think 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:58.619 that that connected well. There have been times 00:21:58.619 --> 00:22:02.799 in my life where I've been frustrated that Tracy 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.000 and I haven't had the money to do something or 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.980 that there were times when we had little kids 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:10.500 that we were not able to do certain things that 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:15.259 I really felt like we should do. And I would 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:18.980 get so angry. And one of the things that my wife 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:22.000 would say that I thought was always so good was 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.259 that limitations are placed there by God for 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:33.920 him to go stop, chill, rest. So limitations can 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:38.640 be anything from maybe there's a talent that 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:40.839 you don't have that you wish that you had. God's 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:42.819 like, no, you need to have that limitation. Maybe 00:22:42.819 --> 00:22:45.339 it's your current situation and season that you're 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:50.430 in. This is God saying, you need to rest. Limitations 00:22:50.430 --> 00:22:55.009 are not bad things. You can write this down, 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:59.430 because this is exactly my wife's quote. Our 00:22:59.430 --> 00:23:01.670 limitations can be very good things placed there 00:23:01.670 --> 00:23:06.490 by God to force us to stay, stop, or rest. And 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:13.589 you know what, she's right. We are often frustrated 00:23:13.589 --> 00:23:16.109 by the very things God is using to shepherd us. 00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:18.650 So before you ask God to remove a limitation 00:23:18.650 --> 00:23:22.529 in your life, consider the possibility. Maybe 00:23:22.529 --> 00:23:24.710 the good shepherd has allowed it because he loves 00:23:24.710 --> 00:23:28.029 you. Maybe he sees a weariness that you haven't 00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:31.970 yet recognized. Maybe he is leading you beside 00:23:31.970 --> 00:23:36.970 still waters. Maybe he is making you lie down 00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:40.539 in green pastures. And maybe what feels like 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:43.019 an interruption is actually an act of compassion 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:46.440 from the shepherd who knows exactly what the 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.400 sheep need. It brings us to point number two. 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:57.539 Christ provides truth for the wondering. So imagine 00:23:57.539 --> 00:23:59.880 the scene, all right, so Jesus is like, hey, 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:02.440 you guys are tired, let's go off to a desolate 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:06.500 place, we're gonna rest. And as they push out, 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:09.279 they're like the Beatles, man. before the Beatles. 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:14.279 They go out on this boat. You know that all the 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:17.099 people are like, there they are. And then they're 00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:20.779 like, I see where they're going. We can get there 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:24.980 this way, right? So then everybody's like, yep, 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:27.200 yep, we're still tracking. We're still tracking. 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:29.859 And then they get to the other side and they're 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:36.789 all just like, hi, right? So. It had to have 00:24:36.789 --> 00:24:39.650 been a hilarious kind of scene where the disciples 00:24:39.650 --> 00:24:48.289 were like, well, and Jesus was like, well. So 00:24:48.289 --> 00:24:51.549 they've been ministering for weeks and Jesus 00:24:51.549 --> 00:24:53.309 has this compassion on him. He says they're like 00:24:53.309 --> 00:24:59.130 sheep without a shepherd. That imagery, sheep 00:24:59.130 --> 00:25:01.930 without a shepherd should be striking because 00:25:01.930 --> 00:25:05.329 it's actually said it's used. with Old Testament 00:25:05.329 --> 00:25:09.069 imagery for a reason. Because throughout Israel's 00:25:09.069 --> 00:25:13.430 history, God's people had suffered under bad 00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:16.869 shepherds. The prophets repeatedly condemned 00:25:16.869 --> 00:25:19.529 leaders who cared more about themselves than 00:25:19.529 --> 00:25:23.309 the flock. They fed themselves while they neglected 00:25:23.309 --> 00:25:26.329 God's people. They used their positions for power 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:29.210 instead of service. And the people knew what 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:31.670 it was like to be spiritually malnourished, and 00:25:31.670 --> 00:25:37.589 they knew what it was like to be misled. So here 00:25:37.589 --> 00:25:42.410 is Jesus as he steps onto shore as the good shepherd. 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:45.890 He notices what they need first. He doesn't feed 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:50.230 them. He teaches them. Mark says he began to 00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:53.009 teach them many things. Luke tells us what he 00:25:53.009 --> 00:25:55.750 was actually speaking to them about and what 00:25:55.750 --> 00:26:00.009 was God's kingdom, the kingdom of God. So why 00:26:00.009 --> 00:26:03.529 does he start there? Because Jesus understood 00:26:03.529 --> 00:26:05.609 that their greatest need wasn't food. It was 00:26:05.609 --> 00:26:09.049 that they needed truth Write this down for me 00:26:09.049 --> 00:26:11.569 and I'll let you guys I know it's three lines. 00:26:11.569 --> 00:26:16.230 So I'll let you guys Have some time before their 00:26:16.230 --> 00:26:21.230 stomachs were empty their souls were empty Before 00:26:21.230 --> 00:26:26.349 they needed bread they needed a shepherd And 00:26:26.349 --> 00:26:29.029 before they needed a miracle they needed a message 00:26:29.029 --> 00:26:38.730 of the kingdom This is still true today, yes? 00:26:41.210 --> 00:26:43.569 We live in a world overflowing with information, 00:26:43.670 --> 00:26:47.269 but we're starving for truth. Everyone has an 00:26:47.269 --> 00:26:50.890 opinion, everyone has advice, everyone has a 00:26:50.890 --> 00:26:53.109 platform and a YouTube channel, yet people are 00:26:53.109 --> 00:26:54.950 more anxious than ever, they're more confused 00:26:54.950 --> 00:26:57.690 than ever, and they're more directionless than 00:26:57.690 --> 00:27:09.819 ever. Why? How can we be swimming in information 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.839 and yet still be the most anxious generation? 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:21.039 Yeah, we're absent from the truth. We don't know 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:25.019 the shepherd. We don't know the shepherd's voice. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.539 We don't need more information. We don't need 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:30.819 better information. We need the voice of the 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:33.940 shepherd. We need someone who can tell us who 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:36.539 God is, who we are, why we're here, and where 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:40.240 hope is found. That is exactly what Jesus provides. 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:44.240 Notice something beautiful about Christ's compassion. 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.819 He doesn't separate spiritual needs from physical 00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:51.759 needs. Sometimes we act as though people are 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:57.380 only bodies. Other times we act as if though 00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:00.259 people are only souls when Jesus cares for both. 00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:05.259 He teaches them that because their souls need 00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:09.519 truth, He heals them because they are suffering. 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:12.779 And in a moment, He will feed them because their 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:17.059 bodies need food. So the Good Shepherd cares 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:19.640 for the whole person. And that's good news because 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.779 whatever burden you brought into the room today, 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.059 Jesus is not indifferent to it. The confusion, 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:29.359 the grief, the anxiety, the uncertainty, questions 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:34.339 you've carried for years. He sees them all. He 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:41.279 feels compassion and he speaks truth to it. But 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:45.759 then as he speaks the truth and he shares this 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:49.339 teaching, the day continues to wear on and the 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:52.339 physical part of who they are begins to come 00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:56.880 through. So what happens? You guys know the story, 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:03.009 right? What did he do? He feeds them. So third 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:07.529 point is just that. Christ provides food for 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:17.109 the wanting. So stay with me on this one. So 00:29:17.109 --> 00:29:18.950 by now the disciples have noticed a problem. 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:20.829 The day is getting late, the crowd is getting 00:29:20.829 --> 00:29:22.930 hungry, and unlike us, there isn't a case he's 00:29:22.930 --> 00:29:29.509 down the road. So. They're in this remote place, 00:29:29.509 --> 00:29:31.250 and as the disciples look around, they see a 00:29:31.250 --> 00:29:33.329 legitimate need, and to their credit, they want 00:29:33.329 --> 00:29:35.990 to care for the people. This is them showing 00:29:35.990 --> 00:29:39.769 compassion to the people and to themselves. So 00:29:39.769 --> 00:29:43.089 what do they say? We need to send them away to 00:29:43.089 --> 00:29:49.950 find food. How does Jesus respond? You feed them. 00:29:51.029 --> 00:29:52.730 And you know that they looked at each other and 00:29:52.730 --> 00:30:00.119 was like, Jesus. Come on, bro. You think we're 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:06.440 hiding food somewhere, right? That's like whenever 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:10.319 I tell my kids when they're like, dad, we're 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:13.000 hungry. Well, find something to eat. I don't 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:21.380 have any money. Figure it out. You know that 00:30:21.380 --> 00:30:23.339 they're like, how are we supposed to do this? 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:26.460 And John tells us actually, in the Gospel of 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:28.559 John, he tells us that Jesus said this because 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:32.440 he was testing them. His disciples see the need, 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:35.220 his disciples have compassion, but they still 00:30:35.220 --> 00:30:37.319 haven't fully grasped who is standing in front 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:41.980 of them. Write this down. They are looking at 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:45.279 the size of the crowd, and Jesus is looking at 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.319 the size of their faith. They are calculating 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:52.019 resources, and Jesus is revealing his identity. 00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:56.440 Brothers and sisters, how often have you been 00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:02.039 like the disciples? You're looking at what's 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:03.900 practically in front of you and going, there's 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:07.759 no way this is gonna happen. And Jesus is like, 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:14.319 I'm sorry, are you not my kid? So we tend to 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.420 look at the size of the problem and Jesus reminds 00:31:16.420 --> 00:31:21.500 us of the size of who he is. We count what we 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:24.579 don't have and Jesus points us to what He can 00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:29.099 do. We focus on scarcity, and Jesus specializes 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:31.920 in abundance. Eventually they discover a little 00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:35.220 boy carrying a simple lunch. Five loaves and 00:31:35.220 --> 00:31:43.720 two fish. So, here's what Bible software does 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:49.640 for you. Those five loaves, and maybe I'm just 00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:53.309 a goofball, When I was telling my wife and kids 00:31:53.309 --> 00:31:55.150 this they were like well dad Yeah, it just seemed 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:57.849 logical because it's for a little boy, but I 00:31:57.849 --> 00:32:01.190 hear five loaves of bread Does anybody else think 00:32:01.190 --> 00:32:07.910 five loaves of bread? So yeah, just just you 00:32:07.910 --> 00:32:09.990 okay, just me and Theo then all right Theo at 00:32:09.990 --> 00:32:12.230 least we're on the same page I just think five 00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:13.630 loaves of bread. I'm like that's a lot of bread 00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:16.450 for a little kid All right, so his mom packed 00:32:16.450 --> 00:32:21.390 him But those those loaves were actually biscuits 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:29.319 So he had five biscuits, and he has two, what 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:33.359 would essentially be like sardines for us. I'm 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:35.160 sitting here thinking like dude's got two large 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:38.140 mouth bass he's carrying along, and he's got 00:32:38.140 --> 00:32:40.640 two sardines because it's just pickled fish. 00:32:41.339 --> 00:32:47.259 That's what he would eat, pickled fish. So they're 00:32:47.259 --> 00:32:51.400 like. Anybody got food? And the little boy's 00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:55.839 like, I mean, so just to let you guys in on how 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:58.839 this looks in my head, Eli, can you bring up 00:32:58.839 --> 00:33:01.799 that there should be a picture in there? I asked 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:06.539 AI to recreate this for me. This is what I think 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:09.559 in my mind happened. Little boy's like, I didn't 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:10.940 bring enough for everyone, and Jesus is like, 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:12.500 no problem, let me show you something really 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:24.950 cool. He's Jewish, he's got curly, we'll talk 00:33:24.950 --> 00:33:30.549 about that later. So, hardly this is enough for 00:33:30.549 --> 00:33:32.470 20 ,000 people and you know that they're all 00:33:32.470 --> 00:33:34.670 like, that's all we got Jesus and Jesus is like 00:33:34.670 --> 00:33:39.130 perfect, right? So, before the miracle begins, 00:33:39.490 --> 00:33:41.410 Mark gives us a very interesting detail. Jesus 00:33:41.410 --> 00:33:44.009 has all the people sit in groups of green grass. 00:33:44.089 --> 00:33:47.309 Again, going back to Psalm 23, so here he is, 00:33:47.549 --> 00:33:50.829 the Lord is my shepherd, I shall want for nothing. 00:33:51.150 --> 00:33:55.130 and he makes me lie down in green pastures." 00:33:55.130 --> 00:33:57.950 Once again, Mark is reminding us who Jesus is. 00:33:58.329 --> 00:34:01.750 The shepherd caring for his flock. Then Jesus 00:34:01.750 --> 00:34:03.769 takes the bread, he gives thanks, and he breaks 00:34:03.769 --> 00:34:08.170 it. What does that sound like? In the future, 00:34:08.190 --> 00:34:12.969 he's going to do that again, right? So they've 00:34:12.969 --> 00:34:17.809 got this disciples are now acting as waiters, 00:34:17.909 --> 00:34:20.960 right? They're taking food. Jesus is like, cooking 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:24.719 in the kitchen, sending it out, grabbing the 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:28.380 food, taking it to all these people, trip after 00:34:28.380 --> 00:34:32.079 trip after trip after trip after trip after trip 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:35.340 after trip. Here's something that's really stinking 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:37.800 cool though. John McArthur points this out in 00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:42.420 his commentary on this, because I'm like, man, 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:45.960 it's just like taking little bits of a sardine 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:51.820 and somehow making it. He wasn't doing what I 00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:54.199 used to do when I was a youth pastor. We've done 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:58.260 it on Wednesday nights. Vicki knows what I'm 00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:00.679 talking about. When we cut the pieces of pizza 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:06.019 into smaller pieces. Sometimes my wife will do 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:07.780 that with me and she'll put it on a smaller plate 00:35:07.780 --> 00:35:11.739 to make me think that there's more there. Jesus 00:35:11.739 --> 00:35:15.880 wasn't doing that. I'm like, what is going on? 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:18.769 John MacArthur goes, The creator is creating. 00:35:18.849 --> 00:35:23.570 He was literally creating food again. Making 00:35:23.570 --> 00:35:30.090 something from... He isn't stretching the food. 00:35:30.289 --> 00:35:32.789 He's literally making it. So you can write that 00:35:32.789 --> 00:35:36.349 down. The creator is creating. There should be 00:35:36.349 --> 00:35:39.710 a point right there, Eli. The one through whom 00:35:39.710 --> 00:35:45.789 all things were made. The same God who spoke 00:35:45.789 --> 00:35:48.369 the stars into existence is speaking lunch into 00:35:48.369 --> 00:35:53.090 existence. John chapter 1 tells us that, right? 00:35:53.969 --> 00:35:57.489 Through Him were all things made, including a 00:35:57.489 --> 00:36:00.949 lunch. The same God who provided manna in the 00:36:00.949 --> 00:36:02.829 wilderness is once again providing bread for 00:36:02.829 --> 00:36:05.929 His people. The crowd may not fully understand 00:36:05.929 --> 00:36:07.829 what they're witnessing, but Mark wants us to 00:36:07.829 --> 00:36:10.789 understand. This is not merely a miracle worker, 00:36:10.869 --> 00:36:13.250 this is the Creator standing in the wilderness 00:36:13.449 --> 00:36:17.150 providing for his people. And then we are told 00:36:17.150 --> 00:36:21.190 that everyone ate and was satisfied. Everyone 00:36:21.190 --> 00:36:26.309 ate their fill. Everyone was satisfied. But what 00:36:26.309 --> 00:36:28.329 else is it? What is another detail that we learn 00:36:28.329 --> 00:36:30.969 in there? Everyone eats and was satisfied, which, 00:36:31.010 --> 00:36:33.070 by the way, that that word satisfied literally 00:36:33.070 --> 00:36:37.289 means satisfied. They could not eat anymore. 00:36:38.730 --> 00:36:43.409 So what's the other detail? There were leftovers 00:36:43.409 --> 00:36:47.010 and do they just let the leftovers go to waste? 00:36:47.849 --> 00:36:51.130 No, they gather them up. How many leftovers of 00:36:51.130 --> 00:36:54.650 baskets were there? Man, is that not a crazy 00:36:54.650 --> 00:37:00.829 number? 12 baskets What are we learning? What 00:37:00.829 --> 00:37:06.789 is Jesus saying in that moment? He provided he 00:37:06.789 --> 00:37:09.030 looked at the disciples and goes hey fellas, 00:37:09.050 --> 00:37:11.059 I haven't forgot about you either Because you 00:37:11.059 --> 00:37:14.440 know there was somebody like Judas or Logan Mare 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:15.880 could have been like, okay, we're feeding everybody 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:22.960 else. We ain't feeding me. So Jesus in effect 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.679 is saying, I didn't forget about you either. 00:37:26.179 --> 00:37:28.260 The shepherd feeds the crowd and the shepherd 00:37:28.260 --> 00:37:32.539 feeds his under shepherds. But brothers and sisters, 00:37:32.559 --> 00:37:36.599 here's the tragedy of it all. Many of these same 00:37:36.599 --> 00:37:39.840 people would later walk away from Jesus. We find 00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:43.219 that out. in the other gospels. In John chapter 00:37:43.219 --> 00:37:46.079 6, after receiving miracle bread, many of these 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:49.000 followers abandoned him because they wanted the 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:52.780 gifts more than the giver. They wanted a king 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:56.539 who would provide free lunches. They did not 00:37:56.539 --> 00:37:58.920 want a savior who demanded repentance and faith. 00:37:59.699 --> 00:38:02.659 Because remember, he preached the kingdom before 00:38:02.659 --> 00:38:08.420 he fed them. Yet when the crowds left, Jesus 00:38:08.420 --> 00:38:12.139 turns to his disciples And he asked, what? We 00:38:12.139 --> 00:38:15.000 had that as our verse of the week, right? What 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:22.719 does he ask him? Are you going to go too? And 00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:25.860 Peter responds with one of the greatest confessions 00:38:25.860 --> 00:38:28.099 in all of scripture, Lord, where shall we go? 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:32.260 You have the words of eternal life. Peter didn't 00:38:32.260 --> 00:38:34.260 understand everything yet. We know this because 00:38:34.260 --> 00:38:37.179 if you keep going to when Jesus walks on water, 00:38:37.500 --> 00:38:40.260 It says, they did not fully understand, but he 00:38:40.260 --> 00:38:42.800 understood though, you can write this down, the 00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:46.260 bread was never the point. The miracle was never 00:38:46.260 --> 00:38:48.400 the destination. The food was meant to point 00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:52.599 them to the one who truly satisfies, the bread 00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:57.460 of life. Church, Jesus refused to be a permanent 00:38:57.460 --> 00:39:01.559 source of free meals, but he gladly became the 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:05.449 eternal source of life. The bread fed them for 00:39:05.449 --> 00:39:12.909 a day, but Christ satisfies us forever. And as 00:39:12.909 --> 00:39:14.690 we close, I want us to follow the example of 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:20.429 our shepherd. Here's what I mean by that. I love 00:39:20.429 --> 00:39:23.969 what we do on Wednesday nights. I love coming 00:39:23.969 --> 00:39:27.210 here and seeing all the kids that are here. I 00:39:27.210 --> 00:39:29.769 love the fact that Vicki and Anita are in the 00:39:29.769 --> 00:39:34.559 back. cooking food and I love to see the little 00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:38.260 chubby Hispanic boy that makes like six, what's 00:39:38.260 --> 00:39:40.980 his name? Steven. You know, he makes his way 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:44.239 up there multiple times, right? He's probably, 00:39:44.260 --> 00:39:46.760 if he could, he would probably line his pockets 00:39:46.760 --> 00:39:49.699 with tin foil and shove extra pizza and everything 00:39:49.699 --> 00:39:53.840 in there. I love that we do that. I love that 00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:59.380 Doug and Scott and the Janssings and Christie 00:39:59.380 --> 00:40:01.880 and all of you guys, I love that you feed them 00:40:01.880 --> 00:40:10.699 spiritually. That's fantastic. I love to see 00:40:10.699 --> 00:40:13.900 the guys here providing security and seeing Trudy 00:40:13.900 --> 00:40:16.280 helping with all the things like I love all of 00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:18.980 that. That is serving our community. Here's the 00:40:18.980 --> 00:40:21.519 thing. I don't want it just to stop and it just 00:40:21.519 --> 00:40:25.420 in there. I don't want it to just be a Wednesday 00:40:25.420 --> 00:40:32.460 night thing. How do we meet the needs of our 00:40:32.460 --> 00:40:36.079 community outside of just a Wednesday night? 00:40:37.699 --> 00:40:42.519 So here's what I want to offer you. What would 00:40:42.519 --> 00:40:46.199 happen if we carried the same mindset of a Wednesday 00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:51.639 night of feeding, meeting a physical need, and 00:40:51.639 --> 00:40:55.219 also sharing the gospel to provide for a spiritual 00:40:55.219 --> 00:40:57.960 need? Could your dinner table become a place 00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:02.539 where lost people are welcome? Could your lunch 00:41:02.539 --> 00:41:04.719 break become an opportunity to bless a co -worker? 00:41:04.820 --> 00:41:07.880 Could your home become a place where people experience 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:10.840 both hospitality and the hope of the gospel? 00:41:11.940 --> 00:41:14.360 Because Christ is still performing miracles, 00:41:14.460 --> 00:41:17.320 amen? And the biggest one being salvation. So 00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:19.019 my question to you is this, and my challenge 00:41:19.019 --> 00:41:28.119 to you is this, as we close this up. All of you 00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:34.079 guys here, and sometimes it's about different 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:40.139 seasons of life. I'm aware of that too. Some 00:41:40.139 --> 00:41:45.300 of you are here and you need Jesus to be the 00:41:45.300 --> 00:41:49.800 one ministering to you right now. Your cup is 00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:54.059 low and you need the church and for Jesus to 00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:58.039 minister to you to fill your cup. others of you 00:41:58.039 --> 00:42:02.519 guys have your cups overflowing and are not doing 00:42:02.519 --> 00:42:05.539 anything with it. So my challenge for you is 00:42:05.539 --> 00:42:07.239 this, if you are the one that's in the season 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:10.980 of I need my cup filled, then I want to pray 00:42:10.980 --> 00:42:15.039 with you. And I would request that you would 00:42:15.039 --> 00:42:18.340 let us know as the church how we can help in 00:42:18.340 --> 00:42:21.780 love on you. Because you cannot do what I'm about 00:42:21.780 --> 00:42:25.059 to say next for the challenge if you don't have 00:42:25.099 --> 00:42:28.860 a filled cup, right? So then the others of you 00:42:28.860 --> 00:42:30.639 who have a filled cup, here's what I'm gonna 00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:36.760 ask. I want you to one time a month, one time 00:42:36.760 --> 00:42:43.800 a month, invite someone into your home, preferably 00:42:43.800 --> 00:42:52.320 someone that's not a believer, for a meal. And 00:42:52.320 --> 00:42:54.079 I want you to have an intentional conversation 00:42:54.079 --> 00:42:57.340 with them. Now it doesn't mean that you got to 00:42:57.340 --> 00:42:59.800 be like get saved or you pay for the meal you 00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:01.780 just ate right like we're not saying that right, 00:43:01.780 --> 00:43:06.800 but I Mean my wife will tell you we've got stories 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:10.179 like we've had people into our home who we didn't 00:43:10.179 --> 00:43:13.579 really know at all that I invited over And it 00:43:13.579 --> 00:43:17.739 was awkward There were awkward meals and just 00:43:17.739 --> 00:43:19.820 doing everything you can to kind of fill the 00:43:19.820 --> 00:43:24.739 silence but ultimately We got to have some conversations 00:43:25.869 --> 00:43:28.230 And it was stretching for us, and it was good 00:43:28.230 --> 00:43:31.889 for them to be fed physically and to also be 00:43:31.889 --> 00:43:35.949 met with a need spiritually. And so I want to 00:43:35.949 --> 00:43:41.329 challenge you guys just one time a month. Do 00:43:41.329 --> 00:43:43.909 that and see what kind of miracles God performs. 00:43:45.110 --> 00:43:45.469 Let's pray.